a camping we will go. memorial day weekend 2014.

funny, but after moving from idaho we went right back up the first chance we got!  we needed to bring some boxes back up to our storage in IF and get zach's toddler bed and mattress that we didn't think we'd need here, but ended up needing due to space.  our friends, aaron and tiffany and their kiddos met up with us at rigby lake for a weekend of camping adventure.

the lake wasn't filled yet, about 1/4 of the way, so we did do some splashing and playing by the water...we'd love to make this an annual trip, but will definitely go later in the season when there is less chance of high winds {hopefully} and a lake to swim in.

we brought brady's metal detector, hoping to find some great treasures left behind by beach-goers, but the boys found a lot of trash instead.  oh well, we did our part to clean up the beach!

we arrived late on friday evening, and thankfully aaron and tiff already had camp and our borrowed tent set-up!  what a huge help!  we unloaded necessary items for the night, changed into p.j.'s and hit the sleeping bags.  the kids and chris fell asleep right away...i was awake until sometime around 4:00 a.m. the high winds were causing our tent stakes to uproot, so i had to fix them and the tent fly several times. the flapping of the tent wall and fly was so loud i couldn't fall asleep, not to mention some very hard ground and a small mattress pad that i had been hopeful would provide more comfort than it did.  

the next morning, although groggy and {slightly} cranky we aroused to crisp air and settled down winds, although still very breezy at camp.  i had made up some tin-foil breakfast packets the day before so we got a small fire going and cooked those (which were delicious) with a side of bananas and strawberries.  the only thing we were missing was some O.J.

lumberjack tin-foil breakfast packets:

pre-roasted or left-over potatoes, diced

eggs

breakfast sausage patties

chopped onion, peppers

shredded cheese

salt & pepper

lightly spray tin foil with oil.  layer sausage on bottom, then potatoes, peppers and onions and cheese. right before adding on fire add in the number of eggs you'd like in each packet.  (the eggs kind of ended up cooking to the foil and i didn't feel that they were completely necessary.  the sausage, potatoes and veggies were delicious, so next time i think we'll omit the eggs from the packet and cook separately).

wrap in double-foil and mark for each person.  cook on hot coals for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through.

recipe from here.

the boys all enjoyed stoking the fire and kept it going with their continuous searches for sticks and branches. (please excuse picture quality on a lot of these...iphone pics...)

                                           

brady, max & ethan

after playing around for a bit and exploring our site and the lake we parted ways with our friends for the afternoon as they had family plans and so did we.  we headed into town, stopped and said hi to some friends and neighbors and unloaded boxes at the house in IF and then met up with shawnae, tim and brielle and bryce at beautiful freeman park for a picnic.  for memorial day there was a 1000 flag memorial and some free entertainment so we enjoyed hearing bagpipes, seeing live re-enactment soldiers and musket shooting as well as a local performing troupe of acrobats, aged 6-20 years old. 

olivia was hooked.  she's been doing "acrobats" ever since!

the guys went off and played disc golf with brady and shawnae and i took the littles on a walk around the beautiful park.  i really love that place.  i wish i had gotten pictures of the guys...

we threw stones into the creek...and blew "wishing lions"

olivia filled shawnae's stroller full of the "perfect" dandelions...

 
and our cute little niece, brielle slept the afternoon away!

we left freeman park and met up with our friends, rose and wes at their house for a quick visit and some ice cream cones!  i even brought my camera in to remind me to take a picture....but forgot!

after we headed back to aaron and tiff's and cooked tin-foil chicken and stuffing dinners over their fire pit and a fruit salad.  her brother and his girlfriend graciously accepted to watch ALL 7 of our combined kiddos while we adults snuck away for a double-date to the drive-in!

we were equipped with games, pillows, blankets, homemade caramel corn, drinks...but not enough cushions!  our tushies were numb!  we saw x-men and godzilla (could have passed on the latter, but the guys loved it).  tiff and i had a hard time staying awake anyway and we rolled home at around 2:30 in the morning and crashed in their living room!

the next day was sunday, and despite our best efforts to get to church in IF to visit our friends we didn't make it.  i had packed our sunday bag with us to aaron and tiff's but as we were getting kids bathed and trying to hop in showers i realized our underwear and toiletries were all still at camp, about 15 minutes away.  chris tried to hurry over and get our stuff but by the time he got back we didn't have enough time to finish getting ready and make it to church.  so we read our scriptures and church magazines instead and enjoyed a delicious pot roast lunch with our friends when they got back from their ward.

then we packed back up and headed back to camp!

the kids explored more, played in the sand/dirt, rode trikes and bikes and ate marshmallows before dinner.

      

                                        

                                        

             

then we cooked delicious steak, chicken, grilled veggies and corn on the cob over the fire with fruit salad and pasta salad on the side.

                            

                                 

our awesome baby sitters!  tiff's brother, justin and his flame courtney.

                                                

and after dinner....?  more smores!

our last night was a much better night's sleep.  i actually slept like a rock, seriously.  so exhausted from the weekend.  in the morning we had bacon, eggs, egg mcmuffins, pancakes, yogurt...played in the water, gathered up camp and went back to aaron and tiffs to play games and hang out until we had to head back home.

we are so grateful for such good friends and that our children play well and love spending time together.  our kids were so excited for this weekend.  it was a great time!

baked sweet & sour chicken. fried rice.

tonight's dinner was the first time i saw olivia eat voraciously other than when i make pancakes or french toast.  she had 3 HUGE helpings and kept saying this was the best dinner ever!  she even ate the rice which was filled with vegetables that she usually complains about.  very happy about this meal!

i liked this recipe because it wasn't too "sicky sweet" like others i've tried and it wasn't thick either.

the recipe and pics are from here, but i doubled the sauce in this recipe because i felt like it needed more.

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken-
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 C. flour
3-4 eggs, beaten
1/4 C. olive oil

1) preheat oven to 325°.
2) rinse chicken, cube; season with salt and pepper.
3) dip chicken in flour and then into eggs.
4) heat oil in frying pan, lightly fry chicken until browned.
5) place chicken in 9x13 pan; mix sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and pour evenly
over the chicken.
6)bake for a half hour, stirring chicken halfway.

sauce: (i doubled this)
3/4 C. sugar
4 T. ketchup
1/2 C. white vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt

fried rice:
2 C. cooked rice (left-over works the best)
3 T. sesame oil (or olive oil)
1 C. frozen peas
2 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 T. sesame seeds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
1-2 T. rice wine vinegar

1) heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
2) add vegetables, sesame seeds and garlic; fry until tender.
3) lower heat, push mixture off to one side, put in eggs and fry until scrambled.
4) add in rice and sauces, stirring well to combine and heat through.

i added in the sesame seeds, fish oil and rice wine vinegar because i didn't have any sesame oil and it came out really well.

buttermilk & garlic mashed potatoes.

these were super yummy and easy to make, as well as healthy because they don't have any butter or sour cream in them, which is what i usually add to my mashed potatoes.

i took the picture this time!

Buttermilk mashed potatoes-

6 baking potatoes, washed and cubed
1 C. chicken broth
4 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 C. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
large pinch of salt

1) place potatoes in a large pot with broth, garlic and enough water to cover.
2) bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to medium and simmer about 15-20 mins., or until potatoes are soft.
3) just before draining the potatoes, put buttermilk in a saucepan and warm through.
4) drain most of liquid from the potatoes; return to pot and mash well, adding salt, pepper and buttermilk.

serves 6-8.

this is from a book that i had picked up at the D.I. a few years back called "bannish belly, butt and thighs" (www.banishbbt.com)

i topped mine with more pepper and some fresh snipped chives from my patio "garden."

*i used powdered buttermilk added to water, minced garlic from a jar, powdered chicken bouillon added to water and leave my skins on the potatoes.

homemade maple syrup.

in my efforts to be frugal and eat with less preservatives i made homemade maple syrup last week when we ran out and i had made pancakes for breakfast.  i have been trying to trim down the grocery budget to $150 every 2 weeks, which for a family of 5 with at least 3 big eaters has been a challenge!

this syrup is really yummy and everyone liked it (even chris, surprise! score!) it is runnier than store-bought syrup but doesn't have any chemicals or corn syrup added.  and of course it's basically pure sugar so don't go pouring a cup of it over your pancakes!

image from here.  i tried this recipe initially and it was ok.  it was runnier and had a milder flavor than i was looking for. the recipe i am posting is from www.cooks.com

homemade Maple syrup-
3/4 C. water
1 3/4 C. - 2 C. brown sugar (depending on how strong you want the taste)
1 T. butter
1 tsp. maple extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) bring water to a boil in small saucepan.
2) stir in sugar and butter until dissolved.
3) add in vanilla and maple extract; stir well.
4) continue to boil, slowly, stirring constantly until thickened, 4-5 mins.
serve warm, but syrup will thicken slightly more as it cools.
5) transfer to a mason jar with a lid.

*we store ours in the cupboard because we use it often enough that it doesn't last long.  you could easily make a double batch. if you don't use syrup very often then store in the fridge so it will keep longer.
                                                   

easter 2014.

we had a last-minute change of plans and easter dinner at our house this year.  the last event before we moved.  boxes were piled everywhere but we had no furniture left in the living room so we set up two long church tables and had a feast.

the kids also had a big easter egg hunt in the backyard which was a lot of fun.  

we were all so excited because shawnae and tim got to bring home their darling baby, brielle after a week in the NICU.  they surprised us by showing up to dinner with her!

the kids in their sunday best.  grammie morgan was here visiting for the month and she loved filling their easter "buckets" (i get my kids a new beach bucket or some other container every year instead of a basket).  zach loved his "cool dude" glasses.

we got a bunch of pics with my mom because after dinner she headed down to SLC with chris, nick and nickie to catch a plane early the next morning back home.

my pretty girl

it was a beautiful day.  we had lovely talks at church and focused on the resurrection of the savior.  everything was so busy i didn't get to spend as much time as i usually do talking with the kids about easter and the real meaning, but we did watch the video the church had up on lds.org.

chocolate pancakes.

i never thought to make chocolate pancakes before, until i ran across a recipe the other day on a blog i was browsing for ideas on making meals from scratch and being frugal...

i made these this morning for breakfast and we had them with syrup and bananas but they would be perfect with a slight drizzle of chocolate syrup, whipped cream and strawberries (or raspberries!)

pic from here

*Chocolate pancakes-

1/2 C. sugar                                      
4 eggs, slightly beaten                       
3 C. buttermilk*                                  
6 T. applesauce                                 
3 1/3 C. flour                                    
4 tsp. baking powder                        
2 tsp. baking soda                            
1 tsp. salt                                         
2/3 C. cocoa powder                     

1) combine sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and oil. mix well.

2) mix dry ingredients well; add into wet and stir until just combined.
3) heat a lightly greased griddle.  pour batter onto the griddle, cook until bubbles form on top.
4) top with whipped cream, raspberries, strawberries or syrup.  

makes 20 pancakes.

*use buttermilk powder and mix with water in blender until smooth

(www.blissfulanddomestic.com)

funny.

tonight at dinner zach finished his first helping of spaghetti and said, "more."

i said, "how do we ask for more?"

zach, "more mom!"



a few weeks ago some friends had us over for dinner and games.  their little girl, who is 3 walked into the kitchen and looked at chris, then whispered to her mom: "is he a giant?"

bummer.

i found a camper last night that would have been P-E-R-F-E-C-T.  it was a winnebago, sleeps 6, good-sized bathroom, good bones and in good solid condition,  and with a white stove that wasn't ugly for a 70's camper.  only about an hour away and $600, which i would have tried to get down to at least $500, that's my goal.  pay $500 and stay under $1000 for total renovation.

i've done my homework.  i have fabrics picked out, tile for the floor...

got chris on board with it and then..."SOLD." poo.

this....

 

could have looked similar to this... (I want a solid-colored door) and add some red in...


think white and duck egg blue paint...get rid of nasty curtains.



becomes this! polka dotted cushions, bright and airy!!!



with a nice side shelf for decor and storage. and sheer curtains like these....checkered floors, my adorable new vintage picnic basket. ah...can you see it?!

                             

kitchen before... new backsplash (not sure yet), bright, breezy curtain, white paint, i would exchange knobs on stove for vintage red ones, cutesy towels.  this had great counter space!!!



and the bathroom was big too, which i would probably convert the shower area into shelving and make the room more for storage.  most places we would camp would have restrooms and showers and i have a portable 5-gallon bucket with disposable bags and a toilet lid that i would rather use than deal with hook-ups etc.  think skirt around the sink, new curtains, paint and floor.  this is a great space.

this camper was only listed for a day before it sold.  things on KSL go fast, especially as refinishing vintage campers is growing in popularity.  i have some competition to keep up with...

response to my daydreamin' post.

yesterday i posted on my blog about some of my daydreams. tonight chris and i were looking at it and talking about it. our dreams couldn't be farther apart. sometimes it makes me ponder how opposites really do attract and how somehow, someway we seem to make our lives TOGETHER work out.

he hates my vintage camper. boo, i'm getting one anyway.

he does not want to live in "the middle of nowhere" in some "spooky house inhabited by people on the other side of the veil." direct quote. oh well. i still have a way of persuading him into seeing what i see. it's worked before anyways, maybe it could work again?

like i said, it's going to take a LOT of convincing to get those chickens! he said the only chickens that he's going to have are in a KFC bucket. lol, at least he makes me laugh

scout. the puppy dog that we had for 5 weeks.

i've always wanted to have a dog for our family.  i grew up with the best dog in the world "Sir Captain Morgan II."  i have such fond memories of his love, protection, cuddles and spunk.

brady had been begging for a pet for a couple of years and on his 8th birthday we decided that he would be ready for that responsibility.  what i didn't expect was that mommy wouldn't be ready for that responsibility.  we had just recently moved into our house in idaho falls, were up to our eyeballs in remodeling, i had been newly called as the young women's president and we had a 16-month old little baby who was deeply afraid of the yappy little puppy who liked to chase him and nip at his feet.

we surprised brady with him after i'd taken him shopping to get all of the necessities for a puppy.  he didn't know that we were actually getting a puppy, just that we were preparing for one.  we'd talked many hours about the responsibility and care it would take, as well as reading lots of books from the library.  we were well prepared figuratively.  just not in the real world sense.  too much at one time. and to top it off, it was winter.  puppy wouldn't move out in the cold.  couldn't take him for a walk and you can forget about trying to get him to go potty outside.

i really think we learned a lot from this venture, and will be much more realistic about the next time we decide our family is really ready to welcome in another doggy member. for me, that means that we will be beyond the baby years.  i just can't do both.

when we got scout he was 10 weeks old.  he's a "chiweenie," a chihuahua and dauchshund mix.  we did find him a good home where he has been very loved.

brady meets scout:

again, i am missing a bunch of pictures. i had an adorable one with him and my dad, him and brady and one with me as well.

shawnae had a silly app to add a mustache on him.  he's so cute!

here's a few snippets of life with a baby and a puppy- remarkable alike, no?

smoked salmon chowder.

i got the original recipe here, but of course, {true to myself} i cannot follow a recipe to save my life.  i added the liquid smoke in the original recipe, but feel like it needed more, so i tweaked it.  i also omitted some steps and simplified the process. worked good for me and was super easy.  just what i like.  delicious.

too lazy to take a pic.  this from here.  looked the same, of course!



i added some garlic, exchanged the heavy cream for a powdered milk conversion (simply because i didn't have any cream on hand) and omitted the creamer.  didn't feel it was necessary and didn't want to buy it.

in the original recipe she instructed to boil potatoes by themselves and then to cook the celery and onion in butter.  also to add the milk and cream into the roux.  i cooked all my veggies together (such good flavor! and smells amazing) and drained about 2 C. of the water out after.  i didn't want to lose all of that delicious broth so instead of adding in chicken broth i added in 3 tsp. of chicken bouillon.  i never buy chicken broth anymore.  i also made this adaptable to using your food storage items.  store what you use! and use what you store!

i made the roux and the added it to the pot, along with the milk.  it was super easy and everything thickened up just fine.

i had made fish chowder many times and love it, but never thought to use salmon.  i hope you and your family enjoy as much as we did!  serve with some crusty bread or homemade breadsticks!!!  a sprinkle of croutons would be yummy as well with a nice salad on the side.


smoky salmon chowder
8 C. potatoes, cubed (or use 6 and add in 2-3 leftover baked potatoes)
1 stick butter
3 ribs celery, diced (or equivalent of freeze-dried from food storage)
1 small onion, diced (or equivalent of freeze-dried from food storage)
3 tsp. minced garlic
2/3 C. flour
3 tsp chicken bouillon
2 C. milk (or use 2 C. water and 6 T. dry powdered milk from food storage)
1 C. heavy cream (or use 1 C. water and 1/4 C. dry powdered milk from food storage)
2-3 leftover grilled salmon fillets, flaked into chunks
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
3/4-1 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke (or to taste) *optional

in a large stockpot, cook potatoes, celery, onion and garlic in enough water to barely cover, just until tender.  drain 2 C. of water and return pot back to the stove.  add in spices and chicken bouillon.

in a saucepan, melt butter.  whisk in flour, cooking and stirring over medium heat for a minute or two to create a thick roux.  add into pot of potatoes and broth and continue stirring over medium heat.

add in milk and cream (or substitutes if using) and stir well.  stir in salmon and liquid smoke and simmer, stirring frequently until soup is well thickened and warmed through.  remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.