Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Grand Tetons: Part 1

In July we visited Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  We had a lot of fun and saw a lot of really neat things.  I hope you're ready for picture overload.  I'll have to do a few posts to get all the pictures posted, so I hope you're comfy.
 The first day we traveled to the KOA outside of Jackson, which was right on the Snake River and absolutely beautiful.  We got there a lot later than planned and Andrew quickly made a campfire so that we could make some dinner.  We made cheesy potatoes and chicken in foil pockets over the fire.  It was yummy!  The kids kept wanting more and more.  Totally should have made more.
 We also toasted marshmallows for the kids, which is their favorite.  They were even old enough this year to hold their own roasting sticks.
 Ashlynn still needs a little help.  Once we put the kids to bed, I busted out the good stuff and made some smores for myself.  The best part about camping if you ask me.
 The next morning we played at the awesome playground which is right next to the Snake River.
 My gorgeous girl!
 This boy could throw rocks in the water all day.  He was in heaven!
 Lets stomp the bugs.
Cute family!
 I love my kiddos! Here we are at the Grand Tetons Visitors Center.

 What does a four year old boy do when he isn't supposed to touch the antlers?  He picks it up of course and makes himself a reindeer like the "Grinch".
 The Tetons
 While we were in the Park, we stayed at the Signal Mountain Lodge, which was amazing.  Our first day there we rented a pontoon boat and took the kids out on Jackson Lake.  They loved it.  It was probably one of their favorite parts of the whole trip.
 Evan and mama with the Tetons.
 My babies were tired and cold by the end.
 Andrew let the kids take turns driving the boat.  Ella had a lot of fun.
 Cameron was in heaven.  He told me he couldn't look for a picture because he was driving.
 Taking his job very seriously.
 She was pretty grumpy by the end.  She thought she wanted to jump in the water like Ella and Daddy, but the second she hit the water she changed her mind.  Both she and Cameron did actually.  Let me tell ya, it was one of the funniest things I'd seen in a long time.  I wish I had of been recording it.
 Cameron may not love being in the water, but this boy loves being by the water.  
 Ella and Daddy in Jackson Lake.
 The cabin that we stayed in had this beach (Jackson Lake) out our back door, so when we were at the cabin we spent our time at the lake.
 There were lots of baby schools of fish swimming around.  The kids had fun standing in the water while trying to catch the fish.
 My little fish.
 And then my little one that wanted nothing to do with the cold water after about five minutes.
The people in the cabin next to us were very nice and let the kids play in the raft.  They had lots of fun making Andrew pull them around.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

I'm Back...

Sorry.  I kind of disappeared for a while, but life is crazy.  I've had several people ask when I was going to post again, so I suppose I should try to start writing again.  I'm going to try and play catch up so we'll see how it goes.  Here are just a few of the fun things we've done this summer:
 Bird watching... we have a lot of birds that live in our yard (and yes, we do know he's looking in those binoculars through the wrong end)
 Andrew ran his first full marathon in the pouring rain and did awesome
 Smores... Evan wasn't going to let anyone touch his marshmallow
 Oh my goodness, I could just eat him up... I love those cheeks and kissable lips
 This little man has loved playing outside all summer
 Our little firecracker
 Lots of bike riding... These two sure love each other
 Me with my littles enjoying the outdoors
 A rare, but treasured Sunday nap
 Swimming in Jackson Lake on vacation
Seriously cute!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Freezer Cooking... A Few Favorites

For years I've done a little freezer cooking here and there.  Never with a set schedule each month like some, but if the mood struck or there was a really good sale on something then I would make up a few dishes.  I have always tried to keep the freezer well-stocked with meat and stuff though so that I wasn't buying it every time I needed it, it's just the meals that were a little more sporadic.  I have however made up some freezer meals before each of my babies were born.  In fact, before Ashlynn was born my hubby finally caved and got me a freezer for the garage.  I knew I was going to need it to stock up before she came since I was barely managing to get dinner done with two kids and my sanity intact.  Of course, in the two years that we've had it, it has come in very handy and the hubby has commented many times that it was one of the best purchases we've made.  That makes me very happy... he doesn't usually say that about things I beg and plead for. :)  Anyways, this baby was no different.  I knew that I needed to stock up that freezer before he arrived.  Life is crazy with four kiddos four and under and from about 4:00 to 7:00 is what I like to call the bewitching hours around here, so needless to say dinners that have been prepared ahead of time and are homemade make me happy.  So here are a few of my favorites to keep stockpiled.

Meatloaf
Baked Ziti - My family loves loves loves this recipe from Christy at The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Stuffed Shells
Pasta Sauce - This is a favorite of mine from Katie at The Cutting Back Kitchen.
Taco Meat
Sloppy Joes
Enchiladas
Chili
Ham and Cheese Quiche
Chicken Cordon Bleu - I really like to use provolone cheese in place of the swiss cheese.
Marinara Sauce - This is my new favorite marinara sauce from Cooking Classy
French Toast - Great for breakfast

It seems like there is more, but these are a few of our favorites.  I also like to freeze muffins and sweet breads for snacks and we always have bags of frozen fruit and yogurt for smoothies.

These are just a few of the ways that I manage to make meal times a little less chaotic and more healthy around here.  Since I prefer to cook from scratch you will never find store bought frozen dinners in my freezer, so having a home-cooked meal in the freezer helps me to not resort to fast food on the nights that I just can't manage to get dinner ready in time.  If you want me to share any of my recipes, feel free to leave a comment.

Going Private...

Okay friends, it's time for me to make some changes.  I really like having an open blog for anyone to read (err, when I'm actually posting, which I fully intend to get into the habit of doing again), but unfortunately there are people out there that can ruin the fun.  Fortunately, I haven't come across that, but I really don't want to find out that pictures of my kids are being used for anything other than my blog or to decorate their grandparents walls.  So do I just set my blog to private?  Or do I set up two blogs... a family blog and a whatever I feel like posting blog for just anyone to read?  I really like connecting with people that I don't know through my blog, but again I use my blog as a family journal and don't really want some creepy guy looking at my cute kids.  So what's a girl to do?  Any suggestions?  I'm fairly sure that I'm going private in some way, so if you want an invite to this fantastically neglected blog, please just shoot me an email @ shanade@gmail.com.  Thanks.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Summer Dreaming

This has been one of the coldest winters we've ever had here.  There were several weeks where the high hovered around 10 degrees.  Needless to say, we are very excited for summer.  In order to beat the winter blues and keep my sanity while being locked inside with four kiddos who all really really want to go outside, I've been pinning and planning and scheming of our yard and garden.  I'm really excited to start working in our yard this year.  Last year we focused on getting things like the weeds and current plants trimmed and under control, so this year we get to plant the pretty things with color.  Yay!  Here's what I've got so far...
Our garden is on the south side of our house similar to this.  I love this layout!  The brick walkway, white arbor, white picket fence, places to sit, etc... love it all.
I really like how the garden veggies are incorporated into the flower beds.  I think I'm going to do this with some of the shade loving veggies such as lettuce and spinach.
Great use of space.
Love the bean poles and the marigolds.
Such a clean look.
I need at least one of these strawberry towers, but probably two.  They are awesome!  I've read that you can fit up to 90 strawberry plants in one... Perfect for our family.  That should leave plenty for the kiddos to munch on and me to make jam with.
Pretty.
I love the herringbone brick pattern.
Great pallet walkway.  Perfect for the north side of our yard between the driveway and back gate.
Love the black-eyed-susans.  We definitely need some pops of yellow in the backyard.
Love the colors.  We could do this in the front yard planters.  We also really want some California poppies.
Pretty, but I don't think the hubs will let me plant roses.
These are the raised beds that I want.  Our raised beds really need replaced, but that will probably be next years project.
Totally need an a-frame trellis like this for our cukes and zukes.
source  
What an awesome raspberry patch.  We really need to give some support to our raspberries.
We really really want to add a fire pit to our backyard.  This is perfect.  What a great way to end or start a summer weekend.