Food

Sometimes I get creative in the kitchen.

This most often happens when the cupboards are bare and I am putting off the dreadful chore of  grocery shopping. (ugh)

Such was my plight yesterday as I realized the evening was going to be a busy one and I needed to have dinner prepared in advance. 

So here is my new recipe.

We named it: Mexican Cowboy Beans (because we thought that by putting the word "cowboy" in there...the boys would like it better...and there are green chilies in it...hence, the "Mexican") :)

Get out your crock pots amigos cuz you're gonna wanna try this one!

Mexican Cowboy Beans

1-2 bnls/sknls chicken breast(s)

2 cans of Northern beans

1 can of corn

1 sml can of green chilies 

1 handful of dehydrated onion (or about 1/2 a cupish of chopped fresh onion...or leave the onion out...whatever you want.  

Season to taste with:

cumin (don't use too much for you'll regret it...a teaspoon tops is my advice!) 

garlic salt

pepper

I put all ingredients (including seasonings) into the crock pot on high for about 3 hours....then turned it to low for probably another 2-3 hrs. Basically I put it in at 1pm and we ate around 6:30pm. I don't think time matters as long as the chicken is cooked and tender.  The chicken can be frozen when you put it in. Mine was. And leave the juice in with the beans, corn and chilies. Just turn the crock pot to low after the chicken is cooked so that you don't scorch the beans.

I ate mine in a bowl with cheese on top and dipped tortilla chips in it. Brandon ate his with cheese corn tortillas.  Oh. We also diced up some avocado to go with it.

  Pruébelo! Te gustará!

Where does the time go!?

We are just pluggin along with life over here! School, callings, meetings, kids performances, family gatherings. It gets busy but when I stop and think about it...I wouldn't have it any other way!

The weather is nice and cool. We woke up this morning to frost on the ground. This about as close as it's gonna get to being a white Christmas here in the Valley. My kids love the cold. (Brandon and I do too! After enduring our first summer back in the "Valley of the Sun" I am relishing every second of cold outdoor air!

Weston put on his snow coat this morning and just stood in the back yard enjoying the chilly morning. (I was busy getting breakfast on the table...so there no pictures.). Weston really wants it to snow!

The changing of seasons makes me homesick for Snowflake.

Kaitlyn is 11 now! Holy COW right!? She is such a fun girl. I love that she can babysit now. She does a good job at helping me out when I need it. She plays the violin and is really starting to enjoy it.

Adelin turns 8 in nine days!!!! We are planning a party for her! Adelin is a great help to me. She is SO good with the baby. She loves playing the piano for him...and she is great at calming him down...and making him laugh.

Connor is 3 1/2 and I tell ya....he is either so darn sweet or so darn sour! He really hates it when Brandon and I go somewhere without him. He throws a huge fit and tries to run out of the house and chase whoever is leaving down the street...while screaming his head off. It's dreadful! Brandon and I know try to sneak out of the house. The thing is...when we take him with us, he is really well behaved. He is a good shopper. He doesn't ask for anything and he is content to just sit in the cart. Other than that...he is a great kid! :) He loves to eat cereal and he just found out that he kids bananas! He likes to play with his brothers, jump on the trampoline, ride his bike or scooter and go for walks to the park! :) (that almost sounded like a classified ad!)

Does that cover all the kids?

Oh! Cameron! The baby! He is so stinking cute! How could I forget him! He's my sidekick! He crawls all over this house now! This week he discovered the kitchen cupboards and has climbed in and out of a few. He can open drawers...and stand up to furniture. He says, "ma ma" now! He's said "da da" for a while...and now he will finally say "ma ma" too! He is learning to wave "bye bye"....but isn't consistent with that trick yet! This boy also loves to eat. He isn't picky. He eats whatever we offer him. (He loved the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner!)  He also begs food off the other kids. He especially likes frozen GoGurts.

My nephews wife took family pictures for us last weekend. We haven't had a family picture in a long time!

I guess that's all for now. Sorry there aren't any pictures....but that's just the way it goes. Our other computer that I download pictures to is not hooked up to the internet right now anyways...so even if I had time to post pictures, I couldn't!

Boy this past week was as busy as ever!

Monday was my kids first day of school after Fall Break (two weeks off)...and we had just gotten in from Utah at 9 p.m. the night before. I got up at 5 a.m. because I really want to be a morning person and thought getting up that early would be an awesome way to start the week. I read my scriptures and wrote in my journal for an hour. Then I did this really hard work out, showered and was dressed for the day before the kids woke up! We had a wonderful FHE that night! if you want...I can email the lesson to you!

Tuesday I was up early again. I cleaned the bathrooms then I made whole wheat waffles from scratch....with fresh fruit on the side.

Wedneday I went grocery shopping. It is a fun way to spend time with the kids and get food for the family. They are great at helping me pick out nutritious things snacks and meals.

Thursday I was up cleaning the house again. I think It is awesome to get the house work all done before the kids wake up. At least the house is clean and sanitarty for them...even it if it is only for a few minutes!

My parents watched the kids for us Friday night and Brandon and I went to his cousin's daughters wedding reception in Phoenix. It was fun to see and visit with family there! There was a live band that was really very good!....a little loud...but good!

Satruday, we had time to relax...since I had gotten all the house work done earlier in the  week. So nice to have a day off!

Sunday, we got to church early and sat on soft benches! It was nice to not be sitting in the "over-flow" where you have the sounds of metal chairs scooting across hardwood floors to deal with.

And today....I am typing this post....which is 98% false!

Can guess which TWO days events are true!

Life

 My Grandpa Barrett...working on the farm

Holy Cow life has been busy around here!

I have pictures of stuff...but I don't feel like digging out the camera and downloading any of them.

September 22nd, my Grandpa (Golden Wesley Barrett Jr.) passed away in Los Alamitos, CA. He was 87. I love that guy! I am SO greatful for a Grandpa who as able to make my siblings and cousins and I feel so loved. He lived a good life. Up until he got cancer 5-6 years ago, he'd been as "fit as a fiddle"!

Last Monday (Oct. 7th) we loaded up the minivan with kids and luggage and headed up to Utah for my Grandpa's funeral. It was a good trip. Our kids like roadtrips...and staying in hotels...and since they were on Fall Break, we were able to take our time driving there and back. We loved seeing family that we haven't seen in five years or more.

Brandon and I loved taking the kids to Temple Square. I LOVE Temple Square. I have a lot of good memories from going there as a child and teenager. We hadn't been back since they renovated and created the City Creek Mall. That place is beautiful. It rained for sprinkled the whole day we were there...but we are from Arizona...so we LOVE rain! We walked through the Joseph Smith building, both visitor centers, the Assembly Hall, the Tabernacle...we sent a good amount of time in the Church History Museum. They have a great exhibit for kids. Then we took a tour of the Conference Center. Our guide is the best friend of one of my good friends mom who lived in Show Low. She was the perfect person to do our tour because she raised 5 boys and knew we had to be quick when the kids were impatient or let them take their time when they were interested. We ended the day at Sizzlers with a table away from everyone else and a chance to talk about our day.

My Grandpa's funeral was Saturday October 13th. It was a beautiful Autumn day in Logan, UT. The trees still had their Fall colors. There were also a good number of leaves on the ground.

The funeral was good for me. I hadn't cried about my grandpa passing until then. He was so sick and miserable. He just wanted "to go". We took the kids to California and visited my Grandparents in July. I knew that my Grandpa's life would be coming to an end soon. But the funeral was a time for remembering. I remember so much about my grandpa and it just made me cry. Mostly they were tears of knowing I will miss him...but also tears of joy. I know I will see him again!

My dad and I took the kids to the zoo today.

They have a cute area called "Harmony Farm". You can pet the goats and milk the fake cow. I sat down on a bench in there to feed Cameron while my dad kept an eye on the kiddos.

When I finished nursing him I noticed that I had fed him right next to this sign:

Nice, right? I guess I will have to be more careful next time I pick a place to fed the kid in public.

We had a good time though.
We saw the animals,
 rode the train...
the kids played at both splash pad areas.
We ate our snacks...and then it was time to go!