2021 Week in Photos #25

 It's been pretty quiet here lately.  My brother Ken was here through last Saturday but this week we just kind of hung out.  Here are a few snap shots of our super exciting week. 

This is how exciting our week was ---- I took photos of my dog for like an hour one night just playing with my camera HA!  He's just so cute!!!  

And . .. we had our first corn on the cob of the season.  On our way home from the library I stopped at the farmers market and picked up corn for dinner.  It was yummy!!! 

On Monday there will be a few more photos of what the kids got to do for fun this past week :-) 

Weekly Menu

 Wow, we are entering August!  I enjoy summer more than I used to - I think because we work so hard on school all year it makes the summer months morme enjoyable and relaxing.  Here's the plan for the coming week. 

Friday - Our weekly take out night. 

Saturday - Dinner with my in-laws 

Sunday - Dinner with my mom

Monday - Amish Chicken, Noodles and Squash casserole

Tuesday - BBQ Cups and Fries            

Wednesday - Today is our Anniversary so we will eat out.  Not sure where yet . .. last year we went and got Tacos from our favorite take out place and enjoyed them in the park :-)  

Thursday - Dinner at my mom's with my oldest brother, Kel and sister-in-law, Deb.  

Summer Fun Week 6

 

Now that camp is over, it is time to get back into our routine.  A little more planning and a little more effort go a long way.  I "blame" it on Darryl - he's been off work for a few weeks and that really messes with our schedule.  The boys love to stay up late with him which means they all sleep late and that just messes me up LOL  It's ok though - it's summer and it's fun and that's all that matters.  I'm a little short on photos for this past week but . .. here is what we did! 

Monday - We are FINALLY going to "Kids bowl Free".  The kids all enjoy bowling so I really wanted to get this activity in at least once in the summer.  We went to a bowling alley we hadn't been to before and it was the best!  Not to mention the snacks we got were great too!  

Tuesday - Josh and Nate hung out with their friends from Mississippi who head back home this weekend.  I treated my extra two to lunch at Subway before running a few errands. 

Wednesday - Today we were just home!  They had to suffer through "no electronics time" in both the morning AND afternoon! 

Thursday - It's Library Day for the three "teens".  Today is a nerf war so that was quite the excitement. 

Friday - Nate got hit with a head cold so we sat TKD out this week and just all enjoyed a fairly quiet, semi-rainy day at home.  

See - back at it this week! 

Weekly Menu - The one where my brother leaves

 The title really means nothing - my brothers just like when I mention them in my blog :-) LOL  This next week is pretty quiet, actually.  My brother really is leaving this weekend so it will be back to normal around here for a week.  I decided to get a couple Hello Fresh Meals this week for no other reason then I forgot to edit my order and skip this weeks shipment (oops!)(well, technically I thought I had skipped it but I was off by one week!!)  but at least I had changed it previously to only get two meals instead of four.  I don't really mind since we know the meals are great.  

Here's the plan for the coming week. 

Friday - We are doing take out but we are going to be eating dinner with my mom and brother - Fabulous BBQ from our local food truck!  Yum! 

Saturday - One last meal while my brother is here with my mom - so our "normal" Saturday dinner at mom's but we get to enjoy it with my brother, Ken, too.  

Sunday - Hello Fresh Meal #1 - It's a burger meal and, after the last Hello Fresh Burger, we WILL be grilling the burger.  I've been craving a burger so this is perfect. 

Monday - Hello Fresh Meal #2 - Crispy Buffalo Spiced Checken with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots.  So, truthfully, I will be leaving the Buffalo Spice off of this recipe.  Since I thought I had skipped this week, I didn't rearrange the meals - this is not a meal I would have chosen because we aren't fans of Buffalo Spice but after reading the recipe I know I can leave that off and just make it as Crispy Chicken. 

Tuesday - Mississippi Pot Roast, Beefy Noodles and Salad. 

Wednesday - Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans and Biscuits

Thursday - Quick and Easy Chicken Enchiladas, salad, and chips and salsa

Summer Fun Week 5

 

This week will be different because Josh and Nate are at day camp Tuesday-Friday.  

Monday - I debated some things for today but in the end, we stayed home.  It rained and the kids had to get ready for camp.  

Tuesday - Today is day 1 of day camp - I'm not there (obviously) so I'm hoping for some photos from camp to share.  The rest of us used today as a free day.  

Wednesday - After taking Josh and Nate to camp, my two extras and I went to McDonald's for breakfast before going to the wooden park for a bit until it was time for the Library Activity.  We headed home for a relaxing afternoon until it was time to pick up the other two! 

Thursday - Today was the opposite of Wednesday.  We enjoyed a quiet morning.  Went to the teen library activity and then left there to head over to get Josh and Nate from camp.

Friday - It is Free Friday :-)  We took the boys to camp and ran some errands before coming home for a bit.  Then, we went out to lunch at Taco Bell before running more errands.  It was nice the three of us to get out of the house for a bit -- there was a whole lot of TV watching going on this week LOL  

Weekly Worship - Casting Crowns - Scars in Heaven (Official Lyric Video)

I heard this song for the first time this past week.  It will give you all the feels -- Casting Crowns really nails this one.  

2021 Weekly Photos #24

 Welcome to another week!

Saturday - Today we celebrated Nate's 11th birthday - his "day of activity" which was delayed from December due to covid/covid restrictions.  It was an amazing day. 

We started his day at Chuck-E-Cheese.  It is his favorite place.  We played for two hours!  It was nice this time because they are both old enough to do their own thing and we payed for time instead of tokens so Darryl and I could play too.  I threw quite a few skeet balls :-) HA! 

After Chuck-E-Cheese we had lunch at McDonald's and actually got to eat inside.  That was the first time since pre-covid!  Many McDonald's don't have their lobbies open yet but this one did!  

Then we headed to Glow Golf and arcade.  (Can you guess Nate loves arcade games?)  The gulf is fun and it is nice that it is indoors!  

The video games are unlimited with the cost of golf.  Lots of air hockey, pin ball, and old school video games.  Honestly we spent about 4 hours total at this place and Nate was not ready to leave!!!  

Nate wanted McDonald's as his second meal of choice (he originally said he was going to go to Chili's but decided he just wanted nuggets).  We agreed ONLY if the other three of us could get Five Guys Burgers instead.  He agreed 100% so we enjoyed burgers on the patio of Five Guys and they were a.m.a.z.i.n.g. as always.  

My "birthday boy" - he's really just past 11 1/2 but I'll stick to calling him 11 for now! 

We also tried out this fabulous cookie place called Crumbl -- best cookies ever.  I'm not one of those people to say "I can only eat half of that" - I mean, we eat the whole thing of everything . .. but . . these cookies are HUGE, sweet, heavy, and did I say huge?  - 1/2 a cookie is perfect for a dessert.  That's ok - makes them last longer!!!  

It was a perfect day.  

Sunday - We were ALL Feeling it today after all the golfing, throw basketballs and skeet balls and hair hockey games HA!  Josh had youth group . .. . but unless someone posts pictures, I get nothing!! 

Monday - Today was "get ready for camp day".  It might only be day camp but they still have to take their stuff!  

Tuesday-Friday - Josh and Nate had Worship camp.  Friday night was the concert when the campers played with their bands to show what they had accomplished.  It was so awesome to see how much they learned in just 4 days of camp.  (My photos are a little out of order) 

One of the classes Josh took was drums.  He loved it and has already asked for a drum set for Christmas and Drum Lessons.  

Nate took Guitar - which he has wanted to learn forever.  He is so excited that Darryl is giving him one of his guitars and is finally going to continue with his lessons. 

This was on Tuesday - heading to the first day of camp.  

Part of Worship Camp is that they form bands and either write original music or learn to play several worship band songs.  This is Josh's group - Josh played the keyboard for his band.  

This is Nate's band - yes, that's him with the rainbow wig and bumblebee costume.  This group wrote their own song and it was actually pretty awesome.  Nate sang and played guitar. 

They really did have such a unique and fun time.  They both learned so much and brought encouragement to others too.  

Weekly Menu - The week when my brother visits

 This weeks menu is more of an idea.  My brother, Ken, and his wife, Lynnette, are staying at my mom's for the week.  We will get to enjoy some meals with them which will be great fun.  (We laugh alot when we are together!)  

Friday - Josh and Nate have their Worship Camp concert tonight so they get to eat at the church.  Darryl and I will eat . .. something HA!  

Saturday - We are eating at my mom's with my brother

Sunday - We are eating at my mom's with my brother, I think!!  (If not, we will eat something at home!) 

Monday - Stuffed Shells, Garlic Bread and Green Beans 

Tuesday - I'm going to get a good roast again and make the Mississippi Beef Roast in the crock pot.  We will beefy noodles and carrots with it. 

Wednesday - The plan is to head to the fair.  We will have something simple at home (sandwiches, corn dogs, etc) because we will also buy some fun fair food too!!  

Thursday - Pork Chops on the Grill, Mac and Cheese, Broccoli and Rolls 

What We Are eating - Baked Tacos

 

In the first Hello Fresh Box, one of our favorite meals was the Beef Flautas, which are basically baked tacos.  They were super easy and I knew I could alter the recipe to make them at home without all of the Hello Fresh Ingredients.  They did not disappoint! 

Simply: 

1) Make your taco meat however you like it - with taco seasoning, with homemade seasoning, with green chili's and onions - it is 100% up to you!  (I cooked about 1 1/2 pounds and had some meat left) 

2) Preheat your over to 425 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  The size of the tray will determine how many you can fit in a row - I used a medium size tray and got 11 on the tray. 

3) Lightly brush both sides of the tortilla with olive oil.  Scoop 1/4 cup of the meat on the tortilla followed by about a tablespoon of cheese.  Roll tightly and lay side by side on the pan.  (Like piano keys!!) (I wish I would have taken a photo of the pan before cooking!) 

4) Once they are all rolled, place them in the oven for about 12 minutes.  They come out crispy yet soft.  They are amazing. 

I added a "salad" - lettuce, black olives, tomatoes and cheese to eat with the tacos and also had homemade guacamole and sour cream too.  I sprinkled some cheese on top after they came out of the oven.  

This is our new favorite taco recipe - we love these 100% more than plain old tacos! 

On a side note - these re-heat up fantastically in the air fryer for leftovers.  I set mine to "reheat" and cook them for about 5 minutes.  They taste like they are fresh out of the oven 

Summer Fun Week 4

 

We are now into July!  Wow!  This is the full month of Summer -- June includes the tail end of school and our friends return to school in August.  We have Library Events, Day Camp, and Family visits this month!  

Monday -Today was a 100% free day because our friends are out of town until Tuesday.  Anytime I don't watch them we view it as a vacation day and don't do much :-)  

Tuesday - I always find that after 4th of July we tend to settle in a little and don't do quite as much.  I debated a few things for today but in the end, we just stayed home and did the typical "no electronics" time in the morning and afternoon. 

Wednesday - Josh and Nate went to Nana's to hang out with some new friends. 

Thursday - Library Phone Scavenger Hunt

The teen group does NOT want parents in their activity.  This is the closest I could get.  

The activity was a phone photo scavenger hunt (they don't use polaroid's anymore!).  I was able to get pictures of their pictures.  Yes, this is Nate acting as a statue. 

This is their group (I have no idea why this photo is sideways) with a guy with a mustache.  Their group consisted of all friends - Josh, Nate, Cooper and another friend from our co-op, Layla.  I think they had  a blast considering Nate said - "I wish they did that every week." 

Friday - Nate had TKD in the morning and then, as I shared on Saturday, we had a meet up with our Co-Op.  Usually Friday's are free but who can pass up ice cream! 

Yes, it was a bit quieter this week and, honestly, a little lazy for the kids but that's ok.  Most years the week after the 4th of July we tend to be pretty relaxed.  Growing up, I always loved my summers and the last thing I wanted was a list or required things to do so I try to balance it with the kids - a few things that get them off the electronics but lots of time to do nothing!  

Weekly Worship - Lauren Daigle - Hold On To Me ~ (Lyrics)

I can't remember if I've shared this song before but I really enjoy it so I decided it wouldn't hurt to share it again!  

2021 Weekly Photos #23

 Here's a look back at our week! 

Saturday - We worked on our 2nd landscaping project and finished it up before enjoying our 4th of July cookout and we started a game of Risk. 

We enjjoyed burgers on the grill, homemade potato salad, watermelon and chips and salsa.  Yum! 

Nate got a Risk game for Christmas a year and a half ago - and we finally got it out to play.  None of us had played before so it took a lot of reading directions, questions, and trial and error to get started. 

We stopped half way through the game to go outside and light off our last six BIG fireworks.  

We stopped our game at this point and, like anyone who plays Risks knows, it will take days (weeks?? HA!) to finish it.  

Sunday - Happy Fourth of July!  We had lunch with my mom and then played some games before coming home and watching Fireworks on TV. 

Monday - We had a very quiet day at home.  No extra kids and just kind of relaxing all day. 

Tuesday - I had planned to do something but, in the end, I didn't HA!  The extra kids were tired, I was tired, and my kids were tired - I mean, one of them slept until noon!!! 

Wednesday - Today would have been library day but the princess didn't feel like making the craft so we didn't go.  Josh and Nate went to Nana's to play with the grandson's of Nana's friend/next door neighbor.  They had a lot of fun and I think they are planning to get together again before their friends head back to Mississippi. 

Thursday - Library Day! 

Friday - TKD and a trip to Mooville with our Co-Op. 

What is this you ask?  It's not a funky picture of my dog - look out the window.  That is our neighbor who took one for the team (neighborhood!) and faced the horrific infestation of mosquitos to spray everyone's yard that wanted it done.  He did the work while we threw money out the window at him (ok, not really -- Darryl walked it out to him HA!)  We had planned to spray ours but he put up an "offer" and we noticed that all the other neighbors were having him do their yards and then all the mosquitos came knocking on our door . .. . we saved us LOL  

Weekly Menu

 This is my "clean out the freezer/cupboard" week of cooking.  When I look in the cupboards and freezer and realize that there isn't much room to add new things from grocery shopping well, it's time to use up what we have!  It's not a very exciting week but I'm going to try and keep it simple.  Josh and Nate are at day camp so I have to pick them up every afternoon so that will knock a good chunk out of my afternoon every day.  Meal prep needs to be quick and easy! 

Friday - We are breaking tradition and eating at home tonight - Pork Chops on the grill, Mac and Cheese, garlic bread and salad 

Saturday - The reason we ate at home on Friday is because we are eating out twice today!  We are finally doing "Nate's day" to celebrate his 11th birthday in December.  We put of his day due to covid and covid restrictions - now that everything is open back up it's time to do it! 

Sunday - Stuffed Shells, salad and French Bread 

Monday - Chicken on the grill (if I'm going to eat chicken - I'd rather it be cooked on the grill!), baked potatoes (I love using the crock pot to cook them in the summer!), and a salad. 

Tuesday - Parmesan crusted pork chops, mac and cheese, broccoli, and rolls 

Wednesday - Amish Breakfast casserole and blueberry coffee cake 

Thursday - Chick-Fil-Lay nuggets (if the chicken isn't grilled - it needs to be fried LOL) and French Fries

Hello Fresh Round #2

Hello Fresh has really been a great experience for our family.  I can't really justify ordering it every single week but we enjoy it enough to order it once a month or maybe twice a month at times.  I ordered again this time because I still got a nice percentage off my order.  The food did not disappoint once again.  Hello Fresh has included free/additional items in both boxes - the first box was a bottle of Iced Tea.  The second box included a loaf of their garlic bread and a kiwi.  It's always fun to get surprises! 

Here's a look at the four recipes we tried and our over all opinion. 

Hello Fresh Meal 1 - Balsamic Tomato and Herb Chicken

I picked this one to make first because it seemed the most plain and I thought we might not love it but I was wrong.  The Balsamic Tomato Sauce was so good - it reminded me of Bruschetta which I love.  It's super easy and I plan on making it again to use with spaghetti.  The chicken, honestly, ended up being a little chewy and tough - I'm not sure if that was the chicken itself or if I slightly overcooked it because I'm always afraid of serving raw chicken!  I served the free garlic bread with this and it was also good - more like a French Bread with a garlic butter but we liked it. 

Hello Fresh Meal #2 - White Cheddar Wonderburgers and Fries

This photo is not the prettiest - partly because this meal took a lot of work so by the time we sat down, I was done!  From the prep and cook side, this was my least favorite meal that I've picked.  Trying to pan fry a burger is just not my favorite thing - I should of had Darryl grill them.  When I was toasting the buns, they got a little dark (as you can see).  When I took everything out the packages and saw/felt the buns I was sure that they would be terrible.  They are potato buns which are much sturdier and denser then what I'm used too . . .. and they were amazing.  For real.  They held up perfectly against these messy burgers. There was also a special sauce which reminded me of thousand island but so much better.  So, even though this wasn't my favorite in the kitchen, it was still amazing on the plate.  

Hello Fresh Meal 3 - Steak with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This was a true home run meal.  The steaks were tender and the mushroom cream sauce was amazing!  I did alter this recipe slightly - the steaks were supposed to be cooked in a pan on the stove but Darryl cooked them on the grill instead because, well, that is how steak should be cooked!  This is a recipe I could eat again . . .. and again!  

Hello Fresh Meal #4 - Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops

This was by far one of the easiest meals to cook which makes it a favorite!!  To keep it real, though, the green beans were not what came with the meal - since I received the box over a week ago, the fresh green beans (which would have been amazing roasted in the oven) had gone bad so I used a canned green beans instead.  The pork chops were tender and the Cherry Balsamic sauce was so good.  I don't think I've ever had Couscous before and it was pleasantly tasty. Once again Hello Fresh delivered great food. 

A couple of things I learned with this round of meals.  1) Use them within 7 days or the fresh produce will go bad.  The meat, obviously, can be thrown in the freezer but that fresh stuff doesn't last.  2)  Sometimes it gets tiresome to cook a brand new recipe which has multiple parts every single night.  That is why this pork recipe waited a week - last week I was tired of cooking things that required so much work and prep so I did a couple of super easy meals that took next to no work on my part.  3) My kitchen isn't nearly as big nor as well set up as the kitchens in the ad's for Hello Fresh HA!  A few of the meals had so many steps that I was running out of counter space to put things.  

Will I continue to use Hello Fresh?  I think so - but maybe only once a month and the next time around I might just order 2 meals instead of 4.  That's enough for some good variety but isn't overwhelming.  

Summer Fun Week 3

Week three of summer brings us right into July which, as I stated last week, is just a little crazy to me.  June started out HOT HOT HOT and ended with some almost cold days and lots (and lots and LOTS) of rain!  It waylaid some plans but I also love rainy days so I'm not really complaining.  Our summer routine is going well - I've shifted a few things because once we got going I found that some days were better for some things but for the most part, it all works well.  Here's a look back at what Summer Fun looked like this past week

Monday - Today was a stay home day :-)  We played 4th of July Bingo and then they worked on their pinwheels.  

Tuesday - Rain, rain, rain - the forecast is a broken record for sure.  No parks, splash pads or pools for now so I decided to take the 4 and head to a movie.  Tuesdays are "$5.00 movie days" so we went and saw Peter Rabbit 2!  

My mom joined us as did her friend and her friends two grandsons.  This is our favorite theater because it has reclining seats that are SOOOO comfy!  And yes, we really do take blankets every single time.  This was our first time back to a theater since February 2020 and it was perfect! 

Wednesday - The Princess had her Library day which was Bowling! 

Thursday - Our Friends are gone for the Holiday Weekend but Josh and Nate still attended the library bowling activity.   

Friday - Nate had TKD in the morning and then we just enjoyed our "free day".