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