When we lived in Austin, Andy found the greatest apartment - just down the street from AMAZING Rudy's BBQ and Chuy's Mexican. We probably frequented those two establishments more often than we should have.
So, for about a year, we would drive to Denton to get some Rudy's (the sauce is the BEST in the entire world!!!), but last fall they opened one in Frisco! Yippeee!!!
There is a Chuy's downtown, but every time we have been there, the service has been horrible, the food tasting old, and just yucky dining experiences all the way around. Nothing like our love in Austin. HOWEVER, per a friend's sweet phone call yesterday, there is a Chuy's opening just a few minutes away from us in one short month!!! We are so excited and have such high hopes for more experiences like those in Austin (and San Antonio)!!!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Still Recovering
We had the FUNNEST weekend that we have had in a LONG time! Friday we pulled Ben from school a little bit early so we could go to the Texas State Fair!!! I haven't been since I went with a friend in 8th grade - almost shameful to admit! We had the BEST time! The kids were amazed with pretty much everything; we loved the food and had fabulous friends to show us around and keep us on track! We did everything we wanted to - except my dream - to see Jessica Simpson in concert; we left 30 minutes before she came on stage. :) (Just kidding; I've heard her sing before...granted, I was next to her in choir in 8th grade then..a lot happened in 8th grade, didn't it? That was my best year of school - or 11th grade...)
Okay - the Maases with Big Tex!
We saw the most amazing puppet/marionette show. This was our group waiting so patiently...I've never seen Emily so entranced before. She sat completely still on my lap the entire show, without food! It was just incredible!
Andy and I got a kick out of this pig and the fact that the piglets were basically bouncing up and down as they nursed. Each piglet looks small in the picture, but they were about 18 inches each and the mama was HUGE!!!
The kids all loved going through the 'working' farm. I loved there were signs telling the kids what to do and how to take care of each happening on the farm. It would have been great to go through a little bit slower, but it was the end of a busy day and there was a long line behind us!
Annie keeps wanting to go back to the Fairy; I explained it only comes around once a year - just like Christmas!
We got a few fair samplings and ate dinner on the grass. It was dusk and we tried to get a picture of all six kids. I've never taken a picture like this before, but they turned out great!
I just included this because I love this picture! So romantic; and if you couldn't tell, it's not Andy and I. :)
Emily fell asleep going with Andy looking for the fried banana split. He couldn't find it, but made it back in time to see the parade with us. We did do a small detour on the way back to the car to find his fried banana split - he'd waited patiently all day for it! It was really good to me, but Andy thought it had too much peanut butter. I'm just sad I didn't get the fried cheesecake, which was my fair food of choice, but when I went to get it, I made the mistake of watching the girl putting them in and pulling them out of the grease and about gagged... oh well!
We were completely wiped out by the end of the day! But, lucky me got to leave at 5:30 Saturday morning to do produce shopping downtown! I'm so glad I went because we found an awesome deal on blueberries ($5 for 12 1/2 pints), so I got 24. I also found a 25 pound box of pears for $3. They were really ripe and the store was just trying to move them because they were all brown. I was so irritated I didn't get two boxes when I got home!!!
Okay - the Maases with Big Tex!
We saw the most amazing puppet/marionette show. This was our group waiting so patiently...I've never seen Emily so entranced before. She sat completely still on my lap the entire show, without food! It was just incredible!
Andy and I got a kick out of this pig and the fact that the piglets were basically bouncing up and down as they nursed. Each piglet looks small in the picture, but they were about 18 inches each and the mama was HUGE!!!
The kids all loved going through the 'working' farm. I loved there were signs telling the kids what to do and how to take care of each happening on the farm. It would have been great to go through a little bit slower, but it was the end of a busy day and there was a long line behind us!
Annie keeps wanting to go back to the Fairy; I explained it only comes around once a year - just like Christmas!
We got a few fair samplings and ate dinner on the grass. It was dusk and we tried to get a picture of all six kids. I've never taken a picture like this before, but they turned out great!
I just included this because I love this picture! So romantic; and if you couldn't tell, it's not Andy and I. :)
Emily fell asleep going with Andy looking for the fried banana split. He couldn't find it, but made it back in time to see the parade with us. We did do a small detour on the way back to the car to find his fried banana split - he'd waited patiently all day for it! It was really good to me, but Andy thought it had too much peanut butter. I'm just sad I didn't get the fried cheesecake, which was my fair food of choice, but when I went to get it, I made the mistake of watching the girl putting them in and pulling them out of the grease and about gagged... oh well!
We were completely wiped out by the end of the day! But, lucky me got to leave at 5:30 Saturday morning to do produce shopping downtown! I'm so glad I went because we found an awesome deal on blueberries ($5 for 12 1/2 pints), so I got 24. I also found a 25 pound box of pears for $3. They were really ripe and the store was just trying to move them because they were all brown. I was so irritated I didn't get two boxes when I got home!!! So, home by 7:20 to sort the food. Started some pear sauce in the crockpot. Andy went to play in the regional volleyball tournament (a disappointing loss in the first game). Then my mom and sister came to take the kids to Owen's Farm! I went along and we had such a fun time!!!
Look at that stud cowboy!
Waiting for the barrel ride to start...
Emily got terrified as soon as they started the motor for the ride, so Grandma rescued her! She didn't quite love the hay ride until the 2nd time around.
This was so sweet. Ben and Annie got along SO WELL this weekend; it really made my heart happy! They just love to be outside and are such cheerful little kids!
A 'good' picture - at least it's symmetrical. :)
We came home from the farm, put Emily down for a nap and then the adults (minus Andy) went to get my birthday present from my parents! Off to Bruce Miller Nursery, where the most patient kindest man looked at my little sketch and walked us around the nursery showing me examples of plants that would work in my sad completely empty planters. Yes, that would be VERY patient because for every suggestion, I had to get confirmation from mom or Jamie. An hour later, we were out of there with 92 plants for me, 16 for mom and 4 for Jamie. 
My beautiful treasures. Can I tell you how much I love canning?!? Had I been more confident in the canning process, I would have been like a gal at church who also happened upon the pears and bought THREE boxes and made pear butter all day... next time! (the pink cans are also pear sauce - like applesauce but made with pears - but I used red hots instead of cinnamon to flavor them. YUMMY!!!!)
And yes, I am so tired right now and still paying for my incredibly busy, but FUN!!!, weekend! Good night...
Look at that stud cowboy!
Waiting for the barrel ride to start...
Emily got terrified as soon as they started the motor for the ride, so Grandma rescued her! She didn't quite love the hay ride until the 2nd time around.
This was so sweet. Ben and Annie got along SO WELL this weekend; it really made my heart happy! They just love to be outside and are such cheerful little kids!
A 'good' picture - at least it's symmetrical. :)
We came home from the farm, put Emily down for a nap and then the adults (minus Andy) went to get my birthday present from my parents! Off to Bruce Miller Nursery, where the most patient kindest man looked at my little sketch and walked us around the nursery showing me examples of plants that would work in my sad completely empty planters. Yes, that would be VERY patient because for every suggestion, I had to get confirmation from mom or Jamie. An hour later, we were out of there with 92 plants for me, 16 for mom and 4 for Jamie.Side note - we also got some dried molasses to spread on the grass. According to a friend (and several websites) it is incredible at keeping fire ants off the yard. It's also nitrogen free (all organic or natural ingredients). So, if you live in Texas and are super frustrated and tired of fire ants moving all around your yard, go buy some dried molasses!
We came home (by way of Brahms), mom and Jamie left, and we planted all the grass/flowers in my beds. I still need 5 bushes, but they will come a little bit slower! Then I made dinner (will starting another batch of pear sauce), and put the kids in bed. Andy mowed, spread the molasses, went to Lowe's and set up my front sprinklers in the flower bed, and then went to work in the garage while I started on my next project: canning the rest of the pears. I love them!!! So beautiful and easy! Even though the outsides were brown and yucky, the pears tasted fabulous and I didn't throw even one away - 110 pears for $3!!! Then I started to make jam from the raspberries I'd purchased the day before. Apparently they don't last very long... Still cooking jam - at 11:30 at night...
My beautiful treasures. Can I tell you how much I love canning?!? Had I been more confident in the canning process, I would have been like a gal at church who also happened upon the pears and bought THREE boxes and made pear butter all day... next time! (the pink cans are also pear sauce - like applesauce but made with pears - but I used red hots instead of cinnamon to flavor them. YUMMY!!!!)
And yes, I am so tired right now and still paying for my incredibly busy, but FUN!!!, weekend! Good night...Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Family...isn't is about time?
A few weeks ago my sister and her family were here. For the first time, we did an adults-only dinner and had so much fun! (and apparently copying pictures from snapfish don't have the highest quality...sorry)
My Can of Worms
For my 200th post, we are going to do some topics that have become 'hot' as of late.
1. Prop 8 in California. VOTE YES!!! Please don't let a word be re-defined! If homosexuals want a word for their union, make up one - or go read Frindle; it's a great book! Don't change a word that was given by God.
2. drumroll please....yes, I will be voting for John McCain in just under 3 weeks. While I think both he and Barack would do fine for the economy, overseas, etc (both would have great advisers and choose qualified leaders. They might come at it from different sides of the issue, but overall both want the same goal. If all else fails, Congress can call a few emergency sessions...), McCain more supports my values (not totally, but MORE) which are much harder to over-turn later.
There was the most incredible article in the October Ensign called Abortion, an Assault on the Defenseless. In high school I had to do a pro/con research paper on a 'hot topic' and chose abortion - trying to find my stand. One girl from my basketball team was pregnant and decided to place the baby with a family and another girl's dad was the go-to guy for unwanted pregnancies. Besides the fact that family members and close friends have chosen adoption, this has always been a sensitive topic for me. Elder Nelson starts the article with the following:
"With that understanding and reverence for life, we deplore the loss of life associated with warfare. The data are appalling. In World War I, more than 8 million military fatalities occurred. In World War II, more than 22 million servicemen and women died. Together, these two wars, covering portions of 14 years, cost the lives of at least 30 million soldiers worldwide. That figure does not include the millions of civilian casualties.
These data, however, are dwarfed by the toll of another war that claims more casualties annually than did World War I and World War II combined. Worldwide reports indicate that more than 40 million abortions are performed per year."
"This matters greatly to us because the Lord has repeatedly declared this divine imperative: “Thou shalt not kill.” Then He added, “Nor do anything like unto it.” Even before the fulness of the gospel was restored, enlightened individuals understood the sanctity of human life. John Calvin, a sixteenth-century reformer, wrote, “If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, … it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fœtus in the womb before it has come to light.”
Man-made rules have now legalized that which has been forbidden by God from the dawn of time! Human reasoning has twisted and transformed absolute truth into sound-bite slogans that promote a practice that is consummately wrong."
He continue on with:
"Nearly all legislation pertaining to abortion considers the duration of gestation. The human mind has presumed to determine when “meaningful life” begins. In the course of my studies as a medical doctor, I learned that a new life begins when two special cells unite to become one cell, bringing together 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 from the mother. These chromosomes contain thousands of genes. In a marvelous process involving a combination of genetic coding by which all the basic human characteristics of the unborn person are established, a new DNA complex is formed. A continuum of growth results in a new human being. Approximately 22 days after the two cells have united, a little heart begins to beat. At 26 days the circulation of blood begins. To legislate when a developing life is considered “meaningful” is presumptive and quite arbitrary, in my opinion."
Okay - I'll end with this and hopefully just figure out how to do a silly link to the article!
"Relatively few abortions are performed for the special circumstances to which I have referred. (rape, incest, mother's life, child not able to survive on own) Most abortions are performed on demand to deal with unwanted pregnancies. These abortions are simply a form of birth control.
Elective abortion has been legalized in many countries on the premise that a woman is free to choose what she does with her own body. To an extent this is true for each of us, male or female. We are free to think. We are free to plan. And we are free to do. But once an action has been taken, we are never free from its consequences."
I think the human body is incredible!!! I've been thinking a lot lately about pre-earth life, life here, and the life that will follow and what it might be like. All the spirits waiting to come to earth need bodies!
Anyway - McCain will support this much more than Obama - and yes, I've researched and read and listened to debates!
Here is the link!!! :)
1. Prop 8 in California. VOTE YES!!! Please don't let a word be re-defined! If homosexuals want a word for their union, make up one - or go read Frindle; it's a great book! Don't change a word that was given by God.
2. drumroll please....yes, I will be voting for John McCain in just under 3 weeks. While I think both he and Barack would do fine for the economy, overseas, etc (both would have great advisers and choose qualified leaders. They might come at it from different sides of the issue, but overall both want the same goal. If all else fails, Congress can call a few emergency sessions...), McCain more supports my values (not totally, but MORE) which are much harder to over-turn later.
There was the most incredible article in the October Ensign called Abortion, an Assault on the Defenseless. In high school I had to do a pro/con research paper on a 'hot topic' and chose abortion - trying to find my stand. One girl from my basketball team was pregnant and decided to place the baby with a family and another girl's dad was the go-to guy for unwanted pregnancies. Besides the fact that family members and close friends have chosen adoption, this has always been a sensitive topic for me. Elder Nelson starts the article with the following:
"With that understanding and reverence for life, we deplore the loss of life associated with warfare. The data are appalling. In World War I, more than 8 million military fatalities occurred. In World War II, more than 22 million servicemen and women died. Together, these two wars, covering portions of 14 years, cost the lives of at least 30 million soldiers worldwide. That figure does not include the millions of civilian casualties.
These data, however, are dwarfed by the toll of another war that claims more casualties annually than did World War I and World War II combined. Worldwide reports indicate that more than 40 million abortions are performed per year."
"This matters greatly to us because the Lord has repeatedly declared this divine imperative: “Thou shalt not kill.” Then He added, “Nor do anything like unto it.” Even before the fulness of the gospel was restored, enlightened individuals understood the sanctity of human life. John Calvin, a sixteenth-century reformer, wrote, “If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, … it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fœtus in the womb before it has come to light.”
Man-made rules have now legalized that which has been forbidden by God from the dawn of time! Human reasoning has twisted and transformed absolute truth into sound-bite slogans that promote a practice that is consummately wrong."
He continue on with:
"Nearly all legislation pertaining to abortion considers the duration of gestation. The human mind has presumed to determine when “meaningful life” begins. In the course of my studies as a medical doctor, I learned that a new life begins when two special cells unite to become one cell, bringing together 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 from the mother. These chromosomes contain thousands of genes. In a marvelous process involving a combination of genetic coding by which all the basic human characteristics of the unborn person are established, a new DNA complex is formed. A continuum of growth results in a new human being. Approximately 22 days after the two cells have united, a little heart begins to beat. At 26 days the circulation of blood begins. To legislate when a developing life is considered “meaningful” is presumptive and quite arbitrary, in my opinion."
Okay - I'll end with this and hopefully just figure out how to do a silly link to the article!
"Relatively few abortions are performed for the special circumstances to which I have referred. (rape, incest, mother's life, child not able to survive on own) Most abortions are performed on demand to deal with unwanted pregnancies. These abortions are simply a form of birth control.
Elective abortion has been legalized in many countries on the premise that a woman is free to choose what she does with her own body. To an extent this is true for each of us, male or female. We are free to think. We are free to plan. And we are free to do. But once an action has been taken, we are never free from its consequences."
I think the human body is incredible!!! I've been thinking a lot lately about pre-earth life, life here, and the life that will follow and what it might be like. All the spirits waiting to come to earth need bodies!
Anyway - McCain will support this much more than Obama - and yes, I've researched and read and listened to debates!
Here is the link!!! :)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Little things that bug
1. pillows that aren't completely in their cases
2. toilet paper rolls turned upside down
3. mornings when one child is up at 5:15 and the others sleep until 7:15
4. 7am phone calls - when there is no emergency and the caller hangs up before caller id works
5. 15 free minutes, knowing I am supposed to be doing something but having no remembrance of what it was!
Alas, my list could continue, but then it wouldn't be little things that bug - just big ones...
And yes, all of these things have happened today and it's only 8am. Hopefully the rest of the day will turn out a little bit brighter...
2. toilet paper rolls turned upside down
3. mornings when one child is up at 5:15 and the others sleep until 7:15
4. 7am phone calls - when there is no emergency and the caller hangs up before caller id works
5. 15 free minutes, knowing I am supposed to be doing something but having no remembrance of what it was!
Alas, my list could continue, but then it wouldn't be little things that bug - just big ones...
And yes, all of these things have happened today and it's only 8am. Hopefully the rest of the day will turn out a little bit brighter...
Monday, October 6, 2008
Quote of the Day
The nice thing about egotists is that they don't talk about other people. - Lucille S. Harper
Another please?
This weekend felt much too much like a vacation. Can I please have another one? We had Dad home ALL DAY Sunday and did our maiden s'mores on the fire pit last night, so it really felt like we were away on a trip. Next Sunday we will have him home all day also with Stake Conference. It will be just like another holiday! Conferences are definitely inspired events...
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Day at the Beach
Well, you can obviously tell I was tired last night - this was Annie's 3rd birthday party. The theme was "A day at the beach" because she LOVES to play in the sandbox and anything to do with water. Since Ben's party was very busy, I tried to keep this a little bit more simple.
Well, one of the balloons got caught in the skylight, so my sister and two nieces tried to get it. No such luck!
So, they got the play in the sand and in the little kid pools. Then we had snowcones and cupcakes. It was a lot more fun than I make it sound, but I am really tired tonight...
Yes, everyone smiling except the beautiful birthday girl!
What a cutie! I love my little Annie...
Well, one of the balloons got caught in the skylight, so my sister and two nieces tried to get it. No such luck!
So, they got the play in the sand and in the little kid pools. Then we had snowcones and cupcakes. It was a lot more fun than I make it sound, but I am really tired tonight...
Yes, everyone smiling except the beautiful birthday girl!
What a cutie! I love my little Annie...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Another Arboretum Day!
We haven't been to the Arboretum in a few months because it has been soooo hot! But now the pumpkins are out, and I love FALL!!!! Even though we constantly sought shade and I got sunburned on our 85 degree Texas heat! As soon as we got there, Annie had an accident, so she spent the day showing off her hot pink boots!
Playing in the hay-maze. My sweet Emily is getting SOOOOOO big! And yes, that is a scratch on her nose, not a piece of dirt on your screen.
We went with an old friend and her family. Annie was the big girl, so when Emily and Gavin couldn't find their way out, Annie came to the rescue!
This was the closest I could get to a sisters' shot. They were NOT in the mood for posing!
Guess what I am about to do...
Didn't go quite as I had planned...
I was constantly telling Annie to look with her eyes and smell with her nose, but not to touch with her hands. She LOVES to pick flowers! However, she is setting a good example here for Gavin.
There were a few leftover goldfish, so they sat by the pond and feed the fish!
It was such a fun and beautiful day - made even better by the company! Hope everyone had such a pleasant day!
Playing in the hay-maze. My sweet Emily is getting SOOOOOO big! And yes, that is a scratch on her nose, not a piece of dirt on your screen.
We went with an old friend and her family. Annie was the big girl, so when Emily and Gavin couldn't find their way out, Annie came to the rescue!
This was the closest I could get to a sisters' shot. They were NOT in the mood for posing!
Guess what I am about to do...
Didn't go quite as I had planned...
I was constantly telling Annie to look with her eyes and smell with her nose, but not to touch with her hands. She LOVES to pick flowers! However, she is setting a good example here for Gavin.
There were a few leftover goldfish, so they sat by the pond and feed the fish!
It was such a fun and beautiful day - made even better by the company! Hope everyone had such a pleasant day!you've had a birthday - shout horray!
today was my sister's birthday! emily found the waiting bowl of powdered sugar and ben and annie quickly joined her.
happy birthday!!!
yes, we counted out each and every candle so the cake would be right.
we love you aunt jamie!!!!
happy birthday!!!
yes, we counted out each and every candle so the cake would be right.
we love you aunt jamie!!!!
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Law of the Toliet
So, before I have any kind of meeting at my house, I try to wipe down the hall bathroom. It gets scrubbed once a week, but in between is just quicky spot-checks (mirror, counter, floor, toilet seat, straighten towels, etc). Without fail, the Law of the Toilet applies in my house.
I will have book club, a baby shower or something similar at my house where women are going to be here for at least 2 hours and NO ONE uses my potty! I'm sure because it is very clean with candles burning and smelling nice. But, when people are here for a quick 20 minutes to pick something up or drop something off, they ALWAYS ask to use the bathroom - of course, these are the times without my quicky spot-checks. Why is that??? Why must this be a LAW - with almost the same consistency as gravity???
I will have book club, a baby shower or something similar at my house where women are going to be here for at least 2 hours and NO ONE uses my potty! I'm sure because it is very clean with candles burning and smelling nice. But, when people are here for a quick 20 minutes to pick something up or drop something off, they ALWAYS ask to use the bathroom - of course, these are the times without my quicky spot-checks. Why is that??? Why must this be a LAW - with almost the same consistency as gravity???
Thursday, September 25, 2008
cvs haul
thank you CVS for the much needed diapers, halloween candy, and extra little goodies like toothpaste!!!
well - i essential spent $18.65 to get this stuff. had i been a little bit more prepared with coupons, i could have brought that down a little bit more. and, had i not lost my 6 ECBs, it would have been even less! oh well... if only they'd had peanut butter on sale too....
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
it's the most wonderful time...
of my evenings...
it's time again for freezer meals! however, a small neighborhood group has also formed and will be making meals three days after my 'normal' group! here are the yummy things we will be eating for the next 2-3 months!
cafe rio meat
oriental casserole
manicotti
cranberry chicken (2)
king ranch chicken
crock pot chalupa
beef stroganoff with round steak
corn beef casserole
baked ziti
crock pot pizza
farmer's casserole
sybil's meatloaf
garlic lime chicken
rebecca's chicken
taco soup
chicken chimichangas
spinach artichoke dip chicken
minestrone soup
pork chops
chicken pot pie
tangy bbq (brisket)
cheryl's salmon
black bean enchiladas
pork tenderloin with stuff
white chicken chili
mushroom, beef, and barley soup
pesto lasagna with spinach and mushrooms
Whew! I'm going to try not to use them too fast because prep-work takes a lot of effort. but it is so fun and PRODUCTIVE!!!! love it!
and yes, if you would like to do meals on a smaller scale, i'd love to do more. :)
it's time again for freezer meals! however, a small neighborhood group has also formed and will be making meals three days after my 'normal' group! here are the yummy things we will be eating for the next 2-3 months!
cafe rio meat
oriental casserole
manicotti
cranberry chicken (2)
king ranch chicken
crock pot chalupa
beef stroganoff with round steak
corn beef casserole
baked ziti
crock pot pizza
farmer's casserole
sybil's meatloaf
garlic lime chicken
rebecca's chicken
taco soup
chicken chimichangas
spinach artichoke dip chicken
minestrone soup
pork chops
chicken pot pie
tangy bbq (brisket)
cheryl's salmon
black bean enchiladas
pork tenderloin with stuff
white chicken chili
mushroom, beef, and barley soup
pesto lasagna with spinach and mushrooms
Whew! I'm going to try not to use them too fast because prep-work takes a lot of effort. but it is so fun and PRODUCTIVE!!!! love it!
and yes, if you would like to do meals on a smaller scale, i'd love to do more. :)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Sprouts
I have to take a minute and bear my testimony about my new favorite store - this is my ode to Sprouts. I've been hearing for months about how great the Sprouts in Plano is, but it was never worth the gas to drive over there to save a few bucks on produce.
Sprouts is like a mini-Whole Foods, but with killer deals on produce - at least the produce on sale that day. They opened one about 2 months ago that is close to my mom's house, so I try to plan my shopping trips around Saturday visits. BUT - it's still close enough that I am willing to just go.
Last week I got some of the stuff for our produce co-op there because it was cheaper than buying downtown at the wholesale dealer we buy from at Farmer's Market. This week I got two boxes of beautiful fresh apples and one box of pears - also because they were on sale this week. So, if you are reading this and are in our co-op, you have a preview of food for this shop!!!
BUT - the real reason for this ode was my chicken deal on Wednesday. Sprouts had boneless, skinless breasts on sale for $1.99 a pound which is about the best you can find right now - and these are the no hormones, etc chickens. We are doing freezer meals next Friday and needed 176 breasts (about 80 pounds) of chicken. We typically get it downtown from a chicken place, but when I called to check prices there, it was more expensive than Sprouts - plus the $12 to get down there! So, I called and asked if I could buy 80 pounds of chicken at this price. Of course, the answer was yes.
I went to pick up my two boxes of chicken 6 hours later. I went to the butcher and said I was there to pick up the chicken. I was greeted BY NAME!!! and then they loaded my chicken and walked me to a cashier who would know how to ring it up.
Sprouts ALWAYS has people on the floor ready to help and EVERYONE is friendly! I love shopping there!!!!
Funny story - last week I bought 13 watermelons and 24 lbs of strawberries. I asked the person stalking for 3 boxes of strawberries (they come 8 to a pack) so he wouldn't have to restock them. He smiled and said sure, but that is was job security. What a great attitude!!
Thank you Sprouts for moving to my city! I love you and will be back Monday morning to buy the fresh veggies I need for my freezer meals because you have the best prices around!!! And your people load my car!!!
Sprouts is like a mini-Whole Foods, but with killer deals on produce - at least the produce on sale that day. They opened one about 2 months ago that is close to my mom's house, so I try to plan my shopping trips around Saturday visits. BUT - it's still close enough that I am willing to just go.
Last week I got some of the stuff for our produce co-op there because it was cheaper than buying downtown at the wholesale dealer we buy from at Farmer's Market. This week I got two boxes of beautiful fresh apples and one box of pears - also because they were on sale this week. So, if you are reading this and are in our co-op, you have a preview of food for this shop!!!
BUT - the real reason for this ode was my chicken deal on Wednesday. Sprouts had boneless, skinless breasts on sale for $1.99 a pound which is about the best you can find right now - and these are the no hormones, etc chickens. We are doing freezer meals next Friday and needed 176 breasts (about 80 pounds) of chicken. We typically get it downtown from a chicken place, but when I called to check prices there, it was more expensive than Sprouts - plus the $12 to get down there! So, I called and asked if I could buy 80 pounds of chicken at this price. Of course, the answer was yes.
I went to pick up my two boxes of chicken 6 hours later. I went to the butcher and said I was there to pick up the chicken. I was greeted BY NAME!!! and then they loaded my chicken and walked me to a cashier who would know how to ring it up.
Sprouts ALWAYS has people on the floor ready to help and EVERYONE is friendly! I love shopping there!!!!
Funny story - last week I bought 13 watermelons and 24 lbs of strawberries. I asked the person stalking for 3 boxes of strawberries (they come 8 to a pack) so he wouldn't have to restock them. He smiled and said sure, but that is was job security. What a great attitude!!
Thank you Sprouts for moving to my city! I love you and will be back Monday morning to buy the fresh veggies I need for my freezer meals because you have the best prices around!!! And your people load my car!!!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Such Cuties!!!
I love pictures of little kids drinking. They do it so intently and with such purpose.
Saturday Jamie took the kids to Home Depot Day and got yummy slurpees.
Annie loves to use the easel that Ben got for his birthday. When she is embarrassed or somewhere new, she will just cover her eyes until she feels comfortable. This was her first time painting on it and she didn't want her picture taken!
I love they can both stay busy in the kitchen with me without making a mess!!!
We had some little friends over the other day, and Emily just wanted to keep hugging Ethan - over and over and over and over. She would just follow him around to get another hug. It's a good thing he has a sister that loves to hug also! It was the funniest thing!
He's kind of like, "another hug?!" and she would get a look of pure joy on her face. :)
Saturday Jamie took the kids to Home Depot Day and got yummy slurpees.
Annie loves to use the easel that Ben got for his birthday. When she is embarrassed or somewhere new, she will just cover her eyes until she feels comfortable. This was her first time painting on it and she didn't want her picture taken!
I love they can both stay busy in the kitchen with me without making a mess!!!
We had some little friends over the other day, and Emily just wanted to keep hugging Ethan - over and over and over and over. She would just follow him around to get another hug. It's a good thing he has a sister that loves to hug also! It was the funniest thing!
He's kind of like, "another hug?!" and she would get a look of pure joy on her face. :)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
MOM!!! Emily just dumped her cereal out!
Wow - just what I wanted to hear this morning! Emily was throwing up for about 2 hours last night, so I went to change the laundry this morning while the kids ate breakfast. Being ever-so-helpful, Ben let me know about Emily's little action.
In my mind, "FABULOUS! She's eating Raisin Bran!!! I just hand-cleaned my floor..." to Ben very cheerfully, "Oh, that's great honey!"
Ben asks, "Why?"
Me, "Because I love to clean up messes!"
Ben, "Um, no you don't!"
I just left it there because any other response I had would not have been Sunday-appropriate.
In my mind, "FABULOUS! She's eating Raisin Bran!!! I just hand-cleaned my floor..." to Ben very cheerfully, "Oh, that's great honey!"
Ben asks, "Why?"
Me, "Because I love to clean up messes!"
Ben, "Um, no you don't!"
I just left it there because any other response I had would not have been Sunday-appropriate.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Feeling Perfect!!!
WARNING - MORE LIKE JOURNAL ENTRY THAN ENTERTAINMENT...
A few weeks ago I was telling Andy what I wanted for my birthday. He said not to be disappointed, but it's an incredibly busy time right now and we'd have to celebrate a little bit later. I know this and I typically extend my birthday to cover the entire month, so this gives me even more of a reason to! BUT - today was great!
Andy left early this morning to help make breakfast for seminary, so the kids and I got ready, ate, took Ben to school, and came home to waste a few minutes before the kids place in the gym opened. We did the gym and I really wanted to stay longer, but we needed to meet friends at the park. I went to pick up the kids and they were both playing! One of my pet peeves at the gym is when the kids are plopped in front of a show with all of that fabulous gym stuff to play on! So - yea - happy day at the gym! We went to the park and had a fun time with a few friends. Then Annie, Em and I went to meet Ben for lunch! It was fun to meet his little friends (and know that he has some that like him for him and not because I'm friends with their moms and they are thrown together!) and hear them talk.
Then we came home to a fabulous Hope/Grace day and got the house mostly spotless (no bags for the vacuum!! ggrrr) cleaning nonstop for 3 hours! Then hot dogs cooked on the George Foreman with fresh cantaloupe from the garden! We did family night watching a little video - then I went to dinner with some friends to celebrate another friend's birthday that is 2 days after mine. (this is really rambling now...I have never been able to leave out details!)
We went to a cute little Italian restaurant and had such a great time. Andy had to run out for a little while, so I came home to a few babysitters watching my very favorite movie! Andy came home just when the movie ended, and it was great! It was such a fun day!
My actual birthday started with morning produce - always one of my favorite things to do! When my sister came to pick her food up, so stayed and played with the kids so I washed all my produce and picked up around the house a little bit. Then she took them to Home Depot Day while Andy and I worked in the yard with an NHS service project.
Andy went from there to help some people move while I took the kids to my mom's for a little party - complete with lunch, cake, ice cream AND balloons!!! Unfortunately I thought the pool was too cold, so I was in the sun to entire time and have fried my back and shoulders. Not the best of ideas. We rushed home to get ready for the ward party and Andy and Ben spent about 30 minutes making a car for the egg race.
Fun times there - then we came home, put kids to bed, Andy did more church stuff and I watched Girl with the Pearl Earring (which we read for our book club a few months ago) which is good, but you miss SOOO many details from the book! Movies are so much better when NOT reading the book first. Alas, after asking a few times, Andy went to get some ice cream which we ate while watching a fuzzy Rangers game.
We heard Em cry a few times, which is NOT typical. SO I finally figured she was hurting from teething and went to give her some Tylenol, only to find her covered in throw up. Me thinks she ate a bit too much pizza... After the cleanup session I had lots of good cuddle time with Em. Then we all went back to bed and that was the end of my birthday celebrations!
Emily feels great this morning and we could both tell when she felt better - after the 5th time of throwing up - because she decided instead of just sitting and cuddling, she wanted to walk around and play. Nevertheless - need to give her the 24 hour throw up-free time, so I guess we'll be missing church today...
A few weeks ago I was telling Andy what I wanted for my birthday. He said not to be disappointed, but it's an incredibly busy time right now and we'd have to celebrate a little bit later. I know this and I typically extend my birthday to cover the entire month, so this gives me even more of a reason to! BUT - today was great!
Andy left early this morning to help make breakfast for seminary, so the kids and I got ready, ate, took Ben to school, and came home to waste a few minutes before the kids place in the gym opened. We did the gym and I really wanted to stay longer, but we needed to meet friends at the park. I went to pick up the kids and they were both playing! One of my pet peeves at the gym is when the kids are plopped in front of a show with all of that fabulous gym stuff to play on! So - yea - happy day at the gym! We went to the park and had a fun time with a few friends. Then Annie, Em and I went to meet Ben for lunch! It was fun to meet his little friends (and know that he has some that like him for him and not because I'm friends with their moms and they are thrown together!) and hear them talk.
Then we came home to a fabulous Hope/Grace day and got the house mostly spotless (no bags for the vacuum!! ggrrr) cleaning nonstop for 3 hours! Then hot dogs cooked on the George Foreman with fresh cantaloupe from the garden! We did family night watching a little video - then I went to dinner with some friends to celebrate another friend's birthday that is 2 days after mine. (this is really rambling now...I have never been able to leave out details!)
We went to a cute little Italian restaurant and had such a great time. Andy had to run out for a little while, so I came home to a few babysitters watching my very favorite movie! Andy came home just when the movie ended, and it was great! It was such a fun day!
My actual birthday started with morning produce - always one of my favorite things to do! When my sister came to pick her food up, so stayed and played with the kids so I washed all my produce and picked up around the house a little bit. Then she took them to Home Depot Day while Andy and I worked in the yard with an NHS service project.
Andy went from there to help some people move while I took the kids to my mom's for a little party - complete with lunch, cake, ice cream AND balloons!!! Unfortunately I thought the pool was too cold, so I was in the sun to entire time and have fried my back and shoulders. Not the best of ideas. We rushed home to get ready for the ward party and Andy and Ben spent about 30 minutes making a car for the egg race.
Fun times there - then we came home, put kids to bed, Andy did more church stuff and I watched Girl with the Pearl Earring (which we read for our book club a few months ago) which is good, but you miss SOOO many details from the book! Movies are so much better when NOT reading the book first. Alas, after asking a few times, Andy went to get some ice cream which we ate while watching a fuzzy Rangers game.
We heard Em cry a few times, which is NOT typical. SO I finally figured she was hurting from teething and went to give her some Tylenol, only to find her covered in throw up. Me thinks she ate a bit too much pizza... After the cleanup session I had lots of good cuddle time with Em. Then we all went back to bed and that was the end of my birthday celebrations!
Emily feels great this morning and we could both tell when she felt better - after the 5th time of throwing up - because she decided instead of just sitting and cuddling, she wanted to walk around and play. Nevertheless - need to give her the 24 hour throw up-free time, so I guess we'll be missing church today...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Convention Madness
Wow! That's about all I can say! She is a piece of work! Haven't ever sat through a complete speech on television before this evening - been reading up on all those topics. Go MP!!!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
We have grass!!!
One year ago, we started tearing up our yard to put in a sprinkler system, in hopes of getting nice solid grass. It has been a very long year of looking like the 'white-trash' house and most of our sweet neighbors haven't said anything negative- just "looking good" whenever we are out there working. Last week, the youth from church came over and helped us get a jump on this weekend's project - laying SOD!!! We filled in the flower bed and started raking the yard and pulling out weeds. Friday night and all day Saturday was spent raking the yard in anticipation of 6 pallets of sod to be delivered Monday morning...
The sod came on a big huge truck (free delivery with our large order!) and then the man drove his forklift to put the pallets around the yard to where Andy directed him.
This was about an hour into the project. It's amazing how quickly the green changes the appearance. We didn't have the side of the house raked because we had run out of time, so Andy started raking that while I continued to lay sod in the front. We were about to run out of steam when our favorite neighbors came over to help! We finally finished laying the sod at 9 pm. Then Andy cleaned up for another hour. I haven't been this sore in a long time, and my fingers hurt the worst. But it looks great!
Yes, we just layed 3400 square feet of sod. My back hurts too. I told Andy this morning that he is moving like an old man. :) He worked so hard, but I said we cannot do another project this big all in one day because we did it ALLLLLL DAAAYYYY!!!
The sod came on a big huge truck (free delivery with our large order!) and then the man drove his forklift to put the pallets around the yard to where Andy directed him.
This was about an hour into the project. It's amazing how quickly the green changes the appearance. We didn't have the side of the house raked because we had run out of time, so Andy started raking that while I continued to lay sod in the front. We were about to run out of steam when our favorite neighbors came over to help! We finally finished laying the sod at 9 pm. Then Andy cleaned up for another hour. I haven't been this sore in a long time, and my fingers hurt the worst. But it looks great!
Yes, we just layed 3400 square feet of sod. My back hurts too. I told Andy this morning that he is moving like an old man. :) He worked so hard, but I said we cannot do another project this big all in one day because we did it ALLLLLL DAAAYYYY!!!
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