Fun with friends

Yesterday I went out for breakfast with Jess and Stef, and we went to Mimi's to celebrate Jess' 30th Birthday! Baby Austin joined us, and he was SO good!

Anyway, if anyone ever goes to Mimi's for breakfast, you have to try their new 'Breakfast Ciabatta' because it was SO good! I ate the other half today for lunch, and it was just as good reheated. :)

And best of all, it was fun to sit and chat with my two good friends while I left my kids at home. Very relaxing and a nice break for me!

Thanks girls, for a fun morning!

Any 24 fans?

Just a reminder...season 6 comes out on DVD this Tuesday - December 4!

Promised Pictures!

Here are a few pictures to go along with my blog post from yesterday - some of the fun we had in Southern CA last week. Enjoy!



Dan and Kenny playing games at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Riding in the tow truck on the way home - what fun!?

Tim riding on Jeff's three-wheeler!

A beautiful, red tailed hawk...up close and personal!

Our family in front of the fountain at the Nixon Library (we didn't go in, just stopped to take a picture!)

Lizzy bowling!

Nathan learning to drive golf balls!

Thanksgiving and such

Well, Thanksgiving is past...we had a good one this year with our family. It's the only time of year that we get to see some of our family, and it's always an enjoyable day. Lizzy especially enjoyed her cousin who is the same age as she is.

We had a nice time with my parents too, and did some fun stuff:

1. Kenny and Grandpa took the kids bowling.
2. We went to a local bird store and got to see some wild, predator birds up close. Beautiful creatures!
3. Mom and I went shopping on Black Friday and got some great deals!
4. We played cards a lot.
5. We ate a lot of good stuff.
6. The weather was warm...it was 80 degrees on Saturday!
7. Grandpa taught the boys how to drive...golf balls, that is!
8. Kenny took the kids up to a friend's house (a longtime friend of Kenny's) who let Nathan and Tim ride his three wheeler!
   

We got home tonight. Unfortunately on the way home our van decided to breathe its last breath. About 75 miles from home, our transmission died. Thankfully we have AAA, and a nice man with a big tow truck came and rescued us from the center divide of I-5.

It could have been easy for us to get upset and be anxious about this, but Kenny and I quickly thanked God that we were not injured and also thanked Him that we were at a place on I-5 where we could safely get off the road. Then, we waited for the tow truck...and of course the kids were all pretty excited about riding in a tow truck! Thankfully again, the company that came to get us had a rig big enough to transport us all home, and the driver was a very nice, Christian man. He even brought me and the kids home before following Kenny to the transmission shop where we left the van until tomorrow when we can get an estimate.

So, while our trip ended on a difficult note, we were able to thank God for His mercies through it. Now we will have to make the decision...to fix or not to fix?

We hope all of our readers had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!

I will post pictures tomorrow... :o)

Thanksgiving

The kids and I have been doing a fun unit study on Thanksgiving this past week. We've learned some fun stuff and one of the little projects was for them to find fun little "Did you know" facts. Here are a few that we found interesting:

1. The Pilgrims only bathed once or twice...a YEAR! The thought bathing was unhealthy.

2. They did not celebrate Christmas (or Easter) like we do.

3. They did NOT eat turkey at the first Thanksgiving feast! They ate duck or goose! For that matter, they didn't have mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce either!

4. About half of the original 102 Pilgrims died the first winter.

5. The Mayflower was never intended to be a passenger vessel; it was a merchant ship. There were actually two ships that left for the New World; the Mayflower and the Speedwell (which was the passenger ship). The Speedwell leaked so badly that they had to go back and leave it; and everyone going on the journey had to cram into the Mayflower!


Let's remember to give thanks to our loving and merciful God this Thanksgiving; we have SO much to be thankful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Recipe

Well, Thanksgiving is only a few days away now, so I thought I'd post one of my favorite Thanksgiving Day recipes. Our family has some traditional family favorites that we always have; it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them!

My aunt and uncle bring this dish for our family celebration. There are never leftovers!


Green Bean Casserole

2 lb. frozen french style green beans
2 Tbs. chopped onion
3 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 C sour cream
¾ lb. swiss cheese, grated

Put thawed beans in a large bowl. Melt butter and sauté onion until clear. Add flour, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir until smooth; mix with beans. Mix in sour cream and cheese. Pour all into a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Tim's Belated Birthday Party

Tonight we have some of Tim's friends here spending the night to celebrate Tim's birthday (one month late). Earlier they went bowling and had a fun time!

Recipe

My friend Rosanna gave me this recipe and it's yummy!! Thought I'd share!

Lasagna Roll-Ups

3 cloves minced garlic

3-8oz cans tomato sauce

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

¼ tsp pepper

1 ½ C ricotta cheese

1 ¼ C shredded mozzarella

¾ C parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

¼ C parsley

1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked

Mix sauce ingredients together (first four) in a pot and let simmer for about 15 minutes or so. Preheat oven to 350, and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except for the noodles) and mix well. Put a little bit of sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish, just to cover bottom.

Put approx ¼ C of the cheese mixture on each noodle, and spread lengthwise. Roll up and place seam side down in the pan. Cover with sauce. Bake until bubbly.