Weekend Warrior

Our weekend was filled with so many goings on!

Scheels had their VIP night on Friday evening. What fun! We all got bags and a map to walk around the store and find FREE items. This thrilled Joey:

There was quite the ceremony with the Sparks Mayor, Nevada Governor, President of Scheels, etc. About 2000 people showed up. The ferris wheel was running, the fudge and various simulators were FREE.

Heather and I enjoyed the people watching including a Napolean-esk guy and the prairie dogs in various poses:

This is Chris looking so helpful! (I was behind the camera going "Ok, look like you are helping someone and I will take your picture....oh, you're so grownup!")

On Saturday was the Opening Day. They had a hot air balloon out front and giving free rides. Here is a story on Reno Gazette Journal .com and you can link to a photo gallery.

On Saturday, we also went to Lil Grant's football game. It was pretty exciting with a tight score and lots of kids running longs yards for touch downs.

Autumn also had cheerleading later in the day and I hear was spectacular.

In the evening we had burgers, cake and ice cream for a belated celebration of Lil Grant's Birthday with Joe & Kids, Heather/Joey & kid, and our clan.

WHEW! We need a nap...

Anxious Photoblog

Just a reminder 8 days left to contribute the ANXIOUS photo for the blog this month

Watch for updates on the OCTOBER photoblog

later tatters,
SP

Irresponsible Illiterate

I realized recently that I was illiterate due to my own irresponsibility....ohhh that is keepin it real.

I use to read like mad when I was younger: pre-wife, pre-kids . But that ended and I soon just lost touch with what were the current must reads and time to even read a book.

Well, I decided time to change since I need to be a good example to my kids. So starting with the Twilight series, I started to read again. I started to branch out and pick up books that look interesting. Walmart seems to make this easy with $5 books and even made easier with FREE** ones from the Library. **assuming you return them on time.

I also added a gadget to tracking my reading. Check it out! I have posted my "read" and "still reading" books.
If you would like to suggest a book, send it my way! I would love to add it to my shelf.

Another Anxious Pic

Anxious?

Ok, so we finally have our anxious picture. This isn't the biggest snake we have seen in our yard, but any snake makes me anxious. I wish I had a picture of Dan's face when we were building the shed last summer and he moved some boards and found a 4 foot black snake under them. Now that was anxious. Dan showed his anxiety by screaming like a girl. Just joking, or am I:). Anyways, enjoy or should I say squirm in your seats.

stalkers

I decided that you can list yourself as a stalker of the blog.


Check out my new gadget:

This will list you as a follower in photo format and also allow you to see updates when you sign in to the blog.

While bragging to Will about the fish I caught Saturday night he told me how to get the photo from the cell phone to the computer so here it is: 19 1/2 inch brown trout caught just outside of town. The middle school principal who also is the sunday school teacher invited me and some other teachers out for a picnic sunday afternoon. I barbequed this fat fish there and it fed 6 people.

Dad

Spiritual Recharge

I know I needed some recharging this week and my friend shared the following link.
I found the below to be very spiritually uplifting.

It is a video and has beautiful music. Just click play once the site comes up.
http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

The makers currently are exhibiting at the Mesa Temple visitors center. It is really interesting that these are photographs and not paintings.

Love you all!
Sarah

Inside the Storm!

I went to bed about 12:30am with Ike's eye straight due east of our house. The wind was starting to pick up and the rain with it. It's now 4:00am, the wind, according to the news reports is gusting 68 mph. The rain is constantly coming down, lightning strikes every few minutes taking down the street lights and the house lights (they're on separate grids). The rain is beating constantly at the northwest side of the house (the back porch and driveway).

Based on the weather channel and the local news website, this is the worst of it for us. The eye is just on the other side of downtown Houston and right now our neighbor hood is experiencing one of the heaviest band of rain the storm has.

However, I have not seen a single loose item blowing around, the trees are still intact, the weather strip under the back door is holding up well and not letting ANY water in. I have power, not a creak or squeak from the house, and the water is still good. I've filled the tubs just in case but it shouldn't be a problem!

I'll send more later when I know more.

photo of the month

Here's mine. Click on the photo for more.

Empanadas!

I had a lady in my ward teach me the fine art of empanadas and now we are Empanada lovers. Because I am not the greatest cook in the world, it is easier for me to see how to make it and then fake it later.

Here is the easy recipe.

2 Cups Flour
2 TBSP Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/3 Cup Shortening
1/3 Cup Butter (cubed) the recipe says non salted, but I don't think it is a big deal
1/3 Cup ice water

1. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in Shortening and butter until the dough is crumbly. I used my KitchenAid with the wisk attachment and it worked great.
2. Add the water in slowly as you are mixing until the dough is in a clump. My didn't really make a big clump until I helped knead it into clump.
3. Knead it a little into a ball, but don't over work it.
4. Divide in half and roll into balls. Place each ball in plastic wrap and flatten into a disc. Wrap up and put in the freezer for about 10-15 min.

This process takes about 10-15 minutes to make the dough

I would start with the filling first so it is ready to go when the dough has finished chilling.
We use Turkey burger cause it is cheaper and healthier, but mostly cause it is cheaper.
I cook up the below:

1 lb Turkey burger
1/2 or 1 bottle of Taco Sauce - whatever you like
1 Cup of Rice
1 Cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Brown up the burger.
2. Add Rice, water, taco Sauce and salt/pepper. Bring to a boil.
3. When the rice is soft, it is done.

this process takes about 35 minutes.

Take out the dough disc. Cut it like a pizza into 8 slices. Take the first slice and roll into a ball. Lightly flour your surface and roll out a circle to about 1/8" thick. It is ok to make 'um thin.

Scoop you filling into the middle of the circle and fold over. I used a fork to press the edges together and close.
Put on a lightly greased cookie sheet. You can pack them on close together. I fit all 16 on one sheet.
Bake for 20 Minutes at 375 degrees. The crust doesn't get real brown or golden. But 20 minutes seems to do the job.

Since we made 16, we ate about 8 and froze the other 8. They reheat well!

The filling is really your preference. We added cheese inside with our filling. Dan and Kim may want Chirizo filling...
I think you could even adapt them for apple turnovers and use pie filling. Let me know if you have any additional ideas or success with the recipe.

A face more than a mother could love

So I previously posted that we submitted the little girls' pictures to Scheels to be in the advertisements. We did this by sending in family photos.
Well, we got a reply today....the kids aren't exactly needed now but...

THEY WANT ME!

That's right, and I quote: "What I do know though, is that I'd like to have you model as well! :)"

man, could I get a better boost to my aging 32 year old self esteem?

A recipe for disaster...but a fun kindof disaster

1. Water

2. Dirt

3. little boy

mix all ingredients together well. Don't be alarmed if splashing or lumps occur.

When done, spray little boy off with hose and put in tub.

We tried this recipe today. I forgot to watch the mixture for a minute and found that it will wander and leave splotches if you are not careful.

Was Anxiety in Pandora's Box?

This is my submission for the family photo of the month topic, "anxious." Technically, I didn't press the button to snap the shop, but I was the brains behind the operation so I claim it as my own.

Garage Sale Heaven

We went garage sailing (sailing - cause we are that cool) on Saturday. The girls pulled all the silver coins from their piggy banks and the $1 earned this week via the aforementioned chore chart.
We headed to a community garage sale and we were able to park and just walk house to house. To the kids this was the eqvalent to trick or treating. Garage salers (we being the party referred to garage salees) have a soft heart for mismatched dressed and uncombed hair little girls. Morgan typically never spends a dime and all the Garage Salers tell her whichever item she has her eyes set on is free! I don't know how she does it.
I made out like a bandit as well. I spent $14 and got a computer desk in like new condition ($5), 2 metal file cabinets ($5), 3 candle sticks ($1), a old picture frame ($2), and 3 nice gift boxes ($1).
I spent an hour and redid the candle sticks to match my dining room table. The legs of our table are black and a little distress looking. I was impressed with my $1 purchase.

Photo Blog for the Month

Well, I found the picture that means Anxious to me. And let me tell you I felt muscles tighten in places I didn't know I had muscles when I found this little friend.
To get a perspective on his size, he body was about the size of a half dollar coin and his legs were at least 2 inches each.

A contractor came by as I was taking this little guy's picture and he was kind enough to dispose of him. I am not above squishing spiders, and so the contractor hauled him to the street and stepped on him. In the spirit of horror that this spider represented, he guts squirted out the side of the contractor's shoe and shot for about a foot or so.

The kids wanted to see its dead body and did the crouch, stare, and "EWWW" about a dozen times.

Thanks everyone again for the pontoon boat. I went fishing today at Green River Lakes, the headwaters of the Green River. Unfortunately there are no photos of fish. I really hoped to catch some big ones so Chris would feel envious of me fishing here but now I only wish he were there to show me what to do to catch one.

Another fisherman told me he saw several moose (mooses? or meese?) this morning in the river. He didn't catch any fish either. There are signs all over warning about taking precautions not to attract grizzly bears. My landlord was out bow hunting for elk not far from here last week. He had to come home early because the bears and wolves were frightening his horses. He claimed that he saw some large grizzly bear tracks near his food cache.

Photo of the Month

Will had previously suggested a Photo of the Month Posting. I had a hard time finding the Troll or Knome thing for August.

So for this month the topic is: Anxious

I left this very general and open so to allow for creativity. If you don't post to this blog, please send me an email with your picture (spyrah@lgifs.com) and I will post the series of entries in the sidebar.

happy snappy!

One of those moms

So I have provided Scheels some pictures of the girls to possibly be models for their advertisments.

I truly don't know what to expect if they are choosen...I mean expect of me....

WILL I...

1. start wearing extraordinary amounts of makeup and hairspray and demand spring water ONLY for my "babies"?

2. start of list of dressing room must haves? room bathed in bright white light (Gwen Stefani) or a a new toilet seat and gold faucets installed prior (Mariah Carey). here is a fun site that lists them for numerous stars http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstagetour/index.html

3. make my kids wear scarves over their faces in public to protect them from the papparazzi?

if you have another suggestion to cope, lemme know :)

When we are helping we're happy and we sing as we go

Been busy the last few days with projects. Must have been my inspiration for the chore chart we instituted at FHE tonight:

My kids are seeing $$ signs but we will see if it lasts.
I wonder what it means that I have to pay them to comb their hair and brush their teeth? Hey if it means less whining and foot stomping...I will pay, I will pay.