~California Trip, Post 1~

This vacation is probably a once in a life time trip for our family.  We used Gregg's frequent flyer miles so our flights were basically free.  We used a time share type deal to get a really good rate on our resort stay.  Packing up eight people to fly across country is exhausting... but we had a good time. I'm not planning on doing this again again time soon though!

This was Kiersten's first time flying.  We left our house about 4:30 am Saturday morning.

We finally got some breakfast in Chicago... although most of us ate lunch items!

Kiersten was very relaxed on our flight from Chicago to San Francisco.  We only had an hour layover but things went very well in our traveling.  We landed with bright sunshine!

Our first stop was Fisherman's Wharf for some clam chowder in sour dough bread bowls.

It was chilly and windy outside, but I was determined to be out in the sun.

We hit Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions and did a very little bit of window shopping.

Alcatraz

We saw a few street performers but were not impressed with most of them... kinda creepy.

Our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge.

They often have bad weather roll in and Saturday night was no exception.  It got very cloudy and cold as evening approached.

We made it about 1/3 the way walking across the bridge and turned back.  We headed to our hotel and crashed... still on east coast time!

I think we fit a lot into our first day.  There were several things we didn't get to do in San Francisco... but we had seen enough. Us country folk were ready to get out into nature!

~Nathan's Birthday~

Happiest 8th Birthday Nathan!

In spite of everyone being sick, we still did a little birthday celebration for Nathan.  We gave him his gifts :-)  We will make his dinner and cake later, when we feel like eating!

~Five Plus Weeks of Sickness~

Having been through many winters with many children and many germs, we have had our share of sickness.  Nothing even comes close to this winter!

Eric started us off with the six day flu over Christmas.  He managed to get pneumonia as well.

Gregg and I both had the stomach flu in January.  

That was followed by Jared getting the must stay in bed six day flu followed by a two week stay in bed with pneumonia.  We were not sure if he had pneumonia or mono so he had blood work and an x-ray to make sure.  He lost almost 20 pounds in that three weeks.

It is a blurr now, but I had the flu next.  Six days of barely being able to pick myself up out of bed. I am thankful for older boys that can cook and do laundry!  Aaron, Nathan and Kiersten all got the flu at about the same time and each one ended up with pneumonia or bronchitis.  

Jordan got his wisdom teeth out in mid February and unfortunately came down with the flu right after.  Poor guy was pretty miserable.

Gregg was the last one to get the flu and he also managed to get pneumonia. He missed over a week of work.  He was able to work from home a few days but was really dragging.

Even the people at the doctor's office were amazed at how often they were seeing us!  Most of the kids hadn't been doctor's office sick in 4 or 5 years!

Just as we were all recovering, we packed up for a once in a lifetime family vacation!  I will be posting about that soon... if life doesn't become CraZIneSs again!

~Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas~

I've been in a cooking rut.

I got my cookbook out the other day and pulled out some old favorites.  This is one of them!

I don't add all the liquid... like maybe half of the cream.  It can get mushy with too much sauce.

Everyone loves these!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

~30 Hour Date~

Gregg and I haven't been away together since our 10th Anniversary.  Since we are nearing our 20th... I thought it was about time to get away again!

Nathan and Kiersten were especially excited!  They really were anxious to spend the night at Grammy and Grandpa's house.  They had a lot of fun and can't wait to stay there again!

Our first stop, after dropping the kids off,  was for fuel.  It was way to tempting to be at a Sheetz and not grab a coffee, so I splurged and ran inside.  Gregg's favorite drink is a Throwback Mountain Dew, I decided to treat him as well.

Gregg has been to Mutschlers' before, but I wasn't with him.  I love visiting greenhouses this time of year.  They are warm, bright and alive!  This place was just beautiful!  A was a mini "Longwood Gardens" :-)

I use Agave as a sweetener... look kinda like aloe!

Just lovely!

many different kinds of bonsai too!

We decided to do a little shopping, then headed to a new to us restaurant. The Olive Tree Greek Grill was delicious!  Everything was bursting with taste.

These were our appetizers!  We got lots of food so we didn't have to cook Saturday lunch.  I enjoyed everything but the stuffed grape leaves.

Gregg had an assortment of grilled meats and I had monk fish. My dish was very good but I did enjoy the grilled meats more!

We even splurged on dessert.

After dinner, we headed to Wegmans.  That grocery store is so much fun to visit.  Gregg wanted to see the famously expensive mushrooms called "truffles."  We found these black blobs in the cheese case.  Since they were in a truffle dish I assumed that is what they were.

A very nice employee came over and we asked him about them.  They grow underground by tree roots and pigs find them and dig them out.  They are very strong in flavor and are mostly used in pasta and cheese dishes.  He gave us a taste of oil infused with the truffles on some Parmesan.  It was very good... but at $1000 a pound, I don't think we will be buying any.  He did explain that each mushroom is only $10 -  $20 because of their weight.

We spent the night and most of the next day at a very nice cabin in the woods.  We will not be waiting another ten years to go away ☺It was so relaxing to be in a very clean and very quite cabin!

~Spring Cleaning Week Two - My Bathroom~

My bathroom has a big closet... that really needed to be cleaned out!  I found sheets from before I was married in there!!!  Curtains that I will never used!!! and a ton of soaps/lotions/hair creams from my CVS days that were just junking up the place.  I cleaned out all the medicine stuff too.

I didn't finish this room.  I have the window, under the sink and the light fixture yet to do.  I have a really good excuse though!  

Jordan sprained his ankle, Jared was away hunting and Aaron was sick in bed most of the week.  Not only was I doing their chores, but I was also waiting on them.  I had doctor appointments and xrays to get to as well.  

I am fairly certain I can finish my bathroom next week along with the boy's bathroom.  Trying to stay on track!

Oh, and I have a picture frame in the bathroom that has nothing in it... its been like that for a few years now... I better work on that this winter too!

~Sugar Twist Cakery~

A friend of mine just started her own business... Sugar Twist Cakery

Her sweet treats are not only beautiful...

But they taste delicious as well..

If you are local, I highly recommend her!

 (I was able to do a little photo shoot with her and her cupcakes... I'm telling you, delicious!)

~Spring Cleaning Week One - Boys Room~

I have NEVER finished my spring cleaning.  I have tried all kinds of things, plans, lists... nothing works.  Spring comes and I want to be done with school and outside.

This year, I made a new plan.  I am going to clean one room each week starting the first full week of January.  If I keep up with it, I will be done when school gets out and I can bask in the beauty of spring!

Not sure if it's gonna work. but it's worth a try.

This week was the boys' bedroom.  I had about eight bins that needed to be sorted... all these growing boys!!!

Sorting the bins took one whole day!

I also cleaned out under beds, washed the window and washed everyones sheets

What a mess!

We need to get Nathan a bed (he sleeps on his mattress on the floor), paint the walls and carpet clean this summer!