SEVEN!!! I really can't believe it. How can they be 7 when I haven't aged a day? It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I love these girls so much. I hope that they know that!
Pizza and salad for their birthday dinner! I hope that they know that I love when they pick Pizza for their favorite dinner. Happy birthday girls! You are amazing!
The got to go out to dinner and then to get some ice cream with Grammy & Papa Don!
Ashley headed to Brigham City one day so we could take the kids to the peak to run off some energy. We called Angela and she met us for lunch. We all loaded up into our separate cars after lunch and ended up in line at sonic for a beverage. Gotta love Happy Hour!!
My kids sure get emotional when a tooth needs to come out. Rylee lost another one! I wonder if the tooth fairy gets sick of coming to the Freeze house. She sure seems to have to visit a lot!
I made cornbread and chili one night. It was a tasty recipe, so I figured I'd document it.
Serves 12-ish
8 hours crock pot or 2.5 hours stove top
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds ground beef, turkey or venison
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow or white onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (optional)
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 46-oz. can tomato juice
- 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 15-oz. can tomato sauce
- 16-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- Shredded cheese and sour cream, for topping
- Instructions:
- In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.
- Add the olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
- If cooking the chili stovetop, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If using a slow cooker, add meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using. On stovetop, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.
I finally let these 2 discover the miniature carts at Smith's. They loved them. I wasn't quite ready for them to each have their own so they had to share and take turns on this trip. Side note....I wish I didn't live so close to grocery stores. I think I would prefer to live 30 or so minutes away to make it less convenient. I think that I would be better prepared meal wise and not go to the store for 5 things and leave with 20.
Someone is developing a drinking problem. I think watered down root beer sounds disgusting - but to each their own!
I learned some tips & tricks at Relief Society one evening about fresh flowers. Tip #1 that I liked was go to the store (Smith's is where I went) the day after a 'flowery' holiday (Valentines, Mother's Day, Memorial day) and find some fabulous clearance flowers. I got all of these for only $9. Tip #2, cut your flowers stems under water. That way when you cut them they take a breath of water instead a breath of air. Tip #3, change your water daily & add a capful of bleach. It makes your flowers last so much longer! I did this tip with only 2 of the arrangements I played with and they lasted almost a week longer than the others! You're welcome.
This mini man came home from school one Friday so dang mad! He was almost in tears. When he could finally compose himself he said that they played 'Olympics' at school and his team got 1st place and they didn't get anything! But every other winning team throughout the week got recognized over the loudspeaker and got a medal. He said, "Everybody always get stuff like that, but nope. Not Caleb Freeze!" I told him that they probably just ran out of time or something and they would be recognized later. Guess who came home with a medal on Monday??
My little bug! She managed to break her collar bone. While I was napping after a graveyard shift one Saturday morning Casey took the kids to the park. He was pushing the merry go round and some how Taylor managed to tumble off of it. It wasn't a big break and the Dr said to just have her wear a sling for a couple of weeks. I've never said it out loud, but I always kind of knew deep down she would be the first of my kids to break something. She's so funny....she'll fall or trip or stumble and just bounce right back with a, "I'm okay!" My parents surprised her with a cute stuffed animal puppy with a sling on it's arm at school shortly after it happened. That made her so happy! (and made her twin sister so mad)
