For all those who come to this happy place, Welcome!

This delayed entry comes with a price, literally. I'm cautioning all the 3 people who read this blog to BEWARE of PRIDE... or in our case, a prideful checking account.  Don't let your "ca" (checking account) start bragging around the bank to all the other checking accounts about how you might actually be catching up on all your bills.  Don't let "ca" taunt others that you've started saving for a family trip to Disneyland in the fall.  Don't even hint to "ca" that your husband's on-call and countless weekend hours, where you get to play single mom at church or at family activities, might actually start helping you pay back your student loans.  And most importantly (aka - the kiss of death) Please don't let "ca" overhear you talking about the possibility of using your tax returns to buy a humble little tent/trailer, or he will blog about it and before you know it... bursting with pride, your haughty bank account will ...

Yeah!! I just joined the Secret Stitch Etsy site . I made 3 bath aprons, if your wondering what that is - basically an apparatus to keep you dry while your kids get clean & then use it to dry them off once they finish. You can see them if you look to the right ( red , blue , and cream towelish looking aprons) aren't they pretty? Okay so to celebrate I'm giving away this kids apron that I made o n the SSC site and Christie is giving away a lime colored apron she made adult sized. You can't enter the giveaway here - You have to go to the SSC page and leave a comment. I hope you win!!

I remember the first time Paige told me I was her best friend. She was about 2 years old and it melted my heart. I thought to myself, I am so lucky to be her first bff. I know it won't last and she will move on, but for this moment I will love every minute of it. So, I thought I would take a moment to recognize my first bff, my dad. He will always be my hero no matter how old I get. His spirit has never aged (it still thinks it's 20-ish) while his body is looking more 60-ish. I am proud of the man he is and hope that my son will turn out just as great (this picture was taken on my 1st birthday, my dad was 34).

This was my last pday in the mission field. Jason had already been home for 4 months. He was back touring with his family. My father-in-law asked me to come home and date his son while we were at the Colleseo. Good times... if they only knew what the next 10 years would bring them, ha, ha, ha) This was Jason and I in the mission field (I apologize for the irreverence of the picture - what do you do when your twenty something in a foreign country and living like nuns - you get your kicks where you can) This was the twenty year old I fell for ... what a smokin hot guy, even if he was a missionary. This is Jason in our first apartment getting ready to move to AZ. My crazy, wonderful, amazing trophy husband. I love him more and more as time goes by and I'm constantly reminding myself just how good I have it with him. Happy Father's Day to a guy who makes me laugh daily (and never reads this blog - so he never knows how "crazy" I am for him) Sei Grande!

I've made this a few times now and every time it gets rave reviews. I think it's supposed to be true to Cafe Rio, but only having been there a few times I can not tell you truthfully... regardless it's mighty tasty (I got this recipe & pictures from  Heidikins ) - I've made this two different ways... a) super-spicy-so-you-need-a-sour-cream-chaser-to-wash-it-down-with AND b) yummy-with-a-pleasant-kick-to-it-so-your-kids-and-overly-picky-brother-in-law-will-love-it. I prefer it the second way. Barbacoa Pork (Cafe Rio style) 4 to 8 pound pork loin or roast 21 oz. Dr. Pepper 1 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 3 cloves of garlic, minced 7 oz. can chipotle chiles in adobe sauce 6 oz. red taco sauce (medium or mild) 1 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. cumin Directions for pork : Cut your pork in about 4 or 5 large chunks. Fill the crock pot half way with water. Cook in the crock pot on low for 10 to 12 hours. After your pork is nice and tender, drain the water from it. Add the s...

Today we went swimming with some friends and James wanted to go to the lazy river. I couldn't go with him because I was holding Abbey, he grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the lazy river, when I told him we couldn't go because of Abbey, he said, "Mom, you are ruining my life" "I didn't know you had 'a life', James" He shook his head and said again, "you are ruining my life" (where does he hear these things? I think Nickelodeon plays too many tween shows during James prime TV watching hours)  Our washer is broke. It has been for a few days now. Clothes are starting to pile up. We are wearing things that went out of style a long time ago due to lack of clean clothes (don't fret Sears is coming over tomorrow) Tonight James is getting ready for bed and I told him he had a choice 1) a pair of underwear with a hole in them OR 2) dirty underwear. He was really stressed out over the choice and when he responded "I just don't kn...