Fun Zoo Trip

We had a fun day at

 the zoo yesterday with Aunt Shell and Uncle Nate.


Uncle Nate found the 1 tiny corner of shade by the bald eagle.

Going in to see the penguins and aquarium. 

Joel checking out the arctic weasel.

This mama wallaby had a baby in her pouch.  We didn't see the baby but we did see the pouch moving.

 

Petting the goats.

The two otters were very active and were swimming around right in front of us.

We hardly ever even see the mountain lions and we saw both of them yesterday.  They were also "talking" to each other and wrestling a bit.

The chimps got a special treat:  their food was frozen in water.

I took this pic right after the chimps chased each other around, yelling.  

Andrew rode the camel for the first time!  He said he liked it.

Mommy and boys

We walked up the forest trail at the back of the zoo.  

There were a couple of play areas for the kids.

They especially enjoyed the net trampoline.

This was a huge log carved into a bench.

Riding the funicular!  Uncle Nate paid the exhorbitant fee for us to ride.

Pretty landscape.

Aaron was not impressed, at all!  He wanted to go home.

Little boy Luke and his pretty blue eyes.  He slept the whole time we were at the zoo.

We have a mouse...

And I think his name is Aaron!

What's Cookin'

Tues~Pea soup, rolls, cold veggies
Wed~Pork carnitas, black beans, spanish rice
Thurs~Not entirely sure.  I have to make a low-sodium meal and I'm having trouble nailing it down.
Fri~Grilled pork, garlic rice pilaf, green beans
Sat~Frozen pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken Spaghetti (F), carrots, rolls
Mon~Memorial day picnic-I'm bringing cheesy potatoes and ham and strawberry yogurt cake

Sunday visits

(taken on my Dad's iphone)

We visit my Grandma every other Sunday after church.  She so enjoys seeing the kids and doesn't seem to mind all the cookie crumbs around her table.  Here she is holding Luke.

Someone's getting bigger

11 weeks old
Finding his fists to chew on.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

A full rainbow over O'Brien Rd.  5-14-2013

Strawberry Orange Pineapple Smoothie

My new favorite smoothie recipe:



7-8 frozen or fresh strawberries (add some ice if you use fresh)
1/2 a peeled orange
1/2 cup or so of fresh or canned pineapple
1  6 oz container of lime yogurt
1/2 cup or so of orange juice
1-2 T of steel cut oats (you  can leave this out, we like the texture)

Blend well and enjoy!
Makes approximately two servings.

Baby stains

Babies are oh-so cute.  The messes they can make on their adorable clothing, not so much.

This stain remover doesn't touch the stains.  You know which ones I'm talking about.  The ones that come right after a squirm and a loud explosion.  This method works well if you take care of it immediately.  But since I'm not so good about taking care of the mess right away, I had a pile of clothes that I had tossed in water and let sit for a day a few days (Ok, maybe it was more like a week, but who's counting?).  Anyway, after using the method mentioned in the link above and washing them, I still had some stains in the clothing.  Feeling very frustrated, I used every stain treatment I had researched.  I had some Zout laying around so I sprayed that on the stains.  Later, I rubbed Dawn, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide into the remaining stain.  I left the clothes on my drying rack over the weekend and washed them this morning and the stains are totally gone.  Yay!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Mother's Day surprise dinner
Tues~Sandwiches, fruit, chips (picnic before soccer)
Wed~B and G club outing-bringing a veggie tray and cookies
Thurs~Yum Chicken, Garlic Rice Pilaf, broccoli
Fri~Chris's 38th birthday!!   Steak, parmesan orzo, brussel sprouts, salad, Best Vanilla Cake
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

Pics from last week

Aaron let himself outside after his nap.  T-shirt, diaper, winter boots, good to go!


Lukey sleeping in the cradle my Grandpa Roffel made.  He can probably fit in here for another month or two.


Little bros.  This didn't last long.


Noah, ready to play in his first soccer game.  Go Rovers!


First trip to the zoo this year and first trip with 5 boys!  Good thing Aunt Shell came along.


Aaron loved all the fowlery.


They would happily play on the train instead of looking at the animals.


Yup, this is as good as it gets.


He knows where the fruit snacks are and he knows how to open them.  Trouble.

Oreo Cake (The most delicious cake ever!)

If you love chocolate, you must make this cake.  Chris even said it was really good.  :-)

Oreo Cake

(recipe from my sis-in-law, Ang)

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix {with or without pudding}
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Mix all the above ingredients together.  Bake at 350 in a 9x13 for 35-40 min or 2 round pans for 25-35 min.

If you use a 9x13, put the ganache on top of the cake, then the frosting.  For the round pans, put the frosting in between the two layers and then the ganache on top.

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup choc chips

1/4 cup butter

Melt together and let cool.

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups thawed whipped topping

12 crushed oreos

Mix cream cheese and sugar together and then fold in whippped topping and oreos.

I was trying to cut the sugar a little bit, so I skipped the chocolate chips in the batter and didn't put the ganache on.  I baked it in 2 round pans and used reduced fat cream cheese, fat free sour cream, and fat free whipped topping.  Could have probably subbed some unsweetened applesauce for some of the veg. oil.  I crushed up a few extra oreos to sprinkle on top on the frosting.  It was still really yummy!

He knows!

Dr. Murray preached on Hebrews 2:17 on Sunday morning:

For this reason, He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.

When no one else can understand your fears and frustrations, He knows!  He was just like us.  What a comfort to know that when you have no one else to turn to, there is an ever-listening ear that understands every little thing we are going through.

The Lord has done great things for us,

    and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:3

What's Cookin'

Mon~Baked Penne , broccoli, salad
Tues~Sandwiches, bananas (we're going to be running around at dinner time and soccer at 6)
Wed~Beef taquitos, refried beans, brown rice, salad
Thurs~Beef and mushrooms (F), egg noodles, green beans
Fri~Graduation dinner
Sat~Seminary picnic-I'm bringing taco salad and maybe deviled eggs.
Sun~Crockpot pork chops, 

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spicy Sausage Pasta, salad, carrots
Tues~Farmer's Casserole (F), salad, fruit
Wed~Daddy's making dinner.
Thurs~Pork and gravy (F), brown rice (F), corn
Fri~Have to bring a snack to pass to Engelsma get together.
Sat~Ham, cheesy potatoes, salad, green beans, rolls for my Dad's birthday
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, rolls

Spring is here!

For now, anyway.  :-)  We'll see what the rest of the week is like.

I sent the boys outside at 9:30 this morning.  It is now 2:30 and they are still out there.
And from the looks of them, they aren't coming in until bath time!


Digging in the flowerbed since it is under construction right now.  Cousin Jayden came to play for the day.  Good thing he wore play clothes!




Why, yes, Andrew does look like he's been bathing in the mud!


Cheetos and dirt.  Yum!




Jayden and Joel are closer in age, but Jayden and Noah also play really well together.  Not so much all 3 of them together, but today they are doing great.  Must really be enjoying the nice weather!

Now, time to get boy #4 up from his nap and start back at potty training.  No wins in that area yet. :-(

What's Cookin'

In an attempt to eat healthier, we've been eating salads with every dinner.  And when I say we, I don't just mean Chris and I, the older 3 boys have been eating salads too.  Ok, I have to force them to eat it and I put cheese and tons of dressing on their's, but it's a start.

Mon~Lasagna, broccoli, salad
Tues~A friend is bringing a meal.
Wed~Ham, mashed potatoes or cheesy potatoes, asparagus, green beans
Thurs~Sloppy joes (F), oven fries, salad
Fri~????
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Veggie beef soup, bread

Andrew

From Andrew's prayer tonight:  "And please help mommy to do her exercise because she is still a little fat..."

Kids, they tell it like it is! :-)

More from Morrie's

I haven't been to Morrie's since last summer.  It is kind of out of my way to go to, and ever since I got pregnant with Luke, I've been avoiding taking all of the boys grocery shopping with me.  But yesterday I saw on facebook that they had gotten a dairy load in and big bags of romaine lettuce for only 75 cents, and since it was a no nap day for the boys (including Aaron), I loaded them all into the van and gave them very explicit instructions on how they were to act in the store.  They did great!  Of course, a promised treat when we were done shopping didn't hurt either.

Anyway, here's what I got yesterday:
2 huge bags of romaine lettuce for 75 cents each.  In retrospect, 1 probably would have been plenty.
2 bags of frozen diced onions for 79 cents each
10 fruit n grain bars for $1
10 bags of apple slices for $1
Chobani greek yogurt for 50 cents each
Dole smoothie shakers for 89 cents each
Large jar of unsweetened applesauce for $1.99
Chip bags for 10 cents each
Animal cracker boxes 6/$1
Dove chocolate bar 50 cents
Salami slices 89 cents

I also saw ground beef for $1.99/ lb in a 20 lb tube.  Probably pretty fatty but would work well if you browned it and drained the fat.

I timed my trip and it took me about 1 hr so it may be worth my time to check it out every month or so.  Their inventory changes all the time, but if you keep an eye on their fb page, they sometimes post different things they have stocked.

Happy birthday!

Wednesday was my grandpa's 87th birthday.  We celebrated with dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

And on Thursday, it was Noah's 6th birthday.

Playing with his playmobil that mom found at Goodwill.

He requested pancakes, bacon, and sausage for his birthday dinner.  Cousin Jayden came to stay overnight.

Luke slept through the festivities.

Race track cake in the shape of a 6.

He looks pretty pleased with his cake, but he still declined to eat a piece.  No sweet tooth in that boy at all.

Happy birthday, Noah!  We love you!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Enchilada Lasagna (F), salad, chips and salsa
Tues~Farmer's Casserole (F), fruit
Wed~Crockpot Beef Goulash (F), mashed potatoes (F), green beans
Thurs~Roast beef and gravy over brown rice, asparagus, carrots
Fri~Lasagna, garlic bread, broccoli
Sat~Frozen pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chix noodle soup, bread

Blandford Time: Bird life cycle

The boys had their class at Blandford again this past Monday.  

The rain scared a lot of people away.  Noah and Joel only had 4 boys in their class.

 

I think Joel is telling another story here.  He also asked the teacher if she'd ever seen Wobin Hood and did she know that Wobin liked to take money from the wich for the po'?

Recent pics

6 weeks old!

Aaron watching his big bro. 

Big blue eyes.

Lunch with friends over spring break.

Aaron and his friend Julia.

Daddy and Lukey.

First smiles (and first tub bath)

He has yet to smile at his mama, but seems to think Daddy and Andrew are pretty funny.

Trying out his new towel.

Thought the Canadian cousins would enjoy these socks.  :-)

A funny thing

...has been happening at our house.  I keep finding boys hiding in the bench!



Mommy, I in here!



And the funny thing is, it always happens when Daddy is around!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Cracker Barrel for my grandpa's 87th birthday
Tues~Beef and Mushrooms (F), egg noodles, broccoli, salad
Wed~Lasagna for church potluck
Thurs~Noah's 6th birthday!  He requested pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs.  Maybe we'll throw some fruit in too.  :-)
Fri~Taco salad, fruit
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

What's Cookin'

I have it real easy this week.  :-)

Mon~PF Chang's with friends
Tues~We have a groupon to Boulder Creek that we have to use (a golf course out towards my folk's house)
Wed~Pizza anniversary party for Chris's parents.  We're bringing chips and pop.
Thurs~Baked Chicken Penne (F), green beans, bran muffins
Fri~Chicken Spaghetti (F), corn, applesauce
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread