2011 Summer fun!

So It's been waaayyy too long since I've updated our blog. So I'm going to quickly cover a few months at a time. This summer we were able to meet Joels' sister and her hubby in Blanding, Utah for the 4th of July. First time for us. We camped out and went swimming at the lake nearby then drove high up the mountain to find a cooler camping spot. We brought along our rhino for some fun. We really tested out the rhino on some crazy rides, where we stalled in the middle of a jungle. Seriously, it was kind of scary. But thankfully we were able to give the rhino some time and it decided to start so we could head back to camp. We were able to enjoy a beautiful view of Blanding city's fire works. So close in fact, the ashes were falling on top of us. I ended up in the car with the kids, cuz we were scared. It was a pretty adventurous trip to Blanding, 2 flat tires on the way down, poopy diapers, lots of bugs on our rides. But it was all worth it.




Treasure hunt provided by Grandmas.

The Jungle we got stranded in.

Many times this summer we were able to pull out the slip n slide. The kids and neighbors all enjoyed this fun activity. We even had people stop by to see if they could borrow it. Strangers! It made for some fun neighbor activities.



I also took the kids this summer to Liberty Park to play in the water. This is the first time I've been to Liberty park since I was a kid. It sure has changed a lot. The kids had such a blast. And the best part was it was free!! I highly recommend doing this activity with your kids. They have streams and waterfalls for them to play in.

Avree and her friend Talyn.



Tayler loved the water.

Zucchini anyone?

I don't know about you, but I'm overloaded with zucchini this year from my garden. I'm always trying to find recipes to use them. I usually just cut them up and fry or make bread/muffins. Well this recipe is a favorite of mine. It's a family recipe. It's zucchini casserole. It has the best flavor and I used 4 zucchinis. Nice!! So if you are looking for something to try and use your zucchini, I highly recommend this recipe. Let me know if you do and how much you enjoyed it.
Zucchini Casserole
4 medium zucchinis-sliced
3/4 c. carrots-sliced
Water, salted
1/2 c. chopped onions
6 T. butter
2 1/4 c. stuffing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. sour cream
In a medium pan, put zucchini and carrots in enough boiling, salted water to cover them. Cover and simmer about 15 min., until veggies are tender. Drain. In large pan, saute onion in 4 T. of butter until tender. Stir in 1 1/2 c. of stuffing, cream of chicken, and sour cream. Mix. Stir in veggies. Lightly butter casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Mix butter and leftover stuffing and sprinkle on top. Bake another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!!

Tayler turns a year!!

Wow!! I can't believe our baby turned 1 this year. She has been such a fun little girl. She was born June 30th, 2010 and wieghed 7 lbs. 4 oz. 19 1/2 in. She's been such a great baby for us. She's been very content in just staying where she is. Yes, that's right, my one year old does not crawl. However she does bum scoot. Not too worried yet, but I'm going to give her some more time. She loves to walk around while holding your hands, so that gives me hope. Some of her favorite foods are strawberries, grapes, and peaches. She can say mamma, dadda, hi, bye bye, nigh nigh, and bampa (grandmpa). She is so rolly polly and squishy, I can't imagine how many kisses she gets a day from her mom and dad. For her birthday we had a jungle themed party. I made a monkey cake, which she immediately grabbed the ear and dug in before we could sing to her. We celebrated with family and were so grateful for all who came to show there love for our sweet little girl. WE love you so much Tayler. You bring so much joy to our family and can't wait for more fun to come.



Donut ear that she devoured!


Yum yum!!

I'm pretty proud of this.

This is a snake that our neighbors found in their yard. Gross!! That's huge!!

Fishing at Utah Lake

So since we've lived her for 7 years we for sure go to the lake a lot for boating. However we've never just taken the kids down to the harbor to fish. So back in June we took the kids to our backyard to dig for bait, aka worms. They thought that was really cool to find big worms in our own backyard. We drove down to the marina and walked out on the harbor to fish. Unfortunately we didn't catch much. Joel got one catch, but lost it. Oh well, it's not like we were planning on keeping it for dinner. Overall the kids had fun just hanging out by the lake. I sure hope one day they make a nice beach down there. That would be awesome. But alas, it is Utah Lake. So not the nicest lake. But it's our lake and we love the view from here!!

Kaleb's turn to fish

Tayler just hang'n out with mom.

Avree's turn to fish.