You Scream *** I Scream

*** We all scream for ice cream!

A couple weeks ago Layne was assigned to bring homemade ice cream to the upcoming High Priest social (next weekend). At first I thought he was just kidding, but then I realized that he wasn't and that I needed to 'get my game on'.

We only think to bring out the ol' ice cream maker once a year, maybe, so I don't have a My Favorite Ice cream Recipe section in my box. So off to the Internet I went and my goodness, there are TONS of recipes for ice cream. Some that look yummy and some that really don't.

Needless to say, we've had more ice cream in our house these past several days than we have in years. We don't usually eat a lot of ice cream. That or I just don't think to buy ice cream. It isn't on my list of things I want to eat very often. But for now, Layne and the kids are in hog heaven.

Here is what I've learned:
1 - Ice is very cold.
2 -Yes, you can put too much chocolate in Chocolate Ice Cream.
3 - I don't hate Strawberry Ice Cream like I thought I did. (Still not my favorite though...vanilla rocks!)
4 - You can put most anything in ice cream.
5 - The ice cream mix packets at the store are pretty good.
6 - There are too many ice cream recipes in the world.

So, if you have a wonderful recipe that you think we ought to try, send it my way. And if you haven't made ice cream this summer don't let not owning an ice cream maker stop you. There are recipes on line that only require plastic baggies. Happy eating!

See ya...Wouldn't want to be ya...

I feel like I ought to love it. I feel like I ought to enjoy it. I feel like I may be on the verge of treason because of my Idaho blood. TOO BAD! I don't like camping. I don't mind going up to the mountains and taking in the gorgeous views and breathing the fresh, pine air. I don't even mind if we stay for supper, but can we please go home to sleep in our beds and shower in our showers? My husband and children love camping, and so does my husband's family. So when we are in Idaho, during the summer, we usually end up in the beautiful Rocky Mountains for a couple days. While we are up in the Rocky's the kids are on cloud nine and my husband proudly brings back a string of fish to show me how manly he really is. I figure it is good for me do these things, now and then, for my kids.

Why am I talking about camping? Josie is leaving for Girls Camp tomorrow morning and she is so excited. She has been packed and ready to go for two weeks. She is going to have so much fun. I'm excited for her. The Girls Camp Program is a little different than it was 'back then', when I was in YW, and here we don't have mountains to trek into. They do have cabins, bunks, and a swimming pool to cool off in though. So maybe I ought not slam the whole camping thing till I try it the Ohio way first. Or maybe not.

I'm so happy that there are adults that love teenagers and camping and willingly accept the challenge of combining the two. Josie's leaders are a lot of fun and will make her first Girls Camp experience a wonderful one, I'm sure of it.

Have a fun time Josie! We can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.

Growing Pains

Do you remember wanting something but the fear of doing or getting it was just too much? Mine was getting my ears pierced. I wanted to get earrings so badly, and yet, the fear of pain was too much for me to do it. I remember my dad and I in the mall one night before Christmas and he was all ready to take me to get them done. I still chickened out.

Well, something similar is going on in our house right now. We have four bedrooms, but up till now only three have been used regularly. The one in the basement has always been used for a toy room/guest bedroom. Todd declared that he was sick of the messes that Mitch & Justin make in the boys room and that as soon as Grandpa & Grandma left from their visit he was moving down to that room. And he did. His dresser is down there. His PlayStation thing (and all the crap that goes with it) is down there. All his stuff is down there.

And this is how we find him each night when we check on the kids before we go to bed....

I'm sure they ask (and maybe beg) him to let them sleep down there, but I have never heard him say no or complain. I've also heard him announce that he was getting ready to go down to bed. Almost like a call to anyone interested to join him. I shouldn't get a kick out of this, but he was so 'out of there' that it makes me giggle.

I remember when Toby moved to the basement in out house when we were little. I slept down there in the bottom bunk quite a bit myself. So it is a normal concern/fear, I'm sure.

We all have fears, but we grow up, mature, and get over them. My ears have been pierced for years now and since then I've done several things that hurt MUCH worse. So, till Todd gets over this fear I think we'll just let the boys stick together. And yes, his room is always clean.

My Favorite Month

I love July. Who doesn't? There is sun, swimming, picnics, & fireworks. Not to mention homemade ice cream, snow cones, and of course watermelon.

One reason I love July so much is my own selfish, personal reason...

Here is what my calendar looks like every May & June:

And then this is how July looks:

Ahhhh, doesn't that just look heavenly? Not much of anything that we have to do. We can mostly just do what we want, when we want.

Another fun thing about this month is that Layne always takes vacation. Honda shuts down for the week of the 4th of July and Layne usually adds on some of his vacation too to make it a nice long break. But this year he is taking a week here and a week there all summer long. It has been fun so far, but I do have to say, when he is home from work it gets expensive. I swear he is at Lowe's everyday. Today the boys came home from Lowe's and pulled the truck out into the backyard. When I went to see what was going on this is what I found...

...a new fire pit. For 13 years we have had a fire pit that was just big rocks found on our property and a shallow hole. We've had many good cook outs with friends and family out there. Now we have a very pretty block fire pit. Good job Layne & boys!









And one more thing I love about July is celebrating our country, The United States of America. I am so grateful to all the men and women that have and currently are keeping us safe and providing us with the freedoms that we hold so dear. We have friends and family that are currently in Iraq and we couldn't be more proud of them and all those that work with them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!


Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone!

Please Come Again

(just a pic of some of mom's favorite flowers)

We had such a fun time with Grandma Lucy & Grandpa Jay. It seems like we spent a good amount of time in the van, but I guess that was because we had fun places to get to. They came to see the boys play ball. Their timing was perfect. It is the end of the season tournaments for both boys! So they got to see them play several times. The only problem was that they had to leave before the tournaments ended and dad was bummed he couldn't finish it out with them. We'll keep them updated.

If we weren't at the ball park we were at home playing ball. Morning till night for our boys.

Even Grandma got in on the action.

Here we are playing mini golf. I'm pretty sure we didn't break any records, but we had a good time.

The time went by too quickly, but I think we got most of what we like to do done. Dad got to go antiquing and mom and Josie got to go to the mall shopping. We got to stay up late, sleep in, eat lots of candy & pop, and visit. Can't wait to do it all over again next time.

We love you both!!

Chicken Alfredo Recipe .... this is your copy Geri & Jason

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 t. garlic salt

1/4-1/2 cup milk (thin to desired consistency)

Heat ingredients in a small sauce pan till hot & bubbly. Pour over pasta, chicken, & vegetables.

For everyone that is wondering why I am posting this recipe......

#1 - Audrey called tonight and asked why I haven't posted in a while.

#2 - I saw this pic and wanted some.

#3 - Geri & Jason have called me for the recipe 5 times in the past six months and I decided to help save time and cell minutes.