All Good Things.....

All good things come to an end, and this week just flew by.  Ethan stayed at Bryan's last night and we met them all this morning for a hike up the mountain.  It has been a great week......we will miss you until this summer!!!!

The mountains are always beautiful, even though snow has been scarce this year.

Headed up the trail with Elvis and B.B.

Only college kids would carry a couch up a mountain to sit on while enjoying a campfire!

Joseph wasn't in much of a mood for walking!

The best ice cream on the planet - any flavor is great, but this mint brownie was delish!

The kids spent nearly five hours outside this afternoon.  Ethan is finally old enough to be useful!

Freezer Meals

When Claire was just an infant and Megan lived in Washington state, we spent a couple of days making freezer meals - back then there was a lot of pasta dishes, and enchiladas....but this time around Megan is staying away from carbs as much as possible and has completely eliminated sugar (boring, right?) ..... so we really had to plan for this freezer round.  She wanted a lot of meals for the crockpot or pressure cooker so it would be a little easier when the baby gets here.

In order to do this efficiently...and survive grocery shopping with the kids...she planned well.

Have everything written out - per store - especially the exact amounts.  Check

Plan the store run so we aren't on the road forever.  Check

Hit the store with the cool carts when the kids are tired of shopping.  Check.

We cleaned out the deep freeze early Monday morning.  It was pretty much empty..just a few bag of veggies are left.

We ended up making over 45 meals with chicken, beef and pork.  And lots of veggies.  All she has to do is put it in the crockpot (on those organized mornings) or the pressure cooker (on those hectic days).

It is always a hassle starting off on a project like this, but the payoff is big down the road!

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

The gang with Elvis and B.B. King.

B.B. is a lovey.  He wants everyone to pet him, he loves the attention.  I don't know if he will be as cute when he gets older.  He is supposed to only get about four inches taller but weigh between 60-80 pounds.  I don't see it, but he will no doubt prove me wrong.

Logan and Heidi came over for Sunday dinner.  It was good to sit and visit.  Logan told us his mission story of getting arrested in Africa.  He had me rollin'.  My kids crack me up.

The younger ones played outside nearly all day - it was lovely weather.  By the time bath and stories were over we were ALL exhausted!