Iron Chef

This will be a long post. I am trying to catch up on all of our summer fun.
E and I were asked to help with the young women at church do an iron chef. Our secret ingredient was zucchini. We made a stir-fry that we make every summer with the zucchini and other fresh vegetables from our garden. We also made a zucchini crisp. We were able to take first place with that recipe. The judges thought that there were apples in it, they were very surprised that it was all zucchini. I call it "mock Apple crisp". I had a really good time with the young girls that came to our house. I hope they learned something new while they were here cooking.

Also while the girls were gone E and I went to Farmington, New Mexico. We went to the four corners and also stopped at some arches along the way. We went to Arches National Park but we just drove around to see what it was like. It was getting dark by the time we got there so we hope to be able to go back with the girls. I can;t believe summer is already over. We made alot of good memories and had tons of fun. I look forward to school starting but I will be excited to see what next summer will bring.

Summer Fun

We have had a lot of fun this summer. We went fishing one day and had a picnic in the mountains.

"A" ran a 5k and placed 2nd in her age group she also has been in marching band

.

"N" was in a play as a camelion and "M" helped direct the play.

And then the girls went to Missouri for 2 weeks to spend time with their grandparents. They were able to do lots of fun things including going to Silver Dollar City and the Dixie Stampede. They went to their great-grandparents and did fun crafts. They had a really good time.

Summer Visitors

For the past 3 summers my sister T has come to our house for a visit. She has 3 boys and it is exciting to see how energetic boys are. This year was the first year that they weren't scared of us. T wanted me to teach her how to sew. We started with a basic blanket and then moved onto a bag that she was going to use for church. I am very excited for her. She did a really good job on her bag. Today she told me she made 3 more blankets. I have always loved to sew and am glad that i was able to share my love of sewing with her.

My mom and dad also came to visit. I really enjoy having family come to visit. I get a little stressed out and try to make sure everything is just so but it sometimes ruins things, so I try to relax and just let things run their course. N loves to ride her bike and was able to go on a bike ride with my dad. She had a great time. I hope they have good memories of growing up.

4th of July

Every 4th of July we go to Florida for E's grandma J's birthday. It is always a great time. We really couldn't decide if we could afford to go this year, but G'ma J has not been doing to well health wise this year. E's dad said he would help us get down there, so we decided that it would be best if we went. All 7 of her children were there this year and I would say a good majority of the grandkids and great-grandkids. It is just a big family reunion every year. We had a great time and I am very happy that we were able to go. We went on a canoe trip and swam in the swampiest river I have ever seen. It was very important to E and I to go to see G'ma J. and for our kids to be able to see her again. 19 days after her birthday G'ma J passed away. We will miss her greatly. She was sure a character and always had something witty to say.

We also went to E's dads beach house and spent some time with E's sister and her family. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins on the beach.

It is so relaxing to sit on the porch and just listen to the waves.