Creepy.

Have you ever been in a movie theater, a dark movie theater, and looked over to your left, or right, depending on where you are in the dark theater, and noticed the lady just down the row is staring at you?!

It's creepy!

Seriously.

I mean, c'mon. I'm eating my popcorn fast and furious because I didn't get much breakfast. I'm also staring intently at the movie screen. As if I'd never seen Open Season before in my life. Even though I have. What is there to stare at? In a dark movie theater?

I would like to have just given her that "What?" look. But because my mouth was full of popcorn and one hand was holding the next mouthful of popcorn and the other hand was holding on to the popcorn bag for dear life...I just looked back at the great big movie screen to see what was happening with Smelliott and Boog(er).

Creepy.

Like John Malkovich.

Please don't stare at me!

Cute Quips.

Ruthie is my Modesty Police. So this quip is just what we hear quite a bit. Except for the last part.


We are all sitting on the couch waiting for Daniel to come home from work and watching some X-Men cartoon. One of the characters, who is voluptuous to say the least, walks into the frame.

Ruthie-"She's really not modest."

Me-"No, she's not. Wow."

Ruthie-"She really isn't modest. Why?"

Me-"I don't know."

Ruthie-"At least she's wearing shoes!"


Yep. At least she's wearing shoes. Ruthie cracks me up!

Less Than 2 Weeks!

And these sweet little things will be back in a classroom.

Listening to another adult telling them what to do.

And these 2 hammers will magically disappear!

Make A Meal Monday.

And it's even Monday. I love it when I get something done on time! I didn't actually take pictures of the real dinner. So you'll have to use your imagination. Or just make it and take your own picture!

Green Peppers

Stuffed Green Peppers

Ground Beef

Chopped Onions

Tomato Sauce

Cooked Rice

Green Peppers

Shredded Cheese

Wash peppers and cut them in half length wise and strip the inside. They'll stand up better when cut that way. Start cooking the rice. Boil some water and dip each pepper half into the boiling water with tongs for just a minute. Brown the ground beef with the onions. Add tomato sauce. And, what the heck, add a dash or two of garlic powder! Mix the rice in to beef mix. Put mix into each pepper half. Sprinkle with cheese. Put them in a baking dish prepared with cooking spray. Place them in an oven warmed to 350 for just a few minutes (5-7) until cheese is melted.

The peppers make an awesome bowl and flavor the meat and rice mixture. We had this a lot growing up and I have fond memories. After assuring my kids that they didn't have to eat the pepper, they ate the rice. It was yummy!

A Day In The Life.

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Pictures.

Monday...We scrapped our FHE lesson and went to a nearby pond/park. We took old hot dog buns from the freezer and a loaf of old bread. Total: 1 Loaf of Bread and 32 Hot Dog Buns. The kids had a blast and the ducks were well fed.

Tuesday...I had a presidency meeting (see the cookies in the background? I make meetings worthwhile!) and we went till after lunch time. My kids were great and we were all hungry so we went to the local Old McDonald's to eat and play.
Wednesday...Cucumbers. And here is where I have no daily pictures. So you will see some of our garden growth. Wednesday we went to the dollar movie with Kim and Jessica. We realized what a horrible movie Rugrate In Paris is!! It was also a day filled with preparation for Day Camp.

Thursday...Corn. And Day Camp. Remember? Yeah. Ankle. It was fun getting to know all 25 of the Activity Day girls who went! My kids had a terrific time at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Friday...Yay! A real Friday picture! We went to our Ward Campout. It was so much fun! All the kids just ran and ran until far far far past any sane parent's child's bedtime. Then they all started the next day really early! This is a lighted frisbee. After this (only) picture, my batteries died. We had a great time and hope we will have a campout every year. And maybe more than just one night!

Saturday...Green Beans. We had yummy dutch oven made breakfast when we woke up. It rained on us. I sat and talked to a woman in my ward...who I absolutely love and am so glad I got to know her better! We left when the rain stopped. Started laundry. Mom crashed hard. Ruthie went to play at a friend's house. Mom went to a baptism for 2 of our Primary kids. The whole family went to see cousin Jesse at an open house to wish him well on his Mission. We all went to bed without ice cream. (long story)

Sunday...Green Peppers. I actually made stuffed green peppers for dinner this week. But of course, I can't remember what day it is today, so how would you expect me to know what day I made it for dinner. Sunday...Oh Yeah! It's Sunday. Went to church. Felt the Spirit. Learned a lot. Came home. Took a nap. Had Family Movie Night to watch Escape to Witch Mountain. The kids are now in bed and I will soon follow!

Hope you had a fantastic week!

A Day At Camp.

I had an opportunity to go with our Activity Day girls to Day Camp. Camp Kiesel. Luckily my in laws were able to watch my kids all day. It was fun. And since I won't post pictures of other people's kids, I will post one of me. Shooting a BB gun. I'm awesome! Totally awesome!

When we had misplaced one of our girls for a moment, all the leaders went hunting. I headed to the Trading Post and for some dumb reason they have curbing that doesn't match where the grass and the sidewalk are. So you see, it's totally understandable that I would totally twist my ankle on the curbing. Totally understandable! Right?! I made the mistake of telling the Pregnant With Twins Leader that I did it. Then she kept telling me to sit down and stuff. Even though she was having contractions when she walked! Why can't I keep my big mouth shut? But I did finally go to the I'm A Nurse And You Should Really Stay Off Your Foot Leader and got her opinion. Because it was hurting! HURTING! Do you hear me? But I was walking on it, so it isn't broken. Just twisted. And hurting. I'm a big baby!

Daniel wrapped it when I got home. I took lots of Ibuprofin and a big fat sleeping pill. I just got up a little bit ago. And only because the UPS guy needed my signature to drop off a box. Which is highly annoying. But the UPS people think we're retarded because we didn't get one of our deliveries at Christmas time even though the guy who delivered it said he left it right on our front porch while we were all home and Daniel was even out in the front yard and Ruthie has the hearing of a bat (do bats have ears?) and we couldn't find that box to save our lives even though it was part of our Wii system which we certainly didn't need 2 of if we snuck the box in and then called UPS and told them they made a mistake. So now I'm up and my head hurts. And my back. And my ankle is tender. I am walking gingerly. But check out the I Hurt My Ankle And Am A Big Baby Leader shooting the BB gun!
I am Totally Awsome!

Make A Meal Monday...on Tuesday. Again.

It just seems like I'm a day late and a dollar short. But I'm really not a dollar short. I have enough, thank you. But a day late, yes! This is the ZUCCHINI verson. Because. I. Have. Zucchini. If you don't have zucchini at your house....what's wrong with you?! We should all have zucchini in our homes at this time of year.
It's gotten much bigger since this picture was taken. It is taking over the garden. Zucchini everywhere! There are also tons of pumpkins in my garden. But I'll post those another time.

I have one zucchini plant because more than that is insanity at it's best. Or worse. I'll let you decide!

And you would think I would put all the zucchini together in a bunch so you can take in all the lovely zucchininess at once. But no. I only pick one a day and then use it.

So what do you do with all that zucchini?? I found some real ideas. Because when you just throw it into everything you make, the kids start to complain. Cold zucchini cereal just isn't cool I guess. Whatever.

So this is one great recipe I used. It's called Spaghetti Zucchini Bake. It's yummy. But don't tell your kids the real name. Mine get scared when I put zucchini in a sentence. So let's call it Yummy Dinner That You Will Eat, Or You Can Just Go To Bed.

You will need:

1 lb. Penne or just whatever pasta your kiddos like.

1 lb Ground Beef, browned and drained.

2 cans Diced Tomatoes

1 can Mushrooms

1 can Tomato Paste
1/4 cup Diced Onions

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced or crushed

4 cups Zucchini, cut into chunks

1 tsp Oregano

2 tsp Basil

2 cups Mozzerella Cheese, grated

Salt to taste

Cook pasta until tender. In another pot, combine diced tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato paste, onions, garlic, oregano and basil. Heat to boiling and simmer 5 minutes. Place zucchini in microwave safe bowl and zap for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and ground beef to sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta and 1 cup cheese and stir together. Put in a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is melted. If you aren't ready to serve yet, wait and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

And then you need dessert. Because we all need dessert. And we all need chocolate. This next recipe is good. If you like zucchini in your dessert. I tell ya, I thought I loved it. I really did. It smelled divine. But zucchini should really stay in garlic and butter. But I'll still share it.

Death By Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 cup Oil or Apple Sauce (You know, if you want to be all healthy and stuff)

3 eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (For healthy!)

1 tsp Allspice

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Salt

4 tsp Baking Soda

6 Tblsp Cocoa Powder

4 cup grated Zucchini

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 325. Cream sugars, butter and oil. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix in well. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, then add to sugar mixture. Fold in grated zucchini. Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle top of cake with chocolate chips. Eat the 5 chips that scatter onto the counter! Bake for 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

And then we have this. Because I had leftover crockpot chicken with gravy stuff. So why not throw in some garden stuff, including zucchini, and then add some mashed potatoes on top? Seriously! This is the best of all this stuff to me. Because I made it up as I went and it turned out yummy! You see the green beans? The carrots? The zucchini? The onions? Those are all from my garden. Mmmmm...

Just as a side note, before giving you the recipe. kind of. No girl should be without real garlic ready to be thrown in something! But no girl should be without this... Garlic powder. It makes me happy!

Leftover Crockpot Chicken and Gravy with Garden Veggies and Mashed Potatoes on Top!

So here's what you can do if you don't have leftover chicken. Just get some chicken, cook it, chop it into bite sized pieces. Then get some chicken gravy mix. Make it and then add Cream of Mushroom soup. Mix well and throw it on the chicken in the baking dish. Add whatever veggies you have. Don't forget the garlic powder!! And don't forget the zucchini. Make some killer instant mashed potatoes from the dry pack cannery. Put them on top. Bake at 350 for, oh, say, 20-30 minutes.

It was a hit. Zucchini is everywhere. It may even be evil. But if you use it daily and try to hide it whenever possible, your kids may... Never mind. Your kids will still hate you! Unless they really really really really really like zucchini. In everything. Everyday!

That's all I've got to say on the matter!