HappY BiRThdAy ASHLey.....

We took Ashley and some of her school friends bowling for her birthday. They had a great time.

Poor Ashley needs to work on her bowling skills though. She is a pro on the wii, but real life is another story. I got this cake at Cakes and More, and it was seriously the best cake. I forget how good their cakes are. I will be paying a little extra from now on to get these cakes. I wish I had a little slice right now.

Happy big 12 Ashley.....

Pesto Chicken

This is truly a delicious recipe that I'm so glad that I tried. I think I could have eaten the whole pan, but I am trying to loose a few pounds so I limited my portion to what you see above. It was wonderful.

Pesto Chicken

Chicken breasts

Pesto

Mozzarella Cheese

I put a couple spoons full of pesto in my glass Pyrex dish and spread it around.

Coat your chicken with the pesto....I used approx. 1 teaspoon per breast

Top with shredded cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for approx. 45 min to an hour.

I uncovered mine the last 15 min. to kinda brown the cheese.

I served this over pasta that I added about 2 tablespoons of pesto to after I cooked it.

And really the calorie count wasn't to bad. I only ate 1/2 cup of pasta. I served it with a big salad.

It will definitely be served around here again.

YUMMY

Please excuse my lovely paper china....I love paper plates. I hate washing more dishes. Paper has become my best friend lately.

Christmas 2010...and New Year 2011

Christmas 2010 was over way to fast, and if Charlie had it his way we would keep the tree and lights up ALL year long. He LOVED it this year. I think he finally got the whole Santa thing this year, now we have to work on The REAL meaning behind Christmas with him for next year.Little Mackinzie has grown up since I saw her last. It has been almost a year since I saw this little doll, and she is so precious and sweet. She like playing with Charlie's toys, but Charlie didn't like to share much with her. (NOTE TO SELF....continue to work on sharing this year) HAHA.
Nanny and Ashley

Presents under our cute little tree!

Ashley did a lot of this and is still doing a lot of this on her new lap top Santa brought her. This wins the best gift award by far in her book!

Papa watching Charlie's new train go round and round. This train from Nanny and Papa was a huge hit and I think it is his favorite gift this year. This little boy loves trains!

Ashley got me something I've wanted for a long time.....A SNUGGIE!

Haha, I know it's cheesy, but I LOVE IT!

Christmas morning! I actually had to wake these Children up to see what they got....at like 8:30 or so! Lazy bones.

Love this cute gel watch.

Charlie and his "Monter Truck"! He loves them almost as much at trains!

Ashley painted this cute plate at Brush with Art a few years ago, and it made a great cookie plate for Santa's cookies. We bought Santa's favorite cookie this year instead of making them! Love the note Ashley wrote and the little orange scribble that Charlie did! Such sweet memories.






Happy New Year Y'all!

Welcome 2011

Ummm...Hey Ashley....It's not midnight yet! What are you doing?

Well, she made it till midnight in New York, does that count?

And this little sweetie pie made it till about 1030! Look at his pillow, Isn't it sad looking. We have renamed it "FRANKEN-PILLOW" It is really a story that deserves it's own post. I think I'll update on "pillow" tomorrow. The story is funny and a must for our memory someday!

This is what we did new years eve. We stayed in, Henry cooked steaks on the grill in the freezing cold, and we played a game of Monopoly. Lets just say that my dear husband won...like he does most games! Ashley isn't the best looser and quit early!






Blessings to all my family this year. I am praying that this year brings lots of fun times and that God blesses us with health. I pray that me and my family continue to grow in the church that we have grown to love and look forward to attending every week. We will officially be joining

our Church on Jan. 17th. I know that the LORD has big plans for me and my family, and I hope that we will full fill HIS plans for us.

Where did the time go?

I don't know where the time goes lately? But it's going fast and I feel like I am missing so much. I wake up and go to bed and the rest of the day feels like a blur most days. My Children are growing up so fast....in some ways I am THANKFUL but other ways I am SAD. I know some days I get caught up in the daily struggles of life, parenthood and working that I take for granted life's little treasures.....MY FAMILY!

Words can never express how much I love them and am thankful for each moment.

OK on to LOTS of pictures! Sorry just hang in there!!!

I had to put this picture in for my memories....This is how so many picture of Charlie turn out.

BLURRY

Because he NEVER sits still enough to get a pic and he refuses to smile for the camera. So different from his sister who was quite the poser since birth.

We went to the Polar Express in Lubbock this year. We had a good time. Charlie loves trains and we really thought he would enjoy the ride, but it didn't keep his attention very long. We all got some hot chocolate and cookie on the way to the North Pole. It was nice to get away for a little bit.

Ashley and her bell from Santa.

Charlie saw something out the window....
He is in love with mickey mouse right now and will only wear his mickey pjs.

Love his little reflection in the glass. Kissable cheeks!

Me and Ash on the train.....ALL ABOARD!!!!

About to leave the Depot.

My Almost 12 year old "baby"

She is such a beautiful girl.

I pass these big guys all the time taking the kids to school, but this day there were at least 20 so i tried to get a pic. It was hard since there were cars behind me, probably thinking I'm crazy for taking pics, but it is one little advantage of "country" living.

Now really did you think I would leave out a food post or 2? HAHA

These are mini Cheese Puffs and boy are they delicious.

The recipe called for pepperoni, but sadly I was out so I made them with just cheese and they were great.....pepperoni would be wonderful as well.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

3/4 c. Flour

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1-1/4 cup Italian cheese blend

4 oz pepperoni mini's or chopped regular pepperoni

Grease your mini muffin tin

preheat oven to 400

fill 1/2 full

bake 15-18 minutes

I baked mine 15 minutes and they came out perfect.

This is a little snack I made for the kids the other day. Yummy Calzones.

I used canned biscuits but pie crusts cut into circles and filled would be delish.

I just rolled out my dough, filled with a little sauce and cheese. You could add in whatever else you want. Press the edges with a fork and pan fried them till they were golden. You could bake them as well. My kids love pizza so this is a fast dinner or snack when we are having something they don't like!

Charlie and his "mini" banana!

Henry brought this mini banana's home from United the other day. Have you seen them? They are so cute, but a total rip off to buy. They taste the same as a regular sized one, but you have to peel them from the bottom instead of the top. (at least we found it easier)

Well, so sorry for the long post but I had to do catch up since I have been bad about blogging lately.

Busy weeks coming up with Christmas right around the corner.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

xoxo

Catching up.....

Here is a look back at our month of October.

Freckles and Ashley share a bed, and I just though this was cute. Freckles is a spoiled little dog that is lifted up to bed nightly and as you can see she gets her own side of the bed. She is a sweet little dog. (and getting REALLY fat!) Ashley had about 6 friends over for a little Halloween get together. I had my camera in my pocket, but only got 3 pics. They had a great time. We made a fire outside to sit around and tell ghost stories, bobbed for apples, and ate goodies. There was lots of screaming and giggling and they had a good time.

The menu consisted of cupcakes, PB&J sandwiches, pretzels, red Velvet and cream cheese icing cake pops dipped in green candy melts, popcorn, candy corn, m&m's, caramel apples and orange witches brew. YUMMY. Cake balls are my new favorite thing.

Henry and I took a much needed weekend along to Red River the 2nd week of October. They were having Octoberfest that weekend. We grabbed this from a food vender for lunch one day, and It was soooo good. Pulled pork nachos with hot jalapenos.

We stayed at Lifts West this year. We have never stayed there before. Here is Henry with our place right behind him. We had a balcony overlooking the park where the Octoberfest festivities were. It was a nice relaxing weekend.

The last night we were there we drove to this little area with our grill and cooked out in this little park. It was perfect. We had steak, baked potatoes and bread with chocolate cookies for dessert. There was a Momma dear with 3 babies just up from where we cooked and the air was cool and it was wonderful.

Had to include this cheesy self taken pic of us....when there is no one else to take a pic you gotta do what you gotta do to make a memory. HAHA

Had some yummy margarita's while sitting on the balcony overlooking the beautiful mountains.

This was a view from our balcony the night we arrived. The park is where Octoberfest was.

Ashley also started volleyball session 1. My pictures never turn out at the Courts of Amarillo, so this is the best one I had. You can kinda see her in there. They lighting is not good there. They had a great coach this year and learned a lot of new things. She is also coaching session 2 which just started. She is going to be ready for try outs next year. I have no doubt we have a volleyball future with her. She is a good player and she loves it so much. We are truly proud of her.

Homecoming was October 1 and it's a big deal out here. I made Ashley's mum and had a great time doing it. It has been a long time since I have done anything crafty. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to what I can do next year.

Well that is what's been going on here. All is well and we are all sill alive, just don't seen to have a lot of time these days. Looking forward to Christmas break.....................