Summer Kick Off

We did our Summer Kick Off today! We started our morning off with some craft time! This is a picture of the flower pot that Lil E did! As you can see we painted flower pots today! They girls loved it!!!



Then we met our friend at the park for a short trip! It was just to hot, and with the old medal toys, it wasn't that fun! They were too hot for the girls to get any enjoyment out of them! And it was so humid! We finally sat under a shade tree and enjoyed a snack and a short visit, before coming back home to our Oasis Resort! After returning home, we enjoyed our super special camp out tent that Lil E built! She did this last night so we could have a special day today!!!! She is so ready to go camping! :) Can you tell?



They were loving it!!!! And we had a picnic too! Then are you ready for this? We went swimming! (at our pretend beach!) Oh man after a very long swim, for nearly an hour, it was time to relax on the beach! Lil E swam her way to the wall and leaned up against it! Her words "Ahh, i'm relaxing at the beach and drinking hot coco!" I had to laugh! I said are you really wanting hot coco at the beach, she says she does because it's the BEST! So after that, we all had to enjoy the hot coco and relax!


After all that fun, we headed outside for some real water play! It was so hot and humid today! It has been lately and it's just yuck! I can do the dry heat, but I sure don't like this humidity we are having! YUCKO!

What would be playing in the water, if we didn't play in mud puddles too? It's just so much more fun to see the dirty mud on us, right? Well the girls sure think so! And this momma sure doesn't mind!

We even headed back out for round 2 in the water, after Daddy made it home! It was such a fun day!!!! It really was a wonderful time!

Yes yes, my lil K is busy going potty outside! I can't even begin to get her to use a toilet inside, and yet she just sits on this block and says I potty momma! are you kidding me? LOL, but I had to laugh! I told hubby, this makes us look really really redneck!!! But then again, it is time for us to head out tomorrow or our annual Hillbilly Family Reunion! So maybe she is just practicing at being a Hillbilly!

It really is the little things that matter the most! Just think about the memories we made today, but being silly and having lots of imaginative play time! :) So take the time to enjoy the kiddos, they grow up way to fast on us!

Hugs and Blessings,

Angels

Friday (yesterday) was a day of Angels!!!! You see I bought a new Angel Food Cake Can! And my youngest Angel made it a mask!!!! I just love love love the picture of her using it as a mask!!!


Then Lil K helped me mix up an Angel Food Cake!

AWWW, the smell, the taste! Where did it take me? Back to when I was a little girl and my Grandmother would always bake me homemade angel food cake to bring to our house, because it was my favorite! How I wish she would have made it long enough to teach me or pass on that recipe to me! How I wish I could taste hers one more time! Proof that I had a special Angel up above looking down on us!

But the one last night was so special too, because it was the first time Lil K helped make a cake!!! So it took on a new round of sweet memories! Then we topped it with some beautifuly fresh ripe strawberries! Everyone enjoyed!!!

Hope yall have a wonderful weekend!!

Hugs and Blessings,

Gotcha Twice!

WOW! Just to see the sisterly love! It amazes me!!! I love both these girls so much, and see how much they love each other! What a beautiful blessing!!!

It's Lil K's 2nd Gotcha Day!!!! Can you believe it! 2 years ago, we held her in our arms for the very first time, but she had long been in our hearts!!!!! We officially picked her up on the 20th (yesterday, her 2nd Gotcha Anniversay), but today is the 1st day the courts have it documented for the first day we had "Custody" of our Little Monkey!!!!

I just love this picture! She was busy doing just what big sister did!!! You can see how excited she was to stand on the bridge wall like a big girl!!! We had stopped by are favorite old spot at the Park to see the ducks.

Yesterday was a busy day for us out and about. We enjoyed lunch out with some friends! It was a really great time!!! Then we did lots of this and that's.......

We had baked beans for dinner (one of Lil K's favorites) with BBQ and potato salad. And laughed and played and just had a sweet time!!!

Just a super special time!! Happy Gotcha Anniversary Lil K! We love you so much! You make Mommy and Daddy so happy!!!!

Hugs and Blessings,

Mid May

May has brought out the spring storms! Almost nightly for the last couple of weeks, we have had some kind of storm! Some light, and some not so much! Tornados, Hail, Rain! We have seen it aww! Hate to see the destruction is has left everywhere!!!


May 12, we sat outside watching the storms pass us by! We did have a hail storm and some rain, but the worst of this one missed us! Thank God! But we had so much fun watching our girls play out in the midst of the showers! The simplest times, bring me the greatest joys!

You can see Lil sister is about to get her big sister! :)

Guess what Lil E is doing? She is blowing on blades of grass? How many people stop and teach their kiddos to do this anymore??? Simple Country Living!

Lil K is doing it too!!!

Aww, Daddy is teaching her again! :)

Look at that beautiful rainbow!!!! I love the rainbows after the rain!

Can you tell we were playing in the rain!!!! :)

NOw they are making pretendingt his is the pond......

Now it's a garden!!!!!



That night we spent some time laughing at the newest toy! The girls can't play with it really! We tried to let Lil E but this is by far not a kids toys. We got hte voice command controled Dale Jr car!

YOu have to tell it just want to do, like pit stop, turn right, and all tlhat! But you gotta be quick and tell it before.. It's crazy! And even more funny to watch them try to control this crazy car!

No way would I recommend this as a kid toy, like it is marketed!

My friend visited us over a couple of weekends in May! What a TREAT that was!!! It makes me so happy to have friends come visit, and to go visit them too!! After a late night of fun and games, I made this breakfast pot pie for the family and my friend! Everyone loved it!

Patty's Special Breakfast Potpie

2 pillsbury pie crust (refrigerated kind you unroll)

1 lbs of sausage cooked and any grease drained

8 eggs, scrambled

1 - 1/2 c shredded cheese

1/2 pkg of hashbrowns (country style squares) cooked

Unroll the first pie crust in a deep dish pie plate. Mix the sausage, egg, cheese, and hasbrowns together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill pie shell! Then place the other curst on top. Make a few slits in the top or cut a lil something out of it... Then you bake at 350, with foil or a pie ring around it to prevent the edges from burning. You will make it about 35 - 40 minutes. Until the crust is done and a beautiful golden brown. Slice and serve! We garnished with some yummy salsa!

Can you believe we are talking about more hail storms??? On May 16 we were hit with 3 different hail storms. What a mess! (This is the day Oklahoma City and Colorado both had huge and crazy hail storms! Colorados left 6 inches deep on the road ways! Ok City had larger than Softball size! Glad it missed us in the middle from being so bad!)

Lil E was out hunting the different shapes of the "ice" it rained! (as she says it).

After it was all done Elissa was busy playing in the rain puddles!!! :)

Then the next week, we were blessed with beautiful mornings, but still lots of afternoon storms!

So I will leave with some beautys and some May Flowers!

Hugs and Blessings,

Cooking Thursdays ~ My Yummy Beef Enchiladas

Yeah it's Cooking Thursday again! Click on the banner and it will take you to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, our awesome host of Cooking Thursday! You will find many other great recipes there.

Patty’s Beef Enchiladas with a Cheese Sauce

1 ¼ lb of lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 – 2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tsp Southwest Seasoning (Pampered Chef’s Southwest Seasoning, or homemade taco seasoning)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
12 corn tortillas
Oil for frying tortillas
8 oz velvetta cheese
½ - ¾ salsa
¾ c. evaporated milk


Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, salt and pepper, until it is done and no longer pink. Add Southwest Seasoning Mix or Homemade taco seasoning, amount will depend on how you like them. Remove from heat, and stir in half to 2/3 of shredded cheese and set aside. Heat velveeta with milk and salsa until cheese is melted and smooth. Fry tortillas one at time, about 5 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels. In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, spread a tiny bit of the cheese sauce on bottom to lightly cover. Spoon meat mixture to the center of a cook tortilla and roll up. Then place seam side down in the pan. When all 12 are in your pan, pour cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

Hope yall enjoy!!!

Hugs and Blessings,

Our Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco De Mayo!!! Any reason to have yummy Mexican food, works for me!!!! I try to make a themed meal for every holiday, it makes it fun and memorible for the girls! Who am I kidding, for all of us!

So I did just that, I made us a pan of yummy enchiladas! Lil E helped stir the cheese into the meat mixture. Everything else was just to hot for her to help with. I sure didn't want her to get burned.....

They are so yummy!!! Even the girls love this version of the beef enchiladas.... If you are interested in the recipe, the next post will have it in there for my Cooking Thursday post! :) Just had to share the pictures from our Cinco De Mayo day. I didn't get any other pictures. Bad bad me!!!

Hugs and Blessings,

Yeah, it's May

What more could a Momma want? It's a nice warm sunny spring day! (May 3) And look at the girls smiles! They light up my day!!! Lil K is really coming into her own personality! And I love it!!! She is really begining to do her own thing and say some funny things too. And to even grow up and not be the whinning baby. Man did I make her a baby! Since I missed so much time, I tried to keep her and baby, I didn't make her use her words, instead I let her whine and I just "knew" what she wanted. I didn't let her explore or do the bigger toddler things, that I even let her sister do at the very same age! But Idid realize I was not helping her in this, and I have been trying so hard to help her "grow". And she is just a little talker now! It's the cutest sweetest little voice! It's a cross from baby cute, sweet, and in the Texas Twang! And she wears "whos" instead of shoes! She says "I ove eww", but instead of saying eww, like that is gross, eww.. IT's "YUCK" from her! And she will not say thank you, it's simply "Thanks".

I was sitting down watching them run and play, and look who came and sat down with me! She just started jabbering away!!! It was too funny!

And just like most days, we spend a lot of time outside. Either at home in the back yard or at the park! We love just playing! I strive for them to be a kid and to get to play and have fun! It's my mission in life, in my journey of motherhood, to raise my girls in a simple old fashioned way, that they have great respect and know how to enjoy the simple and pure things in life! Some days we spend hours, or an entire afternoon out playing. What all can you do outside, you may be asking. Well we ride bikes and trikes. We drive the car, sling and slide, dig in the dirt, jump on the trampoline, color with chalk, make lots of dirt cakes, grow pretend gardens, play ball, blow puff balls and bubbles, play tag, and so much more! We just go outside and be kids! I also love to relax on the trampoline! It's really a great place to nap! When James is home, I will nap out there sometimes! It's peaceful, the wind is almost always blowing here, and we have lots of birds to watch too!

Hugs and Blessings,

Wrapping up Our April

I can't believe time has gotten away from me so bad!!! April flew by, and I never did seem to catch up. I can't believe we are now going to the Mid of May and I'm still stuck in the middle of April! So please if you want to see the pictures or read the stories, understand, it is going to be one really long post! Sorry, but it's the only way I know to get caught up.


Now to April ~

We are all back home and spring is in the air!!! So it was time to go outside and do some playing!


See what we found?? Puff balls! Aka Dandilions!

Totally screaming spring is in the air!!!!! Our yard was covered!!!!!

The girls were having a blast!!!!!!! Lil E has always loved blowing them!

Even had to do an entire bouquet at once! And I wonder why my allergies were acting up! Hmm, I think this just might be the answer! What do you think?

The many hats of our silliness! We were busy wearing crazy hats and pretending we were different things! It was so funny!!!

What was next? Oh, Rain, Rain, and more Rain!!! Now I love rain, but if you live in this part of Texas you know we get the majority of our rain all in a few short weeks! By summer, we are begging for a little rain. So after a few days of rain and inside play, Lil E was ready to get outside! So it was time to play in the rain!!! (April 16)

For me there is something so peaceful about looking out at the rain or staring out just after a nice rain shower! It brings me such peace!

But for Lil E was play time!!!!

Don't these pictures just take you back to a time when things were much simpler? They sure do me! What it would be like to have no worries, just like a child! But it makes me so happy to see my kids having the time of their lives and able to enjoy the little things! Because to me, nothing is better than the little things or little moments! I love to slow down and just enjoy the small things! It's something that brings me the GREATEST joy of all!!!!

After all that playing in the rain, it was time to come in and rest! And guess what, she was ready for a nap. This is rare, but I found it so sweet!

Yes you will notice Lil K has a black eye! She was being her little monkey self and was jumping on the bed, and fell. It was pretty ugly. Sure wish I knew how to teach them the dangers of getting hurt, because it doesn't slow her down at all.

One of my dearest friends was having surgery. It's a drive for us to get to the bigger cities. So the day of her preop, the girls and I drove her there, to spend the day with her and her little guy, who just so happens ot be one of Lil E's best buddies! We took some time to run by target and have a picnic and play at the park, in addition to the doctors visits.

It was time for a little racing car driving too! That is just what they were pretending to do.

Then we had a dose of bad weather come our way on, April 22. We had a small outbreak of tornadoes. Thank God, they hit in more rural areas, and didn't do extreme amounts of damage. I grew up without having a storm shelter/ cellar, even though we were in tornado alley. I had said that I would not be going down there either! I had no desire whatso ever to go down there. But when the tornadoe hit the edge or our town, and they said to take immediate cover, as it could be deadly if it stayed on the ground, it was to the cellar we went! Now I will be ready to use it if we ever need to!

BEWARE of our next adventure! It was the Rattle Snake Derby for our family! I can't beleive they really have festivals for these creatures, but they do! And it was a lot of fun for us all!!! I will save you from most of all the snake pictures. Although it was very informative to learn what was true about them and what was myths.

Daddy and the girls taking a much closer look at the snakes, that Momma wanted to.

After checking out all the snake stuff and all the vendors, it was time to hit the midway. Lil E's most favorite part of all fairs and festivals!

Lil E was such a nice big sister and agreed to ride on the back and not drive, so sissy could have some fun too!!!! Lil E rode lots of rides! Mommy even rode with her on the Galaxy ride!

After a great time on the midway, it time to enjoy a yummy snack!!!

We had fried peaches!!! And they were so so yummy!!! I had never seen them before. They took a fresh peach, sliced it and breaded the slices and fried them up! We had a cream cheese and cinnamon icing for dipping!

We were all tired, it was a super windy day! So we headed out and stopped to eat dinner! We love this Mexican Restraunt called Pedro's. It is so yummy, and they have the BEST fajatas ever!!!! After dinner we were heading home, but as we passed by the race track and saw the race cars heading there, we had to pay the little dirt track a visit! I was blown away by the low car count! That is for sure!

It was a nice facility though! and a great place to "learn".

My flower are in bloom!!! And most importantly, my beauties are blooming too!!! I hope they continue to grow and thrive and blossom with strong and sturdy roots!!

Can you believe it's the last day of April, and we are blessed to have Daddy home with us!!! He spoils us all when he is home!!!

He made the girls special Mickey Mouse pancakes, while he was cooking us a pancake breakfast! Yummy, pancakes with peanut butter and syrup! OH MY! YUMM YUMM!!!

After a day out and about it, was time to chill and enjoy the night at home! Lil K is smelling the flowers, but instead she really blows them! It is so funny! Then she will say smell good momma!

I love how simple and fun the above picture looks of my Monkey Lil K.

We had a busy and fun April! We made lots of GREAT memories! And spent a lot of quality time together! It is trully about the small moments in life! In the last picture, you see my 3 greatest loves! My dear and wonderful husband and both my girls! I can't imagine life without them!!! Oh how sweet they make it!!!! We are ready for May!!! We have a lot to look forward to in the Month of May!

Hugs and Blessings,