Las Vegas

Brett called one day and said there was a job in Vegas and asked if he should he take it. YES!!  He talked to his boss who told him to take the family, get a nice hotel and stay a few days. Yeah!! We were so excited! We all needed a break and some sunshine!

We stayed at the Red Rock Canyon Resort which is 10 minutes from Red Rock Canyon State Park. We spent most of our time there.

The first night we went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay but thanks to my computer crash I only have 2 of those photos. They were all on my phone and had already been downloaded and deleted. :(

The aquarium was really neat though and the shark tank was fun. Areas of the floor were see through and I was nervous to step on it! :)

The next day Brett worked for a few hours and Afton and I soaked up some sun by the pool. It wasn't warm enough to swim but I laid on a chair and Afton rolled up her pants and played in the water. We found an arcade and Afton blew 5 bucks and got a few prizes. We got some lunch at a little strip mall in the resort and ate it in our room. We couldn't wait for daddy to come back so we could hike!!

   

















Afton loved the bathtub and sat in there each night watching Tinkerbell and America's Funniest Home Videos!

The first day it was beautiful. We were in sweaters and jackets and soaked up the sunshine. Afton loved playing in the dirt, we found a heart in the tree (above) and a few other cool things in the rocks.














The next day we got up, had breakfast and headed out the door. The weather was hit and miss this time. Luckily we had our parkas because it was freezing...

Continued...

More Vegas

We stopped in St. George on the way home and spent time with Matt, Rachel, Zane and Ivy. Right when we walked in Afton said, Ivy can I see your room?? Funny girl.

I love these kids. I can't believe they are so grown up. I remember packing them around with me when they were little tiny and everyone thought I was their mom. Sigh.

The ride from St. George was a white knuckle drive. Snow, snow, snow... it was awful!

Valentine's Day

Wow it's been a long time! My computer hasn't been working for a month and it's taken that long to figure out that I DO have all of my photos. I thought these were all lost at one point and I am so relieved they are all here!!

So needless to say, I am behind on my blog.

I'll start here...

Crockpot Potato Soup

A few of my favorite recipes lately...     Potato Soup   This was delicious. I ate it for dinner, lunch the next day and as a snack. So good!

30oz bag frozen hash browns (I used shredded)
28oz chicken broth
10.75oz can cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons dried, minced onion (I used onion powder)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
8oz cream cheese, softened
4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled ( No bacon here)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix frozen hash browns (no need to thaw), chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, dried minced onion, and pepper in Crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours. (I cooked mine on high for 4 hours)

Remove lid and stir in cream cheese. Cook another 30 minutes and serve     Beef Stew - always a favorite   1 package stew meat 1 package stew seasoning (whisk into 1 1/2 cups cold water) 5 - 6 potatoes peeled and diced 3 - 4 carrots peeled and sliced 2 - 3 celery stalks sliced   This is so easy because you can add or take away veggies depending on how much stew you want.    Layer potatoes, carrots, celery, meat and liquid. Cook on high for 4 hours and let sit on warm for another 45 minutes or so. This helps the meat tenderize.    Serve with shredded cheese and yummy bread.  

Broccoli Casserole   1 bag frozen hash browns (for my family I used half) 1 jar Alfredo sauce 1 can of chicken (or you can cook and shred) 2 heads of broccoli 1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese   Cut broccoli into tiny pieces so it will soften faster.    Mix frozen hash browns with some Alfredo sauce. Layer broccoli, chicken, more Alfredo sauce and shredded cheese.    Top with bread crumbs or dried onions.    Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes and uncovered for 15.       

Christmas Card

More tree

I love getting the tree put together every year. I love my eclectic ornaments and the twinkling lights and the smell. One year I actually bought all new matching ornaments. They were light blue and white and so, so pretty but they just weren't me. I ended up taking them all back and my tree looks the same every year, which is okay!

Each ornament can be played with and Afton likes them all. I still need to finish my homemade ornament for this year but haven't gotten around to it! I will post as soon as it's done!

Too big?

So I've seen this idea all over Pinterest and decided to give it a try using a picture of Afton and Santa. It was really easy and fun but definitely huge!

To start I went to Staples and ordered the largest print they could make (3 by 4 feet) and then I went to Home Depot and bought a large piece of insulation foam board. They cut it to size right there but when I got home I realized you could see right through the paper. The paper is very thin...

I decided to paint the edges red and this picture isn't actually adhered in any way aside from a little piece of tape at the top. I decided that rather than store it I would roll it back up, stick it in an old wrapping paper tube and either reuse or discard the foam board. I don't have a lot of storage so the thought of storing it all year is kind of daunting. And really the whole thing cost around $11 so you could almost make a new one each year. Hmmm

Regardless of all that, I love how it looks and I have enjoyed having it in my kitchen for the holidays!!

Service project with the Young Women

I am probably a nag to the other leaders in Young Women but I am always pushing for service projects. It doesn't seem like we do nearly enough and at that age the girls are so impressionable and willing to help!

So when I was able to put together one Christmas activity we did a service project!

I printed out a list of Urgent Needs from a local shelter called 'The Road Home" and passed it out a couple of weeks before our activity. I told the girls they needed to bring 2 items from home and bring 2 dollars (that they've earned and they can earn it at my house) to spend at the dollar store.

Then I talked and talked and talked about it and was so glad when so many girls showed up that Wednesday. We decorated some pillow cases which is what the Road Home uses to pass out personal hygiene kits, gathered up what the girls brought with them and headed to the Dollar Store.

As we walked into the dollar store at least 2 other Young Women groups walked in with us. Another leader and I walked through together and she said, 'looks like we all have the same idea'. I replied, 'yes isn't service great'. She gave me a funny look and I later realized their girls were all buying gifts for each other. I was even more proud of my girls after that!!

I was amazed at how thoughtful the girls were while looking for items at the dollar store. They picked out practical gifts and talked about how grateful they were to have so much!!

After we were done we went back to the church and had some treats the girls brought with them and talked a bit about our experience. We are going to the same shelter in January to spend an evening doing a craft with the kids but after that I hope I have the opportunity to plan more service projects. I have a list....

Marshmallow art

Afton and I did some marshmallow art one day while it was snowing outside and she had so much fun!!