Young Women Iron Chef

Last Tuesday we held a healthy cooking Iron Chef contest at our house for our mutual activity. The girls had a blast. Tonight they were asking me when we could do it again. I divided them into two teams and set the timer to 30 minutes. They had full use of my kitchen and each team had to come up with a "Healthy" meal using the fresh ingredients they were given. The secret ingredient was "Salmon". The also had an angel fook cake dessert and that was judged on aesthetics. The girls came up with grat ideas and then the judges "Willie and I" gave them the results and we all sampled. So fun!

Team Results

These are both teams dishes. Both teams sauteed and team B used herbs from my garden. Yum!

Scout Camp

I know this blog sometimes isn't chronological, but oh well, this is just so adorable of Wes. He's packed and ready to go. They met at the church at 4:30 am on Monday and returned Saturday afternoon. According to Wes, "It was the funest thing I've ever done." My big 12 year-old. Wow!

Ramnsey Canyon with Lanes

We headed to Ramsey Canyon to cool off and it was so gorgeous there. The kids played in the creek for almost two hours. They built boats and floated them down the creek and the small waterfalls, looked for bugs, ran around and did much exploring.

Ben + 2 = 5

Coming to a town near you. Maybe.



Ben + 2 = Five

Wesley's 12th Birthday Party

In our family, 12 is a pretty important age. You get to start having sleepovers. Boys get the Priesthood and start passing the Sacrament, girls start babysitting, and one of mom's faves, kids do their own laundry. Wes wanted to have a sleepover with his buddies. Michael, Jonny, Noah, Jacob, and Jordan came. They played a basketball game, had a Wii tourney, a paper airplane flying contest, and watched a movie, and of course, ate some junk food. Wes wanted a chocolate chip ice cream cake. It was huge and so yummy! The boys all had a great time and stayed up til 1:30am. We only have big parties every four years for our kids, so I can handle this every 4 years. It was a lot of fun!

Zachary's Indiana Jones Birthday Party

Zachary is crazy about Indiana Jones. We had his party in the evening and had some fun activities. The kids had to dig for artifacts, drink from the grail, and take a leap of faith. They also dug for gold coins through monkey brains( noodles) and had dinner, cake, and presents. They had a fabulous time!

Law Day Winner

I have to backtrack a bit, because I have missed some important stuff in our kids' lives. Last May Maddie won 1st Place at the Cochise County Law Day Poster Contest. She competed against approx. 50 schools in the county at the elementary school level. We went to Bisbee for a big ceremony where the State Treasurer, State Clerk, and Supreme Court Justices attended. The Supreme Court Justices were the judges for the contest. Students were to draw a poster based on a law that impacts their life at home, school, and community. Maddie's poster was about Littering. She even gave a brief speech about her poster. She said that she is concerned about littering because "Our world would otherwise be a trashy place to live in." She was so proud of herself and we are too.

Bisbee Courthouse

Pretty cool Art Deco building. The ceremony was on the steps and patio in front of the Courthouse.

First day of School

Last week was the first day of school. The kids were all so happy and ready to go. Wesley left so early that I didn't get his picture. He is in 7th grade and his bus comes at 7am. He is really liking his teachers and is making new friends. Maddie is a 5th grader this year. She is so cool! She took off on her bike so I didn't get her picture either. She has an awesome teacher and has made new friends and gotten reacquainted with old ones too. Zachary is in 3rd grade this year. Man time flies! He has a great teacher and is enjoying having a day planner and learning so many new things. Carina is in Kindergarten this year. I can't even believe it. Yikes! She has an awesome teacher! I am so excited! She slept with tiny knots all over her head so she could have curly hair in the morning. (Carina's request) She looked so beautiful! Here they are at the bustop. The blondie is her friend and neighbor Emi. She is in her class at school and at church.

Kindergarten Classroom

This is Carina's classroom. Isn't it so cute? I love the tables and chairs. They are so mini. She looks alittle nervous. Maybe she was just embarrassed that I was in her class snapping pictures. I can't help it, she's my baby.

Zachary's Baptism

Saturday, August 2nd was Zachary's special day. He was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Family and friends came to his baptism and there was such a sweet spirit there.

We love our Family

The Lanes and Grandma spent the week with us and Grandpa and Abuela came on Friday morning. It was great to spend time with everyone.