~Dinner and Dessert~

I've had two request.............

• Where is Yogurtland? Well if your not in the OC your out of luck! But if you are then you must go there! It is off Alicia and Valencia (across from the community center), and I just was informed there is one in RSM and in the Kaleidoscope. They have probably 15 flavors of yogurt and a whole bunch of toppings - including cocoa puffs - my family's fav! And it's all self serve, so make it like you want it! Yum - I think I need one now.

• How do you make Poppyseed Chicken? Ok, this is from the top of my head so bear with me..................

1. I take a 9 x 13 pan and layer the bottom with 2 cups rice (I use brown) then add chicken (any kind works - legs, thighs and breast).
2. In a bowl mix 1 can of cream of chicken soup, with 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup of sour cream. pour this mixture over chicken. (I use healthy request soup and low fat sour cream and it still turns out good)
3. Add 2 cans of water to dish (check this half way through and make sure you do not need to add more water.
4. Use one roll of whole wheat Ritz crackers. I put the whole roll in a large baggy and crush them with the soup can. Mix with 1/2 stick melted butter or margarine and 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds.
5. sprinkle cracker mixture over chicken.
6. I cover for half the cooking time and take off foil in the end to make the crackers a little crispy.
7. Bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes. Don't forget the non-stick spray!

This is supper yummy and my kids gobble it up!

So there you have it - dinner and dessert! :)

Update: I just found out that there are Yogurtlands in 5 states!

Who knew??

ABC's of ME :)

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Lindsey & my sister Heather, to do the abc's of me:

A. Attached or single? single
B. Best friend? I'm blessed with many - my sisters & family, Kelly & Cathi, and everyone else - you know who you are!

C. Cake or pie? Either/or?????? how bout both - Chocolate cake & Claim Jumper peach pie (seasonal)
D. Day of Choice? Sunday - so relaxing
E. Essential Item? rainbow sandals, iced tea

F. Favorite color? sky blue
G. Gummy bears or worms? bears - the baby ones
H. Hometown? Mission ViejoI. Favorite indulgence? YogurtLand - Kahlua with Butterfingers on it - yum - any day!
J. January or July? July
K. Kids? 4 :) L. Life isn't complete without? God's grace & See letter I.
M. Marriage Date? May 4, 1996
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 3 sisters, 2 brothers
O. Oranges or apples? depends on the season - fall = apples, summer = oranges
P. Phobias? motorcycles, I saw one go down and now I freak out whenever I see them!
Q. Quotes? Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God's goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God's goodness, rooted in His character, is the same.
--Helen Grace Lescheid
R. Reasons to smile? Faithful God, fun & good kids, fun & loving family, fun & caring friends
S. Season of choice? honestly - there are things I like about each season (Fall = leaves changing colors, Winter = snow, Spring = flowers, Summer = beach)T. Tag 5 people: Jen, Kristen , Courtney, Jill, Crysti, and carrie (Carrie - that's 3)
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm really good at Wii Golf
W. Worst habit? taking my shoes off wherever I sit!
X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound
Y. Your favorite food? sushi then yogurt (see Letter I) - a perfect meal!
Z. Zodiac sign? Virgo - if it matters................

WE DID IT!!!!!

And they're off..........................

What a fun morning! We ran the MissionViejo High School 5k. It was on the El Toro Marine Base which was so neat to see, and to run on the landing strip!

Run Jill & Shannon - RUN

Congrats Cathi & Amber on winning medals!!!!!!

WE DID IT!!

Jill and I were just happy to beat our time and to not be last :)

(we actually ended up coming in 6 & 7 in our age division!)

It has been so fun and rewarding to be working out with Jill every morning - the good conversation, the laughing, the sweat, the complaining, the sweat, the accountability!

Thanks Jill for hanging in there and we are not even done yet -

works in progress :)

Fun day......................

R & R

Welcome to paradise!! This is what the first day of my vacation looked like...................

Then it cleared and we got to play outside :)

Our family got out for a little R & R at the river, which if you've been to Laughlin you know it's not really relaxing, fun - but not so relaxing. It should be called G & G - GO GO GO. We played on the water during the days (which ended up being kinda a disaster - 2 out of 3 Wave Runners broke down within the first 3 minutes! But the next day it went a little better - they lasted almost 4 hours - one was burning oil and had to be taken in, then my cousin hit a sand bar and got rocks in the propeller, the current took her miles down the river and we had to go rescue her!) . Then at night went out to dinner with the whole family and played until late. Believe it or not, these are just about the only pictures I got! We were there with 26 other people and I don't have any pics of them - bummer.

It was - as always - a fun little trip to the River.

red, white & blue

We had a very relaxing 4th of July this year.

We did have one little outing to the Mission Viejo Street Fair. But it was hotter than you know where, so we pretty much got our dippin dots and came home back to the pool!

We played a wild game of "FAMILY FEUD" (and the Keller's joined us)

We watched fireworks at the Lake. We actually sat very close to where they were shooting them off so it was very cool to be right underneath them!

I love where I live and I don't just mean Mission Viejo, we are so lucky to live in this country. And I'm feeling very indebted to the men who are serving to keep our country like it is. And I'm feeling the need to do something for them or their families - any ideas?????

I hope you all enjoyed your 4th with your loved ones :)

Run like the wind............

We ran our first family 5k! Well part of the family anyway. It was really fun - it was the Lake Forest Family 5k. The girls went ahead of me but I did beat my best time! (We don't have our official times yet) It was a great way to kick off the 4th!!! Have a great day ya'll :)

DOUBLE DIGITS

It has been such a busy week that I haven't been able to post about Mandy's Birthday! Gesh. She turned 10 on the 26th! I can't believe my baby is a "preteen".

Sorry for all the pictures but here goes - Her day started with waking up to about 50 "happy birthday" signs that her sister's posted all over the house! Here are just a few :)

Then it was off to her favorite breakfast spot!

THEN, we had vacation bible school this week and she was a jr. helper (and I was the official photographer - so fun) but they called her up on stage and had everyone sing to her!

Then for lunch we went with friends and grandma to Ruby's.

THEN, we went down to the beach with friends for some smores and hot dogs!

We ended the day with a giant chocolate chip cookie!

BUT wait - there's more!

(getting tired yet?)

This weekend we had "CAMP MANDY"

Thanks for the cute sign Cathi!

It was really fun - we put up two tents in the back yard and had a good old fashioned camp out!

We played about 5 games (including a seed spitting contest - yum)

The kids also got to paint pet rocks (this is a great way to get rid of all the unwanted little rocks around your yard - haaaaaa am I smart or what???)

Then there was the decorate your own cupcake station..........

Opening presents around the fire...........................

When the boys all left - the real fun began!

Smores right before bed time?

(ok, so maybe I'm not the smartest)

BED TIME - YEAHHHHHHH

Are you exhausted just from reading this? So you can imagine how I feel! I think every kid needs a sleepover at least once in their life - this was IT!

I love my little Mandita and am so thankful for the little spark she brings to our family! She is at a fun age. She wants so badly to be little miss independent (like her sisters) and yet still relies so much on me. I'm going to relish this time I have with her, now that we are in double digits! Pleaseeeeee God - slow down this processsssss!!!

Happy 10th Birthday Amanda!

~I love u~