Some Tried and True Recipes

Mini Pizzas

1 pkg hamburger buns
1 can/jar seasoned tomato sauce (I use the Walmart brand pizza sauce)
grated cheese--pizza blend is best, but sometimes I use only cheddar
pepperoni and/or other toppings your family likes (we're boring, we pretty much stick to cheese or pepperoni)

My children LOVE to help me make these, which is probably why they eat them, because they've made them! Preheat the oven to 400. Just spoon a little sauce, no more than about 1-1/2 tsp onto half a hamburger bun, add a little cheese and topping. Put on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bun is golden. Makes 16 mini pizzas.

Tex Mex Chops

4 pork chops (or more, depending on your family size)
1 cup salsa
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste

Season the chops with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown the chops on each side in oil. Reduce heat to low and pour salsa over the chops, covering them. Place a lid on the pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until pork is fully cooked.

We tried that one last night for the first time, and the kids LOVED it, kept asking for more.

BBQ Pulled Pork or Beef Sandwiches

One pork or beef roast
One container BBQ sauce (My favorite is Sweet Baby Ray's)
Buns or rolls

Place thawed roast in crock pot and completely cover in sauce. Simmer on low for 7-8 hours. Use a fork to shred the beef or pork. Serve with extra BBQ sauce on rolls as sandwiches.

Now I'm hungry...

What We've Been Up To

Okay, clearly we've been up to more than these photos reveal, but unfortunately, I haven't been taking many pictures lately. Plus, when I go swimming with the kids at the YMCA, something we do quite often, I have to be completely hands-on and can't have a non-water-proof camera with me at all. Maybe I can drag Corey there with me one time before we move and he can take some pictures!

Here are some other things that have been fun around here:

Since starting back in school, Westley has LOVED playing school with his brothers and sister, and they love it too. I think they mostly love wearing their backpacks.

Corey's boss gave us this big wheel--his kids have outgrown it and he was just going to throw it away. The boys only got to ride it a couple times before it started getting way too hot, so for now it is sitting in the garage. Hopefully it won't be too cold in Utah when we move for them to use a few times before there's snow!

One of the boys' favorite activities is playing with the costume box. Yes, boys like playing "dress up" as much as girls do, but they prefer to dress up as superheroes, not royalty! Eliza likes to dress up too, but the only stuff we have is super hero-type stuff. I do have a princess dress I bought just after Halloween last year that is a 2T and she'll get that for her birthday present this year! I'm sure she'll love it when she can dress up as a princess!

Finally, a solid plan!

We aren't moving until the first weekend of October! We've arranged with the buyers of our house to rent it back from them from when we close, on August 21st, through October 3rd. At that point, Corey will most likely be able to just move with us, if not, it will only be a couple of weeks that we'll be without him.

We may or may not move into James' house. James was my brother Aaron's good friend who was offering to let us rent his house in West Jordan. Last week, we received very sad and terrible news that he had passed away from a diabetic coma sometime after July 16th. The saddest part is that he was trying to get the insulin that would probably have saved him long enough to call 911, but he didn't quite make it. Unfortunately, he was found more than a week after he passed away. Anyway, his family has offered to rent us the home, if it doesn't sell first, so it's possible that come the middle-end of September, we won't even have to look, we can just rent that house.

I am glad that we at least know now that we aren't moving until October 3rd, so I won't have to be in Utah for a long time without Corey and also Westley can finish his first 9 weeks of school, which ends on September 25th. I feel really good about this turn of events and feel that even if we decide to not rent that house in West Jordan, that we will find something just right for us.

New Moving Update

Ah, this move is so fickle, I tell you! One minute we're staying and renting, then we're moving soon to a certain house, then it's all changed again!

We're still moving August 21st and 22nd, but this time, we are moving to Herriman, right near Riverton (both cities were used as addresses interchangeably when I google mapped it). The house in South Jordan sounded like a great place to live, but after really crunching the numbers, we decided that while we could make it work, it would be really hard with no wiggle room for extras we might need in Utah, like snow tires and warmer winter clothes that we don't already have. So we found a better deal on a house in Herriman that will work out just fine. Still about 20 minutes from Jordan Landing and the Draper stores, give or take a few minutes, which is way better than the 50-60+ minutes it takes Corey now to drive to work.

We also won't be going to Utah to look around, we're going by the pictures and by the fact that the landlord is putting in new carpet and having it all cleaned professionally that it will be nice. It's a new house, built in 2007. One drawback will be Westley being bussed to a school that's further away than about 3 schools close by, but the school is still only a 10 minute drive from our house.

Anyway, I will send the new address out by email when we seal the deal and sign the contract, which should be in a couple days.

I feel much more settled about this and confident that things will work out.

Moving Update

It looks like we are moving on August 21st. The renting idea isn't panning out. Corey and I are NOT going to Utah to find a place, I am going alone. Possibly with 1 or 2 children in tow. Corey will spend much of that weekend packing, with Jamie, his sister, watching the other 2-3 kids while he's at work on Monday and Tuesday. When we get back, it will be packing and more packing and cleaning. Then the idea is to load the truck as well as close on the house on August 21st. Then move. We have found and secured a house in South Jordan. When I go up next weekend, it will be to meet the landlord in person and make sure everything is ready for us. My brother Adam was kind enough to help us out by going down and walking through the house yesterday and then giving us his opinion. It's a bit on the high end of our rent range, but we are going to make it work by sticking closely to our budget. I really hope that the ward is good and it will be worth it.

Still, I find all this very hard. The thought of being up in Utah without Corey for 2-1/2 months is rather daunting. I do have a few friends up there from high school and college and also some cousins. This is definitely a leap of faith.