Mesquite(o?)

A week or so ago we went on our annual/semi-annual trip with Jim's parents to their timeshare in Mesquite.  Sam was a little concerned when we told her where we were going because she worried that for a city to be named after mosquitos it must have an overabudance of them.  :-) 

But overall she was stoked because she's been wanting to go back to Las Vegas ever since our last trip two years ago.  It's only a 45 minute or so drive from Mesquite to Vegas--last trip we spent half a day there and it must have made quite an impression.  In Primary a few months ago when it was her turn to be the "spotlight" where they answer questions about themselves, her answer on "Where do you want to go on your mission?" was "Las Vegas". 

Proud parenting moment. 

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Friday we drove down and just got settled in and relaxed.  Saturday Jim and his dad went golfing, and while they were gone Sam, my MIL and I had a picnic, hit a jewelry/purse show put on by local vendors, did a little Superbowl party prep shopping...

got some ice cream goodness at Dairy Queen (which we could actually enjoy OUTSIDE)...

 watched for the guys on the golf course...

and made Valentines. 

 Which led me to wonder: how frickin' long does it take to golf?  We accomplished an awful lot of stuff during their one round of golf.  

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The next day we hit the Sunday brunch buffet at the Casablanca, which I look forward to every year because along with my French toast and other breakfast goodies, I get to have all-you-can eat shrimp and crab legs.  Mmmm...

None of us are big gamblers, but Jim and his rents always have to put a few bucks in the slot machines, so Sam and I try to amuse ourselves in the car while we wait for them to lose their money. 

 In between brunch and the Super Bowl we made a jaunt up to St. George to walk around the temple.

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Monday Sam finally got her trip to Vegas. 

She had no use for the M&M factory, and I totally agreed--they have every color and flavor imaginable EXCEPT dark chocolate--what the balls?  But she thought New York New York was awesome. 

In the past I've been pretty anti-Las Vegas, but the last couple trips I've learned to appreciate it for the fun buildings, the people watching, and the FOOD.  I've decided I'm going to take a trip there someday soon where all I do is try all the different restaurants (with a little walking in between to check out the buildings and burn off enough calories to start on the next meal). 

Also, I think it's hilarious that when you're walking down the strip with a child, you suddenly become invisible to the guys handing out porn fliers.  LOVE it.

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On the last day (not counting drive-home day) we started driving over to Hoover Dam, discovered it was further than we wanted to go, and settled for Lake Mead.  It was too cold to do more than a quick
"stick your finger in to see how cold it is", but pretty. 

 On the drive to Lake Mead you go through a little town called Logandale, and we saw this awesome house that looks like a castle!  Yes, they have a drawbridge.  And turrets. 

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It was hard coming back to the frigid wasteland we call home, but we consoled ourselves by making every food we possibly could into heart shapes throughout the weekend in honor of Valentine's Day, including:

-banana muffins--blueberry, cranberry, and plain.  (It's a relatively healthy recipe and they're really good...)

-grilled cheese sandwiches...

-and some gluten-free chocolate cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting for
Grandma Neese.

We didn't make the heart-shaped pancakes yet, but I figure it still counts as long as I get it done during February!



My Stew Can Stand on its Own Feet

It's only been a week or two and I'm already ruining the title of my last post. 
So sue me.

  It's that time of year when I want to cook warm, hearty meals with rich, yummy sauces and such.  It's also the time of year when Jim always goes on an exercise/diet binge because he's tired of being cooped up inside, and the two don't always go together well.  -Sigh-  So one of my favorite winter staples is Crockpot Beef Stew.  Growing up this was one of my favorite dishes my mom made, so after I got married I dug through her recipe box, found the recipe, and have been making it ever since.  Then a year or two ago she was over for dinner and I was serving it and she was like, "Wow, this is good stew.  Where did you get the recipe?"  "Uh, you.  You know, the same stew you've been making for the last 30 years?"  "No it's not."  "Yes it is.  I got it out of your recipe box."  After comparing ingredients we established that no, it is in fact NOT the same stew she makes.  She must have had another recipe stashed in there and I grabbed the wrong one.  At any rate, I'm glad I did because it's easy and delish. 

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I know, not the best picture.  I have a point-and-shoot,

no photography skills, and I didn't remember to take a picture

until I was halfway through my bowl.

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     Crockpot Beef Stew

• 2 lbs. beef cubes 
• 4-6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 4-6 carrots, peeled and chopped 
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup 
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix
• 2 c. water
• salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in crockpot.  

Cook on low 8-10 hours.  

Remove bay leaves before serving.*

*The bay leaves in my spice rack are crushed,
so I've never taken them out and it's been just dandy.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 

And because I'm physically incapable of thinking of stew
without also mentioning this, here you go:

Adam: Smells good enough to eat.

Milly: Tastes good too, so they tell me.

Adam: Got any ketchup handy?

Milly: My stew can stand on its own feet.

It's the Annual Blog Update!

Blah blah, I never update, blah blah, good intentions, blah blah, I'll do better...blah...here we go.

A quick overview of the past year (or at least since August, since I don't particularly want to relive the time prior to that).

Since Sam missed the kingergarten deadline by a few weeks, she started her second year of preschool, which she loves.  I can't decide if her fashion icon is Cyndi Lauper or Punky Brewster.

September was her 5th birthday, and for her friend party we did a unicorn theme.  Unicorn races with some awesome stick unicorns (like stick ponies) I found online, pin the tail on the unicorn, and of course, horned-pig, I mean, unicorn cupcakes.  Sorry, I claim no great cake-decorating skills.  I think it wouldn't have been so bad if I had used a color other than pink, but that was a realization that came too late.

My sister Jen's birthday is the same day, so later we had a party with my fam and I convinced everyone (even my mom!) that it would be fun to use the extra party tatoos, especially since they wouldn't have worn off before church the next day. 

A few days later was my daddy's b-day, and we decided it would be cool to get a bunch of helium balloons (my mom's awesome friend got her a machine to fill them), write messages to my dad on them, and release them at the same time.

After the post-funeral stuff died down, we took a few trips with my fam to the cabin.  We did geo-caching, which was totally fun for both kiddos and grownups. 

Board games are always involved, and I think this pic of my little brother Jeff perfectly captures the serious mood we always maintain.

On another cabin trip, we noticed that a big tree had fallen over on the outhouse (which we don't actually use during the summer--there's indoor plumbing.  It's just there for the winter when the water isn't on).  Since there were no men folk on that trip, my mom, my aunt Diane and I decided to showcase our lumberjack skills and, with nothing more than a rusty hacksaw (which broke halfway through), we cleared it off. 

And of course catching fishies, which we cleaned ourselves (but I'll spare you the pics).

A trip to the corn maze...

At the Bonneville seminary, planting the tree that the teachers donated in memory of my dad (the half hour we were doing it was the worst torrential downpour I've seen in a long time--it was hilarious.  At least from my vantage point inside)...

and the shelves I made (actually two) to hold DVDs and games in the family room downstairs (I lined the back of a cheapo bookcase with this awesome fabric from IKEA.  There are mountain goats!!  Jim thinks it's hideous.)...

For Halloween, we had our annual witch party with the girls in Jim's family

(we do all of our "spooky" food)...

Ogden Witchstock with the chicas
(we may go back to Witches' Night Out at Gardiner Village next year, we'll see)...

 A sleepover with the nieces where we painted pumpkins
(because if we carved them, I'd be the one doing all the grunt work)...

I went all rebellious and made mine an easter egg

 And Halloween itself.

Helping my mom rake leaves--I LOVE this shot!...

 The arrival of my leg lamp (I didn't get a picture of it out of the box yet, but it was glorious)...

 Sam's Christmas dance recital (I promise she really does show her teeth when she smiles, just not in pictures for some reason)...

And a trip to Ogden's Christmas Village.  FREEZING, but fun.

I haven't actually gotten Christmas itself off the camera yet, so that's all for now.  Phew!