Last Post

Well, it has been a fun year of blogging, but I think it is time that I wrap it up. That right - - NO more blogging for me. I find that it has kept me from calling family members and friends because they all already know everything that is going on in our lives. I love the whole blog idea, and I love reading other peoples blogs, but I think I am done.

Thanks for everyone who has cared enough to read our blog!

Blast from the past

Today when I checked my e-mail, I had a new message from my father-in-law titled Memories. It was just 2 pictures and it made me realize just how fast time really does fly by. Here are a couple of old pictures of my family. The 1st one was taken when my boys were ages 1 and 3, and the 2nd one was taken when they were ages 2 and 4....

A Movie that speaks to my heart...

Well, yesterday my mom and I went to see Julie and Julia! We have been waiting for its release and we were NOT disappointed. I think I liked it even more than my mom did! It made me want to come home and start cooking and blogging immediately. I am not sure I have ever seen a movie that I can relate to so well. I LOVE to cook, and I LOVE to eat! I know it is silly, but I loved this movie. When I go into my kitchen it is sort of an escape from real life and it is a way for me to express myself. I love experimenting with new recipes and I rarely leave them as they are. I enjoy adding my own flare.

When I got home last night I decided to make one of my old favorite recipes - Homemade Salisbury Steak and mashed potatoes with brown gravy! It is one that always makes me think of my childhood and especially of my dad. It was his favorite meal. I had to add some mushrooms sauteed in garlic, butter, and soy sauce; some toasted bread to serve with the baked garlic I made to spread on it; and some white wine.

To finish off the evening, I decided to try something new...I made my 1st homemade peach pie with crumb topping, YUM! I will list the recipes for both below.

Salisbury Steak

1.25 lbs ground beef

2 slices white or wheat bread torn into little pieces

1 egg

1T. Worcestershire sauce

2T mince onion

season salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and form into 5 patties. Place patties into an electric skillet that has been preheated to 400 degrees. Brown for 1 minute and flip patties. Turn down heat to 250 degrees and cover with lid. Cook without turning for 45 minutes.

For gravy, whisk 2 cups water with McCormick brown gravy mix. Remove steaks from electric skillet and poor gravy mix into the skillet. Turn up the heat to 300 degrees and stir constantly until thickened. Turn down heat to warm. Return the steaks to the gravy.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Peach Pie - preheat oven to 450

Filling

2 cans sliced peaches in juice (not syrup), drain all the juice from 1 can

1 cup sugar

1/2 teas. ground cinnamon

1/2 teas. ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Crust

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teas. salt

1/2 cup canola oil

2 T. milk

Mix all ingredients together and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 10" pie plate. Fill with peach pie filling.

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

6 T. cold butter cut into cubes

Mix all dry ingredients together and then use a pastry blender to cut in the butter. Sprinkle over the pie filling making sure to cover completely.

Bake at 450 for 45 minutes. Let cook for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Cardinals Training Camp 09

Last week the boys went up to Flagstaff for their 4th annual tradition of Cardinals Training Camp! Once again, I was stuck working, so I missed out on the fun. The boys went up midweek this time in anticipation of the huge crowds the team would have, and even though it was a Wednesday, it was much more crowded than the years prior. The boys were a little disappointed because in years past they were able to throw the ball with some of the players and actually get to talk to them. This year they only had the opportunity to talk to a few of the players. Fortunately, Chad was able to get these moments on film:) My favorite pic is this one of them with Anquan Boldin!!

My Tough Guy

As most of you know, our family took our yearly camping trip this past weekend. We had a blast! I will post photos soon. What most of you don't know, is that the night before we left to go camping, Collin wrecked his bike. He was riding home from a friends house after just having gotten out of the pool. When he jumped on to ride home, his but slipped off the seat and his face and upper arm hit the handle bars. The next thing he knew he had face planted on the asphalt. This kid is SO tough that he hopped on his bike and rode the 3 blocks home before totally falling apart. Adrenaline is amazing. He almost put several of his top teeth through his lip, got road rash on his lower lip, ribs, mutilple spots on his arms, and a few big bruises to boot. The worst of it was his mouth. The swelling and pain has been incredible. Here are a few pictures of my baby - definitely not at his best. The pictures don't even do his injuries justice. Poor guy. He is a trooper, and had a great time camping.

Our Adventure

Every year our family takes a trip up to the woods and we camp together. This year we went with our friends Matt and Shannon and their kids.

As you can see we truly camp. No luxuries, just a tent and a camp fire. This year we did have a grill :) This first picture is a view of our campsite from the boys tent. This year they had there very own, brand new tent. They loved it. I thought it was too far away. This next picture is one I took while I was standing in the stream by our camp site. It gives great perspective on just how close to the water we were. The stream was filled with crawfish and rainbow trout. We spent hours everyday fishing with homemade fishing poles that Chad made.

This picture of our family was taken after we had been hiking for approximately 40 minutes on our way to a waterfall we were told about. We spotted this abandoned mine opening across the stream and thought it would make a great picture.Here are just a couple of the numerous great pictures I got of my boys this weekend. I love memories like this. They love being outside. They don't even fight...

Here is a picture of the waterfall and swimming hole that we hiked to. It was a bit further than we anticipated with a 2 year old and a 4 year old in tow (our friends kids), but everyone did great and it was worth it.

The road that leads in and out of this particular camp site was a little rough. It was not emphasized enough to me ahead of time just how rough it was. We really should have had 4 wheel drive. We had to move some fallen trees along the way. I tried to snap some pictures as we were driving out of our friends truck in front of ours hoping that it would help give perspective, but these don't really do it justice.

One of the best parts about this trip was seeing my kids get truly exhausted and then enjoying the silence all the way back to Phoenix. Here is a picture of them crashed out in the back seat.