My perfect morning

I love mornings, it's my favorite time of day, if things go my way. What is "my way" you ask, well let me tell you.

I wake up without an alarm clock or a child, meaning I wake up when my body is ready to, not according to someone else's schedule.

I take a shower and get ready for the day uninterrupted!

I get a little reading time.

I eat my breakfast, alone and in peace.

I get a little more reading time and some computer time, checking my email, checking on my favorite blogs (I have quite a few) over a cup of coffee.

I then hear a little knocking sound on the kitchen wall. This is a little game he and I play to let me know he is up. I go say hi, and he is in a great mood and asks if we can read some books! Yes! We read two books and then we hear our little Lily asking us to help her so she can have waffle time. It was a great morning! I wish this could happen every morning, but the fact that I got it today is one of the greatest things ever!

What's your perfect morning?

Corn Chowder

I am a big fan of soup. I really like soup and I like to try new recipes. For our cowboy party the other night my mom asked me to make Cowboy Corn Chowder. I said yes, as she is my mom, but was wondering if it would be good. I mean corn chowder, it just doesn't really sound that good to me. But I made it, and it was delicious! Here is the recipe:

1/2 pound of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 qts chicken stock
2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley, chopped
6 peppercorns, crushed
1 garlic clove
6 ears sweetcorn or 2 cups corn
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups half and half
salt and pepper to taste

In a 4 qt stock pot, saute' bacon until the fat is rendered. With a slotted spoon remove the bacon and discard, (or save to put in as a garnish when done) leaving the fat in the stock pot.
Add the onion and celery to the stock pot and saute' until transparent, but do not brown. Add the flour and continue cooking over low heat for 10 minutes, but do not brown. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring until no lumps remain. Reduce to a simmer and add the potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic. Cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife being careful not to cut the cob. Add the corn to the soup. Continue simmering until the potatoes are tender. Add butter and half and half and return to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 8-10 servings.

Go ahead, try it, don't be scared! You'll thank me later!
What new recipe have you tried lately? Share it with us, won't you?

Cowboys

We had a surprise cowboy party for my dad's 60th birthday. Some cowboys from Wichita arrived just before sundown to really surprise everyone! We had a rootin tootin time!


The whole gang (mostly) missing is Denise (out of town for work-bummer) and Kaleb (taking the picture)

This was just the cutest cowgirl at the party. She drank plenty of lemonade, because really, who could tell her no!

Chuck turned out to be a mighty fine cowboy!


You really have to watch out for this cowboy, he doesn't mess around!

They had so much fun swinging on their brand new tire swings! Thanks Grandpa!
The Boot cake. It was so yummy!
Chuck and Andy. They were 2 of the best dressed cowboys in town!

Western Heritage Museum

Saturday we spent the morning at the Western Heritage Musuem and took a trip to the Amazon. Here are the kids and Dad aboard the boat.

Chuck and Skyler both got to wrestle an anaconda.

Skyler as a Sting Ray.

Cowboy Skyler

Well after a few gifts from grandparents and a visit to the Goodwill, Skyler has transformed himself into a cowboy. He is thrilled with the look and has informed me that he is a mean cowboy, which is so apparent in this picture. I am so glad that we have this costume complete, as we need it for a party next weekend. I am still working on Lily's, will let you know how that turns out. I am glad that it is July and I already have Halloween costumes figured out!

A Visit from a fairy

I was out running Skyler to Martial Arts and then Lily and I went to Michael's and when I came home I found this on my porch. I know it must be for Lily, as it is a piggy bank and a lady bug, both her things, and I think I know who the fairy is, (Holly). I do appreciate it and we loved it and it was great to find a surprise today! Thanks.

Nebraska City

Yesterday we went on an adventure to Nebraska City. The weather was wonderful and even though our main objective was to buy the highly coveted cherries from Kimmel Orchard (have you tasted my cherry pie?) we decided it would be so much more fun to play there too. So we went to the Arbor Day Farm Tree Adventure and had a blast! We each got to take home a tree too! The most fun along the trail was the Nature Explore Classroom where they had all kinds of things to do, like play with big old trees and logs and sticks and play on giant xylophones! We had a great time and bought 10 pounds of cherries, oh the yummy pies I'll make with that! I can taste them already! Oh, that's because I'm eating the frozen cherries straight out of the freezer, I guess if I want pies, I'll have to stop doing that!



Skyler made a little something here that he want to make sure I photographed!