Meal Idea

I know what you're thinking...4 blogposts on a Friday night? I should get a life...seriously.

I made one of my all-time favorite meals for supper tonight, and thought I'd share. If you like roast, potatoes and carrots in the crock-pot, you'll love this. My Grandpa used to make it for me when I'd go to their house for supper when I was in college...and my mom makes it for me almost every time I'm home...I never get tired of it. Tonight I made it with potatoes and carrots fresh from the garden...oh no, not my garden, cuz I don't have one...one of Mike's landlords shared some of his goods, and I figured this was the best way to use them.

What you do:

-heat up electric skillet to about 300*

-add about a tablespoon of crisco

-brown roast on each side briefly...season with pepper, onion salt, garlic salt

-cover & cook roast for a couple hours, turning occasionally

-peel potatoes and cut in half...add to skillet

-add carrots (the amont of veg. is up to you...depends on how big your family is and how much room you have in your skillet)

-add some onion slices for flavor if you have one on hand, I never do

-cover & cook for another hour or so

-when veggies are tender, remove everything from skillet

-if you so desire, make a little gravy from with the drippings

-just whisk a tablespoon or two of flour into 2 cups water, add to skillet, season and whisk

**super easy and tasty! make some crescent rolls to serve with it and you're set! enjoy!

Memories

Earlier this week I took a little roadtrip with my mom, grandma and aunt to Wakefield, Ne. We went and visited the farmstead where my grandma grew up. I love history, especially when I have a connection to it, so stuff like this is so cool to me. I love to imagine my grandma and her sister and parents on the farm and what their daily life was like. I have lots of questions for my grandma, and I try not to overwhelm her with them, I think she gets frustrated with all that she can't remember. Her family was all in this area too, cousins down the road, and she has fond memories of many neighbors. We drove around the country and went by the site where she attended country school. It's fun to listen to my mom and her sisters reminisce about the time they spent in Wakefield, too...they have numerous stories about my great-grandparents, and since I never got to meet them, I soak it all in. When we were done exploring the farm, we went into town to drive by some houses where more of her family lived, the church they attended, and pay a quick visit to the cemetery. With all that my grandma is forgetting, I'm amazed at her memory when it comes to certain things...she was a good tour guide :)

The Levi Dahlgren Farmstead...Grandma says it was neat as a pin when they lived there.


I'm so glad Grandma is still able to make trips like these. She stayed in the car because she has such difficulty walking, which is hard to see...but she was content to be that close.

Thanks to Grandma Karen and Grandpa Frank for keeping Aldyn for the day so I could go. She had so much fun feeding the horse, playing with kitties, etc. Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have two sets of parents who help us out sooo much? I'm pretty sure they didn't get "breaks" like these...I think the kids went almost everywhere with them. We are so spoiled...and appreciate all they do!

bein silly

Girls (& Boys) Just Wanna Have Fun

This is so frustrating...blogger won't let me move my pictures around, so they are not in order. Anyone have tips for that? I'm sure it's me...ugh! I guess it doesn't totally matter, we'll just go in reverse order.

The guys went on their 5th annual dirtbiking "mancation" to Woodland Park, Colorado in July. Us girls decided it was time to start a little tradition of our own. We headed out to Denver at the end of August to do a little bonding. Shopping, eating and relaxing were on the agenda...all kid-free I might add! I had more fun than I even expected. I think we all came back refreshed, even though we didn't really "rest" or sleep that well. Aldyn stayed in Wallace with Grammy & Grandpa and had a great time playing on the farm...thank you!

One of the nights we had supper at Benihana's...a Japanese Steak House...oh how we laughed. Pretty sure my cheeks were sore! Later that night we sat at a nice cafe and had coffee & drinks and just talked...so fun to be able to do that!


We shopped and shopped...and shopped a little more. We hit the outlets at Castle Rock as well as Park Meadows and Cherry Creek. You might think with six gals packed into one suburban with all our luggage, pillows, etc. that there might not be much room for packages. Wrong! I was a little skeptical, taking it easy on the purchases at first. But never underestimate the packing abilities of six moms. The suburban may have looked like a low-rider on the way home, but we made it...and no one went without!


We spent the majority of one day being pampered. Manis, pedis, facials...and I had a mini massage in the mall. I never imagined I'd be able to relax in that setting, but it wasn't a problem...may have been the best 22 bucks I spent the entire trip! Ahhh...

Here are the guys on their trip...

They ride some rough terrain, and see some beautiful scenery like this....

and this...terrible picture, but remember these are guys, I'm impressed that they even take pictures. If you look closely you can see the glowing eyes...eyes of a mama bear that visited their cabin every night...and sometimes brought her cub. On the first night they accidentally left some food outside...and she found it! She ripped open a backpack for some snickers, climbed in the back of their pickup, opened the cooler and emptied the contents, and regularly rummaged through their trash. On this night they came home from supper and the bears were hanging out...It added a little excitement to their trip!

While Mike was gone Aldyn and I went to spend some time in Wallace. I love this picture...I think it's a really good one of my parents...but the look on Aldyn's face cracks me up...she's just tolerating her life jacket, and soooo tired. It was the perfect day for the lake, the water was like glass, and I'm so glad we were able to go for a while.

Mollie got to hang out with us for a couple days too. Aldyn was up waaay past her bedtime on this night, and all she wanted to do was sit with "Mo"...she has a special fondness for her. I'm sure it has nothing to do with her blackberry :)

Enjoying a little sweet corn fresh out of the field...yum!

"airing out" after a little pool time one day...what is it about bare buns that is so darn cute?