Should I be worried??

I am sure you have all heard of the Swine flu or N1H1 as it is now being called. Is to much being made of this or is it really something I should be worried about? Braeden says it's the hot topic at school....everywhere I go people are talking about it. I have always been big on washing my hands (just ask my kids) and I LOVE GermX. I keep a bottle of it in my purse. So what more can I do? I am not willing to wear a mask and or stay locked up in my home until this passes. I have recieved notes home from school, automated telephone messages, a call from the school nurse, emails about it, and of course the news can't get enough of it. A lot of places are even asking you to lather up with GermX before you enter. School Districts have closed down (not ours thankfully), the rest of soccer season has been canceled, activities are being asked to be put on hold or canceled all together.....But DON'T PANIC....we are being told.

Kate's Prayer

Tonight as we knelt together in family prayer Joshua was a little grumpy. Cary told Kaitlyn that she should pray for Joshua that he might git rid of his bad attitude. She began her prayer as she always does thanking Heavenly Father for our house, and Dad's job, and so on. She then said, "Please help Josh make his gratitude go away." It was hilarious. It was so hard to not laugh out loud during the prayer. The prayer worked though.......it got Joshua smiling and laughing

On This Day......

1789 - Retired general George Washington receives word that he has been unanimously elected as the first US president (The election occurred Feb. 4 with the votes tallied April 6)

1865 - US president Abraham Lincoln is shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theater in Washington DC

1902 - The first JC Penney store opens in Kemmerer, WY.

1912 - After colliding with an iceberg, the "unsinkable" Titanic begins sinking

1917 - Switzerland declares its neutrality during WW1

1939 - John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is published

1948 - Toronto Maple Leafs sweep Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup

1989 - 1,100,000,000th Chinese born

1991 - The last round of US troop withdrawals from southern Iraq begins, as Operation Desert Storm winds down

1998 - The most important event that took place on this day is that Braeden Michael Jones was born at 5:20p.m. weighing 9 lbs and was 23 inches long.

Happy 11th Birthday Braeden!!! We love you!!!

Mount Bonnell

We went to Austin this past weekend to visit with Cary's family and while we where there we took the kids to Mount Bonnell. It was so beautiful. I didn't realize how beautiful Austin is....well at least North Austin. There were trees and hills and tons of blue bonnets. You almost feel like you're in a whole different state.

Cary grew up in Austin and has been to Mount Bonnell on several occasions. He even took me there on a date before we were married. On this trip we learned something new about Mount Bonnell that we thought was very interesting.........Mormon pioneers built a mill at the foot of Mount Bonnell but it was later destroyed by a flood. Who knew???

It was a steep climb to the top of Mount Bonnell. I was not prepared in my flip flops to walk up these stone steps, but I made it. We saw several people using the stairs as a work out. There were even firemen in there full gear going up and down over and over again.

We had the kids pose for several pictures. The scenery was so beautiful!


The climb back down was much easier but we did have one wipe out. Joshua fell close to the bottom of the steps. He got a little scraped up but nothing a band-aid couldn't fix.
Of course Braeden and Joshua always find something to dig in or explore and Mount Bonnell was no exception....

This peacock was sitting up on a stone wall that is close to the foot of Mount Bonnell. He was observing everyone as they drove by. Moments before he had his tail feathers up and he was beautiful!!
If you're ever in Austin I highly recommend going and seeing this area. Pack a picnic and take your tennis shoes to walk the trails. There is also a nature preserve that is free to the public that is close to Mount Bonnell......where the peacocks roam free.

Happy Keester!

Sisters

Kate has lots of friends at school. Some of her favorites are Brooke, Maddie, Olivia, and Chandler Bell......but her best friend of all is Sarai. The other day we were talking about all her friends and what they like to play. She turned to me and said, "Sarai isn't my friend she is my sister". I thought that was so funny!!

Best Friends Forever!!!

Too Cute!

It was a beautiful day outside yesterday! The kids played outside all afternoon. Kate wanted me to take a couple pictures of her.....isn't she a beauty??

Take me out to the ballgame....

Joshua's second grade field trip was to the Texas Rangers Ballpark. I am not a baseball fan at all. Bsseball always seems very long and boring to me so I didn't know how we could spend the whole day touring a baseball park but we did it was very interesting. We started by going through the Legends of the Game Baseball Musuem. Then our tour guide took us to the stadium(the best part). We got to go to the press box, press room, batting cages, dugout, locker rooms, the baseball suites only for VIP's, and we even ate lunch in the baseball stands. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed myself and the kids had a blast!!

Joshua's class and teacher, Mrs. Smith in the press room.

In the dugout

Best Buds

Cold Weather Food

I was really in the mood last night for some yummy soup and homemade bread. The cold weather does that to me. So I went to allrecipes and once again found this very delicious potato soup. It was so easy to make and done in 30 minutes.

3 bacon strips, diced

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 c. chicken broth

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 c. half and half

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

cheddar cheese

In large sauce pan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 Tbs. of bacon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil, and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, half and half and Tabasco sauce; heat through but do no boil. Garnish with bacon and cheddar cheese.

I made a few changes to the recipe...I used turkey bacon instead of "real" bacon. I also did not have any half and half so I used a small amount of heavy cream and just mixed it with regular milk. I also just mixed the bacon into the pot of soup and did not garnish with cheddar cheese. It was sooooo good and definitely a soup I will make again.

Peter and the Starcatchers

Braeden loves to read and every time I pick up a book and suggest it to him he has either already read it or just not interested. Anyway, I bought this book, Peter and the Starcatchers, thinking he would like it. It is a prequel to Peter Pan. It has all the classic Peter Pan stuff...like Captain Hook, the lost boys, the mermaids, and my favorite Tinker Bell. It's about how Peter became Peter Pan and why he never grew up. But of course, he wasn't interested. So I started reading it and I loved it!! I think it is a great kids book. It is 451 pages and the chapters are really short. It is a really easy read. I started reading it out loud to all three kids while we were in Missouri and Joshua loved it to. I am looking forward to reading the next two...Peter and the Shadow Thieves and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon.

Spring Break in Review

For Spring Break the kids and I went to Missouri to visit my family. The weather was so beautiful. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze. It was perfect spring break weather. The kids absolutely love being at my parents house and being with their cousins. They were outside from the time they woke up till the time the sun went down. They were covered in dirt each evening when they came in. I would throw them in the tub and literally scrub them down. They would then get there pillows and blankets and find a good spot in front of the big TV and watch movies until they fell asleep. Then they would wake up and start all over again doing the exact same things.

Joshua found a four leaf clover the day before St. Patricks day. He was super excited!!

We met my sisters baby for the first time. Payton Rae.....so cute!!!


The kids went from exploring all around Grandma's house...

to jumping on the trampoline.....


and to the swing set...they never got tired.


Braeden met and fell in love with his piano that my mom got him. We just need to get it to our house now...hopefully soon.

As for me...I didn't do a whole lot. It was wonderful! I didn't do a dish, clean a toilet, make a dinner, sweep a floor or vacuum the carpet. It was so nice. I did read a lot of Rachel Ray magazines and found lots of new recipes, finished a book, picked weeds from my mom's flower bed, help her set up a blog, and set out all her patio furniture. I loved it!! We can't wait to go back this summer!!

Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles

I don't know who Mrs. Sigg is, but her recipe for snickerdoodles is soooo yummy! I have tried lots of snickerdoodle recipes, but they never turn out right. They are usually two hard and crunchy or they never spread out right when baking. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It was rated by 2,078 people and the average rating is 4 1/2 stars out of 5. So, I figured I would give it a try. This has become one of my kids and Cary's favorite cookie. I have made them several times now and they turn out perfect every time.

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. shortening

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 3/4 c. flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 Tbs. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into balls and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

I'm a Winner

I never win ANYTHING, so I was surprised when I found out I won this cute little prize from Gourmet Mom On-the-Go.





Her blog has really fun food ideas and cute give aways from time to time. Click on the link above and it will take you to her site.

Just Call Me Holly Homemaker

A little while back we had an Enrichment Night where we were taught how to make homemade laundry detergent....I didn't go. My friend, Marisa, did though and she made some and she loves it! So I thought I would give it a try. It was super easy to make and way, way, way cheaper then laundry detergent from the store. This is the recipe from the Enrichment....

1 Fels Naptha soap bar
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
Grate soap bar into a fine powder. Heat one gallon of water in large pot. Add in soap powder. Mix with whisk slightly to break up any lumps. When soap is mostly melted, add in soda and borax. Stir. Take off heat and add 10 gallons of hot water. Stir. Let cool. Pour soap into containers to store. Use 1 cup soap per load of laundry.

All these ingredients are found at Kroger and this recipe makes a ton...more then two 5 gallon buckets worth. I did not want that much laundry detergent sitting in my small laundry room so Cary did some research and found a different recipe that uses the same ingredients but doesn't make nearly as much. Click here to view it. I used one five gallon bucket and it fits perfectly between my washer and dryer. It only took me about 20 minutes to make start to finish, but it does need to sit for 24 hours or at least over night. It is suppose to make about 312 loads of laundry for about $6.97. That's including the cost of the water it takes to wash the clothes.......not bad, right??

Picture #6

I saw this on my friend, Amanda's blog....I thought it was cute....

1. Go to the photo folder in your computer
2. Go to the 6th folder of photos.
3. Go to the sixth picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog along with a description of it.
5. Invite six friends to join the challenge

So, here's my picture:



This picture was taken in my bathroom about a year ago. My Young Women came over for a Spa Night. We painted fingernails and scrubbed their faces with a gooey green mask. It was tons of fun!

I tag you!! If you like it and want to... go for it! I can't wait to see some of your pics)