Youth cook-off...

Last Wednesday I planned a youth cook-off for our combined activity. It was so much fun. I gave both teams the same 10 ingredients...chicken breasts, hamburger, potatoes, carrots, butter, can biscuits, pasta, cheese, angel food cake and strawberries. They each had one hour to cook and prepare an appetizer, a main dish and a dessert. I also gave each team $5.00 to buy extra groceries from their host home just to mix it up a bit, not knowing what they would come up with.They had to be fast thinkers to decide what items would be used for what and how to cook it and well as what to purchase to make it better.This is team George that used my kitchen to cook.This is team Greer who used the Greer's home. It was so fun to see how their minds worked and watch them work as teams to make decisions.
Both teams met at my house and I had the young men leaders judge the food. They even posed for a prayer shot. I think they were praying these dishes wouldn't make them sick. LOL! They got lucky and the meals were all really good. They were judged on creativity, taste, and appearance. Plus the teams had to leave the kitchen's clean.
I forgot to get a close up of our teams appetizer. It's the one on the bottom left of this picture. They cooked the biscuits, cut them open faced, buttered them, browned the hamburger, added cream of chicken soup and cheese, put it on the biscuits, topped with mashed potatoes and garnished with grated carrot. Ours won for best appetizer.Team Greer made loaded potato skins for their appetizer. Team Greer's main dish. Theirs won for best main dish.
Team George's main dish
Team George's dessert. Ours won for best dessert.

Team Greer's dessert

Team Greer's garlic biscuits
George team bought a box of vanilla pudding, milk, cream of chicken and cool whip.
Team Greer bought pineapple, mandarin oranges and a jar of alfredo sauce.
Seasonings and cooking oil were free of charge. These kids all had a blast together and it was fun as leaders to watch them create their meals together. Both teams were so proud of their accomplishments. After the judging, everyone devoured all the food. It was such a great night!

More homecoming pictures...

Me, Mark and Cody painted a welcome home sign late Friday night for Chad and hung it on the garage door. (Actually, it's still there) Chad got a big smile on his face when he saw it. :o)Pictures taken in the Army National Guard hangerI loved this shot of the plane with some of the patriot guard members who always welcome the troops home as well as send them off.Chad wasted no time in finding his bag so we could get out of there. All the bags were soaking wet from sitting in the rain in North Carolina. We went straight over to Brek and Brittany's apartment so they could see Chad and because we had one one Chad's motorcycles waiting there for him. He really wanted to ride one home.
He's just so cute!

Wearing one of Mark's helmets. He has since bought his own "cool" helmet.
The 10 of us went to breakfast together before heading home. It was nice having the whole family together. The days since his arrival have passed so quickly. Sunday we had a packed full house of family and friends over for dinner. I believe there were around 46 people total that day. It was crowded, but fun and nice to have everyone come to welcome him home. I know he appreciated it. We made tacos, chicken enchiladas, pudding cake and Texas sheet cake. All things he loves! His first two days home he had to spend half the day at the base. Monday we went shopping and he bought a bedroom set and a new mattress. On the way home he found a car for sale on a street corner and bought that too. It's a 98 Ford Mustang. It was a great deal and he figured he really should have a car since most girls are not going to want to go on dates on the back of a motorcycle. Tuesday he had errands during the day and he met the Star Riders group at bike night. It was a lot of fun. He spent the night at a friends house that night. Wednesday was more errands, catching up on sleep and he went on a ride with some of his Army friends. Today we went to town to pick up his new bedroom furniture. Crammed it all in Kyle's truck and my car. We have some assembly work ahead of us....perhaps tomorrow. Really the past few days are a bit of a blur. I've been so busy from morning to bed time. Still feeling sleep deprived. We did a really fun activity last night for a combined young men/young women at my house. I'll blog it next time. Oh...I got my hair cut and colored on Tuesday. First time since June 19th of 07. I've been butchering my own bangs since then to maintain it. Mark couldn't ever tell a difference. I sure can. It looks and feels healthier. I think he should appreciate that I'm a low maintenance kind of girl. :o) Chad is sad I colored over my big gray streak in my bangs. He was calling me Roage from X-men. LOL! I told him not to worry. Not all the gray took the dye and that is the first place it comes back.

***Edited to add***

I've received a few emails asking about what happened to Chad and Sandy. Apparently they missed the post about him breaking off the engagement back in November. I figured I better mention it again in case some others were wondering the same thing. She turned out to be not the nice girl she once was. You can read about it by clicking on the November 2007 archive and scroll down to Thursday, November 22nd titled Thanksgiving and stuff. If I was a way cool computer smart person I would link the post, but I don't know how, so you'll have to click and scroll. She has gotten much worse since that post. Pretty only gets you so far. It only confirms it was the right decision for Chad and our whole family.

He's HOME!

I know you are all waiting to see if Chad arrived home safely, so I knew I had to check in. Our boy is finally home. He was suppose to get in Friday night around midnight. Just as we were about to head to the airport he called and said he was still in North Carolina and they couldn't take off because of a huge thunder storm. He text us a few hours later and said they were taking off soon. See you in 4-5 hours. So we set our alarm for 4:00 and tried to get a little sleep. I woke up at 4:36...oh crap! What happened to the alarm? It was set for p.m. not a.m. uggg!!! Hurry quick...everybody get up! Head to town...we are late! So sad! We missed the whole thing! He was on the ground for 15 minutes without us being there to see him. I did not get the first hug. Mark ran...I cannot run. Little stinker. :o) I do have way more pictures to share, but we've been none stop busy. I don't have the time or energy to share everything tonight. We are all sleep deprived. I will tomorrow. Just know that we couldn't be any happier to have Chad home. We all missed him so much. Life is good!

got milk?

Last night we took the young women to the local dairy. (it is HUGE) One of the girls dad is a head guy there and gave us a private tour. This is in the milking parlor. They milk 10,000 cows-3 time a day here. By the time they get through all 10,000, it's time to start again so they are milking 24 hours a day. It's much cleaner that I was expecting. Jimmy was so full of information. I wish I could have recorded everything he said, because it was all so interesting to me. I learned so much, but I also forgot a lot or didn't hear it because I was at the back of the group and it's kind of loud in there. I think the girls enjoyed it as much as I did.This in underneath where they milk the cows. You can see the milk flowing through the lines.


These tell exactly how much each cow is putting out so they know if it is producing enough.
Then the milk goes through the chiller before it is pumped into milk tankers.



So dang cute! I LOVE cows!We ended our tour at the nursery. The girls loved the calves. They average 30 calves a day are born. They would suck on the girls fingers...so cute! I would have loved to do the tour during the day so I could see all the cows out in the pens. It was too dark to take pictures. When I was young my dad was the milk man. Not this stage of it. He delivered milk to stores. Me and my sisters use to go with him a lot during the summers. It was pretty fun. We were milk lovers growing up and my boys are milk lovers too. We go through 8 gallons a week. We always drank whole milk, now we have 2%, but I love whole. For those of you out there drinking skim milk..DON'T....trust me! :o)

Some of you have been concerned about Brittany since she hasn't updated her blog in a while. Baby Mark has been sick. Plus by the time they boys are down for bed at night she's been to tired to blog, as I'm sure you can understand how hard it is taking care of 2 babies who are only 11 months apart whether they are healthy or sick. She hopes to update soon.

card and stuff...

I got another way cute getting to know you card in the mail. Doesn't Angie have the most darling little family. For those of you that don't know her, she is a local AZ girl who teaches at the best scrapbook store in Mesa. (Scrapbooks Etc) She is wonderfully talented and has the funniest sense of humor and a huge heart as well as beautiful. There is nothing I don't love about her. Check out her blog and you'll see why.

Sorry I've been MIA. Lots going on around here to keep me busier than I'd like to be. My boy is not home yet. Now they've pushed it back to Saturday...Friday if we are lucky. Makes me grouchy just thinking about it...among other things. Lots of other stresses to make me grouchy too. Apparently I'm not suppose to get stressed out because it affects the rest of the family. Option 1 is to bottle it all up until I blow. Option 2 is to take brisk walks and talk to myself like an idiot till I fell better. They both have their merits...we'll see. :o)

Yesterday Kyle brought home a dog named Lily for a sleep over to see how she would get along with Pappi in an effort to keep her. Don't let the sweet name fool you. This is not some sweet little dog. This is what I like to call a horse, otherwise known as a great dane. She is scared to death of me, but loves Mark...go figure. She is "suppose" to be house trained but decided that even though the back door was wide open that the best place to unleash her enormous bladder was on my living room carpet...mind you I just had my carpets steam cleaned a mere 12 hours earlier. lovely! She is also skilled at removing anything her heart desires off the kitchen counters merely by walking past them. We won't even talk about the barking. Needless to say, she has been taken back and my carpet was spot cleaned.

I still haven't answered emails or check out blogs. I feel just terrible about it...so sorry! So much craziness! That's all I've got for tonight. I packing a combo pack of tired, headache, cramps, hormones, stress etc. Don't worry. I'll be good in a couple days. You can't keep this girl down. :o)

Camp kick-off meeting

Last night was our camp kick-off meeting. I was in charge of setting up a display table that looked outdoorsy, camp like, with stars added too since they are our theme this year. Luckily my whole living room is outdoorsy, so I just borrowed from there and took stars from around the house. When I was getting ready to go Cole asked me "Mom, why is it that no matter what theme it is you are able to find what you need to decorate with out of our own house?" Then he said "They should pick a theme that you have to buy new things....oh wait...You have everything...never mind" LOL!

I also had to make a poster. I think it's cute, but when I got there I found out they changed the theme from "like a star" to like the stars" Oh well! The meeting was very informative. It's unbelievable the amount of work for many months before girls camp even gets here by so many people who volunteer their time and talents, let alone being away from their families for the 5 days of camp. I think it will be a truly amazing experience. (minus the sleeping hours)

I got home from my meeting late, so Mark took me out for a quick bite to eat on the motorcycle. When we got home he was helping me take off my helmet. Some how in the process my helmet spun around and hit me in the mouth. My top lip is swollen, my gums were bleeding. Everything is still swollen and hurts this morning. Mark feels just terrible about it. I feel bad that he feels bad because it was just an accident with an outcome of me looking icky. I just want it back to normal quickly! Good thing I'm working around the house today. So MUCH to do here before Chad gets home. I have several emails I have yet to reply to. If you are one of them, I'm sorry. I will get to it as soon as I can.

Happy Friday! I love Fridays!

Happy Birthday Chad...and cards

***Edited to add at 10:04 a.m. on 3/27*** I just heard from Chad. He arrived safely in Kazakhstan. He is really sick. He said his fever finally broke, but he's been coughing like crazy. Ever since he was a little kid, when he'd get a bad cough, it would make him puke. Apparently the same as an adult. Poor guy. He feels miserable and I can't do a thing for him. I hate it!!



Another birthday without my son. Today Chad turned 20. I love and miss him so much! I borrowed these pictures from his myspace because for obvious reasons I have no current ones of my own. These were taken at the Castle in of Infidel. They had to go search it to make sure bad guys weren't using it. Chad was in the first group to make sure it's clear. (does NOT make me happy) After that they decided to have a little photo shoot. He is a cute boy even though you don't get a good look at his face. Last year on his birthday he was flying to Afghanistan. Today he is flying OUT of Afghanistan. First he is flying to Kazakhstan, then to Scotland, then to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, then sweet home Arizona!!! He is "scheduled" to be home on April 2nd if all things go as planned. I can hardly wait. Even though I know he's on his way home, I have still been filled with worry. I don't know how to over come that. I guess it's the mom in me taking over. I just REALLY want my boy HOME!

I received 2 completely adorable getting to know you cards in the mail. One from Heidi and one from Teresa. This is the front of them. Their personal info is on the back. Total cuteness! Thank you so much girls. I love them and I love that you took the time to make them and send them to me. Totally made me happy! You two are now entered in the drawing to win a prize. If I don't get more cards in soon your odds of winning will greatly increase. :o) To the rest of you, it's not too late. Please send me your 4X6 cards. I would love to get a BUNCH of them. Mail them to P.O. Box 40512 Mesa, Arizona 85274. Thanks in advance!

Happy Tuesday!

Ultimate P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N......

So, do you remember WAY back to July 30'th 2007 when I started painting my downstairs bathroom? Well 7 months, 3 weeks and 1 day later it is finally finished. Now that my friends IS the ultimate procrastination. I've had the paint and rollers sitting in the corner of the bathroom so I would see them every time I went in there in hopes that I would feel guilty and take the time to do it. Apparently I didn't feel guilty enough until last night then I just couldn't take it anymore and I dusted off the paint can and got busy. I would be so proud of myself if it hadn't taken a ridiculous amount of time to accomplish such a small task. Never the less, I am thrilled that it's done. I still have to paint the little outhouse on the shelf and add a couple of little things, but overall, it's DONE! Yippee! It took serious effort to take pictures in a room with mirrors without getting me in the picture in my purple pajamas. If I was still in my pretty purple Easter dress I might have done it, but the jammies are not so pretty. :o)One would think this cute outhouse cubbord would be filled with towels and such, but nope! It's full of photos and scrapbook supplies. :o) Little vinyl quote I got at the last CK convention.

and how cute does my picture look framed? I love it! So, I am fully aware that an outhouse bathroom isn't for everyone, but I think it's adorable!
Enough about the bathroom. One of the young women girls had a birthday this weekend. We give all the girls the same gift for 2008. A fleece throw blanket and a poster card from the YW presidency. I'm responsible for making ones for the girls who are 14 and 15. One of Emma's favorite colors is yellow, so I found this way cute fleece with yellow butterflies on it. I just cut strips all around it to make a fringe. She will love it!



The poster board is done in yellow too. We always choose their favorite color to do it in. I really like how it turned it. Who knew I'd look cute as a paper head. :o)

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Ours was great. We went to church, then came home and fed 25 people really yummy food and enjoyed visiting with each other.
Before I go, you have to check out this video of my nephew Kayce and his friends who were bored one night. Just teenage boys being goofy. It's pretty funny. Kayce definitely has loads of personality. It's 7 minutes of your life you'll never get back, but it made me laugh, so I thought ya'll could use a laugh too. Laughter is good for you! Check it out then come back and leave me a comment. You know how I LOVE to hear from all of you. YES, I mean YOU! :o)