Kendra Branch – 7 (my sister’s daughter), Ainsley -5 (mine), Sydney Cole – 2 (Aaron’s daughter)

So I ask Ainsley every day, “What did you learn today?” and she seems to forget all that she learned during her few hours @ K-grtn that day!  Must be the bus ride home that knocks the info loose in her brain and it gets lost!  I think sometimes it frustrates her too, that she doesn’t remember the fun little songs she thought she knew when she was singing them @ school. . . so I thought it was perfect that I caught her in one of those “Ah-ha” moments.

Enjoy the entertainment:

Maybe one day we’ll actually learn what she is singing about!  LOL!

So tonight after Ainsley’s soccer practice the coach asks them if they had thought of a name for the team yet . . .  one girls says, “How about Purple Flowers!?”  Then Ainsley mumbles something to her coach and her coach says, “OK, so the only names we have for the team are Purple Flowers and MISSOURI . .  .so I guess we can just be the Missouri Flowers” . . . LOL!!! 

Thankfully, her daddy was there to watch this all unfold and he was VERY PROUD . . . but we did expect her to say something about TIGERS, but she never did .  . .

Here is Ainsley with her MIZZOU TIGER (Sarah) who she has dressed in MINNIE MOUSE’S clothes!!  LOL!

Lori Owen asked for this recipe on Facebook but thought I’d go ahead and put it on Xanga and just link it to FB so I can actually have some sort of “updated” post on here! 

We just got back from camping for 4 days @ Jawbone Creek, close to Cherry Lake & just outside of the Yosemite Park boundaries.  We took 2 hikes into Yosemite Park this time:

1) 8 mile hike (round trip) into Kibbie Lake

2) Easy hike to Lake Eleanor to play in the water

OK – more on that when I have my pictures uploaded – have to go to work in a little bit so won’t get to that for another day or so!

Here’s one I already had uploaded of Monte and Ainsley on Father’s Day in MO. (Her shirt say’s “DADDY’S GIRL”)

JACKPOT CASSEROLE:

2 C cooked elbow macaroni
1 lb hamburger
1 can tomato sauce
1 onion
1 bell pepper or can of Rotel
1 can corn, DRAINED
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
pepper to taste
2 C shredded cheese

It is convenient to use the Rotel so you don’t have to have fresh ingredients – but when I make it I TRY to have fresh onion, bell pepper and also put in at least a clove of garlic.

Cook the hamburger, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper & garlic.

Then stir in rest of ingredients, except for the cheese (well, if you really like cheese you can add extra to the middle too : ) 

My mom use to dump it all into a big oven safe bowl and cook it that way but I usually put it in a 9 x 13 pan but if you have a skillet that is large enough AND oven safe (like Rachael Ray) you can just keep it all in the skillet and spread the cheese on the top of all of it and put it in the oven @ 350 for @ 30 min or bubbly!

This super slow “turtle-net” is really hampering my blog quality – sorry if it looks a bit “messy” . . . I can’t even see the pics on the page so I am going to just tell you what they are at the top instead of one at a time.

So for my Face Book friends, I had just posted @ eating at Andy’s again (seems I do it every year when we are out here). Anyway, it STILL AMAZES me, as well as Monte, of HOW MANY people go to Andy’s Frozen Custard, so when we went again last night I just had to take pictures of the cars that were lined up out to the road, waiting to go through the drive through – as well as the 30 people in line at the front and standing . . .

So here are my pics below – of my family having some Andy’s, my YUMMY blackberry concrete (which is vanilla frozen custard blended with blackberries!)  My bro-law, Brent got Key Lime and didn’t care to share so I don’t know what it tasted like . . .  : )

I’m looking forward to my sister (Rachel) and her family coming in tomorrow night!  They drove and got into OKC tonight to pick up Greg’s mom and will head to Missouri tomorrow after church and we plan on meeting up at Lambert’s tomorrow evening.  My mother-in-law Judy, my sister, her mother-in-law Khleber, and I will go on to Branson to spend the night @ the condo and then shop on Monday, and the rest of the family will head back to the “farm” to just relax for a few days until we go to the Springfield meeting on Wednesday.  Look forward to seeing many of you there!

|

We are in Missouri @ Monte’s parents house out in the OZARK Mountain COUNTRY. . . VERY SLOW i-net way out here so could only manage one picture for now!

We are having fun riding the “Gator”, swimming in the creeks and fishing so far!

Here is Ainsley with one of her 4 fish she caught the other day!

Maybe I can blog more in the next few days when we head to Branson to stay @ his parent’s condo/shop/see Peter Pan/shop . . . and have wifi from some unsuspecting neighbor @ the condo!  : )

We are in San Diego this weekend.  It has been SOOO great so far!!  We slept in til close to noon since we got in to the hotel late.  Monte was up before 9:30 to get us some breakfast but then laid back down.  I got ready and got to go to !! 

It is SUCH a nice place! Just looking at ALL the beautiful flowers in pots and bougainvillea growing on trellises is worth going!! : )

Monte gave me money for Mother’s Day (along with a massage gift certificate & a pedi gift certificate!)  The money was to spend HERE!!  And the OTHER best part was that he kept Ainsley today at the motel and let her swim, etc. while I SHOPPED to my heart’s content!!  It was soo fun!!  Just being able to LOOK at everything and not have to worry about someone elses time schedule!!  Even though I was SUPER tempted to eat at the Panda Express they had there — I went ahead and just got a Super C:

@
(they were out of wheatgrass – seems like they are out HALF the time!) 

 Even though they had tons of wonderful shops – I found most of my stuff at my  “old faithfuls”:  GAP and Gymboree!!

Came back to the hotel and we went to the beach for just a little bit – it was getting dark by then.  Then went and ate @ Joey’s Smokin BBQ!!  YUMMM-EEEE!!  I got a pulled pork sandwich that was SUPER SCRUMPTIOUS – but the BEST part was that you could order a baked YAM with brown sugar cinnamon butter as your SIDE!!  I LOVED IT!! 

We were going to watch a movie @ the theater – but come to find out there were NO kids movies playing at the theater we were at!  So went ahead and rented BOLT
 
and watched it on our big laptop back in the room – very cute movie!

So the REAL reason we are in San Diego was not to just shop . . .we will be going to one of Monte’s x-student’s graduation tomorrow from
Point Loma Nazarene University

She was one of his best pole vaulters in highschool and also vaulted here.

Well, I must go finish up my hair – it’s almost 2 am and it is still wet in a towel.  Take care my friends!  : ) . .. I MIGHT be seeing some of you in the San Diego or Covina area SOON!!  We’ll see where we end up on Sunday!

Went to the beach . . .

Was going to be for our 11th anniversary . . . .

But Granna & Papa were coming out . . .

So we decided it would be a better use of our time . . .

To take Ainsley and Granna & Papa with us!

Went to Fisherman’s Wharf @ Monterey & had some clam chowder in a WAY COOL BOWL!!

Ainsley & I decided to share this “LITTLE” appetizer plate!

This is a “squid” with a squid in her mouth!  lol!

Good thing we had a condo with a great ocean view . . .

Since it was pretty windy outside most of the time.

“Anniversary pics”??

Monte and his sweet mom, Judy (Granna)

The day we left it was warming up so we played a bit . . .

So much for wearing boots to keep your feet DRY!!  lol!

 Then Sunday was potluck . . . .

 Now I must wake up my sleeping child (@ 2:30 am) to give her Keflex for a yucky throat that was fortunately, Strep NEGATIVE!

And, by the way, I’m only waking her up because she fell asleep here on the couch and didn’t get her last dose of the night – NOT because I give it to her on a strict “every 8 hour schedule” . . . just so you know!  . . .  only do that @ the hospital . . . : )

  A short conversation with my 5 year old tonight

Ainsley:  “Mamma, are you glad you’re a girl?”

Me: “Ugh-huh . . .”

Ainsley: “Me too!  I like being a girl . . . you know why?”

Me: “No, why?” (Wondering just WHAT was going to come out of her mouth at this point)

Ainsley: “Cuz when you’re a girl and you have a bad outfit on or something, you can just throw on a cute purse and everything is all better!”

I KNOW she doesn’t get this “fashion sense” from me . . . since I have ONE purse I wear with everything!!

This is her in Hawaii last summer in the Coach store . . . she said “LOOK MAMMA!  A purse just for me!”

NOPE!  I’m thinking we’ll find that purse at the dollar store!  lol!  : )

She probably gets it from her krazy kuzin Kendra . . . they play “Fashion Girl” whenever she comes over . . .
Kendra is taller than Ainsley so her outfits are usually too short on her in these “fashion shows” – not to
mention the mid-drift shirts!  : )  So the last time they started to dress for their “show” I gave them the “challenge” of not just dressing “cool” but also dressing MODEST and “COOL”!!!  It was somewhat of a challenge – but they were very proud to point out that Kendra’s skirt WOULD have been immodest IF they wouldn’t have put on the cool leggings underneath!  : )  I thought it was very cute and hopefully a good learning experience they will take with them throughout their life.  : )

Here they are @ Thanksgiving when Rikki did their makeup for them.
Kendra wanted her makeup to look like Rikki : )

Ainsley wanted Fairy makeup

I love these girls . . . even though they argue like sisters!

So many things to blog about . . . but the funnest pictures for now will have to be these:

Rachel, Megan and Rosemarie did another GREAT Sweetheart Dinner!  THANKS GIRLS!!!

All of us sweethearts after playing “boys vs girls” pictionary . . . YES, the girls WON!  : )

Cheryl & George

Travis & Shanna

Mary & David

Mike & Cindy (too funny! : )

Me & my sweetheart

Hannah & Michael

Eric & Ruby

Doris & Ronny

Doadie & Leon

Daniel & Emily

Megan & Matt

Greg & Rachel

Danny & Tammy 

Rosemarie & Stan 

I made a slideshow with music that they played throughout the party – you can see how big it was on the wall behind us!  It was fun watching the different couples on their wedding day and then seeing them now : )  Some were QUITE different!  LOVED IT!!   Maybe I will try to get in on youtube for everyone to see sometime . . . but for now here are a couple of my faves!

Uncle Myron & Aunt Robin

Mark & Pam  : )

I’m still enjoying those of you who are posting . . . for those of you that haven’t posted in a while – I miss you & your pictures. . .   Love you all!