Takin' A Break.....

I AM TAKIN' A BLOGGING

BREAK....I'LL BE BACK!!

In a week maybe two....

Happy Birthday PreShie!

This past weekend we celebrated the 14th birthday of PreShie! Oh, and did we ever celebrate.

It all began on our drive home from The Boy's football game, when The Farmer spotted these two men (below) walking along the highway. He quickly turned the truck around....

And asked how much they would charge to sing the traditional Mexican birthday song to PreShie. To which they quickly replied 25 pesos ($2.50 dollars). And so they were hired. And they sang, all the while PreShie grinned. They offered to sing again...another traditional Mexican birthday song..."congratulations it's your birthday" but before they began, the man with the guitar thought it might sound better if he shook out some small rocks that seemed to be in his guitar...and so he did. Seriously he did!

So for $5.00 PreShie was wished a happy birthday, with traditional Mexico style.

Preshie invited just a couple of friends over for her party.....and 15 young ladies later....we carved pumpkins, jumped in the brinca, brinca.........

Yes....she requested a brinca, brinca for her party. I loved that it was the princess castle that arrived. Perfect for a girl who is also known as "Queenie." Oh, who would have known how much that brinca, brinca would be enjoyed. They jump, and jumped!

They puppies really enjoyed the party too! Especially the bones from the yummy steaks The Farmer prepared for the girls.

Everyone carved a pumpkin to take home, and Rooster told The Farmer that this was a complete waste of pumpkins....they could have been sold for $$$

They were all lit with candles, each one unique and darling.

PreShie requested her favorite cake, Pastel de Tres Leches. Yummmmmmm! Good choice PreShie! After eating, jumping, screaming, more jumping, more screaming, a movie, carving, more screaming, lots of popcorn and more jumping. The Farmer ended the evening with fireworks. It was a great celebration for PreShie....Happy Birthday!

WE LOVE YOU PRESHIE!

Way To Go Rooster!

Yesterday, The Rooster completed in the regional track meet. We traveled to a small town about an hour away, equiped with a yummy lunch and some comfy chairs. The day began quite cold, by thankfully the sun broke through the clouds and it warmed right up. Rooster placed 4th and beat his personl best....Horray!
We are sure proud of Rooster!

A Big Gracias!!

THANKS JAN!!

What a fun blog award! Thanks for your kind words and always for your sweet comments! I am so glad that you blogging, it makes me feel like you aren't so far away!

The rules of the award are as follows:

1. Post 6 things about yourself

2. Pass the award onto 6 deserving bloggers!

6 Things About Me

1. Cilantro is not my friend!

2. I love my life....I really do!

3. I am in love with a Farmer...how did that happen?

4. I have a new bedroom set (and it is amazing...by the way)

5. I have chickens...and enjoy fresh eggs;)

6. I own way too many clocks, and I love them all!

6 Awesome Bloggers

1. Kim - she is so creative and has the most darling blog

2. Jenn - a great friend, that even though I don't see alot

I feel like she is a "soul sista"

3. Suzie Homemaker - an amazing cook, especially baker

and has a wonderful way of writing

4. Jen - she is new to blogging and doing great!

5. Cedar - love catching up with her fun life through her blog

6. Prudance Pennywise - she is practical yet always has amazing food ideas

p.s. 3 of these fine bloggers are my sweet sister-in-laws, and thank goodness they blog...it helps me keep up with their families. Love it!

Winter Lentil Soup

Perfect for a cool evening Fall dinner....and a great use of Lentils! This really is a great soup.

The Darlings loved it too!

Winter Lentil Soup

2 T. olive oil

2 lg. onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3/4 t. marjoram

3/4 t. thyme

1 (28oz.) canned tomatoes with juice

7 c. chicken broth

1 1/2 c. lentils, cleaned and rinsed

1/2 t. salt

6 oz. white wine vinegar

2 T. parsley

cheese, for garnish

Sautee onion, garlic, carrots and spices for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice, broth and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 1 hour. Add remaining ingredients and top with a little cheese, cheddar is great. Serve with some chrunchy bread and enjoy!

A Needed Reminder

“There is in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the

dark hour of adversity.”

-Washington Irving

What a great full weekend. Homecoming...always a great time. Loved having my children close to home all weekend. Enjoyed a long and very fun bike ride with a dear friend. We celebrated with a couple begining their lives together, we mourned with a family who said a momentary good-bye to their beloved father. Sunday brought reminders of how blessed we are, through a beautiful Fast and Testimony meeting. Reminders also that we need to discover where our heart really is, by our Stake Patriarch. Oh how we love him. Ending with family and friends enjoying the ever famous popcorn made with love by The Farmer's Mother, a tradition that we love so much. With all that is happening in the world, the uncertainty that we feel, I am grateful for the reminders of how truly blessed we are, I needed the reminder.....

*I discovered this quote on a blog I love to read...this one I will post in my kitchen

More Homecoming - JSA

The Farmer was the voice of the Lobos! (he's in the middle)

The Boy is number 11. Look at him go!

There he is again!

They didn't win their game, but they had a good time!

I love this picture, take a look at our Temple in the background. What other high school

has the great blessing of being in the shadow of a Temple?? These are lucky kids.

Oops! Our darling mascot being mauled by a group of children....I mean mauled!

With a little help from the cheerleads...the mascot is up....and everything is okay!

We had a great day...the weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time!

Homecoming - JSA

We celebrated homecoming on Friday and Rooster was sure that Homecoming just would not be complete without a Pumpkin sale. So he loaded up the truck and headed to the high school with great hopes. The Farmer was the voice of the Lobos during the football game and gave The Rooster alot of free reminders....over the intercom....for everyone to be sure a purchase their Halloween pumpkin from The Rooster;)

Rooster lined them up all in a row and began his sale. He did well! He came home with only a couple, which was okay with his Mom. You can never have too many pumpkins at this time of year!

The Flying Rooster

Yesterday, The Rooster competed in a track meet at our grade school. Several other schools were invited to participate as well. He did very well! He placed second in the high jump, missing frist place by only one jump. When he realized how well he had done he said, "Mom, now this is a blog moment!" The Rooster is right! We are very proud of him.
Next week he will compete in a regional meet....Good luck Rooster!

My Favorite

I just want to say, I LOVE Z Tejas....wow is it good!

I especially love to eat there with my Darling Brothers;)

And my favorite food is Mac-n-Cheese!

THAT IS ALL I WANTED TO SAY!!

A Few Last Tastes Of Summer

Summer is winding up for us. The days are still warm but the nights and early mornings are very cool, actually cold. The leaves are falling from the trees and Fall is basically here.

We are enjoying the few last tastes of summer. The Radishes are from the garden, not only beautiful but tasty. This year I planted 18 tomato plants and they promptly died. Which has never happened to me before. So I again planted about 20 plants and I ended up with 3. But they have produced very well. Because of my garden ,along with generous neighbors, I filled many bottles with homemade tomato sauce. Yum!

The will be perfect for Tortilla Soup, spaghetti sauce, and homemade tomato soup! It has been a great year for bottling, and it feel good to have a fully pantry!

I Think I May Have A Problem....

I haven't cleaned my purse out in awhile....and since I have a new purse in my life;) I thought it was time. I mean really....why put junk in the "new purse." So this is what I found a the bottom of my old purse, pens, in every color you can imagine. I really do love pens, but this was a suprise even to me. The Farmer was shocked and quickly said he would look for the best "pen rehab" program that he could find. Well, atleast I am supplied for awhile.

You have to admit, there is nothing better than a good pen!

Some Serious Randomness

I am so loving the new flavors of yogurt that I recently come across. I am sure that they have been around for awhile....but remember...I live "on the farm" and sometimes I miss the new things that are avaliable. So anyway, Yoplait flavors, Blackberry Pomegranate and Cranberry Raspberry, are my new favorites. Yummy!! I have yogurt each morning for breakfast, topped with a little granola and fruit. I hope these flavors will stay around for awhile.

I LOVE THEM!!

I cannot taste anything at the moment....AND YET I EAT!!....what is with that?? I have a cold or allergies, not sure which, and I cannot taste a thing. Has that stopped me from eating???NOOOOO! I keep thinking that my sense of taste will suddenly appear at any moment, and so continue to eat....Just in case;)
So, my sweet sister-in-law/dear friend, and I were enjoying our morning exercise together, as we do most everyday, and we came upon a fresh pile of dirt. Wait....is there such a thing? Anyway, it was dirt that had just been dug up, from deep in the earth, and wow did it smell good! We both commented on how good fresh dirt, slightly moist, smells. When I was pregnant with each of The Darlings, I would have paid big bucks to lay my tongue in some fresh dirt. It was bad! (Another word for that is mineral difficency!) Back to the morning exercise, So we seriously discussed making a candle to burn in your home that smelled like fresh moist dirt! We really did. We could call it "Smells Of The Farm." Maybe city folk don't get that amazing smell often enough, and they would like a candle to remind them of the country.....hummmmm.....what do you think?? Has this been a TMI moment??;)

Bienvenidos Flat Betty!

A few months ago I invited Flat Betty to come for a visit. She is quite the world traveler and I thought that she would love to add Mexico to her list. Not only do I think she is great...but her cause is even better. Another wonderful reason to have her visit us. If you would like to know more about Betty and her cause please visit her at http://www.flatbetty.blogspot.com/.
When Betty first arrived, she was anxious to get out and see the sights. The biggest "attraction" we have around here is our farms. Since she is a city girl, we thought she would love to see our farms and see what we do there. Here she is in the corn. She couldn't believe how tall the corn grew this year, much above 6 feet, closer to 7 feeet. She was comfortable resting next to an ear of corn...just her size;)
Next, it was out to the Pumpkin Patch, with Little Rooster along for the ride. She thought it was so great that Rooster is so happy with his pumpkins! She said she had never seen so many pumpkins in so many different sizes. She loved the pumpkins.
On to more corn. We grew alot of corn this year....
Then we were off to Uncle Ed's house. He generously offered apples to anyone who wanted some. She thought we should make more applesauce with these tasty apples. I think she is right! You can never have too much applesauce! We ended our visit with some yummy local tacos...which she liked very much! We were happy to send back with Betty, a new pair of pj's and a book about Tinkerbell. Betty assured us that she will find just the right child in need for these pj's and book. What a great cause Betty! Thanks for visiting us in Mexico, we hope that you will come again real soon!

ADIOS, NUESTRA AMIGA BETTY!!!

Indulge Me....

Just a few more pictures of the "Great Italian Escape." This is Juilet's window in Verona, you know...from Romeo and Juilet.
These are the words he called to her, while she was on her balcony.
The walkway leading to Juilet's courtyard is lines with love notes, from all the visitors.
Look closely....right in the middle...awww....that Farmer;)
And....yes....this is what came home with that wonderful Farmer of mine!

He did good!!!

More....Italy and The Farmer

As you can see, they had alot of fun,
and saw alot of beautiful sights. The Farmer appreciates art, and he saw alot of that too!
I think he took this picture just to prove that there really are orchards in Italy, and they really did go and seen them;)
Venice....possibly the most romantic city in the world, and The Farmer shared

it with his buddies. No I am not bitter....where did you get that idea???

He had a wonderful time and we are very, very happy that he is home. Oh, p.s. he did great in the "gift/souviner" department. Auntie Beth now enjoys a beautiful Italian scarf that matches her new coats that she will be wearing on the mission. The Boy is sporting a couple of Italian silk ties. PreShie is loving her "Prada";) purse. And The Rooster is wearing an Italian soccer uniform. And The Farmer's Wife.....well....I got just what I wanted and asked for and hoped for and dreamed about....Let's just say, I am amazed and VERY, happy!

Welcome Home Farmer!