Church with Dad!

Today I had to give a talk in church - and my dad completely rearranged his work schedule so he could come!  I was incredibly happy that he came to support me!  He even stayed for the full three-hours of church.  As I mentioned in the talk I gave, it's all about the "little things" - and although Dad coming to church today may seem like a little thing to some, it was HUGE to me!  I am so grateful for his unconditional love and support:)

My Pops and Me after church:)

Recipes

Creamy Italian Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 pkg. (80z) cream cheese, softened
1 can (10-3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, stems and pieces
rice or noodles

Place chicken in slow cooker.  Combine salad dressing mix and water, pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours.  Remove chicken and cut into small pieces.  In small mixing bowl beat cream cheese and soup until blended.  Stir in mushrooms.  Pour over chicken and return to slow cooker; cook 1 hour longer, or until chicken is tender.  Serve over rice or noodles.

SURVEY SAYS...  keeper!  Everyone was a member of the "Clean Plate Club" on this recipe :)

Today is Grandparent's Day, so I made Peanut Butter Balls and we took them to my grandparents this afternoon-they liked them:)

Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1.5 cups powdered sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the first three ingredients together.  Roll into balls (it helps if it is chilled first).  Melt chocolate chips.  Cover peanut butter balls with melted chocolate.  Let them cool on wax paper.

I learned the hard way on melting chocolate chips!  The best way is to microwave them-first for one minute, then stir, then 20 second increments after that.  Also, I put them in the refridgerator after I covered them with the chocolate - this made the chocolate hard, and not gooey.

Recipe

Last night's new recipe...

Chicken Enchiladas
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 4 oz. chopped green chiles, drained
tortillas

Mix chicken, 1 can soup, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup cheese and chiles.  Place on tortillas.  Roll.  Place in a greased glass 11 x 13 pan.  Mix remaining ingredients and cover tortillas.  Bake uncovered at 350º for 30-40 minutes.

SURVEY SAYS.... I wasn't a huge fan (its pretty plain) but the boys gobbled them up - so the recipe is a keeper! (plus, it was super easy)

Luray Caverns!

After house-hunting in the morning, we headed out to Luray, Virginia to see the caverns (this was one of the few things Ethan asked to do over the summer).  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  The trip there took about twice as long as it should have (I was "resting my eyes" and we accidentally missed our exit, lunch stop, a nice encounter with a police officer-Sean had expired safety inspection tags on his car, etc) and once we got there, it was PACKED!  I never knew Luray Caverns was such a tourist hot-spot, but there were cars and people everywhere!  We waited in line for about 40 minutes, but it was worth it. 

I was there about a year and a half ago, and they have changed it since then.  Before, there were guided tours by employees... now, they give you headphones before you go down, and throughout the caverns are signs with different numbers that you punch into the headset to hear about that particular portion of the cavern (they even have two different options-the kid option or the adult option... the kid option was MUCH more fun and exciting!). 

It was so fun watching Ethan in totally fascination at all of the different formations!

A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination Part 2

After church, Ethan turned his "tank" into a Jeep, and while I was typing up the last post, he insisted that I take pictures of him in his "Jeep" - they are so cute that I had to post them! :)

the Jeep... (with the helmet)

Without the Helmet...

Ethan even added Stop and Go pedals:)

A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination!

This morning I woke up to Ethan standing in front of my bed with his "tank"...  A box that I brought home (the kind that reams of paper come in) to pack things up to give away, had been turned into a tank!

Here are some pictures of Ethan's creation...  He wouldn't stand up in it when I was taking pictures so you can't get the full effect, but at least he let me take a picture of him in it!  In the bottom, he cut out leg holes so he could stand.

Front View...  The white paper on the top part is "the shooting part" (where the bombs come out of)

Side View... complete with arm holes

Back View... the white circle things are to "make it go faster)

Inside View...  The tank is complete with controls! 

(Fire, Bombs, missiles, Retreat, and Go)

Ethan did all of this all by himself!  (ok, well I helped him color the outside to make it look camoflauge, but he did everything else-including the controls!).  What an imaginative little boy!!  (The tank has now been changed into a Jeep... Ethan is standing next to me as I type this blog post, and is insisting I let everyone know what the tank has turned into).

Fort and Game Night

Yesterday when I picked Ethan up from school, I gave him a list of choices of different things we could do... ranging from going to DC, going to a place where you can stand and the airplanes go directly over you as they take off/land, building a fort, etc.  Much to my surprise, he chose to stay home and build the biggest fort ever, play Monopoly (his new favorite game), and make homemade milkshakes!  I called Sean and told him Ethan's decision, so on his way over, he picked up the things that were needed for the milkshakes. 

It was fun (and brought back a lot of memories of the many forts I made when I was a kid!) building and playing a game of Monopoly inside of our master creation!

In the "entrance" to the fort... before playing Monopoly

Taking a break from playing Monopoly and making homemade milkshakes.... YUM!

The Fort... in all of its glory!  (Ethan slept in it when it was time for bed)