What to do when a helicopter lands in your backyard

Take lots of pictures!



Today there was a raging fire just over the hills from my parents' house (also our house right now:). They live right on the Wenatchee River so we got to witness an awesome show--helicopters dipping water right out of the river in front of the house! Here are a couple pics plus one overhead. It was the coolest thing when the heli took off...right over our house!

A few pictures and why I can barely type this:)

Here are a few pictures of one of the many lake parties we attended while visiting our home church in the Puget Sound at the parsonage.

Both our girls love the water!

For the past month I've been eating high protein, low sugar and walking fairly consistently. Frustrated with a lack of progress (a little, but not much for the amount of work I thought!) I shared my concern with Daniel. He encouraged me to start adding more cardio workouts.

Initially I resisted because in the past my schedule has prevented a consistent time for working out w/o kiddos. Right now though we have a very flexible work schedule which is nice. So...I finally gave in and started back up with running for 30 minutes a day and this morning both Daniel and I did the P90X that I borrowed from my brother. Intense! I am starting to see results again and hopeful that I will be healthier and finally lose the last of the baby weight! That is also why blogging isn't happening quite as much...something always has to go when I add something! But I will work on getting the many pictures on my camera here soon:)

Menu Plan for the week of July 26th, 2010

Back to regularly scheduled meal planning...for a week:) Next Wed. we'll be back in a plan and back to JAARS in NC. Can I be honest with you all and say that living the life of having no "home" is starting to wear on us? Yesterday Daniel and I both looked at eachother and were ready to be done with all this transient life. I guess this is probably a stage most missionaries go through, right?! Well, either way I am sure we'll get over it soon and be better for it:)

Here's what we'll be eating this week

Breakfasts: scrambled eggs, oatmeal, pancakes (soy flour for me)

Lunches/snacks: leftovers, cereal, crackers & cheese, fruit
Dinners:

Monday: Stroganoff Hamburger Helper, raw fresh cucumbers and bell peppers with dip

Tuesday: Lenil Taco filling with chips and fresh fruit

Wednesday: Crockpot Macaroni and cheese

Thursday: Teriyaki Moose Meat in the crockpot over brown rice with some CSA veg(order comes on Wednesdays)

Friday: Homemade Easy Pizza with mystery veggies from CSA

Saturday: Crockpot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and veggies from CSA on side

Sunday: Leftovers and meal with grandma

What's on your menu this week?

Heading to the OR coast!

We finished the most important house rental projects and are packing up to go camping for 3 days on the OR coast! Yay! You probably won't see a lot of blogging between now and the weekend, so I will catch you up with pictures asap, probably this weekend!

I miss you big toddler girl!

The good Lord knew we needed some time to remember how much we love our big toddler girl, M. We were struggling with potty training, discipline and tantrums. But she has so much to offer...helpfulness, sweetness, a great imagination and more that we weren't appreciating because of the other stuff. So the camping trip with grandma and grandpa couldn't have come at a better time! We miss her a lot already.





God also knew that I was needed to help with house projects and could only manage one toddler while helping. So Liv has played in the dirt, wood chips and occasionally in the playpen or sat in the ergo while I work. Trenches, woodchipping, and next up for me is staining the little deck/stairs. Even though its been good to have this time we keep thinking about what M would say or do or think about everything we're doing! We miss her!

Smokin' Kraft Deal @ QFC

Not only is the mega even going on at QFC where you automatically receive $5 off when you buy 10 participating products, but there is also overlap with Kraft products starting today where you get $5 back (as a catalina) when you buy 5!

Total for this order was $9.76, but I received a catlina back for $5! Missing from this picture is one gatorade and 2 Edwards singles the hubby absconded:) I meant to break it into 2 orders and to buy the ground chicken and dark chocolate with the catalina, but the cashier confused me and kept telling me the Kraft $5 was instant savings and it already came off. So I did one order and after looking at my receipt I came back it and there was a $5 cat sitting on his register! It pays to know what the deal is, I found out:). So I guess I better go back and buy more dark chocolate before we leave town! ;)

The other deal for those of you with Organic Valley coupons...organic valley cream cheese was marked down to $1.09! A great deal for organic cream cheese anyway, but I had a $2/2 coupon(2 actually) so I got 4 for $0.09 each! And these are great for whole wheat toast or on celery for my high-protein, no sugar diet.

Thanks Coupon Connection NW!

Summer Water/Playground Fun

All work and no play, no way!