Poor Mommy!

Benjamin has been babbling for several months. His first word was "Da-da", he also says "ma", "la" and "gisth". He recognizes many words, but getting him to say them is another story. Here is what happened last time:

Mommy: "Benjamin, can you say Mama?"

Benjamin: no response

Mommy: "Can you say, Ma-ma?"

Benjamin: no response

Mommy: "Say, Ma-ma"

Benjamin: still no response

Mommy: "where's Mama?"

Mommy: "Ma-ma"

Benjamin: still nothing.....

Mommy: " Can you say Ma-ma?"

Mommy: "Say, Ma--ma"

Benjamin: "Da!"

He is his Daddy's boy!!!

Hot Ham & Cheese!

This is one of our favorite meals! The tang of the provolone is so tasty!

1 can pillsbury pizza dough
8 thin slices of ham
4 slices of provolone cheese
shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out pizza dough on cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in 4 quarters (in half one way and then the other way). Place a slice of provolone on each square of dough. Put two slices of ham over cheese. You can also add other meat on top of the ham- (salami or pepperoni for more spice). Roll up each square loosely. Place on greased baking sheet or stone. Brush the top of roll up with olive oil, then top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes. They are great the next day too, warmed in the mirco! Enjoy!

So Hard To Believe......

Our precious baby boy is one year old today! Its been the fastest year of our lives. The older we get and the more kids we have, the faster time flys! Benjamin is so much fun, but its gone way too fast. Happy 1st Birthday Benjamin!

Good Times!

Look who got his first pair of shoes! Walk Benjamin.....Walk!
Benjamin loves to watch Baylee brush her teeth with her blinking toothbrush!
The whole family likes to help Daddy mow the grass!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

This recipe is from Paula Deen, but I changed one ingredient and we really like it! My kids dont like canned tomatoes, so I substituted green chiles........pretty smart huh?

6 burrito -size tortillas
8-10 chicken tenders
1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 can cheddar soup
1 sm can chopped green chiles (Paula uses 1 can chopped tomatoes instead)
2 c shredded cheddar

Cook chicken in crockpot with onion and garlic. Mix all 3 soups and chiles together and then add shredded chicken to soup mixture. Butter a 13 x 9 baking dish. Place 2 tortillas in dish, side by side. Add 1/2 of soup & chicken mixture. Place 2 more tortillas on top of mixture, spread soup mixture on top. Place last 2 tortillas on and then top with cheddar cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

1st Day Of School!

Brandon and Baylee started the new school year this week. Brandon is in 4th grade and Baylee is in 2nd! They are very enthusiastic to begin the new year!

Beans n' Rice!

I guess its my "Guat heritage" (living there for 18 mos) but I crave beans and rice!
This is easy, cheap and yummy! Great food storage meal too!

3 cans of beans (red, white etc..)
4-5 cloves minced garlic (I use the entire bulb)
3 TBSP minced onion
2 tsp cumin
1 8oz tomato sauce
1 14oz can chicken broth

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil in medium saucepan. Drain & rinse beans and add all remaining ingredients to saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 30-60 minutes covered. Serve over rice.

A Star Is Born!

He can also pound the drums.....like Daddy!

Authentic BYU Jersey!

Papa Bingham gave Brandon his retired BYU jersey! This is the one Pop wore when he played for BYU and we will treasure it always!

Let's hear it for Brandon and Baylee!

Congrats to Brandon for earning the "Perserverance Award" for his 3rd grade class! Baylee earned the "Integrity Award" and "Gold Panther Award" (golden rule) for her 1st grade class!
Two more days of school this year.........After our long ONE WEEK break, they begin the new school year on July 7th! (we love year-round school)

Tooty Frooty!

The more I hear about pesticides, I wonder if I should buy organic? I read that our favorite fruits and veggies contain the highest amounts of pesticides.........should I be nervous? Do you buy organic, is it worth it? Everyone used to laugh at me for washing our produce with soap, maybe that isn't such a bad idea? Is it better to use a veggie-wash, if so, which one? Thanks for enlightening me!

King Benjamin!

Benjamin turned 11 mos yesterday and still will NOT hold his own bottle! Most babies want to hold their own bottles, but not our Benjamin. He INSISTS that someone else feed him........that is why he is the king!

Brock Infomercial

This is our new found friend! The Swivel Sweeper! I heard about this from Caroline and we love it! Its a 2 lb battery charged mini-vacuum! It is so easy and fun, the kids ASK to use it! No more sweeping after dinner, its way quicker and works on hardwood, tile or carpet. It can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $35, but you can use a 20% off coupon. Apparently, this is scene on an infomercial, but we saved shipping by getting it at the store. Now, that our house is on the market, this makes for easy clean up!

Our Baby Girl is 7 years old!

Baylee chose devil's food cake with cream cheese icing--yummy!
It was one of the last "cool" days to play in the "bouncey"--what fun!
Baylee has always loved the Tinker Toys at Grandma's, so now she has a set of her own!
This is our attempt at building the ferris wheel, we peetered out 1/2 way thru!

All Tracked-Out!

Baylee and Brandon are in year-round school, but tracked out here and happy!
Benjamin is happy to have his favorite friends home with him!

Remember the log flume?

Don't get wet!

Fun at King's Dominion!

Even Benjamin enjoyed a few rides!
Baylee became very brave this trip and began riding "level 4" rides! woo hoo!
Benjamin pooped out about 4pm.............We all had to leave the wave machine beach due to a severe thunderstorm, but we returned later that night for a few more hours!

Brocks visit King's Dominion!

We had a great time and it was only 3 1/2 hours away! Ammon and Brandon liked the "big" rides better than Disney! The park has lots of water rides, which were so fun on such a hot day!

Mama's new kitchen help!

Benjamin has discovered a whole new world in the kitchen with fun places to explore! What a great little helper for Mom!

Brandon receives his Panda award!

After several weeks of diligent effort, Brandon completed his Soil and Water Conservation achievement! Way to go Brandon!