We went to Nevada last Thursday to visit Mike's family for 9 days.  It was a lot of fun, we hadn't been there since last October for Mike's brother's wedding.  As the kids get older, the car ride is much easier, besides the dvd player (we have only had that for 3 years, what a saver!) we played some games and to mix things up, I got a pack of world landmark flashcards. Mike and I thought that was lots of fun, but the kids not so much.  I must be getting old.  Anyway, the 8 hours through Oregon/Nevada is really BORING.

It's not a vacation without a nap and Mike provides the perfect pillow for Isa.

This photo doesn't do Lake Tahoe justice-it's a beautiful bright blue.

Hannah and Mike with Cecee-Carol's dog

Carol and Charlie just moved into a new house 2 weeks before we came, so Carol had lots of home projects for Mike-he installed 2 new toilets and a dog door, hung some hooks in,  moved furniture and hauled some stuff to the dump.  In between helping unpack boxes, we managed to go up to Lake Tahoe twice where his sister was camping, take the kids miniature golfing in Reno and on Monday took the kids on a "surprise" adventure! 

Survivor: The Ride  (Hannah did NOT like this one)

Off Highway 88 in California-look at that beautiful background!

My favorite ride: the sky tram-easy, cool and slow!

This carousel was 2 stories high!

Taylor walking through the waterworks course

We drove to San Jose via a beautiful scenic route on highway 88 through the El Dorado National Forest (that might be our next overnight trip) to stay the night and took them to Paramount's Great America.  I used priceline and got a sweet deal on a 4 star hotel-the kids thought it was very "fancy", as Taylor said.  It was so much fun, we wanted to stay longer at Great America.   We were there for 9 hours, and then had the drive home back to Carson City, and didn't get home until 1am.  Taylor and Mike road all the big roller coasters, I couldn't believe they did them all.  They were pretty brave!!  Hannah and I stuck to the smaller rides, but my little adventurer tried 2 rides that even I wouldn't go on and got off the ride upset and crying.  We diverted her with cotton candy and all was well. 


We had a great time and really enjoy visiting all of Mike's family.  The kids always love to visit and play with their cousins. Kody, Jacob and Katie are all growing up so fast-we really enjoy getting to spend time with them on our visits. Hannah and Taylor got to spend a night at camp with them, and we took them all swimming Friday night before we left Saturday morning to a great pool with a waterslide.

Kody and Taylor chillin'

Jacob and Taylor practicing a tackle

The cousins hanging out after some fun swimming

These bathing beauties could spend all day at the beach and in the water at Lake Tahoe.

Now back to reality-unpacking, cleaning and LOTS of work.  Boys and Girls club is over and I have 2 kids at home with me for the next 3 weeks while I try and get tons of work done!!!  That will be fun.  Hopefully I can wrap up work and do some fun activities before they start school on the 30th.

* Swallow nest on our porch-we are anxiously awaiting baby birds

*Hannah's amazing 80's fashion complete with make-up. The amazing thing is she has seen no photos or been trained in 80's fashion in any way, just her style.

* Hannah losing teeth

* Hannah's homemade pinatas (because she had a dream about happy spanish people and wanted to make one out of paper of course!) that is leading to making a *real* pinata

As a fan and someone who has done the Dave Ramsey program, I have followed a blog I found a year ago about a family living DEBT- free and saving for their first house-paying in cash (they are also Dave Ramsey fans).  Back then I was aghast that somebody would take on a goal of saving enough money to pay cash for their home. No home mortgage...WHAT??  Well here is a very awesome post of this same couple that are reaping the fruits of their labor, and just bought their beautiful home, IN CASH. 

It kind of gives me a little kick to start making some goals and sticking to them.  We have the envelope/cash system down, we had our emgerency fund nicely built up, only to have a washing machine, oven, and vacuum cleaner need repairs all in 2 months time, and we just had to replace the van's tires-all of them.  So while we have goals to get the emergency fund built up again, I think we have some more work about getting that debt snowball going quickly.  It's easier to stay in the same place and make excuses, but it's harder to buckle down, eat out less and knock down some debt.  I know my husband is reading this and saying, YES!! Let's get to work!! 

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration.  Now go read that blog, it just makes you want to save money.

One of my favorite blogs has summed up today the best  here.

And it has nothing to do with red, white and blue.

Oh, how we love him!

First, let me just say I LOVE mexican food, I could eat it 5 times a week.  But with trying to make healthier choices, Mexican food doesn't exactly carry a very nutritious pack unless you count lard, cheese, white flour and a sprinkling of veggies as condiments..um good for you.
I did tweak a dish that has worked for me as a great lunch: huevos rancheros.  I've never actually eaten them from a restaurant, so have no idea what the real ones are. I just made my own version and it has veggies and proteins and a much lower calorie cheese.

Start with a corn tortilla warmed in egg pan, fry an egg in either some pam spray or a tablespoon of butter.  Top this off with plain pinto beans ( I make a huge batch and freeze in sandwich bags for smaller portions), then I combine canned or fresh diced tomatoes and green chiles, add some slices of fresh avacado and about a tablespoon of cojita cheese (you must try this cheese-it's salty and yummy).  It is really good and filling, and if served with orange slices, you've got a very balanced meal.

Now for the not so healthy part that I can't do often. But it was so good.
Our menu consisted of fresh corn tortillas, carne asada, pintos (not re-fried!), fresh avacadoes and for dessert-a donut cake-the perfect canvas for  summer fruits (we had blueberries and strawberries, but nectarines,peaches and plums would be delicious.)

I never thought I could do corn tortillas because I have no tortilla press, but my favorite cook over here, showed me how to do with just a pie plate and a ziplock bag. I did tweak her recipe with more water and a little salt, and i did have a cast iron pan to cook them on which is essential.  They were so good.  The carne was just cut up steak browned and seasoned with chili powder, chiles, cumin, garlic and onion powder and a little watered down tomato paste, simmered for a couple hours-a great recipe from my sister.  And the pintos were just cooked for a couple hours in salted water, doesn't get any easier than that.

Okay about the cake-don't be lazy like me and not go to the store for buttermilk (I used a bit of yogurt and milk)-it's adds the perfect amount of moistness.  Also, the recipe has cornmeal in it and I just didn't like it.
I love Catherine Newman's recipes and have tried a ton over at her website-I don't think we've had one we didn't like.   I love to cook and I love to research recipes-anybody else sift through recipes looking for the perfect one and then tweak?  Maybe that's just me.