Pinterest Challenge Take 2!!!

We are doing the Pinterest Challenge again!! Check out Megan's blog for the details!! And remember we want to see the fun things you do, so post your results. Happy Pinning!!

Meatballs!!

I am going to start putting my favorite recipes on my blog so the three or so of you who actually read my blog can enjoy them as much as I do
These meatballs are the best, and they are pretty darn easy too, always a plus in my opinion.

Mozzarella  stuffed Meatballs

What you need:
1 lb raw hamburger
1 egg
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 1/2 C. bread crumbs
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. oregano
pinch of garlic powder
a pinch or two of salt and pepper
4 cheese sticks cut into 1/2 inch pieces
oil for frying

Mix the first 8 ingredients in a bowl, then form meatballs around the pieces of cheese.
Fry the meatballs in thin layer of oil, until cooked thru, turning once. Easy Right??? And don't worry if some of the meatballs split open when frying, they will still taste excellent.

Serve with cooked noodles, and your favorite pasta sauce, mine comes from a can... I told you I like it easy.

I actually put half of the meatballs in the freezer after I form them, then I have an easy ready made meal for the future.

The proof of the deliciousness is written all over her face!!!
Happy Cooking

Hiking!!

Carson and I have been trying to take advantage of these last few warm weekends, so we decided to go on a hike every Saturday until we declare it too cold to go anymore, I am really hoping that is not too soon, I am not ready for summer to be over. 

Our first hike was supposed to be a water hike, but it had recently rained, and the water was flowing a bit higher than usual, so we really just hiked down to the bottom of the canyon, let baby girl play in the mud, and then hiked back up.

 Kynlee thought it was great!!!

 Our next hike was up the "C" trail. Neither of us realized how long this hike actually was, when we saw the sign at the bottom saying 4.25 miles, we thought that was the round trip total. We were WRONG!! The really terrible part was that the big "C" taunts you as you think you are getting closer, but the trail has you walk all over the mountain without actually getting closer, in fact you pass the C many times and just keep going off to the side for awhile before you eventually start heading back the right way. I was spent by the time we finally got to the top, and I was planning on taking a nice long rest. Again I was WRONG!! As soon as we climbed up over the edge of the hill, the wind about knocked us down, it was sooooo strong up there. We only stayed long enough to take a few windy pictures and share our water with a high school boy who evidentally didn't realize how long the hike was either, and then we were out of there. Now I have 3 nice blisters to prove that I made it to the "C", and they better last, because I am never doing that hike again.

Holyoak Reunion!!

Over Labor Day weekend Carson and I got to head to Moab for the Holyoak family reunion. As usual it was a weekend full of good times. We started off the weekend by going to see this beauty. After a bit of struggling with the company to make it just the way Dad wanted it, it was finally set last week. I must say I spent many hours sitting with Dad trying to get this right. You see Dad wanted the little needle and thread thing saying "She brought us joy," over Mom's name. Not a big deal right?? WRONG!!! Dad told them what he wanted and even drew a little picture so they would get the idea, assuming that they could make it look even better. The samples that we were sent truly looked like a 4 year old drew them, I was appalled that they would think anyone would want that on their headstone. So I took the image and loaded it into Paint (not the most user friendly program on the planet might I add) and erased their lines, printed it out, drew what Dad wanted, and scanned it back to the company.  Well this worked great, but then Dad assumed I could fix anything on it, so he went to work having us redraw the cabin, which was also appalling, seriously, these people don't even know the basic rules for drawing a 3-dimensional image. As you can see we never did get it quite fixed, I am not a graphic designer, and I did not have a fancy or even easy to use program to work with, but let me tell you it is WAY closer to what the cabin actually looks like than what they drew from the picture Dad gave them. And all in all I think it looks pretty nice, and I think Mom would be happy with it, and at least now whenever I go see it I can be happy that I helped design it (although shouldn't Dad and I have gotten a share of the chunk of change Dad paid for it).

 We took Mom some of her own roses, which Dad has kept alive. I had nothing to do with it because I have killed every flower I have ever tried to tend. 

 Then we headed to the reunion where we had lots of good food, and lots of fun. Kynlee really liked this big ball, although she rolled over the top of it and onto the ground many times. 

  Now let me tell you, the Redneck games were not planned as scheduled activities for the reunion, but at a Holyoak reunion, they really don't have to be scheduled to happen. I am not sure you can see really well, but the picture below shows a little rocket with a parachute stuck in a tree, followed by a chain, and a shovel (yes a shovel). How did all these items get there?? Well I will explain. I am ashamed to say it all started when my own husband Carson saw the rocket stuck up VERY high in a cottonwood tree. He jokingly told my nephew Parker that he would give him $10 if he could get the rocket down from the tree. So Parker got a baseball and started trowing it up at the rocket. When all the big boys heard what Parker was doing, they all accepted this challenge. Now the big boys have more resources than Parker and they quickly started pulling them out. First the chain started flying, and not long after it was stuck in the tree as well. Next Nathan got a shovel, and even with a hurt knee he managed to throw it with stunning accuracy high in the air... where it stuck on the first throw. IMPRESSIVE! Then the help of another shovel, a rope, and a water bottle was enlisted. After about an hour or two of perseverance, those boys got first the shovel, then the chain, and eventually the rocket out of that tree. Well done boys!! Carson incidentally never made even one throw towards the cause. The rocket actually belonged to the park maintenance guy, and after it had been retrieved he launched it high into the sky for us. Luckily it did not get stuck again, or we might have been there all night.   

The boys and their toys! Amazingly no one was hurt in this challenge... except a shovel or two that didn't fair so well

 The next day after church we headed up to the cabins for dinner, and the best homemade ice cream in the world, provided by Aunt Cheryl. 

The boys had fun trying out this scooter.

 These tries usually resulted in this.

 I am glad we can come together and have such a good time with each other because even though we drive each other crazy sometimes, family really is the most important thing in the world (even better than homemade ice cream).