State Fair 2011

We headed off to the Iowa State Fair this past weekend-and on our way we passed a house!

For the record-it is nerve wracking passing a house!! ahah!!

After staying the night with Bridget and Adam, Bridget, I, Jason, Kathy and Dick headed off for the Fair.

We did the park and ride from the State Capitol-smartest decision ever!

Cake in one of the buildings with all the things the fair is about!

It.Was.PACKED!  Lots of people!!

A little Fried Ice Cream never hurt anyone!!

Oh yea!

We met up with my cousin, Sabrina, who was also at the fair that day.  And I just got a text literally 2 minutes ago saying she was at the hospital-meaning-THE BABY IS COMING!!  I'm SOOOOO excited for her and Travis!!!

Jason and I both had a corn dog!

Then we got a free hard boiled egg on a stick!

Butter Cow-celebrating 100 years!

The sand sculpture-one of my favorite things to see at the fair.

This is for you Bridget......  a duck. BAHAHAHHAAHH!

SUPER BULL!

Jacob's dresser-he got a red ribbon! 

So long to you fair!  It was a great trip!

4-H & FFA Fair 2011

For fair this year-Andy baked and Apple Pie and it was considered for State Fair!  Jacob made cookies and got a blue ribbon.  They both took crops to the fair and Andy came out with the top overall crop win!

Greta took a bucket bottle calf that she named, Curly!  She did great handling him in the ring!

Andy and Jacob both took pigs and chickens to the fair.  The boys got several awards for Showmanship and overall Market bird with their chickens.  Andy placed first in one of his classes with one of his pigs.

Jacob made this dresser in woodworking class and took it as a project.  He gets to take it to the State Fair!  :) 

Their are more pictures that I will be adding in further posts-this is just getting started!! 

When boating doesn't work...make chinese food!

On Sunday, Jason, I, Bridget, and Adam had made plans to go boating! 

All week the weatherman kept saying that in our area, Sunday was going to be beautiful. 

He was a liar.

It was kind of chilly, and it rained a little too.

We were sad [insert sad face here].

So what do you do when you can't go boating....?

Well of course you make chinese food!

That, my friends, is homemade sesame chicken.  Yep. 

My personal favorites....crab ragoons.  Baked!

Adam's specialty...fried rice! 

Maybe next time we will get to take the boat out!  I have my fingers crossed!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I recently found this recipe and tried it out...it is amazing. 

Seriously. 

I have been looking for a good recipe for cookie bars, but have not found one that was great.

Until NOW!

Go make these immediately....they are to die for!

Here's the link to the website I found it on here.

 Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars

Makes a 9X13-inch pan of bars
2 1/8 cups  all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup  light brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips***


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan by about 1 inch so you can grab those edges and pull the brownies from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.


Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.


Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan, 24-28 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.


*** I followed all the directions except I used 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips instead of 2. 

Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend

We went camping!  Jason and I, along with some friends went out to a campground in Frederika, Alcock Park.  It was a really nice place, it had showers, and two sets of bathrooms. 

And we had a spot right on the river!

Happy days!

Enjoying the fire...

I left early on Saturday morning to head down to see my cousin Sabrina in Peru, IA!  They were having their 4th annual fish boil!  If you want to see what a fish boil consists of, check out this link.

Sabrina and her mom, my aunt Donna!  Don't you just love Sabrina's baby belly!?

Were cute! :-)

See the pot...it's full of fish!

Boil over!!!!!

I had to snap a picture of Sabrina's beautiful crib and baby room!

Thanks for having me guys!!  Can't wait 'til next year!!

Singing in the rain!

If the weather people are right, we are going to have a slightly rainy Memorial Day weekend. 

That would be fine and all...

If we weren't planning on being outside all weekend...

and sleeping in a tent.

Jason and I have camped over Memorial Day weekend with the same group of friends for a few years now.  We have been through rain, heat, mosquitoes, a tornado a few miles from our campsite, animals, wind, you name it, we've seen it.  We've even made our own rain shelter out of a tarp, some trees, and some large branches.  The darn thing worked!

Jason LOVES to camp.  If he could live outside, he probably would.  He likes braving the elements and he is a fire bug.  Always picking, prodding, and stoking the fire to make sure that the heat is evenly being distributed...even if we are just making smores before bed.  He laughed at me when I told him that he would pee the bed if he played with fire.  My mom always told me that.  Now I have come to realize that was a hoax to keep us away from the fire...she's good.

Jason also is an excellent cleaner/organizer when he is outside.  He's that way inside too, but outside is almost worse.  He will straighten the log piles, tidy up the cooler, and set up the garbage before you have a chance to say hello.  It's crazy I tell you! 

I also might add that he is an excellent rock skipper and prides himself on seeing how many times he can make it skip over the water.  I'm not sure what his record is, you will have to ask him to show you his mad skills if you are ever around him, some smooth stones, and a large body of water.  It's quite intriguing. 

He isn't allowed a hatchet anymore when we camp.  If you know Jason you will have most likely seen him "flipping" things.  Spoons, pop bottles, plates, ketchup bottles (this one was a funny story), and whatever else he can get his hands on, including a hatchet. I hadn't met Jason when this little mishap occurred...but let's just say he has a scar to prove that flipping a hatchet is not a cool thing to do...

Food is always a huge thing to look forward to when camping...here are some of the nessecities:

Camping food:

Smore things is a must.

Eggs-for breakfast

Cheese-for everyting

Various meats-brats, burgers, steaks, chicken.

Bacon-enough said

Bread

Potatoes

and on this years menu, Scotcheroos!

The best part about camping...

-being outside.

-on a day off from work.

-seeing and enjoying the nature around you.

-being with people.

-making memories to last a lifetime.

An assortment of thoughts:

Lately, I have been finding myself having a lot more time on my hands.  It's been nice, really nice.  The laundry doesn't pile up, the dishes don't pile up...near as much, and I have more time to clean/organize/relax. 

I have been cutting my spring flowers that are blooming in the backyard.  They really brighten up my desk at work...doesn't flowers in a Mason jar just scream country living...I love it.  :)



For Mother's Day, I got my mom a canvas that has the picture of our entire family they used for their Chritmas cards.  I found a coupon code online for a FREE one!  All I had to pay was shipping and it was like $15 for that of course, but originally without the coupon code, it would have been nearly $40! 

I have been going for walks lately after work, since I have time, at the park here in Nashua.  It is so nice to just get out and walk by the lake.  I really enjoy it after being inside all day!  Also, for you Nashua locals, one loop all the way around the park, as in down and around the volleyball nets, and through the camping area, and back to the entrance to the park by the beach is very close to a mile for each loop.  I have been walking 3 loops a night.  My shins hurt a bit.  :)

I have a new blog that I really enjoy following...thought I would share it with you.  The blogger's name is Ree and she makes all kinds of yummy food!  Her photos are amazing.  Here is the link- http://thepioneerwoman.com/  I am making a recipe from her blog called Pig Cake for Mother's Day.  It has fruit in it so it must be somewhat healthy right?? ;)

I have several friends/family that work out of town and I can't imagine how much they will be paying for gas this summer!!  It was nearly $4 a gallon last time I looked this week.  Jason and I both work in town and I am so thankful for that!  I can't imagine commuting to work EVERYDAY and paying that much to fill up your car.  Jason is thinking about taking an online summer class instead of commuting to Mason City twice a week for a class he had been looking into...makes sense to me!

I have been just ITCHING to get out to a greenhouse and get our garden in!  We have a few peas and other veggies that I may put in tonight, but I really want to get some tomato plants and flowers! :D

I just have to share this with you...my little sister, Greta...can send a picture message.  No she doesn't have a cell phone, but she sure knows how to use my mom's!!  Seriously, I was blown away when I found out it was her sending them!  I figured Jacob had gotten ahold of her phone and was just messing around...but nope...it was Greta! She is so young...yet so smart at the same time!  I can't imagine what she will be like when she is a teenager!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  I have two graduation parties to attend!  Jason is excited....free cake!! :)

Scenes of our backyard...

Flowers are blooming...

This one is gorgeous.  It's the only red one that has bloomed so far.  The picture does it no justice!

Our tree is blooming too! :)

I can't wait till all of these little buds open up! 

The rhubarb is looking fabulous!  Jason and his brother Andy are going to try and make Rhubarb Wine this summer!  We will FOR SURE have enough rhubarb!

This, right here, is Jason's pride and joy!  His asparagus!  He goes out there every single day to check on it!  We were blessed to have a large area of this already going strong in the backyard when we moved into this house.

My tulips that I planted when we moved in...tulips are SO easy, just plant the bulb and every year after that, they come up and are simply gorgeous!  These are about to bloom any day now!  I want to fill my backyard with them!!  But I have a feeling Jason won't be so crazy about that...maybe just a corner? ;)

The daffodils are also coming in stong!  The weather has sure been harsh on them though!  Notice they are all kind of leaning over, it got a little windy the day I was taking pictures.  But nevertheless, they prevail, through wind, rain, snow, and continue to bloom!

I would totally pick some and put them on my kitchen table, but my cats would eat them!  Yep, my cats are cool like that! :)

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We went to the Fireman's Dance last night after going out to eat with some friends in Cedar Falls.  Have you ever been to Sakura?  Great place to eat and have entertainment too! :)  They have a big grill you sit around and they make your rice, noodles, veggies, and meat right their in front of you!  The chefs, grill masters, whatever you call them, make it really interesting with their spatualas and do all kinds of tricks with the food!  It's a little more expensive, but totally worth it! 

I also wanted to let all my readers know that my friend is now an salesperson for Miche!  I had never heard of this brand before, but it is a bag that you can buy different shells for!  If you want to match your purse to your outfit, just change the outer shell!  And the bags are so so CUTE!  She gave me a brochure and I really want all of them!  She hosts parties too, so let me know if anyone is interested and I will tell you how to get in touch with her!

Now I just have to convince my husband that I "need" to get one! :) 

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We are off to Jason's brother Adam's college graduation ceremony from Waldorf College this afternoon! Stay tuned for some pictures of the proud grad and all the happenings!

Enjoy your weekend!

Randomness....

Things.
--I must have slept with my neck in a crazy position last night, because I can only turn my head to the right without pain.  Tylenol hasn't even touched it....dang!
--I got my hair cut and colored this week.  It was scary, but I am quite satisfied with the outcome.  It's auburn...aka reddish brown. 
--Isn't it sad that 28 degrees feels like Spring to us after all the bitter cold we have endured this winter??
--Today, while running on the treadmill, I decided to quick hop off and put on my sweatpants because my shorts were falling off me.  I let the treadmill go, put them on, went to jump back on...here's where it get's good...totally ALMOST biffed it.  Dumb me forgot I didn't shut the thing off...  You know when you see the people on Funniest Home Videos who totally all out get thrown off the thing...I kind of got bucked off and regained my balance.  Didn't make it any better though that the weight room was FULL with high schoolers Yep.
--Oranges are really good.
--I am an aunt....again! Holly had her baby...it was a girl!  Winny Mae 7lb 13 oz....she's gorgeous. We get to meet her on Sunday!
--The Devil Wears Prada has to be one of my most favorite movies...

Here are some things I found that I like and thought I would share with you...

These little nest rings you can find here are soooo cute! 

I LOVE finding things like the sign below...

This website is really cool...here is the link.  I love finding new recipes and trying them out!

That's all I have for you! Enjoy your weekend!