Fun at Aunt Stacey's!

We loaded up and headed to my sister's house the other day to visit with them for the afternoon...they are preparing for baby #3's arrival in a few weeks, so we thought it would be easier to head their way!  Andy's sister and her family went with us to help deliver a sofa-sleeper (anyone that has ever had to move one of those, knows that you definitely need help)!  Mom and Dad also stopped by, so it made for a very nice afternoon!

Freezer Meal Marathon!

Last night, my sister and I decided to do a freezer meal marathon.  Stacey's expecting in October, and I'm headed back to work next week, so we thought it would be nice to stock our freezers...somehow our cooking takes a backseat to work and parenting, lol :)

This is what the kitchen looked like before starting!

I had done this before (you can check those recipes out here), so I decided to use a few of those that I liked and then I also found another website with some recipes that I wanted to try.  Throw in a meatloaf recipe from memory, and we had 38 meals done in about four hours!

I always want to give credit where credit is due, so here are the original websites with the recipes:

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html
From this website, we made:
Chicken broccoli alfredo
Chicken cacciatore

I've made all of the recipes from this link though and can vouch for all of them...they're yummy!

http://joelandkitty.com/4o-freezer-meals-in-about-4-hours/
From this website, we made:
Manicotti
Sweet and sour chicken
Chicken tacos
Orange teriyaki chicken 

The rest of the recipes looked good, but we were going for fast recipes!  The ones we didn't make seemed a bit time intensive for our evening, so we thought we'd do those another time.

We also added Teriyaki Pork.  I'm not sure where I found this recipe at, so I'm not sure who to give credit to.

Teriyaki Pork

2-3 lbs boneless pork chops cut into small pieces.
1 medium onion sliced
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 cup water

Step 1: After chopping the meat into bite sized pieces add it and all the ingredients to a gallon sized freezer bag.

Step 2: Freeze and then defrost in fridge the night before serving. Cook on high for 4 hours. Serve over rice with veggies.

We also made our favorite meatloaf recipe.  We use ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, eggs, liquid smoke, and salt and pepper.  Mix it all together and form into loaves.

We multiplied the recipes this way:
Chicken broccoli alfredo x 6
Chicken cacciatore x 6
Manicotti - this recipe makes enough for 6 (no need to multiply it)
Sweet and sour chicken x 4
Chicken tacos x 4
Orange teriyaki chicken x 4
Teriyaki pork x 4
Meatloaf x 4

Celebrating Ben!

Today, we celebrate Ben!!!

It's hard to believe that we welcomed Ben into our lives four years ago!  Where has the time gone???  It seems like yesterday we were looking at each other wondering "what in the world have we gotten ourselves into?", and now we look at each other and wonder "what in the world did we do before we had these kiddos?"

From the moment Ben was born, our lives were changed forever...and for the better!  I find myself laughing every day at something he says or does; his comedic timing is spot on!  It makes my heart melt to see how he interacts with Kyran and for the love that he has for him (obviously we haven't gotten to the toy stealing stage yet with Kyran...I'm sure that love will change then) :)

Happy, happy birthday Benner Boo...we love you so much and we can't wait to see all that this year has in store for you!

Day one...we just couldn't believe you were finally here!!!

 

One year...you kept us on our toes!

 

Two years...you started talking at 22 months and never stopped!  You still amaze us with your vocabulary!

 

Year three...started sports, loves anything Cars, can't get enough of the tractors and combines, and your dimpled smile still melts your mommy's heart!

 

Our bright eyed four year old! 

My boys!

Just thought I'd post some random photos from the past week...love these boys!!!

Here we go again...

Here we go again...our annual family vacation to Ludington, Michigan!  This year was once again a fantastic time. 

The weather was fabulous...it was in the 70's most of the week, getting down to the low 60's in the evening.  Everyone was able to make it this year, which was an added bonus.  Tai and Eric had to leave early for work, but we were just glad they both got to come up!

 

The little kids (and even the not so little kids) had a blast all week.  They celebrated the summer birthdays, ate ice cream at House of Flavors, swam in the lake, took boat rides, went fishing, played board games, watched movies, went to see Turbo at the theater, and spent lots and lots of time playing with their cousins! 

We also took the kids to Sand Castles Children's Museum.  The kiddos love this place, and we make sure we go every year!

The big kids had fun too!  Mom and Dad watched all of the children one night so that the siblings could have a night out together.  We went to dinner downtown and then headed over to Lake Michigan, took a stroll, and watched a ship pull out of port. 

There is nothing better than a week with your family to remind you how much you love each other and why there is no one that loves you quite like family does :)  It was a perfect vacation...no schedules, no alarm clocks, and lots of time to relax!

 

Summer fun

Uncle Matt got the kiddos glow sticks for the movie tonight.  Ben and Addie destroyed theirs pretty quickly :)

4 Months

Kyran had a great 4 month check-up last week.  He weighed 16 lbs and 1 oz, is 26 1/2 inches long, and his head size was off the charts (just like big brother)!  He's around 62% for weight and 94% for height...he's already wearing 9 month clothes because everything else isn't long enough!   He had two shots and a drink and did just fine :)  We also started him on food at night and he seems to be loving it!