MOVIES I WATCHED - JUNE 2012

Here are the movies I watched this month, some with the kids and others with Tim.  I'm not going to explain what each one is about, but you can click the titles for more info. 

We Bought a Zoo
I read the book last month and finally got around to seeing the movie.  The movie was fine, but it was nothing like the book at all.  Well, other than a family buying a zoo.

STOMP Out Loud
I think the kids watched this four or five times in the week we had it from the library.  Such a fun movie!

Food, Inc.
People have been talking about this movie for so long that I figured I should watch it. 

UP!
We've seen it before, but the kids wanted to watch it again.

To Market, To Market: To Buy a Fat Pig
Just a random documentary I saw at the library about farmer's markets around the country.  Watched it with the kids.

Glory Road
Tim checked this out and I didn't know anything about it, but I watched it with him while ordering curriculum one night. The true story of a 1966 college basketball team with several black players who came against all sorts of racism on their way to the National Championship game. Good flick.

Oregon Experience: Willam Gladstone Steel
A documentary about the man who is referred to as the father of Crater Lake National Park.

Eight Below
A group of sled dogs are left alone in Antarctica and have to fight for survival. The movie goes back and forth between the dogs and their owner, who had to leave them unexpectedly.

Planet B-Boy
This is a documentary about guys who breakdance competitively.  Tim and I previewed it with the hope that  the boys could watch it later, but a Vegas scene and a bunch of language means that's not going to happen right now.  Actually, Silas had trouble falling asleep that night and watched the last part of it with us, but Devon's not going to watch it at all and Silas isn't going to see the whole thing.  Bummer, because the guys are amazingly talented and I know our boys would have loved watching all their performances.

Princess Diaries
Movie night with the kids.  They recognized Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins and Maria (Sound of Music), so I was happy.

6/28/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that gift money we received at Christmas allowed us to buy a family pass to the pool for the summer. 

What's something that you're thankful for?

SILAS' BIRTHDAY, PART TWO - 2012

The birthday boy, who hit the double digits this year, started his day off with a doughnut date with Tim.  Jelly filled and covered in powdered sugar first, and a twist second.

We hung out at home for a bit after they returned from their tasty breakfast, all headed to the pool for a couple hours, then came back home for lunch.  That's when he and I took off for Cold Stone together.  He, as per usual, scarfed some strawberry blonde.

Next up was gifts from the other Ws and he broke out in a huge grin each time he opened something.  Happy kid!

His birthday dinner of choice was Papa Murphy's, then the little Ws all watched a library movie.  We wrapped up the day by taking the traditional birthday outfit pictures, though Silas hammed it up this year.  These crack me up, especially the first one.



SILAS' BIRTHDAY - 2012

ANNIVERSARY DATE

We don't normally go out for our anniversary, but we did this year.  The big boys had a church event two days after our anniversary.  Then Naomi was invited to hang out with a friend during the boys' event.  With 75% of our kids gone, we figured we should take advantage of the chance to go out for a bit.  A friend offered to keep Tyler, so we had a couple kid-free hours. 

First stop was Red Robin for some good food and overdue conversation.  Second stop was Target for using a gift card to get Teebs some new jammies.  Third stop was a mini trail in the middle of town and around the neighborhood on the opposite side of where we started walking.  Fourth stop was Goodwill to kill a few minutes, but I ended up finding boots one of our boys needed. 

Nothing glamorous, but it was nice to have some time alone.

6/21/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the crew of people who filled a gazillion water balloons yesterday and those who will spend a few hours getting wet with our church's grade schoolers today. 

What's something that you're thankful for?

MENU - SECOND HALF OF JUNE 2012

Let's kick this post off with some new recipes we tried over the last few weeks, then I'll tell you what we're wrapping the month up with.

steak salad - I bought some pork steaks on clearance a while back and tossed them in the freezer.  We're not "eat a slab of meat" kind of people and I wasn't sure what to do with them.  I found a recipe for steak salad somewhere, but it seems I failed to bookmark the site and I can't find it anywhere.  Guess I can't give credit where it's due.  Oops.  Anyway, this was a tasty salad.

dried beans - This isn't really a recipe, but it's the base for a gazillion other recipes.  I've made a combo of seasoned black and pinto beans in the crockpot for several years, but never thought to cook all my dried beans in it.  Kinda ridiculous when you consider I pre-cook and freeze all our beans and they never turn out right on the stove.  So thankful a friend thought to branch out from the black and pinto beans after she tried them!

honey curried crockpot chickpeas - Easy peasy and tastes good. 

green hummus - Maryanne uses this in grilled cheese sandwiches.  It's a great way to get some extra protein and iron!

cream of celery soup - I wanted to use up my freezer stash of celery hearts and leaves, so I found this recipe and made it for lunch one day.  Loved it!


BREAKFASTS
* fruit & doughnuts x2
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, hot cereal syrup, and energy mix as optional toppings x7
* leftover oatmeal pancakes
* baked oatmeal (prepped the previous night)
* cranberry granola
* egg & potato scramble

DINNERS
* leftovers x2
* tacos x2
* Greek chicken (barbecue, raw chicken and marinade from the freezer)/rice/peas & corn
* broccoli pesto with pasta/green salad
* salmon chowder (Tim's catch)/whole wheat biscuits
* Papa Murphy's (Silas' birthday request)
* quinoa patties/fruit & nut green salad #2
* black bean & rice burritos/green salad
* brown rice & lentil salad/toast
* Ranchero onion burgers (barbecue)/fries/carrots
* steak salad/whole wheat biscuits

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* popcorn
* produce
* celery & rosemary white bean dip
* cranberry sour cream cake
* Girl Scout cookies