Must Try Recipe!

I don't know about you but I am ALWAYS trying new recipes...looking for that ONE that can be written in pen in my favorite recipes book. Well, I have found one. And those who I have already shared the recipe with feel the same! "It's a keeper" as we say in our house...opposed to "It's a chucker". This pasta dish has an amazing flavor, the marinade is the key ingredient...you have to try it!!! Let me know what you think!

GARLIC CHICKEN FARFALLE

16 oz. Farfalle (bowtie) pasta

1 c. half and half

3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons pepper

1/2 c. butter

1 lb. bacon, crumbled**

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

1 (12 oz) Lawrys Baja Chipotle with lime juice marinade.

**I like to cook bacon in the oven (400 degrees). Way less messy. And it's crispy every time. Time varies, so you just have to watch it. I think it's usually around 23-27 minutes. Allow to cool and then crumble.

[ directions ]

Crock pot chicken and 1/2 bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, half & half, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken & bacon and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Life is a....

Well yours may not be, but I definitely feel like mine is one right now. The last month has been in itself, a lot of ups and downs for me. For a lot of reasons, reasons I am not going to get into, I just never know what is going to hit me next. Don't get me wrong, I am SO BLESSED and the trials that I have right now are still very minor compared to what other people are going through right now. I just sometimes wonder when life can be "normal" again for me and especially for my friend, Amberly, who is having some health concerns. Can't we go back to the beginning of the summer when all we were worried about was which day to go to the pool and planning play dates and library story hour? Why do we have to deal with "real life adult problems". We are too young for this crap. I am too young to have "bumps" in my marriage and she is too young to have scary, scary health problems. All I know is that my faith will get me through anything life gives me. Thats all I can hang on to. And I feel much better when I am taking care of those around me. So everyone, when I demand to take your kids or to bring you dinner for some reason, just let me. It's more for me than it is for you. I love all ya'll :)

Addicted to.....

Fabric Flower Broaches.....can't you tell? (see below)

Another reason why I don't need anymore kids...can you imagine this girl with her own girl???? Ahhh, my hubby would be robbing banks probably :) Can't wait to wear these on my jackets this fall, my JCrew Jackie O Sweaters & maybe even on my hats :) We'll see how adventurous I get :)

Going to add a clip also to the backs. I cut the flowers with my Sizzix Big Shot (favorite crafting tool ever simple because of all of the materials it will cut.) Love them!

Cousins Camp

It is so much fun having my Mommy and Daddy living so close! I just can't believe it still! My mom has been planning on doing "Cousins Camp" when the grandkids turned 5 for as long as I can remember. This was our first year and she did it with my Aunt Barbara and my cousin Emily's 2 boys, Hayden and Tyson. These 3 boys are just best little buddies. I love it. The 2 brave grandmas headed up to Oakley, UT to my aunts cabin for 3 days of Bug fun :) Bugs were the theme this year and they had a blast as you can tell with all of the crafts. The grandmas went above and beyond. Their highlight was heading to Park City for a day (since they forgot the fishing poles) and doing the Alpine Slide and the grandmas both did the zip line down the mountain. How cool are these grandmas?? :) Love you, Cookie!

Happy 5th Birthday, Troy!

Guess who wanted a Halloween dress up Birthday party in August? You guessed it. My child :) We had a fun birthday party with 10 of his best friends. We have to limit the number these days cause the kid just has WAY too many friends, never a bad thing except when it comes to birthday party invitations. I can't believe I have been a mommy for 5 years, some days it feels like 50! But I wouldn't trade my little skeletons for anything. Happy Birthday, Troy Boy!

The Creepy Crew

Oh why oh why, face in the cake....

The Butterfly Project

I love when we can use our crafting skills towards a good cause. The Butterfly Project is a cause that brings tears to my eyes. The Holocaust Museum of Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies to represent each of the 1,500,000 innocent children who were killed during the Holocaust. I think the display will be a beautiful & powerful tribute to those little ones who never had a chance to grow up. If you are interested in contributing to this display, please note the butterflies:

- should not be larger than 8x10

- should be 2D in any medium (fun foam, cardstock, etc)

- should not have glitter (you know how messy that is!)

- should not have food products (cereal, marshmallows, candy, etc)

Please contact me if you have made some butterflies & would like to send them with mine. I will be mailing a box on September 16th. This could be a great project for you & your kids on a rainy day this summer.If you want to learn more about the Holocaust Museum, check out http://www.hmh.org/. There is a beautiful poem on the website called The Butterfly written by Pavel Friedman who died in Aushchwitz in 1944.

For detailed submission instructions see: http://www.hmh.org/minisite/butterfly/index.html

Lucky Girl

I am heading into my busy, crazy time of year for work! I have 3 trips in the next 3 months for DCWV. Next week I will be heading to Orlando for 6 days:

Mid August I will be in Scottsdale, AZ for 4 days by MYSELF!!!!

And in September I make my annual 4 day trip to Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN:

I feel so blessed to have a job that I love and even more blessed to have a job that lets us travel in style. Always the best restaurants and hotels, and they always pick up the massive bill. And a big "thank you" in advance to my wonderful parents and friends who are helping me with the boys. Man, I am a LUCKY GIRL!!!

My Little Cowboys

If you ask Troy what he did at the Rodeo, this is his response..."I rode a sheep, I got a trophy, I caught a pig." and he says it in the most monotone voice ever! If only every rodeo were this eventful for the Madsen family! We went to the Mt. Pleasant Rodeo on July 3rd and had a blast. Troy participated in the Muttin' Bustin' and held on tight to his sheep! We were all impressed at how long he held on. He got "4th Place" and got a trophy. (A family friend had it made for him. Troy was impressed that it had "Troy Boy engraved in it") Then at the last minute my mom paid to have him do the Greased Pig Race. It was so funny to see all of these little kids chase a tiny pig! Troy jumped on it a couple times before actually catching him. It was so exciting! I am hoping that Troy is Kev's little sports boy and that Colt will maybe be my little cowboy. We will see!

Cowboy Troy

Cowboy Colt

A perfect night for a rodeo

Checking out the competition

High fiving Daddy

Running after the greased pig

Caught it

Now what?

My cute boys

Cousin Caden Willardson

The rodeo clown flirting with Stacey...I have never laughed so hard in my life. She was so embarrassed it was hilarious!

The Strongest Man Alive

Many of you know that Kevin and I recently took a quick trip down to south-east Texas to visit my PawPaw who has terminal cancer. It was one of the hardest weekends of my life while also being one of the most rewarding weekends of my life. I knew I needed to get down there to say my goodbyes to the strongest man I have ever known. PawPaw is technically my Dad's uncle, who helped raise him until he was 12. He never knew his biological father, but PawPaw or Uncle Buck as he is known, filled that fatherly figure in my fathers life and the grandfather role in our life. While it was so hard sitting with PawPaw in his hospital room, it was wonderful to talk with him while he had his voice box on about memories and stories. It amazes me a man 88 years old can have such an amazing memory, including remembering everyones phone numbers. Some of our memories that we discussed were:

Riding on the riding lawnmower, thinking it was the coolest thing ever!

Swimming in the irrigation ditch while my mom was napping after she told us we couldn't but PawPaw said we could!

Riding the "horse" with his legs propped up on the bed, trying to buck up off.

Swinging on the tree swing with Mimi (Aunt Mary) who passed away over 15 years ago

Miss Mrytis, PawPaw's wife for the last 15 years. She is the sole reason he did not die of a broken heart when Mimi died. We owe her so much.

It is hard watching the strongest man that you know lay in his hospital bed and cry, just wanting to go home to his famous garden. Or to repeat over and over, what a good life he has had. As hard as it was to sit there and hold his hand and rub his head, it was one of the best weekends of my life. I am so blessed to be able to call this man my family. My prayer is that he will not be in any pain or discomfort, whatever that may mean.

3 Things I Love Today!

In case you were wondering...

#1-My Daddy's Improvised Cinnabon


Everyone knows I LOVE having my parents live 2 hours away (that's a given) but it is sooo much fun to spend more time with my Daddy. He is the sweetest thing in the world and we all get a kick out of him and his little quirks :) The latest is his morning creation that goes perfectly with either a Diet Coke (me) or a fresh cup of coffee (Papa).


First, toast an English Muffin and lightly spread with butter
Second, add a layer of Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting
Third, generously sprinkle STRAIGHT cinnamon on top


This creation is the best so far, IT IS SOOOO GOOD!!! And my mom and I think it's not as fatty as a Cinnabon. :)

#2- My Handy Manny Husband

This has been on the "Someday" list for a loooong time....adding shelving to the boys closet. Since we built our house and moved in in only 4 months, a lot of things were left to do once we moved in.....don't know if that was a good idea :) We can finally mark this off the list. For only $200, we got to Extreme Makeover little boy closets.

Troy's Before

Troy's After

Colt's Before

Colt's After

#3- Glitter Toes!!!

Yes, they are back! I had Glitter Toes last summer and loved them and didn't realize how much I missed them until this week when I got new ones! If you don't know, it's acrylic toe nails with glitter mixed into the acrylic so they last about 2 months with NO paint chipping off!!! We had the cutest little family move into our neighborhood a few months ago, the Barclays, and she just opened up the cutest salon in her basement. So I can get glitter toes done whenever I want! :) amongst other things. Stephanie Barclay grew up 10 minutes from me in North Dallas and her husband Scott played baseball against Kev in high school and were friends. (2 Sanpete boys marrying 2 Dallas girls) We have so much in common. It's been fun getting to know them. Here are my toes, Troy was with me when we did them and he REFUSED to let me get any color other than Gold....I was sooo indecisive that day that I just did it. And I love how they go with everything!

In case you are a local and want to go see Steph, here is her price list and what she does. You can call or text her at 435-851-6440

Haircuts

Women’s Haircut $15

Women’s Haircut and Style $18

Men’s Haircut $10

Children’s Haircut $8

Color (includes haircut and style)

Partial Weave:
*Short Hair $40
*Medium Hair $45
*Long Hair $50 and up

Full Weave:
*Short Hair $50
*Medium Hair $55
*Long Hair $60 and up

All Over Color: $35 and up

Hair Removal

Eyebrows $10
Underarm Sugar $13
Lip Sugar $7

Nails
Glitter Toes $25

Our Day with Thomas

A parenting "MUST" that I learned very quickly: What you do for one kid, you have to do for another. Since Troy got to go visit Thomas the Train when he was 2, we knew Colt would love his own visit. We brought along Papa and Cookie, and Uncle CJ who was in town visiting, JUST what he wanted to do on his 2 week vacation that he gets once a year. We had a blast, with EVERYTHING Thomas!

A little Sir Topham Hatt....

a little petting zoo....



a little tattoo parlor....

A little ride...

And a LOT of Thomas!