Thursday night randomness

We had a serious dinner conversation about butter.  I need the kids to understand the very big difference between butter and margarine.  While having this conversation Layla ate 5 Sister Schubert rolls with butter on them.  Every once in awhile I'll buy the honey flavored Country Crock for toast and waffles, but otherwise we are a butter only family.  Butter just tastes better!

Guess what Gary's new favorite show is?  Duck Dynasty. Yes. We have been watching episode after episode after episode.  "These skinny girls, they don't eat boudin." That is because it is NASTY! I don't like boudin.  I have a pretty open mind when it comes to food, but I won't eat boudin. It's yuck.


We are expecting snow tonight and tomorrow and our family is so stinkin' excited about it!  I just went outside to let Daisy out to do her business and the wind is whipping like mad.  It's gonna get cold cold cold!  Layla and I finally have snow/rain boots, so I say bring on the cold and snow!  I tell you what...I was miserable in the cold rain here in Ohio without rain boots.  My feet get so wet and cold.  I wore new boots today for the first time and I was loving them!  Warm feet make this momma happy.

Hayden made several ornaments at preschool this week and tonight he was so cute putting them on the tree.  He has been under the weather, but today he is finally better and was able to go to school.  Layla has been keeping her distance.  She's terrified of being sick, so she's been treating him like is is disgusting.  Gotta love sibling love.  heehee!  

Y'all.  We live in a small town and there is a rumor going around town that Gary is a certified Grill Master.  haha!  I'm dying.  Is that even a title?  Anyway, it is a funny joke between Gary and I.  I'm ready for him to smoke a brisket.  His work schedules has been hecktic and it has been cold, so all he has used the grill for is steaks.  I'm ready for some good meat.  I love our husband and wife  agreement.  He's in charge of the meat and I do all the veggies and sides.  I'm slowing learning his tricks though.  Maybe one day I'll be able to smoke a good brisket!  It's a ton of work though, so I may just leave it to him.

Hopefully we will wake up to some awesome snow and I can go wild with my camera and take tons of snow pics!  

Night night!

Thanksgiving 2012

We took a few pictures today with our Canon camera.  Look out!  It hasn't gotten much use lately.

  IT was a great day....Our first Thanksgiving in Ohio.

Gary cooked the turkey and it turned out fabulous!

I made dressing and all the sides in the world.

It was a delicious meal.  The kids loved helping us cook.  They are at fun ages for cooking.

I ate so much food I am having a hard time moving tonight.

I can't help it.  Thanksgiving is the one day a year I eat like a mad woman.  I could win an eating contest.  I out ate everyone in this house and I'm not ashamed.  I love Thanksgiving.  It is my favorite holiday!

We did a little exploring after lunch.  We all needed some exercise after all that eating!

We found this house.  I would love to own the house of seven porches.  Too bad it isn't for sale.   I love porches so much.

The kids had fun playing at the park.  Layla and Hayden are like a bunch of monkeys.  They love the monkey bars!

Daisy Mae went on our walk with us.  She lost her mind chasing squirrels.  She actually thought she was gonna get her one.  Look at this side walk.  It's so cool!

I just love this town.  It is so storybook and gorgeous.  I can't wait until it snows.  I will go crazy with the camera for sure.  Next time we go on a walk I need to take the 'good' camera!  There are so many great photo ops here.

We had a fun day and I am so thankful for all we have and have to look forward to. 

I hope you had a great day!

What do we do when we camp?

People ask me all the time ... what do you do when your family goes camping?

  How do you stay busy when you camp?

Do your kids wear you out?  Are you tired? 

Why would you want to camp isn't it hard work?  

To me camping is so awesome and it is basically just like being at home.  

We play outside.  

We explore and we learn about the camp ground we are visiting.  

We play fun games.

We found a three pack of 'portable' games at Academy.  They are a huge hit!  The game pack came with ladder ball, corn hole and washers.  It was the best $$ we have spent in a long time!  It all breaks down and fits into a travel size box.  It is perfect for our competitive family!

We always have a football with us.  We love to toss the football and sometimes the kids decide to tackle each other.  They get so rough sometimes!

We fish.

And find shells!

We cool off with the water hose at the campsite.

We lay on a blanket in the shade because we all need rest time.

What is in that water bottle?  Butterflies!  Yes, he's napping with his butterfly collection!

So now you know we try to chase and capture butterflies.

We play in the sand at the beach.

We eat ice right out of the cooler.

I take way to many pictures as you can see, but that isn't much different than at home!

I even get silly and talk my people into jumping while I snap pictures of them!

We learn about the campfire and campfire safety.

And of course we cook and eat!

See the little grill attached to the trailer?  It is amazing and we use it and the campfire to warm our food.  We put a pot of beans and/or veggies on the grill to warm them up!  That is also where we cook our bacon and eggs.  We also have a stove top inside the camper, but we haven't used it yet.  We do use the fridge though and of course the large cooler holds tons of food and drinks.

We buy foods for the week just like we do normally, but the food we purchase we take camping.

This past camping trip we took hot dogs, sausage fold overs and beef fajitas for dinner foods.  Sandwich stuff for lunches, like turkey cheese and bread.  We take eggs and bacon for breakfast.  We also added powdered donuts and chips and dips for snacking.  All the foods are in the grocery budget, so we don't go overboard on our grocery budget just because we are camping.  We enjoy s'mores at night and then we put the kids to bed around sundown and Gary and I have our time by the campfire.

Like I said, it isn't much different than being at home.  We love to be outside and camping in new and fun places is so fun!  I am so happy my little family enjoys camping as much as I do!  

We are making some fun family memories for sure.

Do you and your family camp?  What kinds of fun things do you do?  What are some of your favorite camping meals?  

Gary and I are thinking of making our camping meals a bit more gourmet, so any fun food ideas you have would be appreciated!