Jeremy's in Hawaii

And we are stuck in Shilo! That's what this post is going to be about. lol

I am very happy for him to be off on an adventure, but I think it calls on me going on a girls adventure somewhere...and somewhere other then Canada! lol I would love to go to Hawaii...so many great things to see there.

He just left yesterday, so the girls and I have been trying to keep as busy as possible while he's gone. Seems I have rarely been home in the last few days...but this is a good thing as the girls are tired when we get home. Today, we went to the MFRC for a free Slushie....I did not get one...it's not 7-11 so there is no point in getting one! lol We got home and the girls have been playing outside. This morning we went into Brandon to get our van back...I made a quick stop at Michael's for some yarn and the Future shop for a new adapter for the Satellite radio (which I had to return because it didn't fit...grrrr)

Jeremy however did send me a few photos from his journey this far that I thought you might like for me to share.

This is the airplane that Jeremy traveled from Winnipeg to BC.

This is the seating and accommodations of the Flight. Comfy eh?! Jeremy did mention that they would allow them to sleep on the floor...how kind of them. lol

This was the inflight movie. The Rockies from the air! Beautiful Picture!

Creativity at it's finest!

Sometimes, my children amaze me with their imagination and creativity. It's interesting to see how their little minds work, to watch them put a plan to action and see the outcome of  the plan.

For the last couple of days my dining room has looked like this.....

Anyone with little children might be able to guess what this is.....if you guessed Choo Choo Train you are correct. Chloe is the train driver, and all the stuffies and babies behind her are her passengers or Cussomers as Brooke calls them. Chloe likes to play Choo Choo the best...never know where in the house I might have a train set up. Brooke isn't in this picture because she was very busily working on something else...which is the second part of this post...

This is Brooke's creation....go ahead take a guess at what it might be...lol

If you guessed "Finish Line" you are correct. I should have taken a zoomed in picture so you can see what it's made of. Brooke spent and hour yesterday creating this. It's made from little leaves and tiny stickers. It took her an hour to make and her and Chloe played with it for 5 mins. lol

Tree Removal Excitement

So today we had guys come to trim the trees that border our house and the park. My driveway got a bit messy.

You couldn't really come out our back steps. The girls however had a great time watching the guys cut the tree branches from inside the house. I would get play by plays from them.

Just when I thought the day couldn't get anymore exciting, the guys found a wood pecker nest in one of the trees...which Jeremy and I call the wood pecker tree as there have been wood peckers in that tree since we moved in.

When he started trimming this branch of the tree..he realized there was holes inside and that something had made a nest in there. So he started taking smaller chunks of the branch off...He wanted to cut where the other little branch comes off. He took a cut about an inch or so down from the end of the branch and when he did he seen the baby wood peckers. 

This is a better picture of the branch where he would have cut and you can see the where he made the cut and hammered the tree back together. The guys were a little worried that they may not come back to the nest. As you can kinda tell from this picture one of the guys hammered the piece he cut off back onto the tree to put the nest back a little to the way it was. The mommy and daddy spent most of the day fixing their nest up and I got quite a few good pictures of them.

I was worried this wee little birdy would get in there and eat the babies...I kept a close eye on him. lol I don't even know if birds eat other birds especially ones this small but I couldn't think of another reason he was hanging out near the nest.  All in all the mommy and daddy have returned to the nest!

Pinterest Recipes I love! Part 1

Earlier this year...I found a new site along with many other people in the world called Pinterest. It's basically a bulletin board on the internet. If you find a picture, recipe, craft, video that you like you can "pin it" to your own personal bulletin board.  You can organize your boards by subject so that you pin all like items together.   If I have you interested in checking it out the website is www.pinterest.com, be careful as you may become addicted! haha!

I started pinning recipes when I started on Pinterest and for a long time (months and months) they sat there in my Cooking and Baking board. Recently, I've decided to start making these recipes and if I don't like them I can delete them, or if I do like them I move them to a new board called Cooking and Baking - Tried and Love.

Here are a few recipes that I found that I LOVE. Some are really easy to make and have ingredients that you likely have at home.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

4 Chicken Breast

Garlic Powder

Bacon

Chili Powder

Brown Sugar

Olive Oil

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Cut each of the 4 chicken breasts into 3 strips.

Mix together the garlic powder and chili powder. I put the mixture on a plate. (I didn't give amounts to use as it's really a personal taste thing...the more chili powder the more spicy it is. etc)

Roll your chicken strips in the mixture until coated.

Wrap strips in a piece of bacon.

Roll bacon wrapped chicken strips in brown sugar

Put a little olive oil in the bottom of the baking dish.

Cook in the oven for 30-40 mins.

I loved this recipe, the girls didn't seem to care for it as much as I did....sorry that Jeremy missed out on this one...I'll have to make it again when he is home. I served mine with potatoes and frozen green beans and corn.

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

6 tbsp butter (more for baking dish)

Pepper and Salt (we left out the salt)

1 pkg of Penne noodles

1 tsp Olive Oil

2 bonless, skinless chicken breast  (cooked and cubed)

1/2 cup, plus 2 tbsp Flour

6 Garlic Cloves (I used garlic powder and it's 1/2tsp per clove)

6 cups Milk

10 oz mushrooms (we didn't use these)

1 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained (I didn't use this either couldn't find them at the store)

1 1/2 cup cheese (we used marble)

1 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400

Butter 2 shallow 2 quart baking dishes.

In a large pot, boil pasta for 3 mins less then the instructed cooking time. Drain and set aside.

Cook chicken in olive oil until opague 3-5 mins each side.

If you are cooking mushrooms...saute them in the hot pan without the chicken.

In a 5 quart dutch oven, melt butter. 

Add garlic and flour. 

Cook, while whisking for 1 min.

Whisk constantly and gradually add milk.

Bring to a simmer.

Keep Whisking frequently while sauce thickens.

Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook for 1 min.

Take the pan off the heat and add Cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese.

Add the chicken and pasta to the pan.

Divide mixture between the two baking dishes.

Add remaining parmesan cheese to the top.

Bake, uncovered for 25 mins.

Let stand for 5 mins before serving.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy this dish. I also added frozen broccoli and cauliflower to the dish. I let it cook with the sauce for a min or two. I also seasoned with parsley.

One more fantastic recipe for you to try and then I'm going to end this post for today.

Fresno Potatoes

4-6 medium Potatoes

6 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup Milk

1 1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp flour

2 cups shredded cheese (we used marble)

Salt and Pepper (we didn't use salt)

1/4 cup Panko crumbs ( I couldn't find these at the store either so I just used regular bread crumbs)

5 tbsp melted butter

Boil potatoes, until just tender but not fully cooked.

Drain, cool, peel, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. (I suggest doing this earlier in the day if you can)

Preheat oven to 350

In a greased, 9x13 pan layer half the potatoes.

Add half the bacon on top.

Add half the onions.

Whisk the milk into the sour cream.

Spread half over the 1st layer, top with cheese.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add another layer of potatoes, bacon, onions, sauce and cheese.

Sprinkle panko crumbs over the top.

Drizzle the butter on top of that.

Bake uncovered for 30 mins.

This was a huge hit in our house. Chloe gobbled them all up, Jeremy had seconds and I had to fight the urge to eat more!

I have a few more recipes that are easy and don't require (odd ingredients) I'll add those another day. Thanks for stopping by!

Freedom of the City Parade and Dinner

Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and went to the Freedom of the city parade in Brandon. It was raining and thundering and lightening. It was so loud and the lightening lit up the sky so much that poor Tucker was shaking in his skin as we were getting ready to head out the door. I didn't want to leave him...but, Jeremy assured me that he'd be fine...and of course, he was perfectly fine by the time we got home, except that his milk bones went untouched...which he normally has gone before we even get out the door. lol I got a couple of small videos of the parade, it took me a while to remember that I had a phone/camera/video camera to take photos/videos with, and then I couldn't figure out how to make it so that the videos were longer.

I'm a little upset at this point because I had wrote and awesome little write up for my blog and for some stupid reason it didn't save, so here I am trying to figure out what to say....AGAIN.

The Freedom of the City parade is where the 2VP PPCLI ask permission to march the streets of Brandon and to beat their drums and pipes.

I have no idea why...but I can't seem to upload a video and it's kinda pissing me off. So I'm going to try to figure it out at a later date and hope that I can put it on if not...I'll throw it up on FB and share the link. lol

After the parade, we headed home for brunch. Then, I got the kids ready to head to their friends, Faith and Logan, for a sleepover. (Thanks so much Erin!!! I owe you!) Brooke and Chloe were excited to go to Faith and Logan's house, but I was worried that Chloe wouldn't want to spend the night. I asked her several times on the way to their house "Chloe, Are you going to sleep at Faith's house?" Chloe: " No mommy" But once she was there she settled in quite quickly, and my only text from Erin that evening was letting me know that the girls were settled in for the night.

Once I had dropped the girls off at Erin's house, I headed home to get ready for the Mixed Mess Dinner. I gave myself about 2 hrs to get ready for the dinner, and I think I should have given myself more time as I needed to iron the dress, as well as shower, do my hair, put on my face, get dressed and add finishing touches.

I had originally made a daisy headband to wear...but I really didn't like how it looked once I got my hair done and added it to the hair...so I decided to put a few daisy's in my hair instead. I couldn't get them in where I wanted them, so I ran next door to my neighbor, Melissa, who was quick to save the day and place the flowers in my hair. Once they were in, we added hair spray.....and I'm really happy with how my hair looked. Thanks Melissa!

Melissa helped with the finishing touches as well...she loaned me her pearl necklace, and painted my finger and toe nails. Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE my neighbors?!?! I love them all!!!

At the dinner, we had a great meal, good conversation, and heard plenty of speeches. It was 2am before we got home, which I think is the longest mess dinner I have ever been to, and the longest that I think Jeremy has ever attended. Our seat mates, Rose and her husband were nice enough to take this picture of the two of us. Somday, we will get a good picture of us at these mess functions!

Since everyone else there was wearing black or a dark color....I really stood out in my yellow dress...lol Even if I had worn the other dress I have, which is white with burgundy trim, I still would have been the brightest one there. Makes me wonder if it's a fashion faux pas to be brightly dressed at a mess dinner. lol I mean the guys are wearing red! lol

My feet were so sore at the end of the night, I decided to walk home bare foot. Normally, we go to the Officer's Mess for these functions and it's literally across the road from the house, but last night's dinner was at the Sgt's & WO's Mess...which is on the other end of base....really not that far since the base it's too big....maybe 500meters. We made it out of the parking lot, across the road to the side walk, and then an MP stopped and offered us a drive home!!!! Thank You Mr. MP!!!! I've learned a good lesson...pack flip flops in the truck/van for the walk home as my feet are likely going to be sore!

Tanis's Pool

On Wednesday, it was muggy and hot and just all around yucky. I had the kids out playing in the yard and trying to teach Brooke how to use a slip n slide. Which only resulted in me getting soaked, trying to teach her. She'd much rather jump her way down the slide.

After a few mins of that, the girls weren't playing on the slip n slide, so I decided to turn it off and get everyone in the house for a little bit...mostly because I was soaked and wanted dry clothes. lol When I got in I had an invite from Tanis to go to her house so the kids could have a swim in her pool. So we got our water wings and towels and away we went.

 Tanis doesn't have the ladder up yet for the pool, so there was a lot of us lifting kids in and out of the pool. lol The kids preferred to go in the boat anyway. At one point all 3 of them were in the blue boat.

 Cale taking his turn on the little boat.

 Finally got the girls to look at me to take their picture....they were too busy playing and talking to Cale. lol

Cale is really good at getting around in this little boat. It has feet holes in the bottom so the kids can kick their feet and move around.

When we first got there and the kids decided to get in the pool, Chloe took off her shorts...only for me to find out she doesn't have any on under them. Little Monkey must have taken them off when we came in the house to get changed. It was funny because I didn't even realize that she had no bottoms on until then. lol Then she was upset with me because she didn't want to get her shorts wet. lol What a crazy girl she is sometimes. The kids had a great time at Tanis's house and are anxious for our next visit on Monday!

Military Mess Functions....and some ramblings.

I keep thinking that I should post more often....and then things happen and I forget to post.

Tonight, I took a walk down memory lane (looking at old blog posts) with my friend, Erika, and I realized how nice it is to have my memories all in one place. That is, after all, one of the reasons I started this blog, so that I had some place to come watch videos, see pictures and read stories of my life, for when I'm old and can't remember the stories on my own. So, I'm going to try to start again with updating more frequently, so that I can have some place to read my life story.

I feel bad that there isn't as many posts of Chloe as there is of Brooke. I know that it was A LOT easier to write, update, photograph, and video when I only had one child. When Chloe was a baby, I was very busy chasing a 16 month old toddler, now I'm very busy with two toddlers. Between their activities at the Shilo MFRC and normal life happenings, I find myself running out of hours in a day.

Let's see what's new....well....2 weeks ago Jeremy and I went to the Spring Ball for the Officers here in Shilo. The meal was delicious and I heard that the dancing was awesome as well...since we didn't stay for the dancing, I can only go by what I heard. By the time the meal was done, my feet were sore and I was tired of being braless. Serves me right for forgetting that I threw out my old strapless bra...must remember to get a new one before the next mess function that I might need it for.

We have another mess function this weekend, but it's a cocktail dress code. I had to buy a new dress for that one and new shoes...which is a story all on it's own. lol I'll be sure to post new pictures of that mess function when I get them.

I guess I could share the shoe and dress stories....the dress really isn't all that entertaining as I bought it off the website www.ever-pretty.com and it was delivered to me here in Shilo all the way from China. It arrived on time and is exactly what I had envisioned. I actually got two dresses because they had a buy 1 get 1 sale on. So I paid 72 dollars for 2 cocktail dresses and 25 of that was for express shipping to make sure I had it here in time for the dinner.

The shoes, however, are a whole other story on their own. I spent 4 hours in the Polo Park Mall in Winnipeg searching for the perfect shoes. After going to all the stores in the mall looking for a particular style of shoe and not finding it in white, I decided to just go back to all the stores and look at ALL the available white shoes and make my choice from that. 4 hours later I walked out with a nice shoe to wear to the dinner.

Excuse the quality as the photo was taken with my cell phone in the mall. lol But these are the shoes I decided to go with. I also bought the inserts for the toes. Total spent 52 dollars. Needless to say, when I mentioned buying a purse to match, Jeremy suggested that I go purse-less. LOL