CEMENT!

1. Cement 2. Sprinklers 3. Grass

The yard has been the never ending project at our house...Between helping out in other peoples' yards, work, and church callings it got put on the back burner for a while. Now with only a few weeks left to get grass in... it's priority number one.
So, when planning the back yard we decided that we would pour cement before putting in the grass so we wouldn't have to drive/haul cement across our new lawn. Thanks to many hands and many hours of work step one is complete.

First came the mow strips and cementing under the dreaded air conditioner. I'm sure the boys hated it, but I thought they were very creative Jimmy rigging the air conditioner with the tractor. And I appreciated getting to keep the house cool.
Trevin loved every minute of it.. he loves watching the boys work (especially with the tractors).
He would sit and watch them for hours... and he did.
Next was leveling dirt and forming the shed pad and patio... another couple nights of working into the dark.

Then the day of the big pour finally arrived, FRIDAY! I had the night off from work so I was able to do my part by providing drinks and watching Trevin...who of course was watching the boys!



He would sit by the back door for hours and not move. I'm sure he was afraid he was gunna miss something if he looked away for a second.

The cement truck driver was great, he drove right into the back yard, making the pour a lot easier (no hauling it in with the bob cat, Whoohoo). But don't worry the boys didn't get off easy... they still had plenty of hard work to do.

Cement is a lot of work and I want to say thanks to those of you that sweat and toiled in my back yard! All the hard work paid off. I love walking out onto cement instead of dirt. Trevin loves that he finally gets to crawl around outside. and I'm sure Gage is just glad to have step number 1 complete!

Now on to step number 2! :)

Proud to be an American

In the past 7 years each of our lives have changed significantly. For me... Sept 11, 2001 brought any early morning and a bus ride to the Jr. High. How life changes... This morning I realized it was Sept 11 at about 1:15 am, I was at the hospital charting on my patients. We had turned on a radio station and my co-worker said "What's going on, I think they've played at least 4 versions of the national anthem in the last couple hours." That's when he figured it out. 7 years and the feeling of Patriotism still hits home. I can't help but feel extremely grateful for the life and the freedoms that I have. We truly will "Never Forget."

Happy Patriots Day. Make sure you take the time today to let your friends and family know how much you love them. God Bless America!

Recipes

I love to try new recipes mostly because I hate cooking the same thing over and over again. Gage is a good sport, he tries them all and even rates them for me on a scale of 1-5. His way of letting me know which ones to keep and which ones to throw out! So I'm always on the look out for a quick to make, great tasting recipe... I've decided to pass some of them on to who ever actually looks at my blog... in return I want you to do the same! If you have a good one I can try post it as a comment, Thanks.
Here's one that takes a little more time and costs a little more, real parmesan cheese, half-and-half, asparagus and things like that. So we don't get to have it that often but when we do it's great. Even better, Gage loves to help cook this one so I love having it.

PASTA CARBONARA

3/4 - 1 lb. Penne pasta
1 lb. Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
12-15 slices Turkey Bacon, cut into small squares
1 1/4 cups Fat-free half-and-half
3 Egg yolks
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Ground nutmeg
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Preparation
1. Cook pasta in lightly salted water following package directions. Add Asparagus to pasta for last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain and keep warm. (To trim asparagus take a stalk hold at each end and bend, it has a natural breaking point. When it breaks keep the spiky end.)
2. While pasta is cooking, place bacon in a medium size skillet and cook over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until slightly browned and crisp. Drain any excess grease.
3. In a small sauce pan, whisk half-and-half and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, about 8 minutes, whisking CONSTANTLY. After the 8 minutes, take off heat and stir in basil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
4. Add bacon to cooked pasta and asparagus. Stir in creamy egg mixture. Stir in 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese.
5. Spoon pasta onto serving dish and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on each serving. Enjoy!


Just a note, last time I left out the asparagus and it still tasted great.

Hair Cut!

Monday was Labor Day and Gage had big plans to work in the yard. But the weather had different plans, it down poured. Making walking in the yard more like sinking to your knees in mud! Trevin and I didn't mind, we got to spend all day with Dad. After cleaning the house, we started working on Jeep pictures for Trevin's room! They turned out great....

Dad's jeep is the one one the Left, in the middle is uncle Ryan's, and uncle James's is on the right!
Next it was time Trevin got a hair cut. I cut his hair every now and then but this time he finally had enough to use the clippers. So I held Trevin and Dad got to work. Here are a few before and after shots!

Before...

After...

We got a few funny looks when we went to run arrands but it was fun. We only let him keep the mohawk for about a day and a half. Now his hair is butched and I think he looks bald, hopefully it will grow fast. (the first picture with the Jeeps shows his butch cut).