EASY-CHEESY BEAN DIP

Several people have asked for my cheesy chili bean dip recipe.. so here it is. (and by saying mine.. I mean I made it, not invented it.) It's super fast, yummy and great to take to any BBQ or family get-together. I am such a fan of 7 layer bean dip, but it's not really quick or easy. THIS recipe is for people who don't go grocery shopping everyday and those who need a quick idea as they are running out the door. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 (15 oz) can of chili
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Soften the cream cheese, mix with chili in a glass baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.. add cheddar and bake until it's melted. Serve with Tortilla chips.

Variations:

• you can use fat free cream cheese (it's still yummy!)
  
• if you like it spicy, try a HOT version of chili.
• mexi-style: mix in a can of green chilies (before you bake)
  
• add tomatoes and olives (after it's baked)
• if you're short on time, cook it in microwave

CLICK HERE for other 5-ingredients-or-less recipes!

Happy Summer!

Because I have been given much

I spent the early morning hours reading a blog of a mother in Las Vegas who is grieving the death of her 14 month old daughter, Camille. She drowned two weeks ago in the family's hot tub (one they had for only 5 days!) Her blog is very open, raw and heartbreaking. I cried this morning as I read of her struggles, saw pictures of her beautiful girls and tried to understand how hard it would be to GO ON after such a tragedy.. Somehow she is doing it (day by day) and even though she's aching, she is able to share peace, hope and truth with the internet world. My love and prayers go out to Stephanie, Jon and their family. If you want to read more (get a box of Kleenex) their blog address is www.adailyscoop.blogspot.com We can ALL learn from her example and be inspired by her strength during this heartbreaking experience.

The first thing Ben did when he woke up this morning was run around the house to change the calendars. Time is flying by and I can't believe that in a few days I will have a seven year old. How did this happen? Have I really enjoyed this time when my boys are young or do I spend most of my day wishing I had more time to myself, feeling bad that I don't have a little girl, or hoping to lose the 10 pounds I've recently gained? Before I know it, my kids will be grown and out of the house and I will be wishing I had this time in my life back.. THIS time- when showering is a privilege, toilet cleaning is a must, and stepping on Transformers in the middle of the night is normal.

Even though I love my children more than anything, I find myself getting frustrated with the day to day stuff. Zack is back to square one potty-training and I am trying not to pull my hair out! After reading Stephanie's blog which is so poignant and touching, I realized that nothing in my life is really important, except for PEOPLE- and my children are at the top of that list. I am willing to steam clean my carpets every week or do a million loads of laundry in order for my family to feel loved, cherished and safe. All of the sudden, everyTHING seems less important and everything I do and say is much more significant and real.

In July's Ensign (a monthly magazine done by the Mormon Church) Elder Ballard, one of the Twelve Apostles, writes an article entitled Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet. I read this talk this morning and felt guilty for not making my Church and my testimony a bigger part of my blog. I realize that many who read this are not members of my faith, and I put little effort into sharing what I know to be true. It's such a HUGE part of my life that sometimes I take the knowledge that I have- and the peace that knowledge gives me- for granted. Today I feel as though I have been given a gift (or tender mercy) to see things in a different light.. what a difference it has made in my ordinary, day-to-day life!

I know that God lives and that He watches over me. He IS aware of us and knows us personally. He wants us to be happy and to find peace in our chaotic lives. I hope that I can strive to be more worthy of His blessings.. because they come daily.. even hourly. How grateful I am to have this knowledge in my life and have the capacity to share it with others. May we all count our blessings and be grateful for ALL that we have been given.

Driving without a license

How I wish this story was fabricated.. I wish it was made up and written only to entertain my blog readers. But, to my disgrace... it is an actual account of what happened. It is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the shameful truth. And I dedicate it to all those LESS-than-perfect-parents out there.. I'm sure there's one or two of you....

My visit to Utah was (as usual) CRAZY. I really do love going to see my family, but I don't know why I think it will be fun when my husband doesn't join me. I guess I am just not as young as I used to be!! Zack really struggled.. not only because he was sleep deprived and sick (yes, we deal with all kinds of throw up when we travel) but he completely lost all his his potty-trained skillz. He had to wear a diaper and he hated it... especially after he got a bad rash! But so is the life when traveling with a toddler. To top things off, I thought I would complicate the trip by trying to squeeze in couple of visits with an alternative doctor (electronic acupuncture that doesn't hurt.. more details on that later) AND... (yes, I said AND) work on a project for my in-laws 35th wedding anniversary. When I finished it (much later than expected) I rushed to the post office.. even though it was already late. I loaded up all three kids, stopped off at Article Circle for ice cream cones and called my husband for the mailing address. And because my kids were exhausted, on the short 6 mile drive to the post office, Luke fell asleep. Zack was following suit with his ice cream in hand, eyes closed and tongue out. I was still on the phone with Aaron when I asked him if he would hate me if I left the kids in the car and quickly ran in to mail the present. Aaron said he didn't think it was a big deal.. and to be honest... he was 400 miles away and although I appreciated his support in breaking the law, I was going to do it anyway. Because WHO in their RIGHT MIND wants to lug three sleepy, sticky boys into a post office to mail a little tiny envelope? Oh, no---not me.

I parked the car right in front of the post office, cranked the air conditioner, locked the doors with the car running (with an extra set of keys) and told Ben to give Zack his ice cream if he woke up. I ran into the post office and felt lucky to be the only person in line. I paid the postage, and ran back out to my parking space.. only to find that my van was NOT PARKED where I left it. My car and my kids were gone! There were several cars in the parking lot, both parked and driving around a gold mini van awkwardly in everyone's way. I couldn't understand WHY the driver of the van was parked in the MIDDLE of the parking lot. And then I recognized the driver.. His albino-white head was barely poking over the steering wheel. He was probably 30 pounds, baby-blue eyes, about age TWO. Yes... that was MY 2 year old driving MY van. In a matter of five minutes (tops) he had woken up, unbuckled himself from his car seat, crawled up to the drivers seat, reversed the car and let it coast down the parking lot until it hit a CURB. For your convience, I whipped up a quick diagram of the parking lot and what actually happened. (Don't worry.. it didn't take long-- just long enough to allow Zack to pour his second bowl of cereal.. no biggie.)

I ran over to the van while apologizing to all the cars around me. I unlocked the door, grabbed Zack and threw him in the back seat. He was laughing and Ben was yelling, "Mom, Zack drove the car! Zack drove the car!" I was shaking and quickly called Aaron to tell him the exciting news. He was thrilled.. But hey-- he TOLD me to do it!

As I was pulling out of the post office, a police officer was pulling in. I have no idea if someone called the COPS or if he randomly needed to mail something the same time I was breaking the law... but I barely escaped! All I could feel was complete gratitude that #1) my kids weren't hurt #2) I didn't go to jail #3) There WASN'T a line inside the post office that day #4) Zack didn't hit another car- or a person... can you imagine the guilt HE would feel, knowing that he hurt someone else at such a young age?? Such shame! In all seriousness-- I know that we were all VERY blessed. As crazy as it was, it could have been SO much worse and I am truly grateful for a freebie.. My kids are the most important things to me and it IS worth taking every precaution to keep them safe.

Please don't turn me into Child Protective Services. I promise, I learned my lesson.. just pray that I never forget it! The streets are NOT safe with Moms like me!

Pictures GALORE!

We just returned from a 10 day "vacation" that seemed more like 10 weeks. Ben walked in the door and yelled, "Home Sweet Home!" which made us all laugh. Luke made sure to point out that we traveled through Nevada, Arizona, ALL of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and back.. it was quite the trip and we don't want to do it again! We are all so exhausted and for some reason, blogging my pictures seems more important than unloading suitcases or feeding my kids dinner... hmm.. I know where my priorities are. But I don't feel guilty about being on the computer because Aaron has been watching Wimbledon highlights since we got home. We are ALL wiped out!! But that doesn't mean we didn't have a GOOOOOD time! Here are just a FEW pictures of our trip.

We were lucky enough to plan our trip around Tyson Buck's baby shower/BBQ. We love Ty and Crystal for many reasons.. most recently because they took care of Aaron while he finished his last class in Portland. They just had a beautiful baby girl and we were so happy to meet her! And we finally got to see Mike and Angie Cox and their four girls! Their twins are so adorable.. Mike and Ty were throwing them across the yard and they were LOVING it! Annie Mc and her husband Mike cruised over on his motorcycle.. and it was SO great to see them (as always) even if she didn't bring her kids! I love this crowd and always look forward to getting together with them! Hopefully it won't be another 2 years before we see each other again!


Can't make a trip to WJ without seeing my GIRLS! I love them and I HATE that they ALL live so close to each other and always get together without me! I am so looking forward to our weekend Park City vaca and our HS reunion.. it's already been TEN years! (and we still look as good as ever! Dang!)


Our last night we spent with Aaron's sisters in Provo. We only took pictures of the boys playing in the water out front.. they practically lived in their swimsuits and just couldn't get enough!

It was so much fun to spend some time in Provo.. our old stompin' ground. We took the kids to our tiny Wyview apartment, (which they found rather UN-fascinating) and to the Bean Museum (stuffed, taxidermy animals)-- which was MUCH more exciting. The only way we could persuade them to leave the museum was with a yummy ice cream cone! It was fun/random to run into my CUZ Missy who just happened to recognize us through the window! Sorry we couldn't stop by your place, Missy! So much to do, so little time!

There are more pictures, but this is what made the cut. I need a few days to recover before Ben's Birthday Bash and the 4th of July. Summer is HOT and busy!! Just the way I like it! June just FLEW by, didn't it??

ps. The photo collages are done through a FREE, very user-friendly program called PHOTOSCAPE. You can add text, borders, you name it. I typically use the PAGE tab... resize the collage to make it bigger (numbers next to the walnut pic) and then hit the edit tab to add text. Super easy... you can't go wrong..

it's business time...

It's one in the morning and we're wrapping up a girls night with my sisters (sisters in law included.) We just laughed our GUTS OUT over a few Flight of the Conchords videos. And I am dedicating this one to my husband... luv ya huunnny.

Happy Wednesday!