Quints by Surprise

If you haven't watched Quints by Surprise on TLC, then you're missing out!  It's about the Jones Family who live in Austin and have 6 kids (including quintuplets).  It definitely makes me feel like I can do anything with my two kids if they can survive with all of their kids!

Bethany has turned into quite the climber.  I got a video of her climbing into her high chair yesterday...I wonder how long until she starts climbing out of her crib!?

Bittersweet

On May 10, 2011 my mom's parents (Bob and Ola Mae Hodges) celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary.  And two weeks later on May 24th, Grandma Hodges will have her 88th birthday!  It's bittersweet because Grandma lives at a nursing home and has Alzheimer's Disease.  This is one of the last pictures I have of my Grandad with his bride, which was taken about two years ago.

Easy Salads

If you're looking for some easy recipes, here's a couple for you:

Chicken Pasta Salad

1 1/2 cups Elbow Macaroni

1 large can of chicken

1 small bottle of Ranch Dressing

Pour pasta into saucepan of boiling water.  Cook for 10 to 12 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water until cool.  After pasta has cooled, pour into bowl.  Add chicken.  Pour the whole bottle of Ranch Dressing over it.  Stir to coat.  Cover and chill until ready to eat.

Easy Fruit Salad

1 can of Tropical Fruit

Fresh Fruit (strawberries, kiwi, bananas, etc.)

1 small box of instant vanilla pudding

Slice fresh fruit and mix with can of Tropical Fruit.  Sprinkle with about half of the vanilla pudding.  Stir until the fruit is coated and all the powder is dissolved.  Chill until serving time.

Mother's Day

We spent the weekend at Aaron's parents' house while they were out of town.  Bethany mastered the slide while we were there.  We played outside a lot, but the kids really weren't interested in getting in the pool.

My parents brought Katie over, and we had fun swimming with her!

I love this picture of Zachary looking at himself in the mirror before church!

This is one of her favorite spots in my mom and dad's backyard.

Randal says CHEESE :)

And last but not least, happy mother's day to the best mom ever.  I'm SO lucky!

Spaghetti Face

Tonight I made spaghetti, and Bethany LOVED it!  Here's a picture of me when I was little...

And here's Bethany's messy face :)

Chicken Burritos

Here's another chicken recipe.  My roommate and I used to make these in college, and I'm getting hungry just thinking about them!

1 big can of chicken breast, drained

1 cup uncooked instant rice

1 cup salsa

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1 4oz can chopped green chiles

10" flour tortillas

Make rice according to directions.  Mix cooked rice, chicken, salsa, chiles, and cheese.  Portion mixture into tortillas.  Tuck ends in and roll.  Grill in large skillet until cheese is melted.  I know we would use whatever ingredients were on hand.  Got any good recipes to share?

Headin' East

We took the kids to their 18 month appointment on Friday, and they each got four shots.  Yuck!  Bethany weighed 23.3 pounds, she's 31 3/4 inches tall, and her head circumference is 19 inches.  Zachary weighed in at 24.6 pounds, he's 31 1/2 inches tall, and his head circumference is 18 1/2 inches.

Saturday we went to East Texasish to John and Jacki Dennis' land.  They're the adopted grandparents to all the young married's children at our church!  They've built a cabin and have some trails to ride on (the go-cart is especially fun to drive).  Bethany wasn't as interested in riding around as Zachary...but we all had fun.

Today we celebrated my brother's 34th birthday.  Because his birthday was on Friday, the day of the Royal wedding, my dad thought it would be funny to get him all kinds of British stuff :)