End of July Already

Can you believe it? I certainly can't - It has been super hot here and I find myself desperate for winter...though it is several months away still.

First, thanks to everyone that sent recipes and ideas for my dinner dilemmas! I got several recipes posted via comments and through email but perhaps my favorite bit of information came from Beth...Possibly, everyone out there already does this sort of thing and I suppose I have done a version or another at times but reading it in print made it all seem so simple so I wanted to post her comments here for all to read...

I have a couple of other tricks. One is to put potatoes in the oven to bake and leave something for Chris to grill to go with them. Another is to start my bread machine and then serve the fresh bread with soup that I've made ahead of time or bought . Also my family likes breakfast for dinner. Sometimes I will make coffee cake or muffins ahead of time, cut up some fresh fruit, and then when I get home I will quickly scramble eggs. The more I can do early in the day when I am not tired the better. Beth

Go figure!

On to the girls. All is well. Lauren had a super appointment with the orthodontist last week. We only have to turn the key on the expander through Wed. then we get to stop turning the key each night! We go back to visit on the 20th to make sure all is well then sometime the end of September or early Oct. she will get it out!! Then we move on to the retainer which will serve two purposes, work on the overbite and close the gap between the two front teeth! That poor gap...got larger during the expansion process - if it's not one thing it's another. Love our orthodontist though. We have never waited for an appt. if we are early we get right in and leave, he is not expensive and steers you away from unnecessary work! LOVE IT!

We have been staying pretty busy. Got to go to the Jonas Brothers Concert last Saturday Night at Fiddlers Green. WOW. Ever been to a "kids" concert...the line was ENORMOUS - 30 - 40 minutes to breach the gates! But it was worth it, we found a spot, ate some pizza, enjoyed some music, Hailey DANCED and DANCED. The girls got shirts, Hailey stripped the minute we bought it to put on her new one - we quickly asked Lauren to slip hers OVER her current shirt rather than following Hailey's lead!

Then on Tuesday we went to the Opening Night of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL at the opera house. It too was great. We got to go to the cast party afterwards and the girls got messenger bags, hats, phone socks and a fancy program - they got autographs, ate ice cream and well...didn't exactly party - it was WAY past bed time. They did have fun though!

We had Physicals yesterday - the girls are healthy - they both have very low BMI percentages but are otherwise doing well (and being skinny is no crime right?). Hailey got a shot and both got there fingers pricked, both peed in a cup (and I didn't get peed on) so all was well.

Hailey wrote her name for the first time last Thursday - we were at Dance and she was bored. She only did it correctly one time then stopped but I figure if the ability is there don't sweat it! She will get consistent!



They also made SAND DOUGH recently - WHAT A MESS. But they had fun. If you want the recipe I am HAPPY to oblige! Lauren made a golf course for Grandpa and painted it when it dried. It was cute-

Calling all good cooks...

HA! Even you aren't a good one I am still calling on you! I am hunting recipes that can be prepared ahead of time, bake in the oven for roughly 2 hours or in the crock pot most of the day...I have spent many an hour on the Internet and the problem is you never know what it really tastes like! So I figure...hit the blog - your friends must have a few recipes for you!

So...here's the gist...I need dinners for Dance nights this fall...I need to either be able to put them in the oven before we leave the house and have them done when we return (up to 2 hours later) or do the crock pot thing. Sounds easy enough right? Well, they also have to meet the family requirements, no fish, no rice, no nuts, no tomato or onion chunks (sauce or seasoning OK), no ricotta or blue cheese, - Hmmm I think that is it - oh wait...NO BONES.

We can do the basic lasagna, stuffed shells, beef stew, potato soup type things any thoughts? Post em in the comments or email me terra@temerson.com

THANKS!!!

(PS - I am NOT a good cook!!)

Summer Flying By...

We are more than half way through summer now. We have managed to stay very busy with trips to the mountains, sports, concerts, shows, the pool and more.

Lauren is doing pretty good with her expander, but she hates it. Won't show it to you - we visit the orthodontist on Thursday to get it "checked" I think it is too soon for an estimate on when she gets it off but we will certainly ask anyway!

Next week is the last week of sports (except Ballet) - Jonas Brothers Concert is Saturday night! High school Musical Play is Tuesday...

Today - we stay home - Jeep in the shop - Laundry, clean playroom and play outside - FUN FUN.

UPDATE:

I don't know what's worse...a day at home with 2 kids that can't seem to play nice together or the $400 electric bill coupled with the $71.00 tank of gas I got this week...Between electric, gasoline and water I think they total about the same as our mortgage payment each month! Ok...maybe not quite - but we are certainly getting close! I mean come on - $400 for electricity...ridiculous. Guess we'll be bumping the AC up a couple degrees. Actually, I told the girls they were going to have to start sleeping naked with no covers so we could save electricity - HA! Too bad they didn't believe me.

So yes the children had trouble getting along this morning - what a pain - honestly I wanted to climb back in bed at 9:00 cover my head with the blanket and pretend I didn't have kids - somehow though we survived and by the afternoon they were playing nice together (could have had something to do with Hailey's 2 hour nap!!!)

Orthodontist Update

Well, Poor Lauren. She got her expander put in on Monday afternoon. It has not been fun for her. It is uncomfortable, has to be turned with a key every night which ads a constant reminder of how wonderful it is, makes it difficult to talk and to eat...she has been very down in the dumps about it. Do you blame her? The good thing is it should come off in October then she gets a retainer (which at least she can take out every now and then) but try teling a supersensitive 8 year old that "this too shall pass". Living in the NOW, she is miserable. I am sure she will get used to it and sort of let it go a bit in a few more days. But what a BUMMER!

The Belly Flop

Below is some video of the belly Flop - she did this FOREVER - over and over and over again! At times we thought she was going to fly out the other side! (remember to turn off the PODBEAN music player (hit pause) before viewing the slidshow)

Enjoy. (it is short!)

back home again

we are all home from the mountains. for a few days anyway! We are heading back up on Friday! Lauren went to the orthodontist today and had her expander put it. she is uncomfortable and doesn't really want to talk much but for the most part it is ok. she sat at the table with spagetti for an hour tonight, ate about 1/4th of what was on her plate but at least she tried. I feel really bad for her, I was fortunate enough not to have any ortho work done but my brother spent more than his fair share of time in that chair. She has to wear this for 3 to 4 months then will move into a retainer.

I have had at least one request for the video of Hailey belly flopping in the little pool...so I am going to muster up the energy and get that posted tonight. Check back soon.

The Bear...I can't believe I forgot to blog the bear

The bear? Was it one or two? We often see wildlife up here. We wait for it, glance out the window at any opportunity hoping to see something. The best was the wild turkey last winter! We see elk, deer, fox, marmot, either a wolf or a coyote that looked a lot like a wolf...and BEARS. Bears that tear through Hot Tub Covers and crack the tub in the process, bears that take baths in the Beaver Pond out back and most recently a Bear Cub that wanted to come into the garage and say "hi" to Grandpa Mac.

Grandma, myself and the girls had just pulled out of the garage to head to City Market when VOILA Baby Bear enters from around the front sidewalk heading for the Garage. Grandma started honking the horn rapidly because Grandpa was in the garage with his back to the door.

The cub did run away, he/she went across the street and proceeded to lumber up each set of front steps to several front doors and move on to the next as he found them all closed...

Did we get a picture - not then...Didn't think fast enough. We headed off to the store and on the way home saw the bear...well we thought it was the bear - but turns out it was the MAMA Bear! Did we get a picture -- Yes! See below (camera phone) got one of it stopping to use the restroom then one as it ran away -

Turns out the bear family has been on the street all week - stealing lunches from the construction site seems to be a popular hobby for them! Reminds me of Yogi Bear. Tonight one came through the back yard but ODDLY was scared off by a 25lb barking dog chasing it through the yard - no pictures thanks to the wimpy bear and the yippy dog...

Enjoy:






UPDATE: There were two news stories about a momma bear and her cubs in Beaver Creek this week, One last night on 7News and one in the Vail Daily on Wednesday - click on the links if you want to read them.

Dinner and Fireworks

We had a nice night last night. Avon did their fireworks show at 9:45 - we sat down to dinner at Mirabels at 7:45 and everyone enjoyed a nice meal - our table was outside next to a small "brook" (or is it stream?) with perfect views of the fireworks show (thanks to Grandpa clearing the shrubs and brush in the days leading up to the show). The girls were fantastic during dinner - even at that late hour!

The show was really nice as usual - nothing compares to being at the park, hearing the music and having it feel like the fireworks are coming straight over your head but this was certainly easier and still very nice - especially since Hailey spent the first 10 minutes of the show being apprehensive about the situation.

When we came home (10:30) it was straight to bed for Hailey and then Lauren got to go up and look out Brad's huge telescope - she got to see ALL of the moons around Jupiter and many other great things. That was a treat for her!

Earlier in the day the girls played outside in the water for quite some time - Hailey did about 100 belly flops into the tiny, shallow pool and loved it! I took a little video but need to weed through it before I post it -for now here are some photos!

In the Mountains

We came up on Monday - got a little antsy and drove up a day early. Grandma was getting a massage when we made our decision so she got a big surprise when she got the voicemail. She was mostly excited, thank goodness! It has been beautiful up here. Chilly in the morning, warm in the middle of the day, threat of storms that don't come to fruition in the late afternoon and then nice calm evenings!

The girls have hit golf balls, played tennis on the driveway, taken walks, swam in the hot tub, enjoyed great meals and played with everyone. They are very excited because daddy arrives this afternoon and the fireworks show is tonight! Can't beat that!

Here are a few photos...


My attempt at getting a neat shot of a butterfly


Lauren swimming


Hailey contemplating the water


Just the girls


The river...


Grandma's Columbines

That's all for now.