It Was The Kids First Time At The Fair

It is fair season. My kids have never been to the fair. Mostly because I dislike crowds. This year I decided to attempt a trip to the fair for dinner and to watch the parade. 

My kids are NOT impressed with my attempts at pictures.. Keeping it real. :)

I posted on FB asking for tips on where to park. Handicapped parking can be a royal pain. So I asked for tips on where to park a 15 passenger van that takes up 2 parking spots, that wasn't to far from the parade.

Nesiah LOVED the fair! She was so excited and happy!

My friend Miss D offered us a parking spot at her house, a couple houses away from the parade route and only a couple blocks from the Fair! I was so thankful! It was the perfect place to park!!

Lee takes his books everywhere he goes...

We parked at Miss. D's house and walked up to the fair for dinner. The kids were so excited, altho we all hate crowds! They chose pizza and ice cream from the ice cream truck! We got fried oreos as a bonus! Oh the sugar!!!!

We walked back to Miss D's house and sat on the corner waiting for the parade, which the kids LOVED!

Seriously, who comes up with costumes like this!

Even Uncle Sam was there!

My favorite float was the one that looked like the Beverly Hillbillies! The parade lasted for 2 hours! Oh My! My kids had so much fun. They totally enjoyed themselves! Plus they had an amazing stash of candy when they got home! 

They decided the Fair was one of their favorite places to go to! Plus the very next day our favorite babysitter took them to Cherry Crest Farms for the day. They had entire to much fun this week! Next week looks almost as good. We already have two field trips planned!

One final picture, because I love it!

Life..

Life has been busy... some pretty heavy unbloggable stuff bogging us down, draining our extra energy.

We did lots of field trips last week, because sometimes it's easier to do fieldtrips rather than seatwork when we have lots of things going on.

We are buckling down with school this week. The kids are working hard.

They did double school today so they could goof off tomorrow.

My kids are really amazing. truly.

I started cleaning out my guest bedroom and found evidence of mice.After recovering from my freak out,  I went to Walmart and spend $50 on traps, bait and sensors. I.hate.mice. It's taking twice as long to clean that room. Sigh. Thankfully stress drove me to cleaning it out.

I stress clean. Now if I could just stop stress eating.

I had both vehicles in the garage this week, new exhaust, new brakes and new rotors. ugh.

I accidentally left a sock  balled in my daughter's shoe and she cried for 45 minutes at school. I win the bad mom award on a bad, awful, no good day.

We have a friend who is going through an awful cancer journey. My heart aches for her. My heart aches for her pain, but also because she doesn't know my Jesus.

I am taking a child to the hospital next door to the hospital where my husband was treated for cancer. Bone marrow transplant. Ugly treatment. worst time of our life. I.can.do.this.

I have been listening to a lot of Francis Chan. I want to be like him.

I am thankful for God's grace, for answered prayers, for strength and grace.

May this song minister to you like it did to me.

Not Your Typical Once a Month Meals: The Recipes

Edited:
Due to the unbelievable response to this post, I put together a website for easy meals for big families! Check it out! Check us out!!

These are some of our favorite recipes for freezer meals!  Disclaimer: This is not a cooking blog. I am simply sharing basic recipes we use. I also tend to "just dump it all together" so this may drive detailed cooks crazy. I apologize in advance.

Part 1 and Part 2  Of Not Your Typical Once A Month Freezer meals! 

 Shepherd's Pie

 makes 3, 9x17 pans

5 lbs hamburger browned, salt and pepper added

add enough flour to thicken and add milk to make a thick gravy.

add mixed vegetables cook together until veggies are soft

dish into 3 pans and top with mashed potatoes.

Chicken Lasagna  (We make it with either gluten free lasagna or sliced potatoes instead of pasta)

2 cans of cream of mushroom

1 cup of sour cream

2 cups of shredded cheese

1 cup of parmesan cheese

2 cups of chicken

1/2 tsp of garlic

1 tsp chick bouillon

4-5 cooked potatoes sliced

blend the soup, sour cream, parm cheese, chicken and seasonings together. spread a layer of this mixture on the bottom of the pan add a cup of cheese and a layer of sliced potatoes then top with mixture. I usually put a good thick layer of potatoes between the chicken mixture then add more cheese on top.

 Taco Potato Casserole  (This is another huge favorite in our house)

 6 large potatoes, cooked and shredded

2 lbs of hamburger

2 cans of pork and beans

 1 pkg taco seasoning ranch dressing

place potatoes in bottom of pan. Top with ranch dressing. Add hamburger and beans which have been mixed with the seasoning.  

Potato Casserole (this one can be made with or without ham)

4 large potatoes

1 can cream of chicken soup

6 oz sour cream

1/4 c butter

1 c shredded cheese

 2 c crushed cornflakes

 salt and pepper to taste

 Cook potatos until soft. Slice grate or shred. Place in a 9x13 casserole. Mix soup, sour cream, melted butter and cheese, pour over potatoes.  If adding ham, cube ham and stir into the soup/sour cream mixture.  

Pizza Casserole

1.5 lbs burger

1 package of gluten free pasta

1 jar of pizza sauce (home canned)

1 cup of shredded cheese

1 cup of pepperoni

Brown burger, cook pasta until soft, mix all together.  

These recipes are great for feeding a large crew and filling bellies. If the casserole has veggies in it, I serve a jar of homemade applesauce as a side. If the casserole does not have a veggie I cook green beans, peas or corn that we freeze.