4H, Mexican Casserole & Marble Play

Our family has been working hard on household chores, preparing for the visit of 'Grame' who will come in a few weeks to see our daughter show at fair.  My mother and my best friend- I look forward to visits with her, seeing her in person.  Although we do talk on the phone several times a week, an in person chat, a hug is something the soul craves from family and friends who are far away.  The children both miss their grandparents and family and friends as well although we love our new life adventure of our move, we miss the relationships we left behind.

4H All Day!

The weekend was full of 4H- rabbit and poultry tagging and weighing and a rabbit showmanship clinic.  Our daughter enjoys every opportunity to dress up and practice her showmanship skills.  The other night while making dinner she begged me to quiz her.  I think fair is nearly as exciting for us as parents as for her as the child- there is nothing better than watching your child, do something they love, and for our daughter, it is her animals and being a part of 4H.

 Poor brother, played so hard with some other boys at the fairgrounds, he fell fast asleep after lunch in the car on the drive home!

We made it home, to drop off the rabbit, grab some food, pick up hubbie, we were off again to the fair grounds to support our clubs livestock kids at their show- They did fantastic with their goats and steers! Our daughter watched as they groomed their animals for show. It is awesome to see these kids with these large animals- our daughter sat up in the stands whispering under her breath to me...'They are really good- it's cool- I don't know if I could do that with such a big animal'...appreciating the talent her fellow club members have. She does so look up to the friends in her group.

Mexican Casserole

A new meatless recipe, although next time I'm going to cut down on the spicy- too hot for the kids and even a bit too hot for me- hubbie enjoyed it though!

Directions:
Saute 1 small onion chopped, then add 1 medium green bell pepper chopped, saute until soft.
Add chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt to taste.
Pour in 4oz can of green chili's, 1-  15oz can of black beans, 1 cup of refried beans,  1- 15oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups of white rice.
Layer corn tortilla, bean mixture and cheese then layer once more - bake at 400 for about 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly.
Serve with Lettuce, Tomato, Sour Cream on top.

I found a few new great vegan websites so we are ready to try several new recipes this week! I love cooking! I started off a year ago barely cooking, making the same dishes and with our meatless journey I have really spread my wings, tried new things and found enjoyment in the kitchen cooking for my family.

Weekly FUN and Marble Play

In between our cleaning, animal duties, 4H fun and my work week, we did find time for lots of fun as well!  Our usual weekly trip to the library- I love that the kids can't ever get enough- our son has found a love for fancy story books and pop up stories that can not be checked out- so he sits quietly in the children's area reading them, begging to stay at the library all day.

Our favorites for the week:

Mine:
Vegetarian Times Magazine
Indonesian Foods

Our 12yr old daughter:
Warriors Series
Seekers Series
American Girl Books

Our 7yr old son:
Batman Phonics Books
Pirates of the Caribbean Chapter Books
Beast Quest Chapter Books

Also this week we played board games, watched movies, made an indoor tent, made get well cards for a family friend, did doggie training, researched 4H questions online, shopped for science dissecting kits and eyed other science schooling items, had snuggle reading time and played marble works.