One of our Favorite Dinners - Goulash

Goulash

1 pound lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t salt

½ t pepper

2 cups water

1 large (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

½ T Italian seasoning

2 bay leaves

2 T soy sauce

½ t garlic powder

½ t seasoned salt

1½ cups dried elbow macaroni

In a large pot (at least 3 quarts), brown the ground beef, with the onion, minced garlic, salt and pepper over medium-high heat until no pink remains and the onions are tender.  Spoon off any grease.   Add the 2 cups water, along with the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, cover and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and serve.

Optional Mix-ins:  Diced fresh zucchini and/or diced pepperoni.  If adding fresh zucchini, add it before putting in the elbow macaroni and you may need add little bit more water.  (We added these in tonight and it was delicious.)

Other Notes:

Sometimes this turns out too salty.  I tried to make adjustments but if it is still too salty add a little sugar and it will counteract the salt.

Tilly going back for more!

Letter - Best Week of the Year

I'm posting this a few days late.

To see pictures of the events described in this letter click here: 

To see a video of our clear creek cliff jumping click here:

Sunday, July 27, 2014

We've had a nice week. We are on our way home from Snowflake after a fabulous Flake family reunion and Snowflake Pioneer Day celebration.  I love my family and my wonderful pioneer heritage and I love Snowflake. I hope that when we retire Chad and I can build on the lot my mom and dad gave us and be snow birds. We could live in Snowflake in the summer after the horrible spring winds have stopped and stay until it gets too cold in the fall then move back to Gilbert.  It would be super awesome if we could build a reunion hall with a big kitchen and mess hall/recreation hall. But I will still be happy without all that if it doesn't happen.  It's just fun to dream about.

Monday we went to Spencer's school to get his schedule for Jr. High!!!  It's so exciting for him and for our family that he's going into Jr. High. He said he's a little nervous though and bummed that summer is over.  He will do well. He's excited to try out for flag football in about a week.

Tuesday the kids and I packed up and headed to Snowflake. We left Chad at home to work and then on Thursday after work he caught a ride up with our nephew Ray. It was SO SO hot as we packed up to leave. It was well over 110 degrees all week so we picked a good week to head up north. The weather in Snowflake was beautiful.

It was nice to get up to Snowflake a few days before all the reunion festivities started so we could be more relaxed and not have to worry about getting to all the events on time. The kids and I had fun playing with our Snowflake cousins and also Kayla and her kids before everyone else arrived on Thursday afternoon. The boys got pretty good at riding horses. I even helped them catch the horses one day.  I think they were impressed with my cowgirl skills.  If not, at least I impressed myself ... until I stepped in a pile of poop and had to wash my shoes. I rode a horse again for the fourth time since my accident and for the second time this month.  I gave Tilly a ride on my mom's horse Business for a while in the arena.  I was super nervous about getting on because Business wouldn't hold still. It took me a long time to finally do it. Kayla was laughing at me and Spencer was in the arena cheering me on saying, "you can do it mom!"  I don't really like riding horses in an arena because it’s boring.  It would be fun to go riding on the range and move cattle again, but I'm probably too chicken to do that anymore.  Tilly and Marlee loved riding on the horse.  Karalee even got on this time!!  She agreed to let her cousin Lindsey give her a ride. She didn't like it much though, she was too scared.

Thursday morning I took the kids minus Tilly and plus Jaki to hike Four Mile Knoll. It is a very short hike. We had a good time. That afternoon the boys and some of the other older cousins went to swim at Tom's pond.

Friday morning was the Flake rodeo. It was fun but it was a bit hot and dusty. Bryant did the barrel race and Spencer did the grocery race with Kayla and my cousin Lisa. All the kids got to chase after the money calf and do the foot races and the boot race. Friday afternoon I went home to rest and cool off before the Flake program and was too lazy to go back into town to attend it. Friday evening Kami, Jennifer Marie and I were in charge of dinner. We served hamburgers and hotdogs, watermelon, veggies, chips, cookies and lemonade. It was fun to prepare it and clean it up with them.  Chad and Spencer went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with several of the other cousins while we prepared dinner.

Saturday morning was the parade.  Spencer marched in Teresa's Mormon Battalion entry which she was asked to organize by the Snowflake Heritage Foundation. The other kids had a good time collecting candy from several parade floats. After the parade was over we quickly went home and got ready to drive over to Winslow to go cliff jumping at clear creek. We took all of our kids with us and put life jackets on the girls. Doug and two of his boys Todd and Ryan came plus Rend, Ray, Alden, Trigger, Manasseh, Rachel and Taden.  Trigger who is only 5 jumped off the cliff we call dragon's head 3 times. It's about fifteen feet high!!  He was awesome.  Chad impressed and dazzled us with his cliff jumping skills.  He even jumped off Brad’s rock which we’ve determined is probably about 50-60 feet.

Last night we attended the Snowflake rodeo.  It rained on us and was a bit cold but that made it more memorable and it was still fun.  Travis, Taden and Todd did the grocery race but finished last as they had a hard time getting all three of them on the horse fast enough. Tyler and Hayden participated in the world championship keg race, which is the crowning event of the Snowflake rodeos. Hayden won $1000 and a nice shiny new belt buckle. I suggested to him that he needs to wear his new belt buckle on his mission as it will be a great conversation starter. He agreed.

This morning we had a nice lazy morning before church since my Mom's ward didn't start until 1:00.  Bryant and the girls had lots of fun catching frogs with their cousins before it was time to come in and get cleaned up and fix their hair.  All the girls and their cousins wanted an Elsa braid (Elsa is a character in the Disney movie Frozen) this morning. Tilly's hair still isn't quit long enough for an Elsa braid so she got two Anna braids (Anna is another character from Frozen.)

We had a nice dinner of sweet pork burritos after church and had a good time visiting until Chad announced we needed to "leave if we were going to stay ahead of the weather." (Name the movie that quote comes from and maybe I'll send you a surprise!)  There was not really any bad weather by the way, he was just being funny.

Now that everything is over and we are heading back home I'm going to miss staying up late and visiting with the family, especially watching Kayla laugh so hard that she cries when she tells her new jokes.  I'm also going to miss watching my kids play with their cousins. There is such a special bond between cousins. They can go months or years between seeing each other and still be best friends when they get together again.  Things aren’t always perfectly perfect when we get together, feelings get hurt, there are lines for the bathroom and to get dinner, there aren’t enough beds and it can get crowded but I still look forward to getting together.  I love my family.

My quote for today is from Elder Uchtdorf. "Love is spelled T I M E."  When you love someone you will spend time with them. I glad I got to spend time with my family this week.

 Love,

 Mindy

 P.S. Here are some of Kayla's jokes:

 "Why can't you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?

 .... Because the p is silent."

 "Why can't you catch elephants hiding in trees?

 .... Because they're really good at it.

Letter - Chad's New Calling, My Opportunity to Repent

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Happy birthday to my sister Celeste!!  I just texted her to wish her a happy birthday and she said she’s on the deck of the beach house that the Dana’s go to every year looking out at the beach.  I’m glad she’s having a great birthday.  She has always been so good and kind to me. She’s been a great example and I look up to her.

Just before church started today Chad got a new calling to be the first counselor in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency.  He hasn’t ever served in the Elder’s Quorum before so he’ll get to learn something new.  I have full faith that he’ll do a great job.  They sustained him and set him apart at the beginning of Elder’s Quorum and invited me in to witness it.  I was sitting next to Chad before he was sustained as a few of the Elders came in.  I felt very out of place.  One of our friends looked at me and said welcome to Elder’s quorum I jokingly said; yeah this is part of the Ordain Women movement.  Then said, I’m totally kidding.  I shouldn’t have said that, but I couldn’t resist the joke.  I’m sure the men figured out why I was there as soon as Chad was sustained and set apart.  I was glad to be there to witness the nice blessing they gave Chad, but I was sure glad to get back to the Laurel’s class.

Last week I had a wonderful experience.  I had a loved one humbly and prayerfully let me know that I had done some things to hurt their feelings over the years.  I was very grateful they shared those things with me so I could apologize and repent of the things that I had done to cause them pain and anxiety.  Even though I did not intentionally mean to hurt them, I still felt the need to repent of it and I felt badly about it.  I was so thankful we were able to talk about and work through those issues so we could build our relationship and so I could learn not to do those things again.  While the experience was painful and somewhat uncomfortable at times I still feel that it was wonderful that we could resolve those issues.  I hope that if I have offended anyone else they will come to me so I can learn to do better.  Hopefully the list of people I have offended isn’t very long though.  However, I know that I make mistakes and can be quite rough around the edges.  I am working on requiring less forgiveness. 

Here's a cute video of Tilly singing along to Do you Wanna Build a Snowman:

I took the kids to Snowflake on Wednesday July 9^th and we stayed until Friday, the 11th.  We had a good time riding horses, swinging on the barn swing, exploring the cedars, playing with cousins and enjoying the cool weather.  The kids and I are going up to Snowflake again on Tuesday and then Chad will catch a ride with Ray and join us on Thursday night.  I’m looking forward to time with my family and cousins this week!! 

When we came back home from Snowflake Sydney came with us and stayed with us for about a week.  We sure had fun having her here.  We took her to swim at the Lamoreaux’s a couple of times and we also went to Big Surf one day.  She went back home with Dean on Thursday. 

On Tuesday of this week Marlee lost her 1^st tooth!!  She sure looks cute.  Her new tooth is already growing in to take the place of the baby tooth.

Last night for our date night Chad and I attended a session at the temple and then we went out to eat.  We tried to get into the 6:15 session but it was so busy that we had to wait until the 7:00 session.  When I go during the day or the evenings during the week it is not crowded, just the weekends.  We ate at Kona Grill after our session and it was delicious.  As it was our first time at that restaurant, we asked our waiter to recommend his favorite non-seafood dishes and found that there are plenty of yummy things for us non-seafood eaters.

We’ve been enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon.  Chad and Spencer took naps, the other kids played cards while I made cookies for my friend’s son’s missionary homecoming open house.  While the last batch was cooking I pulled out my violin and played a little bit and then each of the kids wanted a turn to try to play it.  We were having so much fun we forgot about the cookies in the oven and burnt them to a crisp.  Oh well.

My quote for today is from Pres. Monson’s talk The Holy Temple—A Beacon to the World.  “The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified.”  In January of this year I set a pretty rigorous goal regarding temple attendance.  It has been the biggest blessing in my life as different challenges have come my way.  The temple really has renewed and fortified me and helped me bear my trials and overcome temptation.  I know it has blessed my life and it can bless the life of everyone who worships within its doors.

Love,

Mindy

P.S.  Here's a link to see Bryant's online piano recital.

Letter - Lesson from Eve, Bearing One Another's Burdens

July 8, 2014

Last week we attended a Jake Flake family reunion in Huntington Beach planned and hosted by Jeff and Kayla.  It was a BLAST!!!  Jeff and Kayla planned out lots of fun activities and we had a great time together with those who were able to make it.  We sure missed those who couldn’t come, but are glad they would have liked to be there if they could have.  I put together this video and uploaded it to youtube from the pictures and videos Jenn and I took.  (For some reason it only plays from a computer, not from a phone.)

Summer is going nicely.  We’ve been on a much more relaxed schedule, some of that is good, but sometimes we are a little bit too lazy and at the end of the day I don’t feel good about how the day has gone.  In order to fix those feelings at the end of the day we’ve made some changes.  The last couple of weeks or so I’ve done better about getting going in the morning with my scripture study and exercise.  It is much easier for me to be motivated to exercise if I do it early in the day.  I’ve also decided to go off desserts for a while.  I’ve gained 10 pounds over the last 8 months or so and I feel yucky physically and my self-esteem isn’t very good in regards to my body.  Hopefully I can lose that weight.  We’ve also made changes in how much TV the kids can watch.  I was reading “Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World” which is the talk given by Pres. Hinckley that introduced The Family: A Proclamation to the World.  In that talk he counsels, “Encourage your children to read more and watch television less.” I’ve let my kids watch so much TV this summer and I knew I needed to repent, so Chad and I came up with a plan that the kids need to read 30 minutes to be able to watch 2 episodes of their program of choice, and they need to read 45 minutes to be able to watch a movie.  This plan has gone well for us and the kids have either spent more time reading or more time playing imaginatively instead of spending time plopped in front of the TV. 

I read that talk by Pres. Hinckley because during the 5^th Sunday lesson that was given by Kayla’s stake presidency on the family proclamation when we attended her ward they suggested we read it.  It was an excellent lesson.  They gave us each a copy of the proclamation and had us break into groups and go through the proclamation in depth and talk about things that stood out to us in our assigned section.  I marked up my copy and plan to give a lesson on it to the laurels in my ward sometime.

Tomorrow I am taking the kids to Snowflake for two nights.  Chad will have to stay home and work, but the kids and I really want to go up there.  It’s been too long.  We will get to go up again at the end of the month for the William J. Flake Family Reunion/Rodeo and the Snowflake Pioneer Days Celebration, which is one of my favorite times of the year.  It might even be tied with Christmas for the best time of the year in my opinion.

Last week when I attended the temple I learned something that has changed my perspective a lot.  During the endowment when Eve is counseled to hearken to her husband as he listens to the Lord I thought about that phrase a lot.  Then I asked myself why she was given that counsel.  I thought more about it and realized it is because she made the choice to partake of the fruit without talking to Adam about it.  Even though it was a good choice, she should have talked about it with Adam and sought his opinion before making that choice, especially since it affected his life too.  Spouses should council with each other before making decisions.  It is part of being one.  She also should have asked the Lord too.  Anyway that has been in my thoughts a lot lately.  Now I need to make sure I apply the things that I learned into my life.

I have also thought a lot about part of the baptismal covenant to bear one another’s burdens a lot lately.  I’ve realized how much that encompasses.  Even if that was the only covenant I ever made, it would keep me very, very busy.  It is a beautiful part of Heavenly Father’s plan.  I think being in a family gives us the best way to practice this with our immediate and extended family members.  It is important to keep in touch and keep a good relationship with your family members so you can know the burdens they are facing and to help them bear them and so they’ll share those burdens with you so you can fulfil that covenant.  The same pattern also works with visiting and home teaching.

My quote for today is good counsel in regards to getting along with each other, “Think for a few seconds how you react when someone does not comply with your desires the moment you want them to. What about when people disagree with your ideas, even though you are absolutely sure that they represent the proper solution to a problem? What is your response when someone offends you, critiques your efforts, or is simply unkind because he or she is in a bad mood? At these moments and in other difficult situations, we must learn to control our temper and convey our feelings with patience and gentle persuasion. This is most important within our homes and within our relationships with our eternal companions. During the 31 years I’ve been married to my sweetheart, she has often given me gentle reminders of this as we have faced life’s unsettling challenges” (Be Meek and Lowly of Heart, by Elder Ulisses Soares).

Love,

Mindy