Made something really yummy tonight. It was a very Mexican inspired meal. It included:
Grilled Chicken topped with Basil-Corn Relish
Black Beans
Chipotle Style Rice-a-Roni (really yummy)
All items cooked at about the same amount of time and could be cooked at the same time. Total time plus prep: 20 minutes. Servings: 3 adults.
Chicken:
Defrost Chicken tenders and fry on stove in butter and onions.
Basil-Corn Relish:
- 1/4 c. EVOO
- 2 c. Frozen Corn
- 1 diced Green or Red Pepper
- 1 diced Fresh tomato
- 1 packet Pesto Sauce Spice Packet (sold near the Alfredo and Marinara Sauce Packets)
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- 1/2 c. Sour Cream (just saw this on my recipe, I didn't see it before, so I did not add it. It tasted great without it. If you do use it, put it in at same time as Pesto Packet.)
Warm EVOO in frying pan. Pour in Corn. Once corn is unfrozen, add pepper and tomato. Heat to a good simmer or boil. Stir in Pesto/Basil packet. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over chicken.
Black Beans:
- 1 can black beans
- 1 dallop butter
- 1/4 c. water (or less)
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 2-3 Dallops of Basil-Corn Relish (optional)
Open and rinse canned beans. Melt butter in sauce pan then add beans and water. Once boiling smash beans a few times, just to thicken them up. Then add Basil-Corn Relish. Cook for 5 additional minutes to allow juice to thicken. Serve as a side dish
Chipotle Style Rice-a-Roni:
Prepare as directed on box and serve as a side.
Extra features:
Top off the chicken with Avocado and Shredded Cheese.
I should have taken a picture because it was so pretty, but I didn't think about it. But the chicken and relish looked a lot like this:
Ned and Cas didn't really try it, but Jimmy ate it all. Dale said he's not a fan of black beans but the Chicken and rice were fantastic. I loved all of it.
Today we went to the Louisville, KY Temple with our Primary. This was the first Primary Temple Trip I had been on and it was the first one that I have ever planned. I scowered the internet searching for easy ideas and already planned out activities. But I really didn't find any. So I thought it would be really nice of me, to write all about it in my own blog.
We made post card invitations and mailed them out to all of our Primary Families. I also emailed out the same invitation to all the members of the Ward. In case you didn't know, you can make your own postcards by printing 4 invitations on cardstock. All you have to do is fill out the blank, backside like a post card with a stamp.
Our basic Agenda went as follows:
- Opening Song: "I Love to See the Temple"
- Opening Prayer
- Words from Temple President (~8 minutes)
- Question Answer Session with Temple President
- Words from Our Bishop (~5 minutes on Eternal Families)
- Divide into Families for Walking the Temple Grounds
- Coloring Pages/Small Bubbles/LDS.org movies
- Closing Song "Families Can Be Together Forever"
- Closing Prayer
- Pass out Snacks for ride home Along with Souvenir
Family Walk Around the Temple:
I bought some white, paper lunch sacks from the birthday section of my local grocery. I numbered each sack with a large tag. Inside each sack I put an object and a printed Temple Fact that went along with the object. As the children walked around the grounds, they could search for the sacks and write down on their paper (passed out previously) what they found inside. There were 11 sacks in all. The parents of each group of children were required to ensure that their children remain respectful and reverent while walking around the Temple. This was the highlight of the trip. The families really enjoyed reading the quotes and Temple Facts.
I have listed the objects and Temple Facts at the bottom of this post.
Coloring Pages/Small Bubbles/LDS.org movies.
As the families finished their walk, they started to congregate at one location where we had some things for the kids to do, while the other families finished up. I printed out a coloring page from the Friend magazine for the kids to color. There are so many to choose from but this is the link for the one I decided on: (https://www.lds.org/friend/2011/07/coloring-page?lang=eng). I bought a box of small wedding bubbles for the kids to play with. I also downloaded two of the short Mormon Messages from LDS.org onto my laptop and had it playing. My older kids really enjoyed that. The two movies I used were:
Once Every family was back, we gave them 5 more minutes to color and then we closed with a song and prayer.
My Councilor and I made Temple Blocks for each family to take home. I got the idea for the blocks from this website: http://lilluna.com/tutorial-tuesday-temple-block-im-going-there-someday/. This was a really in-expensive idea. We used a 4x4 beam, like what you'd make a porch or fence with. We cut in in 1in segments and sanded them down. I also took the picture of the temple and extended the black on the bottom and white at the top so that it was more square like our blocks. We found the same polka dot ribbon and wrapped it around a dow rod and cooked it in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes to make it curly. We made 20 blocks and one spool of ribbon was plenty. We also printed off a small piece for the back of the block that read: Louisville 4th Ward, Primary Temple Trip, October 20th, 2012.
This is the sample from the website. Not a picture of the ones I made.
As mentioned, here is a list of the objects and quotes I used from the Temple Walk:
1. Hammer:
The Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build. It was dedicated 46 years after its announcement This just so happens to be the same length of time taken to erect the ancient Jerusalem Temple (John 2:20).
2. Rock/Rubble:
The Nauvoo Temple and Apia Samoa Temple are the only two modern-day temples to have been destroyed. Replacement buildings were constructed.
3. Ear Plugs
The Manhattan New York Temple is virtually a building within a building, which makes it completely soundproofed from the hustle and bustle of the noisy City. When you’re inside any temple, no outside temptations can get to you. Satan is not permitted in the temple.
4. Ruler:
The Washington D.C. Temple's 288-foot spire makes it the tallest of all Latter-day Saint temples. Can you find the Temple’s Spire. What is on top of the Spire?
5. Feather Duster:
Many people come to pray at the Temple. Why do you think that is? The temple is a very clean place. “Like the Temple, we must not allow the ways of the world to clutter our lives. The Savior said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Too often, worldly things keep us from our prayers, scripture reading, and Church duties. President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has said: “Sometimes our minds are so beset with problems, and there are so many things clamoring for attention at once that we just cannot think clearly and see clearly. When we are in the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can ‘see’ things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known.” “Worthy to Enter”BY ELDER DARYL H. GARN Of the Seventy Ensign, Oct 2007
6. White Cloth:
When we do temple ordinances we wear white clothing. Wearing all white reminds us that we should not have any dark places in our lives. The Savior has invited all to come unto Him through repentance. “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them” (D&C 58:42–43). White is a pure and clean color. It reminds us to keep ourselves pure and clean.- “Worthy to Enter”BY ELDER DARYL H. GARN Of the Seventy Ensign, Oct 2007
7. Handkerchiefs:
The Louisville, KY Temple was dedicated in four sessions by President Thomas S. Monson on March 19, 2000, with 8,012 attending. As a teenager, I was lucky enough to be present at the dedication of the Louisville Temple. I sat in the waiting room with a large group of members. The dedication was broadcasted through each room of the temple. Everyone present was required to bring with them a White Handkerchief. At the end of the Dedication Ceremony, every one raised their White Handkerchief in the air and cried out: “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!” When the ceremony was over, I could watch the presidency members exit the building. My father was a door usher, he held the door open for Thomas S. Monson, who at the time was the First Counselor to Gordon B.Hinkley.. President Monson, stopped and shook hands with my father. I was so proud and happy for my father.
- Jami Leckie
8. Statue of Moroni
Can you see the Gold Statue on top of the Temple Spire? Why do we put a statue of the Angel Moroni on the top of the Temple? First, the Angel Moroni was the first of the Angels to appear to Joseph Smith. He told Joseph where he could find the Golden Plates. But not only is angel Moroni a messenger of the restoration of the gospel but he is also a herald of the Second Coming: "for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds" (JS-M 1:37). For this reason he is depicted with his horn, sounding out his announcement that the Lord, our Savior, is coming.
9. Crown:
Do you see the inscription on the Temple wall that reads: “Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord?” These words are a dedication to the World explaining that the Temple is the Lord’s House. How blessed we are to have temples! The holy temple is “the place of [the Lord’s] throne” on the earth (Ezekiel 43:7). President Gordon B. Hinckley has told Church members: “Until you have received the sacred [temple] ordinances of the gospel, you have not received all of the wonderful blessings which this Church has to offer. The great and crowning blessings of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are those blessings which come to us in the house of the Lord." Inside the Temple we make covenants and promises that last beyond death and into eternity. We can get married and be sealed for time and all eternity, and we can do baptisms for the dead by proxy. How is the Temple the “Lord’s Thrown?” For starters, because this is the Lord’s house, Satan can not enter. Because of that, the promptings of the Holy Ghost are loud and clear when in the Temple.
10. Mirror:
You are a child of God. You are a royal prince or princess of Heaven. Heavenly Father loves you and waits for your safe return to live in his presence. Prepare now to be worthy to go to the Temple, so that you can feel the spirit within. So that you can make important promises which will help guide you back to Heaven. By following your Gospel Standards you can be a righteous son or daughter of God.
11. Eraser:
When you turn 12 years old you can go inside the Temple to do Baptisms for your ancestors that have passed away. Heavenly Father commanded everyone to be baptized, even Jesus Christ was baptized. The Priesthood keys that allow us to do baptisms for the dead are a very special gift from Heavenly Father.
Obviously a few of these need to be in select locations, but most of them can be placed anywhere around the Temple. I hope this is a help to anyone else out there that is planning a Primary Temple Trip.
My brother is currently living in San Antonio, TX. He's stationed at an army base there. We took a week to go visit him and his family. We flew down there, which was all of my boys' first plan ride. Dale thought Jimmy was going to freak out, but they were all very calm about it. They never complained about their ears. Cas acted the same as any child on an airplane. He was a handful but he never really disturbed any of the other passengers.
We went to the Alamo, you can't go to San Antonio and not see the Alamo! Actually, we let Jimmy skip the last 3 days of school. It was suppose to only be one day, but the school added on two extra days, and we didn't even have any snow days!! It was just mean. So we had to get some education in to make up for the loss of valuable school time!
The kids are sitting on one of the many cannons out side of the Alamo church. I'm sure there is a sign some where that says "Please do not sit on the displays" but when you take SEVEN children out in public, you just gotta go with the flow.
My nephew Gavril got baptized while we were there and as a treat we all went out for pizza afterwards!
"Man vs Food" featured a small restaurant in San Antonio that makes a freakin' big pizza! We had 21in rectangular plates, and one slice still hung off the side! Most of us could only manage 1 1/2 slices. There were 13 of us eating one pizza and we only finished half. We had to take the rest home. It was amazing how good the pizza was too! All of it was evenly cooked, no burn spots! Our waiter said it was a house secret on how the pizza's are cooked. He also said that they make an even bigger pizza, but you have to special order it, because they only make three per day. They can't fit any more than three pizza's in their kitchen at a time! He said that they were booked up on this new pizza for one full year!
Right now, I can't help craving that yummy garlicky crust. So good.
While there, we couldn't miss going to Sea World!
Cas then Ned & Jimmy watching the whales.
Sea World had a big splash park/ theme park with rides and ELMO!!
Ned has been terrified of any mascot costume since birth, but when he saw Cookie Monster walking around he totally flipped a switch! He was so excited and demanded to find Elmo. We found out there was a group picture time at a certain hour and Ned was not going to miss it! He was so excited to meet Elmo and Big Bird. I was so proud of him when he ran up and sat right next to the big red guy.
The other cousins could care less about the idea, until they actually saw the characters. Jimmy suddenly turned into a two-year-old boy again. So excited about Cookie Monster and Grover! Jimmy is still talking about how Grover tickled him when he sat next to him.
By the end of the Sea World Trip, this is right about how we all felt.
We had a great hotel! I found it on the internet and it was just perfect for us. And it wasn't very expensive. The rooms were like little cabins with front porches and chairs to sit on. They were arranged in a circle around a big playground and an awesome pool. The rooms were a good size and had two TV's. a microwave and frig and a sitting area.
We had a terrible lay-over on our way home. We were stuck in Baltimore for like 8 hours or more? I can't remember. We didn't board our plan until 1 in the morning. On the first flight of the day, Cas bottomed out, his bowel movement was so watery it didn't even hit the diaper it just slipped right out and down his leg and onto the floor. Dale carried him all crazy like to the bathroom and I had to clean poop off the floor. Did you know Airplane bathrooms had changing tables?
Good thing I packed a change of clothes, and a first aid kit, and movies, and lots's of toys, and snacks, and well, everything.
Cas' first birthday was on May 6th, 2012! We had a small family birthday party, with a Monster theme, because Cas is my little Monster!
I had fun making the cakes, but I really hated working with those Cake Pops. I don't think I'm going to mess with those again.
We made lava lamps out of oil, water, and alkaseltzer. This is after the bubbles had gone. We we're too excited about the beautiful bubbles to think of taking picture then.
When we do this fun science project again, we'll use less water and more oil.
Cas' crazy smile as he opens presents.
Singing Happy Birthday.
He went for the Cake Pop first.
It wasn't a very messy cake and he ate it very politely. We had sherbert ice cream, because Cas is allergic to milk. He loved it all. The cake was actually a Lemonade cake. I made it and the icing homemade. It was pretty good.
This was our Family Easter Photo with matching outfits. Surprisingly, the culprit of the upheaval was Ned. He looks like the only behaving in the picture, but he was not. He refused to stand with us. We tried to move close to him, but he just scooted away. Eventually he started to cry, we got frustrated and everyone agreed to just give up on the picture, but it was too late, the button had already been pushed and the picture was snapped.
The Easter Bunny brought Ned and Jimmy matching bunny masks. Ned wore his a lot. Even to sleep in.
In February, our family discovered Guitar Hero. Dale and Jimmy would stay up late playing with eachother. Cas enjoyed the music and often joined in.
Dale finally built himself a shed. Aunt Rachelle came to visit and she helped him and the boys do a big chunk of it. The boys really wanted to help. Dale bought them their own hammers and everything.
My brother came to town for a short visit and brought his two sons. Jimmy was so lost by the surprise of it all. He did yell, or laugh, or look shocked at all when Gavrel came out of Lola's car. He was just stunned. But he really enjoyed spending time with his favorite cousin. We even let him skip school for a day just to hang out with Gavrel and Xander.
Cas got his top two teethe, and his his hair started to curl up, so that I couldn't tuck the long pieces behind his ears anymore.
