Asian Slaw

Recipe from our Elementary School cookbook 2012-2013

Dressing:
3/4 C oil
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C white vinegar
2 packets seasoning from Chicken Ramen Noodles

Salad:
1 package broccoli slaw
1 C sliced almonds
1 C sunflower seeds
1 small bunch green onion, chopped
2 pkgs. Ramen noodles, (NOT COOKED), broken up into chunks

Mix dressing well; pour over salad. Let sit for 2 hours before serving.

MY CHANGES:
1/4 oil, 1/4 sugar, 1/4 vinegar
No Ramen seasoning. 1 tsp salt instead.
1/2 C almonds, 1/2 C sunflower seeds.
1 Package Ramen noodles
Cilantro--1/4 cup or so
(Didn't try this time, but I think rice vinegar would be great. Also red pepper).

I've seen this salad before, but it was cabbage instead. I prefer it with the Broccoli Slaw since I am not generally a fan of raw broccoli but like it this way.
My husband commented, "This is my favorite use of broccoli slaw."
Will be taking to all the summer "bring a side-dish" events.

99

Andrew's number at the temple yesterday.

This summer our temple opened the doors to the youth for baptisms. Between 7 am and 1:00pm on weekdays they are able to go with or without a group to do baptisms. This is a huge blessing because it is at their convenience and can be much more frequent than the 1-2 scheduled times per year. They have averaged 100 youth per day since making this change. The number 99 means he was 99th in line. 98 others came before him and a handful came after.

Yesterday my mom & I took Andrew. It was her first time with a grandchild in the temple, and my first time with one of my children, and Andrew's first time with both of us--a special day. (His FIRST time was earlier this year with Nathan). One of my nieces stayed with the other children so we could go.

One of my first spiritual experiences was in the Denver temple, when I went with my parents. I am not sure where my siblings were . . . . but it was a special time I will always remember.

I love the temple and am excited to share it with all my children. I feel happy that so many youth choose to spend their free summer hours in this way. Many of the young people were with their mothers. I saw one father and one bishop. Some came with siblings, others with friends, and some probably came alone. It was very inspirational. If it were closer, we would be there more often.

Navy Pier: Chicago 2013

There were a few (hundred) things on my to-do list when I thought about where I wanted to go in Chicago. Our pace as a family doing anything isn't very fast, so I had to pick carefully. One thing I'd always wanted to do was go on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. Overpriced and totally touristy--I still wanted to do it.

We arrived at Navy Pier at 4:00 pm and went straight for the wheel. The line was short. The worst part is that we had to take 2 cars-- a strict 6 person limit.

Dad took the boys

Mom with the girls (and the camera)

I don't really like heights. My palms were sweaty & my heart beating faster than normal. Worth it for the view!

Because the ticket guy convinced us to get a better price per ticket if we bought more, we had to go on two more rides. I took the littles here

And Nathan took the ones who were over 48 inches here

We went back inside for dinner and our timing was great, because it dumped rain for 15 minutes.

We took our time getting out of the city driving up Lakeshore Drive back to Skokie, to visit a neighbor.

How we love thee--Lakeshore Drive!

After our visit, we drove to a different friend's home to stay the night. She offered, so we jumped. One more sightseeing day in Chicago--one more post.

A walk in the Cleveland woods: Chicago 2013

My brother lives in Cleveland, which is only a short drive if you are already in Chicago. One of our goals is to have our children see their cousins in their homes, so we decided to make the trip, even though it would be short. When we left Neuffers Tuesday morning, we started our drive to Cleveland. There was a LOT of rain that day (and flooding--but it didn't affect our travel). There was water almost the whole way, lightning, and tons of road construction. Not the fastest anyone's ever made that trip for sure.

Sarah coaches Emily's softball team and we were hoping to watch their game. It was cancelled due to weather, which ended up being a good call, even though we were disappointed. We walked to their neighborhood park but had to run home as the next shower started. We enjoyed an impromptu "Music Night" by my brother. He invited everyone who had musical talent to share it, even though we are amateurs in his presence. He went from one instrument to the next, and at one point he played guitar & harmonica at the same time. He is amazing--the real one man band. He made us a CD of songs he's working on and we listened to it twice on the way back to Chicago. The quality of this video is actually awful. If you want to hear it, it's me on the piano, Danny on the string bass, Bryn & Emily singing.

It was pretty late when we all fell asleep, but Danny had the day off work, so we didn't have to move early.

In the morning we planned two things: a walk in the woods and a trip to the swimming pool. I only brought my camera to one . . . .
The woods were a short drive from their home. Completely shaded, so lush and green--that's what all the Tuesday rain did.

We debated swimming in Lake Erie since we could, but decided against it because of the storms all day just the day before. Their neighborhood pool is great, though. They have a waterslide and diving boards (features ours doesn't), and I used both of them. I'm pretty sure it's been 20 + years since I've done either one. Great fun.

Sarah made dinner for the kids and then the adults went out to MELT, which is not far from their home.
The wait was SUPER long, but it was great food. I've never had celery on a sandwich before, but I liked it!!!
When we planned it, we knew it would be a short time. It was worth it, though. Their family usually visits the west in the summer but are not planning to this year, so it was nice to see them. We left early the next morning.
Thanks, Parks fam!

Elder Lane Beach: Chicago 2013

We had a favorite beach in Chicago. Looking back, I don't think that we ever swam there, just went after beach hours were over (ie. no lifeguards) for wading. It is in Winnetka, not free, and very quiet. If you go there, I promise you will have a wonderful, mostly private beach experience. In addition, there's a lovely park at the top of the stairs. We were there from about 2:30 to 5 pm and there was only one other family, who left after about 30 minutes, and two lifeguards.

We spent Monday afternoon there with Bev & Jesse Taylor, who were out neighbors in Skokie.
It was quiet and perfect.
Neuffers shared their camp chairs and Bev had the beach supplies--we were set.
Digging,
dunking,
wading,
chatting,
swimming,
relaxing.
It went too fast.

This was the view from my chair

Pretty cold water. Not warm enough to want your body to get wet . . . ask your dad for assistance

View from the park

At the park shaking off sand

We planned a cookout for the evening, but a sudden rain/lightning storm squashed that plan. Bev treated us out for Chicago Style pizza--so great.
Later that evening, we watched the end of the Blackhawks Championship game--they won!

Botanic Garden: Chicago 2013

Perhaps the most beautiful gardens in North America?
(At least of those we've seen).

I give you the Chicago Botanic garden. At least one year we lived in Skokie we had a membership to the Botanic. It was worth every penny. I remember meeting moms there with little children, taking grandparents who came to see new grandbabies, and enjoying every minute there. (When we moved to P.R. I think we let our membership lapse because of the distance).

We went on Monday morning. It was threatening rain, but fairly cool. We had less than 2 hours, but we did it. So much we didn't see--here's a snapshot of what we did:

This walkway is the most beautiful place in the garden to me. The symmetry, line, texture, shape--it's perfect design.

From the other side

Think one of my girls took this one

I wish the internet could let you smell this--so fragrant

"Take one of the pink lilies, Mom!"

In the fruit & vegetable section

For us, the Botanic Garden experience includes the train garden. We were trying to re-create a photo from long ago here:

In time to see Mt. Saint Helens erupt

Just a few days ago, the big boy was little. Now a new little boy at the train garden.

A large army keeps the botanic garden looking awesome. I appreciate their work!
I wish I had a really great camera and a whole day--I could spend it here.

Returning to Chicago

Was very emotional for me . . . .
I went back once a few years ago alone for a special occasion, but this was the first time we traveled there as a family.
To me--Chicago represents a period of rapid growth in our lives.
We went as 3 and left as 6. That little fact alone represents a lot.
We went with no student loan debt, and left with loads.
We went with bachelor's degrees and came out with a career.
We went knowing no one, and left with friends who are like family.

The last 2 years we were there, Nathan's brother, his wife, and family moved there for a 2 year graduate school program. It was so nice to share that time with them.

So, Chicago will always have our hearts. As a girl, I wanted to live in Boston. Instead, the Lord gave me Chicago, and I'm glad he did.

My next few posts will detail a portion of our adventures this summer, 2013.

I loved going back and think we will for many years to come.

Temple groundbreaking announced

August 24, 2013 at 10 am.
Invited guests only. Broadcast to stake centers for all the stakes involved.

In other news, my home stake, Casper, WY, will be moving from the Billings, MT temple to Fort Collins.
So excited to see long time friends there!

1000 miles with my kids

We returned from an 8 day trip on Saturday night.
Nathan had an oral board exam in Chicago. For months, I went back and forth about whether or not the kids and I would join him. My mom was not up for grandchildren watching this time around . . . she would have but the timing wasn't right.
So Nathan flew and the rest of us drove the next day.
I didn't like telling anyone (except friends from Chicago who do this drive annually by themselves) because I got all kinds of negative feedback:
"You are doing what?"
"With all your kids and not other driver?"
"You should really take someone else with you."

I was going to order AAA, but then I realized my auto insurance had a similar program, but even better b/c you only pay for it if you use it. Armed with that phone number, I knew we could do it.

Not sure who took this photo, my guess is Bryn . . . . note how calm and relaxed I look

My kids rose to the occasion. They entertained Eddie, helped me with navigation, $ for the toll roads, distributing food for lunch. They were super helpful.
I was very happy to see Nathan when we met up, and I let him drive a lot after that, but it was a big success for me to do something so far out of my comfort zone.

YEAH for long road trips!!!!

I have lots more to say about going back to Chicago and 198 photos . . . . but that will wait for another day.

Pesto, pasta, peas

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

This was very, very good. Fresh, light, and awesome. Try it.
I am not a fan of canned Sun-dried tomatoes, but when I saw a bag of dried tomatoes, I thought, "That's right up my alley."
[This link is the exact brand I bought, but I did not buy on Amazon  . . . wonder if that's a better price?]
(I don't like the extra stuff that's added to the canned variety).

At 5:00pm when I still didn't have a dinner plan, this is what I decided to make.

Changes:
I soaked my 3.5 oz bag of tomatoes in 2 cups hot water for about 7 min.
The recipe seems to have left out the amount of nuts--I used about 1/3 C of pine nuts.
Omitted garlic.
Used green onions instead of sweet. Green onions are my fave.

3 of my children liked it . . . I think they were the only 3 that tried it.

Served with sugar snap peas.
So good.