Grandma's Chicken

I am pretty sure that I have mentioned my boys and their love affair with eating chicken off the bone or "chicken bones" as they call them, so forgive me if I am repeating myself.  We have been frequently visiting KFC and buying more rotisserie chicken from our local supermarket than we ever have, all for them, and I don't see it ending anytime soon.  My own Grandpa "T," (and Dad for that matter), are also very big on chicken.  My grandpa once told Chad and I that he would eat the bones if he could.  I myself am of a different sort.  I prefer little to no meat in the first place.  I do not care too see or taste any kind of fat, bone, tendon, you name it on anything that I eating.  I am also not a big fan of eating the skin, and seeing any kind of meat pink or underdone is not palatable in my book.  More than once after making a meal for my family I simply could not eat it after having to touch and work with it raw.  So naturally, although I am okay with buying drumsticks for my boys, I honestly cannot watch them eat their chicken without becoming grossed out.  However, it does bring a smile to my face to see such big appetites, and I can picture my father and grandfather being the same way when they were young.  

Dinner time has always been such a hassle for me.  I like to cook, I really do, but only if those I cook for enjoy it.  I also hate trying to plan dinner last minute.  So, for the last year or so, I started making a menu on Saturday for the upcoming week, just like my own mother did.  I pick out 5 meals for the upcoming week, trying to get a least one meal that each child likes, and make a shopping list that I hand over to my trusty sidekick, (i.e. Chad), to take to the store.  (Wednesday night is "whatever you want" and it is leftover or cereal night, and we usually take the kids out one night.)

 

It just so happens that Chad's Grandmother makes excellent fried chicken.  I remember back when we were just dating and I was learning about his family.  Let's just say that I did not know much about Grandma before I met her, but I knew that she knew how to make a mean fried chicken.  This was mostly due to the fact that her chicken was all he could talk about when her name was brought up.   

Knowing my boys' love of chicken, and that we are now lucky enough to be living close to Chad's grandmother, I asked her a couple of months ago if she could come and make chicken for us, knowing that my boys would be ecstatic.  Well, the weather and sickness took over, months flew by, and fried chicken had still not been crossed off my little menu.  This week with the nice weather and Grandpa's clean bill of health, we were excited to have both of them over.  I made homemade mashed potatoes and rolls to go with, and Grandma's chicken did not disappoint. 

   

Someday, maybe I will have the stomach to try and fry them up as she does.  But somehow, I just know it won't be the same.  Chad will say it is not as good as Grandma's, and I think, he will be right.

Spring

I love my yard in the spring.  Since I have a nice camera now, I decided to take some pictures of my spring flowers.  As a whole my yard is not up to par quite yet; I have some weeding and planting to do.  But right now I am loving this corner of my backyard with my yellow forsythia bush paired with my pink quince bushes on either side. 

Of course, I have to plant some pansies, (Love you Grandpa Hess!)

And the daffodils that I planted last fall have come in beautifully, I just think I need to plant more.

We have even found that 2 of the trees in my front yard have nests in them from last year.. so cool.

And I love the blossoms on my pear tree.

I was an early bird this year and planted my colder veggies back in the middle of March.  My peas are sprouting up nicely,

As are my onions, cauliflower and broccoli... wahoo! I am itching to get the rest of the veggies into the ground, but it is still a bit too early.

Also back in March, one Sunday we stopped by after church to wish Ida Mae a very happy birthday.  She turned 96 this year, and is doing well.  Unfortunately, however, her little legs can't carry her around like they used to, and she is unable to get up and down her stairs, so we don't get to see her at church anymore.  In fact, our priests bring Ida Mae the sacrament for her to take every Sunday, and we were lucky enough to witness it at this last visit.  We all love this lady.

Easter Weekend

Our Easter weekend always kicks off by going up to my parent's house on Saturday.  The kids dye some eggs,

and go on a little plastic egg hunt.  We also had a yummy lunch with the fam. 

Erin and Rob were there with us, and they brought their dog Riggins.  He is the sweetest little guy.

Since I got one of Riggins, I had to take one of Baby, my mom and dad's dog.  Her real name is Buttercup, but she goes by Baby, Butter-butt and Pound-cake. (She is quite a bit larger than we thought she was going to be, and is quite heavy.:)  But she is also such a sweet dog, and one of the softest that I have ever seen.

Baby and Riggins are quite the buddies and are in separable when are together.  Both Riggins and Baby are crazy about GiGi too...

After lunch, Rob and Riggins entertained us by singing a duet.  I took this mid-howl. :)

The next morning, the Easter bunny did arrive at our house.

And if that darn Easter Bunny would not have mistakenly brought them the "Chipwrecked" movie on Blu-ray instead of on DVD, all would have been perfect.... darn Easter bunny.

That night we had a yummy Easter dinner at Grandma Hunsaker's, with an egg hunt in her front yard.  The kids had found all of the eggs before I could even get my camera out.  But me and Jack found the last one.

Which he obviously was very proud of.:)

But, one of the best parts of Easter, was seeing baby Bryce again.  This was my kids, and Chad's first time to see him, and Emmi especially, wanted to hold him.

My Apologies

In case you saw my last post and worried about my kids' safety, I apologize.  I am really not trying to harm my kids.  I got a not so gentle... cough, cough... phone call this morning concerning their safety, and so new rules for the skateboards are in order.  These rules include the wearing of helmets, and we were happy to find one for each of my boys.  (Their friends are wearing them as well).  Here are some pictures to prove it.

New Hobby

Chad brought home a couple of long-boards a few months ago, and lately, with the nice weather, they have been the hottest ticket on our street.  Since we live on a hill, you can imagine the excitement and scare that they can provide.  You may want to look away Grandma B. :)

If I could freeze my little Jack in time, right now I would.  He is so fun.  Lately, he has to do everything the other kids do, including flossing, and sitting at the big table.  He even has got used to our scripture reading time and saying our nightly family prayers.  How he folds his little arms to prayer is just the cutest, and has caused more than a few giggles at times.  This last video was my attempt to get him to show you, and I think my it was a success.   

Sweet boys

For being a mom who admittedly wanted girls more than boys, I really lucked out.  My boys can be rough and loud, but they have tender hearts and can be quite sweet.  For example, last night Chad called to tell me he was on his way home, but I could tell in his voice that he was sick.  He had come down with a cold and was feeling pretty icky.  As I got off the phone, I told the kids that Papa was sick and so we needed to be extra nice to him when he gets home.  Right away they all jumped up and decided to make him notes.  This one is from Keek, that he did all by himself.  What a sweetheart. 

Little Leprachaun

Would you believe it, we actually had a leprechaun visit us yesterday for St.Patrick's Day!  It was a very fun surprise. Just before breakfast, Sam alerted me that there was some "little green paws" on the kitchen table. (lol!)  

After more searching, we found more "paws" heading to the fridge...

And inside we found he turned our mild green! No way!!  By this time, the kids were all the hunt to find more "clues."  Next we heard Sam say "Oh, no!" from inside the bathroom. 

That sneaky little leprechaun tinkled in our potty! We can't wait to see what he comes up with next year.