Memorial Weekend

We had a really great Memorial Weekend. Nice weather for the most part and fun times with family and friends!

What did we do?

Attended a fun wedding and reception

Went golfing in Bertrand

Walked around the cemetary - we've done this every year with the girls to show them where our family members are buried

Saw 'Night at the Museum 2'

Watched Joe's high school friend fly a fuel tanker over Loomis

Spent time at Johnson Lake

Joe 'the pro' ready to teach the girls how to golf.

Emma did a great job, but they were most fascinated by the ball-washing contraption.

Terrible picture, but here is Wade Holen flying over Phelps County in his fuel tanker.

We went to the lake, but it rained in the afternoon so they kids spent time in the cabin watching a movie.

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Ben and Luke in a water gun fight....although they're not even facing each other....so I'm not sure what is going on here.

Addie's Pre-School Graduation

Addie graduated from Trinity Pre-School last month.

The most wonderful pre-school teachers ever! Mrs. Sue and Mrs. Lana

Recieving her diploma

Expect to see another post similar to this next year. Since she will just be 5 in September she is going to attend pre-school for another year. Another year with Mrs. Sue and Mrs. Lana is Heaven for Addie!!

20 Minute Cheeseburger Macaroni

I'm telling you now, that the recipes I post on here are not going to be anything fancy. I'm almost embarrassed to post this recipe because it's so easy and I'm practically cheating by using a box of Mac and Cheese. But it's very kid-friendly at my house so hopefully it will be at your house, too.

You will need....

1 lb hamburger

1 box Macaroni and Cheese (I think the Kraft 3 Cheese is the best)

1/3 cup tomato soup, undiluted

1 T mustard

2 Cups water

garlic salt

Brown the hamburger and drain fat.

Mix in soup, mustard, and water.

Bring to a boil. Add macaroni ONLY. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add cheese packet and season with garlic salt.

Taco Crunch

This recipe comes from my school days at R-4, a rural school north of Holdrege. When the cook, Joyce Bergman, retired someone put all her recipes in a cookbook and gave them to the families of R-4. When R-4 closed last year and a reunion was held at the school, more cookbooks were passed out. The recipes are written to feed 100 (or so) kids and adults so it takes some time to convert into a recipe for a family of 5 for one meal. Otherwise we'd be eating Taco Cruch for a month or more.

So here you go....

1 lb ground beef

1/8 cup chopped onion (I use minced onion)

1 package taco seasoning

1 can pinto beans

1 can tomato soup

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

a few handfuls of crushed Doritos

Brown meat. Season with minced onion. Drain grease.

Mix in taco seasoning, beans, and soup.

Put in 9x9 baking pan.

Top with grated cheese and crushed doritos.

Bake for 30 minutes @ 350.

Sloppy Daddies

I'm going to start posting some of my family's favorite recipes on here. I love to get new recipes because it gets pretty boring eating the same things all the time. I hope you'll try some of these for your family, too.

Sloppy Daddies (sloppy joes)

There are a hundred recipes out there for sloppy joes, but this one is by far our favorite. My kids would eat this everyday if they could. And sometimes I'm tempted to make it that often because fruit roll-ups and Cheetos don't carry much nutritional value.

Emma started calling them Sloppy Daddies because her dad's name is Joe....get it?!?!?!

Sloppy Daddies (from allrecipes.com)

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion (I just used minced onion)

1 cup chopped celery (optional. . .I've never used it)

1 can condensed tomato soup

1/4 cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Brown ground beef. Season with minced onion, salt and pepper. Drain grease.

2. Stir in all other ingredients. Heat to simmer over low heat, and cook until thoroughly heated.

3. Spoon onto buns.

Larson kids give it 3 Thumbs Up!

A bunch of what not

Meet our new dog, Otis!

We adopted him from the Humane Society in Kearney a few weeks ago. He is a 10 month old black lab. Isn't he cute?? This is our first dog as a family. He has been really good with the kids. And except for a few minor problems - read below - he is a great dog!

I had to share this. . .This is something Addie did at PreSchool.
Emma's last day of 1st grade was May 8th.

In the last couple of weeks, these two ducks have been living in the draw that runs along the south side of our house. It's a male and a female. I don't know much about ducks, but I'm surprised that they don't ever leave and that they stay together. Maybe we'll have ducklings someday??

Here is one of several landscaping projects we need to get started on. These are bricks to be used for the retaining walls under the deck. We are also going to use them for a terrace on the south side of the house.
Last week, a windbreak was planted on the north side of the house. Not much to see now, but it will be nice to have some big trees along here for protection from the wind....as long as Otis stops digging them up. Bad Dog!!

Emma's 7th Birthday

Emma celebrated her 7th birthday on April 24.

Here she is on the day she was born.

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Make a wish. . .

She celebrated with family the night before her birthday.
She was excited to try out her new Wii games. Littlest Pet Shop game was her favorite!
Friday morning. . .Emma's 7th Birthday! She invited 7 girls over on Friday after school. We went swimming at the YMCA in Holdrege, had pizza for supper, and the rest of the night was spent playing wii, running around, and making lots of NOISE!

Addie was mad because she couldn't sit at the table with the big girls. Poor Addie....

Movie time!

Emma and Chloe

Natalie, Emma, and Darla