Spanish Rice

I have been looking for a good recipe for Spanish Rice for a long time and came across this one. It was very easy and tastes delicious! It makes a great side dish for Enchiladas.

Prep Time: 05 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
· 1 1/2 cups rice
· 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
· 1 cup plain tomato sauce*
· 3 cloves finely chopped garlic *
· 1/4 of a medium onion*
· 2 tablespoons oil
· 4 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation:
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh garlic and onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until rice becomes a golden brown color.
Add in broth and tomato sauce (Slowly into rice, not directly onto hot pan!) Add in the parsley if you're using it. Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

*If you don't have fresh garlic or onions on hand you can use the equivalent in powder form. Do not saute the powder, just skip that step and add the garlic powder and/or onion powder when you add the liquids. If you don't have tomato sauce you can use unseasoned stewed tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes with their liquid.

Lane in a walker

Lane is learning to navigate around the house in his walker. He was working his way to the sliding glass door where all of the kids were playing outside. He is so excited about all of the new things he sees and that he has more control with this legs. Brant had just gotten home and was chatting with the women. Cambry is 6 weeks older than Lane. They enjoy playing together.

Outside Playing

We are reaping the rewards of the nice weather in Las Vegas. After our boiling heat during the summer, it is such a nice break. The weather gets to the mid 70's in the afternoon and evening. The kids enjoy being able to play outside again. It was so hot in the summer, they wouldn't stay out very long.

Jumping on the Trampoline

Geneva was babysittig kids and they all went out on the trampoline to jump. Porter and Madison love jumping. They also love crowds, so they were having a ball.

I am so tired

I never fully appreciated sleep deprivation until having 3 children. Mind you, I am the person that NEEDED 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep or I was a massive, offensive, angry bear! I have sisters that can attest to this--and Ron, I don't think I got much sleep that time he wanted to set me up with Grant. I think Ron was tuned in, but just not exact. He was hearing "Grant" and it was supposed to be "Brant.
The twins are at an all-time high of destruction. They have become fully function and figured out what a great team they make when it comes to mischief. What one can't do the other can. Yesterday, Porter woke up at 4:10 a.m. Brant gets up about that time, so when Porter came in, he thought it was time to greet the morning. I was so tired. That is also Lane's eating time. Porter came in, Brant played with him, and then Porter got Lane fully awake. There was no chance of going back to bed, though I tried for the next couple of hours. Needless to say, it did not happen. Lane was cranking and fussying the whole time--due to his early wake up. Plus, he was off schedule for the rest of the day.
When Madison woke up at 6, I gave them juice and turned on Barney. Lane had fallen back asleep. I locked my door and fell back to sleep. I woke up a half hour later, with Geneva telling me that my kids were banging on her kids door yelling for them to wake up. They woke up Aundra, Jantzen, and Cambry. They had figured out how to unlock my door.
Later that morning, I was downstairs loading the dishwasher. Lane was in a walker. I hear a big crash and Porter and Lane suddenly crying. Porter had tipped over the walker and Lane hit the tile floor with his head. He was still upside down with his head on the floor and his feet stuck in the walker.
This morning they went into my closet while I was feeding Lane. I thought, what can they do in there? When I went to get them, all of my clothes had been thrown on the floor. Two boxes of junk I was organizing were dumped out on the floor. They were in the process of removing all of the hangers from shelf. I have put them in their telling them they are not coming out until the mess is cleaned up. Porter is handing hangers to Madison (she's up on the shelf) and she is hanging them up. They keep getting distracted. I figured they have messed up as much as they can so I get a break because they can't come out of the closet.

Little Angels...

...especially when they are asleep. They went down for their nap today and fell asleep like this. Too bad, they weren't this sweet all day.

"Aunt" Ida Tenney visits

Last night, Ida Tenney, her daughter Leann, and her son-in-law, came by to visit Mead and Geneva's family. I grew up in Page, knowing her as "Aunt Ida" so it was a treat to get to visit with her and to let her see my kids. Lane, of course, was already asleep. Madison instantly called her "Mi-Ma" (her version of Grandma). She is so spry and healthy--she is a good example to all of us. It was really neat to see her.

Pizza! Pizza!

We made homemade pizza Saturday night. I made the dough and sauce from scratch and then let the kids make their own pizzas. Madison put a little bit of everything on it. Porter put one mushroom on his with lots of pepperoni and ham. He's a big meat lover.

Pics of Porter

Porter is so mischievous. He loves getting into things--especially water. He turns on the hose in the backyard all of the time. He plays in the watering system for the plants. He has poured water all over the floor after getting it out of the water dispenser on the referigerator. He likes to dump water anywhere and everywhere. He does have a tender heart and gets his feelings hurt easily. He likes to wrestle and fight and tease.

Pics of Madison

\Madison is such a cute little girl with a lot of spunk! She is very proud of her blue eyes and tells everyone she has blue eyes. She is very good with both of her brothers. She's tough and bossy to Porter, and sweet and motherly to Lane. The other day she was mad at Porter for taking her shoe. Aundra went and grabbed it from Porter and gave it to Madison. Porter started crying because Aundra took the shoe from him. Instead of being thankful to Aundra for getting her shoe, she turned on her and started shaking her finger and telling her "No!" because she made Porter cry. Then she went and told on Aundra, saying "Aundra did it!"

Labor Day at the Water Park

We took the kids to a Waterpark in Henderson. They had such a blast. It was fun watching them run through the water. The temperatures were nice too...only 92 degrees. It has started to cool down, although we still have a week full of 100+ temps. I'm sure it will be really mild in October. Grandma and Grandpa Smith joined us with their daughter Heather after we had been there for an hour or so. Also, Mead, Geneva, Aundra, Jantzen, and Cambry Tenney.

Take Me Out To the Ball Game

We took Madison and Porter to their first baseball game. We left Lane home with Grandma. They really enjoyed it. Madison was yelling and clapping and watching the game. She was much more into the game than Porter. Must be her Grandma Mimi's genes in her. She would yell and point, "Hit Beece-ball!" Then she would clap as soon as they hit it. Porter fell into the bleacher and now looks like he got hit on the side of his cheek. Brant bought them a baseball necklace, a pink hat, a wooden baseball bat, and a miniature wooden baseball bat. They had a blast. I wore out before they did. Brant got the tickets from Yesco. We were also able to take Grandpa Smith, Uncle Mead, Aundra, and Jantzen.

Which Five Do You Belong To?

I read a quote today. It said, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time of your time with." I thought, "Wow!" There's five in our family: Me, Brant, Madison, Porter, and Lane. Here is an interesting average of our group: We are approximately 13 1/2 years old; we can't read or write very well; we have attended little or no schooling; and our average weight is 91 pounds.

Carnival at the Church

Some members of our ward have a carnival business. They setup a little carnival in the Cultural Hall for the kids. It was so much fun. Well, the kids had fun at least. They were like "kids in a candy store." There was a jumping gym, clowns, balloon animals, cotton candy, face painting (which we decided not to do because we didn't want to have to clean them up), popcorn, train ride, etc. Wayne and Rhonda laughed that they were the oldest people there. We have a young ward with LOTS of little kids. The kids were a little afraid of the train ride. It was out in the parking lot and they had these cars made out of barrels connected together. It was pulled by one of the guys on a 3-wheeler. Porter was "white-knuckling" the side of the car. Madison just wasn't sure what it was all about. We told her to wave to us when she went by and she thought that was fun. Porter would not let go to wave. His hands were in the same position at the end. The train actually stopped to let more kids on and Porter didn't hesitate to jump out. When Madison saw him get out she decided to get out too.

By the way, they are wearing clothes Vicki bought for them recently. They were so cute! Thanks Vicki. Madison is absolutely in love with pink. She was ecstatic with the shirt. The pink pants are actually from Jaden, so even though they aren't new they're still from Vicki.

I'm An American Idol

When you start singing a song to your little baby and his eyes light up, he grins, and squirms with glee, it makes you feel like a Rock Star. Lane loves the sound of my voice. It's awesome.