Adventures in babysitting

Starring

~Alison~

When I was little, the word BABYSITTER was right up there with words like ICE CREAM TRUCK, BIRTHDAY PARTIES and SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS. That's because our babysitter was Alison. Seriously, having Alison take care of us was a party in itself!

My mother, a self-proclaimed paranoid parent, trusted Alison so much that she let her start babysitting for short periods when she was only ten . . . and she was amazing! We loved her like family and still do.

On one occasion, she took me and my sisters to the mall for a photo session.

I think this is when "Babysitter" began to blur into "fourth sister."

Today, Alison is as wonderful a mother as she was a babysitter. She has seven beautiful and talented children. My mother has always said that Alison's life should be an inspirational movie.

I know it is a little early, but - - -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!!

Swimming with cousins

Today we got to play with some of our cousins from Denver. These are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

I especially like this little sequence with my handsome little nephew.

Happy Father's Day

Inspired here

Our happenings and some recipes

I have not been blogging as often as I used to, not that I am assuming anyone really cares, I am just sayin'. Here are some of our family happenings, some more exciting than others (some much yummier than others too)

We have been playing LOTS of football and basketball, practicing without training wheels,

Learning to swim so we can enjoy the summer fun to its fullest, can you tell which kid is rather nervous during his (or perhaps her) lessons? They are learning fast and doing great.
And, these two little friends have been . . . .

Potty Trained! After 8 years of buying diapers we are done. Is it great and wonderful, but at the same time sad to have no babies in diapers.
And, for the yummy part, we have been trying some old favorite recipes and some new ones.

Here are a couple that are a big hit in our house.

Of course, both Mexican dishes, our very favorite.

Taquitos, recipe found here. They are so good, the kids la la loved them.
The taquitos are awesome, this picture-not so awesome, I did a crappy job of shaping them, we had to eat them with a fork, next time though, next time! I used canned chicken and was able to throw these together pretty quick.

Taco salad - finally a dish my kids not only eat, but eat seconds, thirds and even lick their plate clean. For some reason, they adore when I serve this. The prefer the version with taco meat over the grilled chicken. I am loving salads on hot summer days.Just add all your favorite veggies/meat/chips/whateva - the key is the dressing - I could drink it alone, it is SO good! Click here for the dressing recipe.

Free chocolate

Visit this website every Friday now through September for a free Mars chocolate candy. I already got one coupon in the mail and just registered for another. They give away 250,000 per week, so register earlier in the day. Although, today I did it at almost 5PM and I still got one.

Enjoy!

(I am not responsible for any weight gain resulting from an extra chocolate bar a week)

***Update***

I just noticed that there is a limit of four per household, sorry. At least you won't be eating THAT many extra chocolate bars, four can't hurt, right?