Bountiful Baskets

So the Idaho LeFevre's have been participating in a program called Bountiful Baskets for awhile now. Basically, you go in with a bunch of other people to buy produce direct from the farmers. The kicker is you never really know exactly what is going to be in your "basket", just that it is going to be a combination of fruits and veggies. We have all been a little jealous of the opportunity they have had to have access to farm fresh stuff, but no longer! We now have the same opportunity right here in Vegas! So I got online and ordered two baskets- one for us and one for Carole and the girls! We picked them up yesterday morning at 7:00 am at a park in the Northwest part of town. And it was just as awesome as we had expected-


We got lettuce, swiss chard, mushrooms, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, pineapple, bananas, apples, blackberries, and some type of melon- all for $18! I have already used the mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots with a roast as well as the lettuce and tomatoes in a salad for Dinner this evening. Lincoln has been enjoying the bananas, and we tried the blackberries. I am excited to keep finding ways to use the items, but am going to have to look up something to do with swiss chard. I was really excited when I first saw it, as I thought it was rhubarb and had a brief thought of making a strawberry rhubarb pie. But now I am not so sure what to do with it- so if anyone has ideas!

We are going to try it again next weekend- if a basket is offered and see what we get! To check it out here in Vegas go to http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ . You have a very small window of time to place your order and you also have to pick it up within a 20 minute period, but since it is all volunteers doing the work you can not expect them to wait around all day!

A Little Early for Swimming but....

Lincoln had to try it out anyway! Justin has been working on the pool the past few days so the cover has been off and the pool itself was just getting refilled. Lincoln wanted to play in the pool, so Justin figured the minute he put his feet in, he would decide maybe he didn't really want to do that. But the plan back fired, Lincoln didn't seem to think it was cold at all. He ran back and forth along the step and jumped and played seemingly unaware that it was freezing! I think we could be in trouble if he thinks it is time to swim already!

A Fair Day!

We took Lincoln out to the county fair this morning. We headed out to Logandale at about 8:30 this morning and it took us just over an hour to get to the fair grounds. We had a really close parking space and there really was no traffic on our way in-unlike the traffic we passed on our way out! The fair didn't open until 10 so we had a few minutes to get ourselves situated and buy the tickets.
We both thought it seemed a little smaller than last year, but we both agreed it was probably due to the economy. That didn't stop us from having fun though! Lincoln had a chance to see some animals- chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, sheep, lizards, snakes, and a cow! As always he was fascinated by them all! There was a whole building of pigs and he made sure to go up and down every aisle. But he wasn't too sure about those that were actually awake. so he kept his petting attempts to those that were asleep. :)
He thought the roosters were loud and funny at the same time. Some of them were so huge! Almost majestic looking! He was a little annoyed that all the animals were in cages and not on the ground for him to chase! But he still managed to upset the cow. Lincoln would stomp his foot and the cow would almost charge the fence- almost like a bull would! It was crazy. Lincoln of course thought it was hilarious!
He also had a chance to ride a pony, or onies as he called them. The pony he got to ride was brown and white, and his name was dandy. He had so much fun riding that pony around in a little circle. It was especially nice because they fastened the kids on the pony with a seat belt, so I wasn't worried about him falling off.
They even had a free area where the kids got to see and touch live Stingrays. Lincoln thought that was pretty interesting. He would point them out as they swam past and did not hesitate in attempting to touch them. These were small babies compared to the ones Justin and I had a chance to swim with on our Cruise, but they were easy to see and the water was shallow so Lincoln had an easy time reaching them. He probably could have stayed there all morning.
There weren't as many shows this year, but we did watch a pretty interesting dog show. The guy is a national frisbee champion along with his dogs! It started to get a little windy right before the show, but they were still able to put on a pretty decent show. A little too much talking, but nice nonetheless. He has some very interesting dogs, one called a Catahoula Leopard Dog, that climbs trees and stalks like a cat. It was so interesting.
We managed to bypass the carnival games again, which is probably one of the bigger money pits for parents in the fair. Luckily, he is still young enough to not really know that he is missing anything. He was more then okay with the ice cream cone he got to eat! :)
We headed home shortly after the dog show, and I think the secret to the fair is to make sure you get there early. There was a huge traffic slowdown coming into town when we were leaving. And I have no idea where they were sending them to park, but it definitely was not close. So if you are thinking of going, go early!

An "Eggstra" Special Day

What's better then an easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday? How about two Easter egg hunts! That's right, Lincoln got a chance to participate in two easter egg hunts today. One at GrandNana's with the Cousins, and one at Aunt Dawna's. He had such a good time "founding" his eggs! The Easter Bunny aka. Justin and John came to Nana's house during conference, and hid all 10 dozen eggs. The front yard was deemed the easy hunt for the little kids, and the backyard area was for the big kids. And even though there were almost 5 dozen eggs out in the back, you could not see one when you scanned the yard! But between the two areas, we only came up one egg short! I don't think there is another time we have only been one short, usually we are missing multiple eggs! :0)

After our yummy breakfast and egg hunt at Nan's we headed out to Henderson to Aunt Dawna's house. Lincoln loves them and their back yard, tons of places to explore. And as we found out tons of places to hide eggs. (Between me and you, I think we had a harder time finding those 36 eggs than all 10 dozen of the other ones! Aunt Tina knows how to hide those eggs!!) But Lincoln had a great time finding them!


My Mom made some cute ties for the boys and what I am sure will be awesome dresses for the girls. (She ran a little short on time, so wasn't able to get all four dresses done.) Here are all 6 kids after the Egg Hunt!





Check out Lincoln- he was a star Easter Egg hunter!!

Introducing the Camp Theme

For those that are unaware, I was called to be an Assistant Camp Director for Girls Camp. Our camp kick-off is next week, and as a way to introduce our Theme- The Incredible Journey: Protecting the Path to Virtue, they asked me to put together a short video. This is what I came up with, I hope it's what they were looking for as this was not part of my camp experience in the past!

Egg-citing Times

Perhaps I am the only one that hates eggs. I try to like them, I really do. But I just can't get past my dislike. They are bearable when scrambled covered in ketchup, or as part of omelet loaded with cheese and ham. But by themselves, I just can't gag them down. The yolk is just so nasty! Runny or hard-boiled it's all inedible to me!
So why do I find such joy in dying Easter Eggs? Perhaps it is because with patience the eggs can become so colorful. Or maybe, its just the memories I have of hunting for egg's in Nana's yard and being fascinated with just how many eggs could be hidden in the ivy! I know it's definitely not the promise of being allowed to eat them after the hunt, so it could just be the process itself! Whatever it is, I love it. And I think most kids do too. I know these one's had a great time last night, although only the girls lasted through all 10 dozen eggs! (Yes, we boiled and dyed 10 dozen eggs!)

Lincoln did pretty well dying his eggs, I think he only managed to crack two of them in the process. But he wasn't very patient. He put them in the dye and took them right back out again. So his eggs never got very bright! Some still looked white! :) So generally, I would take the egg and but it back in the dye without him knowing!

Now, all we have to do is wait for Sunday to get here so the Easter Bunny can attempt to hide all 10 dozen out in the yard- I bet at least two dozen go in the ivy! But as for all the others, I think the bunny might have to get a little creative! :)

Here's just a sampling of the many different eggs the kids created!

Just so Darn Cute!