Love thy neighbor as thyself.

I have THE BEST neighbors - like, EVER!!!

Not only do they let my daughter spend many of her days there, not only did they have us over to BBQ TWICE last weekend (one night it was steak!), not only are they patient with our white trash yard while theirs is beautifully maintained, not only are they putting a gate in the fence that they are rebuilding between our yards so we can be backdoor neighbors (they actually like us that much!)...

Not only all of that!

Today, I heard the weedwacker in our backyard, I looked out there to find Brother B. weedwacking our above-knee-high grass (our lawnmower died a few weeks ago) AND Sister B. cutting back the bushes that are taking over our apple/pear tree. Then, shortly after Rori and I came out to help them, they asked if we wanted to come with them to Home Depot and then lunch - their treat! Hello, WE are the one's who should be treating them!

Rori is filthy (her idea of helping was to dig in the dirt and dump it all over herself) so we didn't go with them. Instead, their family is coming over for dinner on Sunday. I really need to make sure it's good - really, really good! :)

In case you were wondering...

Rori's still having a problem with all things "potty".  We aren't pushing the toilet anymore, but she is still afraid to even go in her diaper.  I don't know if she's still trying to hold in her pee, it's hard to tell which she is whining about when she complains about her "diaper", but we know that she is holding in her poop.  She still goes - about once a day, but only after a lot of "the poop dance", whining, crying, etc.

And so, today I'm adding another angle to try to help her through this.  I went to the store after taking Cadi to school and got juice:



Lots...



And LOTS...



of juice!  And she can have juice WHENEVER she wants!  (You can see that we've already started with some apple juice.)

I'm just hoping that this will help to "loosen" up things more so it's harder for her to "hold it".  We're going on a month of this little phase and I'm eager for it to pass.  (No pun intended. lol)

We went to the "Animal House" (As Rori called it)!

Yesterday, we took the girls to the zoo and had a lot of fun!  There were quite a lot of people there, but we arrived mid-afternoon when many were leaving, so it really wasn't too bad.  One of the things I love about the Oregon Zoo is how shaded it is!  The zoo is a little hilly, but that makes for lots of nice tree cover.  Keeps it nice and cool. :)

Acadia brought her friend, Kaitlyn.  It was nice having her with us because it kept Cadi from being bored and between the two of them, we had LOTS of great help with Rori.

I took SO MANY pictures.  I've put many of them into little collages to keep this from being the longest picture post ever.

We started with the mountain goats.  It turns out, most of the mountain goats were not in the exhibit - they were running loose and followed us all over the zoo, they even insisted on coming home with us! ;)



I like how our zoo has many different viewing areas for the same exhibit.  As we walked along a path at the top of the hill, we could look down into the black bear exhibit.  Most of these pics are taken from above, looking down at one of the bears near the top of the hill, but one pic is taken down at the bottom, looking at the other bear sleeping there.



Aurora loved ALL of the underwater viewing. 



Another area that Aurora really loved was the farm.  The petting zoo was closed, but she planted herself right next to a calm little goat and quietly pet him for quite some time.  It was really sweet, especially since so much of our day she was mistaken for a wild animal that must have gotten out of it's cage! ;)



Earlier this year, a baby elephant was born at the zoo.  He's a cute, BIG baby!



I think of all the exhibits, if I were an animal, I would want the zebra's enclosure.  It was so beautiful and just felt peaceful.



I think the giraffe had to be the most entertaining part of our whole zoo experience!  I couldn't get a collage to really show the whole story, so I made a slideshow instead.  There were at least 30 people standing on the platform watching him and people were totally cheering him on.  It was pretty fun!



There were a couple of tidepool type areas, but this one was my favorite.  I thought it was really pretty.



Infact, I liked one of the pics so much, I had to "play" with it:



There was also a picture that I really liked of Cadi that I had to play with, too:



And finally, the REAL wild animals at the zoo!



Believe it or not, there were even more pictures and if you're interested, you can check them out here.

Inspirational Thought

I read this quote today and loved it, so I'm stealing it to share here, too:

"We are all self-reliant in some areas and dependent in others. Therefore, each of us should strive to help others in areas where we have strengths. At the same time, pride should not prevent us from graciously accepting the helping hand of another when we have a real need. To do so denies another person the opportunity to participate in a sanctifying experience."

Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance,” Ensign, Mar 2009, 61–65

Some thoughts for Memorial Day.

I love our country and I appreciate so much those who have fought for our rights and freedom.  It is because of their sacrifice that we live in comfort and peace today.  Today is a day to remember those sacrifices and to say "Thank you!" to the men, women, and families who gave all they had, for us.

(The following pictures were taken by my MIL when they took Acadia to Washington DC last summer.)

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.  ~Benjamin Disraeli

All we have of freedom, all we use or know -This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue, 1899

On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation!  ~Thomas William Parsons

The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men.
~Minot J. Savage

 However you choose to spend your day today,  

Remember

the reason why.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

Fun in the Sun

We never really planned anything super exciting for this weekend.  This morning, we got up and did some work around the house.  Then, in the afternoon, we hopped on our bikes and went for a ride.  We rode about 4 miles and stopped at a park near our house to play for awhile.  It was just a lot of fun and very relaxing.  Here are a few of the pics we took:



When we got back from playing, our neighbors invited us over for BBQ.  It was great to just sit and visit with them.  I love having neighbors who are friends and people we're comfortable just "being" with. :) 

We still don't have plans for Monday, perhaps it will be much of the same?  I wouldn't complain. :)

The Elusive "5 Stars" From Cadi!

I can't remember where I got this recipe, it may have been from a friend - even one of you - so I'm sorry if it was and I'm not giving you credit. :S

Anyhow, we had this last night:

Speedy Layered Chicken Enchilada Pie

1 package (11.5 oz) Old El Paso® flour tortillas for burritos (8 tortillas)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup uncooked instant rice
2 cups shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
1 can (15 oz) Progresso® black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso® hot enchilada sauce
1 cup Green Giant® frozen shoepeg white corn, thawed
1 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
Reduced-fat sour cream, if desired
Chopped green onions, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch round (2-quart) glass baking dish or casserole with cooking spray. Cut 5 of the tortillas in half. Cut remaining tortillas into 2 1/2-inch­wide strips.

2. In large bowl, mix chicken, rice, 1 cup of the cheese, the beans and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce.

3. Layer 4 tortilla halves in bottom of baking dish. Top with 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and half of the chicken mixture. Top with 2 tortilla halves; fill in empty spaces with 3 tortilla strips. Spoon corn over tortillas. Spread salsa over corn. Layer with 2 tortilla halves and 3 strips. Top with remaining half of chicken mixture. Continue layering with remaining 2 tortilla halves and strips, enchilada sauce, cheese and 2 tablespoons green onions.

4. Bake uncovered 35 to 45 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated and cheese is melted. Cool 5 minutes. Top with sour cream and chopped green onions.

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I made a few changes. I didn't need as many tortillas and I used regular corn. I don't remember which brands I used, probably not the ones specified. But other than that, I followed the recipe. Usually I would use regular rice, not Minute Rice but it just so happens we had some in the house (a friend left it with us when they moved) so I did use it. If I had used regular rice, I would have cooked it first.

This was kind of spicy so I was sure Cadi would hate it. SHE GAVE IT 5 STARS!!! If you don't like "spicy" you can easily make this with "mild" enchilada sauce and "mild" salsa. But my picky, non-spicy eater loved it, so you might, too. :)