Lisa: Summer Parties!!

I hope everyone had a terrific Father's Day! We had a lovely day here saying thanks to our Papa!!  We went around the dinner table and each of the kids said things that they loved about their dad.  It was very touching and sweet!

On to a new week!  With the first day of summer coming up this week, we thought our theme this week should be Parties!  Around here, summer means a lot of outdoor parties and get togethers.  I have a birthday party, water party, field day, end of school party, family get togethers and neighborhood parties all coming up within the next month!  So much fun!  In the past, we have done a lot of fun games and activities at our parties but I thought I'd show you some ideas from around the web that are going to be incorporated into our parties this coming month!!

Birthday Party: This site has an awesome idea for a Messy Boys' Party.  They are going to go crazy with this!!  Shaving cream, water balloons, cold spaghetti, water guns, finger jello!!  Awesomeness!


Water Party:  At the end of the school year, my daughter's whole grade goes to a local party and has a water party.  These games will be perfect for them!  Freeze-Water Tag, Beach Towel Toss, and more!!


Field Day:  What better way for kids to end their school year and kick off summer than with a field day!! Here's a site with a lot of fun games that are perfect for a field day!


End of School Party:  Mostly the kids just want to hang out with their friends and have pizza for their end of school party but it is always good to have some activities!!  Here's a couple I've found that I want to give a try!!
Lawn Twister


Noodle Darts

Family Get Togethers:  At our last family get together(on my husband's side, sorry sisters!!), we had a "Minute To Win It" Party.  It was a huge hit!!  There was much laughter and fun had by all!!  Here's a site with a few of the games but the games can be found all over the web!!  These would be great for teenager parties, as well!

Neighborhood Party:  For our neighborhood parties, we usually just invite people over to have a good dinner and a lot of get-to-know-you talk!  This tablescape looks perfect for that!



But this is what I ususally end up with!!  (And yes, I know this is from a tv show but mismatched chairs, a sheet for a table cloth, and random plates, cups and bowls.  That is my sort of tablescape, unfortunately!!)


There you have it, our summer party ideas!!  Have any ideas you'd like to share??  I'm always looking for new ideas!!  On to you, Allison!!

Lisa

Sara: "Salsa de Mayo!"

Hello Hello Hello!

My name is Sara Jane and I am the fifth child/fourth daughter in the fam.  I, too, am very excited to get this blog going.  I have some amazing sisters and am excited to glean some new ideas from them.

A little about me…

I have been married for nearly 8 years.  My husband is the best and most gorgeous husband EVER (just had to get that out there).  I have three beautiful babies…P is my oldest daughter.  She is 4 (going on 18) and amazes me every day with things that she says and does.   I adore her.  A is my son.  He is 2 and just seems to have found his voice in our family.  Everything he says starts with, “Um, actually….”.  He keeps us on our toes.  B is my baby.  She is 13 months and the sweetest of all of them.  She definitely has all of us wrapped around her chubby little fingers.  We live in a small town in the beautiful state of Oregon and couldn't be more happy.

While I am definitely not the craftiest of my sisters (I do try…they just don’t turn out as they should all the time), I LOVE cooking/baking.  Because of my love of all things food, many of my posts will be about baking something sweet or trying out a new recipe.  I am all about cooking with whole foods and making food fun and tasty so that even my little ones will enjoy it. 

On that note, since our theme this week is Cinco de Mayo, I thought….SALSA!  I can’t seem to eat enough salsa.  The fresh flavors that fill your mouth when you take that first bite (okay, I’m starting to drool) are incomparable.  I thought I would share with you two of my favorite salsas.  They are easy and are always a hit.

Basic Pico de Galo

What you will need:

*3 tomatoes, diced

*1/2  onion, diced

*1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

*1 lime, juiced

Directions:

1.  Dice your tomatoes to small chunks.  The easiest way to do this is to make sure you have a SHARP knife.  For instructions on how to sharpen your knife, watch this.  Your knife should be sharp enough that it slices the skin of a tomato with little pressure.  I use a Chef’s knife to cut tomatoes. 

2.  Dice your onions and add them to the tomatoes.  You may want to add more or less depending on your love of onions.

3.  Coursely chop the cilantro and add it to the onion/tomato mixture.

4.  Add the freshly squeezed lime juice and salt to taste.

*The fabulous thing about pico de galo is that you can never mess it up.  If you add too much of one thing, simply add more of everything else to balance it out.  If you enjoy the heat of jalapeño’s,  finely chop up a bit of that and add it as well.  Remember to add it little by little. 

Tomatillo Salsa

This salsa has taken me 7 years to perfect.  The first time I had it was at a delicious (but now closed) restaurant in Provo, UT named Las Tarascas.  Before we moved, I begged the owner to give me the recipe.  He would only give me the ingredients and said the rest was up to me.  Over the years, I have added a few ingredients that weren't in the original recipe but I think this salsa is the best ever.  

What you will need:

*3 tomatillos, quartered (peal off the paper-like outside and rinse in cold water)

*1 avocado

*1/4 serrano pepper (if you like a little heat add more...if you don't like this, omit)

*1 Tablespoon garlic

*1 bunch cilantro, rinsed

*1 1/2 cup milk (maybe more depending on how thick/thin you like it)
*1/4 cup mayonnaise (I know...but just try it!)

*1/2 to 1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Combined all the ingredients in a blender until well blended (yes..it is that easy).  Salt to taste.  Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

*This recipe is ridiculously easy and ALWAYS good.  We eat it on all sorts of stuff.  It is similar to the salad dressing at Café Rio but not as tangy.

(My kids can't eat enough of the tomatillo salsa.  Yummmmm!)

There you have it.  I hope you all have a fabulous Cinco de Mayo.

Loves