Fall Snack Mix

MMMM.. I've discovered a really yummy new snack mix for fall!! Here's the recipe!

Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch

1/4 c. Brown Sugar

1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 c. Butter

2 T Vanilla

2 c. Cinnamon Chex

2 c. Wheat Chex

2 c. Honey Nut Chex

8 oz Pecans

1. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar & pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In small microwavable dish, microwave butter on high about 30 sec or until melted. Stir in Vanilla. In large microwavable bowl, mix all 3 cereals and pecans. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly distributed. Add sugar and spice mixture and stir until coated.

2. Microwave uncovered 5 minutes or until mixture begins to brown, stirring every minute. Spread on wax paper or a cookie sheet to cool.

Pizza Casserole Recipe

I made the Pizza Casserole Recipe last night and it is really good!! So, I thought I would share it :)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cans (8 ounces each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch
• oven, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer
• pink; drain. Stir in the mushrooms, tomato sauce, pizza sauce,
• tomato paste, sugar and seasonings. Drain pasta; stir into meat
• sauce.
• 
  
• Divide half of the mixture between two greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking
• dishes; sprinkle each with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers.
• Top each with pepperoni and Parmesan cheese.
• 
  
• Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15
  • minutes longer or until heated through.
  • Yield: 2 casseroles (8 servings each).

The fact that it makes 2 casseroles... I didn't catch until I was already making it. So, we'll see how it is frozen! :) Ha

Summer Coming to an End...

This summer has seemed to come and in the blink of an eye!!

We have been so busy, but also have had a lot of fun! We've been going to lots of weddings and on other trips! Last weekend was our friends, Brian & Aimee's Wedding in Dubuque. It was a long, expensive weekend away from home, but was also a lot of fun.

This weekend, Landan, me, Lane, Angela & Troy, are heading to Wisconsin to visit Lane & Landan's Aunt Karen & Denise! We are looking forward to the trip!!

My babysitting is also coming to an end. This is my last week, other than a few random hours next week. We're definetly had good time and bad this summer, but overall had a good time together! Here are a couple of pictures from our Zoo trip a couple of weeks ago.

I've also started another new journey! I'm now selling Premier Designs Jewelry! My sister-in-law, Angela, started selling it, which is what got me interested! I love all of my new Jewelry and i'm really excited to start my shows and earning some extra money!! Get in contact with me if you're interested in having a show or ordering some new jewelry!!

I'll upload some more pictures from our summer later when I get them onto my computer!

4th of July Weekend

I had a great 4th of July weekend!! Mostly because my best friend, Makenzie, came to stay with me!! She arrived on Friday night and we talked until like 1am! Then Saturday we rode horses and did the farm thing! Saturday night was our good friend, Allison's wedding! It was sooo good to see everyone!! Here are some pictures from the wedding.

Makenzie and I leaving for the wedding!

A nice little hole in the wall we stopped at before the Reception.

The Bride, Allison, and I!

My Friends :)

Makenzie, Me, Anna, Lindsay, Lindsey, Reilly, Stacy.

Summer Babysitting

My Summer Babysitting is going well. This is Kendall. She just turned 6 and will be in 1st Grade next year. She's kinda like a little me. Ha. We have a lot of fun together, and she follows me around most of the day. Landan has always said that I ask a lot of questions.. well i've met my match with Kendall. She asks SO many questions! Sometime I just laugh because they are so unanswerable! :) It's kinda funny how much we're alike.

This is how Kendall woke up and walked downstairs to me on Monday!!! Her mom had said before she left that Kendall had gotten a bug bite above her eye and that it was kinda swollen and to let her know if it seemed worse. I texted her this picture, and we took Kendall to the doctor that afternoon. It's much better now!

Kendall also has a brother, Nathan. He is 8 and will be in 3rd Grade next year. We don't get along quite so well, because he hates to read.. and we read everyday! His mom really wants him to be reading and improving this summer and he's not a fan of it! I'm the one to gets to be whined and cried at about it everyday! We're working on making it more fun :) I don't have a picture of Nathan.

Interviews

So, yesterday morning at 8:30 I had my very first teaching interview! It was for a 4th Grade position at Carlisle. I was a little nervous but felt at peace and confident going into it. First, I talked to a group of 4th Grade teacher (many of Angela's friends). I felt that like went well. We got done like 15 minutes early, so just talked and stuff for the rest of the time. Then I went in a talked with the two Principals. They were very nice and relaxed and I felt that I was able to answer their questions well. Next I sat down with the Human Relations Director and she told me about Salary and Benefits and also gave me a tour of the building. I was done by 10:00. I felt good after the interview, I didn't feel that there was anything I could have done better.

At 3:30 yesterday afternoon, the Principal called me back already!!! He sounded very tired and like it had been a long day. He thanked me for coming in for the interview and said he had a very good time chatting with me but that they had an excellent pool of candidates that day. He said they they had offered the job to someone else, but if he could have he would have hired 5 out of the 6 they had interviewed.

BUT, he next told me that they would really like me to come in next Tuesday for the 1st Grade Interviews. He asked if I would like to do that and of course I said I did!! So, I now have interview #2 next Tuesday morning at 9:30 am.

I feel like God is really working in this situation, because in all reality, 1st grade would be my dream job! They grade I have always wanted to teach! I'm really looking forward to Tuesday and praying that this is where he will want me to be!

SUMMER!!! :)

I got an interview!!!!!!

A week and a half ago, I applied for a 4^th grade position at Carlisle (20 min away). My sister-in-law, Angela, just quit teaching 4^th grade at Carlisle after this year to be a stay at home mom. So, I pretty much applied for her job! She was awesome, and put in a good word for me, and I was able to talk with the principal for a few minutes when I turned in my application. The principal told one of my references that I was the only one that brought my application in and met him and that he was impressed with that! J Landan of course thinks it’s a no-brainer that I should get the job.. why wouldn’t they hire me, they wouldn’t have to change the name! Ha. Of course he would say that! My interview is next Tuesday the 15^th at 8:30am. Pray for me!!

Summer is by far my favorite time of year!! I’m so glad it’s here!! Last night I headed to Bondurant to my summer babysitting family, The Anderson’s house for dinner and to talk about the summer. Nathan is going into 3^rd grade and Kendall is going into 1^st grade. They’re a very active family and want me to take the kids places and just go whatever! They’re also a little concerned with Nathan’s reading and want me to work with him and do school work with them both daily. Kendall is just starting to read, so it will be a lot of fun to work with her too. Nathan is very negative about having to read each day, so I’m going to work hard at trying to get him excited about reading! I’m really looking forward to this summer!! I start Thursday. J

Landan also has a friend that has a boat! I looove boating!! We went out last Monday, on Memorial Day and it was a lot of fun! Landan was flipping and getting all the way around so he was back on top of the tub! His arms were sore for several days after that J.

Another big event that has happened lately is that Katie Graduated… and WON State Golf!! She graduated from High School and was very excited to be finished! Then the next week competed in the State Golf Meet! She was down 2 strokes with an 82 after day one. Day 2, she played with the 3 other players in the lead. They all played really well and were really close all the way! She ended up winning by 1 stroke!! 2 of the other girls tied for 2^nd, 1 stroke down for her! It was a battle all day, but she was friends with one of the girls and they all had fun together! We’re so proud of her!! J

Here are some other pictures from this summer so far.

This is Kash. I've babysat him, his twin brother Brody & sister Gracee a couple times lately. They're the sweetest kids!

We had a little bon fire night! :)