Yummy Fish?..WHAT?!!!

So I made the greatest recipe over the weekend! We all loved it! The only fish we really eat is Tilapia. It is super mild tasting and my house doesn't smell like fish after I cook it!!! Very important!!! The kids love it and it is really healthy. So usually I make it with bread crumbs and just cook it on the stove. Good, but not gourmet or anything! Then I found this recipe and it was so pretty when it was done and so good. Jason said that we should just sit and look at it for a minute because he didn't want to mess it up! Ha! Well, I am a good cook...but not usually a pretty cook so I was happy! Best of all, it was super easy and didn't take very long at all! So here is the recipe...

Mediterranean Tilapia
4 tilapia loins
1 sliced onion (sliced 1/4" thick)
2 Medium Tomatoes (sliced 1/4" thick)
4 Tbsp fresh chopped basil or 2 Tbsp dry basil
8 cloves chopped garlic (I didn't use that much)
4 Tbsp olive oil (I didn't use this)
12 Calamata olives, chopped (I didn't use these either!)

1. Defrost tilapia loins. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Peel and slice onions. Saute with olive oil (I used my cooking spray) in pan over medium heat 2-3 minutes each side or until onions are translucent.
3. Place loins over onion slices in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle olives, garlic and basil over fish. Place tomato slices on top and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Place pan with fish in center of oven, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until fish is opaque. (Took me about 20 minutes)
5. Enjoy!

Such a fun day!

Today was a great day! Jason has been out of town for a week and we are very happy to have him home! The weather is perfect, so we rode our bikes with the girls to a park about 5 miles away. Taylor was a champ! No wrecks and no complaining! (the other two girls were in the bike trailer!) We met our friends at the park and played sand volleyball for a couple of hours. While we played volleyball, the kids played with their friends and all the kids shared today and got along great! That made it even better for us! Then we rode to get Icees! Yum! That was a little out of the way, so the ride home was 6 miles! The slushies helped us get through! Gotta love em! We got great sun, great exercise and great time as a family! I love days like today! I am sure we will all sleep well tonight! Happy Spring Break~

Spring Break Sleepover!

Bring on the girl party!!! Friday night Taylor had a cousins sleepover and our official kick off party for Spring Break! The kids rode bikes and sang Sing Star at the top of their lungs! Then we had dinner, popcorn, brownie sundaes and Beverly Hills Chihuahua! It was a lot of fun!

Taylor Haircut

Taylor has been begging me to get her hair cut short for so long! She has the most AMAZING hair, so I have told her no soooo many times! (How mean of me I know!!) But...I am living vicariously through her beautiful hair! On Saturday, Hayli came over and gave her an amazing haircut!! We compromised on just "kind of short". Rylee also got her hair cut just a teeny bit! She is trying to grow it out! Thanks Hayli! You did a beautiful job!

Leprechaun Trap

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We finished off our busy day the St. Patrick's way! While Daddy is away, I had to help build a totally Daddy contraption...a Leprechaun Trap! I was not overwhelmed until I looked at some online that were all decked out and over the top! Panic!!! :) So, Taylor and I decided on a tall box with a ladder. The leprechaun climbs the ladder, reaches for the hanging penny, (gold) and falls into the box where he is trapped! Ha! The inside of the box is complete with an Irish Flag (handmade by Taylor), pennies, soft mats on the floor for comfort, and a bathtub and shower for the oh so clean feeling! Taylor and I were pretty proud of ourselves for pulling this off, especially after procrastinating on it all week! Last night, a leprechaun must have come by and seen the trap because he left Taylor a Hershey's Kiss inside the bathtub! He must have liked the living quarters that Taylor made! Good job Taylor!

Our Little Chef

Last night Rylee's teacher sent her home with the "Little Chef" backpack. Each night during March, it is sent home with a different child. It is filled with a chef hat, apron, some papers for them to make up their own recipe and a Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix Box! Yum! :) lol So last night, Rylee got decked out and made the muffins herself! Good job Rylee!! You are quite the little chef!

Rockin' R Ranch

Yesterday Taylor's 2nd grade class went on a field trip to Rockin' R Ranch. I was able to chaperone and it was a lot of fun. They got to see a singing and dancing show, go on a wagon ride, pan for gold, practice trick roping and see a dead rattlesnake in a little museum. It was fun to spend the morning with her! I was in charge of keeping my eye on Taylor and one other girl. We were all told to bring water bottles along with us. Well, this little friend of Taylor's was super prepared and pulls out this BIG bottle of Diet Coke! I was laughing so hard! All day when they needed a drink I heard, "Mrs. Armstrong...can I have my Diet Coke?" So, we're starting em' young! Ha, ha! Needless to say, she was in a great mood all day!

Funny Morgan :)

We just love our Morgie! She is so funny all the time! Last night at dinner I told her that she needed to eat her food. She said, "I don't want my food LADY! I want your food! " Then she said, "I was just joking! I am funny!" Well my little Morgan...I agree...you are hilarious! I love you!

Finally!

So after having a great lazy week and weekend snuggling up with my sick kids, and then getting sick myself, we finally got back to semi-normal today! :) Today was a great day for me. Days are always great when they start with sand volleyball! I am loving that I have great Arizona friends who love to play volleyball and have killer workouts at the park and did I mention, who love to play volleyball?!!! So after a couple of games in the sand...(very interrupted by kids who didn't want to share today), it was off to do other things. But the real reason this day was so good is because I finally felt like I was able to give back to some people a little. I feel like I have been on the receiving end of service soooooo much lately! I have so many people in Utah and in Arizona who have been helping me sooo much! Between moves, job changes, mood changes and sick kids, I have received much more than I deserve and it was about time to give back! Today had nothing to do with me and it felt great! I am so happy to be in a position on some days to be able to share and do and give to others. That is when I feel the best! I have been so blessed in my life to always be surrounded by people who love and care for me. I could not have asked for more from today!