A plea from the kitchen!!

Now that summer has arrived and business has slowed, I find myself preparing more meals for my family! Mike has been a great sport but I swear, if my children roll their eyes and say "blech!" one more time at the dinner table!! I will pull everyone of my hairs out of my head with tweezers!! I realize this is my fault, as a working mom my children have become acostom to their father's cooking these last 4 years. But really, a person can only have bean burritos and rice so many times!! Chicken nuggets, cheese burgers and pizza?!! Gag me with a spoon!! (I 'm dating myself ;) I used to think of myself as a decent cook, but lately my gourmet ego is in a shambles!

I have been torturing my family recently by trying new recipes to liven up dinner. So far I have had mediocre reaction. Martha Stewart is failing miserably here!! The only recipes that the kids will injest so far have been from my friend's kitchens.

So to all of my friends I am asking you sincerely for your help, not as a chain letter and all that other hooo ha! Real help. Will you please share a recipe with me that is a hit when you make it?? A hit with kids would be great, but a hit all around would be best! We all have one. I am even willing to share my secret Cranberry Apple Salad Recipe with you or any other that I keep in my vault. Pretty please!!

Celebrate Good Times come on!

Well happy Independence Day everyone. We'd like to report a successful celebration for 2008! We got up early enough to make it to the Boulder City parade. It is a very political parade I must say. So one can get loaded with political paraphernalia. But at least there is usually candy involved.We were lucky enough to join the Tobler family in their sweet spot on the parade route, sans our Tobler family (on vacation in Idaho). We figured their group was short a few family members so we moved in on the vacancy. It turned out to be just right! There was a cool breeze, we had some shade and parade action. Raegan wanted to be closer to the street for candy collection so she had a "cute little girl" set up that worked magnificently. She looked so endearing candy was hand delivered to her in large quantities while other children had to beg and scramble in the street.The parade is divided up into non-water entries and water entries. Meaning "WATER FIGHT"! And boy do the Toblers know how to water fight! They come prepared with an arsenal of water and water shooters. We brought an umbrella due to past experiences with enormous water trucks and such. Mike was "sharing" a shooter with Raegan for about a minute and she jumped into the action with the "big guys" like a real trooper. Zach was inclined to protect those of us who weren't all that excited about getting soaked. And SOAKED is exactly what Rae was and she was proud of it! After the parade we retreated to the coolness of home and basically vegged and napped. Then we were invited to our buddies home, Kathy and Tom Ely. They live down the street from us and have the largest back yard on the block with a pool. The water was perfect and the crowd developed into a full blow party and barbecue. After food festivities we made our way to the Veterans Memorial Park, and managed to score our usual cool spot, where the fireworks are all but in your face. We love it that way.
We topped the night of with firecrackers in front of our house. We live on the 4th of July Party Street, I tell ya! Our neighbors on either side of us had gobs of safe and sane works. Mike was having firework envy. Another of our favorite families joined us for all of the firework fun, the Cox's.

We are so blessed to live in a country where we are free. I am grateful for the church and mostly for its members who are such great friends and family members.

Talkin' bout a "Heat Waaave"

As the summer heat rolls around, business slows as does the fun.. It's just too stinking hot in Vegas to do anything but find a puddle of water to sit in and and try not to get sunburned. Because business is so slow our budget tightens. It makes for a difficult summer, with all the time in the world and no money to do anything. One has to get creative to keep the family entertained. Here are two low cost things we have found to be fun so far...
Black Mountain Aquatics Center in Henderson. This is by far the kid's favorite thing to do, they have a big kids slide and a little kid's playground. You can bring in your own lunch and refreshments and the entrance fee is a mere few bucks if you buy a pass.

Boulder City Library. This year we have discovered the convenience of the Library and it's movie selection. If you get yourself an online pin you can request just about any movie you can think of and no matter the location of the DVD they will send it to your local library for... guess?? FREE baby! We have been going back in time renting entire seasons of The Munsters, The Addams Family, Bewitched and I couldn't believe my kids actually enjoyed the Partridge Family. They also have an extensive Disney Classics collection, we've recently seen the Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Gnome Mobile and the Cat Outer Space. Our online book bag is full of other fun titles, just be careful not to request too much at once or you'll have 17 movies to get through in a week!

So, what does your family do for everyday summer entertainment?? Suggestions please!

"The Greatest Show on Earth"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls... welcome to

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth!"
What a weekend! Mike's bestest friend in the whole wide world (aka Rick)was in town! The Shumway's came to Las Vegas for a get away. How nice it was to see Mike enjoying the company of his "Old Bro". Zach and Rae had such a good time hangin with the Shum Kids, they really fit in with each other. I was workin unfortunatly and didn't get to hang as much, but what little time I was able to visit was nice. It may have been nicer if we could have met up at the beach or something, Vegas is really not much of a family get away. Thank goodness the Circus was in town. Everyone really enjoyed it I think. The elephants, the horses, acrobats, daredevils and those kooky clowns are always a hoot. The only downfall was the price of refreshments, and you think Disneyland is bad, ever paid $12.00 for cotton candy?? Okay so it came with a paper hat, but really??All in all it was fun fun fun! And so good to see my blogger buddy Jeanette! Wish we'd have had more time... Come again soon..

CrabTobHux Camping 08

Last year we were invited to be a part of a new tradition of camping out the first weekend after school is over with the Huxford and Tobler families in beautiful Eagle Valley, NV at the Horsethief Gulch campground. We Crabtree's have never considered ourselves to be the camping types. But we survived the first year due to the camping preparedness of the Tob's and Hux's. This year we actually had our own tent and large ice chest. Wooo hooo! Zachary and Raegan had a blast the first time and insisted we join the fun again this year. Because of my wacky schedule and prior commitments we didn't think we would make it. But circumstances changed and bumbled around and the weekend freed up. I suppose you could say we were meant to go.

We arrived Friday afternoon and set up camp. The Huxford's hitched up a trailer and so graciously added our gear to theirs, as the old Taurus could in no way handle the load we needed to make it through the weekend. So the kids biked around the campground and the lake and hiked up and down the valley we were in. The Tobler's walkie talkies were not only great for safety but also fun for adventurous imagination games. We ended the night with a dinner of burgers and dogs, an awesome dutch oven cobbler, campfire songs by Bill, Claire, Rachelle and Andy (heard by the entire campground) and not to mention roasted marshmallows.Saturday was spent biking, fishing, hiking, playing board games, relaxing with a book and kayaking. We ate like camping royalty, thanks to the talents of Rachelle and Amy. They planned some amazing feasts, Mike said he had never eaten so much food on a camping trip in his lifetime. I am so spoiled now I'm not so sure I would ever be able to camp without them.On our last day, there were final attempts to catch fish. The Huxford's scored big all except for Bleu who only caught a dirty sock. But hey, socks are harder to catch than fish, right?? Even with great looking casts and biting bait, we managed to only catch lake weeds :-( Maybe next time. Raegan did catch a ladybug and she didn't even need a pole! On our way home we stopped at Cathedral Gorge to take a group picture and explore the caves and crevases and climb the crags. Its a very unique place and the kids love it.We want to extend a heartfelt thank you and much appreciation to our good friends who are more like family, the Huxfords and the Toblers, for all of their help, understanding and support on the camping trip. We love you guys!!

So I have been thinking...

Thinking of many things and seeking opinion as well. I do enjoy blogging, but call me paranoid if you must, I'm afraid to go public with my kiddies pictures and information online. I think it stems mostly from all the strange people I come in contact with in my profession as well as my easy access phone number, web site, etc. I did have a weirdo crank calling me and texting me in the past. He turned out to be a scrawny little creep I'd worked with on a photo shoot. It thoroughly freaked me out and to this day the thought of him not only makes my skin crawl, but also angers me, because he frightened me. So I was considering starting a separate public blog. But I don't find my life as interesting without my kids. Just a ponder I suppose...

And another thought.. Due to our recent "life up in the air" situation regarding Mike's career, I have been drumming up ideas for additional income I can make from home, just in case I end up a part time single parent. There are two that seem plausible.

Idea #1 Dog Groomer-Okay, despite the so called recession, our greedy nation has not stopped purchasing puppies nor have they stopped getting their dogs groomed. I have this grandiose idea of learning the trade and converting my garage into a puppy parlor... mmm yeah, I know! Then there is the realistic thought of just working at it part-time while the kids are in school. The need for groomers seems to be great, but of course everyone wants experience. Ideally I would be a hairdresser but that takes lotsa money and over a year of school, blech! I have neither the time nor the money, so doggies it is.. But the question here is... how much do I really love doggies.... and their messes???????

Idea #2 Wig Designer- Hey at least they don't complain. I am fully capable but need some minor guidance. I have an industry friend that is a wig master and he came up with the idea of an online wig rental store. It's all very complicated but very doable. I could do hair in my home and ruin a corner of my house with hairspray.

I GOT IT!!! I could be a Dog Wig Designer!!! I dunno... just thinking I guess...

A Child of God

So I'm a bit behind on the blogging. Raegan was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints on May 17th. What a wonderful weekend we had. Mike's family gathered together for Rae's special occasion. It was the first time all nieces/nephews/grandchildren/cousins were all together from the Crabtree side of things. Zach and Rae were the official weekend photographers, so we have numerous cousin pics and I am actually in a few shots for once.Zachary, Tyler, Raegan, Siena, Grandma Suzan, Seth and Joel (and my dirty kitchen)(above) Tyler, Zach and Joel (below) Auntie Mary and SienaIt really was a special weekend. What a wonderful experience is was not only to see the power of the priesthood in our family but to actually have family members there to support Raegan in her decision to be baptized. I truly believe Heavenly Father knows what a wonderful spirit daughter she is.