Boosie's Blog

Here are some photos from my mom’s visit so far.

Last night, I made Taco Pie for my mom and I (my hubby was working very late so he didn’t eat with us).  I really love this recipe.  It is something my mom has been making since I was a little girl and it has always been my favourite.  I often made it for pot luck at work and it was a huge hit. I have decided to share the recipe here.

1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup of Miracle Whip
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1-2 medium tomatoes (I don’t add this but you can, I’m not a tomato fan)

Heat oven to 375 degrees
Grease square baking dish 8x8x2 inches
Cook and stir ground beef until brown, drain
Mix sour cream, mayo, cheese and onion ; reserve
Mix Bisquick and water until soft dough forms
Put the dough in a pan pressing dough 1/2 up the sides. It will be quite thin but will thicken as it cooks.
Layer beef, tomatoes, and green pepper in pan, spoon sour cream mixture over top
Put another layer of cheese on the top
Bake until edge of dough is a light brown (approx 25-30 minutes)
Let cool a little and serve.

Following on the heels of our vacation, my mother flew in for a 2-week visit.  I haven’t uploaded any of the photos we have so far but I’ll post some when I do.

My mom flew in to New York and we drove down to get her, it is half the cost for her to fly into Buffalo than to fly into Toronto and it’s only a 2 hour drive.  It also has the added benefit that we can go shopping in the states which is always fun.  My first stop was to Joann’s.  We don’t have one here and I just love their selections of fabric, yarn and buttons.  I ended up spending $200 in that store alone!  I used my birthday money and I am sooo happy.

Some of the yarn I purchased

The two blue yarns are for a blanket that I am making for myself.

My fabric purchases

Why can't I get nice buttons like these in Toronto??

I bought various other things at Target and I couldn’t resist hitting up the grocery store to grab (several packages) corn tortillas and Mexicorn, both are unattainable here in Toronto and my tummy absolutely MUST consume these items regularly.  Yes, I did buy half a case of Mexicorn and will buy more when we take my mom back, is that weird?  Yes?  Oh… well then forget I told you that.  HAHA.  We don’t go to the states often though so I have to stock up when we go.

I’ll try to upload the photos from our adventures at the park in a few days.

Wow, it has been a month since I last posted.  I’m sorry.

We went on vacation for 10 days up at the lake.  Here are some of my favourite photos.

Paige wanted in the photo with Brady and John. Isn't her expression hilarious yet adorable?

My husband and his father went with some friends on a 3-day ATV adventure.

My husband getting ready to leave

My father-in-law about to leave

With the guys gone, a big water fight ensued.

My favourite photo from our vacation

They guys came back and Paige had to try on their helmets

Paige and Brady with their Papa

There was a Wild West event at the fairgrounds.  We rode a horse-drawn wagon to the fairgrounds.

The wagon ride was just too much for Brady

Paige and Brady enjoyed the small petting zoo that was set up.

Paige absolutely LOVES riding ponies.

My husband tried his hand at a little archery

My beautiful sisters showing off their new hats

A tuckered out little cowgirl.

Yesterday was my nephew, Brady’s first birthday.  Paige and I were invited to join him for a trip to the zoo.  We had a really great time.  I’m not going to post photos of the animals because we’ve all seen them before.  I will, however, post some of my favourite photos of the kiddos.

Brady absolutely adores Paige.  Unfortunately, the feeling is not mutual right now.  He often pulls her hair and she doesn’t like anyone touching her hair, let alone pulling it.  She was very good with Brady at the zoo though.

The birthday boy was in a great mood.  He and Paige were in great spirits the entire day.  Even though they both missed their naps, they were absolute angels the entire time.

Those things behind Paige at the bottom of the picture are African Cheetahs.  She really liked the “big kitties”.  She especially liked that they were so close to her.  It was a really warm day so most of the animals were seeking shelter in their dens.

We took a break in the shade for a little bit and were rewarded with amazing smiles like this from both the kids. Can you tell they were enjoying themselves?

Her arm looks funny in this photo but she was digging for ice cubes from my cup to help cool her down.  You don’t really see it much in this photo but she was quite flushed for the majority of the day so I did my best to keep her hydrated and we took breaks often to help cool the kids down.  Next time, I’ll bring a cooler with some wet cloths and ice packs to wipe them down with.

Paige decided she wanted to pull the wagon that we rented instead of sitting in it.  She was very insistent that I was not allowed to help.  I’m impressed with how well she did.  The wagon wasn’t light and we were walking up hill.  She did fantastic though and really enjoyed herself.  Don’t you think she looks sooo grown up in this photo?  She sure doesn’t look like she’s only 2½, does she?

We came across some teepees in the Americas section of the zoo.  Paige immediately ran to it and then proceeded to run in and out of the thing over and over again.  I had a very hard time dragging her away from her fun.

Paige went on her very first pony ride.  (She also went on the carousel but I didn’t take any pictures, sorry)  She was soooo excited and absolutely LOVED being on the pony.  She has a naturally great seat and it truly amazed me.  My husband was really sad that he missed it and is wanting to take her again to see for himself.

When it came time to get off the pony she crossed her arms and huffed.  She did NOT want to get off.  She would have happily ridden the pony all day.  She had no fear at all and kept leaning down to pat the pony during the walk to say “Good horsie.  Nice horsie.  Thank you, horsie.”  She didn’t lose her balance in the slightest, even when leaning down.  I was very impressed.

Soon she found a wigwam and proceeded to do the same running in and out that she did at the teepee.  She was having a blast.  Every time she came to the entrance she would put her hands on the bar (as shown) and say “Watch your head!”  It was very cute.

She asked me to take her picture but she kept looking down or away and saying “cheese”.  Then, as soon as she said cheese, she would run to me to see the picture that she didn’t give me a chance to take.  LOL.  It took a while to get a couple photos that weren’t blurry from her moving.

We closed our zoo adventures at the splash pad that they have.  It was a perfect way to cool down the kids, and us!  This photo is of Paige, Brady and Amanda.

Paige was VERY nervous about going in the water.  She has never liked spraying water and usually runs away.  It took her quite a while to warm up to it but eventually she was running through like crazy but still a bit tentatively.

I believe she was watching Brady flirt with all the older girls.  It was really cute to watch.

Here is Brady flirting with a couple girls that came over to gush all over him and he KNEW it!  They told Amanda how cute they thought he was.  They kept coming back to see him and he enjoyed every moment of it.

Hehe, yep, he is still flirting.  He had scores of girls to flirt with but these two little girls were probably his favourite.

Isn’t he a doll?

As you can see, we ALL had a really great time.  It was full of laughter, smiles, ohhs and ahhs.  We couldn’t have asked for more.