My oldest son has taken a liking to photography and I couldn’t be happier! He has been taking a photography class and he has loved it. We visited an Italian Festival a couple of weeks ago and we let him loose with the camera. It wasn’t until this week that I looked at the pictures. He did a fantastic job. He snapped handcrafted goods, people and food. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the festival through his eyes.
This event only happens twice a year.
This week is one of those times.
FREE PARKING IS NOW AVAILABLE!
Recently featured on Good Morning America, Just Between Friends (JBF) Denver is hands-down the best children’s consignment sale in town—and it’s back again!
? Where: National Western Stock Show Complex
? When: Thursday through Sunday, April 7–10
This isn’t your average resale event. JBF Denver is a mega-sale packed with high-quality kids’ items—everything from clothing, shoes, and maternity wear to toys, books, puzzles, games, baby gear, furniture, and even outdoor play structures. It’s like treasure hunting… but better, because the deals are amazing.
Want early access to the good stuff? Volunteer! Helpers get presale passes and first dibs on the best finds. Trust me—totally worth it.
All items are carefully inspected, so you won’t be digging through junk. This is a great chance to stock up without breaking the bank. Sales like this only happen twice a year, so mark your calendar!
?? Pro Tip: Bring a laundry basket or rolling cart—you’ll thank yourself.
My boys definitely do not take after me, they LOVE math, love it. They do times tables for fun! Crazy, I know. Since they do love it so much I have been trying to come up with some math games to help satisfy their appetite for math. I have a 3rd grader, 1st grader, preschooler and my nephew who is in K. I wanted some math games that they could all play together.
I came up with a couple of different ones and they seem to enjoy them. I used Jenga blocks to write numbers on them, my kids play Memory with them and we use them to solve math problems too.
My oldest loves to use a calculator to figure out some super long ones Daddy puts on paper for fun. I decided to make some printables for him to have to play some more math games on.
You can download it here.
Money Math Games are a great way to get all the kids involved in a fun way and there are many things you can do like play store. Playing store allows them to learn all about buying, selling and giving change which helps them learn real-world money exchanging and how it works.
Pinterest is another great resource for all things math.
I am thrilled that my boys are so eager for Math, admittedly, it was my worst subject. But one great thing about teaching kids is that sometimes they can teach you and they have given me a new perspective on math.
Ooooooooo do I have say anything more? Yes? Well ok. These are to-die-for Smothered Chicken Burritos made with Green Chili from fresh roasted Hatch green chili’s. We usually eat bean burritos, the tradition passed down from my Mom. Recently, my Husband asked me to make chicken ones. No problem, sounded good to me, I used my usual recipe but switched out beans for chicken . Inside I slathered sour cream, pan fried chicken breast, and shredded cheese. Top with pork green chili and cheese, pop in the microwave for 1 minute.
Of course we just got bushels of fresh roasted chili, we are gung-ho with smothering everything in it. I made our family recipe for pork green chili with them.
If you pick some up – be sure to let them steam in the bag they come in for a couple of hours, the skin comes off like a glove. I peel, rinse, and store in freezer bags. I freeze about 4-5 in a bag, perfect amount for most recipes.
Green chili can add the extra flavor you crave on just about any of your favorite foods like cheeseburgers, burritos, chicken burritos, enchiladas, breakfast foods, eggs, potatoes… you name it!
Our favorite Hatch green chili and Pueblo green chili stand.
It is that time of year again! Every August we buy bushels of fresh roasted Hatch Green Chili’s and Pueblo Green Chili’s. Oh, and you can have fresh garlic added to your green chili batch when they roast it too! We freeze the chili’s for year around family favorites. We have countless family recipes that call for this wonderfully, delicious green chili. Anything from egg relish to my Grandma’s Chili, to my Mom’s famous Smothered Burritos and my green chili chicken burritos, we use it for possibly any meal of the day. It is amazing chopped, with garlic salt and slapped on your favorite sandwich.
The tradition of waiting for the perfect Fall Saturday afternoon and then finding our favorite Hatch Green Chili stand setting up their familiar yellow and white tent – the anticipation is palatable. Not only does it conjure up thoughts of delicious meals but I can’t help but think of the seasons and activities to come. Cooler weather with brisk air and blue skies, changing leaves, football Sundays, Fall Festivals, apple pies… then Christmas! We make sure and buy enough Hatch Green Chili to last us through next August… which it never does. The more we buy, the more we eat!
Check out my recipe page for recipes using roasted green chili’s.
Don’t miss out! Get Hatch green chili or your favorite type of green chili while it’s in season.
Want to know what to do when you bushels of roasted chilis?
1. The bushels are usually already assemble, let the roaster which kinds you want (Med, Mild, Hot, Mixed). You usually get a discount for buying more.
2. After they roast them, they tie them up in a plastic bags. Let those sit in the closed bag for at least 4 hours.
3. Have plenty of freezer bags on hand, I buy the sandwich sized ones. I put 6-8 chilis in each bag.
4. When you are ready peel the chilis, rinse and put them in the freezer bags. Do NOT put the skins down your drain, make sure you throw away in the trash. I used a strainer, under the faucet to peel and rinse the chilis.
5. When closing the bags make sure you get all the air out. Label your bags and throw them in the freezer.
One of my favorite blogs, one of the blogs that was a huge help early in my homeschool journey is 1+1+1=1. I was at her site recently and I came across a link-up that sounds fantastic.
Here is the description:
“Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember.
The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.”
I love this idea. Especially since I know this blog is basically my journal, something I can look back on in the years to come.
This week was our last week of Summer, we start school on Monday. We headed downtown for some family fun…
My youngest also turned four!
Here’s to a fantastically fun Summer, now on to School and my favorite Season of all Fall!
Homeschooling + Pinterest = endless ideas for everything! Last year Pinterest inspired me to take cute back to school pics. Two trends stuck so I went with both: 
I loved the ideas and went back this year only to find that the signs I used from last year are gone. I looked around and did not find much. I decided to open Publisher and make some! Can’t wait to use them when we start school.
Here is a sample back to school printable…
Help yourself to these printables:
One of my favorite blogs, one of the blogs that was a huge help early in my homeschool journey is 1+1+1=1. I was at her site this morning and I just came across a link-up that sounds fantastic.
Here is the description:
“Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember.
The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.”
I love this idea. Especially since I know this blog is basically my journal, something I can look back on in the years to come. Back in the day it was whipping out your photo album, for me now I can always look at old blog posts.
This week was my oldest sons 9th birthday.
The boys love the new schoolroom/living room setup. They have been using it like crazy.
We went to a theme restaurant with family
Breakfast birthday, Ice Cream on a Friday night, the brother pose
(the oldest knows how to hide the fact they are wrestling, the youngest -not so much)
What a fun week!
That was a glimpse into our week and for me, some of the best moments to remember wrapped up into 1.
Thank you Carisa and Jolanthe for all the inspiration you provide!
Related: Moments to Remember
It is that time of year! Time to gear up and get ready to start school again. We are starting on August 27th and I have a to-do a mile long. The first thing I had to do was set up my new schoolroom. I got the best birthday present ever, IKEA furniture (thanks to my Mom and Sis). I took everything out of drawers, off of shelves and start over from scratch. Now all my pens are in one place, same with scissors, and crayons and pencils, you get the picture.
One of my favorite blogs, one of the blogs that was a huge help early in my homeschool journey is 1+1+1=1. I was at her site this morning and I just came across a link-up that sounds fantastic.
Here is the description:
“Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember.
The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.”
I love this idea. Especially since I know this blog is basically my journal, something I can look back on in the years to come. This is my first Moments to Remember post. These really are moments of a wonderful week with my kids and nephew.
We took a trip to Downtown Denver!
We ate hot dogs, played at playgrounds and went to the “big” library.
Reading is fun, we love the library, especially the main Downtown Denver branch.
Enjoying delicious hot dogs downtown
My almost 4 year took this pic of me at the playground. He had come and sat with me to draw while I worked on our calendar. He was so talkative and sweet, it was a precious moment. To the right – reading his Marvel Hero Magazine on the tramp. I found him out there all by himself, it was sweet. And yes, he is in his underwear and they are on backwards 🙂
That was a glimpse into our week and for me, some of the best moments wrapped up into 1.
Thank you Carisa for all the inspiration you provide!
Related: Moments to Remember Link-up