Birthday, carnivals and soup

Maybe it was a little ambitious to say I'll post every week. But we'll keep trying.

Last Sunday was Hailey's 14th birthday. 14. It sounds a lot older than 13, don't you think? I would post some pics of her b-day breakfast of german pancakes, but she had curlers in her hair. You'll have to trust me that she got some cool stuff. Why were curlers in her hair? Because she got the awesome opportunity of speaking in church on her birthday. In her words "Worst birthday present ever!" She did a wonderful job and looked gorgeous doing it. She asked for chicken tortilla soup for dinner and Better Than Anything cake for dessert. (You may know that cake under a different name, just substitute 'anything' for how babies are made, hee hee.) Pretty lame pictures this year, sorry Hailey! We ended the night with watching "Father of the Bride", one of her favorite movies, and which she happened to get on dvd.

We are so blessed to have Hailey in our family. She is a joy and is turning into an amazing young woman. I am so proud to be her mom.

The kids had their annual carnival at their school on Thursday, and once again it was full of pandemonium. Each of the kids did a song or dance this year, and here are a few pictures.

Kindergarten sang "Hush little baby", 2nd grade did "Witch's Brew" and 5th grade did "YMCA". I know the pictures are lame, sorry kids! There were so many people there, I had a hard time getting to right in front of my own kids. Trent was a cowboy, all of the kids were dressed like members of the Village People, it was cute.

On to the recipe of the week. I should have started out last week by saying that none of these recipes will be low fat. I don't make them very often, and most nights I do my best to cook healthy dinners. These are saved for Sunday nights or when company is visiting.

Dee's Potato Soup - 6 servings
6 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 lrg onion, chopped
1 C chopped carrots
1 1/2 C chopped celery
2 lrg cream cheese, cut up
1/2 C cream
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes, onion, carrots and celery till tender. Drain most of the water off. In separate pan, put cream cheese and cream together. Melt and stir until smooth. Add to vegetables, along with enough milk to get it to the consistency you like. Add bacon, if desired. Salt and pepper to taste. (I always add the bacon, it gives it a great flavor.)

You can add clams to this and make clam chowder. I've also had it with cheese. My very picky kids love this and get so excited when I tell them I'm making Grandma's soup. Enjoy!