Day 4 at Yellowstone

 On day 4 we were entering in on the western side of Yellowstone and there was more to see. Yellowstone has lots of ground to cover so be prepared to spend at least 5 days.

 Here is a herd of Buffalo walking down the road. They are everywhere!

 Yellowstone Lake...Beautiful!

 Isaac had to see how the fishing was at Yellowstone. Because he was under 16 he could get a license for free. It was too cold to do too much fishing. He did catch this one.

 While Isaac fished Elijah and Joanna decided to play in the snow/ice. Here is Elijah whittling away at a block of snow.

 Joanna trying to climb this block of snow.

 Bryan and I at one of the geysers. This one actually made noise as the smoke rolled out, sounded like a dragon breathing.

Another one of the beautiful views!

White Chicken Chili

As I was scanning through my photos I realized that I have lots of recipes to share with you! Get ready because eventually I will get to them and hopefully give you a few new recipes to try and that your family will love! This one that I am sharing today is from a close friend. She made this a couple of times and we enjoyed it. I asked for the recipe so I could make it for us at home. This recipe she found on Pinterest (with the title Wicked White Chicken Chili), you can find the original recipe here.

White Chicken Chili

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded/chopped
• 4 (15 oz) cans great norther white beans, rinsed and drained. 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 (10oz) cans Rotel tomatoes and chilies
• 1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup blend of diced onion, bell pepper and celery
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt (optional) *I do use the yogurt*

I grill my chicken and chop it up and set to the side. Drain and rinse 2 cans of beans and puree in a food processor. In my crockpot (with a crock pot liner) I put the pureed beans and the 2 other cans of beans drained and rinsed. Next I chop up my bell pepper, onion, and celery in the food processor and add to crockpot. Then add all the other ingredients except chicken. Stir together and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours. At the end of cook time add in your chicken and stir it in chili. Enjoy! 

Yellowstone Day 3 (Part 2)

We finally arrived at our campsite at Grizzly RV Park on the west side of Yellowstone and it was rainy. The lady at checkin told me that the temperatures would reach below freezing the nights we would be staying there so she asked us to unhook our water before we went to bed at night. Since the kids wouldn't be able to play outside we decided that I would take them into town and shop while Bryan prepared supper. (I thought that was a great idea!) :)

 We really enjoy going into souvenir shops and visiting unique little shops to have a look around. The children and I had a great time together! One of the small shops we stopped in was a bookstore and bakery. Sarah was loving all of that! She even shared that maybe one day she would open something like this. LOL! Love that girl! As you can see my children head right to the books, choose one they like, and began to read and enjoy every minute of it! Made this momma smile! Isaac was in the sportsman book section checking out some fishing books.

We arrived back at camp to a delicious meal! When we went to the bath house this was posted on the wall! Now I was a little nervous! We did not see any bears at the campground...phew! The weather did get a little better and the children were able to enjoy the nice playground that was there. This campground was really nice and clean.

Day 3 at Yellowstone

I will make two post out of Day 3, so hang in there with me. We started the day off by packing up things and heading to the west side of Yellowstone National Park. I will talk more about the new campsite in my next post about Day 3. As we traveled toward the west side we made a few stops on the way.

Here are a couple of more mountain pictures. These mountains are so much more than the mountains we are use to seeing around here.

Just Beautiful!

Then we were able to capture this picture of two grizzlies playing. This appeared to be a mother and her cub.

There were lots more hot springs to see.

Never seen anything like this. God's amazing creation!

The children and I stop for Bryan to take a picture. Having lots of fun and making lots of memories!

Here is a small geyser.

Not made by human hands, made only by the hand of a CREATOR...our GREAT GOD!

Green Bean Casserole

It's not your normal "holiday" green bean casserole! This is a meal all its own! I found this recipe on Heavenly Homemakers website and it has been a huge hit with our family. We enjoy lots of her recipes! This recipe is in her Oh, For Real cookbook. At the bottom of this post I will give you the measurements that I use to make a pan of green bean casserole for our family.

 Timothy gave it a thumbs up!

This really is delicious! If you try this please leave a comment and let me know how your family liked it. :)

Green Bean Casserole
3 1lb bags of frozen green beans (It may be the 12 oz. bags)
1-2 lbs of ground breakfast sausage
flour
milk
shredded cheese
salt and pepper

Cook your green beans until tender. I cook mine on low for about three hours with some salt and meat (ham). Brown your sausage but don't drain. Use the grease to make you some gravy. I add about 4-5 TBSP of flour to my sausage and grease, stir, and add a little milk at a time until the thickness you desire. Then add in your drained green beans (I remove the meat before I add them to the sausage and gravy). Salt or season to your likings. Pour into a 13x9 casserole dish and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let it set for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Day 2 (part 2) of Yellowstone

Also on Day 2 we saw a black bear! You can tell when there is an animal close by because there will be tons of traffic pulled over trying to get a glimpse of whatever has been sighted. 

 Here is that black bear. He was cute from a distance and we didn't desire to get any closer. :)

 Here is a bridge that we rode across in the Park.

 Proof that we had arrived at Yellowstone! Love every journey with this crew!

Here is the playground at the campground we were at (Yellowstone RV).

Day 2 at Yellowstone

There are so many pictures of Day 2 that I will do two post on our adventures for Day 2. (I don't want to overload one post)

Another beautiful waterfall inside Yellowstone National Park.

 Beautiful flowers on the side of the road at one of the pull off places.

 Just simply gorgeous!

 Our lovely baby girl! Taking a hike.

 Here is middle brother stopping for a picture on our hike.

Finally we see other animals, mountain goats. :-)

Our first two nights at Yellowstone we camped just outside the Northern entrance. We were at the Yellowstone RV Park those nights. That campground had a nice bath house and laundry facilities. Since we were gone for 11 days we tried to stay at a few places that had a place where we could do laundry.

Day 1 at Yellowstone

Our first stop in Yellowstone was Mammoth Hot Springs. This was beautiful! You are going to hear me say that a lot, because there is just so much beauty in God's creation! These first two photos are of Mammoth Hot Springs. There is a strong sulfur smell at the springs, be prepared.

 This picture of the bird is a Magpie. Not a bird you see just anywhere but we saw lots of them at Yellowstone.

 Here is another picture of Mammoth Hot Springs.

 A view from inside Yellowstone. Breathtaking!

 There were little Hot Springs like this one all over the Park.

Here is a waterfall that we stopped at inside the Park. There were lots of little pull off spots for you to stop and view the scenery.

Buffalo were everywhere! Even walking down the middle of the road while we were driving through the Park. The first day or two we were all excited to see the buffalo but by day 3 we were ready to see some of the other animals. :-)

4-H Banquet

In December 2017 our three oldest had a 4-H banquet where they were recognized for their participation in 4-H. All three of them received a pennant and certificate for being involved in the Loud Speakers Club (Public Speaking). Then Isaac and Sarah were inducted into the Tennessee 4-H Honor Club. Very proud of them for all their hard work and dedication. 

 Here is Isaac and Sarah during their induction ceremony.

Next year Timothy will be able to be apart. Very thankful for the opportunities that 4-H has given our children. Isaac and Sarah just competed in the Tennessee Regional 4-H Public Speaking Competition. Sarah received runner up  for 9th grade Western Division. Isaac won in 10th grade Western Division and will compete in State Competition in the spring.

The Scenery Was Awesome!

Here are a few pictures of some of the scenery we saw on our trip to Yellowstone.

We went the end of May 2017 and there was snow on the mountains and ground. It was beautiful!

Everywhere we turned each of us would say "Wow, look at that!" There was so much to see!