Fried Green Beans

Someone from church gave us an entire grocery bag full of freshly picked green beans and in my search for recipes to help use them up, I have discovered the awesomeness of fried green beans. These are amazing! They are so addictive! I am not quite sure if they should be considered a health food (fresh green beans after all!) or a horribly fattening snack (deep fried, but the flour coating is minimal at best). Whatever else they are they are most definitely yum! Here is the recipe I have been using, although I just eyeball everything, measuring kills my mojo:

Fresh green beans, I make about 1/2 lb at a time, washed with the ends snapped off
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup(ish) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Oil for deep frying (I just use about 1/2 cup in a small saute pan)

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in bowl.
Dip the green beans in milk and then roll in the flour mixture.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.

Great for snacks, or as a side dish for your summer burgers. Yum . . . burgers . . .

The Advent of Becca

Our friend Becca is visiting us for a month! The kids (and mommy and daddy) were excited out their minds about her coming for weeks before she actually got here. Every time someone would leave James would wig out thinking they were going to pick up Becca without him.

Becca sent Maddie and James a "Countdown to Becca" calendar. Or as I like to call it, a Becca Advent Calendar. It's almost like Christmas! (In a totally non-sacrilegious way).



Becca has been here for a week and we've been busy doing all sorts of fun Montana-y stuff. Here is Becca, Maddie, and James in Reeder's Alley in downtown Helena. Reeder's Alley was originally bachelor apartments for miners, and now it is cute little shops and restaurant.



Some friends from church (also originally from California) took us out Saturday on their boat and we went up the Missouri River through the Gates of the Mountain. Ah-maz-ing. Maddie looks pretty darn thrilled.



We drove up to a "ghost town" in the mountains called Rimini, it wasn't much of a town, or very ghosty, just some old buildings and a few newer houses, but there was a pretty awesome waterfall that we walked up to.



We went rainbow hunting in an afternoon thunderstorm, and we were rewarded with a double rainbow. This may be my new favorite picture of all time.



Here is to another week of fun!

Northern Summers

Since late April the days here in Montana have been getting longer and longer. I thought I was used to long summer days, living in Southern California, but let me tell you, it is nothing compared to Montana, and it's not even high summer yet. Unless it's pouring rain it get's unspeakably beautiful at between 7 and 7:30 p.m. here. All of our windows face west, so we are constantly forgetting how late it really is.

Here is Montana at 7:45 in early June. Crazy!

The weirdest part is how long it stays light, even after the sunsets which happen around 9:20 right now (sunrise is at 5:30 and I hear in July it will be closer to 4:30).

Check out this sunset from the other day after it rained. Pretty!

And it stays light like this around the mountains (Helena is in a valley) for at least 30 minutes after sunset, so now that means until almost 10 pm!

The funny thing is that Starbucks closes at 9, so when I go out to write I leave the coffee shop and come home while it is still light! It boggles the mind!

I guess this much sun makes up for the cold, dark, winter!

Summer time!

Summer time is officially here! How do I know?

Here we are waiting at the drive in for the sun to set so we can watch our movie!

Don't they look excited to get to hang out of the car window?

And here is our really sad attempt at a family photo via iPhone . . . Ed has is holding the phone out the window and pointing it through the windshield. Note how thrilled Maddie is . . . also note I am missing the top of my head . . .

What says summer to you?

Park Days

Recently we have been taking advantage of the summer weather to visit some local parks (I realized after I wrote that sentence that I live in Southern California and should probably be taking my kids to parks all year long, bad mommy). Maddie and James both love the outdoors, and they both love play areas! The both happen to be rambunctious daredevils as well, but at least James is less mobile than his sister . . . for now at least.

Check out my fearless girl on the big twisty slide!