We Missed Daddy!

     Derek was out of town in August for 6 days -between a scout campout and flying to Oklahoma with his brother and dad to visit his Aunt Kay who was dying of cancer. Sadly, she passed away only a few days after they got home :( She was such a fun lady! So glad Derek got to go see her, but we were also soooooo glad to have him back home! We love him! --the best daddy & hubby!
    So after he got home, we celebrated with dinner at Pachanga's and then time at the river across from the temple. This was our kids 1st time there (I know, we're neglectful parents, aren't we?!) So we enjoyed the beautiful views, beautiful evening, the ducks and water, but most of all......*DADDY*!!!!

Little Buckaroo Rodeo '11

     What an awesome surprise it was when my brother Cade's wife, Susan, said that she and the kids would come join us in the Little Buckaroo Rodeo this year! Cade is in N Dakota, so they made the journey up from Vernal, Utah without him. What a great excuse it was to have them come and stay with us for a few days!
     Saturday started out with a cute little parade where the kids got TONS of candy, then we were off to the bounce house and hot dogs for lunch. Then, to cool off in the afternoon, we turned on the sprinklers and the kids had a blast making a mud slide on the dirt pile. And we finished off the evening with a bang at the rodeo. Ashley did the stick pony race and Carson did the goat roping. They both did AWESOME along with their cousins Cora, Judd, and Maxtin! And despite the rain, it turned out to be such a fun night! The finale was the chicken scramble where we ended up going home with 3 chickens!!! Yes 3!!!---Which we quickly gave to some neighbors the next day. Ashley came back carrying her chicken upside down by its legs, just like it was no big deal! That moment was priceless!! ;)
     What a FUN time we had with the Mitchell's!!! We hope to make it an annual tradion and that they will come back soon!!!

Another thing bites the dust!

     This high chair was brand new for kid #1. This high chair was in great condition for kid #2. This high chair survived the move and was STILL in great shape for kid #3. Then...........came kid #3 (aka the hoss) and the high chair is no more. And that, my friends, is the end of the life of our high chair...

Splash Park

     I'm a little late in getting this posted, but a few weeks ago, we went up to the Splash Park in Rexburg with our good friend Anna and her adorable daughters Ava and Emma. What a blast the kids had in the water, eating a picnic lunch, riding on the carousel, playing at the park, and eating sno-cones on the way home. We love good friends and warm summer days!

Healthy Snacks

     In my efforts to shed some of these extra pounds I've put on, I have decided that fast, healthy, fresh, ready-to-go snacks are ESSENTIAL to this busy mother of 3 young kids. Gee, I'm lucky if I even get to feed my OWN mouth, let alone if it is healthy! So something that has helped me so much is Bountiful Baskets. Each week is a fun surprise of fruits and vegetables, plus we get a 9-grain bread pack to last us for the week, and occasionally other bonus packs of things we like. It's awesome! AND I don't have to drag the kids to the grocery store to get it, I just drive over to my neighbor's house, and can even leave the kids IN THE CAR while we get it! (now, what mom doesn't love that!? Although our kids love coming out to help us!)
     Anywho......what I wanted to share with you is how I make healthy snacking easier on myself. After I get the produce, I get 7 small Ziploc bags and get out my cutting board. After washing the veggies, I cut them all into snackable-size pieces then divide them into the 7 bags. Then I stand up the bags in a little tupperware and stick them in the refrigerator. The idea is to have 1 veggie bag for each day of the week. That way, when I'm hungry for a snack, I just grab the bag for that day and I'm good to go!! And the best part --- it's all 100% healthy!! And each week the produce changes, so I don't get sick of it. In this weeks bags: celery, carrots, cucumber, snacking tom-toms (tomatoes), & cauliflower.
     Then I have a platter on the cupboard where I put any fruit that needs to ripen. The ripe fruit goes in the refrigerator and the kids can pull out a veggie pack or fruit whenever they need a snack too.
     Edamame (soybeans) are a new favorite healthy protein snack of mine too! So good!! And WATER!! Clean, cold 100% H2O! Most all of us need to drink more of it!
     So cheers! Here's to healthy snacking, my friends!!

Girl Time

     Tonight Ashley and I had some good old girl time and went out on a "date." We went to Disney's Aladdin Jr. All the actors were kids and it was the perfect 1st play to take her to. She wanted to get up on stage and sing and dance with them. But I convinced her that sitting in her seat and sucking on her lollipop was the next best thing! She loved the magic carpet and all of the bright colors on the costumes. And she said that princess Jasmine and the genie (who was also a little girl) were her favorites.
     Afterwards we got a snowcone on the way home. Ashley's favorite flavor: Barbie. :) Mine: raspberry coconut cream.
     What a fun time I had with my little girl! It's always great to have some one-on-one time with each kid to make them feel special. I look forward to many more of these dates in the future!! I love you Ashley!!

Rag Quilt

     I made a rag quilt this week for my friend Cori's new little baby girl. This was my first strip rag quilt though I've made a few block ones before. I even appliqued for the 1st time. And I think it turned out pretty darn cute, even if I do say so myself!