{feb & march} random Alivia moments

Well, this girl completed her 1st season of Swim Team and had a great time. We went to the Awards Banquet and she brought home these goodies. Nice! Can't wait to do it again babe. I love watching you swim and that you LOVE it so much.

This pretty girls took this selfie on my phone before church. You're so beautiful Alivia, and the wonderful thing about is that its on the inside, as well as the outside. You are a wonderful little lady.

Found another selfie on my phone from St Patrick's Day.

You're our Irish Princess for the day. I like that you still like to dress up. You looked so cute going to school that day. :)

Oh Alivia, always a fun girl. :P

Girls weekend

{March 24-26, 2017} The boys were having their weekend at the Cabin so we decided to make the most of our girl time!

Photo 1: We're all set to go see the new Beauty & the Beast movie! We really liked it! Of course they added some new parts, which Alivia didn't like and thought were a little creapy, but overall it was good. 

Photo 2: After our movie we had dinner @ Olive Garden. No girls weekend would be complete without pasta and breadsticks! #itsagirlthing

Photo 3: The next morning I took Alivia and some of her friends from church to the Stake Activity Day Girls activity.The theme was "Daughter of a King". They had a bunch of classes and workshops with crafts and a coordinating lesson. They did a really nice job and I know the girls had a good time. We even had some finger foods before we went home, complete with cucumber sandwiches (not sure what 8-11 year olds are going to eat those?) and a fruit kebab. Very nice and a special morning.

We'd been searching for "a princess dress" and we found it! Thank you Kohl's Cash! She looks so beautiful! 

We topped off our fun weekend with a playdate at our house with her friend, watched the Women's Session of Conference on the couch later and of course we had a slumber party in my bed (since the house was so quiet).

We had a really great time together. Alivia even wrote me this sweet note as we took notes for Conference.

Aw thanks Babe, I love spending time with you too. You are an amazing young lady and I love you so much! Can't wait to do this again.

Jackson's 9th bday

March 18, 2017

Our boy turned 9! Where has the time gone? I posted these pictures from snippets of Jackson's life. I love this. So many great moments and memories. We sure love this boy!!

It's time to blow out the candles and make a wish. He asked for chocolate cake with PB frosting- a boy after my own heart. Happy to oblige.

Because Jackson's birthday is so close to St Patrick's birthday I took the lazy way out and had a St Patricks Day themed birthday party this year. Our rainbow kebobs and our pot of gold (mac and cheese). All items are Jackson-approved.

WE all wore some green for the party. After inner, we played a few games at the party which were pretty funny to watch. Games were: Rainbow Relay (sort the M&Ms by color), Pots of Gold (separate the gold goodies from the other goodies while blindfolded),  and "feeling lucky" (pick the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms with a spoon; the team with the most marshmallows wins).

I also found Leprechaun names for everyone. Jacksons' was Sly McMuffin. 😂

I found this Irish Blessing and I love it. It goes like this: May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.

Here's a little bit about Jackson @ age 9-
Favorite color- blue
Favorite food- sausage and eggs, or steak
Favorite treat- chocolate candy or gummy candy. He can't decide
Favorite free time activity- go hiking
Favorite subject @ school- Math
Favorite primary song- Nephi's Courage
Favorite scripture story- Nephi getting the plates from Laban.
When I grow up I want to be ... a business man like Dad.

We love you SO very much Jackson. You are such an amazing boy. You're kind, sympathetic, compassionate, smart and enthusiastic. You are going to go far Bud. We'll be right here along the way. Let's do this!

Boys Weekend @ the Cabin

{March 24-26, 2017)

I love the tradition you've started of going to the Cabin "just the boys". I think it's great for you guys and I love having that time with Alivia "just the girls".

You had a great time, of course! You even stopped @ OIP for some uber cheesy pizza. Once you got to the cabin you unpacked and went for a hike loving every minute outside in the fresh air.

Photo 1: Here you guys are hard at work gathering firewood so you can roast your hot dogs for lunch.

Photo 2: Some of your favorite moments were BB gun practice and using your sling shot. Now that sounds like a lot of BOY fun!

Photo 3: Levi was not missing any of the action with the BB gun and had a great time! 

You guys had to make a trip down to Renovo before dinner because you HAD to get some A1. How would you eat your steak otherwise?! :P You also picked out some treats for your trip: Jackson picked gummy bears and Levi picked airhead bites.

You cooked up your steaks and ate every morsel. You said it was the "best steak ever!" That sounds pretty delicious! What is it about grilling a steak over the campfire that makes it so wonderful?! I don't know but I'll take it!

Other notes from your weekend:
-You saw 8 turkey on your weekend trip!
-You saw more coyotes than usual. ??? wonder why?
-You went down to the stream and just enjoyed being outside and exploring around the cabin.
-More than anything you spent time together in the great outdoors and made memories you'll have forever. That's such a wonderful thing!

I'm so glad you guys were able to go and had such a great time. We're glad you're back. We missed you!

Jackson's wolf award

We've been working hard to finish up Jackson's Wolf award before he turned 9 and we just made it.

Here we are receiving his patch and the mom's pin (cool idea).

This boy LOVES cub scouts. I'm grateful for great leaders who help him along and for a Daddy who knows what he's doing to help us get done what needs to be done.

Waiting for the kids selfie

A couple times each week we pick up the kids from school. In order to get a good spot in line we have to be in line 30+ minutes early. This allows us a lot of time to read books together and even take a few selfies. 😎 Treasure these moments because they'll be gone all too soon.

Oatmeal-Peanut Butter Smoothie

I am a sucker for cookbooks. I love seeing what they put together and I love the beautiful imagery and graphic layouts they use to pull you in.

I was gifted a new cookbook this Christmas called Clean Eating Made Simple. I have tried a few of the recipes from this book and THIS is our favorite. I could have this everyday for breakfast and be a happy camper!!  Here it is.

Oatmeal-Peanut Butter Smoothie
Recipe from: Clean Eating Made Simple cookbook
Adapted by CKW

Ingredients:
1 large banana, frozen
1/3 c rolled oats (quick oats are fine)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
2/3 cup milk
3 T. natural peanut butter
1 splenda packet

Directions:

1. In a blender, combine all the ingredients. Blend until smooth
2. Pour into 2 glasses and serve.

*VARIATION: If you don't have a frozen banana you can use a fresh banana. After its all blended together add 2 cups of ice to thicken and chill your smoothie. (I prefer the frozen banana variation because I don't like the bits of ice in my smoothie. Too cold!)

NOTE: How to freeze a banana- peel your overripe bananas. Lay them on a plate and place in the freezer. Once they're frozen you may remove them from the plate and put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Now you're all set for your smoothie with frozen bananas!