I have passed by the same sign for "You Pick Raspberries" for years.  I've always thought it would be fun, but figured the raspberry season had passed and someone just hadn't taken down the sign.

My cute neighbor brought Gibson a fresh raspberry shake the other night when he wasn't feeling well. She mentioned that she had went and picked fresh raspberries at this same raspberry patch I've driven by and dismissed for years.

At our first chance, Easton, Creed and I went and picked 3+ pounds of fresh raspberries. It was a lot of fun. Mr. McBride was adorable and gave Easton his own little bucket. They also give you a string so you can tie the bucket around your waist and pick away with two hands. 

Rows and rows of raspberries were all ours for the picking and we went through and picked the best ones! Apparently, in our neck of the woods, Fall berries is what is planted and now is the perfect time for picking! They'll be growing strong until our first frost which hopefully is mid October.

Easton was so proud of his pickings and I was happy to spend some time with him.  Not sure if it's his personality, his age or exactly what but Easton gets down on himself a lot. When he doesn't get his way or when he gets into trouble he's always saying "I hate myself" or "I'm a bad boy".  Jared and I are always trying to boost up his self esteem and remind him that he is a Child of God and how much we love him.

We've also tried to spend some quality one on one time with him reminding him that just because he's the middle child, he's not forgotten.

Raspberry picking was a perfect time for us. Creed spent all but 5 minutes asleep in the car, so Easton and I picked and talked and of course, ate raspberries!

Creed woke up as I was getting my wallet out of the car to pay Mr. McBride.  He immediately went to the raspberry patch and caught on. His didn't make it home or even to the scale. As you can see by his face, he enjoyed the raspberries!

I love finding little treasures like McBride Raspberry Patch just a few miles from our home.  We love supporting locals and supporting local fruit growers AND having a fun experience is a perfect combination in my book!

Moab!

My oldest brother Jason and his family live in Moab. They seem to come up all the time but we rarely get down to see them for one reason or another.

My sister Chana and I decided to be spontaneous and visit Moab for less than 48 hours. We had a lot of fun!

The cousins played all afternoon and once my brother got home from work we decided to head out to Ken's Lake to try out his new paddle boards. When we left my brother's house, it was 101 degrees. Ken's Lake is about 20 minutes away. By the time we got there, it was 70 degrees and raining like crazy! It was the craziest weather ever. We hung out for about 30 minutes waiting for the rain to die down and the wind to stop blowing but it didn't. Easton was the only one in our car brave enough to get out and go for a quick swim. Eventually we loaded him in and we decided to go to the indoor rec center instead which was the highlight of the trip for my boys.


The rec center had a twirly slide, a high dive and a shallow end so everyone was happy. We lasted a few hours and only left because they closed! Remind me again why my town doesn't have a rec center. {grrr}



Creed started to come down with a cold while we were there. He wasn't feeling too well and was ready to call it a day!
Addie is looking through her camera to take her own picture of me taking a picture of her. Too cute!

The next morning we woke up to light sprinkles and perfect temperatures. We loaded up the kids and headed for Arches National Park. We enjoyed the amazing scenery that Arches has to offer and unloaded the kids for a few stops.


I believe this was Window Arches. Quick walk up to the arches that overlook more National Park.

This was the best stop we made. Sand Dune Arch I believe. Next time, I'll hike in with a lawn chair, a good book and some sand toys. The kids had a hard time leaving this spot. It was perfect sand, tons of shade and because of the rain, it was perfect packing sand and the kids loved it.

We got home from Arches, hung out until dinner and then hit the road to come home. It was a quick trip but so much fun! Thanks Jason and Jen for letting me and the boys {Chana too} invade your home for those quick 36 hours. The boys can't wait to make that trip again.

Jared is a year older....

Happy Birthday darling. 36 today! Wow! I'm sure glad that since we're both going to get older whether we like it or not, at least we're doing it together.

Your boys and I would like to wish you a very, very Happy Birthday. Thank you for being such a great example in all you do. You are an amazing father and husband and such a hard worker. Thank you for providing for us. Thank you for being there for us and for all you do each and every day.

We love you!

Cousins, cousins, oh my...

For the past ten days, we've had eight extra house guests. My boys have been in cousin heaven! Each of them had a cousin close to their age and from the moment they woke up to the moment the cousins were shuffled to the basement, it was all about cousins.

The TV was rarely on. We only let them play the Wii once, maybe twice. They kept themselves entertained by playing pretend, basketball, a box of sidewalk chalk and riding bikes and scooters.

We fed ourselves into a near coma. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert and popsicles. Repeated 10 days. Paper plates became my friend as did my crockpot, Little Caesars and leftovers.

Some days the cousins went to explore the surroundings and we waited patiently for their return. Other days, we joined them. The pool, Hiking the Y, going to the park, the movie, etc.

We loved having them here {along with 11 other cousins from Texas and Alabama who were staying at my moms}. I have intentions to blog about all our adventures but first I must catch up on the laundry, clean the bathrooms, wipe smudges off windows, walls and chairs and shamefully, catch up with my DVR.

I must say, this summer is going so fast!

I might as well have put on a cape this morning, I was that super!

It's the simple things in my kids eyes that keep me great and for that I am thankful.

As my groggy 6 year old schlumpped out into the family room, head low, rubbing his eyes- he instantly stopped. Lifted his head and sniffed.

BANANA BREAD he yelled as he ran into the kitchen where I stood. He looked at me with the sun shining through my bed tasseled hair and my super cape on {I'm sure that's what he saw} and hugged my waist.

Yup, for the simple gesture of using up my old, ripened bananas, I got a superheroes welcome!

I tried a new recipe from House of Smiths, buttermilk banana bread.

So here's the ugly truth. I didn't love the recipe. SSHHHH, don't tell House of Smiths. It was good but not great.

I would much rather eat this recipe from Allrecipes. Simple, basic and lots of bananas giving it a fabulous banana taste.

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed bananas

Mix together dry ingredients and wet ingredients and then stir them together. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar and bake 350 until done! {I use mini loaf pans so they cook faster than the one large pan that the recipe calls for.}

Try them and let me know what you think!

My day in laundry

This is what happens when the laundry is neglected for a few days. All clean, waiting to be folded and put away. The beautiful weekend we had, had a hand in that. Who wanted to be inside doing laundry when the sun was shining and yard work awaited? Not me! The yard work obviously won out.

Good for me, it rained ALL DAY LONG today so I was able to stay inside {guilt free} and do a few things that had been neglected for so long!

This is what happens when you have 3 growing boys, a few years apart. They grow fast and clothes must be sorted and organized into bins for the next child. Gotta love hand me downs! I've gotten rid of TONS and only kept the best of the best but still, these boys need to stop growing!



The sorting and organizing is complete! I do love hand me downs, I found some great shoes I had forgotten about that both Creed and Easton can now wear and I am reminded of what stuff I have and what stuff I need so as I start shopping sales, I can "try" and stay focused and only buy what they need!

Yeah! Sorting is done for another season!

The day after I wrote my last blog entry, I woke up to a text from my mom telling me my sister Chana, 23 1/2 weeks pregnant had gone to the hospital because of bleeding and cramping.

I didn't think much of it. I thought she might be put on bed rest or maybe she was being overly cautious, I said a little prayer for her and waited.

I received a text a short time later that said "Chana had baby."

I started crying and stopped about three weeks later. The month of April was an emotional one, one that I need to blog about in it's entirety, but for now, I want to link to a photographer named Holly Brimhall who took some beautiful pictures of baby Freddie, 3 days before he passed away.

You can read it here.

I was able to fly to Phoenix for a day {literally} and be there to meet and say goodbye to Freddie. I have never cried so much and so hard in my life. It was an emotional week of ups and downs but after he passed away there was an absolute peace in the room. We all knew that Freddie's purpose on earth had been fulfilled. His earthly mission was complete and because of the knowledge of eternal families that I have, I know that Chana and Fred will see Freddie again and be able to raise him in the eternities.

My sweet and strong sister has also been blogging her story. It starts here.

The healing has begun and for all of us. We are so grateful for the photographers who donated their time and talents to photograph our Freddie as he lived, and after he passed. Those pictures will be a constant reminder of the life we need to live so that we can be with Freddie again.

A favorite repeated..

One of my first posts on this blog was a little packing secret I swore by when we lived in Idaho and traveled to Utah frequently. It was the only way I could keep the boys clothes organized in a suitcase and the only way I could figure out how to {easily} keep what was clean and dirty once we got there.

Fast forward to now living in Utah. We don't travel much anymore and I haven't had the need to pack the boys for more than an overnight trip until this past weekend.

Jared and I joined the other docs of the office and went to Denver for the weekend to attend a dental seminar. Our boys were shuffled from here to there and I pulled out the ziplocks and immediately remembered why I loved this system! So easy and efficient, I had to share again.

Basically as you can see from the picture, I put each days outfit into a gallon size ziplock bag. I complete it with a change of underwear and socks and on the outside write their initial. That way, if they are dressing themselves or when my mom goes to get them dressed, she just grabs a bag for each child. No matching, no fuss, total ease.

Plus, you can basically zip all the air out of the ziplock bags and 3 boys clothes for 4 days fit into one suitcase. It's certainly one of my favorite finds and now I find myself thinking where we can travel next so I can use this system again and again!

Gibson's to-do list

Last night before going to bed, Gibson wrote out a to-do list for today.

He's been working on it all day long.

I love lists. I make them all the time and receive lots of satisfaction as I cross each item off one by one. I think Gibson may have the same enjoyment.

I love how Gibson is sounding out words and writing them phonetically. Love this stage in his life!

{His list}

Watch TV

Play

Clean my trophy

Go to School

Go to Art Class

Read Books

Ride by Bike

Play with Creed

Go to bed

Happy 2nd Birthday Creed

Seriously? Creed is 2? Oh, the past two years have flown by. Creed is the happy thought of this house. We all love him.

We had a small party with grandmas and grandpas and the aunts/uncles and cousins who live local. He loved the attention, opening the gifts and blowing out the candle. He was a bit sleepy since he hadn't had a nap that day and was asleep before his guests even left but it was certainly a celebrated day for a fabulous little boy.

A few things about Creed at age 2.

Had 6 teeth at Christmas. Has 20 now. {That's 14 teeth in 3 months folks}

Likes: Apple Juice and his Blankie {tee-tee he calls it which I think is after Gibson calling his blankie "fi-fi"}, Brds {angry birds}, Playing the iPad, Swings, his trike.

Favorite Toy: Trains and Cars

Favorite Color: Blue {it's the only color he knows}

Favorite Food: Really anything, not picky but loves Dino Nuggets with Ranch and Ketchup, Rice, Olives. Really, anything he can "dip" he will eat. Fruit fanatic. Loves Raspberries, Strawberries and Kiwi

Favorite Show: Super Why, Elmo and Word World {1st kid to actually watch Sesame Street}

Wishes: He was big. Acts like he is and is heartbroken when brothers leave for friends house and he is forced to stay home.

Hates: Getting his diaper changed. Unless you call him "puppy" and then he'll crawl over and let you change it. Nursery. Milk. {weaned himself off a bottle and milk at 14 months}

Working on: Sleeping in his own bed, for the entire night....work in progress.

He is: a DADDY's boy! Prefers Jared over me anytime. Comes to Jared's side of the bed in the night and crys for dad when he's hurt.

Learned how: To crawl out of his crib at 12 months. Pedal a trike at 26 months and say "East" and Nin-non {Gibson}. The Joys of talking to himself {he'll cry out East for at least 10 times and when not answered he'll say "what" and then proceed with the conversation.

For Creed's birthday dinner, I made it simple and made Ham and Cheese Sliders served with chips, pasta salad, watermelon and drinks. For dessert we had this yummy "fried" ice cream that always gets rave reviews so I thought I'd share the recipes for the Ham and Cheese Sliders and the "fried" ice cream.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ingredients:
For the sandwiches:
24 slider rolls {I use ones from Costco that come in a 3dz bag for @$3)
24 slices honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
Mayonnaise

For the sauce:
1½ tbsp. yellow mustard
8 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. finely minced onion (or 2 tsp. dried minced onion)
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Split the slider rolls and spread the insides lightly with mayonnaise. Fold a slice of ham to fit on each slider bun, and top with a slice of Swiss cheese. Replace the top bun to assemble the sandwiches. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients except the poppy seeds in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle the sauce over the tops of the slider buns. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove the foil and bake 2 minutes longer. Serve warm.

I've found that you can change up the meat and cheese combo for more deliciousness. We've tried Turkey and Cheddar and it was yummy as well.


"Fried" Ice Cream

1 cube butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups rice krispies
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

DOUBLE THAT.....yeah, I know that means 2 cubes butter:)

Melt butter, stir in brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour over the rest of ingredients and stir until everything has the butter/brown sugar goodness on it.

Pat half down in 9x13 pan, Cover with 1/2 gallon of ice cream that has been softened a bit {I put on gloves and just use my hands for this part} and finish off with the remainder of the topping. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until you are ready to serve.

Delicious with a strawberry syrup drizzled over it {strawberries and sugar blended} or I imagine it would be divine with caramel or hot fudge as well.

Cheering for BYU!

A few weeks ago Jared took Gibson to a BYU basketball game. I think they were in the nose bleeds and I think Gibson spent the majority of the game playing the iTouch {bless the iTouch} and eating his fruit snacks he snuck in, in his jacket.

However, attending that one game has made Gibson to worlds biggest BYU fan! It was mentioned that the BYU game is tonight and cheers erupted along with the "can we have a BYU party?"

Who am I to say NO to that? Being the festive person I am, I went to Reams, scooped out all the blue jelly beans in the bulk bins as well as the blue and white robin eggs, grabbed the last 3 Jones blue soda's and made up a batch of some caramel corn adding blue food coloring.

I got the idea for the popcorn as well as the recipe from Our Best Bites. I would have done her other party favors but I ran out of time and well, I'm just too lazy to dip chocolate just for the 5 of us!

One tip for making the popcorn. Use the gel food coloring that you can find in the cake decorating aisle at Wal-mart or at Michaels, etc. The runny stuff you find near the cake mixes is just garbage. My first batch I dropped at least 25 drops of the runny food coloring into my mixture and it still turned out gray. The second batch, I used just a dab of the blue gel stuff and it turned out beautiful.

So GO BYU Cougars! We're rootin' for you to make it to the Elite Eight!

in case you are wondering, the ER isn't very busy on a Friday afternoon. The wait time is minimal, the staff isn't burned out yet and and crying children get lots of attention from the nurses.

We saw the inside of the ER for the first time today. I actually pat myself {or my children} on the back because we've kept clear of it for 6 years! Knowing how rough and tough my boys are, I think this is a pretty good accomplishment.

Creed fell at the park as he was climbing the stairs to slide down the slide. He hit perfectly on his forehead and it cut it right open. 20 stitches later, a few stuffed animals, a motorcycle and a new Buzz Lightyear sippie cup and he was up and about.

Jared was with him while he got stitched up, I was in the lobby melting at the sound of hearing my baby cry in pain. So. glad. Jared. was. there.

As I walked out of the ER with my baby boy now sporting what will certainly be a scar, my heart was full. How lucky we are that it's only stitches. Just a few days ago, my sisters best friend walked out of the ER with empty arms. Her 4 month old died of SIDS. Heartbreak.

You can read more about her story here.

It's amazing how things are quickly put into perspective when you look outside of yourself. So many others are facing the unimaginable. So many others are facing what I never will have to.

What I am pretty sure I will have to do is see the inside of an ER again. With 3 boys, I am certain, I haven't seen the last of those curtained rooms.

2-25-11

Today I was grateful for my brother Chris for coming over bright and early to watch the boys while I went to an eye appointment in the middle of a snowstorm.

Uncle Chris is the best, Creed didn't even cry when Jared and I walked out the door at almost the same time.

The boys and cousin Abigail played outside for almost 90 minutes. I was delighted to listen to their giggles as they built snowmen and I shoveled snow on the never ending driveway. I was even more delighted when our neighbor came over with his snowplow.

I love that Easton and Abigail are now friends. When we first moved here, they were less than friends. Now he protects her {from Creed}.

I wish I could have protected her from her fall as she lost her footing on the driveway and ended up with road rash on her cheek and a big swollen lip.

Today after Gibson headed off to school, I snuggled the boys on the couch as we watched Sesame Street. Creed and I fell asleep and Easton stayed close.

When I woke up after Elmo's world, I made some peanut butter and jam bars which I was sad I didn't love.

I washed and dried four loads of laundry. Folded none of them. They are currently in baskets next to the bed.

Today Gibson made his first phone call to a friend inviting him over to play. It was adorable. Two friends, arranging play. He then went out and waited for him to get here and they played Wii and built a snowman in the front yard. How grateful I am that Gibson has good friends.

Creed escaped down the street again. I had to run after him in my slippers. As I was trying to get him inside, the neighbors across the street got home. Our being outside was an invitation to play and for three hours they did.

I was grateful I had Costco pizza in my freezer.

Tonight I was summoned to my parents house to help my dad get some pictures off his camera in time for him to go on yet another cruise. The pictures were from last July..... I sure love those two.

Tonight Easton kept having bad dreams each time he closed his eyes. I offered to lay by him and we cuddled. He immediately laced his fingers in mine and turned his chin into my neck. Two minutes later he was lightly snoring. I lingered. I couldn't pull myself away from my sleeping baby boy.

Now, I sit. Tired but not sleepy.

I needed to write down some events of my day because I feel it's going so fast.

Gibson is gaining independence and "needing" me less and less. He dressed himself for school today without my assistance and I let him go. Even though he didn't match.

Easton is trying to keep up with Gibson yet still wants to play with Creed. He's in that tender spot where he likes sippie cups and his blankie but also wants to play with friends, have sleepovers at grandma's and sit in a booster seat.

Then there's Creed. My baby will be 2 in just a few weeks. He's talking up a storm, teething like crazy and testing his boundaries with every move.

This was my day. This is my life.

I. am. blessed.

I have two food blogs that I always turn to when looking for recipes. They are Our Best Bites and Annie's Eats. I have found amazing recipes from both of these blogs and have a few favorite recipes that I return to over and over again.

I was thrilled when Our Best Bites announced that they would be coming out with a cookbook of their favorite and most popular recipes. I love the power of the Internet but there's just something about flipping through a cookbook and having a picture of the final product stare back at you!

I found the cookbook at Costco last week {$15.99} and after the boys were snugly tucked into their beds, I sat on my bed and flipped page by page. I think I was drooling and went to bed very hungry!

This weekend we made Brazilian Lemonade a whopping three times. It was SO good and tasted just like the one you'd get at the fancy Brazilian Restaurants around here. {If I do say so myself}

Tonight I will be making Orange Chicken with Snow Peas and will be sure to report on the outcome. In the meantime, I recommend you go get this cookbook. Seriously, go get it.

What's for dinner this Wednesday?

Upside Down Spaghetti

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

160z cooked spaghetti noodles

1 lb hamburger browned and drained

jar of favorite spaghetti sauce

cheese! Mozarella or cheddar or both

Cream together cream cheese and sour cream {I was low on sour cream so I added cottage cheese and the family never knew} and spread on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Layer rest of the ingredients ending with cheese on top. Cover and bake in oven on 350 for about 30-45 minutes. Take foil off for last 10 minutes.

Yummy!

I made a 9x13 pan and thought the entire time that I should split it into two pans because we'd NEVER eat an entire pan. Goodness, was I wrong! My boys devoured this and the little I had remaining they requested for lunch the next day!

I loved making this recipe because it was so simple, very inexpensive and delicious. It was a nice spin on the regular spaghetti dinner we enjoy.

Valentines 2011

I was looking for something a little different for the boys' valentines this year and came across these little doo-dads. I think they turned out darling and the boys loved handing them out to their classmates and neighbor friends.

The original version I saw used tootsie pops or blow pops and I think those would have been cuter, less wrapper so it wouldn't cover cute faces. Plus, the original one was much more vibrate than mine turned out. Next year I'll dress the boys more appropriate for a Valentine picture:)


Gibson was told by a few friends at school that he was "cute" when handing out this card. That brought smiles all afternoon!

We had a wonderful Valentines Day. It was low key all the way.

We ended the evening with dinner guests {Jared's parents} and had a yummy dinner of Beef Ribs {Gibson's choice}, Salmon, baked potatoes and asparagus. Rulon and Marylou then treated us to a wonderful FHE on the Plan of Salvation and provided a delicious FHE treat.

We concluded the evening by reading some new Valentines books and tucking each of the boys in their own beds!

It was perfectly simple, just the way we like it.

What's for dinner Wednesday???

I'm off to perform my civic duty. I've been summoned for jury duty {2nd time in 3 weeks}

I pulled out the crock-pot and started this little number that I got from Betsy's blog. I sure hope it's good!

Buy a pack of tri-tip steak from Costco. I used half and put the other half in the freezer for next time. . .and there will be a next time!

Sear the meat by frying up the steak pieces (they are cut long and thick) in some oil until all sides are just browned. Wear an apron -- it splatters!

Transfer the browned meat from the frying pan to the crock pot. Completely cover and slather the meat with cream of mushroom soup. I used two cans.

Cook on low all day long.

Before serving, remove the meat to a warm plate and use drippings/remaining sauce to make a gravy.

I served this with mashed potatoes and some fresh green beans on the side. It was awesome! The meat is so tender, you can hardly keep it on the fork!

It's already smelling delicious and it's only been in the crock-pot for 30 minutes. Can't wait!

Just in case you are wondering

this is what happens when a key is stuck in an electrical outlet.

Yes, he did get shocked.

Yes, there was a big flame.

Yes, the fuses were tripped.

Luckily, he was scared more than hurt.

Luckily, the electrical items are on a surge protector.

Happy Monday everyone!

Thank goodness for a random wooden ruler that happened to be inches from this plug. It took a few minutes to get it out of the socket but I think we've all learned from this one!

No, it was not the baby or the 6 year old. Clearly, we need to talk cause and effect with a certain child. Maybe it will be a good FHE for tonight.

the Human Canvas

Creed has discovered the myriad of options he has when using his body as a canvas. Pens, markers and glue, have all been tried to create the perfect picture.

I had no idea that yesterday when he said "off, peaze" that creating a masterpiece is what he had in mind. So, since he said "peaze" I took his clothes off.

He hung around me, acting cute, showing me the characters on his diaper and saying "cheese" for the camera.

And then I lost sight of the little guy and when I went to find him, I found him having some quality art time.

He's actually really good. He even used the marker to get his back and upper neck. Now that's a talented artist! Good thing for washable markers.

Friday Night

{sometimes I feel a bit crazy}

Friday Night is movie night. We started this tradition with the boys about 5 months ago and we all look forward to it each week.

Sometimes we go to Reams to get a video, sometimes we use Redbox or Netflix and sometimes we pick something from our video library that we haven't watched in a while.

Well today, I thought it would be fun to go to the library to pick out our videos. Gibson was home sick yesterday, Easton hasn't been feeling well today and allowing them each to pick out a video for a measly $1 was a steal! Plus, it would get us out of the house for a few minutes which we all needed!

Ugh, what was I thinking?

Terror erupted when we walked through the library doors. Creed the rows and rows of upright books and decided to use his quick hand and just start pushing them off the shelves. Awesome.

Easton found the only step stool near the videos and Gibson just melted because he couldn't see any of the videos up high.

It was the fastest we've ever been to the library. I basically threw the money at the librarian just to get the boys out of there.

So, I decided to go to Wal-mart.

I had a great idea to take them to the freezer section and let them pick their own dinner. I fondly remember TV dinners and thought they would too.

Instead, I got tears, tantrums and Wal-mart employees asking me if my kids are okay. We went to Wendys instead.

How quickly can I get home and pass these adorable boys off to their dad?

Oh wait, dad went to watch cage fighting. It's me, myself and 3 boys.

Frankly, I should have known. My mommy instincts should have kicked on and I should have known that my boys don't usually act like that, something was not right.

And indeed it wasn't. Fevers, vomiting, coughs and pink eye erupted with a force a few hours after bedtime!

Sorry library and wal-mart for spreading the germs. I hope everyone washes their hands!

Yeah for playdates!

Sometimes I feel like I've been locked inside and someone on the outside ran away with the key! January can be so blah. This January has just been cold. cold. cold. Frozen snow not ideal to play in is all around us. The only play lands are those attached to fast food restaurants and a serious case of the blahs had me in a chokehold.

Thank goodness for playdates!

Casey and I decided to head to the mall and let the kids play on the very exciting foam thingy they have there. We weren't the only moms with that idea! The kids played, snacked and enjoyed some free time while Casey and I enjoyed refereeing and catching up on the small town to-do's.

{Casey and I holding down the bench. Picture courtesy of Gibson}

It was only 90 minutes {Erin, that is the same as an hour and a half} but it was so worth it! We dropped Gibson off at school, Creed took a nap and Easton and I did some puzzles. It was what we all needed to get rid of a little of the January blahs.

Is it really, January 12th?

One of my goals for 2011 was to blog more often. Why? Well, because it's my form of a journal and I want to be able to document the small things in our lives, the everyday moments that make us tick.

Obviously, I need to put more focus on it. It's January 12th and I haven't even thought about blogging. Ugh. Not that we haven't been doing anything because we've been plenty busy. See, I'll show you.

Jared has been enjoying his new iPad that I gave him for Christmas. Honestly. I didn't think he'd enjoy it or even use it. I bought him an iTouch last Christmas and I quickly got ownership of it within weeks. However, the iPad is just too cool and too convenient. He plays Pandora at work, surfs the web and keeps track of all his to-do things. I rarely see it and when I am able to use it, I get the stink eye because "it's his."

Another one of my goals for 2011 is to get organized and to learn to live with less. The first item of business for me was the toys in the basement and with a trip to Ikea, I was able to organize, purge and arrange all the little trinkets like blocks, legos, trains, cars, etc.

Second item of business was the pantry. An explosion had happened over the past year and it was driving me mad. It's not perfect but boy oh boy, is it clean{er} than it was! Makes me happy when I open it.

{yes, those are giant buckets of flour and sugar. Mirror, mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all!}

Creed has decided to live/sleep on the edge. Literally.

The big boy bed has brought us many nights with a little Creed sandwiched between us. We have only had a few successful "all nighters" in his own bed. We're working on it and we are trying to be consistent with the process of getting him to sleep but sheesh, it's exhausting.

{things I love about this picture: Buzz Lightyear is represented, artwork by Gibson is hung on the wall}

And last but not least. In case you're wondering what we look like, Gibson has drawn our latest family picture and using his stash of scotch tape, he hung it right by my side of the bed.

I. love. it.

I love that we are all holding hands. I love that I have cute, flippy hair, earrings and I'm holding a flower. I love that the grass is green, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Oh, it just feels perfect.

I've started Project 365 with the goal that I will be better about documenting what happens each day. As a reader of my blog, you may just be lucky enough to see some of my daily pictures. I know, you're excited!