This last week went by fast! Probably a good thing since I was fighting a cold for the majority of it. I'm feeling better now and really looking forward to a long weekend.
I am very thankful to be so blessed in my life. I have many things, both big and small that I am thankful for, here are just a few things on my mind today:
(After a massive headache) Tylenol, Motrin and pain relievers in general.
Having a working camera on my phone again
Waking up to a thunder storm & playing in the rain
Grapes & raspberries
Having an extra day off
Sleeping in
Laughing until you cry
Farmers market
Swings
Discovering great new music
Jul 25, 2012
A few shots from this last week:
- Jackson sporting his new shark tooth necklace. A souvenir Russell brought him from his recent trip to Hawaii
- Ashleigh talking to her best friend via video call from the foot of Mt. Rushmore.
- Kids in front of my building for 'Take your kids to work day'
- Jackson holding a pig ear up to his ear so he could "hear better" while in line at the pet store
- Ashleigh being sneaky and artistic...using her brother's face as a canvas after he fell asleep on the couch.
I saw this posted on Facebook today, and read it to Ashleigh.
She laughed.
Then asked me what website I did use!
HAHAHA. I guess she didn't quite get it. It really goes to show how much things have changed in just one generation. For a couple years I have wanted to go 24 hours without modern day technology and I'm thinking I need to stop putting it off any finally do it.
Of course it's from my mom and she's going to think the world of me simply because she created me but this is honestly the best birthday card I've gotten in my life. It was inspiring and meaningful in a way that maybe only I can fully appreciate. Thanks Mom.
I had such a great time camping for my birthday this year! My family has been camping in the same area for years but due to the water in the canyon being a water shed, dogs are not allowed. Now that we have a dog (and wanted to take him with us) I had to find a new campground. Admittedly, I was nervous about taking Copper with us because I wanted a relaxing trip rather than one spent babysitting a puppy all weekend.
After camping in the mountains in very wooded areas for so long, I wasn't sure about camping in an open area but it turned out to be one of the best camping trips of my life. Copper was amazing! I can't wait to take him again. He loved being outside all the time and other than the water being freezing, he even liked playing in the stream and reservoir. As cheesy as it sounds, it touches my heart to see the unconditional love between my kids and their dog.
The stream that ran though our campground was beautiful and the big empty field behind our campsite was great. We played Frisbee, catch, and fetch with Copper. I picked up a card game version of Scrabble and it was so fun! We played multiple times sitting around the campfire. Ashleigh and I had a story writing contest. The boys gave us a topic and we had 5 minutes to write a short story. The topic was zombies and half way though our time they threw a wrench in our frantic writing session by saying we had to incorporate a dog into it. It was actually really fun hearing the stories.
I always buy my kids composition notebooks to take camping along with a pencil box filled with markers, crayons pens, and pencils. They write about interesting things they experience, draw pictures of what they see or do crayon rubbings of cool leaves or textures they find. I keep thinking they will outgrow it but every time I ask, they still want them.
Instead of plain old smores, we all picked a couple favorite candybars. Oh think of the possibilities, cookies & cream smores, mint chocolate smores, caramel smores, or chocolate raspberry smores. I put all the candybars in a ziplock bag together (so they are easy to find) and kept them in the cooler so they wouldn't melt prematurely. By the way, if anyone has ideas on how to keep a cooler organized, let me know. I hate digging though the ice to find items only to fight to get it to fit back in when I'm done with it. I do use a small plastic tote for all condiment items, so I can pull them out at once, but other than that, I'm at a loss.
I got incredibly sunburnt. Looking back at the pictures I realized I got burnt just packing up Russell's SUV so I didn't stand a chance against two more days of sun, even with sunscreen. Thank God for aloe vera!
I told the kids before we left that we were going camping for my birthday so I wanted them to make it as enjoyable for me as I would for them. I don't remember any arguing, bickering or "I'm bored" for the entire three days.
Swimming in the reservoir and playing on the water trampoline late in the afternoon was almost magical. The sun reflecting off the water was amazingly beautiful. I was refreshed and the whole weekend was food for my soul.
We celebrated independence day all day long this year. We spent the entire day at our favorite pool. There are indoor and outdoor pools, waterfalls, a giant bucket that dumps water, fountains, water slides, diving boards, platforms, and water jungle gyms.
We had a picnic lunch under our cabana and enjoyed some sun before heading home to BBQ.
Set out ingredients and let everyone layer the delicious goodness in your cup of choice. Clear glasses always work best because it looks pretty!
(there are endless possibilites for these parfaits by mixing and matching any kind of fruit or using yogurt instead of pudding)
The sparkler was a fun touch to start off our fireworks for the evening.
We did fireworks on our street just in front of our house and I have to say, it was amazing! Everyone in the neighborhood was setting off fireworks too so everywhere you looked there were fireworks. The sky was filled with big aerials and up and down the street were ground fountains. It was pretty cool.
After fireworks we all sacked out on the couch and watched a movie. I can't imagine living in a county where even these simple freedoms are not an option. Happy Birthday America!
Jul 14, 2012
Jackson was a part of Taylorsville Dayzz parade with his karate dojo as part of our 4th of July celebration. I have to admit, I had not been to a parade in years but we had such a fun time and I'd like to start going again! The temperature was supposed to get to 100 degrees so I was very thankful the parade was in the morning. Jackson needed to be there at 8 am so the night before I baked a dozen blueberry muffins and put together a fruit salad to take with us in the morning.
I am going to take some of the entree's lead to stay cool next time and bring a spray bottle with water for a refreshing mist.
There were some fun & strange entries in the parade. It was really entertaining. Without knowing it, we eneded up sitting close to the announcer so it was great to hear about each entry.
I forgot how much candy you get!
Of course the star of the parade was Jackson! The kids all looked great and were performing hard even after nearly two miles and two hours in the sun.
Jackson got to show off his nunchuck skills many times. He also got to break some wooden boards.
Jackson loved it! He wants to participate again next year. Since we sat towards the end of the parade route, I met him at the end of the parade and brought him back to our spot to watch the rest of the parade. My mom poured a bottle of water over his head to cool him down and he enjoyed some muffins, oranges & berries. I'm glad he had such a fun time.
I love camping, that in itself I am thankful for. I have many blessings in my life and much to be grateful for but here are a few things I am thankful after a weekend in the great outdoors:
Beautiful clear sky filled with stars
Rocks for skipping
Wind to fly kites
Sunrise
Shade trees
Live music
Snow cones
Aloe vera
Salt & Pepper
Instant coffee
Jul 5, 2012
Of the many blessings I have, I am thankful for:
Sparklers & fireworks
Berries & melons
Lemon ice
Water slides & diving boards
Cookies dipped in milk
Laughing until you cry
Love notes from my kids
Being a two car household
Gentle leader dog collars
Waking up in the morning actually feeling well rested
Two months ago, I unplugged our microwave and removed it from the kitchen all together. Why in the world would I do that? Well, it started on a whim (which many things do) after seeing results from a science experiment. Two identical plants, one watered with spring water boiled then cooled on a stove and the other with the same water boiled in a microwave. The plant using the microwaved water wilted and basically died.
I was slightly concerned so I did what most of us would do and scoured the internet for more information. Did you know that the Russians had banned microwaves all together? The internet is filled with the dangers of using microwaves. I found everything from microwaves linked to cancer, brain damage, hormone deficiency and of couse how it reduces the nutrients in foods because it does in fact change the molecular structures of what ever is being 'zapped'. There is a lot of information out there, I will let you be the jude.
I can tell you that without the use of the microwave everything tastes better. Baked potatoes in the oven for 35 min versus 5 minutes in the microwave are infinitely better. (Skins scrubbed clean, a light coat of olive oil and salt = delicious) It really teaches us to slow down and enjoy our food. My kids did put up a fuss in the beginning. I remember feeling inept as a parent when my 9 year old asked me how to cook soup on the stove! Oh, goodness.
At this point I do not miss it one bit. Even the kids admit one of their favorite after school snacks, frozen burritos, taste better cooked in the oven or on the stove top than 'nuked' in the microwave. I guess, on a small scale, they are learning that good things are worth waiting for. In this day and age of technology and instant gratification I think a good dose of patience is a great thing. So whether there is danger or not we don't have to worry about it, our meals taste much better, and I am loving the extra counter space.
I have no idea if the microwave will be added back into our slew of kitchen gadgets at some point but, for now, I am perfectly content without it.
