Lucky got away...

We really love holiday's in our house! I think it's because it lets me pretend I'm a kid for a little while and my kids get really in to them too! Plus, when my kids are grown and have their own families, they will remember our traditions and hopefully keep them up with their little ones.

The Monday before St. Patrick's Day Keaton had a brilliant idea to build a leprechaun trap. He drew out a blueprint, and then got working. Here is what he came up with.

He came up with this writing all on his own. I thought it was so hilarious!! What a cutie pie!

St. Patty's day morning KJ woke up to this...

Lucky got away again this year! We'll have to be more creative next time!

But he did leave some goodies behind!

We didn't have school this year on St. Patrick's Day so we got to play all day!

Breakfast....(traditional lucky charms with green milk)

Lunch....(they each picked their favorite green food). Keaton picked green scrambled eggs, Olivia picked the kiwi and Jack picked 'Gaspargagus'!

And dinner...the traditional corned beef and cabbage.

And we baked green ciabatta bread to deliver to a few houses!

This bread is so yummy and SUPER easy and cheap to make!

Go ahead and try it...it was a hit!

4 cups flour

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. yeast + 2 cups water

(put water and yeast in microwave for 30 seconds)

Mix all ingredients together just until moist.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave on your counter for 8-12 hours

(we let it sit overnight)

pour on greased cookie sheet and gently form into one loaf.

Bake at 400* for 35-40 minutes.

Did I mention how much I love my little Leprechauns?!?!

Cereal & Sleeping Beauty

If having kids has taught me anything, it's that life is unpredictable and never boring.

I got the dreaded phone call from the school nurse that Jack was sick and had thrown-up in the classroom. I quickly went to school to pick him up and he was very embarrassed that all his friends had seen him get sick (all over his teacher's desk apparently). And he was even more upset that his friend Austin had brought the class birthday treats and he would miss out on that too. Anyway...we got him home, he took a bath, got all snuggled up in sweats and sipping on gatorade and I asked what movie he wanted to watch. He said he wanted to watch the cereal movie. Cereal movie?? What could that possibly be? After lots of looking and detective work I realized that he wanted to watch the Flintstones. Of course, the Fruity Pebbles cereal box has a picture of the Flintstones on it right? I didn't even know we had that movie, but little Jack remembers the craziest of things. He was right, we do own it, and so he's quietly laying on the couch watching his 'Cereal' movie.

I told Olivia that we needed to be quiet so that Jack could get some rest, she went upstairs to play. Or so I thought. The little sweetheart put herself to bed...Princess crown and all. I've got my very own Sleeping Beauty. There is just something about watching your kids sleep that seems to melt the worries of your day away. I think every mom can attest to that. This whole day-light savings thing has us all missing our extra hour of sleep, so maybe this is her way of catching up. Either way, right now at this very moment I am happy that my kids are happy. Let's just hope Jack gets well soon and that no one else catches the 'bug'.

9am races on a Saturday = Heaven for KJ

What's more exciting to an 8 year old boy than to race your very own custom built pine-wood derby car down the race track?? Nothing. It was the highlight of KJ's weekend. Him and Dan painted this car weeks ago and he's been anxious to race it down the track for quite a while. It was exactly where he wanted to be on a Saturday morning. When KJ's happy, it makes me happy. And although we didn't come away with a win, we still had fun. And he was excited to walk away with a 6th place ribbon and a certificate! Jack and Olivia were excited to walk away with powdered doughnuts. :) We did learn some tricks for next year, like where to place the weights. Yes, KJ is already talking about the shape and kind of car he wants to build for next time. BOYS.

Enjoy the pictures!

KJ sizing up the competition...

The track...

Some of his buddies...

Showing off his loot...

KJ's biggest fans...

Right after the races we headed for a birthday party for cute little Austin. He and Jack are in the same class at school and we've really come to love him and his cute family!

Happy 6th Birthday Buddy!

fresh mountain air...

A little fresh mountain air always seems to be good for the soul! We spent some time last weekend doing something a little different, we tried ice fishing! It's not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of patience...something I certainly don't have! But the good news is that Keaton sure does. He sat there for hours just waiting and waiting and waiting (the reason for him not being in the picture above). He got a few tugs on the pole, and almost pulled a fish out of the hole in the ice, but it wiggled free at the very last second. He did however, have a lot of fun. He can't wait to go again. We also had a fun time playing broom hockey on the lake, climbing rocks, sliding across the icy lake, and just exploring in the beautiful mountains of Colorado!

Olivia loved having these spikes for her shoes!

The guys would spin this barrel around and slide it across the lake. KJ got a kick out of that!

Drill baby drill....

Patiently waiting...

Olivia loved cleaning the newly formed ice out of the fishing hole...

And I just thought I'd end with this picture cause it was my favorite picture of the day. Jake thought he'd slide across the lake on his belly. It might have been one of those 'you-just-had-to-be-there' type of pictures, but it still makes me laugh!