Go fly a kite...

Yesterday was the perfect day for kite flying!! It was nice and sunny, the kids were out of school, we had friends over to play, and there was the perfect amount of wind! Flying kites brings out the best in all of us....until it gets caught in the neighbor's tree!

*I apologize if the pictures are grainy...I used my cell phone camera*

life is hard when you're a kid...

It's pretty hard to stay mad at your daughter when she is just so darn cute. (I wasn't really Mad, just making a point that we don't jump off the back of the couch on top of your brother)

Just because of her cuteness, her time-out was pretty quick!! I remember when life seemed so hard as a child and now, looking back, I would love to have such carefree days!

"To every thing there is a season...."

My little love bugs....

Our Valentine's Day was a little bit different this year. We woke up at 5am and drove Dan to the Denver airport, where he was flying to sunny, warm, Southern California for a dental course (lucky him). So we were all really tired but made it back in time for school and the much anticipated school V-Day parties. The boys have been looking forward to this day for a while now. I love how exciting all holidays are for little ones. And really, it helped me out too, their happiness is contagious! While one was off enjoying the warmth of California, my 3 little love bugs were warming my heart right here at home!

For dinner we made heart-shaped pizzas. It was a hit!

After dinner, for our FHE night, we decorated sugar cookies and delivered a few plates! One to a neighbor, one to Coley&Jason, and another to a good friend from church. The kids love to deliver goodies to someone's door. And actually, I remember doing that as a kid and loving it too! Not sure what it is, maybe it's just the feeling of sharing the LOVE!

We came home, and opened two packages that came in the mail! One from G&G Howard and one from Ninny&Papa. I swear, the kids were as excited as they were on Christmas morning! We are grateful for their thoughtfulness and the awesome goodies that are still being enjoyed by us all!

Since Dan was gone for the "REAL" V-day, we had a V-Day dinner Sunday with Coley and Jason. It was yummy! We had spinach-mushroom manicotti, caesar salad, garlic cheese bread, and pineapple. The kids decorated the table so it was nice and festive!

And if you love rich/dark chocolate, this is the perfect dessert for you. I thought I had died and went to chocolate heaven. I'm not sure what it was (mousse-y, creamy, dense), but my sister brought it from Whole Foods and it is my new favorite. The best part about it is that it was too rich for the kids and so it was ALL mine!

We hope you all know how much we love you!!! Isn't it great to have a holiday to help remind us of all the ones we love in life?

xoxo

one 'CRAPPY' cake...

Keaton had his scout Blue & Gold banquet last week and each scout was asked to bake a cake for a cake contest! Of course, with Dan being in charge, it wasn't just any old regular cake. Let's just say that KJ won the 'crappiest cake' contest. It was a hit! When it was time for dessert, we heard the scouts run up to KJ's cake and say, "I get a piece of poop"! It made KJ smile. I was such a proud mom. ;)

KJ is a pro at cracking eggs, no shells. It's his favorite part of cooking.

Here is where the fine decorating skills came in...

Tootsie rolls (slightly warmed in microwave) carefully molded and placed over a bed of crushed Golden Oreos, pudding and chocolate. Don't worry, this was a brand new dish box and a brand new kitty litter scoop! The dollar store is very handy in situations like this!

The finished product! A kitty litter box cake.

Keaton getting his new awards. Isn't he a cutie pie?!

And not to be forgotten, here are the other 2 little rascals...

One SAUCY post...

No, not the saucy you're thinking of! I don't even know if the correct spelling is Saucey or saucy...but that's beside the point. The point of this post is that I LOVE food. A lot. I love to cook, go grocery shopping, prep, I like it all! I do not however enjoy chopping onions or doing the dishes! And all who know me well, know that my favorite food is salad, not just any salad, but a GOOD or unique salad. Good lettuce (preferably butter lettuce or baby spinach), good toppings (strong cheese, real bacon, smoked salmon, red onion, hard boiled eggs, etc.), and most importantly a good dressing. One thing I am learning that I can't stand is store bought dressing. I may be turning in to a food snob, I don't know. It is nice and convenient, but if you read the back carefully you'll find things like: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Guar gum, Xanthan Gum, modified food starch, all sorts of different preservatives, and sometimes even food coloring. Yes, food coloring. Who would've thought!

I had a friend (Paula) share a new dressing recipe with me last week and I was so excited to try something new, that I thought it would be fun to 'pay-it-forward' and share my latest 3 favorite salad dressings of the month (they tend to change frequently). So if you are like me and sick of the normal, everyday store shelf dressings, get ready to write these down...I know you'll enjoy them! Well, at least I hope so, I'm not making any promises.

I made all 3 of these this morning and it only took me about 30 minutes total. I always throw everything in the blender and it's quick and easy, with a quick and easy clean up. After you're done, you'll be glad to have 3 new kinds of dressing (all very different) in your fridge and they will last your family at least a week or two! Easy peasy. And keep in mind, you can easily adjust the amount of vinegar, oil or spices to your liking!

Cilantro Dressing ~ Compliments of my friend Paula

2-3 seeded jalepenos (depending on size)

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp salt

1 TB sour cream

1-2 green onions

2/3 cup olive oil - Add slowly to blender to emulsify - makes the dressing thicker

(I like the taste of a light olive oil for this dressing, the dark olive oil can be a little strong)

I waited to add the cilantro until last and turned the blender speed down a bit so that you can still see the Cilantro leaves a bit.

If you like Limes, you can also squeeze the juice of one lime in the dressing.

Poppy Seed Dressing~

1/2 cup sugar (or you can use less if you prefer)

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cider vinegar

3/4 cup salad oil

2 tsp. poppy seeds (wait to add these until the end)

At low speed add first 5 ingredients. At medium speed slowly add oil until thickened. Add poppy seeds and stir!

This is the dressing my kids like most. Makes a great spinach salad with bacon, feta cheese, egg, red onions and croutons.

And last....but not least

Balsamic Dressing~

8 oz. olive oil

2 TB Lemon Juice

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

3 cloves garlic

1 TB + 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. pepper

Blend until it begins to thicken!

And there you have it....3 happy little bottles of dressing. Enjoy!

quack quack...bang.

The long awaited BCS Championship game has come and gone and sadly, we were not victorious. The Ducks lost in the last 2 seconds of the game to Auburn....by a field goal. It was a sad, sad moment in our house. But all kidding aside, besides what the scoreboard said, we did have a great night. My parents flew down here to visit and we had a Duck party. I think we may have had some of the top Duck fans right in our living room. My dad, Jason and Dan.

My 'new' brother Jason turns the big 3-0 TODAY!!! We had a nice little birthday party for him while my parents were in town and he had a huge rice crispy for his "cake" since he loves those delicious chewy dessert squares! Happy Happy 30th Birthday J-Baum!

I wasn't very good about taking pictures while they were here. Surprise, surprise....I usually always OVER do pictures. Anyway, just know we were busy, enjoyed each other's company, had a girls day out of shopping, yummy eatin', late nights, gym classes, Just Dance on the Wii, school lunch dates, exploring, laughing, school snow day, etc. And I have to say that on the day we had the girls day out, the boys lost Jack. Yes, in Denver, in a busy mall, Jack disappeared for a while. Picture mall security, security camera's and all. I'm just glad I didn't know a thing about it until late that night, I would have FREAKED! Jack told me that the lady that found him ALL the way across the mall at Nordstrom kept asking what his Dad's name was. He just kept saying, "my dad's name is Dad." Poor guy. I actually think KJ was more shaken up than Jack. He told Dan that if Jack was gone, it would take him 4 whole years to teach Olivia to play the Wii as good as Jack can. haha! Brotherly love at it's finest!

I did however keep a little momento that I would like to share so that I can remember it. When Keaton found out that his 'ninny and papa' were coming he came up with a list of things he wanted to do with papa.

They were able to accomplish all but a couple of things. They had a great time and KJ had a hard time after they left. I wish we could all live close, it would make things much easier! His top 2 favorite things that they did were hiking and shooting his bb gun. He's such a boy!

We always get so spoiled having them here and the kids go thru attention 'withdrawals' after they've gone.

The day they left we went to a birthday party at this place called Art Sports...it was amazing! Happy 6th Birthday Kyle!

A kids paradise. 29 indoor trampolines, bungee jumping cords, zip-lines, foam pits, etc. FUN!

Now that company is gone, it's back to life as usual. Catching up on laundry, homework, piano practice...all the boring stuff you get to set aside while company is in town.

Off to fold some laundry....