Love This!

So True!

(and so glad it is!)

found it HERE at Somewhat Simple :)

A Little Reminder

You wouldn't want to forget :)

The Middle

1. I can't seem to get the background to work on my blog and I think I have stopped caring. I hope you like white!

2. Ty is home today! We took the kids for a swim at my parent's house and then we got to enjoy lunch at Panera. I love Panera. I wish we had one closer to us!

3. I made Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. They are cooling now and we are all looking forward to eating them later :)  (This is one of my very favorite brownie recipes!)

4. Zoey is rolling and crawling. It is adorable.

5. The kids are loving all of the crafts we have been doing. I have spent a lot of time cleaning up paint and supplies so today I set up a bike wash in the backyard for them to play with instead. They ended up washing the tables and chairs and all of the balls that were back there as well. It was a very successful activity!

6. The number of blogs that I follow and read keeps growing. There are so many fabulous ideas out there and so little time. (and sometimes too little talent on my part!)

I just like to get inspired!

Happy Wednesday!

Salt Dough

 Our beads turned out pretty good.

We used plastic straws to make the holes before we baked the dough.

Painting the beads was a big and messy job. Especially when Zackary decided to give it a try!

We strung the beads onto shoelaces and voila!

Mia is very pleased with the results :)

Target Practice

 This was on the agenda as an activity to do later this week, but we found these camo cups and had to shoot them right away :)

 Max and Zackary set up the cups and lego men.

Max knocked them all down.

This was quite entertaining and successful. I am sure we will be doing it all week. (so it was okay that we ended up doing it a little bit early!)

This Week

It's the last week of June and the fourth week of summer vacation!

The time is really flying by.

Last week was birthday week and busy. This week I took the time to make another 5 day plan for the kids and I.

Here it is:

Monday

Read: Curious George Makes Pancakes

followed by pancakes for breakfast (more specifically CAKIES topped with strawberries)

Make: salt dough beads

Combine 1 cup water, 2 cups flour and 2 cups salt and knead together

Form your beads by making lots of small balls of dough and using a skewer, pencil or stick to make a hole in the centre of each bead, large enough for your thread to fit through.

Place the beads on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 2 – 3 hours in a cool oven (250F). Once the beads have baked hard, leave them to completely cool.

 (later we will be painting our beads and making them into necklaces or bracelets)

Tuesday

Read: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (again!) 

followed by some math and counting with cookie crisp cereal

Weekly Trip to the Library (checking out lots of books and movies)

Make Peppermint Play-Doh (my kids love homeade play-doh and we love trying new variations)

Peppermint Play-Doh

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar 1 Tablespoon Peppermint Oil Extract
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water

1. Mix flour, salt, & cream of tartar in a medium cooking pot.
2. Add water, peppermint extract and oil.
3. Stir over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes stirring constantly.
4. When mixture forms a ball in pot, remove.
5. Knead until smooth.

Wednesday

Read: If You Take a Mouse to School

followed by some play school and workbooks

plastic cup nerf gun target practice with lego men

(See the set-up HERE!) 

sticker art

Thursday

Read: The Paper Bag Princess

followed by paper bag dress-up (turning paper bags into dresses and shirts)

make ice block treasures (freezing some small toys into ice blocks for excavation later)

Friday

Read: If You Give a Pig a Party

followed by party planning and throwing our own party

complete with cake! 

Have a Great Week!

Cake!

I really look froward to my birthday because of this cake.

Dark chocolate raspberry cake from Michelle's bakery :)

This is serious cake.

I was seriously tempted to eat it for breakfast this morning.

Happy Birthday to Me

 Ty knows me well.

He really is an awesome gift giver.

Thanks Babe!

(I can't wait to cook dinner for you!)

The Big 2-9!

It's my birthday!

Today I am 29. I wanted to celebrate the day by spending time with my favorite people at my favorite place.

Ty and I took the kids to Treasure Island Park beach in Laguna.

 The sky was still a little bit grey when we got there, but it quickly cleared off and we had a beach day with blue skies and a perfect breeze!

 Max and Mia love the water. They jumped right in.

 Zackary played in the sand. He is afraid of the water and seagulls. We find this hilarious because most of the time he is a big tough guy.

 Ty helped the boys build a great big castle/pile of sand :)

 As soon as Ty and Max walked away Zack stomped on and destroyed the castle.

 We call Mia our teeny wahini. She is our biggest water lover.

 and, unlike the rest of us, she manages to get a little bit tan in the summer time.

It was a beautiful day on the beach!

When the kids started to get cranky we took them to Wahoo's Fish Tacos for lunch. I love Wahoo's. I love fish tacos. It was awesome.

In the past I haven't done much for my birthdays. It was so much fun to have a day of play planned. It was a wonderful birthday and a great start to 29!

Tuesday Things

1. We are enjoying one of those perfect summer days. It has been warm and breezy. I have all of the windows open and we have been outside all afternoon.

2. We tried out a recipe for sidewalk chalk paint. It uses equal parts cornstarch and water and a little food coloring. I used 1 cup of both the cornstarch and water. I divided the mixture into 4 little cups and added 5 or 6 drops of food coloring to each. The kids painted the entire back patio!

3. I made vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies today. I used coconut oil and a flax egg. They were totally yummy. I could be a happy vegan (who occasionally eats steak!).

4. We celebrated Father's Day last night because Ty was on call all weekend. He requested a roast with potatoes and carrots. Dessert was a blueberry crisp with ice cream. We got Ty a case of A&W root beer and lots of beef jerky, as well as some non-vegan chocolate chip cookies :)

5. I really love my front loading washer and dryer. If you are considering purchasing a new set, I highly recommend them!

A snack attack

It is no secret that I love shopping at Trader Joe's.

If I can leave the kids and go on my own the trip is even better :)

I recently tried these Marcona Almonds with Rosemary.

They are ridiculous.

I highly recommend them if you are anywhere near a T.J.'s!

The men

My dad is awesome   ;)

I think he is Zackary's most favorite person in the whole world!

He is always there for us and we love him.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Ty is the best husband and father ever.

We are super lucky to have him.

(He is also super good looking)

Love you Ty!

Happy Father's Day!

Zoey's bed?

Zoey is getting a tooth and it seems to be ruining her ability to sleep at night in her own bed. She has been making appearances in our bed  a lot the past few nights. She woke up this morning, in our bed, with her binky in one ear and a big smile on her face. She is so adorable :)

I do hope one day she returns to her own bed and good sleeping habits, but for now we are waking up to cuteness!

Happy Father's Day!

 

I am posting this video for the third year in a row.

I love this song. 

I love the men in my life.

You guys rock :)

The Fire Museum

 This morning I took the kids to the fire museum in Banning.

Zackary was in heaven. He was so thrilled to be able to climb onto all of the trucks.

 I love this picture of Superman and Spiderman ;)

 Our guide was so nice to the kids. Mia and Zack were busy running from engine to engine and Max was asking lots of questions.

 The kids think that because we have a power wheel at home they know how to drive. One day I will have to explain to them that they really have no idea!

At the end of our visit the kids received plastic fire hats and some goody bags. (Check out Mia's backward facing hat!)

Kids under 6 are free so I think this would be a great stop for younger siblings once the school year starts in August.

A Little Help Please :)

Our summer is going great! I am loving the long days, but I do have one complaint.

All of the kids are waking up at different times throughout the morning and everyone is wanting breakfast at a different time. I am feeling kind of overwhelmed by all of this meal prep.

 How is everyone else handling summer breakfast?

Do you have your children serve themselves?

Do you make something that can be served all morning long?

Words I Live By

I have a couple favorite phrases that I love. I am able to apply them to many aspects of my life and I use them daily. 

They are:

"Something is better than nothing."

I think of this when I feel too tired to exercise or think that I have no time to clean. 10 minutes on the treadmill is better than nothing and 10 minutes with some 409 in a bathroom can yield amazing results. I also like this one when it comes to scripture study.

and

"No excuses."

This one is pretty self explanatory. I hate excuses. 

Do you have a mantra? Favorite phrase? etc....

Day 1

 Well...so far so good!

We had our little donut themed morning.

 Max had never been to Choco Donuts before because we always went after dropping him off at school so he was excited to try it out. He got a ginormous cinnamon roll shaped donut. He said it was awesome.

 Mia's donut was blue. She is usually an all pink type of a girl, but today she chose blue!

After donuts we came home and finished the Father's Day projects, watched a movie, and worked on some homework sheets....all before 11 am!

This schedule is going to wear the little miss out!

I made lunch and now I am going to give in and let the kids play on the i-pad or watch television.

Happy Monday!

This week!

This first week of summer vacation has been wonderful. Ty had the whole week off. We enjoyed every moment!

Our trip to Monterey was a blast. The rest of the weekend included a trip to Costo, lots of laundry, and a date night for Ty and I.

Tomorrow Ty goes back to work and summer at home begins for the rest of us. I have been preparing to have all 4 kids at home for quite a while and I am really looking forward to our days of play.

I have this week planned out. Here is a quick peek at our schedule:

Monday

Reading: If You Give a Dog a Donut

followed by a trip to our favorite donut shop (Choco-Donuts) for breakfast.

working on our Father's Day gifts and making treats for FHE

Tuesday

Reading: If You Give a Moose a Muffin

and baking blueberry muffins

trip to the library

writing and mailing letters or writing/drawing in journals

Wednesday

Reading: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (are you sensing a theme?)

Cookie baking for a special occasion

Backyard bike wash

chalk drawings

Thursday

Reading: I Love Monkey

costumes and dance party to music (while in costumes)

making kool-aid slurpees

Friday

field trip to Oak Glen

movie night with pizza

I am really looking forward to a memorable summer full of happy days. I want this to be a special time that the kids will really enjoy.

What are you doing this week? This month? This summer?

Monterey

 We took a little trip up the coast to see Monterey this week!

It was an eventful drive on Monday. We stopped in Santa Barbara for a walk along the beach and a visit with some friends. We had a quick lunch and we were back on the road. Zackary was wearing Zoey's Bumbo on his head while we drove :)

 We took the scenic route and it was amazing!

Ty flipped the car around on the highway so that I could hop out and take some pictures. This is our car on the one side.

 and the ocean on the other side!

 The road was very narrow and full of turns. It made me a little bit nervous, but Ty has no fear behind the wheel :)

 We stayed on the road the whole time!

When we arrived in Monterey that evening we were sad to discover that it was FREEZING! Like really cold!

I had brought jackets for everyone, but I was really planning on summer weather and was very much caught off guard. As usual we tried to make the best of things.

 Our hotel had a nice little fire pit,

 and a heat lamp that we used simultaneously.

 There was also much hot chocolate.

 It was a happy treat!

 Zoey hated the drive and was happy to be settled for a while.

We ordered in a pizza for dinner and went to bed.

 The next morning the kids were up bright and early so we took them to the park to play while we waited for the rest of the world to wake up.

  When it seemed like a reasonable hour we went to the aquarium.

 It was so much fun. It was very kid/family oriented.

 There were lots of activities and learning centers.

 The aquarium is right on the ocean. (or the bay....)

 It was cold, but at least the skies were blue and clear!

 After the aquarium we spent some time on Cannery Row. Max and Mia were having a grand ole time.

 They love posing for pictures.

 Zack, was really grumpy. He was refusing to move here. 

We stopped by the ghiradelli chocolate store for samples, and everyone felt better!

 Ty wanted to have lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

They gave us a free basket of fries to eat while we were waiting.

It was awesome :)

 and any restaurant that gives out coloring books and crayons is fine with me.

After lunch we finished up on Cannery Row and went back to the hotel for a quick clean-up break.

 There was a shopping center nearby with a Whole Foods market and a William-Sonoma kitchen store. I had to visit!

(This picture is of Max and a seal statue, but I think it looks real!)

I bought some fig balsamic vinegar and coconut sugar that I can't wait to try. I found a great bread knife at William-Sonoma, but it was $400 so I passed on that :)

 We found an amazing toy store that the kids loved.

We finished our evening with dinner and movies at the hotel.

 The next morning the kids were up and ready to go again so we headed to Pebble Beach.

 It was cold, again!

 Cold, but beautiful!

 The kids really enjoyed running along the beach and this walking path.

 It was a very happy morning!

Next we went to the Children's Museum in Monterey. We played and crafted and Zackary ran wild. We had lunch at Henry's BBQ. It was so good and made us all miss Nashville.

We made one more trip to the park and then took a quick drive to Carmel to see the mission.

It was historic and beautiful, but (I apologize) I find missions creepy.

We came back to the hotel and spent some time in the pool and hot tub. After dinner we watched American Ninja Warrior and it was amazing!

We woke up this morning, packed up, loaded the car, and headed home!

It was a great trip, but I am glad to be home where it is warm and we all have our own beds!