Beach Babies

Guys, I'm tired.  I'm tired and I'm starting to get that end-of-pregnancy waddle.  Quack.  And yet... and yet I still have 7 weeks to go.  This belly is going to be growing a LOT more.  Also, baby boy is BREECH and so when he flips (you will flip, baby, right???) and he is head down, I suppose my waddle will become pretty hilarious to behold.  Self-prescribed bed rest might be in order.

The other day, though, I braved the beach on my own with the kids.  It was great.  Me on the sand beached-whale style while the kids played in the waves and looked for seashells on the shore.  Oscar preferred to be my little blanket buddy and snack on Oreos.  The sun was shining, the water was warm, and cookies were plentiful.  I might have to do another beach day soon.  Anyone care to join me?  I'll pack an extra bag of cookies...

Good Times, Good Times...

This past week "Ben-ha-meen" was working in Arkansas. On Saturday I threw my little minions into our car and drove up to Arkansas, picked up Ben and headed over to Little Rock to visit some old friends from way back in the day when we were childless. As you can see from the following photo, Ben and I weren't the only ones who have been productive the past six years (wink, wink). Joe and Teriney make really cute kids. And isn't it so awesome/adorable how we took turns having babies just so we could have a photo-op like this one? The numbers are their ages (to be super over-obvious):

Here are their parents. Teriney is currently baking number 4:

Thanks for hosting us, guys! Let us know the next time you are having a crazy-busy weekend and we'll plan a last minute trip up there to interfere... we like being "those" friends.

Menu Fail...

Hey guys, so I was going to post a menu for this week on Monday, but we went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse on Monday for the 4th of July and then Tuesday I had to take my car in to get fixed, so I never made it to the grocery store, which means we had Cheerios for dinner last night. Seriously. Well, I had Almond Vanilla granola (the Archer Farms brand from Target- it's delicious!!!), but everyone else had Cheerios. They were Honey Nut, so my kids thought it was an awesome dinner. And when Ben got home he ate goldfish crackers and downed a V8. We are so healthy! Woo-hoo!

Hopefully my car will be ready to pick up today, and hopefully I'll make it to the store, and hopefully I'll buy something other than breakfast cereal and be able to put up our weekly menu. Oh, and also hopefully I'll finally download some pictures off my iphone and put them on my blog so there is more visual interest here...

Update: Aha! I did it! I downloaded some new photos-

random snapshot of a house while on a Sunday drive in Alabama

my little blue-eyed oscar

lunch at Buck's Pizza in downtown Mobile- best Margherita Pizza ever

4th of July- dressed in appropriate colors (which earned me a HUGE eye roll from their daddy)

fresh fish

So we did a little camping last weekend with the Quinn family and Cash got to try his hand at fishing- and let me tell you, the kid is good! I was a little surprised at how far he could cast (20-30 feet almost every time). After the kids had caught about 15 fish we cleaned em, stuffed them full of fresh herbs and grilled them by the campfire- maggie and cash each ate a whole fish by themselves! Fresh caught fish = yummo camp dinner. Cash keeps telling everyone he wants to get his very own hooker (what he calls a fishing pole). So, if Cash asks you for a hooker for Christmas, don't go giving me a dirty look- the boy just wants to fish!

Dad Love

I asked the kids why they love their dad:

Maggie: I love daddy because he takes me on rides down the canyon.

Cash: I love daddy because he makes me smoothies.

Oscar: Dowwwwn (the only word Oscar knows besides "no" and "mama").

Aw, we love our little ankle-biters!

We went up the canyon to roast hot dogs

Father's Day Breakfast: sticky, gooey, yummy rolls (recipe here).

Happy Father's Day, Ben- we love you!

visual aids

Time: 1700 hours
Location: Riverwoods, Provo, Utah
Date: May 23rd
Event: a walk, indicating that the weather was warm as was the general mood
Warning: lots of pictures to follow... {click on any of the following photos to enlarge- might i suggest you click on the kissing pic? Oooo-la-la}

Happy Halloween!

Comedy Sportz party: Lady and the Tramp

Hallow's Eve:

Little Animals:

Enjoying the Loot:

A Whole Lot of Poppycock...

Well, I mean, it's my life, so perhaps it's not complete poppycock. Saturday was Ben's 32nd birthday. We wanted to give him a super duper special day, so we left him alone for the most part. After a breakfast of donuts (topped with a candle and sparkler) and a hearty round of Happy Birthday to You, he went off for a day of golf and I took the kids to the:


This is part of the Freedom Festival and one week before the 4th of July the kids in the area get to do a fun little parade down Center Street in Provo. We started out at the beginning of the parade right behind the leading band. By the time we got to the last block, the finale band was literally running us over (and I mean literally. If I were any less of a mom I'd have a picture to post of Cash on the ground- having fallen off his scooter- and band members tripping over him while playing "America the Beautiful". Instead I ran back and snagged him out of the way right as the tuba player was about to tread on my boy's noggin.) Afterwards we were exhausted (and some of us were a little miffed that the popsicles they hand out at the end were all gone.)



So we retraced our steps back to the car and headed to the: Farmers Market!

We hung out there, ate lunch, relaxed in the shade and were refreshed. Ben in the meantime was having lunch with his brothers, eating (so I'm told) a slice of both the Concrete Pie and Asphalt Pie at Winger's. But it was his birthday, remember, so that's totally allowed.

Sunday was another beautiful day. Beautiful. And so we decided to get out of doors and enjoy this earth the Lord has given us. We went hiking up to Bridal Veil Falls and let the kids play in the water.

We missed the Bear that was giving folks a scare, but Ben really did save a woman's life. She almost fell into Provo River off a 10 foot cliff. Backwards. Head first.

Then we packed up and took our hero home where later on we hosted a BBQ for Ben's family. Can I just say that I don't think it gets much better than home made grilled hamburgers. That is unless those hamburgers are followed by home made Yogurt Cake with Strawberries and home made Ice Cream. Yum. {Can you tell that someone forgot the camera for this part of the festivities? Oops.}

Anyways, to recap: Ben had a great birthday, the kids and I had a fun weekend, and oh yeah:

There is beauty all around...

A couple of weeks ago Ben and I decided that every weekend we are going to take the kids hiking somewhere along the Wasatch front. Force them to appreciate nature. Then it rained for two weeks in a row. But now that the weather is cooperating once again, we are excited to pack a lunch, slather on some sunscreen, and enjoy the beauty that the Wasatch Front has to offer. We've already done the Battle Creek Falls hike up near Pleasant Grove, and we're wanting to do Timpanogos Cave, Stewart Falls, Donut Falls (near Salt Lake), Devils Kitchen, Grotto Falls (near Payson), Timpanogos Falls, and Twin Lakes (up near Salt Lake). We have to keep the hikes pretty easy because Cash's legs are so short.

On Monday my good friend Olivia and I took our kids hiking up to Bridal Veil Falls (is it okay to call it a hike even though it's a paved path?... I think so). Once again I was awestruck by how gorgeous Provo Canyon is. It really can be breathtaking.



p.s. is anyone else craving Ikea's chocolate cake right now?

to all you dad's who read my blog:

Day of Rest