Jackson Hole {pictureless}

Sadly, I forgot my camera on a really fun trip...but I did want to write down some of the memories before they erase from my mind forever:) My sister took many pictures that I will at some point steal from her so until then enjoy words.

My whole family, grandkids & all went to Jackson hole for a couple of days. One word describes that place...beautiful!

As we were driving there Jaden informed us that this room was different then other rooms we stayed at & we asked him why, he said "fresh air." I thought that was so funny to observe. It really does have lots of fresh air & if I was a dreamer I would say one day I would be able to buy one of their million dollar cabins so that my kids could enjoy all the fresh air they could ever want.

We love to stay in Teton Village. It's at the base of a ski mountain & the views are breathtaking, they have a fun little park with a small spray park in the middle. There are hiking trails, lots of para-gliders coming off the mountain, a small wading pond....lots of nature.

We stayed here & I over indulged on all the spa products in the room. I smelled like sage...YUM! We also took a ride up the tram which is by far the grandkids favorite thing to do. Every time the tram would swing they'd cheer in delight. Of course the top had breathtaking views & we got to witness para-gliders jumping off the side of the mountain.

We did lots of swimming which is always my favorite. Jaden has turned into a little fish & loves to swim also.

We ate lots of food too! Also a favorite!

Thanks to my wonderful mom & dad for a fun trip and all they do. The fun is not over as we have a fun-filled day planned for today also....I think we are spoiled!

A realization

Chris told me on Saturday that he finally gets it. He finally understands why I have such fond memories of spending time with cousins & why it's so important to me for my kids to have that too.

That realization came driving from Rexburg to home Saturday night after a very full day of cousin fun. Our kids were truely in heaven & I think it's hard to find a bond that cousins have.

In fact, our shy little Landon didn't care that he didn't know his cousins from Atlanta very well...they were his best friends. In fact, such good friends that he didn't hestitate to wrestle & jump on all of them....THUS resulting in stitches for a very deep gash to the head today. After a very sickening doctor visit with him strapped to a papoose board, numbing shots, & stitches we met back with all his friends at the zoo today:):):)

Here's some of the fun we've had this far & there is much more to come.

Utah FUN!

We went to Utah this weekend for my cousin Cameron's mission farewell.

Since our boys aren't fans of travelling we decided to spend the night & make it fun for them.

On Sunday night we took them to temple square. The loved all the water features & we had to check out every one. It was a beautiful & HOT night.
The next day we took the boys to a wave pool. I wasn't sure if it would be too big for them but I always loved them growing up & wanted to try. Jaden was a little daredevil & kept swimming into the thick of it without a tube...which is a no no. So I ventured out to the big waves with him & we had so much fun. Landon & Chris hung out in the shallow end; Landon loved having the waves knock him back. Overall, very successful & we'll do it again:)

Look what Jaden can do!

We've been noticing over the past couple of months that all Jaden's friends were starting to have their training wheels taken off of their bikes. Since Jaden is the youngest out of most his friends he started getting bitter when all of them turned 5 before him because he was taller then all of them & should be older. He made the connection that 5 years old ride without training wheel so once he turned 5 he decided it was time.

He tried a week ago & got frustrated & gave up....but he woke up Monday morning ready & determined to make it happen. Monday was VERY windy & our best efforts did not provide success. The next day, WINDY again & a repeat. But he was determined & went into the garage & declared to me that he could ride his bike on his own. I humored him but didn't believe him.

The next day wasn't windy as we heady out & he was right, he could ride his bike without training wheels. He was very wobbly but he pushed on....this was on his little 12 inch bike because it made him feel safer. His new bike is much bigger at 20 inches.

By evening he had progressed to his new green bike moving extremely fast down the road. My heart was very nervous on several occassions but it's so fun to see his excitement at accomplishing this.

Today I was riding behind him on my bike & a gust of wind rushed by him pushing him off the sidewalk, down the curb onto the road...I held my breath as I waited for him to take a big tumble but somehow he recoved, kept on riding, & started laughing. I think we have a lot of bike rides in our future.

Bedtime

Bedtime isn't the funnest time in our home. Quite simply, the boys want to keep on playing. Since Chris has been travelling (he's finally finished) I've needed an 8pm bedtime for my sanity. Both boys have been confused with so much sunlight at bedtime so I've been allowing them to stay up in their rooms but they can't come out after 8pm...they don't always stay in but that's the rule.

Last night Chris went to check on the boys & found what was obviously a bored Jaden. I guess when your toys are located in the basement you have to get a little creative.If you can't tell those are shin guards on his head & his lunch box in his hand (I think he snuck some toys in it). And I'm going to share a proud mommy moment:) Jenna's kids, Gracie & Easton, are slightly messy children so when they come & play I've become really strick in enforcing a mess in only one area at a time. The other day Easton was over & was playing in the basement & then headed outside. I asked him if the basement was clean & it wasn't so I sent him downstairs before he could go outside....yes, I'm a mean aunt. Jaden helped him clean up the mess. After he went home I got a text from Jenna saying that Easton was cleaning so good & she asked him where he learned and he said "Jaden taught me." When Jaden puts his mind to it he really is a good cleaner & organizer & I couldn't be more proud:):):)

~Delish~

I LOVE strawberry lemonades. Not the ones that are strawberry flavored but those that have REAL strawberries. The only problem is that they are LOADED with sugar.

Yesterday, it occurred to me that I really wanted one BUT I wasn't about to ruin my points to have one. SO....I made my own & it was soooooo good!

Here's how----

I took my blender, stuffed if full of ice, took a packet of crystal light lemonade, took a bunch of frozen strawberries (I froze fresh ones) & squirted in some sugar-free strawberry syrup (made my own so if you want all the info on how to do this, let me know) & blended!

I didn't take a picture BUT I almost completely drank the whole blender full by myself. The only calories were from the strawberries & those are good calories:) AND the frozen stawberries & ice made it super slushie! If I didn't know better, I would have thought I had consumed 1000 calories:):):) AH...thank goodness for the pretend calories!

4th of July celebrations!!!!

I've decided that the 4th of July is up there with Christmas. There's lots of family time, lots of celebrating, and lots of fun!!!!

Our fun started on Friday evening at a cul de sac in our neighborhood that throws a BIG party every year. Lots of snow cones, bouncy toys, hots dogs, face painting, live music, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn & BIG fireworks made for TWO happy little boys. It really was an amazing party. I loved that they lined their street with numerous flags...it really was a beautiful sight.
On Saturday we started our cold morning with the parade. Landon spent much of the time snuggling with me but Jaden was in the thick of it & loved every minute.

Afterwards we headed to my parents for a yummy BBQ. My parents have a small pond that the kids decided they wanted to play in. It was so funny to watch them. At one point Jaden was jumping from the shore, missed the middle of the raft, hit the side, & did a back flip into the pond. He bounced up quickly shouting "I'm ok." Landon spent time on the 4-wheeler with daddy & napping.

That evening we decided to do the melaluca fireworks. Two cranky boys made us decide to leave early...they were tired.On Sunday after church we headed up to Island Park. It was nice to breath fresh air & spend time with family. Of course, we had to include fireworks in the fun since my boys can't get enough!

Thanks everyone for a FUN weekend! Can't wait until next year.

Cute Moments!

I love capturing fun moments on camera!

The other day I was watching my friend Jenn's kids & I had her leave her car seats in case I had to go somewhere. The kids all wanted snow cones (I have the best Sugar Free ones if anyone wants to try them) so I made one for everyone. As I was cleaning up I looked out the window & saw this....I was laughing so hard. They were just chilling in the car seats eating snow cones.
And meet the newest employee of MV Auto Buyers! Today I told our employee to take the day off & I'm working at the dealership. Jaden has joined me this last hour & he thinks he runs the place. We are getting lots done! If you need a new 7 seater, check out this one...I love it & am tempted to buy it for myself. AND since you know me I'll give you an even better deal although we have it listed way below blue book!

Food Storage Ideas

I'm sure I'm not the only one that finds food storage a little intimidating & overwelming. It's not supposed to be that way but I really want my food storage to serve a purpose & not be items wasted in the future....I'm sure we've seen some people that have items in food storage for 30+ years that in the end having to throw it all in the garbage...my goal is to not have this happen but to have an organized food storage that I use, keep track of, & know exactly how often I should be using it.

So...I came up with an idea that works for me, isn't overwelming, & won't break the bank. It's starting out small.

Every week I'll create a menu that only requires items from future storage. I'll make sure I have the supplies for 6 meals made from this menu. For example, this week is mexican casserole. There are two items (cheese & sour cream) that in an emergency I may not have so I put these on a seperate line since I'm NOT going to make sure I have enough of these for 6 meals:) If needed, I can omit these items & still have a very healthy & good meal. The 2nd part of my plan is to go through my food storage, subtract what I already have, & determine what I need to buy this week (each week I'll buy what I need for my 6 meals). I've put this on a spreadsheet and my meal I put together will add to this to determine total what my storage needs.

Are you following me so far???? I plan to create 30 meal plans. So in essence when I'm done I'll have a 6 month supply of food we already eat...food I can rotate into our nightly meals so we keep it fresh & in use. When I pull the item out of storage my spreadsheet will tell me I need to buy more:) There's more....the mexican casserole will last my family for 3 meals so with leftovers we actually have much more then 6 months worth of dinners. After I'm done with dinners I'll begin to focus on breakfast & lunch (so far, in an emergency we'll be eating bread & oatmeal for those meals w/ peanut butter & Jelly).

I hope this is the magic trick to finally get my food storage to where it needs to be!!!