Halloween 2009

Our Halloween celebration consisted of one elementary school Halloween parade, three classroom Halloween parties, two soccer games, two piano concerto recitals, one neighborhood chili party, and of course two entirely separate rounds of trick or treating. It was a blast but also utterly exhausting. Mix that busy cocktail up with nursing kids back to health (who really shouldn't have been trick or treating in the first place) and the results are this: 1. Halloween decoration coming down 8 days too late 2. Pictures posted 8 days too late 3. One sick mommy who didn't get out of bed for two days

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Oh Gourdy!

I know! I know! Halloween is over...but I just had to share. It's no secret I LOVE my Jeni Gochnour Gourds. In fact, at a recent party I hosted - a few guests wanted a house tour. Funny enough, it eventually turned into a gourd tour. I was kind of dying that I had so many to show. Now to the fun part - Jeni saw the picture I posted of my living room and posted it on her blog! You can check it out here. If you haven't been to one of her shows, be sure to put her Christmas show on your calendar. It's one of my favorite holiday art shows of the year.

It's Looking Awfully Spooky Around Here...

I Can't Wait...

...to show the girls the perfect accessory I stumbled upon (at another one of my favorite haunts :) for them to wear to jazz class tonight. They've been learning the dance to Thriller during October and tonight's class will be the Thriller finale. How fun will it be to show up with this on? Thank you Tar-Jay!

Something's Gotta Give

*Image of my favorite house in one of my favorite movies as per listed above...

I'm finally just coming up for a breath from nearly a month of my life running me versus me running my life. I'm hoping this choke-hold I've got on it this week will last for a bit and slow down this beast known as our schedule. When life gets this crazy - something's gotta give ... and it's not only been my blog. In all the madness, however, there have been many shining moments and that's what I'd like to share and what I hope you'd like to hear (rather than what's been making me pull my hair out.)

1. On October 10th, a special little girl at our house celebrated her 9th birthday. It was a Saturday so the whole day was dedicated to indulging her - including soccer games, shopping, burgers and shakes with Grammy and Paca, a chocolate cake with a rainbow (her specific request) and topping the night off with a 3-d movie in Paca's theater. (Have I mentioned before that friend birthday parties only happen on "even" numbered birthdays? Love that.)

2. Kalli has been cast as Portia in "The Merchant of Venice" for her 6th grade play. We've been waking up early to attend 7:15 a.m. play practices and memorizing lines. She's amazes me every day. Keeping up with that girl's schedule is a full time job in and of itself!

3. Max is a boy with a sweet and sensitive heart. We had Monday off of school and we drove by a different elementary school that was having recess. (With the windows rolled up, of course) the girls and I laughed and teased, "You have school...and we don't...na na...na na...na." Max didn't participate in the teasing and with a fornlorn look on his face he said, "Aww those poor kids shouldn't have to go to school if we don't have to." Needless to say, we all melted and stopped our teasing immeditately. :)

His "sweet" does have a limit, however. After an afternoon matinee watching Aladdin with the girls, I asked him what he thought of the movie. Without hesitation he said, "Too much kissing."

4. I was in charge of a dinner for the faculty of our elementary school during parent/teacher conference night. I had most of it catered, but did make a little treat for each of them myself. I bet you can guess what these are. Think chocolate. I swear I'm never making them again!

5. We've been working hard on our primary program (which was last Sunday...whew!) and I love every minute I get to spend with the kids in my ward. Honestly, I do! I treat them much like I treat my own children. If they do particularly well on a song (I'm chorister, remember?) I praise them upside down and inside out and sometimes even surprise them with a treat. If the song is well...not so good...I'm honest. And we try it again. After one particular song that was only "so-so" I told them, "On a scale of 1 to 10, it was about a 3." One cute boy from the front row said to me, "Sister Roberts, you are the Simon of Primary Idol." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

6. I spent one lovely night last week indulging myself in a little birthday shopping spree at a couple of my favorite stores. I told Bryce he is lucky I consider "a couple of my favorite stores" TJ Maxx and Ikea.

7. Bryce had a couple weeks worth of sick days when he came down with bacterial pneumonia. On the bright side, it wasn't the swine flu.

8. Ella has been obsessed with this song lately. I don't know why...but she won't stop singing it. I can't help but smile and sing along.

9. And speaking of music, here's another funny one. Josie fell asleep in the car on the way home from my sister's house. I knew it was all the nap she would get that day so I decided to pull into the garage, turn off the car, and let her sleep for another 20 minutes or so in her car seat. I left the radio on to mask the noise of the garage door closing and the car door open so I could hear her the minute she woke up. After about 10 minutes, I checked on her...still sleeping. Another ten minutes went by...still sleeping. A few more minutes passed and I went to check on her and sure enough, she was awake. Not crying, as I suspected she might be after waking up in the car alone. No - she was singing. This song! Down. Down. Down. Down. Down. I'm still laughing about it.

10. And lastly, you'll never guess what amazing invention I've been parading around the house this week. It keeps me warm and amazingly enough, it keeps my hands free to do what I need. Are you stumped?

Yes, the kids got me a Snuggie for my birthday. Naturally, they want to be assured how much I adore it and insist I wear it each and every time I sit down. I'm sure Bryce had no hand in it whatsoever. It's currently the single most loved item in the Roberts' household. If you've ever wanted to see or touch one in real life, come on over and take it for a spin.

P.S.
On a completely unrelated and yet related tangent, did you know the "Something's Gotta Give" house has been for sale for year or so? Check it out on the Sotheby's Real Esate Section here. Don't get too excited, though. I'm pretty sure I'll find the house key in my stocking from Santa this year ;)

Extracurricular activities: Long Weekend Edition

No school at our house for the last two days which have made for a lovely long weekend. When I asked the kids what they would like to do to fill the extra time, the suggestions included 1. going to a movie 2. baking 3. setting up Halloween decorations 4. thrifting at the D.I. and 5. playing board games. I had to chuckle at my little girlie clones - their ideas matched up with mine just perfectly. Poor Max puts up with us mostly because he has to. (Luckily, Daddy rescued him midday and they built marble towers and then went to play soccer at the park.) We're happy to report that we've accomplished everything on our list and its not even Saturday! Here's a glance at the baking portion of our weekend thus far. We even put some of our prettier ones on display under a glass dome on our Halloween candy table. Happy Weekend.

Oh, and if you love cupcakes like we do - run - don't walk to your local Target to pick yourself up the Wilton cupcake decorator tube. It just doesn't get any better.

Tonight

I'm thinking of cozying up to a piping hot bowl of this.

The Loot

Don't you love to pick out that perfect little find to bring back to your kids from vacation? After countless shops and markets (oh you know I loved every minute of it) here is what I brought home for my little lovelies. Top to bottom - Kalli to Josie. Click to enlarge.

The Tube

This is my third trip to London and I finally feel as if I mastered the tube! (Don't mind me, I'm a bit slow...) The city really has opened up now that I feel there is no place I can't get to (and more importantly, get back home!) I learned this in Paris last year, and having said that this would be my (rather obvious) number one tip to anyone traveling to Europe. If you can digest the public transport, you'll be able to navigate the city so much more efficiently. Today, I don't even have Bryce to slow me down :) (meetings all day.) So I'm off to finish the trip with a day's outing to Fortnum and Mason, the London Transport museum, and the National Gallery - maybe Covent Garden if I can squeeze it in. Cheers to all back home. Love to my babies. See you tomorrow night.

Desprookjeskamer - The Fairytale and Polka Dot Shop

Amsterdam is shopping heaven. Yes, yes it is culturally and historically rich and the canals are fascinating and beautiful. Van Gogh, Anne Frank, and bicycles in every possible fashion. But oh I have found so many shops that are uniquely Dutch with style and dripping with sweet. Just one example is this sweet little shop I stumbled upon...little girl and mama heaven. And a few more to drool about...Didi, Hema (I got loads of party supplies here), and hoping to stop here tomorrow before we hop another flight. Oh how I wish the dollar were stronger and the bags had no weight limits. I'd bring back some more for myself and of course some more for you. Cheers.

Today I'm...

• digging up my passport
• gathering a stack of reading materials to take for over 17 hours of travel time. Do you think three books is enough?
  
• dotting the i's and crossing the t's of my three page instruction/schedule document for my dear dear mother-in-law who will be holding down the fort for the next week or so
• giving multiple pep talks to the offspring regarding following rules and being good for grammy
• giving good night and goodbye kisses...and wiping away a few tears.
• hoping I can buy whatever I forgot to pack

Rise and Shout

Going down to Cougar town for the first home game of the season...not at all excited.

Oh snap!

Isn't it fun to have a toddler in the house who's mind and mouth can be manipulated to say pretty much whatever the older sisters want her to say? We've been cracking up at this one - particularly when her timing is spot on. Imagine how funny this little sassy statement is right after I've chewed out (err...gently reprimanded) one of the children for less than appropriate behavior.

Right Around the Corner

In between making signs and cheering on B this weekend, the kids and I went to the library to stock up on Halloween goodies. You know - library goodies like books, dvds, and cds. Our library has a check out policy of three weeks so going early insured us a nice selection that will last us well into October. Many of our favorite story characters (the Berenstein Bears, Clifford, even Charlie and Lola) have a sweet Halloween story to share. So be sure to add the library to your "to do" list this week in order to not miss out on some spooky bedtime stories that will add to the Halloween spirit at your house this year.

My Favorite Lotoja Photo

image via Dave

To hear what Bryce has to say about his Lotoja experience, click here. To see a few more photos, click here.

For B

Today I am in awe of my husband.

Just a couple of days ago he found out about an open spot in the infamous Lotoja bike race and his mind was immediately set on competing. He didn't have to try hard to convince my brother Dave (an experienced racer himself) to be his support crew. They put their heads together, came up with a plan, multiple lists, a schedule and they were off. This was Bryce's first race. Ever. He has been a mountain biker ever since I've known him (one of our first dates in fact :) but only took up road biking this spring. He didn't officially train (though he rides 20-50 miles faithfully nearly every morning). He's never even done a century (100 miles). But today he slayed 206 miles, three states (UT, ID, WY) and a total elevation gain of 9738 feet in approximately 12 hours.

Since everything happened so fast - we weren't able to make arrangement for the family to come. But you can bet the kids and I were cheering him on from home all day. We followed the map and checked in at every feed zone stop and then made up signs depicting how many miles he had left. We are beyond proud of this determined, persistent, and strong man.

Her Loss, My Gain

We're about a week into Kindergarten and so much has happened for my little guy already. If you were dying to know, here's the latest dish: After finding a new girlfriend and then having his heart broken the next day - Max decides its best to keep me as his one and only true love. (His words.) Listen close - do you hear it? Yep, drip drop - that's my heart melting all over again. Happy Weekend.

One more thing

If I was going to give these as a little treat to my friends or neighbors, wouldn't I be so clever if I wrapped some twine around the jar and attached one of these sweet little wooden spoons on sale here?

Cake in a Jar

The kids are back in school and with my teensy amount of extra free time all I want to do is create. Somehow I had to let that side of my brain turn off when the summer camp counselor mom took its place for the last 3 months. It hasn't been but a couple of weeks since school began and I've already found myself up to my eyeballs in projects. I'm currently working on an art and photography collage wall in the family room, prepping the Halloween decos, having window seat cushions made, and of course cooking! I've been dying to try these cakes in a jar. Such a fun outdoor dinner party dessert or neighbor treat, don't you think? Just grab a spoon and eat it right out of the jar! Sadly, mine aren't nearly as adorable as Angry Chicken's, but I think next time I'll try the half pint jars simply for the cute effect. This one was poppyseed - but I imagine you could use any cake recipe you love. (Just don't fill it more than halfway. I learned this the hard way:)

We spent our laboring day...

...with a few of our favorite cousins by day.....
...and a few of our favorite rock stars by night...

A perfect finale to an absolutely awesome summer.

Spotted at bryc3

Trying to decide which is funnier: this video or watching my kids watch this video.

Be Still My Beating Heart

My baby boy just started Kindergarten.

The Rest of the Story

And being a brother isn't half bad either.

Sisters

"How wide and sweet and wild sisterhood can be."

Dorothy Knows Best

*image via flickr

My favorite kind of days are the ones when I just stay home ... when I choose to "forget" that the library books are overdue and that Max needs a haircut and new shoelaces before he starts school. The ones when I ignore the small farm of food pieces under the bar after breakfast or the piles of post-vacation laundry that need to be folded - and instead I chat on the phone with a girlfriend or my mom - or bake and clean (fun cleaning, you know - like wiping out cupboards). The best days are when the little ones are underfoot and I'm fielding silly questions like "Are "Pink Lady" apples really girls?" I have a hundred errands that aren't running themselves, twenty seven pieces of mail to sort through, nine rooms that desperately need some attention, and two little kids who still need to be dressed. But I don't care - cause we're home. And there's no place like it.

I Interupt This Regulary Scheduled Vacation Post...

...to present:

"First Day of School 2009-2010"

What I learned at Disneyland : August 09 Edition

1. Disneyland in August is reserved for only crazies - yes, we were six of them.
2. If you plan your entire day around fastpasses, you'll be surprised how much riding you can get done.
3. Sadly, all wishes made in the wishing well don't come true (Ella informed me this morning that she isn't surprised her pony hasn't showed up...)
4. If you ride the Mickey Carousel right after Grizzly Rapids, the breeze quickly dries you up.
5. Magic Mornings are so worth getting up early for...we got in nearly 10 rides before 8 a.m.
6. Not ALL two year olds love Winnie the Pooh.
7. Even if you have all the insider strategical information available on Midway Mania, Bryce is still unbeatable.
8. In three separate trips, we've graduated from a hotel off-site, to the Disneyland Hotel, to the Grand Californian. After much debate and discussion amongst all Roberts' offspring and the two parental Roberts...the Disneyland Hotel wins.
9. Three days is a'plenty.
10. It's a Small World After All (is still the best ride EVER!)

Our Not So Terrible Two Year Old...

... had a birthday.
... dressed up like a princess.
... ate a coconut cupcake. (Mom chose it, because it was white. Can you blame me?)
... kept on her darling new felt crown.
... screamed until she got a bite of Max's cupcake (She's two, remember?)
... gave kisses all around
... learned to shout, "It's my birthday!"
... left her dad and I a bit wistful after we tucked in our baby, who's not so much a baby anymore

Tweets and Links

I say potAto...you say potato.
I say concerto...she says "Daylight?"

To get a kick out of Kalli's latest musical obsession and her tweet about it, click here.

Then if you're wondering who the heck Matt and Kim are, click here.

(I dig her taste in music - she gets it from her dad).

Matt looks a little like Jimmy Fallon, don't you think?

And now since I'm talking Jimmy Fallon, have you ever seen the Dave Matthews GPS skit? Hilarity. Check it out here.

Cookie of the Week

We tried out a bar cookie recipe this week. By the end of the day the entire pan was gone so I consider them a success (yes we shared, but only a few...). These would be perfect to pack in the kids' school lunch because they're homey and hearty. Another one to add to the files.

Squirrel Bars
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour (shhh...don't tell the fam, but I used 100% wheat flour to add a little whole grain.)
1 tsp. baking powder
6 oz. chocolate chips

Mix together first four ingredients. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder. Spread mixture in a greased 9"x13" pan. Sprinkle chips on top. Bake 3 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out and marbleize. Return to oven for another 25-30 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Buzzin'

Just ticking down our summertime fun list as the summer days are quickly ticking down themselves. We went to a Bees game with a big group of neighbors and friends and just had a ball....err a bat. Yep, that's the bat the Ella won in the raffle. Can you tell she's thrilled? As my kids would say, "Good Times."

Cousin Lovin'

Although we miss the regularly scheduled playdates and after school meet-ups with friends during the summer, we love the freedom from schedules that allows us to spend time with our family - both far and near. This summer we've spent fun filled days with nearly all of our cousins, even the ones from Seattle, Arizona, and Colorado! So to all of our cousins that we've played with this summer...thanks for the fun Brinley, Ashton, Kendyl, Cougar, Russell, Zachary, Andrew, Daniel, Ellie, Morgan, Alyx, Maddi, Mykal, Judd, Renn, Lyric, Merika, Terra, Ramsey, Paisley, Danna, Luke, Brooklyn, Kate, Andi, Dave, Cody, Mark, Abbey, Jane, and Lily. We love you all. Oh the joys of a large family!

My Father-in-Law Swears all Canadians Love Peas

I'm not so sure about that...but if this is their idea of beautiful design, send me packing! For more pea-liscious design, check out the Canadian House and Home website.

Hello Yellow

I love a great punch of color in any room. In my living room it's orange...in my bedroom its hot pink. I've been wanting a yellow bookcase for my family room for just such a punch. And I'm kinda digging these mobile steel bookcases actually meant for a classroom and available only (at least from what I've found) from school suppliers. The price is right too. Whaddya think?

Dear Mr. Shatner:

It was nice doing business with you.
xoxo, amr

($99/night on Priceline...wanna a steal on a 4 star hotel?
e-mail me for the deets)

Viva La STAYCATION

The kids went to Grammy and Paca's (thank you!) while Bryce was in NYC on business which left me to spend two days doing nothing but my own luxurious agenda, which included:

*shopping for new lipgloss and mascara
*pedicure
*decorating the basement bathroom
*salad from Costa Vida
*leisurely browsing at my favorite boutiques...Four and Twenty Sailors, Hip and Humble, Paisley Pomegranate, and Children's Hour
*jewelry making
*Target, of course
*organizing the laundry room (yuck, I know - but needed to get done)
*reading "7 Habits for Highly Effective Families"
*enjoying the silence :)

The family is back home (let the love and chaos resume!) and thus my staycation has come to a close. I hope I used my time wisely. What would YOU do with two days to yourself?

Magnolia Bakery's Second Most Famous Dessert

...is simple to create, amazing to admire, and delectable to devour.

Recipe from More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers

• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours – or up to 8 hours, but no longer! – before serving.

And the Answer is...

...homemade butter (shaken by the hunnies of course). Yes, that's how we decided to celebrate the upcoming holiday; by making Pioneer Whole Wheat bread in our Kitchen Aid and slathering it with fresh butter. Yum! We threw a couple pioneer songs into mix and felt quite festively proud of ourselves. Happy 24th of July!

Can you guess...

...what these four hunnies are doing so vigorously to the
contents of this jar?

What, no Esprit bag?

I'm not much of a back to school shopper for two reasons.

1. It's still SO hot here in the end of August...the kids wear their summer clothes to school easily through September.
2. Admittedly, I'm a "year-round" shopper...so its not as if our closets are empty when the school year begins ;)

But I can tell the older these darling girls of mine get, the more specific their wants are becoming. Instead of "new jeans" its "new skinny jeans". Instead of a new tee or two - its a new Beatles tee. I decided to limit Kalli's requests to 3-5 new items to start the school year with and here is what she came up with. Yes, that's right. This is what my SIXTH grader came up with. It seems so much more sophisticated than the Esprit bag I had to have to start my sixth grade year.

TODAY

Outside my window...hammer hammer; bang bang; buzz buzz. The workers are steadily making progress on our new garage. Can't wait to have a place to park bikes next summer and cars this winter. Simple pleasures.

I am thinking...how much I've enjoyed taking a few minutes each morning BEFORE the kids wake up to gather myself and my thoughts - to meditate and pray. It's been easier to allow myself this time in the summer when the kids are extra tired and sleeping in a little longer.

I am thankful for...a brain FULL and a heart FULL of summertime memories with my kids.

From the kitchen...nothing since Saturday. I made cake pops as part of the centerpieces for Christina's surprise birthday party and haven't wanted to set foot in the kitchen since. Thankfully the fam ate Sunday dinner with Grammy and Paca; I think I'll swindle Bryce into grilling fish tonight.

I am wearing...workout clothes - at 2:56 in the afternoon. I opted to take Kalli to another Apple Camp session instead of the gym this morning so I haven't worked out yet. Hoping to get the gym before sundown.

I am creating...a list of ideas on how to celebrate our Utah pioneer heritage this week. The 24th of July (this Friday) is a huge holiday here in Utah and is the very date we celebrate the settling of this beautiful valley we call home.

I am going...to swim lessons this evening with Max. One of my favorite ways to wind down a summer day: ask Bryce and the girls to clean up dinner while I go one on one with my favorite five year old.

I am reading...a few newspaper clippings I recieved from my mom last week in the mail. She has been doing this for 15 years - since I first moved away from home. The topics vary from child rearing to the latest herbal mosquito bite remedy. They usually come complete with highlighted sections and her personal comments hand written in between the columns. I don't know if she knows how much I treasure them. (I love them mom - keep them coming!)

I am hoping...for a wardrobe "crisis" like Bryce is experiencing. Nothing in his closet fits him anymore since he went a got all skinny. Hence the reason I'm still in my workout clothes I suppose. :)

I am hearing...Novela in A minor - pianist Kalli Jensen Roberts

Around the house...dress-ups are everywhere. We had some serious wins at the D.I. (local thrift store) last week and the kids have dressed up as everything from oompa loompas to Sharpay Evans. Need to kill a bored summer afternoon? Head to your local thrift store and let your imaginations take over.

One of my favorite things...friends. These are just a few of them; but they are ALL wonderful, beautiful, kind, generous, talented, and amazing. I have the BEST friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week...shopping for a birthday gift, another Apple camp (that makes 3!), Discovery Gateway, our favorite neighborhood BBQ of the year, laundry laundry laundry, greeting one of our favorite cousins at the airport after not seeing her for 1 1/2 years!

Now dear blogging friends...its your turn. What does TODAY look like for you?

Who is that?

Things got a little crazy at my friend Christina's 40th birthday party last night...I turned around and this guy was table dancing.

Guess where Kalli and I are today?

I'm blogging this from the Apple store. iPhotos to come later...
*Update: check out my flickr for pics

Sunday Dinner

...is not always a special occasion at our house; but today we had some special dinner guests so we wanted to do something memorable. It only took a slight craving for our favorite harvest holiday to head us in this tasty direction. Here's what we came up with:

A SUMMER THANKSGIVING

Crock Pot TURKEY Breast
(If you've never done this simple protein - you must. Buy one fresh or frozen turkey breast. They're usually around 7-10 lbs. Put it in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. DONE. Moist, delicious, and leftovers for about 2 days.)

SWEET POTATO Fries
Romaine Salad with CRAISINS (our cranberries) and candied Walnuts
CORN BREAD

And for dessert...
any number of frozen PUMPKIN creations, but this one from Epicurious looked the tastiest to me.

Now who's ready for a nap?

If I must rough it...

My girls and I want to be invited to this Five Star backyard campout - complete with that amazing and utterly ridiculous tent.

High for 3 Seconds

My animated niece Lily does a biting impression of this stand-up routine. Seriously, take 3 minutes and enjoy.

Wyoming 2009

Each year over the 4th of July we set aside our city life and find ourselves in the midst of the greatest small town celebration one could ever experience. I have found that one of life's sweetest delights is sharing my childhood with my own children. They get to play in the same creek I couldn't stay out of near our cabin, dress up in their western duds and go to the same rodeo I love, play in my childhood backyard, even eat ice cream on pancakes at 7:00 a.m. on July 4th with many of our family friends - these things I've been doing each and every July since I can remember. It makes me happy to know these are now the traditions my children look forward to - as we've been making the trek to Cody nearly every summer since Kalli was born. These pictures are just a sampling of the 4-wheeling, horseback riding, parading, rodeoing, hiking, campfire building week in our favorite small town.

Home on the Range

So happy to be HOME! Home on the range...after logging nearly more days away than at home so far this summer. Though we've enjoyed copious amounts of fun, we are looking forward to a full six week stint at home sweet home. Let the lazy days of summer begin.

*image of Kalli and Grandpa riding Bandit near Heart Mountain outside of Cody

Good Morning

I just got back from the gym where we did our entire 60 minute boot camp to Michael Jackson music. Late last night our instructor put together a playlist she called "A Celebration of Michael Jackson" from ABC to Thriller to Black and White. So there we were, a room full of women in their 20s and 30s, jamming hard and sweating hard. And I can't promise there wasn't any dancing, laughing, or moonwalking going on. Our cool down was to this song. It was good morning for the body and the soul. So go grab your Thriller cd (doesn't EVERYONE own that one?) and jam it out today to a couple of your favorite songs.

Cookie of the Week

At the beginning of every summer we sit down and make a list of things we'd love to do, see, make, or visit during the ten short weeks we have before we're packing up the backpacks and heading back to school. These things usually look like...

Running through the Gateway fountains
Hosting a lemonade stand
Visiting grandparents
Hitting happy hour at Sonic
Going to a Bees or SL Real game

...all in all, pretty typical summertime activities. That's why I was utterly impressed when my most culinary child suggested we not let the summer slide by without trying some new recipes. So we've decided to implement the summer "Cookie of the Week." (As you can imagine, our family is terribly disgusted with this proposition:) Last week, we made these. I didn't take photos because they were, well...ugly! But they were oddly yummy. Really, you should try them.

This week was a delightful and different version of a peanut butter cookie. Lately we've been loving almond butter - so I researched an almond butter cookie and came up with this one. These cookies were soft, hearty, delicious, and pretty :) We're already looking forward to next week.

If you have a cookie you think we must try, will you be so kind to pass it along our way?