Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

St Patrick's Day and a craft

I'm a little bit behind. I am just now posting St Patrick's Day.

Unfortunately, I was in Raleigh for the holiday so I left a little the girls little hair pieces and a craft to do. Miss Kim was sweet enough to paint the girls nails a pretty green- so no one got pinched.

Sand Dunes March 21st

Last Saturday was a beautiful day. So beautiful that Scott was prepared and planned a trip down to the Sand Dunes. Every trip they take, they have started taking a group picture to blow up and put in Mark's trailer. So, here's their picture for this trip. Gotta love those jerseys! Really, Trevor and Dave need to get with it and get their own. I'm thinking one needs blue and the other needs black.

I think Scott got some beautiful pictures this trip. Lately, he hasn't been taking many pictures and I wish he would. He's really very good.

Fun at the Park...

Saturday was such a beautiful day we had to get out and play. After ballet we went to the park and ate lunch. I loved that they were both comfortable in short sleeves. Jade has so much fun climbing all over the jungle gym and going down the slides. Ivy, on the other hand, isn't so fond of slides or climbing. It is so wonderful having the girls be so different...

and yet, so similar. When they are on the swing, they both have a wonderful time and smile constantly. Jade wants to swing as high as she can and Ivy's happy with just a little enough to feel the wind.

After we played at the park we headed up to the Haag's. Rick, one of the guys that I work with decided to throw a party for his 6 year old daughter. Rick had set up a race course- only two of them rode their bikes and the rest of them ran. He had also spray painted lines for dodge ball. The kids LOVED playing dodge ball. Although, I will say, 6 is a little young - they don't quite understand that they need to throw the ball at the kids not on their team. Oh, well, they had fun anyway. Rick had awards for the winners, drinks and snacks for the kids. I'm glad we were invited and glad we were able to go.

I'm glad Jade made some new friends. She didn't want to leave when it was time. Ivy hung closely by my side the whole time and enjoyed a Twinkie.

I Heart Kids

Check it out! I made the Top Ten in my first ever photo contest!

Tramps are too much fun...

We love warm Saturdays. Everyone got pink cheeks and had a blast. They were having a "camp out" on the tramp. All of them took out back packs and pillows. The kids wanted blankets but I didn't really want them taking that much stuff outside. During their "camp out" they drew, "napped" and had fruit snacks.

The little kids have a very hard time getting up on the tramp. They are just too short. Luckily, Jade is willing to play the role of step stool. Usually Ivy can do it on her own from Jade's back. On Saturday she was having a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure if she expected Lukie to do it all or what, but there was a lot of tugging and pulling to get her on.

Warm Saturdays are the best.

Baby Z- lost in the shuffle

A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for Baby Zachary's blessing, Kat had me take some pictures of the two of them. We had such a good time and I have the sweetest little nephew. I posted about the shoot on the photo blog but forgot to direct you there. Here are some, but check out more on Kat's site (here, here and here too) and Two Sanfords.

My Mac and Cheese

Oh, and I did this one too...

I submitted a couple of photos at I heart faces. Check em out. Also, check out the other entries.

You have to take care of stuff...

It is very important to help our kids learn that they have to take care of things when they are lucky enough to have them. For Jade, that means she has to help Scott take care of her four-wheeler. So, she had to put away the controller for Mario Kart (after completing a whole level by herself) and join Scott outside to clean the machines. She cleaned under it and behind it and made it sparkle. She ended up having a fun time.

While Jade was cleaning, Ivy was being goofy and playing around with me. She wasn't willing to pose for pictures but I did capture this one that I think is extremely adorable.

More of Jade's artwork...

Jade loves to draw before she goes to sleep. Here are some of the latest pictures she has done. I am so proud of her and her talent. I sure hope that she keeps it up because it is very fun to see her be excited about her progress. Plus I love checking out her sketch book every night while she is asleep.

Draper Temple Open House

Several months ago, my sister put together a family outing for the Draper Temple Open House. She wasn't sure how every one's schedule was so she planned it for the 14th and hoped everyone would be available. My parents went to Hawaii, so they were not able to come with us. We met up at the stake center. I couldn't believe how big the crowd was. We were scheduled for 3:00. It was 4:00 before we even got in to the video portion. Then we waited in that room for about 15 minutes after the video until we boarded the bus. The little kids loved their first bus ride. The big kids listened to the guide and commented as he spoke about Temples. Finally we were into the temple.

The temple was beautiful. I loved the stone baseboards, the warm wood and the cream/tan coloring. I would love to do the same coloring in our bedroom. Maybe I'll consider those colors for my basement. It was so beautiful, calming and comforting.

Both of the girls favorite room was the sealing room, "where we will get married." While we were in the sealing room, a couple shared with us the importance of families being sealed for time and all eternity. In the sealing rooms, they have a mirror on each side of the room. When you look in one mirror, you can see forever and ever. This is symbolic of how our marriages are for eternity. The girls loved looking in the mirrors.

After the tour, we went over to the stake center by the temple for cookies and water. I was so shocked as I looked around. There were kids with stacks of 5-6 cookies each. I was so proud of our kids. Ivy only wanted 1 cookie and Jade and Luke each only wanted one. But, the cookies were really good.

I am so grateful that we have so many beautiful temples around us. I love that we can see temples any day that we want to . I'm so glad that the girls recognize a temple and understand that the temple is the House of God and a very sacred place on earth. I look forward to the day that we are sitting in a sealing room again, while each of them kneel together with their sweet husband and vow to be together for time and all eternity.

Sweet Jade, is so afraid of growing up. When I talked to her about one day getting married in the temple, she started to cry because it makes her so nervous to grow up. I told her that if she follows the teachings of the prophets, listens to her teachers in church and turns to her mom and dad for help, then there is nothing to be afraid of. I pray that she follows my advise and then I truly believe everything will turn out for her. She is a special little girl.

Thanks, Aunt Kat for putting together this activity. The temple was beautiful. The company was fantastic and the experience was perfect for a Saturday afternoon.

Dippidee- yum!!!

Sharline and Amy are in TROUBLE. For the past 3 years, I have noticed the Dippidee sign whenever I would go to Costco or drove past the Del Taco. I've wondered what it was, and then I heard that it was really yummy and that there are women in the ward that frequent it, but I always thought that it must be really expensive and an indulgence I couldn't justify. Then on Wednesday, Amy brought a sugar cookie to the office for me and Sharlene to split. (OKAY OKAY- I know that a sugar cookie is not on my maintenance diet, but I counted those calories towards my allowed amount). That sugar cookie was so AMAZING. The butter cream frosting just melted in your mouth and so did the cookie.

So, because I am such an obsessive person, I had to go to their website and see where else they have been mentioned or reviewed. By doing this, I found that they have a blog and on this blog they feature a treat a week. Oh, but that's not the best part. When they mention it on the blog, you can go in and mention their blog and you get to buy one get one free. This week their treat was Lemon Cream Cheese Melt-Aways. Oh they are sooo good!

Jade and Luke split a Little Devil, Ivy got a mini chocolate cupcake while Harrison got the vanilla mini cupcake. They were so yummy!

I don't usually post about local businesses, but my last two posts have been. Hopefully you don't mind and go check out their blog- you'll be glad you did. (By the way, next birthday, I want the Big Devil in Devil's Food).

Cookie Cutters

Friday, I took the day off. I needed a break and the girls needed some mom time. They also needed haircuts. As soon as Jade got home from school, we packed up and headed out to Cookie Cutters to get a trim. Ashlee and Weston were fantastic with each of the girls. Jade picked the motorcycle and watch Scooby Doo. She really didn't want a haircut and was worried about how much we were going to cut off. She was begging for 1/2 an inch but we ended up doing about 2 inches. She was happy and adorable once Ashlee finished up with her.

Ivy picked the pink car (no surprise there) and she watched Barbi Princess and the Pauper. She wanted her hair cut clear up to her scalp, but was okay with just 2 inches.

Cookie Cutter does a lot of great things to help put the kids at ease and also make it a little easier on the parent's pocketbook. When you walk in there is a jungle gym with a slide, on the wall there is a game console and then the chairs are all different vehicles. While the kids are getting their hair cut they can watch a movie or play playstation and when they leave, they get a balloon and a cute cookie cutter. Now, for the parents, they give you a coupon book. The first haircut is 4$ off, the second is 3$ off and the third is 2$ off. They also have a product of the week that they discount, plus the kids get 2$ off if they get their hair cut during the month of their birthday. I was very impressed with the staff.

This was our second time going to a Cookie Cutters. The first was five years ago in Louisville. They do a nice job on a child's first haircut. They do a scrapbook and a little bag with hair from their first cut. I am happy to report that the service was great in Utah and Kentucky. (Notice Jade's identical expression 5 years ago).