Start of the Week- 1st Day of School Addition

That's right, my babies went back to school this morning, meaning I got to go to the grocery store with just one kid in tow (things I never thought I'd look forward to before I had kids). lol

Here are the standard photos I took before we left this morning:

R's first day of 1st grade

M's first day of 3rd grade (this is the first year ever that she's worn pants for the first day of school. I could not talk her into a skirt or dress, she's in love with her "super skinny jeans" *sigh*)

All 3 kidlets (ages 8, 6, and almost 2)

N had a bit of a hard time when we got home this morning. I think he forgot what it's like to take them to school and be here with just me. Hopefully it won't take him too long to adjust.


Menu for the week:
Monday- crock pot salsa chicken natchos (which I totally forgot to put in until just now, luckily it only took me 4 minutes from start to finish, including washing my hands 3 times because I'm a freak about raw meat)
Tuesday- BLTs with garden fresh tomatoes, yum!
Wednesday- crock pot chicken quesadias
Thursday- something with squash (I've found a few recipes on pintrest, just not sure which I'm going to try yet) and something else (lol)
Friday- ??
Saturday- Mexican potluck, bringing 7(ish) layer dip
Sunday- ??

To-Do's:
Monday- school, grocery shopping, soccer practice for both kids
Tuesday- shopping in town with my mom (and only one kid!)
Wednesday- soccer for M
Thursday- nothing at the moment! :)
Friday- Redding
Saturday- Family party
Sunday- lake! :)

That's it for now. I'm off to start exercising again while N is napping (I quit during the summer because I hated having the older two kids sit and watch me). lol

One More Layout

Can you handle another scrapbook post?

Britt has this kit on sale through the end of August, but I'm just managing to scrap a page with it now. Almost everything is from I'm Yours (with Decrow Designs) which is 30% off through the end of the month. This is such a pretty kit, perfect for weddings, showers, or baby/little girl pictures!

full credits here

All Aboard!

Welcome to my stop on the blog train! I have another quick page for you using goodies that can be found in Britt's Grab Bag. I hope you enjoy it!

Download no longer available, check Britt's shop if you missed them

You should have just come from Kat's blog and next you're headed to Heather's Blog.

Scrapbook Friday

Britt-ish Designs is one year old this weekend, and Britt is having a party!


You do not want to miss the grab bag she has for the celebration, it is packed with goodies!! Here is the layout I scrapped with the stuff inside:

full credits here

Be sure to check out Britt's blog tomorrow for more fun and surprises!

Trip Report

Day 1:
Driving. We left at 5am, and as much as I'm not a morning person, I have to admit that is the way to do a 12 hour drive! R and I were the only ones to go back to sleep (and I only slept because I took Dramamine, I cannot sleep in the car!). I dossed on and off until we stopped for gas in Grants Pass, and the trip felt so much quicker because of it! N and M didn't go back to sleep, but they were still waking up and pretty quiet for the first couple hours. N actually didn't go back to sleep until we were in WA, and then it was only a 20 minute nap, not good for him!
We managed to only make 3 stops on the way up, once for gas, once at a rest stop where we grabbed a quick picnic lunch from the cooler, and one more time for gas. We would have made it in 11 hours but we hit traffic when we were SO CLOSE.
All in all, it was a very easy drive, and the kids did really well.
We got in right at 5pm and had a yummy dinner and visited with some of Matthew's family before bed.

Day 2:
Matthew's cousin who's a fire fighter was working that day so we headed in to visit the station. We tried to visit him when we were up there 2 years ago and he got a call right as we were getting there, but he told us this station was much slower and we should have better luck. When we were just about there we got a text that he had gotten a call, but luckily it got canceled and we ended up spending almost 2 hours there checking everything out. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or Matthew. :)
I took way too many pictures while we were there, here are my favorites. :)

I'm not sure what was so funny, but I love her face in this picture :)

The boots were bigger than N's legs, but he had to have a turn too. :)

After the fire station we went over to the mall and had lunch at Red Robbin and then did a little bit of shopping. :) Then we headed back to the house and hung out for the rest of the afternoon/evening.

N thought it was so funny to dunk his head in the hot tub, and he made this face every time he did it.

My boys had so much fun in this little pool!

Matthew's cousin and her new husband got back from their honeymoon that night, so we got to visit with them a little too.

Day 3:
I found out about a month before our trip that American Girl was opening a store north of Seattle right before we were going to be there, so I just HAD to take M. :) We drove up there in the morning and M and I checked out the store and she did a little shopping.

M with Molly (my old doll) and Emily in front of their display at the store

Done shopping

After that we met back up with Matthew and the boys and went to the Macaroni Grill for lunch. Oh my goodness that place was GOOD!! I've never been there before, but I'd heard friends talk about it before, and I'm so glad we tried it!
After lunch we did some more back to school shopping and then headed back to the house.

I had to play with this great light for a minute. :)

The kids playing pickle ball

N thought maybe he should swim again and drug the pool out of the garage :)

Day 4:

Matthew took the older kids on a hike with some of his family and N and I hung out at the house in the morning. After lunch we headed into Seattle and walked around for a bit. We went through Pike Place Market and then headed over the the Mariners stadium.

M waiting in line with Gloria to see how fast she could pitch

Pitching to a Yankee

The kidlets at the Mariners game. We were all in our Giants gear, but Matthew got the kids each a hat. We decided it wouldn't be a problem unless both teams made it to the world series, and that's not likely to happen anytime soon. :)

Day 5:
We went with Matthew's cousin and met some of her friends at the zoo. The kids had fun looking at all the animals they had.

Trying to get the tiger to wake up (lifting his head was the most we got)

After the zoo we went back to the house and hung out some more. By that point we were all pretty tired of going places every day. lol Matthew's mom and Zack got in that night, so there was lots more visiting and hanging out.

Day 6:
This was party set-up day. I can't remember what all we did other than set things up, play, and hang out with everyone.

Matthew playing baseball with R in the yard

Day 7:
The wedding reception was in the afternoon, so in the morning we did all the last minute things to get ready, and then there was more hanging out and visiting, and lots of eating. :)

Day 8:
More driving. It felt like much more. We didn't leave until 8, I didn't sleep, and we stopped at least 6 times if not more. It felt like it took forever to get home! We didn't hit any traffic on the way home, but with all the extra stops it actually took a little longer.
We got home a little after 8 and less than 24 hours later I was grocery shopping and running around to soccer practices. Welcome home I guess?


We had a great time and were totally spoiled! I don't think I fixed a meal for anyone the whole week, and it was so much fun to hang out with family that we don't get to see very often!

We're Home! Start of the Week Stuff

After being gone a week and then driving 12 hours we got home last night. Matthew's cousin's wedding reception was last weekend and we decided to go up to the Seattle area for the whole week since last time we were there I was very pregnant with N and couldn't do much. We had a lot of fun and did a ton of stuff while we were there! I'll get a complete recap up here soon, but for now here's one picture. :)

Us with Matthew's cousin at his fire station

There's enough stuff to do around here after being gone a week, and on top of that soccer practices have started and there's only one week until school starts. This week is going to be busy!!


To-Do's:
Monday- unpack, laundry, vacuum out car, ect... grocery shopping, soccer practice for both kids
Tuesday- costco, shoe shopping for M??
Wednesday- soccer practice for both kids
Thursday- orthodontist for M (I finally just went ahead and made her an appointment to get started even though our dentist keeps putting it off)
Friday- nothing at the moment (other than checking the class lists when they go up in the afternoon)
Saturday- soccer jamboree
Sunday- church (for both services)

At some point I also need to make N's bday invites and have the kids finish up their summer packets. Lots to do!

I came home last night to find out that the kids will have soccer practices on the same day this year. One 4:30-5:30 and the other 15 minutes away 5:30-6:30. I'm not sure if I'm happy about not having practice every night of the week or stressed about 2 hours of practice 2 nights a week and how I'm going to get them from one to the other. lol


Menu:
Monday- something quick and easy
Tuesday-grilled cheese with fresh tomatoes (and bacon?)
Wednesday- crock pot beef fajitas
Thursday- pasta w/ leftover meat
Friday- cowboy casserole
Saturday- leftovers/something easy
Sunday- creamy chicken taquitos and black beans

Scrapbook Friday

Sorry I've been MIA this week. We're super busy and kind of boring at the same time. lol We haven't been doing a whole lot, but we're getting ready for more fun to come! :)

Anyway, Britt has two new products out this week, Holey Cow Templates (LOVE these!!) and Jellies: Alpha 3.
I did two pages with the templates and one using the alpha.

credits here

credits here

Hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of summer (or the beginning of the school year for some friends!).

Desserts from Pintrest

I know I've already said it, but Pintrest is awesome! I did a post a few weeks ago with some dinner recipes I found on there, but what I love even more are the dessert recipes I've come across. Here are some of my favorites:

My new favorite cookie/dessert bar:

Graham Cracker S'more Cookies

I first made them for our family reunion last month and they did not last long! I had many requests to make them again, and was informed my one of my sister-in-laws that I better bring them to every family gathering from here on out. They are SO yummy!!


Another yummy bar option:

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

I made these to bring to my dad's for 4th of July and they did not disappoint! Cheesecake? Good! Cookies? Good! It's a great combination!


I have so many more desserts pinned that I cannot wait to try!
Kiss Pies
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes (these look SO GOOD!!)
NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookie
Dark Chocolate Banana Muffins
Apple Slab


Anyway, I'm off to make the s'more cookies for camping this weekend, I think they may be better than real s'mores!