Random cuteness

If you ever need an entertaining activity for your little ones ( or not so little, Michaela enjoyed this as well), get a dollar store can of shaving cream. I use this for cleaning sometimes, I have found that it works well on granite; it is gentle, but gets the hairspray film of nicely. This week, I put it on the counter and let the girls smear it in. Total joy. They wanted to play long after I was ready to finish cleaning the bathroom, so I moved them to my kitchen table and let them at it. They played with that stuff for about an hour, and would have played longer if I had let them. I have clear vinyl covering my kitchen table, so it was ok. I know that sounds weird, but trust me, best idea EVER.

Here is Ava, my little worm collector. She loves finding worms, rolly pollys, lady bugs.

I had to take a picture, gross as it is. I knew there will come a day when she doesn't believe she ever did this.

Corrine comes out of her bedroom the other night looking like a penguin. Daddy was afraid to pull her tight top over her head in case he hurt her.

It was so funny. She looks like a penguin, and something else I can't put my finger on. What does it remind you of?

Pancake Friday

For a while, a couple of years at least, we have had the tradition of having pancakes every Friday. Friday just seems to be the day when I have enough time to make (and clean up after) pancakes. For a time, I just made regular old pancakes, which were yummy, but I started to get bored with them. I just use an add water pancake mix, but now I try to get creative with them by adding things. Today's was yummy; strawberry mint pancakes. I used some whipped strawberry cream cheese, vanilla extract, and some fresh mint I had, one large leaf. I wondered if the mint would be good, but I figured if they were gross it wouldn't take long to mix up some more mint free pancakes. But they were sooooo good! Some of the other yummy ones we have had:



Key lime pancakes, I added key lime yogurt, lime juice, lime zest, and coconut.



Peach almond pancakes, I added canned peaches and almond extract.



Pecans, coconut, vanilla extract.



Apples, apple sauce, cinnamon.



Bananas, vanilla, walnuts.



Orange juice, orange zest, and nuts.



I know there have been others, but that is all I can think of right now. I thought that from now on, I would post what kind of pancakes I made that Friday. We'll see if I can remember!

We must be doing something right...

Tonight Michaela and Payden acted out a story from the scriptures. They worked together to write the script, referencing the scriptures to get the story right. Then they acted it out together for us. It was neat to see them working together, and taking such an interest in a scripture story.

And just the other morning, as I was making our bed, Corrine came in and knelt at our chair in our bedroom. She folded her arms and said:

"Prayer mommy. Come sit."

I was called to prayer by a toddler not yet two.

We prayed, then she kissed me and went on her way.

For all the times I wonder if we are doing enough, it is nice to have these situations to show us that we are on the right path.

Nationals at Lagoon

We were at Nationals for dance last week, and the girls did so good. We spent the night at Jon and Carrie's, cousins of Jason's, and had a great time. They have a little girl who is one, and our girls just devoured her. They fed us well, and like to play games like us. Thanks guys!


Here is the Michaela's and Payden's intermediate team. They did great. LaChere had just had her baby, so she wasn't there, and you never would have known. Their music even stopped for a couple of beats, and it didn't even phase them. They just kept dancing, and when the music came back on, they jumped right in. It was awesome. The judges were impressed too.

Here is there advanced team. I love watching them dance in this team. The dance intructor's kids are on this team. Since it is advanced, it is really entertaining to watch. They are a great team, always place first. I didn't take a video of it because our batteries were dead! But trust me, they are really good.

It was sooooo cold and rainy in Lagoon, and we were dancing from 8am to 4pm, so we didn't buy ride tickets. We had a break at lunch time, so we took our lunch to Pioneer park and ate and looked in the buildings. Some of them were even warm!

I didn't prepare well. We all had jackets and long shirts and pants, but I should have brought more blankets. We had one we kept passing around.

In jail, don't ask what they did!

Ava is just cute!

Here is Ava in her makeup. She takes my breath away.

Here is Ava dancing. She is in the novice category, and the only one from her team to dance at Nationals. She did three solos, and did so good! She held her own with all the older girls! And she absolutely loves dancing on stage.

Me and my girlie.

Ava rode in style. It worked pretty good!

Here is Ava with her medal and stars.

We had fun, but were relieved to get warm when we were done! I just love watching my girls dance. I do have video of Ava dancing, I will try to remember to get that on here!

Eighties Day

For spirit week at school, there was a day where you could choose to dress up as any time from the 50's to the 80's. Payden wanted 70's, but I couldn't come up with anything on short notice, so we decked her out 80's style. It was so funny, after I got her all done up, she goes, "so now I look like a hippie!". Um, no. But she did look cute. Luckily, her bangs were long enough to do true 80's fashion.

After my own heart..

These little girlies love to stand on a chair while I prep dinner, sneaking little bits of whatever I happen to be cutting. They also love to help with whatever doesn't involve knives or heat. Here they are munching on cilantro like it was candy. I love being a mom!

Taco Pasta

I made this for dinner the other night, it was quick and easy and everyone liked it, so I thought I would share it.

Brown about a pound of hamburger, drain, and add taco seasoning. If you don't have taco seasoning, (I didn't) use chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and corriander in quantities that sound good to you. I use a lot because I like my food really flavorful. Add a big can of diced tomatoes, I think it is 32 oz. I also tossed in a bit of salsa, about a 1/2 cup. I don't know if that small amount made a difference or not. Simmer while you cook the noodles.

Cook a bag of egg noodles.

Chop up a couple avacodoes, and get a bag of shredded cheese and a tub of sour cream ready.

When the noodles are done, top them with the hamburger tomato mixture, then top that with cheese, avacodo, and sour cream.

Yummy!