She's Got Moves...

Aubree started AYSO soccer this year and it has been so much fun for me to go and cheer for her. She was a little anxious before the first game and didn't want to leave the house but once she got there she realized she could do.

She's even pretty good. I think she scored 4 goals her first game. I was proud and yelling and cheering....I just couldn't help myself. I was pretty proud of her. During her second game one of the girls that wasn't there the game before came and pretty much stole the show. I was a little disappointed because no other kid ever really got to touch the ball.

After the second game she asked me if they won and I said yah, your team probably made more goals. I thought she might be disappointed that she never really got to touch the ball but she didn't care as long as they won and she got a cool snack at the end.

I hoped her next game would be a little better. I tried to tell her to get in there and kick the ball. Well, since the other team only had 2 players we played 2 on 2 so I knew at some point Aubree would get to the ball (at least when the one little girl was sitting out). She was more aggressive and even scored a few goals with the "Star" player. I was proud.

As Aubree was talking to us during one of the breaks, Scott, the wise parent, told Aubree to kick the ball to Addy, a cute little girl who hadn't scored a goal yet this year. Well, believe it or not Aubree actually listened.

After getting the ball down near the goal she kicked it to her less aggressive teammate and let her kick the ball in the goal. I was really proud of her and a little amazed she actually listened. I think I was more proud of her for helping her teammate out than actually scoring her goals.

I was shocked as I watched Aubree doing the following moves. I think she must have learned them from Elliot (the 8 year old neighbor) because I don't really know anything about soccer and these looked like real moves to me.

GO AUBREE!!!

One of my favorites

This has to be one of my favorites photos lately. Every time I look at it I smile or laugh a little. We went to a 3-D movie a while back and since then Sydney can't see me with my sunglasses on not search the house over for "her glasses". She's been wearing them everywhere. Good times!

Happy Fathers Day

I don't need to say much more than Scott is the best. Aubree and Sydney think the world of him. They love him more than chocolate milk at bedtime. He is such a good dad and cares so much for all of us. A single day doesn't go by that I don't have a moment where I think, I am so glad I married him. He's an incredible, father, husband, provider, spiritual leader along with many other things. I'm glad we have a day to honor him.

Aubree made Scott this special tie at our Primary Activity. Scott wore it with pride to church on Father's Day.

I also have an incredible Dad who has always set an example for me. He's a wonderful Grandpa too and my girls adore him. Happy Father's Day Dad!

This picture was taken just a few weeks ago as my dad was irrigating their backyard.

Annual Coalville Trip

In June we joined Ann and Cody for a day at Camperworld in Coalville. Growing up we spent many summer days and nights swimming, camping and enjoying life at this campground. I want my girls to have fond memories from some of the same places I enjoyed as a child. Needless to say this is not Scott's favorite thing...but because he loves me he participates.

We actually didn't spend the night and Scott was golfing all morning so this was ideal for him. The girls loved it.

After spending a few hours in the pool Aubree got brave enough to trust her life jacket. She realized she could swim all over the pool, even in the deep parts. It was fun to play with her and watch her confidence grow.

We built a fire and spent a little time around the campfire. Here are a few photos just hanging out.

It wouldn't be a true camping experience if everyone looked nice and cleaned up.

I added this one because I loved the lighting.

We were able to watch them feed the fish in the little pond in the campground. If you look close you can see the fish jumping to catch the fish.

Here are the kids around the pond. I'm sure the people fishing weren't appreciating all the noise we were making but it's not the fish were going to eat much after just being fed anyway. Syd and Aub were "shaking their booties" here.

It turned out to be a fun day.

Best Friends

One of my favorites moments of almost every day is when my girls are playing together nicely. I just love to listen to them "pretend". I also learn a lot about myself as I listen to them because usually one of them is the mom (acting just like me) and one of them is the "sweetie" (one of them).I am so glad they have each other. They keep each other busy with all their play. They have their spats too but I don't know siblings that don't have those. I really feel blessed to have them so close together and such good friends. They make me smile every day.

Just Playing

Once again, I was just playing with my new toy. I got a few motion pictures. Aub and Syd were more the willing to cooperate when they saw how goofy their hair was while jumping. Just a few more "action" shots. Oh, and yes my girls were still in their pj's. That's what happens when the mom gets a new toy she can't wait to play with.

New Lens

So I bought a new lens for my camera. I think I'm turning into a camera nerd because I was so pumped I could hardly wait. Anyway, this is all I could get my girls to do when I wanted so badly to take their pictures. The only time they want their picture taken is when I'm trying to take someone else's picture.

Syd's trying to hide but cant help a little peek at me.

Home Grown Strawberries

All I can say is YUM! There aren't too many things better than strawberries from your own garden. Aubree and Sydney have been watching for our strawberries to ripen. Then Aub couldn't wait for me to take a few pictures before she was taking off all the stems so she could eat them.

Aubree is just "smelling" the strawberries here. She was dying to eat them all up.

Any guesses??

This is for my post tomorrow. It's much easier to see what it is small like this than huge maximized on my screen. Can you tell what it is?

Singin' in the Rain

I can't believe how wet it has been this June. It seems like every day we were getting some kind of moisture. It hasn't been that bad because it's kept the temperatures down. We did have one little overnight trip cancelled because of rain. We've had our sprinklers turned off and we haven't even cranked the ac yet. I keep thinking I'm going to turn it on but maybe I can make it until July. That has got to be some kind of record.

Out with the old and in with the new

Our 1995 Pontiac Bonneville died a few weeks ago. It was a great car for us. Very comfy and got us where we needed for 150,000 miles. We were pretty pumped when we bought it. It replaced my black Pontiac Sunbird (I can't really remember the name) back in Afton. We then didn't have to use the Neon as our travel car. It made it to Washington several trips as well as all over Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and a few other places. It was going to end up costing more to fix than it was worth.

After being a one car family for a week we realized that wasn't going to work for us so we started some serious car shopping. We ended up with a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. Scott is loving it.

To the swing set

I LOVE IT! Almost daily I have commented on being glad we made this purchase. My girls love it and love to be outside playing on it with friends or each other. Aubree can even pump herself now. It's so much nicer to hear, "Can we go outside and play?" instead of "Can we watch a show?"

One a day...

Okay, my goal for the next few days is to catch up on my blog. Summer is so fun and busy that I am really far behind so, I'm going to try and do one or 2 posts a day until I get caught up.

In may we decided to head out and take the girls on a little hike. We went up Taylors Canyon. It wasn't a long hike, but what can you expect with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. It was fun anyway.

There is a beautiful view of Ogden up there and you can see it raining in parts of the valley.

Here's Syd checking out "the goods" in her "pack-pack". Both her and Aubree had backpacks with snacks and water bottles. Sydney only wore hers about half the trip but that's why Scott had a bigger backpack.Sydney and Aubree were being the king of the hill but while Syd was on the top of the rock this fly wouldn't leave her alone. If you look on her forehead you can see the fly. I think it was because she was sweating. Anyway, I love her expression here.Here's everyone (but me) loving all the big rocks once again.

Aubree found this rock and had to climb to the top. We were waiting for Scott and Sydney to catch up so Aubree was "posing" for me.

One last of Aubree with the beautiful mountain behind her. All in all it was a fun little hike. I wish we could have gone farther but the girls just weren't making it and Scott's comment was something like, "Well, that'll do me for the year."

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

Oh my goodness, I am in love. If anyone is in need of an amazing salad you must try this one. It is a main dish and I feel like I'm at a restaurant while eating it. It is soooo good. I have made it in the past but I added the mango this time and I inhaled the salad. I couldn't breathe until it was gone.

I found the recipe on this link. Check it out. There are amazing pictures to go with every step by step recipe.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/05/spicy-honey-chicken-salad.html



It's a blog I follow and it has some really fun recipes. Most of the things that I have tried are really good but this salad has got to be my favorite.

One thing though, she uses chicken thighs, I tried once and I just can't do it. I am a breast person. They are so much less fatty and I have a thing against meat fat. It just grosses me out.

It's also a must to use the dressing that goes with the salad and you can't forget the avocado. Scott and my girls both love this as well. I copy and pasted the recipe here (in case I ever lose the recipe) but you should check out their blog. It may look overwhelming but really it's not bad at all.

Spicy Honey Chicken

2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder for extra heat, increase chipotle or add ground red pepper

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (Yes, Thighs!!)
everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I'm tellin'ya right now it's better with thighs.

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken a few minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. You're taste buds will thank you.

Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

this recipe used to be called "Bermuda Vinaigrette," in case you were confused!
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 T grated onion
1/3 C fresh orange juice
3T fresh lime juice
1T honey
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

3. Place all ingredients in a tightly sealed jar and shake your bootie (and the jar) vigorously. Store in the fridge, and shake before dressing salad.

Spicy Honey Chicken Salad

1-2 heads Romaine or Red Leaf Lettuce
2 ripe but firm mangoes, chilled
2-3 ripe but firm avocados

Spicy Honey Chicken
Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette

This serves 4 large salads or 6 smaller sized ones.

While chicken is grilling, wash lettuce and divide among serving plates. Slice avocados and mangoes and place them on top of the lettuce. When chicken is finished, let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing to preserve the juices. Then slice it up and divide among the salads. Drench it all in the Honey-Citrus Vinaigrette and pretend you're at a fancy restaurant!

First Dance Recital

Last Saturday was Aubree first dance recital. She has been taking tumbling and ballet for the past year. For the most part she has loved it. It was only hard to get her to go if she fell asleep and I had to wake her up right before dance.

It's been good for her to practice at something and get better. Aubree is a perfectionist and has a hard time if she can't do something perfect the first time. This has helped her try something and she that she can improve.

She was very proud of herself by the end of the performance. It was so fun to watch her on stage, even if it was only about 2 minutes. At the beginning they had everyone come out with a colored ribbon and she came out waving at us fast and furiously.

I was really glad she actually performed and didn't just stand there. She tried really hard and I have to admit I was proud of her for getting up on stage and doing her thing.

I tried to get a few pics before the recital but Aub wasn't in the picture mood. I managed a few shots though. They wouldn't allow flash photography during the show so the ones I tried there all turned out blurry. We did video it though.

Aubree wasn't too excited at first when I told her she had to wear her hair up but she really liked the final result. It was all pulled back in a bun. Some of these pictures don't even look like her because her hair is pulled back.

I thought her eyes looked nice here even if she wouldn't smile.

This doesn't really look like her but she's my little dancer.Here she is showing off some of her techniques.

Dear Brave Aubree

Aubree may be older than Sydney but she definitely isn't braver. (Is braver even a word?) When going to the doctor Aubree asks Syd to go first so she can see if it's going to hurt. When warming up her milk (yes, Aubree likes to warm her milk in the microwave....YUCK!), she will immediately give it to Syd to see if she's going to get burned. Aub can always talk Syd into doing something as a "test" to see if it's safe to do.

Sunday morning was no different. We have a few little sugar ants roaming around our house in different spots. I keep spraying them when I find a bunch of them together. As I was getting ready on Sunday the girls found some in my bathroom. Sydney will get down and pick them up and squeal with delight. Aubree loves to watch Syd pick them up and play with them. After a few minutes of watching Syd play with them this is what I saw and heard.

Aubree: Watch out Syd, I'm going to scare them.

Sydney: Okay (She basically does whatever Aubree asks.)

Aubree: She didn't say anything but she showed the ants her scariest face. She put her fingers in her mouth and pulled the sides of her mouth as far as she could.

I was laughing. Aubree thought she was so brave and her scary face would make all those ants scatter all over the place. What will she come up with next?

Girls Pics

While we were in St. George last week I wanted to try and take some cute pictures of my girls together in their Easter dresses. That turned out to be impossible. I cannot get them to sit together and smile for anything. Sydney was too tired when we went and wouldn't do a thing I wanted her to do.

I think Aubree looks beautiful. Her skin is so nice and smooth.

This really is as good as it got for Sydney. If you look at her lips, I just put a little lip gloss on and she thought her lips were beautiful. She walked around the entire time with her lips like this.

I didn't get one of them together but they're still pretty cute little girls.

A Proud Moment

There are a few moments when I accomplish something pretty amazing. I feel like this is one of those moments.

Last fall I decided we needed something for the girls to play with/on in the backyard. They love to be outside but we have nothing kid friendly in the backyard. They can ride bikes in the front but then I have to be right there with them or I start getting nervous.

At first I thought I wanted a trampoline but decided (with Scott's help) that maybe that would be better in a couple of years. So I went on the search for a swing set. They are incredibly expensive unless you get one of the small metal ones. I didn't think my girls would play too much with one of the small metal ones.

I loved my neighbor Emily's swing set. So I talked with her about it and was sold. It's definitely not one of the expensive models but it will do for our needs. I had a hard time thinking about paying "a grand" for a swing set, so I didn't.

I was so excited to go and buy this at Walmart until I got there and they were out of them. I made several calls to find one store had one left. Yea!!! After getting home and opening the box I started to understand why all the reviews I read said to plan on about 10 hours to put it together.

Scott and I were a little overwhelmed as we opened these 2 skinny boxes only to find about a thousand different pieces. We thought we just wasted our $400. We doubted we could ever get this thing together.

On Saturday when we started we ended with phase 5 and there were 23 phases in all. We had already spent about 5 hours on the thing. On Monday I was so excited to get going that Ann, my sister, came and helped me for another 5 hours or so. Her and I made quite a team. We were doing some serious work....with our hammers, drills, ratchets, wrenches and all the other tools we used. We knew our Dad would be proud.

Scott helped more on Monday but we still didn't finish. I did as much as I could on Tuesday. It's kinda hard when I was asking Sydney to hold boards for me. Luckily Brooke, my neighbor, came over and helped a bit.

Scott didn't get home until 8:00 pm on Tuesday so we didn't have much light but we got enough done that I thought I could finish alone on Wednesday and that's exactly what I did. It is finally done after 15-20 hours of assembly. The girls are already loving it and so am I.....until it comes time to mow the lawn and we'll figure out what to do then.

Anyway, here are the boxes that the entire swing set came in along with the finished product. I am proud of myself.