A Day at the Beach

Yesterday was Kyle's day off. Ever since we decided to move to California we have been imagining ourselves lounging on the beach. Finally we did it. Yesterday we spent the day at Laguna Beach. Breckyn was in heaven, chasing down waves and then running away from them, collecting sea shells and building sand castles. Kyra is still terrified of the waves, but still had fun. I LOVE the beach. It is my favorite place. I know I have a lot of those, but seriously, it is awesome. We can't wait to go back. Only problem, I forgot to take my camera, so you get this generic stock photo of Laguna Beach. Oh well, there is always next time.

Adventure of the Day!

I try to do something especially fun with my kids everyday. We call it our "adventure". I am not creative, but I am good at finding creative things from other people. We have so much fun. I am going to weekly document what we do, just so we can always remember. Some days we don't get to it, or our adventure may just be going to the grociery store. Either way the girls get so excited and and ask me each morning "what will our adventure be today??" So these were some of our adventures this week.

Monday: Start Muffin Tin Monday Tradition/Tea Party
Tuesday: Sidewalk Painting
Wednesday: Marble Painting
Thursday : Make Icecream in a baggie - surprisingly delicious and easy!
Friday: Sink/Float Experiments

Check it out!

My photog friend did a session with my kiddos! Check it out here.

Buster Bar Ice Cream Dessert

I took this dessert to a gathering of friends last night and everyone went nuts over it. I was pleasantly surprised because the previous 2 -3 times I have made this it went uneaten in our freezer. Kyle just isn't into ice cream so much I guess. I promised I'd put it up here to share. I found this recipe from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 pound chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)
1/2 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (I never use the full carton)
1 1/2 cups dry-roasted peanuts (I don't use that many)

DIRECTIONS
Combined crushed cookies and melted margarine and press into a 9x13 inch dish. Chill 1 hour in refrigerator. (Just put it in the freezer while you prepare sauce and ice cream)
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine confectioners' sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup margarine. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool. (I put it in the fridge so it doesn't melt away the icecream when I put it on)
Slice vanilla ice cream into 3/4 inch slices, and place them in a single layer over the chilled crust. Smooth the seams. Sprinkle the peanuts over the ice cream. Top with the cooled chocolate sauce. Cover and freeze 8 hours or overnight. (I've just frozen it for 5 hours or so and it was fine)

Hope you enjoy it!!

Ragged Mountain

What a blast! We spent a full week in a cabin at Ragged Mountain in Colorado. The children loved it and I didn't have much to get done besides taking care of the children so I was able to really enjoy them. It was exactly what we all needed.

We are off!

We are headed to the best place on earth. We'll tell you all about it upon our return.

Thanks to the Summers

This awesome family let us crash with them for a week while we waited impatiently for our new house to close. Not only did they provide us with exceptional food, a comfortable bed, our own bathroom, but also first class entertainment for our children. Check out some of the fun times our kids had while staying there:













It's no wonder the kids keep asking to go back to the Summers house. After that week everyone was worn out!




Thanks Summers! We owe you big!

I miss my kids

Okay so a recap of our lives recently:

December - Hugely pregnant/ Unable to move

January - Emergency c-section/ newborn baby boy

February - Recovering/ Get house ready to sell

March - Keep house perfect for showings/ Sell house

April - Pack up the house/ Basement floods

May- Graduation/ Colorado vacay/ Move to California

June - Wait for new house to close/ Start new job / Move into new house

I'm so ready for a normal routine. I have been telling my kids "not right now, I will later, just a minute..." for way too long. I'm ready to sit down in my unpacked, new house and play with them all day long forever. I feel like I've missed out on my baby's first 5 months because I've been so preoccupied. I hate that. I'm going to try to do better because dang it, my kids are awesome and I love 'em.

Things we WON'T miss

Okay so I think we've blabbered about Iowa long enough. Promise, this is the last one. It's for our personal history. But just so you know, Iowa isn't perfect. Yes, that is right. There are a few things we won't miss. Here they are.

1. Ice storms



2. Below zero temperatures and wind chills


3. Ticks




4. Flooded basement



5. The rainbow house next door with its "kissing toilets" that we got to stare at every time we looked out the window.



6. The smoker ladies. With the hospital across the street being a smoke free environment, the smoker nurses would come across the street to smoke by our house. Lovely!

Things We Miss - Part 5 - PEOPLE

The most important of all our Iowa series is this one. Mostly we miss the PEOPLE. We have made so many amazing friends there, we are already missing them like crazy. From vet school friends to playgroup friends to our wonderful Boone ward friends, the people in Iowa are awesome and we love them!!!