Train Fun!

So Friday we had another family outing and due to the weather we needed something indoors, so we headed for Ogden! Trains here we come! With our Odgen Dinosaur pass we get in to the train museum for free so we thought what better than to take our train-obsessed boys to see big trains! The girls had a blast too as you can see from the grins ear to ear!Love these kiddos!
Logan trying out all the buttons and knobs and in his own world of love for trains!
The girls saw this and immediately wanted to try it out! So fun!

Love that Noah grin! Cheese! We had a blast and I have a ton more pics, but for some reason blogger isn't letting me upload them so if I can I'll post more of them later. We had a blast and eventhough Eric had to work half the day he did it around going up to Ogden so he could have some family fun time too! We love our daddy when he does stuff with us! The kids really enjoyed having him with us, because he's been real busy with work and hasn't been able to do much with the kids on their vacation. We ended the day with Red Robin(I'm beginning to think this is our family restaurant given the kids always want to go there when given the choice)tasty food filling their bellies. The kids can really pack food away when it's something they like. Then headed home and Eric went back to work and the kids and I were beat from the day's activities. Fun was had by all again and they can hardly wait for our next adventure!

Art & Soup Celebration 2010

I was so excited to go to Art Soup this year! Last year I got put on bed rest 2 weeks before the event and I missed my annual date night with my hubby. Art Soup is an annual fundraiser for Community Nursing Services- which is where my dad works. CNS is also the hospice we used for Christian so that he could have a home nurse and stay at home during his treatments and such. I love the nurses at this company and the company itself as a whole is awesome.

One other big reason I just LOVE, LOVE, going is my dad buys Eric and I a new piece of art every year. Two years ago I fell in love with an artist and I chose one of his paintings. Well this year we were walking around and I stumbled into an art set-up and loved everything I saw. I was dumbfounded at loving every painting I saw. Surely I couldn't love everything. But I did! I then looked up on the display to see who the artist was and sure enough it was the same artist as two years ago and his son's paintings as well. If you want an artist to check out these two are amazing- Larry Winborg and his son Jeremy Winborg. This year we chose this lovely beauty

This one is Jeremy Winborg's painting. Isn't it gorgeous! I love it and can't wait to see it hanging in our house. Thank you dad for giving us the gift of art in our home. We love you to the moon and back!

All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth!

Look who lost some more teeth!

Laney's two front teeth have been lose for about a month now and she just couldn't get them out. Well Eric took a look at them and they were barely hangin' on. He told Laney he was just gonna pull them out, but she was very scared that it was going to hurt. She finally let Eric near her mouth and one little twist later out they popped!

Here is her cute toothless smile! Isn't she cute!

Mailbox Surprises!

Have you ever signed up for a sample and wondered will I really get it in the mail? Well I tried it out and this is all that came to me in the last week. Some of the companies didn't just send me a small sample size, but a full big size of their product to try. This was so much fun to get all this free stuff in one week. Not only did I get products, but I got free coupons too! SWEET! I love FREE STUFF!

St. Patty's Day!

So, I had a great GREEN day planned for my kiddos, but all my plans went up in smoke when I woke up sicker than a dog. I had been sick the past couple of days, but Wednesday morning I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Gotta love when taking care of sick kids then makes you sick. So, my kids only got some stuff I had planned. Luckily the night before I had made the green jell-o for lunch. We also had green juice. They enjoyed it and didn't miss anything because they didn't know any better.I made corn beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots. I have never made it before and I was quite pleased with it, not to mention Eric loved it and filled his tummy up with it so much he was full still in the morning. I also made homemade rolls and lime sherbet drink. Yummy dinner!
I then made some tasy chocolate mint filled brownies. A new recipe I tried off the internet. Apparently this recipe is just like BYU's brownies. I wouldn't know, because I have never had them. They were snarffed up by everyone and they want them again next year.
Hope you all had a good Patty's Day and didn't get pinched!

Adventures in our outings this last week!

We finally got to venture out of our house after spending the kids' first week of vacation stuck inside due to half the kids being sick. So what do I do to ease into our vacation. I take all six kids out all by myself to an open area filled with animals, sick and unable to talk much due to my getting sick from taking care of all the sick kids. We wanted to go and see some animals and try out our new family pass to Farm Country down at Thanksgiving Point. Much to my surprise my children were so good. They stayed with me and didn't run all over and we had a ton of fun. My kids are great, but when we get out after being cooped up for a long time it's like that song-"Born Free" they just need to run. We had so much fun and it was so easy keeping track of all six all by myself that when we were done I noticed that 2 1/2 hours had gone by. Whoa! I not only survived an outing all by myself, but I had a blast doing so. See, I usually take the kids to big open spaces and someone else comes-i.e. my MIL, or SIL, or my dad or Eric. But I wanted to see how I would fare on my own and I did it, whew! So here are some pics of us at the farm and they have some of the cutest babies out and about!Cute little calf. The kids watched it while it ate and walked over to us.
Baby goats, aren't they precious! I just love springtime!

Funny story here. All the animals were quite friendly and kept walking up to the kids and hanging over the railings. This one came right up to Kaleigh and spit on her, hence the face. Cute, funny, Kaleigh got either spit on or licked on by a cow, alpaca, and this cute llama. Alexis was the first one to get licked by when we went and saw the Jersey cow. I have never seen the animals quite this friendly and active. It was fun and funny to see the kids' reactions. They all had a blast!

This is the first llama to make his way over to us. Gorgeous animals!

The kids trying their hands at milking the fun "water" cow.

Poor Laney got so spooked by this lovely wild turkey. I was taking a picture and as soon as the flash went off it started gobbling and puffing up. It scard the heck out of her and she wouldn't even walk by its cage.

This is a fun little jail they have set up. The kids thought it was fun to be behind the bars. Now only if they thought it was as fun to be behind their bedroom doors at home.

Cute Noah climbing through tunnels in a soil exhibit. He had a blast playing in the "dirt".

He was carrying the seeds and produce over to the truck to be taken to the market.

We ended our day with a bumpy, screaming, fun had by all tractor ride. The kids all want to go back soon so we will be going back again before vacation is over.

We also went to the Discovery Gateway this week, but this time I had my dad with us. He has never been and wanted to spend some time with the kids so he took the day off and off we went. Mental note- do not go in the morning when schools are in session. We have always gone in the summer in the past so I didn't know that school groups, and lots of them, go to the museum. It was so crowded but we had fun.

Noah loved the play part and the dress-ups. He kept growling while he was wearing his cheetah costume. Such a cute, smiley guy!

Logan was so excited he got to "try" and fly the helicopter. Poor guy, he actually thought when he got in he would be able to fly it. He still loved attempting it though.

Happy, adorable sisters! These two are always together.

Noah climbing the rock wall with grandpa's help. He thought it was so much fun he made my dad help him three more times.

Logan loving the construction site. He was having a ton of fun building. This boy definately needs to go on a site with Eric. He loves all the big machinery. He is definately ALL boy!

The kids all had a blast at the museum. Alexis drew a lot of the time and built prisms so I unfortunately didn't get a picture of her. She was a little frustrated with how crowded it was. We are spoiled because when we usually go we are of about 6 families that are there. The afternoon is the time to go. We ended our outing with lunch at Red Robin- the kids' favorite place to go. Fun was had by all, I was beat-ready for a nap and lucky the kids all went down.

S'mores Anyone?

Don't these just look delish! They are and they didn't last long around my bunch. They are s'mores cookies. They are super easy to make and really do taste like s'mores! All you need to do is take your basic chocolate cookie dough recipe ommitting the chocolate chips. You just add about 2-2 1/2 cups of crushed up graham crackers to the dough. You roll the dough into balls and cook on parchment paper for about 8 minutes on 350 degrees. You then press mini marshmallows and chopped up candy bars( I used symphony milk chocolate bars-2 giant size ones) and place back into oven for another 3-4 minutes. This second part plumps and roasts the marshmallows. So good!

Enjoying the sweet little things!

BELLA-

the cutest little girl baby ever!

We have started the kids' vacation with four of the six kids sick. So not fun. All of them have been cuddled up with blankets on the couch and sweet Bella has wanted to be held all day. Her poor little chest has been rattling and her nose has been running constantly. She's been sitting on my lap with a blanket on. She then did the cutest thing ever...

She pulled the blanket up over her head and proceeded to play peek-a-boo all on her own!

Can I just say, SO CUTE!

I love seeing her grow and develop more every day. She surprises me more and more. I love being a mom, even when I need to take care of a house full of sick kids on little or no sleep. They are all so worth it!

Busy Weekend with project and sick kiddos!

For awhile now I have been wondering what to do with our poor, old and abused table. This was our very first kitchen table that we received as a wedding gift from Eric's folks over 12 years ago. It has been abused by our adorable little rugrats as you can see in the picture. It has old heat stains on it and is a little beat up. It serves as an overflow table when we have parties, but I always cover it up with a table cloth so no one sees the poor, sad condition it is in. Eventually our current bigger table will be placed in our dining room, because we have outgrown it as well. But until money runeth overeth, that will have to wait. So, I wanted to make our old table new again with the littlest amount spent. So begins my new task of figuring out what and how to do this.
Better shot of the table in the light.
I decided to sand it down and paint the table top to give it more life and add some flair to our dining room. The legs are in great condition so I wanted a two tone look to the table.

This is the table after I sanded it down with my new best friend-a sandpaper gripper tool thingy. I sent Eric to Home Depot with a list of my supplies and he got this for me too. Gotta love the hubby for this. Love ya, babe.
P.S. I can't buy stuff at Home Depot because I don't have an account like Eric, so I had to send him.

Here's what it looked like with the black paint after two coats. Next step I added a protective clear coat on top and VOILA...

Beautiful, new piece of furniture for about $30- due to having to buy a couple of new tools to do the project, paint, and varnish.

Of course, it's not completely finished until I add the decor on top. I must say I'm impressed it turned out so well. The kids all love it and poor, sick Logan kept telling me "nice painting, mom" after each coat was done.

It took a little longer than I wanted due to unforseen adventures in taking care of sick kids, but it's done and I love it!

And this is what I came up with to keep myself busy in between drying times of all the coats of paint.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake!

UMM UMM GOOD!

I took my basic recipe for my cheesecake and added a chocolate graham cracker crust and 3 kinds of choclate,yep 3 different kinds of chocolate(white, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate chips). It also has a chocolate cocoa infused sour cream topping. I added some cherry pie filling and double chocolate shavings and VOILA , pure decadent HEAVEN!

Eric and I even think it gives the Cheesecake Factory's Godiva chocolate cheesecake a run for it's money. It also is way cheaper to make an entire one. If you want to know the exact recipe let me know, I promise it won't dissappoint(unless you HATE chocolate, as if)!

My new journey!

I'm going on a new little journey this year and you as readers get to come along for the ride!

I am spending this new year pushing myself to try new things and I'm going to write about them and share them with you so you can try them too or just by proxy. I am trying new things to cook and bake for my family, I am trying my hands at new crafts, I am pushing myself to try and let go!

Have you ever been hurt by someone by something that was said or done? Have you ever misunderstood something that was said and haven't been able to get past it? Have you ever felt worthless or just plain talentless? Have you ever held negative conversations in your head with yourself? Have you ever been hurt by a loved one and just couldn't get past it and been able to just LET IT GO?

Well, I have been all of these things at some point and still some to this day. I have made it a goal to try and just let it all go. I'm tired of having the hurt and pain rule my life and I've decided to try and better myself through a self-discovery journey this year. I have felt like I'm nothing but a mom and that's all I have to offer. Well over the past month I have rediscovered my passions in life and am attempting to push myself further and see what else I can do.

Don't get me wrong, being mom is the MOST wonderful thing ever and what I have wanted my whole life. It has and still is my ultimate dream, but I know that there are some out there who have or do think little else of me and it hurts, but I am here to say I AM MORE! Watch out cause here I come full steam ahead and nothing is gonna stop me from growing and learning and loving everything about ME! I can do and be so much more and this year I'm gonna prove it to myself and to others. So, off I go to DO, BE, AND LIVE my best life!

Yummy Food!

Homemade Crescent Rolls

My kids are huge bread kids, but rolls and bread are starting to creep up in price, so I've been attempting my own bread making. These are so good and were snarffed up at dinner.

Here's what you need:

2 c warm water 2 T yeast 1/2 c oil 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs 2 tsp. salt 5-6 c flour 1/2 c powdered milk and softened butter.

Mix water and yeast and let sit for 5 min. Add remaining ingred. except softened butter and mix well. Allow to rise 45 min. then punch down and let rise 45 more min. Break into 2 equal parts and roll out into circles. Spread softened butter on them and then with a pizza cutter cut into 8-12 slices. Roll up the triangles and stick the point part on the bottom of the roll. Place on cookie sheet and bake @ 400 degrees for 10-14 minutes. YUMMY!

These are shredded pork soft tacos. The recipe is suppose to be exactly like Cafe Rio's tacos.

Shredded Pork
5 lbs. of boneless spare pork ribs(I didn't have a pork roast)
12 oz can of Dr. Pepper
1/2 c of fresh cilantro cut up
Frank's Red Hot Sauce( I went around the crock pot about 3 times)
1/2 c brown sugar
2 15 oz tomato sauce

Put all in crock pot and cook on high for about 6 hours and then shred! DELICIOUS!

Ranch Cilantro Salsa
This goes with the tacos and is yummy and we even like it with chips too!

1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c mayo
packet of ranch seasoning
1/2 bunch of cilantro-stems and all
salsa verde green salsa (8 oz can)
clove of garlic
hot sauce

Throw it all in blender and blend it up! YUMMY salsa!



Lemon Cream Cheese Filling King Cake!

Mardi Gras anyone? My kids love any holiday they can celebrate and have a party, so I made them a king cake on Fat Tuesday. It was devoured by them all! I got the recipe off of Rhodesbread.com They have a lot of fun recipes I would love to try.

So there you go some fun, and tasty, easy recipes. Try one, try them all. I guarantee you'll enjoy them. Have fun baking, cooking, and throwing small parties for your kidlets. They'll be all grown up too soon and then you'll wish you had them all little again.

9 Months and Counting!

Cute little toothy smile from my 9 month old!

Ughh! I can hardly believe she is 9 months now. Man the time is just zippin' by. It's been a fun last month with Bella. She finally popped out her two bottom teeth about 3 weeks ago and is now working on the top and sides. She is doing the army crawl and moving at lightning speed. She'll soon be cruisin' and then really walking- ughh, my baby, where did you go.

This picture sums up Bella in one word- SMILEY! She is always smilin' around here. She loves her brothers and sisters and they love her. She loves to bounce and chew on anything she can get her hands on. She also, unfortunately, loves finding any tiny crumb on the floor and quickly puts it in her mouth. Even when I have just vacuumed she is searching for something to put in her mouth- Silly girl!

I love the new milestones, I just wish she would give me more time before she conquers them all. But, alas, that is what being a mommy to a baby is for- to help her develop, grow, love and learn her way through this world we bring them into. I just love my little babies, I just wish they would enjoy staying little a little longer.