nine months later

Remember this picture......
Nine months later in the same chair. Big girls!!

triathlon pictures

Go here and enter in number 2795 for some cool professional photos of Clay's race.

clay's triathlon

Scarlett and Monet.

Clayton competed in his first ever triathlon last Saturday! It was the Las Vegas Pumpkin Man Triathlon at Lake Mead. Clay and his brother Chad did the Olympic distance which is a 1.5 k swim, 40 k bike ride and 10 k run. Crazy. He completed the course in four hours and one minute. Not too shabby for a first time triathlete! I was so proud of him and hope to be joining him next time....
Ava.
Monet and Ava waiting for Clay to come around the corner after the brutal ALL UPHILL bike ride.
Elly, Siena, Ava and Monet.
Yea!!!!!! Coming into transition from the bike to the run. Zoom in to see the jersey Clay is sporting.... Canadian flag style.
Finishing up the race! Monet ran the last fifty feet or so with daddy.
I was so proud! I actually she a tear.
Tire swing!
Chad, Terel and Clay. Champions with their medals.
Brooks, Chad and Saige. They were so happy for their dad!
After party at Cheesecake Factory.
Scarlett was looking and being so cute even though it was way past her bedtime!!!

moving

On November 1st we will be heading back to Clayton's homeland. We have been thinking about this for a while now and the timing just seems right. We will be very sad to go! We will miss our families SO SO SO much! I am a little scared and nervous but I know it will all work out. We found a cool house to rent in Calgary near Clayton's sister, cousins and friends. It seems to already be snowing there.................... but I will just have to get excited about that. Our house has a big backyard so Monet will have to learn how to make snow angels.

President Obama with Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
In case you were wondering where in Canada....... Calgary is just north of the American border in Alberta, the pink 'territory' in the lower left of the picture.

COOL THINGS ABOUT CANADA:
Canada is VERY beautiful. Banff is just a short drive from where we will be living. Less then an hour I think.
I will get to celebrate Thanksgiving TWICE a year! The Canadian one in October and the US one in November!

SUCKY THINGS ABOUT CANADA:
This is a picture of my backyard.
iPhones don't really work in Canada I hear. Apparently people there have Blackberry's. That REALLY sucks. Maybe the thing I'm most sad about. JK (but not really).

shredded beef tacos

This is not the actual picture of them but close to how they look. My mom made this recipe up several years ago and they have been a family favorite ever since. Seriously one of my all time FAVORITE meals. They are great too because you can make them in fifteen minutes, start to finish.

This La Victoria green taco sauce is a key ingredient. Sooooooo good.
Roast beef in a can...... I know. I was weary about this too.
Mexicorn, really? Yes.

Shredded Beef Tacos

2 cans roast beef with gravy

1 can mexicorn

yellow corn tortillas

shredded crisp iceberg lettuce

diced tomatoes

grated colby jack cheese

guacamole (I use avocados, lemon juice, Lawry's garlic salt, Lawry's seasoned pepper and cottage cheese)

La Victoria green taco sauce (key ingredient, very important!)

Add the entire contents of all three cans into a pan on the stove. I heat mine until it bubbles then turn it down to simmer until I have the rest of the meal ready, about fifteen minutes. I use a fork to break up the beef chunks so it's all shredded.

Warm the tortillas up in a pan on the stove just until they start to brown a little bit.

Make the guacamole, shred the lettuce, grate the cheese and dice the tomatoes.

Put it all together with the green salsa on top! Delicious and so fast and easy!!!!!!!!!

family visit

We had a great time with my sister and Mom last weekend. Mallory had a work holiday so they came for a quick visit. We ate some good food and my Mom hooked Monet up with some cute new clothes, shoes and decorations for her bedroom! Thanks Mom!!!

felt food

Lately I have been totally obsessed with making this felt food for Monet. She loves it. Every time I finish one she yells, "You made that for ME mommy! Thank you!" They are they cutest patterns ever. I buy them from Bugga Bugs on Etsy. They are six dollars per pattern and she just emails them right to you. Then you can print them out all on your own! So clever. They are super easy to follow. I had never made a felt thing before in my life. The doughnuts were my first to make and really were easy. They took a few hours. The strawberries were crazy easy. Now I'm on to the 'Movie Time' pattern set. This is definitely a bit more time consuming. I have made the Dots and now I'm working on the popcorn box. The freaking popcorns are taking ages!!!! Next I want to order 'Groceries'. That egg carton is too cute. Anyway, I'll post a picture of them when I finish. It will be really cute.

poor parenting

I let Monet color with a highlighter and this is what happens. She has never done this before. It was ALL over her . Pretty funny actually. Zoom in for a closer look.

monet can write

I fully expect a representative from Mensa to be contacting me after this post. :) Clayton was having Monet make a little chart to put stickers on the other day. He said, "Ok Monet, now write your name at the top of your paper. I'll tell you how. M.... O.... N.... E.... T...." Then she says, "I did it!" and hands us her paper. Are you serious!?! It totally looks like her name! The M is a real M. The the little tiny dark O on the red lines of the paper. The N looks like a N. The E is circle lines that look like a lower case E and the T is two perpendicular hard lines! Do I have mom goggles on or does this really look like Monet just wrote her name?

monet's new bed and pillow

I wanted to make Monet a new pillow case just for fun and the little old lady at the fabric cutting counter cut me opposite what I actually wanted. I didn't have the heart to tell her so after she was done I just said, "Thanks! Now can I have the exact same thing, just opposite. I think I'll make two pillows." Good thing she messed up because I was able to make this little gem to match Monet's new pillow case!
Do you recognize the beautiful little girl on the pillow?.......... Monet is giving you a hint.
New big girl bedding!!! Monet wasn't feeling the black and tan stripe. I love it. It was a great 'bed in a bag' set from Target. Great price and so cute. Her nursery furniture was all dark so it is nice to have her in a light room now. Notice the green and pink pillowcase behind the blue pillows.
I'm really quite proud of myself. First pillow I have ever made. I think my Grandma will be so happy. :)
I just had to add this little picture in. Can you tell what she is wearing? Ha ha! I was dying when I realized what she had on. Spanx!! Ha ha.