Peterson Family

ninfa's green salsa

2011-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

I have been absolutely addicted to this salsa for a few weeks now. I love it, the kids REALLY love it and Clayton loves it so it's a keeper. I found it flipping through my old elementary school cookbook from 1994, Kuehnle's Cooking It's Elementary.

One of my favorite things to do is look through cookbooks for new recipes. It's like a game! I then see how many of the ingredients I already have and make a list for all the new fun ingredients I need to buy! It's just as fun as shopping at the mall.

This salsa is easy to make and easily varied depending on the ingredients you have on hand. Ninfa's is a yummy Mexican food restaurant in Houston. Boy do I miss Mexican food here in Canada.... That is probably why I make it three nights out of five.

Ninfa's Green Salsa

3 medium size green tomatoes, chopped (I used regular tomatoes)

4 tomatillos, chopped

1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, stems removed, chopped (I used one can diced green chilies instead)

3 small garlic cloves

3 medium size ripe avocados

4 sprigs cilantro (I used half a bunch)

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cup sour cream

(I added the juice of a small lime)

Place tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeno peppers and garlic in a saucepan, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Peel seed and slice avocados, set aside. In food processor, place part of the green tomato mixture with part of the avocados, cilantro and salt; cover. Process until smooth, pour into a large bowl. Repeat with remaining green tomato mixture and avocado. Add to mixture in bowl, stir in sour cream, cover, chill. Serve with chips. Makes 5 to 6 cups.

*The first time I made it exactly as the recipe states and it was good. The second time I changed the recipe as stated above in italics and it was even better. Tonight I made it a third time and it was different, but maybe the best. I used one large can of tomatillos, drained, no tomatoes, garlic, avocados, half bunch cilantro, salt, sour cream and lime juice. (I dipped bean and cheese quesadillas into this and it was so delectable.)

Enjoy!!

scarlett turned two on january 18th

2011-04-19T19:50:00.001-07:00

Family birthday party with her ginormous cake.

She opened one present the in the morning right when she woke up. She loved it!
She opened her second present later when dad was home so he could watch. It was a Leap Frog alphabet for the fridge. The one that sings you the song and tells you the letters. Pretty cool.
We had our own little family birthday party. Basically it was me making and eating a Skor Bar Cake. The kids only liked the Skor Bar pieces, not the cake.
Monet helping me make the cake for the big family party.
Scarlett is my little bundle of joy. She is the BEST baby/big girl. She has a fun and excited personality yet is so reasonable and patient. She talks like a professional. People always ask me how old she is because she talks so much. Her lack of hair is a little deceiving and makes people think she is way younger than she really is. She is so love-able and cuddly and gives nice big long kisses while holding your face between her two hands very firmly, especially when she wants something.

Scarlett's favorite foods are pizza , yogurt, and toast with Nutella or "chocolate toast" as she calls it. She would give just about anything for a gumball. Every night when she says her prayers she thanks Heavenly Father for "my daddy, my monet, (sometimes my mommy), my gumball, a treat by my door, etc....". If she really wants you to do something for her she starts by asking for what she wants then follows very quickly with, "I promise, I eat my dinner all gone. I be patient." She is always very quick to say "I sorry" if she makes someone sad without being prompted. She loves babies, real ones and baby dolls.

Scarlett is currently obsessed with Snow White and could watch the movie all day long if I would let her. She actually carries a portable DVD player around the house with her and pops Snow White in there all by herself if she is ever in the mood. When ever we are out somewhere and she sees a glimpse of Snow White or one of the Seven Dwarfs or the Queen she yells, "HEY! I HAVE THAT!"

Scarlett just became obsessed with jammie dresses. She MUST wear one every night over her regular jammies. She sleeps perfectly at night and takes one 2-3 hour nap every afternoon. At her two year check up the doctor told us she was in the 15th percentile for height and 10th for weight. She has always been pretty little.

Scarlett is just such a little ray of sunshine. We are so happy she is ours!!

the atlantic's in focus

2011-04-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest news photography blog. I check it daily. The photos and descriptions often make me tear up, even the one on Dismantling the Space Shuttle Program. It is amazing how moving a picture can be. I learn so much reading the descriptions. It is a much more entertaining way of learning about what is going on in the world than watching the news I think! I highly recommend going back and looking at the ones on Autism Awareness Day and on Carnival 2011. Well really all of them are worth looking at. I could spend hours! Click here to go to The Atlantic In Focus.

red devil's food cake with white fluffy frosting

2011-03-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

This cake brings back wonderful memories of my childhood. My mom made it for every birthday. It melts in your mouth. The frosting is the best part! It is so different then any other frosting and so delicious. (Not the actual picture). Holly asked me to send her this recipe. Might as well put it on the ole' blog! Enjoy Holly!

Red Devil's Food Cake

1 3/4 cups cake flour (or all purpose flour)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

2 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9 baking pan, two 9-inch round pans or three 8-inch round pans (I always grease and line the bottom with parchment paper if using the round pans). Measure all the ingredients into you mixing bowl (I do mine pretty much in order of the recipe but I add the melted chocolate last). Mix for 30 seconds on low speed scraping the bowl well. Beat for 3 minutes on high speed, scraping the bowl well. Pour into pan or pans.

Bake 13x9 for about 40 minutes, rounds for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Frost with the white fluffy frosting.

White Fluffy Frosting

3 egg whites

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup white corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine vanilla and baking soda in a small cup. Set aside. In a mixing bowl beat egg whites until foamy. Mix in the powdered sugar, corn syrup and vanilla/baking soda mixture. Beat until it stands in tall peaks (several minutes).

marinated butternut squash

2011-03-07T16:28:00.001-08:00

Oh my gosh this is so good. We went to a friend's house for dinner a little while ago and she made this. It was so delicious! I have been dying to make it ever since and finally did. It is such a nice alternative than always dousing my squash in butter and brown sugar.

Marinated Butternut Squash

2 medium sized butternut squash, skin on, seeded and cut crosswise into 1 inch slices

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 medium onion, sliced paper thin

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 garlic clove, sliced paper thin

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

This can be made up to 6 hours in advance but should not be refrigerated.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season squash with the salt and pepper, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and arrange on a cookie sheet or two. Roast until just tender, 8-10 minutes (I roasted mine about 14 minutes total and turned the squash over about half way through). Meanwhile, stir together the remaining olive oil, vinegar, onion, pepper flakes, oregano and garlic (I used two garlic cloves). Season with salt and pepper. When the squash is cooled, immediately transfer to a dish and pour the marinade over them. Allow to cool in the marinade for at least 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with the sliced mint leaves just before serving at room temperature. Makes 8-12 servings.

(I only used one butternut squash but kept everything else the same. I loved the amount of topping/marinade but will use less olive oil to roast the squash in next time.)

i just turned 29

2011-03-01T17:31:00.001-08:00

My birthday was January 22. I turned 29. No big deal. Feels just like 28. Clay and I went out to dinner by ourselves (which we rarely do) and it was really nice! We then rented a good movie and snuggled on the couch. It was a great birthday!

My doorbell rang while I was getting ready. I looked out of my bedroom window and saw a flower delivery truck. I was like, ya right Clay. Not that he wouldn't... he just doesn't :) Clay is downstairs and answers the door. I come down and I'm like, "Are those from you?!?" He was smiling so big and says, "No.... they are from Holy!!!!" I was SO happy!! It hd the nicest note attached and really made my day. Holly is the greatest most wonderful thoughtful friend. This is what she sent me last year. Thank you Holly!!!!! I miss you.

snowman

2011-03-01T17:21:00.001-08:00

Clayton impressed me yet again with his mad snowman building skills. He kept making me bring out glasses of water. I was like, "What in the world do you need water for?" Apparently you need just the proper consistency of snow for a snowman. It has snowed more then I thought possible this year. It just finished snowing for yet another three days straight. Wow has it been cold too. On my computer it says it is NEGATIVE 11 degrees fahrenheit outside right now!!! Can you even imagine that. It feels like it too. My hands were killing after loading the groceries into my car today. It is amazing how the cold is actually so painful. I am prematurely DREAMING of the summer. Being in the sun and getting tan.

christmas morning

2011-02-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

All the magical loot Santa left for Monet and Scarlett! They must have been good girls this year.
Monet's pile: Drum set, Hungry Hungry Hippos and a teddy bear straight from Santa with Santa's voice telling Monet what a good girl she was. :)
Scarlett's pile: Wooden activity center, Foofa and a teddy bear straight from Santa telling Scarlett what a good girl she was. :)

Funny little Scarlett looked at that wooden activity center toy for about two seconds and then didn't touch it for an entire week. Mommy and Daddy made the executive decision that Santa was and idiot for getting it and returned it to the toy store along with the crappy already broken drum set Santa brought Monet. Instead we came home with a REAL big professional kid drum set that sounds real and professional..... wow is it loud.
Look at those faces. Monet woke up pretty close to her usual time but was so excited. She came into our room and asked if Santa had come and if we could go down stairs. We waited for a bit and finally woke Scarlett up. They were so cute and patient. They waited at the top of the stairs until we told them to come down. (Monet and Scarlett had matching pajamas they got from Santa the night before... he left them on the doorstep... but Monet also got pajamas from her cousin so she wore the Santa pajamas for a while then put on her cousin pajamas.)
The drum set was an instant hit!
Monet didn't even notice the giant playhouse when she ran downstairs. Scarlett didn't even notice the Santa pile. She ran straight for the playhouse shouting, "My house! My house!" In this picture she just figured out the doorbell actually rings and she is yelling, "Doorbell!!!!"
The prized possession. No joke. Monet's Christmas list this year... #1 drums #2 submarine #3 tambourine. That is what she would say anytime someone asked. We had no part in her making her list. Those were just the things she wanted. It is not easy finding a submarine.
So proud of her present!
Thanks Grandma Robin and Grandpa Jim! A new 'work out' outfit.
Thanks Grandma Robin and Grandpa Jim! Boy does she love this farm. She seriously plays with it constantly. Particularly when it is time for bed. She always tells me, "No bed mom. My farm." She will sit there and put all the animals where they go then laugh and rearrange them. She can never decide where to put the farmer because he does not have a set place so she always ends up balancing him on the roof.
Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy! This pose totally reminds me of my niece Demi.
Scarlett is the lead singer in the band. You should see them play together. It is the cutest thing you have ever seen. No matter what song Monet is 'playing', Scarlett is singing either ABCD or I Am a Child of God.

When I was younger I always wondered how Christmas could possibly be any fun with kids. All those noisy toys and little pieces. Ugh. But now that I have kids I can honestly say nothing is better. To know their little personalities and they things they like and dislike is so much fun. To see their excitement and happiness really is more rewarding than anything. We had so much fun this year deciding what to get them and shopping for their toys. It will be so much fun as they get older to see how their personalities change and their interests change. Can't wait until next year!!

christmas craft

2011-02-22T11:07:00.001-08:00

I was very proud of my Christmas craft this year. I have been wanting to make an advent calendar for a while now but could never find the right components. Then I found this wooden house at my favorite Canadian store appropriately named Superstore, the Target of Canada, sort of. I spray painted it white, covered the top and bottom in red glitter then mod podged on the paper and advent numbers found here. I got the little snowflakes on the top off of an old christmas card and made the merry christmas on the top window on my computer (since the advent numbers stop at 24). Next year I'll work on what goes inside the little windows! I was over working on the advent calendar after I finished modging it. :)

props to mallory

2011-02-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

Monet is beautifully modeling a dress that mallory made in her high school sewing class! Monet loves this dress and it fits her great. Nice work Mal. I'll keep in tip top shape for your daughters to wear... one day. :)

sledding... or as the canadians call it... tobogganing

2011-02-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

There are really great sledding hills all over the neighborhoods here. Since the ground is covered with snow seven months out of the year the hills get used a ton! This is just down the street from out house. Clay bought this red sled for the kids and they were DYING to try it!! I was scared to let them go by themselves but they loved it! Monet even hiked up and down the hill all by herself over and over again.
Cute Dad relaxing at the bottom of the hill.
Little Scarlett's hat always slides up her chin. But what a cute hat it is!
She was loving the snow.
So was Monet in her cute matching hat.
Snow angel!
Scarlett's snow angel was not quite as big, but still very cute.

monet's first day of preschool

2011-02-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

No, preschool did not start in December, I just forgot to take her 'first day of school with sign' picture so we did it in December.

summer vacation part four - montana and park city

2010-12-28T09:06:00.001-08:00

While I was in Utah this summer for vacation I took the kids and drove up to Montana to spend a week at Clayton's family's cabin in Big Fork, Montana. It is so gorgeous there! Unfortunately it was one of the coldest summers Montana has ever had and the average temperature the week we were there was about 40 degrees. For real. We never even put our bathing suits on and wore the one pair of jeans and one long sleeve shirt we brought every day. Other than the temperature it was nice and relaxing!

Going on a nice leisurely hike a few miles up the road from the cabin. Mike, Clay, Scarlett and Jackson. Scarlett thought the baby carrier was pretty funny.
Little family portrait.
Katie's birthday! Monet, Katie, Britney, Ashley and Tana.
Monet, Ashley and Katie showing off their fairy princess headbands.
Scarlett's favorite place to hide. :)
Katie and the birthday goodies we gave her!
The beautiful lake as the sun is going down! They were pulling the little island full of fireworks out to the middle of the lake for the big Fourth of july fireworks show.
All the mom's and grandma's wrapped up with the little kiddos. It was freezing!!!!!!!!!!!
Katie and Monet were in heaven putting make-up on Grandma Trisha for like an hour.
Ashley!
Clay's sister Tana!
Scarlett in her paper bag. She thought this was pretty funny.
The cabin!
After we got back from Montana we headed up to Park City, Utah for a week at my parent's time share. Oh my gosh Park City is so beautiful! In my dreams Clay and I have a cabin there when we are older. The above picture is my brother in law Ryan with Monet at the bowling alley! The time share is at the Marriott Park City Resort. Our window looked right out over the pool and beautiful mountain. We could watch all the families go up the ski lift and come down the Alpine slides. It was really cool. We swam and bar-b-q'ed and hiked and crafted and even floated down the Provo River. It was the highlight of our summer!
We rented a boat for the day. In my opinion there is NOTHING more fun then spending warm summer days in a boat on a lake. It was so dreamy. The weather was absolutely beautiful but not to hot and the water was perfect. We surfed and tubed and had a great lunch and got tan!
I can't wait until next summer for this!
Demi and my mom.
My mom and the cutest baby ever, Scarlett.
Clay surfing! Me ready to catch the rope. If you have never surfed behind a boat in a lake, do it. It is 1000 times more fun than wake boarding in my opinion.
My dad and Monet.

We were so sad my sister Hilarie and her family couldn't come! They missed a great time but hopefully we can all meet in Utah this coming summer!

summer vacation part three

2010-11-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Pointe petting zoo! Monet and Indie were pretty cute.
Scarlett trying to get that little goat.
Aunt Mallory with the girlies.
This is a funny story. My mom had to get a picture of me and Scarlett in front of this black Oriental screen that hey have had for almost 30 years... When I was exactly Scarlett's age my parents bought this beautiful brand new Oriental screen for their house. A few days after they bought it I pushed the thing over and it crashed to the ground all cracked and chipped. They spent a bunch of money getting it repaired but it just wasn't ever the same. Fast forward almost 30 years... me and my mom are downstairs and Monet and Scarlett are up in my mom's room playing babies. We hear this CRASH! We run up stairs and Scarlett is sitting against the wall behind where the Oriental screen was. She had crawled behind it and kicked it down with her legs. It was totally cracked in half. One of the panels was torn off. It was pretty funny. My little baby girl ruined the exact same piece of furniture I had ruined 28 years ago (at the exact same age)!! Ha ha. Sorry Mom and Dad.
Taking the girls up for a little dinner at Sundance.
Scarlett held her sucked like this. She thought she was pretty funny.
Monet and Indie having a sleepover wearing Grandma's glasses and eating chocolate cake.
Cute girls watching a princess movie.
My cousin Tyler came home from his mission while we were there. This is most of the older girl cousins in my family at his homecoming. From left... Mandy, Emilie, Carly, Brittanie, Joelle (Tyler's girlfriend), me, Mallory and Natalie.
My Dad took Demi, Monet and Scarlett to this little western fair down by their house. It was really cute.
Demi and Monet got matching face-paintings.
Scarlett and my Dad.
Mallory and I hosted a Minute to win It game night with all my family!! It was SO MUCH fun!!!!! This is my Mom doing a fishing game with pretzels and gummy worms.
Dad, Rob, Carly, Emilie and Holly.
Danen and Tyler going for the grand prize!! Tyler won the coveted American Express gift certificate.

This was so much fun. I seriously hadn't laughed that hard in a while. All of my makeup was gone by the end of the night because I was crying so hard from laughing.
All my old MAC girls!!! We all got together at Jen's house for dinner and chatting. It is always so fun to see everyone and catch up. Since working together we (just the ones in the picture) have had eleven kids. Holy crap.
Oh I love this picture. Claire, Monet and Indie. Claire and Monet were born a few days apart and Indie was born a few months later. They are such good friends. It makes me so sad we don't live closer to them!

halloween party

2010-11-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Chocolate mustaches, glow sticks, witche's finger cookies and Heather's beautiful pumpkin shaped carrott cake.
I love skull stuff.
Stefan, Chad, Brooks and Heather.
Tanner and Yvonne.
Maddison, Kristy, Mackenzie and Payton.
All the cute trick or treaters!!
Oh how cute. My little turtle and Foofa.
Monet couldn't be bothered to sit down for one more picture. She was already at her first house by now.

We had a family Halloween party this year. It was really so fun for all the kid cousins to get together and play in their costumes. Unfortunatly Tana's family got sick with the flu so they couldn't come. We were sad! I made chili and cornbread for dinner. It turned out really yummy! Heather made a delicious tomatillo slasa and carrot cake. After the kiddies trick or treated for a bit we came back and had spiced white pumpkin hot chocolate. It was a great evening and the kids had so much fun.

clever girls

2010-10-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

I leave strawberries out on the counter for a few minutes and come into the kitchen to find this.... Scarlett had moved a chair from the kitchen table all the way over to the sink, turned on the water and got out a knife from the drawer. She was washing the strawberries in the water (smart girl) and cutting them with the knife. The girl needed a snack. Or as she calls it, a nack.

I then go up stairs to find this.... Monet had got the plastic drawer where I keep my lipgloss down and was 'organizing' them on the window so she could better choose which one to wear. Very clever.

halloween decorations

2010-10-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Holly.... stop laughing.... :) These pics are for my mom, sisters, grandma, etc. These are the things they want to see on the blog :) ha ha.

Front porch.... actually funny story. One lonely day a few years ago in Las Vegas I was talking to Holly on the phone telling her about this dope black feather Halloween wreath I saw at Target but didn't get. The next day I came home from a walk to find the very wreath hanging on my front door. Holly made my day. Thanks Holly. I still love it!!
Little festive montage hanging on the wall. What I love so much about decorating for the holidays is remembering where I got each decoration. It is like a comforting walk down memory lane. Top left crow picture I got on a girl trip to St. George with the intention of giving it to my mom but decided to keep it for myself. Glitter witch and Beware sign my mom got me at this cool decorating store it Utah. Vintage Halloween postcard my mom got me and I put them all in frames.
Love that garland! It lights up.
Scary lady picture. New lamp :) (I am sure right now my mom is like, Yikes. I do not like that lamp...)
TV nook.
I am pretty proud of my favorite Halloween craft this year.
Scary entry way.
Love these candles.

I have been enjoying these decorations since the beginning of September and I never thought I would say it, but, I am so excited to take them down next week and put my Christmas decorations up!!!

summer vacation part two

2010-10-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Scarlett, me and little Max (my cousin Brittanie's baby)!

We went to the Lindon pool every other day. It was sooooooo delightful. I am already dreaming of next summer. Every now and again Monet will say, "Hey mom!!! Let's go to the Lindon pool!" Sorry Monet, not for ten months.
He is such a good baby. He literally chilled here for hours.
Scarlett doing what she does best. Eating candy. Look at that backdrop. Nothing is more beautiful than Utah summers. And that grass.... so luxurious. You could lay on it for hours.
Larry and Scarlett.

Holly and I took the kids to the Bean Museum on the BYU campus. They have hundreds of stuffed animals. It was pretty cool. They really liked it. Holly's aunt works there so we got a behind the scenes look at a live snake and a live huge turtle. Lennon was all over the animals touching and petting them. Monet looked from a few feet away. I guess that is the difference with little boys and little girls.
Monet took his picture of Lennon. They were taking pictures of all the wildlife with our cameras.
Monet wrestling with Grandpa.
Lucy and Scarlett. They were being so darling together. Hugging and kissing and giving each other licks of their suckers.

Cute matching swimsuits and hats!
Grandpa, Sacrlett and Monet at our favorite place, Sundance. We just finished a delicious lunch and were enjoying our suckers!
Monet and her boyfriend/uncle Ryan (Mallory's husband).
My mom got Monet this bike and she rode it all day every day.
Monet and Ryan high five-ing mid ride.
Claire and Monet smooching. They are such good little friends and only a few days apart in age. They are sitting on my uncle Jerry's lap. (My dad's brother, Claire's grandpa).

summer vacation part one - marathon

2010-10-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Monet watching and waiting with Grandpa.
Holly and Me!!!! I seriously could not have done this without Holly. She is my personal motivator. Thank you Holly. :) We ran side by side in the freezing cold rain talking and laughing for 4 hours and 54 minutes. It was so great! We literally run the exact same pace.

The race started at 5:30 am way up in Provo Canyon. It was around 40 degrees outside and pouring rain. We all wore trash bags to start the race off with and within a few miles we had all tossed them to the side. It was actually sort of fun running in the freezing rain. The clouds were really low over the mountain tops so it looked like we were running really high in the mountains. It was right in the middle of summer so all the trees and vegetation was emerald green and just so beautiful.

Miles 1 through 5 were through a quaint mini country mountain town. They were nice. Miles 6 through 20 were awesome. Really fun, lot of energy, gorgeous scenery and the rain died down towards the end. I knew my family would be waiting for me at mile 21 so I was really looking forward to that.
Holly's husband Tod.
My cousin Dewy. Her first race ever and she was FAST!
Clay! He did so good.
My mom, brother in law Ryan, cousin Spencer and cousin Natalie with her darling little baby Zoey.

Mile 21! It was so great to see my family! I had been looking forward to seeing them for hours! I got all emotional and started to cry. I gave Monet and Scarlett a hug and kiss and kept running. Miles 21 through 23 were ok. Really flat so there was no downgrade helping me run. I was getting pretty tired. Holly was whispering sweet motivational nothings into my ear. Ha ha. Miles 24 through 26 were rough. I seriously had my eyes closed the whole time. I would open them every few steps to check how far we had run then close them again. I was digging deep. Telling myself, you can do it Megan! I was doing this bizarre open/close hand movement. I don't know why. I just thought it helped me run better.
Finish line! Hell ya! 26.2 miles later. We were so happy!

Holly and I came around the corner towards the finish line and saw all our friends and family. Again I got all emotional! It was just so neat to see your loved ones all there cheering you on and supporting your accomplishment.

I have to say this was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I really loved setting this big goal and accomplishing it. I really think it has changed my life for the better and helped my become a healthier person. The race itself was also just so fun. All the people cheering each other on, all the spectators holding up signs, the cool t-shirt and medal. I liked it so much Mallory talked me into running the Houston Marathon January 30th! Sixteen weeks to go....

halloween jammies

2010-10-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Just modeling their new Halloween jammies from Grandma Robin... cute! Thanks Grandma. They love them. They even glow in the dark. Its pretty funny. I turn the light off in Scarlett's room and all I see is this bright green skeleton glowing from underneath her blanket. She thinks it is funny.

lost camera charger

2010-09-19T08:39:00.001-07:00

I lost my camera battery charger somewhere along my travels this summer. My claim to fame is that I never loose anything, like ever. One time I 'lost' a bracelet and found it a year later in a purse. I knew I didn't loose it :). Clayton can't find something for three minutes and he is freaking out and ready to go buy a new one. He is like a kid. I tell him, "If I come in there and find it I am going to be really mad." Then I find it within one minute every time.

I just kept imagining it will turn up but I keep missing important events that need to be documented, so I finally bought the bullet and ordered a new camera charger. Suck. I am sure I will find mine now. At least now I don't have to take first day of school and dance class pictures on the computer... and I can finally post all my summer vacation pictures on here.

The camera charger will be here next week.

pies crusts

2010-09-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

With the freakishly cold Canadian weather lately (borderline snowing outside) I am about to get my pie on. You better believe I will be trying out every one of these pie crusts courtesy of Martha Stewart. This gives me an excuse to order some more mini cookie cutters.

dance class

2010-09-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

Monet started dance class! She LOVES it. She goes once a week for 45 minutes. They do tap, ballet and tumbling. They have to wear a pink leotard and pink tights with their hair pulled back all professional style. It is just about the cutest thing I have seen in a while. Last week was her second class and as we pulled up in the car before I even turned the engine off she says, "K bye mom. See you later," and tries to get out of the car. She is such a big girl.

new york

2010-08-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

My mom, me, my sister Carly and my sister Mallory went to NYC at the beginning of June to visit my brother Jim and his wife Melissa. They were fantastic hosts! We did a ton of super cool things and had a great time. I wish I had pictures of everything but my camera ran out of battery juice halfway through the trip.

The first night we arrived we walked right over to Jim and Melissa's. I was dying to see their place. It is in a great location. Super close to central park and a ton of good restaurants. They live practically across the street from Bryant Park, where New York Fashion Week occurs every year for those of you who watch Project Runway.... The above picture is my mom and Melissa in their buildings basement. Where they do laundry and store their bikes. Cool and creepy all at the same time.
My mom and Jim in their apartment. It is pretty small but comfortable. It has a full bathroom, tiny kitchen, descent sized main room, and a tiny bedroom. It's in a cool walk up building with no elevator so they have to walk three flights of stairs multiple times per day. It was very charming. The location is great for them (Jim takes the train from Penn Station to New Jersey every day while Melissa takes the train from Grand Central Station the Connecticut everyday). They would eventually like to move to a 'hipper' part of town with younger people like them selves but this works for now!
We went to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). It was neat to see so many of the art I have seen in books and read about. This little gem takes the cake though. We could not get over this. Take a look at the below picture. It is two pieces of charred black glass. Now read the above explanation of this modern masterpiece. Seriously, zoom in because it is priceless. I am not trying to knock this genius work.......... but come on.
I should look this guy up on Wikipedia.
My mom getting up close and personal with this massive Jackson Pollock painting. This painting is actually in one of Monet's favorite books, Olivia. I like to quiz her on it every time we read the page with it. I ask, "Who painted this one?" And she says, "Jackson Pollock!" Just introducing a little art appreciation early on. :) By the way, have you ever seen the movie, Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock? Really good.
Mom, Van Gogh, me.
We went to this really awesome craft fair in Brooklyn. Me and Mal got some super cute place mats, I got Monet some felt bow tie pasta, and Melissa got a cute little wooden squirrel for her fireplace mantel. It was fun to see a lot of my favorite etsy sellers in person. Brooklyn is an interesting place. This local funky band in the above pic sort of summed up Brooklyn for me. They were really cool with funky music and all playing super old vintage musical instruments.
Check out the Renegade Craft Fair if you are ever in a town hosting one. It was neat.
Zarin Fabrics.... for all you Real Housewives of NYC fans. We went to the Tenement Museum just down the street from Zarin Fabrics in the garment district. It was awesome. It chronicled the lives of immigrants working in the garment district at the turn of the century. A must see if you visit NYC.
This was super fun. Jim and Melissa treated us to a fabulous picnic in Central Park. We went to the coolest grocery store called Zabars, got all the picnic treats we could carry, then walked a few blocks to beautiful central park. It was such a nice day because the weather was a slight bit cooler (we were there in the middle of a heat wave) and it rained towards the end of our picnic. We had to run for cover under a tree. It was super fun and so beautiful.
Checking out the turtles near Belvedere Castle. Central Park is so neat. I came to have a greater appreciation for it this trip. I was at the end of training for my marathon while I was in NYC so I ran from our hotel up to Central Park several times. It was so neat running through the busy streets then all of the sudden entering this massive lush green jungle. It is huge! One run I circled the entire park. It was so neat seeing all of the sights the park has to offer. There were hundreds of people, if not a thousand, running and biking through there. And it was actually really hilly which I did not expect.
The original Grimaldi's Pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge. Really yummy. It is so busy you have to wait in this long line until the mob boss like guy tells you to enter and where to sit. You are crammed in there like sardines but the pizza was super good. I think the one in Las Vegas tasted a little better but it was neat to go here.
After taking the subway from our hotel to Brooklyn, we ate at Grimaldi's then walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge. I highly recommend doing this if you are ever there. It was such a spectacular view and you end up in such a neat area.
The bikers take the right lane and walkers the left. They bikers are serious about this. One lady even had and air horn she blasted if a walker got in her lane.
Ground zero. Pretty boring. There really isn't much to see and they don't have a viewing area like they used to.
Carly was obsessed with this ice cream truck. We finally chased it down right in front of the Staten Island Ferry. I think my mom actually said it was the best ice cream she ever had. I disagree.

Man this was a fun trip! Now that Jim and Melissa live there I will have to visit more often! Clay has never been so we would really like to go together some time. There were so many more fun things we did but I don't have picture of them. We seriously ate THE BEST food too. Jim and Melissa took us to the greatest restaurants and they were all so inexpensive. We probably ate like five cupcakes per day. Two Little Red Hens was the best. We went to the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy club. Hilarious.

Thanks mom for a fabulous trip I will never forget!

cake bunting

2010-08-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh. This has got to be the cutest thing I have seen in a while. Move over cake toppers, I am now in love with cake bunting. These are all from this darling shop on etsy called Kiki La Ru. Now someone I know just needs to have a birthday. Or maybe I'll make Clayton a happy anniversary cake this weekend that only I will eat.

toothbrush

2010-07-28T08:13:00.001-07:00

The Oral-B Pulsar toothbrush is the greatest thing to hit the grocery store shelves. I don't know if it is new or it has been out for a while but I just discovered it. Clay and I have been using the Sonicare toothbrush for years and really love it. I just HATE every couple of months when I have to go out and buy $35 new toothbrush heads. I also don't like traveling with the Sonicare or having to clean it. So I was at the grocery store a few nights ago looking for new Sonicare toothbrush heads when I saw the Pulsar. It is a disposable battery operated pulsating toothbrush. You pay $6 bucks for it, use it for three months, then throw it away and buy another one. So much cheaper and so much easier for traveling. I highly recommend trying one out.

summer vacation

2010-06-02T16:03:00.001-07:00

New York City!
Utah Valley Marathon!

Big Fork, Montana!

Park City, Utah!

I will be leaving tomorrow morning at 5 am for my summer time vacations! I am so excited.

Tomorrow I go to New York City with my mom and two of my sisters Mallory and Carly. I'm so sad my other sister Hilarie won't be there! We are visiting my brother Jim and his wife Melissa. They live right in the heart of Manhattan. Among other things, we plan on eating tons of good food, going to the Renegade Craft Fair, going to the Tenement Museum and maybe a baseball game!

I come home next Tuesday, pack and clean all day Wednesday, then leave again Thursday to drive to Utah! Clay is driving me and the kiddos down for our marathon on Saturday. We are super excited for this. I am so happy Clay and I get to run it together. He will drive back home to Canada on Sunday.

So me and my girls will be in Utah the rest of the summer. We plan on going to the pool everyday and playing with all my cousin's kids. Monet is really excited. We will drive up to Montana to visit Clayton's family at some point, we are just not sure when yet! Then back to Utah for my family reunion in Park City. We are so excited to see my sister Hilarie and her family. We have not seen them for so long! Monet misses them and so do we.

Anyhoo... have a great summer! See you in two months Canada.

expensive groceries

2010-05-28T17:01:00.001-07:00

I really like it here in Canada with one exception. The ridiculously expensive groceries. I could go to my local neighborhood Wallmart grocery store back in Las Vegas, buy everything my heart desired with stuff falling out of the top of the cart, and my total would never be over $300. Guess how much that picture above worth of groceries cost me....... $165. It was four bags worth and I carried it all in one load.

half marathon

2010-05-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Four months ago I could not even run half a mile. For real. To think about running all the way down the street seemed so daunting! I always said to myself, after Scarlett turned one I would get in shape. I had some friends who were doing the Salt Lake Half Marathon so I decided that would be my goal! I needed something to train for. I also liked the fact that all I needed was a pair of running shoes. No gym membership, no expensive gear, etc. So January 1st was the first day of my training/new life. Ha ha! That sounds so silly but it is true. I was turning a new leaf.

I started by going to the YMCA a few times and running on the treadmill. That was so brutal. I would jog for a few minutes, walk for a few minutes, jog for a few minutes, and so on. All I could think was, 'How will I ever be able to actually run and entire mile, let alone three or five or ten!' After my free passes to the YMCA ran out, I had to brave the cold Canadian weather. I started running outside which I actually liked a lot more then I thought. I slowly started being able to run a little farther and a little farther. I followed the Hal Higdon half marathon training schedule. It started out with two and three mile runs, then increased over time. The last long run before the Half Marathon was ten miles. It is crazy how easily the mileage builds up.

By far the hardest part about the training was just finding the time to actually go run! I would go after Clay got home from work and then Saturday morning for my long run. I missed several of the weekday runs towards the end because Clayton was working so late but I never missed a long run. Those are the most important.

I was so excited for the Half Marathon! I flew to Utah with my mom after her and my dad had come to Canada for a visit. This was the first time EVER I left my little kiddos! I had left Monet before for a night or two but never for this long and never Scarlett. I was sad to leave them but really excited. Clay's mom was so nice to come to stay with them! She watched Monet and Scarlett while Clay worked. It was so great!

Friday night my family and I met my great friend/inspiration Holly and my cousin Emily for a big pasta dinner at Bucca di Beppo in SLC. Then we stayed the night at a hotel. It was so fun and festive! Holly is the one who has always encouraged me to run with her. She has done several half marathons, one full marathon, and several triathlons.
This is Mal's and my gear. We were all ready to go. It was so fun having that cool numbered bib!
I thought this picture was pretty funny. All of us snugly doing some night time reading before we turn out the lights. Carly was over on the right on a roll in bed reading her book.
Heeeeeyyyyyyyyy! Who would have ever though they would see me and Mal in running gear with race bibs on!!!!! This is us heading down to meet Holly at 5:30 am.
This pic is out of order but if you look close you can see all the runners down in the street.
At the finish line waiting for me, Mal, Holly and Emily to come through! There were so many people there. I think like 30,000 racers and spectators total.
Yea!! Me and Holly right after we crossed the finish line. Do you see my tears of joy? I was seriously so emotional! It was pretty funny. I had been imagining this very thing every day for the past several months and to have it actually transpire was so cool. At the end of all my runs I would picture me rounding the corner to the finish line seeing my family all there cheering. It played out exactly like it had in my head. I was totally weepy the whole last mile. I was running like lightning because of all the adrenalin.
Emily, me and holly. Check out those medals! Emily seriously finished like 45 minutes before us. I knew she would be fast but not that fast! Go Emily! Me and Holly crossed the finish line hand in hand like champions at 2 hours and 24 minutes.
Yea Mallory! She crossed the finish line a little after us. Ryan was so proud. :)
Mom, me, Dad and Mal. I love this picture.
This seriously was one of the best things I have ever done. To anyone considering a half marathon I would HIGHLY recommend it! It was hard but so worth it. I enjoyed it so much that I have continued on training and am doing the Utah Valley Full Marathon in June! Me, Clay, Holly, my cousin Dewy and my sister in law Heather are all signed up. Yea!

spiced carrot muffins

2010-05-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

When I'm in the mood to bake, (which unfortunately is everyday) I sometimes go to the Martha Stewart website for a new tasty recipe. I look in my fridge or cupboard to see what I have a little extra of, then go to the Martha Stewart Food site. There is a section that has tons of recipes all having to do with one particular ingredient.

So a few days ago I was hankering for something to mix and bake. Something about mixing in my Kitchen aid then baking in my warm oven is so soothing to me. I had a TON of carrots. I found this most delicious recipe. These carrot muffins just might be the best muffins I have ever had. I am not even kidding. So moist and spicy, but no too spicy. Oh my gosh they are soooo good toasty hot with butter. Monet and Scarett have eaten more then a few themselves too.

happy birthday hilarie

2010-05-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Hilarie!!! I hope your birthday is wonderful. We cannot wait to see you guys in Utah this summer! Thanks for being such a great sister. I only wish we lived closer so our kids could grow up together and so we could hang out more!

happy birthday jim

2010-04-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday Jim!!! We miss you guys so much and hope we can come visit you sometime soon! I hope your day is great. You deserve it!

mom and dad come

2010-04-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

Waiting and waiting....
Yea!!! My mom and dad finally made it up to Canada. We were so excited! They came the night before Easter. My dad stayed for several days then went home and my mom stayed for two weeks. It was so much fun. Monet and scarlett were so happy to have them here.
We did a lot of shopping...
My mom was dying to see how a Canadian doctor's office worked. Just so happens Scarlett got an ear infection so my mom came with me.
My mom rearranged Monet's bedroom and bought her that darling white armoire in the right hand corner. We got it at Superstore, my mom's favorite new store ever. It is sort of a Canadian Target.
My mom spent hours doing her favorite thing ever, organizing toys. See how the kitchen is organized just right and the table is set so perfectly?

We had so much fun with my parents here. Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful visit!

easter

2010-04-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Easter wreath I made for my sister in law Tana.
Easter wreath I made for my front door. I took the three hot pink butterfly ribbons off. They bothered me.
Easter Sunday! Well not really, this was the week before actual Easter but we wore our Easter dresses because the next Sunday was General Conference.
Monet loves to hold Scarlett on her lap.
Cute girls.
Easter baskets! Monet also got a hot pink scooter. She has been asking for one since Christmas. She is so patient. On Christmas morning she wondered where it was.... on her birthday she wondered where it was...
My mom and dad were here so that was super fun! This is my mom giving the kids there cute Easter gifts. Bunny ears, books and toys. Thanks mom! Monet has been carrying around her Foofa toy for days. It is her 'baby'. She sleeps with it and eats with it and takes a bath with it.
Scarlett mad a dash to the chocolate eggs in her basket.
Scarlett in her new superhero cape. I made one for each of them. Unfortunately they don't think they are as cool as I do.
Scarlett's is a little big but she thought it was cool for a second.

guess who walks now

2010-04-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

Scarlett started walking two weeks ago! It is so cute to see such a little tiny baby walking all around. This video is when the magic happened. We held up a tube of hand lotion from my purse and she walked right to it, with a little help. She is fifteen months old. (Monet walked on her first birthday).

happy birthday clay

2010-04-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

Clay turned 31 yesterday. My how this last year has flown by! We celebrated with a fun day at the park followed by a little Chinese takeout and Chocolate Pie. Yum! Not super exciting though, sorry Clay. It was just fun to spend time as a family all day long. He has been working so much lately so the kids really enjoyed it.

These pictures are from a few weeks ago. Clay surprised us and came home a little early from work. Monet was ecstatic! Clay asked her if she wanted to go on a car ride with him to get a movie and pick up a pizza. She thought it was a date. She said, "YAAA!!! Hold on.... I have to go get ready." Then she came down stairs ten minutes later looking like this. Picked out a new outfit, high heels, headband and beautiful red lipstick. She was so proud of herself and was totally working it. Everyone at the store was telling her how beautiful she looked. :)

Happy birthday Clayton!!! We love you. Thanks for being the perfect husband and Dad for us.

utah valley marathon

2010-03-26T08:30:00.001-07:00

Who knew I would enjoy running?! I really wasn't interested in doing a marathon at all. A few months ago I could not even run a mile without practically passing out, seriously. My half marathon is in four short weeks and I'm totally pumped. My great friend Holly has been mildly encouraging me to do the full marathon with her as well. I was like, no freaking way. I thought about it a ton and finally decided.... why the hell not. I will be half way trained for it already, why not just keep going for a few extra weeks? I know Clayton has been thinking about doing a marathon ever since his triathlon, so we decided to do it together!!! What a fun thing to do with your spouse we thought!

We signed up for the Utah Valley Marathon on June 12. It starts in or around gorgeous Heber Utah and goes all the way down Provo Canyon, down University Avenue to the Provo Town Center Mall. It will be a total walk down memory lane! Past Sundance Ski Resort where I used to work, past Mom and Dad's house, past the Riverwoods (where I used to work), University mall (where I used to work), etc. I am so excited. What makes it equally more exciting is our friends and family also doing it. Mallory and Ryan might be signing up. My sister in law Heather and Holly already have.

I switched my half marathon training schedule over to the full marathon training schedule. I am supposed to do 12 miles this Saturday now instead of the 9 on the half training. Yikes. We will se how that goes. Clay starts his big Saturday runs this weekend too. He has modified his morning workouts to running which is a big change for him.

Wish us luck! We are pretty excited!

miniature food

2010-03-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

If this isn't the cutest darn thing you have ever seen I don't know what is. This food is all about one inch big. I found it on etsy. She makes it for dollhouses or for Barbies to play with. How cute!!!!! She also makes some of her little foods into jewelry. I want some cupcake earrings. Her shop is called Petit Plat.

where's scarlett

2010-03-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

crawling on top of her piano...

standing up in her highchair....

getting stuck then being so proud for getting out....
getting her jammies on drinking a 'baba'...

standing on her green chair...

monet telling a story

2010-03-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

This video is so funny of Monet. She was telling me how she wanted us to go hide so when daddy comes home from work he can find us and then tickle us! Two nights ago we turned off literally every light in the house so it was pitch black dark and hid until daddy came home and she has not stopped talking about it since. She just thought it was hilarious.

hold me

2010-02-26T22:19:00.001-08:00

How can you not just pick up that little face.

valentine jammies

2010-02-26T21:59:00.001-08:00

Monet and Scarlett's favorite thing to do together... take ALL the bedding off Monet's bed and jump! They just die laughing the entire time. Scarlett literally claps her hands and yells, "Yea yea yea yea yea yea yea!" the entire time. It is so cute. Monet jumps around Scarlett in circles doing ring around the rosie, they roll all over each other, Monet bounces Scarlett in the air, etc. It is so fun to watch. I just love my girls. They make me so happy. Those cute matching jammies make me happy too. Thanks Grandma Robin! Monet LOVES to match with Scarlett.

monet's candy birthday party

2010-02-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

I asked Monet so many times what type of birthday party she wanted. Every time she said, "A candy party Mom!" So we went with that! I found these really cute invitations on etsy. It was so much fun to plan. Thanks Grandma Robin for my cute dress!
'Pin the gumball in the gumball machine'...
Presents!
Monet loved all her gifts! She has been playing and playing with them all ever since. You'll see in the next picture Monet is wearing a totally different outfit... well she opened this super cute dress and matching headband from Dior and immediately took her clothes off (including hair clip) and put her new outfit on. It was so funny. The second she opened it I knew she would be changing her clothes. She does not keep them same outfit on for more than twenty minutes.
Foofa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Instead of a traditional birthday cake we decided to go with Foofa cake balls. Foofa is Monet's all time favorite character. She was even Foofa for Halloween this year! Foofa is from the kid tv show Yo Gabba Gabba.
Filling their bags with candy! Clay was trying to get them to take all the candy so we wouldn't have any left at the house. Ha ha.
Monet has been wearing these monkey slippers ever since she opened them. Thanks Tatum, Jayden and Hennessey! She kept them right by her bed and slipped right into them the second she woke up.
Monet in her new jammie dress from Grandma Trisha! Monet had put all the 'gumballs' on Scarlett's head and Scarlett kept them on for seriously like half an hour.
Scarlett totally copies Monet all the time. It is so darling. Scarlett wants to be doing what her big sister is! I had no idea that would start so early...
... hence these sideways pictures. (If you are wondering about the soother..... Monet has been obsessed with Scarlett's soothers lately..... kind of a problem.)

Thanks to everyone who came and for all the nice gifts! Monet was so happy and had such a great time.

clayton's new job

2010-02-16T09:03:00.001-08:00

No more of this in the middle of the afternoon! Monet will be very sad.
Clayton has officially entered the corporate work force! We are so happy. He started today. He is an account manager selling advertising space for a cool radio station here in Calgary, Amp Radio 90.3. Yea yea yea! I know he will do really well. Clay is such a people person and so friendly. I think the clients will really like him. I also think Clay might really like this kind of a job, who knows! He has never really had a 9 to 5-er with two weeks yearly vacation. That vacation thing might be a problem but I'm sure we will get through it :). Congrats Clay!

monet turns three

2010-02-15T12:47:00.001-08:00

Only a week or so old, getting some sun time in.
Around six months.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Monet. She is about twelve months.
This is how Monet spent her third birthday! We took Monet and Katie to an indoor play place then back to our house for a little tea party and Barbie Pegasus. They had SO MUCH fun!! It was darling.
Katie got Monet this cute tea party set for her birthday. Cheers!
So Clay walks in the door at eight am with this bad boy in his hand. I was like........ hum. He explained that they kept popping the Dora the Explorer birthday balloon so they gave him this one for free. I was laughing so hard. Katie asked me with a perplexed look on her face, "Where is her belly?" pointing to the balloon. Monet said, "Right here" pointing to her boobs.
Indie wishing Monet a happy birthday on the phone.
Seriously, like a teenager.
Making birthday brownies! Monet is an expert cook. She cracks the eggs and adds all the ingredients. Just the other night we were making one of our favorite dinners that Monet has made with me so many times. She was getting ingredients for me out that I had not even told her to get, she just knew they went with the meal. Like cheese out of the fridge and bread crumbs out of the cupboard.
Happy Birthday my love!

greatest sugar cookies in the history of sugar cookies

2010-02-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

*these pictures are not of the actual cookies, in fact the cookies in the second picture look really hard and non-tasty

Sugar Cookies

Sift together:

4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream:

1 cup room temperature butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and let sit in the fridge. Roll out dough on a floured surface to be 3/4 inch thick. Bake on a lightly greased (I use parchment paper) cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Do NOT over-bake.

Frosting:

1/2 cup room temperature butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

2 pounds powered sugar

evaporated milk (a few tablespoons)

Mix ingredients together until creamy and of spreadable consistency.

My mom's friend always made these cookies growing up and they were always the best. Everyone loved them. Now my family always makes them and they are so good. Everyone's favorites!

best birthday gift ever

2010-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Oh Holly, you know the way to my heart is through my stomach... For my birthday Holly sent me all of my American foods that I have been missing so so much, and some great new running music! Thank you Holly!

half marathon

2010-02-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

It's officially official!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have just signed up for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on April 17th. I am SO SO SO SO SOOOOOO excited! I have been training since Christmas time and it has been great so far.

I started in the gym on the treadmill and pretty much hated it. So now I run outside and it is so great. Today when I left the house for my run at 9:15 am it was about 15 degrees outside (Fahrenheit of course). No big deal. It is actually so beautiful and nice to run in the cold. I had no idea! I wear long tight running pants, a tight zip up running coat (with no shirt underneath because it gets to hot), gloves and a beanie. It took me a few runs to find the perfect combo of clothes without getting too hot or too cold.

I am doing the Hal Higdon training program. I really like it. I doesn't feel intimidating at all. I keep my training schedule on my fridge for motivation. It feels SO great to highlight each day in green after I run. And it is nice because you can totally change around your training days if you have something going on one day. I switched my long runs to Saturdays and rest on Sundays. Then I usually run again on Monday. I usually change it up every week.

Mallory (sister) and Holly (great friend) are doing it with me. Holly is an expert runner with half marathon's, full marathon's and triathlons under her belt. Mal is a novice beginner like myself. We are so excited!

Anyhoo... I am super excited and will keep my blog updated on my progress.

happy birthday carly

2010-01-26T14:42:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Carly!! I hope your day was great and your next year to come is much better than this year. I love you and hope to come visit soon!

monet's christmas card poses

2010-01-25T20:24:00.001-08:00

Cutest thing I have seen in a while. In sequential order.

christmas card

2010-01-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

I unfortunately never got around to doing a Christmas card this year. First time I have not sent out a card since we were married.... sad. So here are the intended Christmas card pictures!

Merry Christmas for the Peterson Family!!

the bachelor in review

2010-01-25T19:54:00.001-08:00

In anticipation of tonight's episode, I thought I might discuss last week..... Ali, Ali, Ali. I really thought I liked you. You were my number two after Tenley. After last week though you have gone down my list.

What was with Ali last week really. Why was she so mean? I really though she was this nice down to earth girl.

Elisabeth... wow. She was very pretty but that whole too hard to get thing was sosoososososoooooooooo annoying. I'm glad he caught onto that.

Tenley... I hope she gets a one on one date tonight. She really seems so nice and just perfect for Jake.

birthday

2010-01-23T13:45:00.001-08:00

I turned one year older and wiser yesterday. Twenty eight feels just about the same as twenty seven. Clayton and I went to dinner and a movie with Clay's sister Tana and her husband Mike. It was a great dinner and one of the worst movies I have seen in about a year, extraordinary measures. This is a pretty big thing for me to say because I pretty much like every movie I ever see. It was just SO BORING! It could have been so good because it was such a good story, just a crappy movie.

Anyhoo..... thanks for all the happy birthday messages and calls! I felt loved.

scarlett's first birthday

2010-01-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

My little muffin turned one on January 18th!!! I cannot believe how the time has flown by. She is such a great baby. ALWAYS happy and such a pleasure to be around. I know that sounds so cheesy but that is how I feel. Like it would never be a problem to take her somewhere like the mall or to the grocery store. She just chills in her stroller or car seat and smiles and plays with toys. And if she ever is sad, I just hold her she is happy as can be. I can honestly say there has MAYBE been five nights in her entire life where she has woken up in the middle of the night. Scarlett is just such a joy in my life. I love her so much!

One Year Stats:

17 lbs 13 oz
27 3/4 inch long
crawls faster than lightning
cruises across all the furniture
walks with her walker toy
two teeth on the bottom and one on the top
says mama, hi, ni ni (night night), bye bye an uh oh!
put phones up the her ear and says hi!
tries to put on headbands, socks, shoes and bibs
does sign language... all done, daddy, eat, more and milk
eats everything you put in front of her... her favorites are chicken broccoli casserole, cream of wheat and bananas
no longer eats baby food
starting to drink whole milk from a bottle but is not that into it

happy birthday dad

2010-01-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday last week Dad! I feel like you really taught me how to be an adult. I remember in high school and college when I would call and ask you what I should do about a certain situation, you would give me great advise then tell me to decide on my own. You would say confidently, "You'll know what to do." I feel like that really helped me become the independent person that I am! Thanks for loving me and my kids so much. I love you Dad!

the bachelor

2010-01-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Even though I think Jake is a total cheese ball, I am very excited for this season. He was pretty cute the first episode and the girls seem pretty good. I'm putting my money on the dark haired dancer girl with a cutesy voice for now. We'll see though... things can change. I am quite optimistic this time though. He seems so sticky sweet nice that he will never break up with the girl he would choose. And the girls on the show knew what kind of a guy he was before they got there. So I'm just saying... maybe this time it will work out.

cool kid quote book

2010-01-08T13:40:00.001-08:00

I saw this the other day at the mall. How cool is this! A little journal book dedicated to your kids quotes. I love that it is not for just one kid in particular. You can keep one journal for all of your children.

christmas eve

2010-01-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

Monet and Brittney on our way to the Bagshaw's for Christmas Eve dinner. Monet got to open a 'Christmas Eve' present... her cute new brown coat!!!
Daddy and Monet opening the gift Santa left her on the doorstep... new jammies!
Christmas Eve jammies and slippers for Monet and Katie.
Cute girls. Katie, Ashley and Emily (Mike and Tana's niece).
Couple pose. For all of you who haven't seen me in a while... isn't my hair getting so big and long!
Mike and Tana's couple pose.
Mom and little Scarlett! Se was a little dazed in this shot wondering why she was not in bed. It was about four hours past her bedtime. :)
Oh my gosh. I just love this picture. Monet can hardly contain her excitement knowing Santa will be traveling down that very chimney to eat that cookie and drink that hot chocolate only after she goes to sleep. She was being SO funny and cute about it.
Dad and Monet reading her favorite book of the week, Olivia, before bed. If you look closely you will notice they are reading by candlelight... the flash on the camera made the room look bright but really it was not. So funny.

santa came

2010-01-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year in Calgary. We weren't really with our parents or all our siblings so it was different but really great. Clayton's sister Tana was here with her family so we were invited to go to her in-laws house for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner. It was fabulous! Great food and great company. Clayton and I were actually quite excited about coming home on Christmas Eve and getting the house all ready for Christmas morning! We felt like real adults! I made yummy french toast that goes in the fridge overnight, we listened to Christmas music, ate cookies and drank hot chocolate, arranged gifts, etc. It was really fun.

Monet put Santa's cookie on his 'Santa plate' by the fireplace on Tuesday. It sat there all week enticing him to come down our chimney. Every now and again she would go lick the top of it, but she never ate it. I was impressed. Before she went to bed on Christmas Eve, we poured Santa a mug of hot chocolate and threw the reindeer a carrot out the front door. She was pretty excited about that. Off to bed she and Scarlett went!
This is the pile of toys Santa left Monet! An ironing board and a chest full of dress ups.
Stockings hung by the chimney with care. I got Monet's pink stocking from target two years ago and remembered there was a super cute blue on there at the same time. I found a brand new on on eBay and was so excited! We hung it up and Monet decided she needed the blue one and Scarlett could have the pink one. I left the room for two minutes, came back in, and there was red marker on the pink stocking. I was like... excuse me. The tiny hot pink stocking is the one Monet made for her baby. :)
Tree with no flash...
Tree with flash.
Scarlett and the pile Santa left her!! She was clapping and clapping. It was sooooooo darling.
Try not to look at my hair in this picture. Just look at the wicked awesome bench Clayton bought me. It was a total surprise and I was so excited! I saw it at Winners (Canada's version or Marshall's) a few days before and was dying over it. Apparently he went back that evening and bought it!
The first thing Monet grabbed was the Cinderella electric toothbrush in her stocking. She was being so cute about everything. She was just so genuinely happy. She kept saying things like, "Oh my gosh!", and "My very own!".
Scarlett on the pink horsey that Grandma Trisha and Grandpa jerry gave her. She loves it but Monet loves it even more. Probably Monet's second favorite toy after her dress ups.
Clay in his bomb new lululemon hoodie and touque. Touque is the Canadian word for beanine. Weird one I know. I always assumed it was spelled tuke.
Sun coming up on Christmas morning 2009.
Monet modeling her purple dress up and crown.
Out in the backyard in Monet's new snow pants from Grandma Robin and Grandpa Jim! She was so excited to put her new 'snow outfit' on and get down and dirty in the snow.
Snow angels!

Overall we had a great Christmas! We missed our families that were not with us but still had such a good time. I get all sad when I think Christmas is a whole year away. I love Christmas decorations and how cozy the house feels with the tree. Christmas decorations are down now and I have Valentine's decorations up!

happy birthday mom

2009-12-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Mom!!! You are a superb. Thanks for the wonderful meals every night, the festive birthday parties and holidays and special love and attention. I have extremely fond memories of my childhood. I love you and I hope your birthday was good. It will be better next year though when we are all there to celebrate with you!

cute monet pose

2009-12-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

Just look at that face. She looks like a teenager. Hair parted down the middle and everything.

Yesterday morning after her bath we were in her room staring at her clothes. I asked, "Monet, what do you want to wear today?"

She says, "Ummmmmm......... well........ I want to wear something magical."

So she picked out her pink church dress. :)

santa

2009-12-21T12:28:00.001-08:00

Monet and Katie had so much fun seeing Santa. Despite their uneasy smiles, they eagerly told him what they wanted and waved to him forever after. He was slightly creepy, but very nice.

funny monet

2009-12-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

Monet has been too funny lately. I always think how I need to write down the funny things she does and says.

Just today she was putting on her 'dancing dress' (pink church dress) and having me button up the back and tie the bow. After I tied the bow, she felt it with her hands and said with a 'what do you think you are doing' look on her face, "Mom, that's not the right bow for a masquerade ball."

My mistake. :) I fixed it.

Every night before she goes to bed she asks Clayton or I if we are going to put a snack under her pillow. Clayton and Clayton's mom do this for Monet sometimes and lately she has been thinking it should be an every night event. So the other night she would not go to bed and was having too much fun playing. Finally she says to me, "Will you put a snack under my pillow mom?" So I'm like, "Ya Monet, I will. Be a good girl and go to bed and I'll put a snack under your pillow." She hops right in ben and goes right to sleep.

I just figured she would forget about it so I don't even think twice about it and I did not put a snack under her pillow.

So at 6:30 AM we are all still asleep and I hear a very angry Monet grunting in her bedroom. She comes stomping into our bedroom saying, "Mom!!!! You didn't put a snack under my pillow!!!!!!!" I actually felt bad because I did promise I would so we went downstairs, got a darn snack, she got back in bed, and I put the snack under her pillow. She then stayed in her room for a little while eating her snack.

Side note: snack to Monet means treat. She always calls treats snacks because I think she thinks it sounds less bad. Like I will giver her a snack more than a treat. Very clever.

good kind of bad joke

2009-12-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

What is the difference between Tiger Woods and Santa Clause?

Santa stops after three Ho's.

glamour shot

2009-12-13T19:24:00.001-08:00

I had to get ready the other night and the only thing to keep Monet occupied while I did that was to let her get ready too. She did such a good job with her makeup :). She was so proud of herself.

tiger

2009-12-13T19:16:00.001-08:00

He makes me want to vomit. What is seriously wrong with people? Obviously I don't know all the details of his life or anything for that matter... but what the crap. Just don't get married. This kind of thing makes me like people like George Clooney more. I always wonder why George doesn't get married.... well maybe because he wants to hook it up with who ever he wants when ever he wants and therefore marriage is not the thing for him. I always knew Tiger was a tool.

halloween in utah

2009-12-11T09:08:00.001-08:00

These are a little late. We celebrated Halloween in Utah with my family this year as we drove through to Canada. It was fun to see all my fam!

Here is a picture of Mallory's bomb cake. She took a cake decorating class and was showing off her skills for us.
Here is my little Foofa! She had her heart set on this costume for a long time. So darling. Foofa is a character on the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba.
Love this picture. Scarlett was already asleep. She can enjoy Halloween next year.
This house did not mess around. They had an entire table of candy choices. Monet was very cautious and only took two little things. It was pretty cute.

christmas wreath

2009-12-06T08:57:00.001-08:00

I rescued my poor wreath a few hours after the snow storm started. My bad. I opened the front door and was like, crap. I whacked the snow out of the wreath and it recovered nicely. Thank goodness. That would have been sad.

teeth

2009-12-06T08:40:00.001-08:00

So darling!!! Little Scarlett just got her first two teeth right at the same time. She was a little sad about it and woke up at night for a few days but other then that it was easy! She is such a happy baby. Always so pleasant to be around. As you can see in these pictures she was desperately trying to get the camera...

snow

2009-12-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

It was so nice here for the first two weeks..... the snow was bound to come. Apparently we just finished having one of the bigger storms they have had in a while. Boy was it cozy!!! I had my candles burning, Christmas lights flickering and all my blinds open so I could see the snow accumulate and the blizzard force winds howl around. Pretty cool I must say. I don't mind snow for a month or so....... ask me if I like it in April.

So the picture above it coming in my front door just after the snow started. I was dying over this. One minute there is nothing outside and the next I can't even open my front door.
My niece Katie was over playing with Monet. They were having so much fun and Monet was dying to go outside to see the snow. This is probably like the fifth experience she has ever had with snow.

Take note of where the snow is in correlation to the horizontal posts on the fence...

This is an hour or so later.
An hour or so after that....
This morning. Holy cow. Monet wanted to go outside but I was afraid she would take one step down and the snow would be up to her waist. It is really beautiful to look at though!

scarlett's ears pierced

2009-11-21T06:41:00.000-08:00

We took little Scarlett to get her ears pierced on Halloween while we were in Utah. It was SO sad. I felt like I was abusing her. But after ten long minutes she looks like a little angel with pretty little diamond earrings! She was totally fine after and they have been great ever since. Just look at that little face. I could eat her for dinner.

we made it

2009-11-20T07:48:00.001-08:00

We made it to Canada! We were without phone, tv or internet until about a week ago and still have not gone to get our cell phones yet. So if you have texted or called me that is the reason I never responded!!! I had to turn my cell phone off the second I got to the border because of the astronomical international charges.

I got a bit teary when we crossed the border. I felt incredibly patriotic. Like it was the fourth of July. Then I also cried when I had been here for two days. I was just so overwhelmed and 'homeland' sick. But now I'm ok. :)

The weather has been great (I hear). No snow yet and the temperature has been in the high forties or low fifties every day. It gets crazy windy here though which I did not know.

It is definitely a different country. Most of the foods in the grocery store are made by unfamiliar brands and it is crazy expensive. A gallon of milk is almost $5. Also everything at Michael's is so expensive. Little nick knacks I used to buy in the US of A are way more at the Michael's here.

In general I really like it though! The people are really friendly and Clayton's family that lives here has been wonderful. I feel like I just had a baby with all the food we have been getting and the dinners we have been invited to.

While Mallory was here (she drove up with me!) we started compiling a list of things where either Canada or USA got a point...... Here are our results so far......

Points for Canada:

Recycling - Canada is HUGE on this. Every house comes with a massive recycling bin that is bigger than the trash cans. You even get paid actual money (like a beneficial amount) to recycle here if you take it to the recycling depot (which are close by).
Loonies and Toonies - One and two dollar coins. They don't have one dollar bills. It makes the quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies so insignificant. I asked for change for my five dollar bill the other day and got four coins back. I thought I was being scammed.
Paying for Shopping Carts - You have to put a coin in to get a shopping cart out and then when you return it you get your coin back. Genius.
Kid 'Car Carts' - they are high up where the kid usually sits so the kid can't get out as opposed to in the states where the car cart is in the front so the kid can get out every other second and run all over the grocery store.
Colorful Money - It is very pretty and easy to recognize. Each denomination is a different color (blue, purple, red, etc.)

Points for The United States of America:

Butter That Comes In Quarters - I did not know how awesome this was until I lost it. In Canada the butter only comes in a solid block. Very sucky for baking.
Better Electronics/Communications - That may not be the correct description. Apparently the cell phones, DVR's, tv channels, etc. are a bit behind here and WAY more expensive. The iPhone is just coming out here and there are not nearly as many HDTV channels. The tv/phone/internet guy was telling me there is some regulatory board that controls the tv/phone/internet and it is very stringent on things. Not sure if that all makes sense.
Cheaper Groceries All Around - I could go massive grocery shopping for $200 in the USA. Here i get like five bags worth for $200. Thats not very much food.

That's all I can think of now but I'll continue with this topic when I think of more things. Anyway, I miss you all! Canada is treating me good but I miss m homies and my family a TON.

nine months later

2009-10-26T08:37:00.001-07:00

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

triathlon pictures

2009-10-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

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

clay's triathlon

2009-10-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-16T14:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-06T16:37:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-24T13:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

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.

fall hosiery

2009-09-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

I can't quite decide how I feel about these tights. Either way though, I want them.

gabba gabba clips

2009-09-01T19:27:00.001-07:00

Monet is infatuated with the show Yo Gabba Gabba right now. It is so funny. I actually really like it too. It is totally geared to kids her age. The things they learn are so appropriate for Monet. Like their will be a whole episode segment on 'don't run with scissors!' or 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to'. And the music is pretty cool too. It reminds me of Radiohead sometimes.

So we needed to make some Gabba Gabba (as Monet calls it) hair clips! The top is Foofa and Muno. The bottom picture is this morning when Monet got ready to go to work with daddy for a few hours. She wanted to wear her Plex hair clip and picked out her matching outfit to go with it! How hilarious. She pointed to all the colors in the outfit and told me why they matched her Plex hair clip. I'm so glad she likes to match.

Now every day she asks me where her Brobee and Toodee hair clips are.

utah in august

2009-09-01T09:32:00.001-07:00

Nothing is more beautiful then Utah in August. Really. The grass is soooooo green and just a few leaves are starting to change. It is nice and warm out and the evening gets nice and cool. I took the kiddos to Utah to visit my family a week ago. It was so fun. I told my mom next year we might stay the while summer. She laughed.... ok mom, maybe just for four weeks. :)

This picture is of Monet and her BFF.... not best friend forever.... boy friend forever. She LOVES uncle Ryan. He is so so cute and fun with her. They go on hour long walks and Ryan holds Monet where ever they go. Ryan doesn't get a break when Monet is around :).

This is Scarlett's BFF.... best friend forever, my dad. I think Scarlett likes my dad so much because they look like twins. Ha ha.
Gorgeous. We took an afternoon drive up to visit a family friend in Midway. Then we got some treats and played at the park. It was so beautiful. Monet had so much fun on the slides. There was this other kid who was playing around the slide area too and I kept hearing Monet say to her in a really nice voice, "You don't go down this slide, k? Ok.........?" I think she was worried her slide might be occupied next time she tried to slide down it.
Monet and my cousin Emilie's daughter Claire. They are little firecrackers together. They both have such energetic strong personalities that it is hilarious when they play. Here they are posing for the camera.
My parents moved into a new place and decided to no longer store all of their children's mementos. My mom is so sad to give us all her/our treasures. She literally has kept every single art project, paper, receipt, award, trophy, etc. in nicely labeled boxes. We all had to go through them and keep what we wanted. These are some of my cute art projects from my youth. I decided to take a picture of them before throwing them away after all these years. I love that my 'first born' is laying on the very first thing I ever sewed. Cute.

indie visits

2009-09-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

My cousin Brittanie, her husband Marcus and little Indie came to visit us on their way to California a few weeks ago. Monet and Indie had a blast together. They had to have the same of everything (as seen above). Matching princess jammies, matching princess cups, matching puddings, matching Scarlet bibs and matching suckers.

Cute little buddies.

cake opera co.

2009-08-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

Un-freaking real. This girls deserves to make a million bucks a year creating cakes like this. Maybe she does. I have never seen any edible creation so enthralling. I just watched one of my favorite shows, Food Network Challenge, and she was a competitor on it. Her name is Alexandria Pellegrino (how appropriate) and her shop is called Cake Opera Co. She is so young! Maybe I still have time to become a professional baker. I seriously dream of going to culinary/pastry school.

Monet WILL have one of these cakes at her wedding.

naughty monet

2009-08-23T09:35:00.001-07:00

I come into the room and find this bag of buttons that used to be full. I'm like, "uh oh......."
I find Monet naked in the tub stuffing buttons down the drain. I'm thinking, "Crap. Clay is going to be so mad. He will have to totally take apart the drain." Ha ha.
Monet thought it was just hilarious. She was saying, "Look mommy! I put the buttons in there!" Good thing they just flushed down.

anniversary

2009-08-09T09:29:00.001-07:00

Oh how the years have gone by.... Today Clayton and I celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. I wish I had pictures on my computer of our wedding that I could post on here. It was a beautiful day!

Happy anniversary my love!

ha ha

2009-08-03T14:37:00.001-07:00

Clay's friend sent him this. So funny.

whole wheat flax seed pancakes

2009-08-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

These are straight up the best pancakes I have ever had. I just switched and added an ingredient to a pancake recipe I found in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Yum yum to my tum.

Whole Wheat Flax Seed Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon whole flax seeds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons oil

Combine the lemon juice and milk in bowl and let sit. Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl and stir together. Add the egg and oil to the milk mixture and stir together. Finally add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir all together making the pancake batter. Cook the pancakes on a warm riddle and enjoy!!

This recipe makes about six average size pancakes. It is just barely enough for Clay, Monet and myself. I top my pancakes with butter, warm syrup and raspberry jelly. YUM!

peach cakes

2009-08-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

I saw these Little Peach Cakes on my sister's blog and am DYING to make them!!! Aren't they beautiful. All you need is the Wilton Mini Ball Pan. I mean they seriously look like real peaches.

flashback

2009-08-01T20:21:00.001-07:00

Scarlett in Montana - July 2009
Monet in Montana - July 2007

montana part three

2009-07-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

Katie totally water skied on these little kid training skis. It was so darling to see this little person out on the huge lake. I tried to get Monet to do it but she was not interested.
Monet has a new thing... taking her clothes off and changing her outfits. I swear she changes clothes ten times a day. It has been helping her with potty training though. :) Good thing this was at like six in the evening or her white little bum would have got a sunburn.
Tana with little Scarlett at the Alpine Slides.
Monet, Clay and myself. We went to the Alpine slides at Big Mountain Resort in Whitefish. They are not nearly as cool as the Park City Alpine slides but Monet LOVED it! That is what counts.
Notice Clay's hairdo?........ So I'm like, "What's with your hair?" He says, "What do you mean? I woke up this morning and thought it looked like the guy's who plays the vampire. So I left it like that."

Cute. Ha ha. Clay thought he look all sexy like Rob Pattinson. (And he did) :)

montana part two

2009-07-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

Me surfing. So fun.
Tana catching a wave. :)
Clay surfing.
Iron Man.
Monet and Dad 'working out' as Monet likes to say. In this pic she is doing her 'sit ups'.
Jackson and Scarlett at church.
Monet fresh out of the tub jamming on Guitar Hero.
The cabin nestled in the trees on a rainy day.
Jackson was constantly shooting things.
Katie + Monet = BFF
Her hair was so good in the humidity. All curly in the back!!
Katie, Brittany, Ashley, Monet and Jackson.
My love!

Monet had a BLAST with Tana's kids. Her and Katie were inseparable. It was so funny too because they had several of the same clothes so they insisted on matching every day. Same dress, same jammies, same poney tails.

mamamamama

2009-07-23T13:24:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure Scarlett calls me mama. For the last week or so when ever she is sad or wants some loving, I hear her intentionally saying, "mamamamamamamamamama..." She doesn't add any other sounds in. Just mama. Oh I love her so much. :)

bespoke boutonnieres

2009-07-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

If I ever go to an event with Clayton where by some odd chance he is required to wear a boutonniere, than I am getting it from this guy. Coolest thing I have seen in a while.

montana part one

2009-07-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

We are extremely fortunate enough to spend a few weeks every summer at Clayton's parents cabin in Montana. It is dreamy. Perfect beautiful weather, beautiful warm lake, hiking, biking, bar b q-ing, tennis, campfires, etc. You name it, we do it. I am so lucky! This year we went on July 3rd. We were going to stay for 10 days but ended up extending for 15. Thats how great it was.

For the 4th of July we went to a birthday dinner at a family friends house to celebrate his 60th. Then we went over to Clayton's aunt and uncles to watch fireworks on the lawn over the lake. The fireworks were soooo good. I'm talking stadium of fire good. For real.

Jerry, Monet and Ashley.

Clayton's sister Tana lives in Calgary which is only a short few hour drive from Big Fork, MT. Tana and her kids stay at the cabin all summer long with Clayton's mom (her husband Mike comes on weekends). Clayton's dad goes up every other weekend or so and Clayton and his siblings all take turns going throughout the summer.
I came in the room to find Jackson teaching Scarlett haw to play a DS. He was so cute with her.
This is the new lot that Clayton's parents bought right on the lake. It is really nice with a beautiful view of the mountains. Clay and his brother all spent a lot of time fixing up the lot for the mini cabin and sod to be placed so we have a nice place to hang out with the kids while people are out on the boat. This will be temporary until they build the real cabin. Can't wait!!
Ashley.
Jackson, Clay and Monet, Brittney and Katie. Monet loved the tube!! It was so cue to see her on there having such a good time.
Perfect place for Scarlett to sleep. Snuggled in the storage compartment of the boat. Ha ha.
Clay's sister Tana and her daughter Katie.
Me and Monet.
Grandpa Jerry, as Monet likes to call him.

monet playing with scarlett

2009-07-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

Monet 'watched' Scarlett for me while I did dishes. I walk around the corner a few minutes later and Monet had brought Scarlett some new toys....

packing for montana

2009-07-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a wonderful two week vacation to montana. It was so nice!!

A few days before we left, I came home one night while Clayton had been watching the kids to find this... Monet "packing for the airport!" She had taken everything from her changing table shelves and everything from the shelves in her closet out to a pile on top of her princess couch (that she had carried in from the family room). She was then trying some of the clothes on while stuffing others into target shopping bags. Hilarious! She is so funny sometimes.