Rejuvenate

For Memorial Day Weekend, we went down to St. George.

We thought we'd spend the whole weekend at the pool,

but the weather was really windy!

So instead, we spent one day hiking, and another day we went to Sand Hollow Reservoir.

Finally, on the last day, we spent the whole day at the pool.

It's been a long time since I've had a weekend getaway.

Actually, the last time was two years ago when I was pregnant with Dalton.

I know people who give themselves weekend getaways all the time.

They always say "I just needed a weekend away."

I always laugh and think 

"well wouldn't that be nice...to be able to just vacation whenever you want..."

Part of it is because I don't usually need a weekend away that often, but part of it is that I'm a little jealous that I couldn't just take a weekend away whenever I want.  We can't afford it.  Usually our weekends are spent finishing up etsy orders from the previous week.  When we do something fun, it's local, and it's free.

However, I have been really stressed out lately.

About nothing in particular, just life.

I always have a million things to do and I can never finish the whole  list.

We never have money and I'm always stressed about it.

Last month I forgot to pay our HOA fee.  How did that happen?  I never miss a bill!  Regardless of how it happened, now we owe twice this month, plus a late fee.  

And I feel like I'm always yelling at my boys.  Because ever time I try to get anything done, they mess up something else and then that gets added to my list.  All I really want to do is take them to the pool every day, but somethings just have to get done first.  Then I feel like a terrible mom because I'm torn between what I want to do and what needs to be done.

After this weekend, I feel totally rejuvenated.

It felt so good to take a weekend off and just play.

I didn't check my phone, I didn't bring my computer, I didn't answer emails.

We spent all day outside having an adventure, and then we would come home, take showers, eat dinner, and watch Vampire Diaries.

(My friend just loaned it to me and says she's sure I'll get hooked...it's true...I'm starting to like it...)

I think there's something to be said for taking a weekend off.

It's rejuvenating to step away for a while.

When you come back, everything seems more manageable.

Now I'm ready for summer and I'm excited :)

When was the last time you took a weekend off?

Floating French Braid for WIWW

Happy Wednesday!

Last Wednesday was Saxon's preschool graduation and it was kind of chilly outside.

I had already planned to wear my blue dress, but ended up having to pair it with my striped yellow cardigan.

I was also really windy! 

Brittany and I tried to take some pictures outside but they looked like we were standing in  a tornado, so we ended up taking them in the preschool instead.

Preschool graduation was so cute!

Saxon sang the Star-Spangled-Banner as loud as he could and I was so proud of him.

But, I was a little sad because this means that he is going to kindergarten.

I don't know if I'm ready for real school.

From this fall and then for as long as he lives at home we have to have a "school schedule".

I have really loved the freedom of having all of my kids home with me.

Saxon's teacher cried saying goodbye to him because she has had him for 2 years and they were such a good fit.  She was the perfect teacher for him!

Bridger is looking forward to having her next year :)

One of Saxon's teachers sells paparazzi jewelry and I got this cute yellow necklace.

I decided to do a floating french braid too.

It's pretty easy and a fun way to dress your hair up.

My hair was a mess from all the wind, so this was a fun way to make it look cute again.

Have a great day!!!

How to cook an artichoke

Hi Everyone!  It's been so long since I posted...I went out of town for the weekend and then didn't get this post ready in time.  So, here it is now.  And, I can't wait to tell you about my weekend.  More on that later...

Last week I decided to make artichokes for my family for dinner and I had to google direction for how to do it!  I've made artichoke before and I grew up eating it too.  But I don't make it very often and every time, I forget how long to cook it, etc.

I thought I'd share the directions with you too :)

First trip the tip off of the artichoke.  Then, using kitchen shears, trip off the thorn on each of the outer leaves.  Also, trip the stem a little.

Then fill a pot with at least 3 inches of water.

Here's where you can be creative...you get to season your cooking water.

Some suggestions that I found were:

lemon, fresh herbs, butter, salt, garlic, etc.

I added lemon, garlic, and fresh rosemary from my herb garden.

Finally, just put on the lid and boil 25-45 minutes.

I always do 45 minutes because I want it to be nice and soft all the way through.

While it's cooking, mix up your favorite artichoke sauce.

I use mayo and my husband likes butter.

But, I have heard of adding lemon to mayo or balsamic to mayo to make your own sauce.

Yum!

After 45 minutes, just take it out and eat it.

But be careful...it's hot!

Enjoy!

Help Spread SHINE

If you live in Utah, make sure to come to the SHINE EVENT tomorrow at 11:00.

Sadly, I won't be able to make it because I'm going out of town for the weekend.

I'm sad because I've worked with Ashley from the SHINE PROJECT before and I would love to meet her in person.  She is inspirational!

If you want something fun to do over Memorial Day weekend, head up to Poplar Grove Park!

See you next week!!

Cowabunga Bay

I am so ready for summer!  We have a busy summer coming up and it's going to go by so fast!  Summer is my favorite time of year.  Since we've had such gorgeous weather, Cowabunga Bay gave some bloggers a special code to get discounted tickets for their opening night party.  Brittany told us about it and we all decided to go.  We've never been there before but I always see it off the side of the freeway and wanted to try it out.

Here's what I thought:

It's small, so that's both good and bad.  With kids, it was great because I could just let them do what they wanted and I could see them most of the time.  Saxon was big enough for every ride and he had the time of his life!  The downside of it being kind of small is that there isn't any grass or area to just spread out.  There were a TON of chairs though and we each managed to get one :)  There were tons of open chairs and tables by the snack stand so we didn't have any problem getting a table for dinner.

Bridger was too short by 1 inch for the rides and he was sad about it.  He could still go on an adults lap, so Nate had to take him.

But then Dalton got jealous because he got bored of the lazy river with me and Britt and he wanted to go down all of the slides.

The best part?

The water was really warm!

My least favorite part?

They have those huge dumping buckets that will dump on you if you walk under them at the right time.  And they have a ton of squirting hoses and guns for kids to drench each other.  Fun for kids...but I didn't like getting squirted in the face every time I walked by.

Overall, if it wasn't too crowded all summer, it would be a fun place to take the kids and let them run around.

This has been such a busy week!

Cowabunga Bay on Monday.

Doctor's appt. on Tuesday.

Preschool Graduation on Wednesday (pictures to come...)

Cleaning and packing on Thursday.

Leave for St. George on Friday...

So excited to get away for the weekend and celebrate summertime!!!

I keep seeing all of these great ideas for things to do in Utah floating around pinterest.

I think I'm going to try some of them.

Most of them are free (huge bonus because we don't have a lot of money).

We're usually really good at finding all of the fun, free stuff to do where ever we are.

I spent 2 weeks in CA last summer and the only thing we paid for was food :)

Of course, we spent a lot of time on the beach LOL.

This summer in Utah, I think we want to hike to several of the waterfalls that are hidden in the canyons.  Most of them seem easy enough for kids and as long as you can splash in the water when you get there...my kids will be thrilled!

What are your summer plans?

Raw Coconut Cookies

This was the recipe I posted on LOVE STITCHED a few months ago, but I thought I'd share it here as well.  Plus, I just went to the health food store with a friend and we bought some coconut and pecans so that we could make these :)

Raw Coconut Cookies

One of my neighbors taught our neighborhood preschool class all about coconuts.

For a treat after, she made these Raw Coconut cookies that are now one of my favorites!

Coconuts have a lot of health benefits, so I love seeing my kids eat coconut.  Coconuts are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and coconut oil is known for it's healing properties.  Some cultures call the coconut the "tree of life." (source)  Dr. Oz even talks about coconut and it's "super-powers!" (source).

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped pecans
2 cups raw, unsweetened, flaked coconut (bought in bulk at the health food store)
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
3 Tbsp. Raw Honey
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup mini dark chocolate chips

First, I pulsed the pecans in the food processor and then measured out 2 cups.

I chopped them finely because it's harder to roll the cookies at the end if there are huge chunks.

Next you just mix everything together.

Mix it really well to make sure that everything is evenly coated in honey, agave, and coconut oil.

Once it's all mixed, put it in the freezer for about a half hour to chill.

Coconut oil liquifies when it gets warm, and it makes the cookies hard to roll.

The freezer will firm up the coconut oil.

Once you take them out, roll them into 1 inch balls and eat them raw.

You may have to squeeze them together as you roll them to get them to stay in a ball.

Store left-overs (if there are any) in the fridge.

My kids eat these as fast as I can make them, and I feel good about letting them.

I even tested them out on my cousin who's a picky eater and he thought they tasted like Almond Joy candy bars :)

Don't let the fact that they're good for you scare you off.

Give them a try...you'll LOVE them!

Eclipse

Hi everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend with great weather (we have had beautiful weather here...)

This weekend was full of projects for us.

First, I repainted the kids bathroom.

I chose Cumulus Cloud by Martha Stewart and I LOVE it.

Once I pick the right accessories for it, I'll post a picture.

Meanwhile, Nate finally worked on the entertainment stand that he's been working on for 6 months.  He has it mostly done, but he never built the doors for the cupboards.  Because there aren't any doors, Dalton pulls out every DVD, blurb book, and CD that we own every. single. day.  I finally freaked out about it one day to Nate because I spend all day cleaning the same thing.  Dalton pulling out the DVD's, and the big boys dumping legos over every single surface of the house.

After the freak out, Nate agreed to work on it.

He didn't finish, but he spent all day on it and he's a lot closer.

It's going to look gorgeous and I can't wait to post a picture when it's done!

Because Nate and I were each occupied with projects, our kids ran wild around the neighborhood all day.  (Before you think I'm just a terrible parent, Nate was working in the garage with the garage door open...which is almost like being outside...)

Then we clipped a timer to Saxon's shirt and every 15 minutes the timer would go off and he and Bridger would have to come check in.

That was the best that I could come up with.

They boys wanted to be outside with all of the neighborhood kids all day, but I couldn't sit out there with them because I had a huge project.  They played from noon until 8 p.m. and were completely sunburned and thoroughly exhausted.  They had a great day!

One of my cousins came over for dinner that night and brought the boys glow sticks and told them that they were light-sabers.  The boys took a "light-saber bath" and had the time of their lives playing Star Wars and fighting with their light-sabers.  Then, one of them discovered what happens when the light-sabers break and I walked in to find this:

In other news, did everyone see the eclipse?

Being in Utah, we had a prime view, and this is what we saw:

It just looked like the sun to me.  I never found the special glasses anywhere but one of our neighbors built the box that helps you see it:

Bridger looked in and I asked him what he saw.

He said, "the moon." because all you could see what a crescent shape of the sun reflecting.  It was kind of cool.  I really wish I had the cool glasses or the right camera though.

How was your weekend?

Strange and Beautiful

This is my sister Brooke.

She was my baby girl who would choreograph her own dance to the Spice Girls and belt out Britney Spears every time she got in the shower.  She has always been a performer and I loved watching her perform in Hawaii.

I've always thought she'd be famous one day.

Now I'm convinced.