Quote of the Day!

Owen said to me today, "Mom the only words I can say are, What the Heck, Oh my gosh, and Hot Ladies!"

Huh?

I said, "What does Hot Ladies mean?"

He said, "That ladies are burning on fire!"

I said, "How did they get on fire?"

"Magic!"

Oh........

Go Owen Go!

Owen went on the knee board for the first time today! He did so great, he leaned back, kept his arms straight and held on tight. In fact he kept holding on, and on, and on....we finally had to stop the wave runner to get him to let go of the rope. Even though he bumped his head when he fell off the knee board, he came up smiling and was so proud! Way to go big O!

Crazy Montana Weather!

While in Montana this week enjoying a great family vacation with our favorite Canadian family this happened....imagine hail the size of marbles to golf balls coming down on a corrugated metal roof! Crazy!

When you hear me screaming it was to prevent my daughter from going out in the storm to see if the baby birds who are living in the rain gutter were ok. It was so loud she couldn't hear me. Thankfully, she did hear me before getting pummeled by ice balls. This is a small one...

YUMMY!!!

I just made this amazing salad and loved it so much I thought that I must absolutely blog it and share it with ya'll. I slightly modified the recipe and it turned out great. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Shrimp Avocado-Bowl Salad

 Citrus Dressing:

¼ C freshly squeezed OJ

¼ C freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp grated lime zest

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp stevia

 

Salad:

 1 C frozen precooked baby shrimp

(about 6 oz)

3 T chopped mint, more for garnish

¼ C chopped cilantro, more for garnish

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled (I omitted this because I didn’t have it)

½ English cucumber, diced

½ C tomato, diced

2 avocados, ripe yet firm

8 T Citrus Dressing, divided

4 C shredded romaine lettuce

 

1. Thaw shrimp and drain. In a bowl, combine shrimp with mint, cilantro, cheese, cucumber and tomato.

2. Split avocados and discard pits. With a table knife, gently score flesh of avocado without splitting the shell. Scoop out flesh and add to shrimp salad. Reserve avocado shells, set aside.

3. Pour half the dressing over the shrimp salad and gently toss. In another bowl, toss romaine lettuce with remaining dressing.

4. Divide lettuce among 4 plates. Set avocado shells atop romaine and fill with shrimp salad. Garnish with additional mint, cilantro and cheese and  serve.

Liam's race

This morning, bright and early, our family ran a 5k/1 mile fun run sponsored by the Utah Hemophilia Foundation called the Blood Run. Liam and I ran the 5k and every one else ran the 1 mile fun run. This was a really fun event for our family to do together and supports a really good cause that affects us directly. Liam was so excited to run this race to help everyone, and himself, who has hemophilia. Liam lined up at the front of the pack and took off sprinting as soon as the whistle was blown. He sprinted for about half a mile and then we ran/sprinted/walked the rest of the way. I was so proud of all the kids for supporting Liam in this event. Although no PR's were set today, we had a great time and were so happy to support a good cause. We also won 7 raffle prizes to boot!

Left to right

Liv, Me, Rob, Alex, Gavin, Sarah (cousin), Sydney (cousin)

Owen, Liam, Nate (Liam's friend)

Liam was as excited to climb this tree as he was for the race!

Liam and Owen

Coming in on the home stretch

Liam's leading the pack

Sprinting now....

Almost there....

Post race smiles!

Nate and his mom Julie ran most of the way with us

LOVE SUMMER!!!

What's a better way to spend a Sunday evening than up the canyon enjoying the beautiful weather in a beautiful surrounding with family and LOTS of sugar? Yesterday we went up AF canyon with my brother Matt, his wife Amber, and their cute baby Cash to roast shmarshmallows, throw rocks in the raging river, and just hang out and enjoy Mother Nature's gift to us. We had an amazing evening and were reminded how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful place. Thanks Matt and Amber for inviting us to go with you!

Who know's how many smores Gavin had? We lost track after 5!

Owen enjoyed playing in Matt and Amber's camper

We found out that roasted Zinger's were pretty good

E. L. Fudge cookies are the ONly way to make smores

Liv contemplating if she has any room left to eat that roasted zinger on the end of the stick

Matt, Amber and Cash

 (no that's not a mole on Matt's chin, just a little roasted marshmallow he is saving for later!)

Me and my honey!

Liam definitely got the award for best roaster...

He eats with such poise and grace!

Such a cute couple!

He is definitely NOT related to this baby, but they are both cute!

How about a little game of slap jack?

What handsome guys!

Do these children even look a little bit like me?

WOW!!!

It is so fun to "hang out" with my kids as they get older. They are so funny and kept us laughing with their antics and observations. Alex and I played a game called "get to know you better" which consisted of asking each other questions about themselves. I loved it! I've honestly have been dreading the "teen-age years" but find that so far my kids are just as delightful at 12 as they are at 3! What a lucky lady I am! ;)

A picture says a thousand words....