Elliott's Eighth Birthday

All of the boys
Looking for a clue
One of their secret messages
Revealing their clue

We had so much fun at his party, we pretended that the boys were secret agents. We took their fingerprints when they first arrived and then sent them on a "secret mission". I wrote different clues with white crayon on white paper and they had to color over it with a marker to reveal the message, they has so much fun running all over the house looking for the next clue! When they got to the last clue it led them to their goody bags filled with all kind of supplies that a secret agent needs, magnifying glass, spy sunglasses, toy guns, walkie talkies and a few pieces of candy.

Elliott has such sweet friends and they all got along so well together, after presents and cake they all just played upstairs with all their stuff until their parents came to get them-it was a great day!

First day of Preschool

His expression cracks me up!

Rory had his first day on Tuesday and was so excited! We got his lunch all packed and his backpack ready-he couldn't wait for 9:30 to come. Then we got there and I think he was a little overwhelmed, but he didn't cry or cling to me, he just got really quiet and kind of stood behind me. We got him all settled and I gave him a hug and he sat down at his table to color. I have been really ready for him to start school, but as I left him there I was a little sad. Once they start school time seems to fly by even faster and they grow up so quickly! I did get the whole house cleaned up though and even got a yoga class in at the YMCA-so that's a good thing!

Yum of the week

So Wednesday and weekends are the only time I can make a real dinner because all the other days the boys have practice, so I never have the time to make something really yummy. Last night was Caribbean jerk chicken, sauteed fresh pineapple and brown rice. It was really good, even Rory ate all of his chicken (which he rarely does) so I know it was good! :) I was going to grill the chicken and pineapple, but when I went out to start the grill we were out of propane, so I just put the chicken in the oven and sauteed the pineapple. Here's what I did:

Chicken:

Put in freezer bag and pound until desired thinness (this makes it really moist)

Marinade in jerk sauce (I cheated and just bought a bottled marinade)

Cook at 350 for 20 min. or grill

Pineapple:

I used fresh, it's much better than canned!

Melt 2 tbls. butter with

3 tbls. brown sugar

slice pineapple and sautee over medium heat

(coconut oil would have been really good to use instead of the butter, I will try that next time!)

you all know how to cook brown rice, I always boil mine with chicken stock instead of water, it gives it a really yummy flavor and I don't have to add butter and salt!

Enjoy! Ok, girls now it's your turn. :)

(Not so) Little Liam

Look at those legs!


We went to Liam's 4 month appt. and he weighed 17 lbs. and was 25 1/4 in. long! He is getting so big and doing new things everyday-his newest trick is when he is laying down he uses his stomach muscles to try and sit up, it's so funny to watch him do it! He is such a happy baby, and I can't imagine life without him. Hope you enjoy the pictures, I have a funny video that I will try and post later......

YUM of the week

I thought it would be fun to post a different recipe each week, so we could get some new ideas from each other (wink, wink, nudge, nudge-Anne and Callie ;) I made this yummy dip this week, that is so versatile. You can use as much as you want of each ingredient and it will still turn out yummy. Also, I use it as a dip, but you could also use it on top of tacos, throw it in with some scrambled eggs-whatever your little heart desires! This is what I used to make it:

2 avocados, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

little less than 1/4 cup of ranch dressing

salt, pepper, cumin

squeeze of lime

First Day of School

I'm a little late getting this picture up, but they had a really good first day of school. Rory actually starts preschool in 2 weeks, but he wanted to get in there with the big boys! Ryley was a little nervous for his first day because they go to a different class for math and language, but he did just fine once he got there and of course Elliott just couldn't wait! My boys are getting so big!

Last day of Summer Vacation

Rory playing at the indoor pool
Elliott underneath the waterfall

Trying out the waterslide
All the boys!

We wanted to do something special with the boys before the first day of school tomorrow, so we headed to Frisco Athletic Center. It's a huge facility here that has a huge workout center, all kinds of classes and a huge indoor and outdoor swimming area. We have never been so we decided this would be a good time to try it out! The boys loved going down all the waterslides and swimming down the lazy river, we even got Liam in the water for the first time-he didn't cry, so we think he liked it!