Family Photo Shoot... Minus 1 Mother and 1 Father

I can sum my kid up in one word... HAM! She so knows how to play a camera right now. Nothing is natural, but instead super cheesy and posed. Amber volunteered to take some pics on the beach since she has a super cool camera and is taking classes (Side Note: This would be a very thoughtful and precious gift to give a wife and mother for her birthday... that's August 3rd for anyone who's paying attention!) I tried to sneak in a few shots myself, but these are the best I came up with. You will notice that the family photo shoot went quickly from 3 to 1. The night prior Doug took me to the ER for food poisoning. We had been up until about 3am and I was on my death bed... blah! Now on the mend, we are hoping to get some family photos this summer, it will just have to be minus the white sandy beaches!

A Day with the Bakers...

We spent one day with our good friends, the Bakers. Jon played golf with the boys and 3 mommy's and 5 kids packed up and headed out to spend the day with Betsy, Nathan and Brynn. The kids had a blast entertaining each other and we were actually able to have some much needed woman to woman conversations. The guys met up with us after golf, because being the big kids that they are, didn't want to miss out on all of the fun!

The waterfall was a BIG hit with my two fishies!

Easy Company, Easy Evenings...

Most evenings we opted to stay in, cook dinner together and then head back out to the beach for a family group walk. We kicked off each evening walk with a Popsicle to wet the whistle! Our nights were filled with movies, games, good conversations and lots of laughs.

Beach Babies...

It's a given that we will be finding sand for the next 6 months... on towels, in the clothes dryer, in bags! We love the beach, I'm just not so fond of the aftermath that usually comes with spending a day in the sand. The beaches in Gulf Shores are B-eautiful powdery, white beaches. We all had a blast playing each day in the waves, the tide pools and in the sand.

Thanks Uncle Scott for being a good sport... sucka!

Easter Day...

Easter morning each of the kids received a basket full of goodies and sweet treats. That afternoon, after naps, we had an Easter egg hunt. As you can see in the below video... Addie was content with celebrating her first find, and just like her mother, couldn't wait to open the chocolate right away. She eventually caught on to the tricks of the trade and in true to character Addie Leigh form, hammed it up!

Artwork Adventure...

Addie and I did a little exploring in our neighborhood nature walk this afternoon. She picked up a nice walking stick, climbed all of the "mountains" (decent size boulders) and pick up some rocks. We decided to bedazzle the some of our treasures when we got home. The final masterpieces are pictured above!

WHAT!?!?!?

Disclaimer: This is NOT the outfit my daughter was wearing when I dropped her off at daycare this morning. Lacy leggins, 2T shorts and a tank top in 45 degree weather... hmmm!?! It turns out little miss has just as bad of a gag reflex as her mother dearest. She didn't like the way the oranges felt on her tongue and pucked all over her pink dress at lunch. I guess I hadn't updated our back-up outfit at daycare since last summer... oops! (Again, I took myself out of "The Mother of the Year" race a long time ago, so I'm not loosing any sleep. If anything we got a good chuckle out it!)

When we got home she wanted to dress up. Still not quite sure if we hit the mark on this one either, but I think it's a glass slipper in the right direction!

Family Fun...

We have decided to make biking and hiking a new family adventure this year. Dad purchased us a new trailer and we tested it out for the first time the other night. We had our first official family bike outing last night and we really enjoyed it! We hope to make it to a couple of state parks this summer to take advantage of the biking and hiking trails offered. If you have any suggestions, leave us a note of recommendation.

Claire and Emily Turn 3!!!

Set and ready for the Swiper scavenger hunt in the basement...

Boy that Swiper sure is a rascal, but the Dora loot

in our backbacks was worth it!

Claire & Emily making their birthday wishes This is gooood stuff!

Can you say SUGAR HIGH!!!

Recipe Share March 12th...

Friday Night Quesadillas: (Thank you King family!)

Advance Prep...
In crock pot: cook 2 chicken breasts on low covering with 1 can chicken broth and 1 pkg Archer Farms (Target) taco seasoning (BEST Mexican seasoning kits on the market!) Once cooked shred with 2 forks and allow to marinate.

At Dinner Time...
In Bowl: Mix 1/2 cup corn and black bean salsa, 1/2 cup Mexi-corn mix (drained), 1/2 cup black beans (rinsed) and 1 cup shredded cheese.

Cooking...
On a hot griddle, sprayed with PAM, lay out 2 tortilla shells. Place white American cheese slices covering 1/2 of each tortilla. Spread chicken on top of cheese slices and then top off with the salsa mixture. Flip the bare half of the tortilla over the filling, allowing the quesadilla to brown on one side before flipping. Cut with pizza slicer and enjoy with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

Recipe Share March 11th...

Thursday evening we made dinner and ate with the Alhfeld family in honor of their new bitty baby girl. (Pictures to come... Emily did I leave my camera at your house?) Any way, Emily asked for the recipe of the main dish I made so I figured it was worth sharing with everyone.

Italian Creamy Noodles
(This IS NOT healthy or low fat, but it is um, um good!)

brown 2 chicken breasts on low in 2 tbsp olive oil, sprinkling with Good Seasons Italian Drsng seasoning (reserve 2 tbsp of seasoning for sauce)

boil 1/2 pkg of large egg noodles, drain

stir in 2 tbsp of butter until completely melted
stir in 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp remaining Italian seasoning and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

cut chicken and serve over noodles with sides of steamed broccoli and garlic bread

(Recipe can be easily doubled for larger gatherings. I also enjoy sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe. Cook's tip... Kroger's Mediterranean olive bar in their deli has awesome marinated sun-dried tomatoes that are delicious!)

Special Delivery...

Stop Paparazzi!!!

Auntie Kay-Kay hooked a girl up! She sent me a very special package from the Disney store. It contained a Tiana beach towel, glittery flip-flops and bedazzled shades. I was so excited that I immediately changed so I could run through the neighbors' back yards showing all of the big girls my newest fashion statements. (Not sure if the 10-12 year olds appreciated my newest accessories, but they put on that I looked ravishing.) I played in the club house, on the swing set and in the sand box all evening... thank goodness it was 73 degrees!

Mary Lou Reusser Dismounts...

"Fantastic Gymnastics"... If you could read my honorable mention ribbon that's what is says. Wednesday night was my last gymnastics class of the winter season. I sure have enjoyed working with Miss Amy... she's the BEST! She has been so encouraging, helping me with my confidence and coordination. I will try and practice some of my skills in my off season, so I can join back up in the fall.

This Week's Adventure...

Ali-oop! Yeah Baby!
Daddy took us out to eat downtown...
have I mentioned, that he's my best buddy!

Family Fun at the Pacer's Game!

Tuesday night we took Addie to her first professional basketball game. She had a blast! Doug got a great deal on club seats, center court, right next to the pep band. Addie was a hoot clapping and cheering on her hometown team. I can't tell you one player's name, but we really enjoyed ourselves! Again, it is just such a blessing experiencing an event through our daughter's eyes.

Spring's Around the Corner...

Notice the hand on the hip position in 2 of the 3 pictures... I was actually instructed by my 3 year old to, "Wait!" then she posed so I could take her picture. It must have been the Oscar buzz in the air this week, posing for the paparazzi and what not, or we have quite the ham on our hands!

Pretty, Pretty Princess...

My daddy is such a good sport...

But, I'm starting to think he rather enjoys this game...

He's such a ham when he glams!

And the winner is... PRINCESS DADDY!!!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

My buddy Fallyn and I didn't get a whole lot of napping in on Sunday...

However there were healthy doses of giggles and wollering around!