Sunday, May 31, 2009

Spoiled in Texas

I'm really starting to think that we are getting completely spoiled in Texas. First with all the warm, sunny weather that's nearly year-round (yes there are cold, wet, windy days but not very many) and now with all the new spray parks and water parks to keep us cooled off in the sweltering summer months. Whoever came up with the idea of spray parks is a hero in my book. If you want to be outside in Texas during the summer you really don't want to be far from the water. There are several new spray parks in the area, all free as part of the city parks' departments! Now there's also a brand new city-run water park about 30 min away (and another that will be closer but isn't open yet).

For us to spend 5 fun-filled, water-soaked, exhausting hours at this water park cost us a grand total of $7! Kids under 3 are free, and even kids 4-17 are only $4. You can also bring in all your own food. Such an awesome place to be able to take the kids, for so cheap and so close to home. Its like a mini-Schlitterbahn and has just the right stuff for the little ones. Cali exclaimed "This is going to be so much fun!" as soon as she saw it, and 5 hours later when I finally convinced them to leave with a promise of a cold treat from Sonic she confirmed "Mommy I had so much fun here... we should come back tomorrow."

So much fun in fact that I barely kept them up til 7 that night. I walked out of Cali's room at 6:55, went straight to the couch and fell fast asleep until midnight. I rolled off the couch, took a shower and crawled into bed where I slept like a rock until 8am.

Make sure to click on this slide one to see her expression in the big version.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

United Through Reading


Dave has taken part in this wonderful program called United Through Reading where deployed soldiers are invited to choose a book and read it on camera for their kids. Then the book and DVD are sent back home for the kids to enjoy. Today we recieved our copy of Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends (one of my childhood favorites - great pick Daddy!), what a great surprise to end the day.
For more info or to donate to this program visit http://www.unitedthroughreading.org/military/

Pencil Lines Sketch #135


http://www.pencillines.com/

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

12 of 52

Forever In Blue Jeans

Monday was such a nice day and we had no plans for the day so at 830am I decided it would be a great day for the zoo. By 900 we were in the car headed North. Its about an hour drive one way and the kids did so nicely in the car for me... a bag of cheerios w/ Craisins helped too. We had a super fun time and I was so happy to not even need the stroller anymore. They walked the whole zoo no problem, other than D wanting to be held for a few minutes at the very end.


I didn't think about the back-lighting problem when I set up this timer shot. Lesson learned.. I tried to touch it up with my new Aurora editing program.


And I really like this one taken by a friend in our backyard. It really shows his true personality and its easy to see why he makes me laugh on a daily basis.

*************************************************************************************
Are you the Mom who's always taking pictures and look back only to realize you aren't IN any of them? Do your kids look through photo albums and ask "Where were you Mommy?" Well, Carin over at Forever in Blue Jeans decided to change all that and challenges any one who's interested to do the same. So hand over the camera, or at least figure out the self-timer and get on the other side of the lens more often. Post your photos of you enjoying time with your family every Thursday and share the link with other Mom's by posting it on Carin's blog. You can start any time with week 1 of 52, don't worry about being "behind" just jump on in.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Broccoli on the Grill


Sounds a little crazy? Well I thought I'd try it while I had the grill going anyway. Last deployment I chose to be stubborn and avoid the grill. This time around Dave gave me a lesson so I'd be able to do it by myself. I'm glad I took him up on it, tonight was only the second time I grilled so far but its so nice not to turn the oven on this time of year.




Lemon Chicken Kabobs

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes, marinate for at least 30 min in a mix of equal parts Meyer Lemon Oil & Salad Vinegar, sprinkle to taste with coarse salt, ground black pepper and crushed garlic. Skewer with red onion & other veggies to your liking, grill approx. 3 min per side or until chicken is done.













Broccoli on the Grill

This is the same as I make it in the oven, I just wrapped it in foil instead. Place broccoli on large piece of foil, drizzle with Olive Oil, season to taste (I use salt, pepper & garlic). Close the foil packet and place on the grill for 10-15 min, checking firmness until it is to your liking.






The thing is... when you're cooking dinner for the under 4 set its easy to get into a rut. They would be happy with things like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, pizza, eggs & pancakes, PB & bananas... every night of the week. But I do try to feed them healthy. I also try to cook in under 10 minutes most nights. Can you imagine how frustrating it is to spend 30+ minutes on a nice meal (while they drive each other crazy in the other room) only to hear "I don't like it" and see them push it around the plate without eating any. So if anyone has really simple, really quick, really kid-friendly dinner ideas please send them my way!
Here are some of our current favorite meals...
Spaghetti (or other noodles) w/ turkey meat or meatballs
Lime Chicken w/ quesadilla & light sour cream for dip
Chicken in Lemon Oil w/ rice or pasta
and yeah that's all I can think of...






Sunday, May 24, 2009

Pencil Lines Sketch #136

I know I've mentioned this site before, but I am always inspired by it. After putting the kids to bed tonight I realized I had already cleaned up all our crafts from today and even the kitchen was taken care of... I was actually bored for a minute until I realized it meant I had time to scrapbook. Check out the inspiration at http://www.pencillines.com and let me know what you think and which sketch inspired you.

Aurora

I recently won a new photo-editing program through the iheartfaces blog, called Aurora. I was hooked from my 7-day free trial and really excited that I won a free copy. Although, I would have easily paid the $19.99 for it.

Aurora is used to "relight" your photos in a quick, easy way. You can adjust the lighting, color warmth, color strength, crispness, convert to black & white or other tints, and of course fix red eye or crop & straighten. It only take a few clicks of the mouse because Aurora shows you a range of changes and you simply click on the one that looks best to you. It always saves your file with an "au" extension rather than replacing your original. When you're done you can print, email, or publish straight to Facebook, Picasa, flickr, etc.

Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Check their website at http://www.lightcrafts.com to learn more and see exactly how the program looks and works or start a free 7-day trial.