4th and french fried onions

Our 4th of July started with Chris and Kendall heading out so Cam and I could watch Harry Potter. You know how Disneyland is fun, but it's REALLY fun through the eyes of your kids? That is how this experience was. It was SO much fun for me to watch as Cam gave me a running commentary and was just as excited as ever to be watching. :)

Later we headed to my parents for a BBQ. My mom even bought fig jam as a burger spread, which was really yummy!!

Here they are playing Wii bowling.

After lunch, we came back for our annual block party. Our friends, Jason and Breanna, came over and we had such a fun afternoon. Our neighbors went all out, creating an entire mini carnival complete with games, tickets, and prizes.

Ladder golf:

This was the first year that our kids literally played almost the entire time, leaving us to actually relax!

It tells you how much fun Cameron was having that he wanted to stay up to see the fireworks. Normally he is very conscious of how late things go and and how far past his bedtime we have gone. :)

Today was desert day. Our first stop was Costco where we were excited to find large tubs of french fried onions. They were much cheaper than at the grocery store. I've mentioned before that just a small spoonful adds a ton of flavor to wraps, veggies, etc., so this was a good find. :)

square box vs. rectangular box

*This past Monday the quads, from across the street, joined us at Celebration Park. The kids had a blast. They've spent pretty much every day together this week and it is so nice not to feel like we have to have every day planned to the brim since I know several hours will be taken up with some "quad play". :)

*I made a triple batch of Chris' favorite treats, German Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. Some will be for our trip to Reno next week and some for our block's 4th of July party tomorrow. I used a cake mix to make the cookies this time. They came out nice and thick, not flat like my homemade ones usually are.

*This was my picture text to Chris today: "How are these, you tissue snob?" I recently learned that he hates tissues that come in the square boxes (vs. rectangular). He claims that every time you pick one, the whole box comes with it. :)

*Cam and I finished the first Harry Potter book tonight. Tomorrow morning he and I have a movie date. Chris will take Kendall out for a while so we snuggle up and enjoy the movie. I've told him that I will be the judge as to whether it's too scary or not and we may skip some parts. Even still, he is beyond excited. So, so, so excited.

salmon and melty ice cream

Chris and I have not been good at all about exposing the kids to seafood. Good parenting advice has always said to not let your kids know about the foods you dislike because they'll probably dislike them too. Chris hates any seafood and with the exception of tuna/salmon, I do as well. My kids eat tuna sandwiches a lot, but thanks to us, that's all they eat.

I had seen some salmon burgers at Costco many times and decided to try them out. This is how I phrased it, "Guess what?!!? We are going to have Hawaiian burgers tonight!! You know how you like tuna? Well, we are going to have salmon on our burger and I'm putting them on Hawaiian rolls with pineapple on top! Ethan and Alayna LOVE these. Isn't that awesome??"

Well, I'm happy to say it worked! Cam raved about them and Kendall plowed through her's (mostly to get to dessert, but at least there was no complaining). Success!!

Sidenote: I really liked them as well. Chris' patties were subbed with turkey burgers. :)

I've mentioned before that my Skinny Cow regimen each night consists of putting the sandwich in a bowl and sticking it in the microwave until it's a little melty. I've always thought hard ice cream didn't have near the flavor as melted. Recently, I was happy to find out that I wasn't crazy! In my latest Food Network Magazine I read, "Cold numbs your taste buds, so ice cream tastes sweeter at room temperature than it does when it's frozen" Ha!!

stitches in the church kitchen

*While I'm glad our crazy week of VBS and swim lessons is over, I must admit it will be a little of a letdown come next week :)

*Yesterday proved to be quite a morning. In brief:
-I slashed my hand with a knife prying frozen turkey burgers apart
-I did not think an expensive trip to Urgent Care was necessary
-A friend at VBS forced me to walk over and see a friend of her's, who was an ER doc. He said it needed stitches
-He offered to go back home and get his doc bag
-Three stiches done at VBS and I was good to go!
-SOOO grateful to him. :)

*Here is my cupcake decorating teaching partner. I liked teaching my class each day, but liked hanging out and chatting with her even more. :)

*I've been headache free for almost a week. It's like I'm a new woman! :)

*We will be heading up to Reno in a little over a week to visit family...or in Cameron's words this morning, "We will be in Reno in 120 hours!!!"

*Each night my kids have looked forward to eating a cupcake I bring home from my day's class:

*My hand hurts so I'm done typing. :)

pooped

I'm sooo tired....but in a really great way. This week we started Camp TLC (our church's version of VBS). Each day Cameron and Kendall attend while I teach a couple of cupcake decorating classes. I have so much fun teaching with a friend of mine, but even more fun knowing and seeing my kids on cloud nine. I mean they LOVE this thing. Love. :)

Unfortunately swimming lessons are also this week, which makes for fun, but very long days. :) Today was made even longer by a trip afterward to get my hair cut. I finally went shorter than I've ever gone. I really like it. Chris is one of the rare guys that actually prefers short hair, so he likes it as well. :)

Right now I'm planted in our recliner and I really don't want to move the rest of the night. Once Chris gets back downstairs from putting the kids to bed, dinner, an episode of 24, and MY bedtime are all I want. :)

p.s. Last night when I put Cam to bed, I prayed for the kids at Camp TLC who don't know Jesus. Cameron asked if he could invite Jesus into his heart. I reminded him that he already had and...

Me: You know, Cameron, once you ask Jesus into your heart, He never leaves.
Cam: Well, I'm going to lock the gate just in case He wants to get out and play with his angel friends.

mcgee and me

*I made another summer calendar this year. It's a great way for the everyday things to seem "fun" because they are on the calendar. 

For instance, this morning's agenda included a trip to the thrift store which turned into quite an outing. I think my kids could have spent an hour there. Cam is really into how much things cost and so he was fascinated that an enormous (and ugly!) entertainment center was only $145 :)

Sidenote:  You'll also see a check off chart for each kid next to the calendar. One is for Cam  practicing his speech and the other is for Kendall writing her letters. I find that if I tell them in advance that they'll get a surprise by completing a certain number of days, it keeps ME accountable in actually doing it. :)

 *A few months ago I realized that no matter how many thousands of times I told the kids to look both ways when riding their bikes, it just didn't happen. So the rule was made that they could not ride in the street unless I'm sitting outside watching them. This can get rather old so I've started stocking up on magazines from friends and cookbooks from the library to occupy myself. :)

*I've mentioned before that one of the reasons I love working out at home is that I can literally wake up in the morning and be working out within three minutes. I also love that I can look nasty...like this very old VBS shirt and stretched out shorts from college. :)

*Did anyone watch McGee and Me as a kid? They are awesome, non-cartoon shows that teach great lessons. We showed the kids one today I found on YouTube. Chris and I were dying at the clothing, music, etc. (they were made in the early 90's). Anyway, if you want a cute Christian show for your kids, you should check them out.

*Showed up yesterday for my doc's appointment only to find out that while they do take my insurance, they don't take it if it's through the Obama care thing. Ugh. Was frustrated, but not too bad considering how much less we are having to pay overall thanks to it. :)

*Had an orthodontist's appointment for Cam today. We are faced with the decision to either do two phases of braces, starting now, or waiting a few years and doing them all at once. Obviously the two phase choice is more expensive, so we just have to weigh whether or not we feel it's the best option. Oh and by the way, braces are not cheap. :)

flatout

*Yesterday was day three of swim lessons. Cam adores them. Kendall liked the first day. No more. She HATES going under and had to do it quite a bit more yesterday. This was her face the entire way home. Poor Cam was at his wit's end in trying to cheer her up.

*The goal a couple days ago was to make homemade pizza dough for dinner. But when we were at Winco and I saw Flatout Bread, I caved and am so glad I did. Not only did they require zero effort, but they were really tasty as a thin crust pizza!

A long time ago a friend made pizza using fig jam as the sauce. It was amazing!! I wasn't able to find fig, so I substituted apricot/pineapple. It was not quite as good, but still a unique flavor change from regular pizza. :)

*Today I'm finally going to the doctor for my headaches. They have not been too bad the past week, but the fact that I'm going on two months is enough to warrant a visit. I hate how I've dragged my feet so long due to the nasty copay required. Grrr...