Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

I'm back!  We were in Arkansas last weekend for Labor Day, hence the missed post.  Anyway, I'm here tonight.

Given that it's 9/11 I feel I should say something profound.  But I don't really have words...I will never forget where I was when the first plane hit.  I will never forget all those that lost their lives on that day and all those that lost their lives following that day because they were the first on scene.  I will never forget...

Now, onto the regularly scheduled programming:

School lunches.  The bane of my existence.  I realize I don't have to make the kids's lunches and most of the girls are plenty old to do it themselves, but I still do it.  I want them to eat rather healthy items so I keep control.  I can't explain it.  But I just do it.  So - I have a few ideas from the past two weeks:

Pizza kabob (skewer with flat bread, cheese, and pepperoni), pretzels, and lots of fruit (nectarines, strawberries, and blueberries).  This was a hit.

 

A smoothie, cheese and crackers, and Annie's cracker mix.  The smoothies are a hit with all the girls except #4.  Go figure.  Anyway, I ditched the plastic containers I used to use and now I freeze the smoothies in small glass canning jars.  This way they don't taste funny anymore.  I just pull them out of the freezer in the morning and they are thawed by lunch.  Also - I can make a big batch of them which is so nice when I just don't feel like making lunches.

 

Tortilla roll-ups (cream cheese, turkey, and cheese), pretzels, and nectarines & grapes.

 

Leftover spaghetti, caesar salad, and pretzels.

 

I do make sandwiches and the girls will eat them.  But I tried to take pictures of the more adventurous lunches to give you some ideas!

 

2.  Last weekend we went to my mom's house down in Arkansas.  Since we took our epic road trip this summer, this was only our third time down to visit.  It was fabulous!  We had beautiful weather and we all got to do things we enjoyed.  

Of course we did a lot of boating.  And on Sunday morning the big girls, the hubby and I headed out for smooth waters.  The air temperature was only 58* but the water was 80*.  We had so much fun!  Check out the picture below - if you look closely you can see steam rising from the water:

 

Of course we also visited the Farmer's market and checked out the new Pressroom restaurant and the new Onyx Coffee Lab coffeehouse.  Let me tell you, if you like coffee, this place is a reason in itself to visit Bentonville!

That picture totally does not do it justice.  It has the coolest vibe inside (I'd love to meet the designer) and the menu was great, too!  

This is a new alley between the restaurant and a little grocery store in downtown:

I'm telling you, Bentonville square is a great place to visit!

 

3.  On Monday morning a friend and I took a little trip out of town to Grinter's Farm to visit the sunflowers.  I'm telling you, pictures do not do it justice.  It's magical!  

It was so fun to see in person.  If you live in the KC area you really should check it out!  (But weekends are terrible traffic - you've been warned.)

 

4.  The little girls are totally ready for fall!  They want to get out the fall decorations so bad.  So today we went for a walk and our little neighbor girl joined us.  They picked acorns and pinecones and we are now officially ready to decorate.  They were so adorable and so into their task!  We even took Winston with us and he did great on the leash.  I was shocked.  

 

6.  I was on a roll this weekend with household projects!  I patched a bunch of holes in drywall and painted over them.  I touched up the kitchen cabinets where they have chipped in the last couple of years.  And I even took everything out of our glass cabinets and painted the backs a dark, charcoal gray.  So cool!  

But the best project of all?  We installed the barn doors in between our bedroom and bathroom!  Check these babies out:

Closed:

 

Open:

 

I'll do a full post on these babies and if you look closely I still need to touch up some paint on the track.  But we are thrilled!  These things are 100% DIY.  I made the doors myself and we made the track and pulley system ourselves, too.  I just love how they turned out and it will be so nice to have doors in between the bedroom and bathroom so when I get up to work out in the morning the light won't wake up the hubby.  Cool, huh?!

Anyway, that's all I've got for tonight.  I feel like I'm probably missing something but for the most part you are all caught up.  Have a fabulous week!

It's Been a MONTH!

Holy cow!  Can you believe it's been a month since I last posted?  Yeah, me neither!  But I just went to look at my last post and sure enough - it was June 12th.  In typical fashion, this post will be random.  Here goes...

1.  We had a birthday in the last month!  #2 finally became a teenager.  Can you believe it?!  I have TWO teenagers now.  That's just crazy.

 

At 13 years old, #2 is:

• sensitive.  She still wears her heart on her sleeve and I'm sure she always will.
• funny.  She has a great sense of humor and I love to hear her laugh.
• caring.  She takes great care of her sisters and our puppy and really does what is best for them.
• a chef.  She loves to cook and does such a fabulous job.  I need to utilize her more often!
• athletic.  She is such a great soccer player and so fun to watch.
• smart.  She does great in school with zero prodding from us.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I'll stop there.  In short, she's fabulous and I just love her to pieces!

 

2.  Our road trip truly was EPIC!  I'm serious.  We had so much fun and I'm thankful for that because the girls were not exactly pumped to hit the road.  But after more than 2,500 miles I can say it was totally worth it.  If you have not done that trip or parts of it (Black Hills, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons) you totally should.  For reals.

I'm not going to write much more than that and post a few pictures because I hope to write a detailed post or posts about it in the future.  My former boss gave me her family's itinerary and it was so helpful so I figure it might be good to write it all down for those of you who would like to do it in the future.  Because you totally should.

I will tell you our favorites, though:

#1 thought the entire day in Jackson was her favorite.  We started out whitewater rafting, went to lunch and shopped, and finished the day by taking the aerial tram to the top of Jackson Hole ski resort.  (It totally fits her personality that Jackson was her favorite.  I swear she'll move to the mountains some day.)

The aerial tram:

 

View from the top:

 

You must eat waffles at Corbets Cabin:

 

#2 loved whitewater rafting.  The end.  Her favorite.  (No pics because I didn't buy the digital negatives - I just ordered an 11 x 14.)

#3 had a tie between whitewater rafting and swimming in Firehole Canyon in Yellowstone.

Firehole canyon:

 

#4 loved our horseback trailside the most.  Now she insists she wants to take horseback riding lessons.  (I only see dollar signs but I'm torn because it is the first thing she has been interesting in pursuing since ever.)

Trailride at Blue Bell Stables in Custer State Park, SD:

 

The hubby's favorite activity was whitewater rafting.  

Mine was a tie between swimming in Firehole canyon and book-ending our trip with stays with friends.  Firehole canyon - there was just something that was so neat because it was "off the grid" and not many people knew about it.  So cool.  Major props to my former boss on that one.  (Thanks, Laurilyn!)  And spending time with some of our oldest and dearest friends and their family will always be a highlight for me!  We are so lucky to have such great friends that they will take us in - ALL SIX OF US - and still love us at the end of the day!

Friends in Sioux Falls, SD:

 

Friends in Denver, CO:

 

My college girlfriends and me (all sans make-up since it was a pool day):

 

3.  We got back from our epic road trip on Monday (the 27th) and turned around left for my mom's house that next Friday.  Yep, we only slept in our own beds for four nights before heading out again.  Of course it was worth it and we had a great time in Arkansas with my family.  We had decent (not perfect!) weather and lots of family time.  We were able to go boating, waterski and wakeboard, hit up the Farmer's Market, shop a little, eat too much, blow off fireworks, and watch fireworks get blown off.  I'd say that's a pretty great weekend if you ask me!

 

4.  We got back from our Arkansas weekend and then the hubby and I turned around and left for Lake Okoboji on Wednesday night.  Yep, only two nights in our own beds that time!  As in past years, we had a BLAST with our friends.  

Luckily, the hubby's parents were able to watch the kids for us and of course the kids got spoiled!  They went out to breakfast at t.Loft, went shopping and bowling, and had movie night every night.  I'd call that a success.   

As for us, we had so much fun.  We went for several runs by the lake, did some boating, went shopping, drank too many beers, ate at lots of fun places, sang karaoke (not me), played darts, and danced our asses off one night.  It's so fun to have friends that we have known forever.  One night we sat reminiscing over beers and I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.  Man, we have the best stories!  From stealing Iowa flags in the middle of the night to stealing golf carts, there's a story from every year.

 

5.  As for the kids and I, we are making the best of our summer.  We saw Finding Dory last week and loved it.  #2 - #4 have all gotten haircuts and #4 chopped hers.  (It's simply adorable.)  We've gone out to lunch a few times ranging from Freddy's to Costco.  We've spent major time at the pool with our numerous floaties - including our mammoth swan.  Today #4 got her ears pierced for the first time, #2 pierced her one ear that closed, and #3 pierced hers a second time so now she has two earrings.  #1 celebrated their ear piercings by getting a couple new pairs of jeans.  (Why do I feel the need to keep things even?!)  Sheesh!  

 

 

6.  There you go!  I'd say you're all caught up.  I hope you are having as great of a summer as we are having over here.  We have no crazy plans for the rest of the summer so I should be able to get back onto my regular Sunday night programming.  Also, I hope to get my epic road trip post or posts up soon - before I forget the good stuff.  Have a great week!     

Six on Sunday...first Sunday of the New Year!

I'm back!  I never really intended to take a break but it just happened.  So now I need to get you caught up on the second half of our December.  You ready?  Let's go!

1.  The girls got out of school on Friday, December 18th.  The hubby and I had a Christmas party the next night.  And we headed to Omaha on Sunday for a quick, overnight trip.  It was a great opportunity to celebrate Christmas with the hubby's side of the family!

The dinner spread was delish and I didn't have to lift a hand to prepare it.  Win!

2.  The rest of the week before Christmas flew by in a flash.  #1 had swimming every morning from 7 - 9am and doubles on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 3 - 5pm.  Thank goodness for carpools!  The other girls played with their friends and did a lot of sleeping in and hanging out.  After all, isn't that what Christmas break is designed to do?!  I loved it - lots of movie nights, too.

3.  Christmas Eve was rather warm by Kansas standards.  We hit the 4pm mass at church.  Don't the girls look nice?

As per usual, we came home and had a seafood dinner for the hubby and me, and spaghetti for the girls.  We had crepes for dessert and watched The Christmas Story.  

It's funny.  If I had realized all those years ago that certain things would become a tradition, I may have put more thought into them.  But I love that the girls are so into traditions - the spaghetti dinner and the movie.  It's all so good!  (And of course PJs for a Christmas Eve gift.)

4.  Christmas morning was equally delightful.  The little girls slept in until 7:30am which I so appreciated!  We opened gifts and ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  (Another tradition!)  Here is the aftermath:

In case you are wondering, here is what the girls received this year:

#1:

Want:  Patagonia vest

Need:  Swim suit (every year!)

Wear:  Jeans, a sweater, and a scarf

Read:  a Book bag that says, I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie and a subscription to Glamour magazine

Santa:  North Face ski jacket

#2:

Want:  Lamp for her desk

Need:  Roman shades

Wear:  Jeans, T-shirt, Flannel shirt

Read:  a book about Malala

Santa:  Instax camera and film

#3:

Want:  Lego set

Need:  Curtains and a guitar hook

Wear:  2 outfits from Old Navy (no jeans!)

Read:  a new series (can't remember and I think I already posted it!)

Santa:  an electric scooter

#4:

Want: a globe

Need:  Curtains (she and #3 share a room)

Wear:  2 outfits from Old Navy - both with leggings as that is ALL she will wear!

Read:  Magic Treehouse set

Santa:  an electric scooter

Phew!  That seems like a lot!  

My mom drove up for the day and night and we had a great time.  We all went to the Dinosaur movie (cute) and came back home and played games and ordered pizza from Casey's that night.  (Who knew anything was open Christmas night?!)  All in all, it was a really nice family day.

5.  We finally got a little bit of snow on the Monday after Christmas.  Of course the little girls wasted ZERO time getting out and enjoying it!

 

They played in it for HOURS that Monday.  It was adorable.  

6.  We enjoyed our time off together and hit the skating rink and the bowling alley last week.  

7.  We let #1 host a New Year's Eve party at our house.  I think there were 12 kids all together?  Anyway, they were great.  For reals.  I asked her to keep everyone down in the basement and she did.  A lot of her friends brought delicious food so they had quite the spread!  She decorated the chalk board wall with fun lettering and then had props for pictures.  This is just one of a dozen of the fun pictures she had on her phone:

Honestly, I didn't mind hosting the party.  It was a great way to make sure they were safe and they had fun.  And honestly, she will only be home for a few more years so why not enjoy it?  The hubby and I will get a chance to go out and party again some day!

Upstairs, we had my sister and her family over for some games and drinks.  The kids played twister:

We also played Rumikub but I can't post that picture because it has a naughty word in it.  (Hint:  I posted it to Instagram!)  But it was really nice to be able to see my sister and her boyfriend because it had been quite awhile!  They stayed until almost 11pm and we all had a great time.

8.  We all converged upon my mom on New Year's Day since that was the only weekend we were all available.  (Aimee and Jason spent Christmas week in St. Kitt's and her kids spent the week with their other grandparents and aunt.)  We had a blast together!

Yesterday we tried to go ice skating in Bentonville, AR at noon but the session was full.  That meant we had two hours to kill.  We headed over to the new(ish), swanky hotel just across the street and ended up having so much fun!  (Because originally we were kind of pissy and didn't know what to do for two hours.)  The hotel is named 21c and it has a museum, which is free, attached to it.  

We toured the museum and then headed to the bar for drinks - wine and beer for the adults and frou frou lemonade and hot chocolates for the kids.  The service was fantastic and they were just so nice!  Also, we ordered french fries smothered in a cajun honey that were TO DIE FOR!  If you ever find your self in Bentonville, I'd recommend stopping in to the 21c for sure!

So let me back up, we kept telling the little kids not to touch the art work.  We were practically beating it into their heads.  Well, come to find out, they have all these plastic green penguins all over the hotel and museum.  And they were specifically designed for kids (and adults, who am I kidding) to move around wherever they wanted!  We had a blast moving them and using them for photo ops.  We just got such a kick out of them:

Anyway, don't you love it when you are able to turn lemons into lemonade?  Such a fun time!

And the ice skating was really great, too.  It was 50* so a bit too warm but we still had fun:

#2 and #3 and my niece stayed extra long and were doing spins by the end of our session.  It was just adorable to watch them all have so much fun together.  I loved it.

9.  I was invited to participate in a New Year's Day run but with staying up late on NYE and heading to Arkansas, it wasn't in the cards for me.  However, the hubby and I more than made up for it with a beautiful run yesterday morning on the trails in Bentonville.  It was a crisp 21* but after about a mile we were nice and warm.  6 miles in the books felt like such a great day to start the year!

 

10.  Speaking of New Years, I should probably tell you my resolution.  It's really more about the kids than me but I am the enabler.  I am vowing to pay them their allowance every weekend.  That way they won't have to ask me to pay them and I won't have to shell out a hundred bucks at a time.  Right now #1 gets $10, #2 gets $5, and the littles each get $3 and $1, respectively.  I haven't actually given them their money yet but it is in my purse!  

I don't require them to do any certain chores to get their allowance because I don't want them to think they get paid to help around the house.  That is just part of being a family!  And if I ask them to do something they don't normally do, I don't want them to think they should earn money for it.  And at the same time, I do want them to learn how to manage their money.  I'm sure not everyone agrees with my philosophy and that's totally fine.  But this seems to work for us.  Now I just have to remember to PAY them!

11.  Can you believe I am at #11??  Wow!  If you're still with me, you are a trooper!  

Anyway, after the last month of eating like crap, the hubby and I are going to do another round of Whole 30.  It's not so much about losing weight (though canning a few pounds would be nice), it's more about a re-set.  So if you're interested, here is our meal plan for the week (and I know I have linked to some of these before):

Sunday: hamburgers on the grill in the green (ie wrapped in lettuce) with crispy shallots and guacamole on top.  We also had roasted broccoli and cut up apples.

Monday: Italian pork roast (I don't cook it for 16 hours - just as long as I can.  Works fine.)  Some sort of mashed potatoes (I can't use dairy - i might try a little coconut milk) with cauliflower in them, and green beans, apples and oranges

Tuesday: Pad Thai

Wednesday: Sweet potato soup with bacon - throw in some leftover pork or chicken or hamburgers

Thursday:  Caesar salad (I'm not making homemade croutons - that's just too hard) with shrimp for us and chicken for the girls.  They'll also get a baguette

Friday:  Pizza for the girls from somewhere normal.  We'll have cauliflower crust pizza with pesto and some other toppings like black olives, spinach. But sadly, no cheese for us.  We can all have a salad, too. 

Wow!  There you have it.  I feel like we are all caught up now.  Have a great first full week of 2016.  Here's to hoping it's a good week and a great year!