important life updates

... ok, so maybe not really important, but here's a random assortment of information about our life as of late:

Beck got his first ever short hair cut in time for summer.  Loved his longer hair, but he gets sweaty from fairly minimal physical activity and Chad was always promoting a short 'do, so I finally caved.... and Beck finally decided he was brave enough for the trimmers.  My first thought was "oh no, what did I do" after I cut it... hair is such an identity and it totally changed his.  He looks more grown up and I think he even got more of an attitude the minute it was done. :) 

Beck also got his first set of real kid golf clubs and went to the real golf course with Chad and loved it.  Chad tried to go play a few holes by himself the next day and Beck's sadness just wouldn't go away.  We have a family membership to a course close to our house and I have a feeling they'll be spending as much time there as possible.

The inside of our house is pretty much finally done so now it's time to focus on the outside.  Patio and landscaping.  Here's the patio, but the landscaping is still quite lacking.  If anyone wants to come do it for us, that would be great.  We'll even let you do it for free. :)

I love food.  I love cooking.  I need to talk about food more.  I also love Costco and food from Costco.  Sometimes I think about starting a food blog to promote Costco products just b/c I used them so much.  I can find simple, quick food to make from there that still feels fresh and delicious.  If you happen to have these three items on hand,  you can make some amazing lettuce wraps:

Think: the dressing from the slaw mix tossed on the noodles and topped with the peanut butter, grain mixture.  Then I topped it all off with some pickled onions & cucumbers, chopped peanuts and lime juice.  They were quite colorful and pretty but I didn't think of taking a picture until after they were devoured, so just close your eyes and picture it.

And speaking of pickled onions.  They are one of my favorite food accents right now.  On burgers, tacos, Asian... love the tangy, zesty crunch they add.

It's funny to hear yourself in your kids.  I like to say "say ok, mom" to Creighton to make sure what I'm saying is sinking in (or it makes me feel better about the interaction at least).  Beck caught on to this and he'll frequently lay out a situation to Creighton, explaining how they are going to play or what Creighton is going to do, followed by a "say ok Creighton," ensuring himself that Creighton is going to oblige with his desires...

My favorite phrases these days are "Creighton, stop screaming.  That is an awful noise.  If you need something just ask me." and "Beckham, just leave Creighton alone and give him some space.  If he's screaming that means he doesn't like it."  and "Creighton it's not ok to scream when you don't get your way."  Creighton is a screamer.  Beck was not.  It's not fun.  Advice?


I catered a rehearsal dinner.  First time for that.  It was  fun  enjoyable, but it is a lot of work for one meal.  I think my favorite part of it all is the menu planning, working with friends the day of the event, and having someone tell you that they tried something new and liked it.  My not-so-favorite part is the many, many details that float around in your head that you try to keep straight (list, new list, updated new list).... but I am an organized person that can handle details, so it works out.  I would do it again, just wouldn't want to do it every week.  I mentally told myself to take pics of the food, but the night of was too busy for me to remember, so a menu list will have to do, should you care what we served (the bride and groom wanted Italian):

Appetizers:
tomato.basil.mozerella toothpick kabobs drizzled in balsamic reduction
roasted grape and goat cheese crostini - p.s... I used the leftover roasted grapes to make a peach/grape crisp kind of dessert, topped with vanilla ice-cream and roasted coconut.  First time I had roasted grapes in dessert form and it was yummy!
prosciutto wrapped melon drizzled with mint pesto
sausage, cheese, and walnut stuffed mushrooms

Meal:
Bread w/ olive oil
Salad
Pasta with an alfredo, basil pesto, oven dried tomato sauce
Chicken stuffed with prosciutto, provolone and asparagus with a lemon sauce

And thankfully I didn't have to make dessert, which was ice-creamy and delicious.


Chad is letting his creative side come out and made this etsy-inspired piece of artwork for our living room out of scrap wood we have lying around.  He's scheming up his next project for the back yard and I'm all for it.  Love being resourceful and making cheap things that look great.  Turns out it's handy to live in a construction zone where they are regularly throwing away wood pallets. 

... and the most important one... Creighton took his FIRST drink out of a straw!!  Yes, he probably should have done this like 2 years ago, but every time I would offer him a straw, he would just kind of look at it or kind of put his mouth on it, but I COULD NOT get him to actually take a drink (but I didn't really try very hard).  Then at Costco he decided he could drink out of the straw!  So yes, this is huge.  I had to take sippy cups everywhere that used straws, unless I wanted him to just drink out of a regular glass.  Freedom!  He hasn't been consistent with it ever since though, of course. :)

The goof balls that are a delight and exhausting all at the same time:

Riding "fast backwards" mowers (Beck's name for mowers that go fast, backwards, of course!) during one of our many trips to Lowes.  They love climbing on the mowers and Beck always pretends to be "Scott," the name of the guy that mows aunt Sheli's lawn.  He has a "fast backwards" mower and he is very cool.

a sweet moment while watching the rain

first trip to the pool for the summer!