Spending the morning at Natalie's school

A couple more photos from the race...

I look like a goof ball in Mackenzie's hat (she insisted that SHE didn't want to look funny, so I let her wear my ear thingy!), but Brian looks adorable!

The photographer didn't get a photo of Mackenzie... :( Probably because she was too fast!!! ;) She placed EIGHTH in her age catagory (under 14), and that was out of over 60 kids! WAY TO GO!!! There were just over 1400 runners in all.

Snowmobiling

A couple weeks ago when Uncle Brad was here, the "boys" took off on the property to go snowmobiling! What a riot to see two grown men having so much fun! Life must be pretty different here for us than in is for Brad - you know, scooting about the country (um, or out of the country) and never really knowing where he is going to land, or what TV show he is going to be directing! :)

Being a boy

Yep, he took off his diaper (it was clean) and some sister put it on his head! Poor baby! :)

Race Day and Alex forensics

Mackenzie, Daddy and I ran in a 5K race this morning. It was the Seroogy's Valentine Race, which ended with chocolate bars and cheese. Too bad I am not eating those on my diet! But the girls enjoyed it! Anyway, it was a pretty cold day (um, close to 0 with wind chills), but Mackenzie and Daddy did awesome! Mommy - not so well. Probably wasn't a smart idea with the limited amount of food I am eating per day. Silly me...


Alex also competed in his first Forensics meet today. I didn't get any photos (I think he would have been a BIT embarrassed if mom would have taken out the big camera...) but he looked sharp in his church clothes. Forensics is new to me, it is all about public speaking and working as a group and getting points, competing against other groups. Of course, Alex is a natural at this...

Natalie and Gymnastics

Natalie is a monkey at gymnastics! I think, next to dance, she has really found her "calling" in life. She loves to do all of the things in gymnastics, but I think she loves floor the most. She has been working non-stop on her handstands, and has really mastered them!

TJ and Brian in the snow

The other night it was snowing outside. It was about 11pm, and mommy was passed out! But TJ and daddy were wide eyed and bushy tailed, so they went outside to play in the snow. Oh yeah, and they shoveled too! Too cute! :)

Easy baked chicken for a family

Mushroom and Cream Cheese Chicken Bake

-6 boneless chicken breasts
-6 tbsp. butter
-8 oz cream cheese (softened)
-1/2 c. crumbled bacon
-2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Put butter in 13x9 inch pan. Place chicken in pan and sprinkle with bacon. Mix soup and cream cheese; pour mixture over chicken. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Serve with whole grain brown rice (I made a batch of this and put chunk frozen veggies in it, and some chicken bouillon and it was delicious!)

The whole meal had great reviews by everyone in the family (of course, maybe it was the fact we had peanut butter/chocolate homemade ice cream cake for dessert!)

Natalie's Birthday Party!

There were princesses all around the "castle"!

This was the magic dining room

My castle cake! :)

Princess Kenzie gave all the girls their own lipstick and then put blush and eye shadow on each of them! Oh- and did their nails as well!

Having our tea party...

note, the pb&j sandwiches are shaped like little dresses...

The throne where princess Natalie opened her presents.

Baby Maci Lynn

I was honored to take hospital photos of little Maci Lynn today...isn't she a doll? This is their second little girl, and boy do they make cute kiddos! Congrats Courtney, Adam...and big sister Marley too!

Daddy's birthday!

The greatest guy in the world turned 33 today! :) We went to Red Robin for dinner, and we made daddy a homemade german chocolate cake. Of course, we were running out the door and so we had to frost it while it was still a bit warm...hence the "melted" frosting accumulating at the bottom of the cake! It's okay though, no one seemed to notice as the entire cake was downed by the family in less than 24 hours!

Best Steak Recipe!

This is the best HEALTHY steak recipe ever!  The serving size is for ONE, because this coincided with the diet that I am on, so just multiply it by however many people you are serving.

BALSAMIC MUSTARD CRUSTED STEAK

Ingredients:

3.5 oz beef tenderloin (lean, think filet mignon)

1 tsp mustard powder

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper (or fresh pepper)

1/2 tsp minced garlic (or 2 fresh garlic cloves)

Mix all seasonings in mixing bowl.  Line a broiler pan with foil and place steak on top.  Coat evenly with mustard mixture and let stand 10 minutes.  Broil stead to desired doneness. (I like medium, so I did 4-5 minutes on each side).  Let stand 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

It is SO yummy and will MELT in your mouth!  Oh- and only 125 calories too! :)

Natalie's Birthday Invite

Whew! We actually made it in January when scheduling Natalie's party! Now, this would not have been my invite design of choice, but Natalie designed it herself. I mean it, the whole entire thing. Ask me about how that process went later... ;) Let's just say it was times like that when I wished Mormons could drink!

In the works

We are planning Natalie's Birthday party this week.  Yes, I know she turned 5 a month ago, but with the craziness of the holidays we decided to wait until January.  Um, or February! ;)  She decided she wanted to do a princess themed party with NO BOYS ALLOWED (except TJ...she said "little baby boys" that are cute can come...too funny!).  She has 8 little girlfriends from school and a couple from church and Jasmine from dance that she wants to invite.  Should be fun!  Details to come...

On the exercise front, my new healthy lifestyle is working quite well!  I will be making some tasty and healthy creations for the family and posting them here!  I worked out again this morning with Mackenzie.  That is so neat to have that time with her (even if it is 5:30 in the morning!).  She is one special young woman!  Brian and Alex are working out too.  They workout Tues/Thurs/Sat and Kenz and I go Mon/Wed/Fri.  Yes, all of that is at 5:30 am. :(

Not much to report on...

But I have started exercising and starting a new "healthy" plan. I started a new diet that incorporates healthy, organic food. I have also stopped eating any processed foods, or chemical foods (yes, that mean artificial sweeteners, no more Diet Coke or even Crystal Light). I am hoping to get back to the healthy lifestyle that I was in before having TJ.

Anyway, Mackenzie started us off on the right foot this morning by waking me up at 5:30 am, and we went to the gym together. We didn't do much, just the elliptical machine, but I still burned 177 calories!