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!

WOW! such a cool thing to do.

****before you watch, scroll down and "pause" the music on the ipod.

Before the Air Force-BYU football game, this was played on the video screens in their stadium.

Later, the USAF Academy Superintendent, Lt Gen Gould, showed this clip to the faculty and staff. He told everyone that BYU ran it just minutes before the kickoff at the game. He was clearly moved by it, as were those who watched. Classy, on the part of BYU.

You won't see this on the evening news, but it is what makes me proud to be an American.

Cardinal/Packer Playoff game in Arizona

I decided to do something crazy for Brian's birthday this year....I flew him all over the country until we ended up in Phoenix for the Cardinal/Packer playoff game! He had no clue where we were going, especially when we ende up flying into Baltimore, Maryland for a connecting flight! What a hoot! It was such an amazing surprise for him. It was great to see him and his dad at the game together...wish we could have brought home a Packer win, but WOW, what a game, huh? At the end of the game, this is what TJ had to say about the game...or what other people would say is "He's digging for CHEESE!" :)

Just a couple days before we left, I got some Brady Poppinga jerserys from the pro shop. Brady was so awesome to sign them just before we left! Extra bonus!

I even got to meet up with Tara and Ashlyn! I can't believe how big "little" Ash has gotten! Oh my goodness! I used to teach her swimming lessons when she was Natalie's age!!! WOW! I told her that next time we get together it might just be for her high school graduation!

Aunt Pamela and Nick were able to come to the game with us too...

Brady's parent's sat in the row right in front of us with Pamela and Nick. You wouldn't meet two nicer people...

SO FUNNY! People just cracked up when they saw TJ all decked out in his Packer gear. They all took out their camera's and started taking photos!

It was a sold out game, so the stands were packed.

Afterwards, we were able to meet up with Brady in the "family zone". It was a bummer knowing that the season was over! :( But he was kind enough to let us sneak in a photo with the fam. Brady is one heck of a guy...just as nice as his parents!

Our ski trip to Granite Peak

We went to Granite Peak in Wausau for an awesome New Years Eve/New Years Day ski trip. I definitely recommend it. http://www.skigranitepeak.com I also recommend the hotel we stayed at: http://www.jeffersonstreetinn.com

Alex and Mackenzie learned to ski on Mt. Hood when we lived in Oregon. They have since skied here and in Flagstaff at the Snow Bowl.

Natalie has been skiing for three years now, but this was her first time in "official" lessons....

Note to self: Don't ask your five year old to look at you while they are riding the "magic carpet" up the hill...what a goofy mom! That could have turned out bad!

Kennedy was a bit more apprehensive (I know, shocker!)...but she warmed up and now she says she LOVES to ski!

The "magic carpet" giving daddy and Kennedy a ride...