whew! let's update!

I don't know where the time has gone? And even though I'm over blogging, I still want to keep it up so I have this awesome family history RIGHT here!

 

So what have we been up to since July?

 

August was a fun month.  We celebrated Paige's 3rd birthday!  And for the past three years of her life we haven't been home for her birthday.  I'm determined to change that from now on.  This year we were visiting family in Draper and then in Moab with friends.  No pictures.  Sad.  But here are pictures from Paige's birthday party with her cousins and her friend party.

 

I can't believe she turned three.  I remember when I had her and she slept the first 24 hours after I brought her home.  I really worried about her.  But then she cried and didn't sleep for over a year.  Dang ear infections.  Her language and her gross motor skills blew me out of the water!  She's always been attached at my side.  She sings all the time - which gosh I love!  She picks up on things faster than I thought possible.  She's happy.  She loves her big brother and she'd follow him anywhere.  She's a great helper and loves her daddy so much!

 

 

(forgive her hair  - she had put Vaseline in the bathtub with her the night before.  It took DAYS to wash out. )

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the month was spent playing in the sprinkler, walks to the park, and eating popsicles.  Cold weather came way too fast to Logan.  I mean I guess it's not cold, but I enjoy when the summer lasts through September!  We've had lots of rainy and cloudy days already.  We've already been baking and playing lots of indoor games.

 

Porter started preschool this week!   As I watched him walk away (he said he didn't need me to help walk him to the door) I cried.  I cried really hard.  And then I prayed.  I begged Heavenly Father to help Porter have a great experience in preschool and with other kids.  As much as I want my children to never ever leave me.  I'm confident that this is the right choice for us.  So here are some adorable pictures before Porter went to school.

 

 

 

 

AND we bought a mini van.  What what?! No pictures but I'm pretty sure it's the best thing in the entire world.  We've been a one car family for two years and WOW it's so awesome to have my own car again.  And let's be honest, a mini van is great. 

a week in bear lake

We went to Bear Lake over the 4th and spent a whole week with my family.  It was amazing.  I stayed up late with my siblings who I NEVER see, ate lots, worked out with my sisters, played family kickball, and watched as my kids played with their long lost cousins :) I can't wait until our next big vacation together!

Porter and Paige holding their new baby cousin, Hadley.

The view from our morning walks...

Told you we exercised together! My mom leading us in some morning aerobics :)

The birdhouses the grandkids painted...

We were totally laughing...seriously...not

Cute little cousins playing together

All the Merrifield grandkids.  Pretty DANG awesome picture! Did you know my Dad is a convert? All of his children and his grandchildren have been born in the covenant. Yes, totally bragging :)

And we found this gem...please feel free to laugh as hard as you'd like...



five little confessions: driving

Kim's link up posts are too enticing! :)

 

1. There was a rule at our house that once you got your license, you had to drive two weeks without any friends to ensure you could pay attention :) If you broke that rule, you had to start your two weeks over. I broke that rule - I took my friend to Wendy's to eat. Sorry Mom and Dad :)

 

2. In Idaho, you could get your license AFTER drivers ed and at 15.  I took driver's ed the last trimester of my freshmen year and had my  license by October of 2002. What what?! 

(and remember how we couldn't drive at night until we were 16? Is that still a law? Weird.)

 

3. When I moved to Utah, driving scared the crap out of me! There's 10 lanes on the highway and everyone drives like they're rushing to the hospital. When I student taught, we took turns driving for  a week at a time. I used to have anxiety attacks as I'd enter the highway! But freak I got good at changing over a million lanes of traffic to get to the carpool lane.

 

4. I'm a true Idaho driver. You know the ones that forget that the left lane is a passing lane. I seem to get in the left lane and stay there, even if people are behind me trying to pass. Utah has helped me.

 

5. My favorite car was my blue geo metro. The car had no power steering, sat low to the ground and I duct taped Disney bobble heads to the dashboard. Oh, and the best part - I remember filling the tank for $15.

a superhero party

Porter had a friend superhero birthday party today.

 It was hilarious!

We invited ALL of our little friends to play at the park.

We told them to dress up in superhero costumes.

I gave all the kids squirt guns and they chased the "bad guys".

We played duck, duck, goose.

We beat a homemade piñata until the candy came out.

(I totally just saved a few kids from getting whacked)

And we ate cupcakes and opened presents.

Best birthday party ever!

(it was SOOOO cute to watch little kids run around the playground together in their superhero getup)

Porter is four

I cannot believe my little guy turns four today. I'm that Mom who doesn't want him to grow up. I don't want him to go to school. I just want him to stay home and play with Paige and I forever.

 

Porter is the best little boy in the world. He's wild and active. He loves to run, jump, climb, and wrestle. He loves summer. He ALWAYS wants to wear shorts - no matter how cold and snowy it is outside. He loves to play with friends and dress up like a superhero. He loves movies and books. See...he's the best, right?

 

Happy Birthday Porter! I love you so much I could go nuts.

(James's birthday was yesterday. Happy Birthday James!)

a health fair

If you were in my ward, you would have heard at our last relief society activity that I enjoy ALL the free events here in Logan. Seriously, there's one every other day. Free samples, giveaways, food stands, animals to pet...my little family has been subjected to way too many of these events. But I just eat them up! A free event to walk around at and entertain us, I'm there!

 

This past Saturday there was a health fair at the Logan Rec Center - which is just a few blocks from my house. So my friend and I walked there. It was awesome! There was a local gymnastics group and they let the kids play on the bars and balance beam. Every vendor had candy available for the kids - ironic right? And I scored on free stuff ;) A shirt, a water bottle, band aids, toothpaste, mouthwash, CANDY, pens, pedometers, and several notepads. The kids also got to sit inside of a rescue helicopter!

 

 

And then that afternoon the same friend and I went to a local grocery store to buy Oreos. They were on sale for 1.81 for some special anniversary sale. The store also had free samples everywhere, a bounce house, and balloons. Logan is AMAZING.



Five Little Confessions: Food

(My friend Kim's blog post was too great this month...I just had to do it!)

 

 

1. I love food. That's an understatement. And I'm sure you all have the same confession but no really mine is huge. When I was little, if we ever drove ANYWHERE, I'd ask my mom if there'd be food there. I was worried about getting hungry and having nothing to eat. I remember when we drove to D.C. to pick up my older sister Adrienne from the airport, I put handfuls of baby carrots in my coat pockets.

 

2. I love way too many things that are not good for me. All kinds of chips, bagged cookies, sugar filled juices, etc. And I literally have to run away from Aggie ice cream in the freezer aisle.

 

3. In college, I remember telling my cousin that I wish I could start everyday with a HUGE Jamba Juice. And not one of those healthy ones with wheatgrass or juiced carrots. The one that has orange sherbet in it :)

 

4. Every morning I wake up and eat a super healthy breakfast - scrambled eggs with onions and peppers or a greek yogurt or oatmeal.  And by lunchtime all I can think about is white bread smothered with peanut butter and jelly.

 

5. At a relief society activity, someone said they loved to have popcorn for dinner. I couldn't believe it. Popcorn for dinner? I was sold. The next evening I was alone I made a huge bowl for myself and had a can of pink lemonade to wash it down.

 

6. AND a sixth one because I feel like all 5 of my confessions are about how I love dirty food. I do actually love fruits and vegetables. I try really hard to have half of my grocery bill each week spent on fruits and veggies. I roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots last night with my dinner and this morning I ate strawberries and bananas with my yogurt!

easter

I might get a little too excited when there are free events in my area that give away candy.  My poor children were subjected to four different egg hunts.  I just can't help it!  It's so fun for me to watch and I love the candy too ;)

Last week we had an egg hunt with our playgroup, went to one at the zoo, walked Main Street for their Easter walk, and then went to an egg hunt on Saturday at someone's house in our ward.  It was awesome!  The kids totally scored.  And they didn't seem to mind at all.

I am extremely grateful for my Savior.  I know that He died for me.  I know that He atoned for my sins so I can repent.  I know that because of Him I can return home and live with my family forever.  I love Him.  I will forever be in His debt. 

I hope you had a great Easter!

(now enjoy the pictures of my kids!)

(And a cute selfie....ha!)



don't be annoyed

I've been thinking a lot lately about my family's eating habits.  I say family's but it's all on me.  I'm the one who buys groceries and cooks meals and prepares snacks.  I'm the one who makes sure there are enough chocolate chips in the house to make cookies for a whole year.  And I've been a little concerned about it all lately.  I checked out several books from the library and after I read them...was totally inspired.  And now I'm trying to make some changes.

 

And I need help!  I'm refocusing my groceries on whole foods and cutting out as much processed and packaged food as I can.  I'm also trying to cut back on the amount of meat we eat.  I know I should be buying all organic but I just don't think I'm ready to commit to that - ha! So I need help.  I want ALL of your recipes.  Recipes for snacks, breakfast, lunch, and dinners.  I want your recipes for green smoothies and your recipes for meatless meals.  I need them all because I'm trying really hard to change the way we eat.  And all I still want is a dang cookie and pasta for dinner :) 

 

And don't be annoyed...but you should totally read The Honest Life.  It's awesome.  Sure, it might be a little bit of an advertisement for her company, but I still loved it. And I'm trying to really hard to incorporate her Honest Cleaning and Honest Eating in my life.

 

Ok email, text, or leave comments with your recipes please! :)

tiffnjames@gmail.com

a quick getaway

We drove to Bear Lake on Friday afternoon.  Have you ever been there?  It's this HUGE lake right between Utah and Idaho.  And there's lots of little towns around it.  We decided to stay in a one room cabin for the night.  It was awesome.

We took a nice long walk along the beach.  This beach is so fun in the summer. The water is shallow forever so your kids can't drown ;)

 And of course my kids played at this park on the beach.  We could see it pretty far away while walking.  As soon as Porter spotted it, he started running.  He must have ran for 5 minutes before he got there :)