Memorial Day Memories

For Memorial Day 2012 we went to Cedar City and went camping.  James had off the week before Memorial Day so the whole family loaded up and drove south.  First we spent a few days in Cedar City visiting family and friends.  We stayed at a the Holiday Inn Express in the south part of town.  They have an indoor pool there so of course we (the boys) had to do some swimming.  We also had dinner with our friends Mark and Patti and their kids at the Chicken Coop, its a new restaurant located on Main Street.  We always love hanging out with the Wellers!

   

Then, on Thursday morning we loaded up and drove up Beaver Canyon to camp at Fish Lake.  After getting a campsite, getting everything unloaded and set up we decided it was too cold up there for tent camping with the little boys so we packed up all our gear and headed further south to warmer weather.  We finally got to St George around 1am.  The little boys and I were dropped off at a hotel while James, Bailey, Josten and Bailey's friend Eric went to Baker Reservoir to set up camp.  James came back to the hotel room around 3am and stayed with me and the boys while the older kids stayed at the Reservoir.  My dad and Kimmie met us up there for a couple days of camping, fishing, 4X4ing and just hanging out with family.  It was really windy, almost too windy but luckily it was warmer than Fish Lake!  We had a great time and Connor really does love camping, just like his older brother Asher!

   

Bailey's New Toy

Right after we moved up to Rock Springs James decided that it was time for Bailey to have a dirt bike.  I, of course, argued that he did NOT need one because as his mother I did NOT need the constant worry I would have to deal with if he had one.  But in the end I lost and now Bailey has a dirt bike.  I think at first he was a little scared to ride it, in fact he almost gave up, but once he got on it, got it started and took off there was no turning back.  He rides it almost daily now.  He just recently came home from spending a month and a half in Indiana with his dad and the first thing he wanted to do was ride his dirt bike when he got home!  For his 14th birthday we got him all the appropriate gear he needed for riding his bike.  He looks pretty cool out there riding his bike, and he is getting better at it every day!

Asher...Four Years Old

On June 20, 2012 Asher turned 4.  It is so hard to believe that he is 4 already.  He is growing so fast and the years are flying by.  He is a smart little boy.  Some of the things he says just blow my mind (and of course I can't think of any of them off the top of my head right now).  He still loves being outside more than inside.  He isn't much of an eater, it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat.  He absolutely loves super heros of any kind right now.  We took him to see Avengers and Spiderman recently.  He loved Avengers but Spiderman scared him, well the big lizard in the movie scared him, not actually Spiderman.  He also loves watching Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go.  Some of his favorite toys are his trains.  Grandma Mimi just recently sent him this big electrical train that he loves playing with.  He also likes watching Cupcake Wars with me, especially if the theme is related to something he is familiar with.  For his 4th birthday we grabbed some KFC and then went to a local park and played.  A few days later, on Saturday, we had everyone over for a BBQ and cake.  His cake was so fun to make and he LOVED it!                

Connor...One Year Later

Yes, its August and Connor turned a year old in May.  Yes, I have neglected this blog for many months.  Yes, I'm going to try and keep it going and yes, I say that often and usually fail at it!  But as long as I keep trying I guess I'm not giving up!

Connor turned one year old on May 19th of 2012.  He is a little monster, and I say that in the lovingest (I guess that isn't a real word) of ways.  He is this spunky little boy who has the biggest of personalities.  He has been walking since April, right after we moved to Rock Springs, WY.  He goes up and down the stairs all by himself already.  He loves being outside more than inside.  And just like Asher, has turned into a complete daddy's boy since he stopped nursing!  What is up with that?  At a year old he had 7 teeth already and weighed close to 20 pounds (actually 19.8lbs).  His favorite toy?  Which ever toy his bigger brother has and won't share with him!  He loves strawberries and whatever drink his daddy is drinking at the time.  If he sees me with my iPhone he practically throws a fit until I give it to him.  I'm sure he'll know how to use that phone better than I do within the next few months.  He isn't fond of long drives, which doesn't work out very well for us since we live so far away from most of our family.  We love him and we are so grateful he is part of our crazy family.

   

McKennan Jared Sherratt

I must be the worst grandma in the world...perhaps its because I'm only 36 years old and I can't get my mind into "grandma" mode until at least 40! Anyway, I'm awful because here it is, August 1st and I haven't posted about our newest addition to the family, McKennan, who was born February 17, 2012.  McKennan is Jared & Kimmie's little boy and he is so darn adorable.  We don't get to see him much because we are living in Rock Springs, WY and he is in St George, UT.  He is growing so fast and he looks just like his daddy.  Here are some adorable pictures of him and his mommy and daddy.  Also, Jared and Kimmie were married January 20th.  It was a private ceremony and I think they are hoping to have a big reception some day soon so we can all be with them to celebrate the wonderful things this past year has brought to them.  We miss you guys!

We are here!

Well we are officially residents of Rock Springs, WY now.  We left Cedar City Wednesday March 21 around 2:30pm, it was a slow drive with lots of stops so we stay in Heber, Utah instead of driving at night (I was really freaked out to drive during the day, I wasn't about to do it at night!).  We finally arrived in Rock Springs on Thursday the 22nd around 1:30pm.  Halliburton, the company James works for, had a two bedroom apartment for us to stay in until we found a house so that's where we went when we first got here.  As assume as I think Halliburton is the apartment was AWFUL!  I'm so thankful that we didn't have to stay in it too long.  Friday evening we went to look at a 4 bedroom townhome, Sunday morning the owners called us and told us we could start to move in Monday.  The crazy part...late Saturday night we had to unload the Uhaul truck and trailer into two different storage units because we had to turn the truck in.  James, Bailey, Sabelle and Chad didn't get done unloading the truck and trailer until about 2am Sunday morning...7 hours later we found out we had the house.  Funny how things work out sometimes.

So, since the week we moved was James' week off he had to work the Monday when we were allowed to start moving in.  So during his lunch break for 4 days he would meet us all at the storage unit, we would load the trailer and when he went back to work the rest of us would come back to the house and unload what we could.  Thankfully James had a couple of guys from work come help us unload the really heavy stuff a couple of the nights.  We still have one of the two storage units at least half full.  This house that we have rented is almost half the size of our house in Enoch.  The kitchen is the worst part.  It has NO pantry!!!  How can a house have no pantry? I didn't even notice it when we looked at it.  So now I have three bookshelves in the garage loaded with stuff that should be in a pantry.

And now that we have moved the whole family up to Rock Springs so that we could all be with James...Halliburton has taken him up to Dickinson, ND to work!  Dang them!  He left very early Saturday morning and thought he would only be up there for a week but now we are pretty sure that he won't be home for three weeks.  The good news is that he is making tons of money while being up there, but the bad news is that he will miss Easter and will miss his week off.  But things change daily so who knows!

Anyway, we are here, its windy...ALWAYS!

Last Few Days

We are officially in the last few days of living in Enoch, UT.  We sign papers on Monday to close on our house and then its off to Rock Springs on Tuesday or Wednesday.  It's hard to believe that we will no longer have this house to come back to.  But its time to move forward, time to start some new and exciting adventures.  If I had a place to live in Rock Springs it would be exciting, but right now its just stressful!

An update on Connor, he is almost 10 months old.  He is crawling all over the place, pulls himself up to anything he can reach, let's go and stands there by himself, and just the other day he started clapping.  He cut his 5th tooth yesterday, which would explain all the sleepless nights we have been having.  He is growing so fast.  It's hard to believe he will be 10 months old in a few days!

Asher is growing up so fast too.  He is an expert at putting puzzles together and loves playing Play-Doh.  I know he is anxiously awaiting Spring to get here so he can start playing outside again.  Life is just crazy around here sometimes....it goes by so fast!

Connor...at 9 months

 


This month (2/19/2012) Connor turned 9 months old.  It's hard to believe that he is 9 months old already.  He has been in the world longer than he was in my tummy now.  He is growing so fast.  He has 4 teeth (2 on bottom and 2 on top), he is crawling around the house like crazy, pulls himself up to everything, and is practically feeding himself now!  He is such an adorable little boy, we are so blessed to have him in our lives.

A Smoothie A Day...part 7

Well everyone, this is the last day of our 7 part series, A Smoothie A Day.  I've had a lot of fun searching my pantry, freezer and fridge trying to come up with some exciting new smoothie flavors.  I think the coffee one was by far my favorite, but that Almond Joy Smoothie is a very close second.

I wanted to call today's smoothie the "I am sick of winter in Utah and wish I was in the Caribbean instead" smoothie, but that seemed like quite the title for a smoothie so instead I'll just call it...

Put the Lime in the Coconut Smoothie (because I kept singing that line as I was making it)
makes 2 servings

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1 lime, juiced
handful spinach
1 serving protein powder
water



Calories (per serving): 261.5
Fat grams (per serving): 2.75

I'm really excited, this 7 part series has led me to another project altogether that I'm working on getting up and going.  It's just in the beginning stages right now so I won't spill the beans but I'm hoping to have it up and running in a about a month.  Stay tuned to this blog to find out what it is and when it's ready.

I think the little man was more excited about the new cups we bought yesterday then about the smoothie.  When I asked him what kind of smoothie he wanted today he said 'chocolate' but I figured everyone else might not be as excited about another chocolate smoothie as my little man was so we compromised on this concoction.

A Smoothie A Day...part 6

That's right folks, after this one there is only one more smoothie.  Any suggestions?  I have some ideas in my head but I'd love some other opinions and suggestions.  Today's smoothie I can't take complete credit for.  A friend, Brittany, shared this recipe with me, I've just made some slight variations.  Realize that this recipe makes 3 servings, they will be smaller servings than the previous smoothies.  There are a lot of rich ingredients in this smoothie so that's why I've made it 3 servings.  You could also cut out the almonds all together and cut out 5 grams of fat and 63 calories per serving.

Almond Joy Smoothie
makes 3 servings

1 frozen banana
1 cup almond milk
1 cup vanilla greek yogurt
4 tablespoons shredded coconut (my coconut is sweetened because I use it for baking, if yours is unsweetened I would recommend adding maybe a 1/2 tablespoon of honey or agave nectar to add some sweetness)
1/4 cup silvered almonds
16 dark chocolate chips
ice

Calories (per serving): 235
Fat grams (per serving): 9.2 (Remember a majority of these fat grams are coming from the almonds, which are a 'good' kind of fat to put in your body.  Plus that's with the sweetened coconut, it would be less with the unsweetened.)


Today is Saturday and little man's buddy/cousin was over so he was too busy playing to have some of this smoothie.  But this is not the first time I have made it, he loved it when I made it before.

Late last night I was up searching the web trying to figure out how to take better pictures...I was not a success, looks like I'll be up again tonight trying to figure it out!

A Smoothie A Day...part 5

Do you know what you make when you have a basket of oranges sitting there waiting to be used?  Well a smoothie with fresh squeezed orange juice of course.  I wanted to make a smoothie that tasted like an Orange Julius.  I haven't had one of those is so long and it sounded so good.  I looked online for a recipe to get me started but I had some issues with the recipes I was finding.  It seems that in order to get that frothy taste that you get from the original Orange Julius you need to add an egg white to the smoothie.  Well, I'm not really excited about adding a raw egg white to something I am not cooking, so I didn't.  I don't think Orange Julius uses a raw egg white but all the recipes I found mentioned using one, or egg white powders which I don't have.  Today's smoothie is....

                          Orangn't Glad It's a Smoothie
                               makes 1 serving
1 frozen banana
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 plain greek yogurt
3 vanilla soy milk ice cubes (about 5-6 tablespoons)
1/2 tablespoon agave nectar
1 large handful of spinach
ice

I bought a large bag, I'm thinking it was a 10lb bag, of oranges at the store a week ago. The little man loves oranges so it was a great deal at only $2.50 for the bag.  It took me 8 large oranges to get a cup of juice, I was surprised it took that many.  Maybe they weren't very juicy oranges.

Yesterday I was curious about the calorie count of my smoothie, now I'm thinking I will go back to the other smoothies and figure out the calories on those as well, and on all the smoothies from now on.

Calories: 367
(banana 105, yogurt 75, orange juice 112, agave 30, soy milk 25, spinach 20)
Fat: less than 1 gram!!!!
(the soy milk has 3.5 grams in 1 cup, I only used 5-6 tablespoons so it has to be less than 1 gram!)


As I said earlier, the little man loves oranges so of course he loved this smoothie.  Since my munchkin (my 8 month old) was also awake he got a chance to try it out and he liked it too.