for family night.

we started the day with none other than, good ol' laundry. i'm telling you, if you don't already have a set day for laundry, DO IT! it has changed my life and i wished i had started doing it the day i got married. it really just makes my weeks so much better. anyway, i got all the laundry but one batch done and got the shopping bug.

shocking i know.

so i packed up the girls and we headed for city creek. the weather was beautiful. we spent most of our time watching the fountains, or splashing in the fountains. we only went to one store and were back home in less than an hour but it was the perfect little break. and can i just say how much i love being less than twenty minutes from downtown slc again? i love it!

back at home, brooklyn did some art/pretending and kendall did lots of chewing on things, playing with/getting in brooklyn's way. and i blogged, prepped dinner, made dinner, and then we waited for daddy to come. but not before i made him stop to pick up some texas roadhouse rolls to complete our dinner.

brooklyn has been so into dinner parties and dance parties. anything party really. so she set the table for our 'dinner party' complete with a table cloth, flowers, and decorations at everyone's place. she was proud.

for dinner we had something i saw on studio 5 and they turned out so good! meatloaf cupcakes with sweet potato frosting. fun huh?! the rolls were the perfect touch. and now i have leftovers to make sandwiches with for a few days. win-win.

after dinner, james gave our fhe lesson. i told him to choose a scripture story. i wasn't surprised when he chose one of his favorite book of mormon heroes, enos. brooklyn listened pretty well. kendall was just so happy to stand at the table and everyone in the same room. it was a good short little lesson. complete with singing 'i love to see the temple'. then james was off to do a group project and the girls and i went for a walk.

they love being able to sit side by side. kendall thinks she's just as big as brooklyn. it's so cute.

brooklyn helped me make peanut butter cookies for our fhe treat and we called it a night. kendall was in bed by 8:30, but before that starts to sound all wonderful. she was then awake at 9 and i made her cry for an hour and half until she fell back to sleep. it was rough. but she was a happy girl this morning and that's all i care about!

snow in april.

waking up to a blizzard outside in the middle of april was unexpected, but when you live with a three year old, there was definitely some excitement over it. kendall woke us all up a little earlier than usual so we had a nice slow morning to get ready and brave the snow for story time. brooklyn was literally the only kid there until half way through. that meant she had a lot to say to the librarian reading the books and she wanted all of the turns. oh that girl has a lot to learn about classroom etiquette. and kendall, she slept through all of it.

we got home and had lunch, and then brooklyn promptly asked to paint. i asked her what she wanted and we found a few pictures she was excited about. she took her time painting the three that are pictured. paid attention to detail, though i'd have to tell you those details because you'd never guess. ha. she couldn't wait to show her daddy when he got home.

i felt guilty not encouraging brooklyn to play outside in the snow, or not even bringing it to her attention. i wanted to do something she'd be excited about. so we made cookies. her job was to roll them into little balls before going in the oven. she wanted to make baby ones. so we did just that.

kendall watched, and waited. she couldn't wait to get her hands on a cookie.

 they turned out cute and delicious. though brooklyn only wanted to eat two. who's kid is this?

james was a very grateful guy to get home and have homemade cookies waiting for him.

i also wanted to make something warm and cozy for dinner, so i decided against my originally planned meal and made something i saw on studio 5 this week.

grilled cheese and tomato soup bake.

you guys. it was good. with some green beans on the side. it totally hit the spot. try it. 

a good thursday.

today started off late. the time change is kicking our bums over here. so with two seconds to gulp down some waffles and two more seconds to get ready, we headed out the door to make story time at the library. it's a good thing we went too. the librarian read stories about st patrick's day and leprechauns and brooklyn was intrigued. at the end, they hunted a sneaky little leprechaun who left them some treasure, aka book marks and stickers. still, brooklyn was impressed.

then we ran errands. several.

we came home and brooklyn was happy to just play with her toys and do a little bit of beading (which has become her new favorite hobby). my house definitely gets messy when she's using her little imagination, but i try to look past it... and then i make her clean it up.

i've had our easter stuff out ready to decorate with but it's been a slow process. maybe because i have such curious little helpers.

i felt like slow cooking today and i used a recipe from deals to meals (if you haven't looked into this, do it!) for kalua pork sliders. they were delish and super easy to make. just my style.

after we ate way too much pork, we decided to go on a family adventure/walk. we hit up the lagoon/farmington trail and had a great time. brooklyn and james carried big sticks as walking sticks, i pushed kendall in the stroller, and we had a great time looking for animals and basically having the whole trail to ourselves.

i'm sure we're like the last to discover this trail, but if you've never been we highly recommend it. it has a great paved trail and you get to see the animals they have at lagoon pretty close up. we're excited to check it out more this coming summer.

there were cute little painted birdhouses along the way and brooklyn loved 'spying' them.

after while, the sun was going down and kendall was getting anxious for a nap, so we turned around. we were sad to but it made us excited to go back and finish it. james took over stroller duty and kendall was out within minutes. brooklyn and i practiced our skipping, galloping, tip toeing, and running on the way back until her little legs were just too tired. she got a shoulder ride back to the car and that was that.

definitely one of those evenings where i'm grateful for my husband's health, the good health of my children, my health, and the fact that we have time to do things like this together as a family. and we're absolutely looking forward to the weekend!

h a p p y  f r i d a y ... the 13th 

p.s. i have to document things brooklyn's says better or i'm going to forget them all! two nights ago we were getting into james' car to go run some errands. he listens to the book of mormon on cd to and from work and it came on when he turned the car on. brooklyn was getting into her car seat and must have been paying a little bit of attention to the voice reading the scriptures because at one point he said, "in the name of jesus christ," and brooklyn, all strapped into her car seat now and playing with a toy, matter of factly said, "amen." james and i were rolling. it was the cutest funniest thing. she always has us laughing.

monday + fall faves

monday actually started off with beautiful sunshine. it totally tricked us and we ended the day with clouds, rain, and some super loud thunder. brooklyn was excited to wake up from her nap and see that it was pouring outside. she wanted to go "play in the rain" and i let her. she got dressed but i made her put on her rain jacket and and a hat. it made for quite the ensemble. she didn't last long, but she said it was worth it.

i think the weather change made kendall an awesome napper today. she took such a long afternoon nap that i had time to fold my laundry and make dinner. the original plan was to take hobo dinners up a canyon and have a little fireside meal for family home evening, but our little parade got rained out so we had to improvise. hobo dinners cooked right in the oven. it turned out to be the perfect rainy day dinner. the pie tin hobo has changed my life. so much better than just the regular old tinfoil. i also threw in a peach crisp for dessert. totally hit the spot!

family dinner is a little more interesting with a newborn in the picture. but this is how we do it and it works. kendall loves being up at eye level with us and i love that we can all be at the table together. i want this always.

^in true hobo fashion, newspaper as a place mat.^

^topped with vanilla ice cream, this peach crisp was bomb.^

this girl is changing and growing every day. and every day i love her a little more. oh the chub.

and now a little bit on my favorites right now. the things that i've been loving as a transition from summer to fall. a transition i usually struggle with (mostly clothing wise), but i've found some things to love while the weather can't make up it's mind.

1. johnson's baby wash - honey apple. i use this on both the girls and love the change-up in scent at bath time. i used to buy this at the beginning of summer when brooklyn was a baby, but i figure fall is a great time too! this smells so good, try it if you haven't.

2. china glaze - ahoy. this polish has been my absolute favorite for the past couple weeks. i almost never paint my nails the same color twice in a row, but this is the exception. the picture doesn't do it justice. it's the perfect summer to fall transition color and it's totally sparkly. i love it.

3. rose gold watch. james bought me this watch when kendall was born. it's not a name brand or anything fancy but i seriously love it. it's just the right color. 

4. victoria's secret lip gloss - punchy. my MIL gave me this lip gloss last mother's day and i always go back to it. it's sparkly, just the right hint of color, and i have been obsessed with it lately.

5. b&bw - twilight woods. i figure that since i switched up the girls' bath time scent i might as well do the same. this scent is so fall to me. it smells warm and cozy and definitely deserves a spot on this list. 

6. sweet-n-swag moccs - golden rose. possibly my favorite on the list. i love their quality and their price. the color couldn't be better. oh my gosh i love them!

i'm really trying to hold off on all things pumpkin for a couple more weeks and these things are helping me do it. i imagine my next list will include chunky socks and a new fall polish color. i look forward to it and can hold off all at the same time because i am loving this warmer-yet-cooler weather. i'm really trying not to wish this year away and enjoy each season as it comes. we'll see how long my patience holds out!

h a p p y  t u e s d a y

finding simplicity.

simplicity. my one-little-word for 2014. so how have i done at making this word a part of my life? for the most part, pretty darn good. i try to keep this word in the forefront of my mind and try to use it as a guide in my every day tasks. for example, now that we have 9AM church, in order to not have a crazy morning, i pack my church bag the night before, and i lay out what brooklyn will wear. it sounds like such a small thing, and it is, but it simplifies sunday morning for me and makes a HUGE difference. i am not even kidding. it makes for a happy toddler and parents during sacrament meeting because i am prepared with a bag of tricks. i had tried a few other things a few years ago when brooklyn was just tiny and we had 9AM church, but it was too complicated. the system didn't work. simplicity. it works.

on tuesday and thursday nights when james gets home a little earlier and has only an hour to spend with us for dinner and quality time, i make simple dinners. ones that don't take a huge chunk of my afternoon to prepare, and that are easy to clean-up. they make it so nice. then, after we're eating, i can have it all cleaned up while we talk. and by the time james walks out the door, brooklyn has my undivided attention. i'm not stuck in the kitchen doing a million dishes. 

these things might almost seem just dumb, but honestly, finding ways to incorporate 'simplicity' into my daily life is a life saver. there are already too many things to do in a day. i want our home to be in a state of simplicity. i want it to be fun and not too stressful. i want it to be a place where things get done, but in a way that doesn't make us all crazy. it's not always easy and sometimes it seems too difficult to figure out a simpler way of doing things, but in the end it's totally worth it. 

and the more i can squeeze out of my time with this little two year old, the better. after all, she will be sharing me in just a few months.

and we can't wait to find out if she'll be sharing me with a baby brother or a baby sister! 

(stay tuned for that announcement! especially if you follow me on instagram or facebook, you'll find out much sooner there.)

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo da Vinci

we've been a little busy.

this week has been crazy. it has honestly flown and i feel like we haven't stopped for a second. right now, in this moment, i am finally having the time (and energy) to write out a blog post. we really love being busy. not to the point of exhaustion where we fall asleep on the couch in clothes and make-up until 1:30 AM, but we really like being busy.

here's a breakdown of our week:

monday/MLK day

work

shopping with my parents and sister

lunch

more shopping

make dinner (with guests: kayla and judd)

more work

tuesday

work

cleaning to-do list 

run errands

have cereal for breakfast

james = school

me = work meeting

work

wednesday

more cleaning to-do list

get ready

SLC w/chels & ellie

lunch

trader joe's

wanship to see whit & livi (also, chels was getting her hair cut)

home at 6

james = homework

me = yw's

brooklyn = does a very good job of entertaining herself

me = fall asleep on the couch at 10

thursday

wake up, no internet = no work

breakfast

brooklyn = tub, dressed, teeth brushed

vacuum house

get myself showered and dressed

run an errand

go to chels' house + internet = work

home

make dinner

clean it up

james = homework/school

me + brooklyn = exhausted

friday

on the docket for today is an overnight-er in coalville 

north summit high's production of les miserables to support the youngest

hopefully not a super late night

saturday

we'll see...

maybe a nap.

h a p p y  w e e k e n d i n g