Ari + Mommy date

A few weeks ago Ari and I went on a little 'girls' date. This girl is growing up way too fast, so it was really nice to have the time together. Ari is definitely not a girly-girl. She enjoys getting her nails painted, playing in make up and dressing up, but most of the time she'd rather play outside in the dirt, play board games and color or draw. I thought it would be fun to sign her up for one of the classes offered at Home Depot. She loved it! She got her own apron, and did a great job making her own chalkboard hanger. She did most of the hammering, and all of the painting by herself.

While we were waiting for the paint to dry we walked around the store and looked at all of the flowers. Ari was fascinated watching the bees pollinating the flowers. 

After Home Depot we stopped by the pet store to look at the animals. Ari loves watching fish, birds and especially lizards. We came during feeding time. Ari was fascinated watching the lizards eat the crickets. The employee feeding the lizards even let Ari hold one of them. She loved it!

She's growing up, but she will always be my baby!

Jones Creek Day Trip

I grew up camping multiple times a year all of my childhood. We camped at the mountains, beaches and all over the place. Many childhood memories are from camping. My family always tells me that I was the messiest child when I was little, although, my brother told me that I'm the opposite now. I haven't gone camping nearly I as much since I've been married and had kids. 

My family was up camping at Jones Creek, one of my favorite places. There aren't any bathrooms, or cell phone reception, but it's so pretty and relaxing so of course we had to go up for the day. 

One of my favorite things to do when I was little was try to cross the creeks and streams by stepping over the rocks while trying not to fall in. 90% of the time, however, I did fall in. 

Much like my younger self, my kids enjoyed getting filthy and playing in the water.

Summer 2015 Part 1

So far our summer has been pretty great. We started the summer by buying a new car. We decided we needed a car that got better gas mileage since I got a new job. I'm still doing the same thing, I just work 30 minutes away now. 

Goodbye Merc

Hello Prius!

We took a little day trip with some friends of mine to Sauvie's Island a few weeks ago. 

The kids got filthy playing in the sand 

And of course, I can't keep thm out of the water.

We went bowling 

Both kids did pretty well. Of course I would have too if I had the bumpers up and a ramp too. Ari got nearly as many point as Ryan did.

I love my cute little family!

We were spoiled and got 2 days off together with Ryan. We decided to spend the day in Lincon city one of the days. We did some school shopping for Ari. It is still so weird to me that she is starting school in a few months. 

We enjoyed some delicious food and got out fill of seafood. 

Of course we spent some time at the beach. Being in the 90s at home, it was a little nice to escape the  hot weather and enjoy the 60s at the beach.

The kids passed out on the drive home and we enjoyed some gorgeous views!

We've spent tons of time enjoying the park and trying to stay cool. 

Homemade Chili

I have seen and tasted many different recipies for chili. For some reason I have been intimidated or something, but I have never made chili until now. I am glad that I finally made some, and I am very proud of the way it turned out. 

I have been obsessed with sweet potatoes lately, so of course I had to add some in. 

I also like using dried beans. They are not only cheaper, but there's less salt and other additives. A friend of mine told me that I should start spouting my beans first, so that's what I did. I let them soak in water for about a day. Once they had started to sprout I cooked them in my crock-pot for 8-10 hours on low. I did this for both the black beans and the garbanzo beans that I used. 

Homemade Chili:

2 cups black beans

2 cups garbanzo beans

2 14.5 cans diced tomatoes

1 14.5 can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon cumin

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 medium onion

1 small sweet potato (shredded)

Directions:

1- The day/night before start soaking and sprouting your beans.

2- Dice the onions and sautee them in a little bit of oil. Once they are transluscent add your shredded sweet potato. Sautee until it's soft. 

3- Add all ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 

4- Serve with cheese, cornbread, sour cream or your favorite toppings. 

This recipe can be improvised to your liking. I did not add any meat because I did not have any at the time. Next time I make this I will probably add some ground turkey.