Spring Break 2015

Even though the kids aren't in school yet, we had our own little spring break and went to Declo on a Wednesday night so that Devin could take off early the next morning with his Dad to head to Moab for a couple days of dirt biking with Garrett and Derek. Meanwhile, the kids and I stayed and hung out with Laura. We hadn't even seen them since the beginning of January so it was a sweet reunion, especially with how much these kids have changed and grown!




We had some beautiful weather for playing on the play set and joining Grandma on her morning walk.

Owen lasted longer than I thought in the gravel before he tried to eat it. He loved lifting it up and letting it fall between his fingers. It was once his hands started getting sweaty that he'd see gravel stuck to his hand and didn't know any other way to get it off than to try eating it. He is also the most flexible fat baby I've ever seen. He is always bending himself in half from sitting up to face and tummy on the floor (like he's almost doing a couple pictures up)! 

The Guys in Moab:

^^Is it just me or does Devin look like a power ranger? :)




They had fantastic weather! Got down there Thursday afternoon, hit up some trails, then repeat all day Friday. It was so fun that Derek was able to get the day off to join them on Friday and Saturday morning. They even fed themselves well with breakfast burritos and dutch oven 7 up chicken, impressive! Marissa and her family happened to be down there at the same time and let the guys come shower at their hotel Friday night - lucky! This was a great way for Devin to finish year 29!

We spent Thursday in Pocatello and Friday in Twin Falls. The kids were troopers during all the shopping and long car rides. I think bribing Ava with ice cream helped ;) We got to try Culver's hamburgers and ice cream - delicious!! We had the turtle sundae and their caramel was so yummy.

Saturday

Not a great quality picture but I had to include this because Ava warmed up so much to Great Grandma Harper this trip and kept sitting in her lap to read books. On the way to her house Ava kept saying "I love Grandma Harper" and was just so happy to be at her house. 

We also made a stop in Burley at Gossner's - my favorite! I love going in and trying their sample cheeses and spreads with crackers and different flavored milks. (Did I mention I like dairy?) I usually leave with a bag of cheese curds and this time we also got some ice cream (thank you Grandma!). 

Cinderella

After we ate some lunch at home we went back out to Burley to catch an afternoon showing of Cinderella. Well, the kids both fell asleep on the way to the theatre so Laura carried Owen's carseat in and I carried Ava's car seat in - with her still asleep in it! It fit perfectly next to me in the theatre and she stayed asleep for about the first 45 minutes. When she woke up she was very still and just stared wide-eyed at the movie without saying anything or looking over at me. This was about 5 minutes before the fairy godmother did her big transformation, then right after the old, ugly, fairy godmother turned herself into a beautiful sparkly magical lady, I hear Ava's cute little voice say "wooow!". 

I can't say enough good things about that movie - loved loved loved the messages and scenery and acting. "Have courage and be kind." I can't think of a better motto for life.

Sunday

The kids had a fun little Easter egg hunt in the back yard - Wynn and Ava getting their own little corner of the yard to seek :) Laura also found a bunch of fun mugs to give to each of the kids. Ava loved the monkey one she got and Owen loves his soft little wind up car.




This pic of Owen and Mitt is priceless. Can you tell Owen isn't used to a lot of kids all around him?

We also got to celebrate Devin turning 3-0! 

With his request of "lemon dessert", like a mix between lemon bars and lemon meringue pie. Whatever it is, it's a Lion House recipe so you know it's good!



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Date Night

I know I haven't even posted about Easter yet but we had a fun, kind of spur of the moment date night last night thanks to Race and Emma who babysat and an awesome Groupon I've been wanting to use. It was so fun to have some time to ourselves so I wanted to document before I forget!  There's a movie theatre in Nampa right by the Ashby's house that plays movies that have been out for a while at a cheaper rate and the best part is-they serve you meals while you watch your movie! The theatre is set up with long tables in front of the seating and horizontal isles between the tables and the next row of seats in front of you so you feel nice and spread out from everyone in the theatre with lots of room to get in and out. Not to mention, the food they serve is delicious! At least, it got really good reviews and I loved the chicken ranch pizza with bacon that I got. Devin got pork nachos which came with lots of yummy toppings but he said the meat wasn't his favorite and nachos are kind of hard to eat in the dark haha. Anyway, the place is called Northern Lights Cinema Grill and I hope to go back again!

Better yet, Ava was great while we left her.  She played with Holland for a little while - aka - laid on the floor smiling and then fell asleep until we got home!  Score! Thanks a bunch Race and Emma!  Swapping babysitting for date nights is a great idea :) Pin It

Claire Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

I turned 23 on Friday!  It seems like it's been party central around here with all the fun Halloween things to do and getting ready for baby, I love having a fall birthday!

Devin and I went to Denny's on Friday morning because they give you a free grand slam (with ID).  After he went to work, I met up with some girls and pretty much shopped til I dropped!
1. Other Mothers' consignment shop was having a huge 25 cent sale that me and Annie hit up and I got a TON of cute onesies/clothes for the baby, a diaper genie, and a baby bathtub all for $12.50. Score!
2. Cafe Rio for lunch with Tyne, Annie, and Erin who was so sweet to drop by and visit and gave me a super cute apron!  Cafe Rio gave me a free Tres Leches with my meal AND I just asked for a water cup but the girl at the cash register gave me a soda cup "just in case you change your mind, since it's your birthday"!
3. Got my eyebrows done at the Brow Bar at Ulta.  Loved the girl who did it, we talked baby, labor, and delivery which seems to be the majority of my conversations with people as of late.
4. Went to the mall and met up with Tyne at the Body Shop where Devin got me a groupon - we picked out some scented oils to put in our oil warmer.  Tried it last night and the house smelled amazing!  Then I headed over to Romy and got a super cute dress for $10 - Devin took some maternity pics of me in it yesterday which I'll put up soon!
5. Devin met me at Cheesecake Factory for dinner, thanks to Heather who sent me a gift card!  We split the Chicken Madeira/Steak platter (I just said, anything that comes with mashed potatoes...like always haha) and it was delicious!

6. Stopped at Cabela's my favorite store ;) Jk, dropped Devin off at Cabela's while I perused TJ Maxx and DSW but we weren't there long because I wanted to get home and open PRESENTS!
7. Opened presents:  Super soft bath robe (heavenly), awesome cutting board with treats, Pride and Prejudice (6 hour on DVD - It was strange to hold something so small that used to come in 6 VHS!), comfy socks, baby clothes, and a really warm cover for the carseat! My parents sent me money that contributed to all of my birthday fun as well as a much needed future haircut and possibly some new shoes or fun thing I don't know I need yet :)
8. Watched Shawshank Redemption on our clearplay.  I probably would have chosen a chick flick but we have a stack of movies we're borrowing from some friends that we wanted to put a dent in and this had the most potential to me out of those.  If you like Prison Break,which you can read about our recent obsession HERE, you will love this movie.  I thought it was really good!

Devin was so clever and went on Pinterest for my gift idea.  I have a "printables" board of quotes and things that I like so he got two things printed and put in really cute, white frames for our kitchen.  I love it!  My new camera lens is also from him, which we got for a steal off of craigslist.  Devin is the best gift giver I know!

For future reference on BIRTHDAYS

Awesome "free" birthday things to take advantage of:
-If you are an Ulta Rewards Member (free, you just sign up for e-mails and stuff) you get a free brow wax by their "arch specialist" on your birthday.  She was fantastic :)
-Free grand slam or build your own from Denny's on your birthday (with ID)
-Free Redbox code (they e-mail it to you, so you have to be signed up)
- If you are a DSW (shoes) member, they e-mail you a $5 coupon to use the month of your birthday.
-Tucanos - free meal the month of your birthday! (Have to sign up before the month of your birthday, they mail you a card) We went there a couple weeks ago with Devin's parents, grandma, and Talane after going to the Boise Temple open house :)
- Baskin Robins e-mails you a free scoop of ice cream coupon
-Noodles & Co. sends e-mail for free birthday meal (there aren't any in Idaho so I couldn't use mine :( )

There are so many more, these are just ones that I took advantage of or had sent to my inbox. 

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Random: lately

Besides work, grocery shopping, cooking/eating, and working out, here's what we've found ourselves consumed with lately:

Hooked. I had watched the first season when it first aired back in high school but I totally forgot everything (except Wentworth Miller. ha) So, we've been using our free month-long trial of Netflix to the fullest!  We're realizing it's taking up a little more of our time than we'd like and there are FOUR seasons so we don't know if we'll finish in time but we finished the first season with a bang - we stayed up later than we have since college days and made pancakes at midnight on our griddle in the living room :)

Downy Quilts For Kids

I've been struggling to find things to keep me busy during the day so when I heard about program I ordered myself a kit - not only is it a great service, but I've never done a quilt before so I figured for my first one, this would be perfect practice:  They send you ALL the pieces, cut out and everything with directions and if you click HERE you can see a very detailed tutorial of how to put it together, using the exact kit they send you.  Kind of a crazy design and my quilt won't lay flat but not bad for my first and I hope someone loves it! CLICK HERE to request a kit of your own.  Having the pieces already cut out and everything, it only took me probably a total of 5-6 hours!

and FINALLY...

I saw something on Pinterest for a cute diaper changing toolbelt for dads that I thought would be fun/ny to make for Devin and then I stopped at a yard sale one day and they had one all put together with stuff I wouldn't have even thought of, it was perfect :)  I also got Devin some freeze-dried camping meals to lighten the load for any backpacking trips he's doing this summer.  Nothing compared to the chair he made me but...he's been treating himself to lots of toys lately.  More to come on that later....

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Internet Fast

Okay, not intentionally of course - but we've been without internet for 3 days and it has felt like an eternity.  Pathetic, I know.  The good part is - I'm very productive because facebook/pinterest/blogs are not distracting me.  But the bad part is - my productivity gets limited when I cannot e-mail my teachers the gazillion questions I have for them regarding the huge projects I have going on this week.
(The reason we didn't have internet is because our upstairs neighbors moved 3 days earlier than planned and they were the ones the internet was billed to)

    Thankfully, Jordan and Corina let us come hang out Friday AND Saturday night since we were getting a little stir-crazy. Thanks!   I might as well send you over to HER POST about our CHINESE night on Friday to celebrate the Year of The Dragon!   Seriously, go check it out - it's rather humorous how much "Chinese" was actually lacking from our New Year celebration, but it was still a good time

p.s. We watched Atlas Shrugged, another AWESOME movie - especially with all the politics going on right now.  It totally makes you think about where the world is headed and Hollywood is pretty unsupportive of it (due do their democratic ways) meaning it never hit very many theaters, so go get it at Redbox :) Pin It

Movie Buffs

January has been the best movie watching month for us!  Here are some great ones we've seen:

These are in order of "recently viewed: oldest to newest"

{MONEYBALL}

 filmofilia.com

          We found this movie refreshing because of how real the characters are.  That North Face pull over, polo, and khaki pants are about the nicest thing Brad Pitt wore in the whole movie.  His sloppy, don't-care-about-anything-but-winning-attitude was slightly annoying at times but usually very funny/enjoyable.  This movie just had some quality humor, touching moments (you have to know, I'm a SUCKER for inspirational sports movies), and lessons learned - not to mention, great actors.
 

{Midnight in Paris}

roomforhistory.wordpress.com

           We love Owen Wilson.  He's got such a quirky personality that makes him so fun to watch in this movie and makes you HATE Rachel McAdams (sorry for all you Notebook fans, don't expect anything great out of her). If you're into art/music/literature from the 1920s aka. Great Gatsby, Edgar Allen Poe, you will have a BLAST watching this movie. Also, Marion Cotillard (seen above) is ravishing in this movie.  (We have a thing about comparing actors to other movies they've been in and we like her better in this than in Inception - for sure!)

{Warrior}

 movielistmania.blogspot.com 

 I was apprehensive about watching this movie because I thought it was going to be all about boxing, which I know nothing about but WOW - it goes so deep into their lives that you really get to know the characters and it makes the fighting scenes so bearable because you're just dying to see who wins every single one.  If you don't remember what this one's about - it's about two brothers' path to this fighting championship and they end up having to fight each other in the end (the trailer gives this away too, so don't get mad at me).  The family bonds, or lack of, in this movie really pull at your heart strings.  Anyway, we ended up not returning it to Redbox and watching it...AGAIN.  *watched with Jordan and Corina

{Ides of March}

entertainmentwallpaper.com

After hearing about this movie on the Golden Globes, we had to rent it.  Thanks to our clearplay, the fact that it's Rated R didn't matter, we filtered out the language and didn't miss a thing. Tremendous actors in this movie! It's about the race between two men for the Democratic position in the Presidential race.  Ryan Gosling plays George Clooney's campaign manager and has to choose between what he believes and his loyalty.  So so so so good. Ryan Gosling just seems so grown up in this movie (compared to the Notebook, once again).  It got us into the current presidential race and loved the technicality behind it all.

{Sherlock Holmes}

steampunkscholar

This was one of our least favorite of all the movies we've watched recently, but it sure was action-packed!  Actually, that's mostly why we didn't like it.  It was like never-ending twists and things to remember, etc.  Usually that's desirable, but by about halfway through we just wanted to know how it ended.  Nevertheless, Downey Jr. and Jude Law play an impeccable pair - a very entertaining movie, indeed. *watched with Jordan and Corina

{Water for Elephants}

orlandosentinel.com

I thought I was going to read the book before watching this movie but I just never got around to it, so I don't know how it compares.  However, we loved how different this movie is from many others. It's a flashback movie of a 90-something-year-old man whose younger part is played by Robert Pattinson to show his experience with this traveling circus group.  Don't worry there's no freaky people with 5 arms or bags over their heads or anything like that (just a midget and a 300 lb woman). The love story was pretty unpredictable, just the way we like it, and the conflict throughout the movie made it so interesting. Last but not least, the elephant - SO cool, it'll be your favorite animal character you've ever had. Maybe :) *watched with Jordan and Corina

Now, with all the free time I know you have on your hands - GO! Watch! :)

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Mr. Incredible and Elasti-girl

It took us THREE whole nights to finish this movie because we are sleepy heads I guess, but WE LOVE IT. (Don't worry, I don't think Toy Story will ever lose it's place at #1, as a series anyway)

It's been so long since we've seen it that we had totally forgotten how funny, witty, and truly enjoyable this movie is, we found ourselves laughing out loud numerous times.

That's all, so when all of you are done watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 3D, put this on your list :)

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