copying chipotle

the restaurant, that is.  i copied them last week for dinner.  we layered up our bowls just like they do for you at chipotle...

it was a fun meal and something i had never done before.  it came to me because i had made a crockpot of pinto beans that we had one night like a soup (meaning with the broth) with shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.  so, then i was trying to think of what else i could do with the beans before i mashed them and i remembered a meal we had at chipotle from a month or so ago. and i thought, hey we could have a homemade chipotle dinner!  how easy and fun is that?

so i made some rice and some guacamole and had chris grill up some chicken.   the kids got to go down the bar and pile up their bowls - just like when we do our salad bar dinner.  we also had cheese, sour cream, salsa, and lettuce...

we actually had this meal two nights in a row, it was great to just pull everything out again on our busy basketball practice night.  it was a tasty meal and a fun addition to our regular menu...

do you have any fun dinner ideas to share?

snow day

was awesome.  we went up to our friend lori's cabin for the day along with some other friends from school.  there couldn't have been a better day to play in the snow.  the weather was beautiful and we all had a blast.  here are almost all the kids...

they have a hill on the side of their cabin that was perfect for sledding...

these two took the longest run...

and made it all the way to the road!  which was quite a distance...

ella made the biggest snow ball...

then proceeded to roll it across the property as far as she could...

the boys and dads had a war.  here are the dads sneaking around the back of the boys' 'fort' to attack them...

the next door neighbor's deck was the fort for the boys...

here they are fighting back...

we rented this car for the day, it was sure luxurious - we loved it!

we had such a wonderful time, it was one of those 'perfect days' that come around once in awhile.

thanks so much lori & mark - it couldn't have been a better day!

happy 3rd birthday John John

yep, you read that right my baby is three. so hard for me to believe.  time is such a strange concept for me sometimes. how quickly it goes by when you watch your children growing up so fast right before your eyes. and how it can also seem to just stand still when you have a newborn baby or when you experience the loss of a loved one.

i was just a couple months pregnant with john when i lost my father unexpectedly.  if i hadn't had this beautiful child growing inside me at the time, the grief i was experiencing probably would have taken over my life for quite some time.  i cried everyday for about a month, i remember it being such a breakthrough for me when i got through an entire day without crying.

so, when this child of mine was born and he was a boy, we named him after my father.  now, he is a constant reminder to me of my dad.  he has the same enthusiasm and zest for life that pop did, and i love that so much about him.  he has been such a joy to our whole family and we just love this little guy so much!

john john woke up to some fun gifts on his birthday.  i left the vintage toys i had gotten him unwrapped, they're so adorable...

and he loves his new baseball toy, asking everyone, "wanna come out and see my baseball practicing?"

3 things i love about john john:

1.  you are so outgoing - you really love people and love talking to them.  i love the questions you ask people and your amazing memory of things to ask and talk to others about.  

2.  you are so observant - you notice things right away and notice things that others in the family don't.  new sheets on the bed, grandpa's new haircut, a new decoration at grandma's.  today when we were out you said, "mom see that truck over there with the d-backs sign on it?  not the gray truck, but the white truck with the baseball d-backs on it?" - you are always noticing things around you.

3.  you are so thankful - you thank me all the time for things, even for doing your laundry.  you get so excited when i put your clean laundry away and tell me in your loud voice, "oh thank you, mom, for washing my chonies!".  it just melts my heart.

I could go on and on but i'll stick to three, since it's your third birthday.  

we love you john john, happy birthday!!!

christmas eve night

i also started another tradition this year...gifts for the kids to open right before bed on christmas eve.  any guesses of what they were???? yep, new christmas pjs - and matching ones for the boys (i was pretty excited about that find).  i know i'm not too original on this but still i was pretty happy about it anyway.  here they are opening them...

we came home from christmas eve dinner, opened these, and they put them on right away (they were washed and ready to wear) so that we could read 'twas the night before christmas by the light of the christmas tree.

ella wasn't feeling quite up to par and ended up with strep throat.  she was a real trooper though, and no one else got it!  thank you, lord!

and since we hadn't put the star on our tree yet, john john got to put it on just before we tucked them all in for the night...

christmas eve

last year we started the tradition of letting the kids give their gifts to each other on christmas eve.  this makes the day so special and exciting for them and gives them something fun to do while chris and i make the food and get the house ready for the christmas brunch crew that comes to our house christmas morning.

the kids were so excited to give their gifts.  and this year they had a few shopping days at school where the kids could buy and wrap christmas gifts.

christopher gave john john some silly bands and little tops that light up...

his reactions to his gifts were hilarious this year.  he would open a present and shout 'yes!'  'i love it!' - it cracked us up and made the gift giving even that much more fun.

ella got andrew these adorable wristbands (which he has already worn while shooting hoops out front)...

christopher bought ella the two things she had loved at the school shopping store.  a gum ball machine...

and a panda bear necklace that came in a panda shaped velvety box...

christopher was so excited to give them to her because he knew how much she adored and wanted them.   it was so sweet of him.

andrew gave christopher a calvin and hobbs book to add to his collection...

and christopher gave andrew a star wars lego book that came with mini lego sets to build.  he found this online and thought andrew would love it.  he was so excited to give it to his brother...

it is so wonderful to see the excitement the kids have for buying gifts for each other with their own money and how happy it makes them to give them to each other.  i sure love watching them make each other happy in this way.