Seville Pool: It's Where the Party's At

We figured these were the last days to get in some pool time, so last weekend we set out for the Seville pool. We always have so much fun there, and it was the perfect time to review swimming skills with the kiddos. As you can tell, Karsen was not up for cheesin' it for the camera. (She may also have a mouthful of golfish crackers, I'm not sure.)
When are the fountains gonna come on?.....Ahhhhh!

Looking for hidden treasure in the pirate cave of doom!

Perfect 10.

So this is where the air goes....ohhhh!

Brian and I were cracking up at this. When did Keaton's bathing suit become a parachute? We're not sure, but it sure was funny so we took a picture.

The FHE That Never Was/Friday Night Lights

Sorry, to save time and convenience, this is a combo post folks. So this is "The FHE that never was." I am so sorry to say that there was absolutely no spiritual instruction during this activity. I could've easily tied in themes of prayer, and needing our Father in Heaven to guide us through the challenging episodes in our lives, but alas, I was tired. Like most kids do, they insisted we did "something" as a family!!! So the blindfolded game of finding a bunch of pennies on the floor was born. Hey, they loved it and it took up some time! Shhhhhh! We're sometimes the laziest parents on the planet, but don't let the whole ward know! :)
Last Friday night we rented a bunch of movies and then watched the free Friday Night Lights show outside our window. For some reason, this was a lot of fun! I just love it when Monsoon season lingers!

Is There a Dentist in the House?

Finally, after much debate Keaton's 4th tooth finally met it's maker. Keaton is such a baby sometimes, she'll let a tooth hang by one lonely root until gravity finally takes hold, OR, there's a dentist in the house! Thank heavens grandpa was in town, 'cause nobody was allowed to touch Keaton's tooth. He just gently reached in and set it free. TOTALLY PAINLESSLY!!! She was handsomely compensated the next morning don't you worry....
Ahhh, the remnants of babyhood! :(

Fun Times in Nonna and Papa's Pool

Whooops. Man, it's been quite a while since I've posted. I'm majorly backed up, so here it goes. One of the great things of summer for the kids is swimming in Nonna and Papa's pool! It's been redone recently, so it is a great treat when we can make it down!
Here is Kendal "remembering" how she swam by herself just last summer! Yes, we're gonna need to work on that one!

As always there are many props and toys to have fun with.

CANNONBALL!!!

KOWABUNGA!?!

Kendal and Karsen's first days of preschool!

Yay! Karsen's first day of preschool! She was so excited to actually get to stay at preschool instead of just coming with me to drop Kendal off. Here she is with her cute little backpack. Keaton handed hers down to Kendal, and Kendal handed hers down to Karsen. They are in good shape still and everyone was happy with the switches so I thought, why not? It looks so big on her though! Ha!ha!

Of course the first thing she hit was the dinosaur pile! If you look at the cute little red-head to the right, that's Hunter our old neighbor! So fun that they're in preschool together!

And here's our posing beauty Kendal. She now goes 3 days/week for 2 1/2 hours. Isn't she such a beaut? Ha!ha! I'm a little frightened for the teen age years, heck, I'm scared for the "tween" years with her!

And here are Kendal's FAVORITE shoes of the moment. Her torquoise platforms. (Ey yei yei!) She was drawn immediately to these shoes, so of course, Grandma had to get them for her! They both had fabulous first days! I just don't know how I'm gonna get them there everyday day in and day out! I guess I'll deal....haha.

Um, I made bread!

I can't believe I made clean whole wheat bread with my own two hands! Don't laugh, it's a miracle! :) There is nothing better than fresh baked bread right out of the oven! I finally can do that now. Making this bread conjured up memories of my Grandma Dutson who used to make us fresh baked bread all the time! She'd pull it right from the oven and cut us off a "hunk" with real butter made from her cows on the farm, and honey! This was our FHE; it was a spiritual experience! Ha!ha! It tasted so good and I was so proud that I did it all on my own. I even kneaded it by hand for 10 min.! Talk about working up a sweat in your kitchen. No wonder we're all fat now, we don't do anything! We just go to Wal-Mart and pick up a loaf of bread, no problem. Now, I'm not gonna go all pioneer and all and start only having homemade bread all the time, but now I can say that I did it! Here's the recipe:

Clean Honey Wheat Bread

1 packet active dry yeast

2 c. warm water

1/3 c. honey (or dark molasses)

2T. canola oil

2t. sea salt

51/2- 6 c. whole wheat flour

In mixing bowl place in order given all ingredients except flour. Add flour gradually to make a stiff dough. Knead on well-floured surface until smooth and satiny, 8-10 min. Place in greased bowl. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled, 1 1/2-2 hours (to speed this up I placed in outside, gotta take some advantage of the heat!). Divide in half; shape into balls. Cover with bowl; let rest 15 min. Shape into loaves. Place in well-greased loaf pans. Cover; let rise until light and doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 for 30-35 min. or until deep golden brown.

Clean Eating Oatmeal Cookies

I finally had some clean eating success with my dessert of choice this weekend: clean oatmeal cookies! They really hit the spot for a cookie craving I was having this weekend. And instead of bothering my poor husband to take me out to dessert after dinner and a movie, I just came home and had a few of these. By the teaspoonful, they're only 70 cals each and packed with fiber and antioxidants (thanks to the dark chocolate chunks and cranberries).

Clean Eating Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c. canola oil

1/3 c. + 2T. sucanat (or approx. 1/4 c. agave nectar to taste)

1 egg white

3/4 t. vanilla

3T. water

2 c. old-fashioned (slow cooking) oatmeal

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 t. sea salt

1/2 t. baking soda

2/3 c. raisins (I did 1/3 c. craisins + 1/3 c. dark chocolate pieces)

1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350, and grease your cookie sheets. Mix first 5 (wet) ingredients and slowly stir in the dry except add-ins. Fold in add-ins (raisins, crasisins, chocolate, etc.). Drop by teaspoonsful on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 min. (my oven took 12 min.) or until just browned on the bottom. You may have to check the bottoms as these cookies don't look "done" like regular cookies do. These little gems are on only 70 cals, 3.5 grams of fat, 9 carbs, 1 gram protein, and 1 gram fiber (which is good for a cookie!). Enjoy!