Fruit and Smoothies

We have a cocktail tree in our front yard.  At first we were pretty stoked because we knew it had oranges in it but we weren't sure about the other side of the tree.  Turns out it's grapefruit.  Bleh.  We don't eat grapefruit so it was a little discouraging to find half our tree laden with fruit we couldn't stand.

But we (and when I say we I mean Erik) kept the tree healthy, fertilized and watered.  So for the past two years we have enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice and a bunch of grapefruit that we have to pawn off to other people.

 This is was after we had unloaded a bunch of grapefruit on friends.  So. Much. Grapefruit.

These oranges may not be the most pretty oranges in the world but I'll be darned if they don't make the BEST orange juice EVER!

And what do you do with all that wonderful orange juice?  Smoothie time!  I realized one day that I don't eat vegetables.  At all.  So I did a little research on the most trusted site on the internet...Pinterest.  Now I am a green smoothie addict and I believe everyone should have a green smoothie addiction.

Here is my most favorite way to have a green smoothie:

1.  Ingredients: One frozen banana, 1/2 C plain greek yogurt, some o.j. (just enough to smooth it out), and a big handful of baby spinach leaves.

2.  Throw all that into your blender.

3. Liquify it until it the chunks of spinach are pretty well incorporated.

4.  Enjoy!

Let me tell you that you CANNOT taste any spinach flavor in this.  I was so skeptical about it but it is delicious!

Recipe #2:   One frozen banana, 1/2 C. plain greek yogurt, 1 Tbs. peanut butter,  some rice milk (or whatever milk you like), and hunking handful of baby spinach.  Blend and enjoy!

Now I like recipe #2 but it's not my favorite since I'm not huge on eating peanut butter.  You could just throw in a bunch of berries or whatever you want. Yum!

Now go eat your veggies!

Pinewood Derby

I have never participated in way, shape, or form in a pinewood derby so this was an eye opening experience for me.  I'm hoping that with time Preston will come to somewhat care about his car and to actually help with it.  But until then, sorry Erik.

Here's the car.  We call it the "Silver Bolt".  Get it?  Bolt?  As in there's a bolt stuck in it for weight?  It's even more fun when you have to explain your cleverness. :)

Here's our boy with some other scouts waiting and waiting for the races to start.

About to get going on the first race.

He took 2nd place for the first two races and then did this for the third:

Untitled from Rachel Witbeck on Vimeo.


We were pretty surprised that his car did as good as it did.  Especially since the weight was wrong, it had been dropped several times, and it was completed in a rush the day before it had to be turned in.

Here's our photo op.

We then were treated to an early morning breakfast of doughnuts and milk and every participant was awarded a candy bar car.  Even though we didn't win it was still a fun morning.  But make no mistake.  Next year we will DOMINATE!

Cold?

When the birds in your wildlife preserve of a backyard are lying on top of on another to keep warm, you know it's cold.  

Fortunately for these little guys, the big cats of the backyard were also cold and hiding out so all birds survived.  That can't be said every day.

Christmas 2011

Yes. I realize that it is the end of January, the last day to be precise, and I am just now posting about Christmas.  And I'm okay with that.

We spent Christmas Eve hanging out, watching "A Christmas Story", listening to Josh Groban's "Noel", and making gingerbread houses.  We then got some pizza for the kiddos, chinese take-out for the grown ups, and made some last minute shopping stops.  I made a vow at 6:30 pm, standing at the self checkout at Walmart on Christmas Eve that I would never again in my existence do any form of shopping Christmas Eve.  So not worth it.

Christmas morning came around.  This year was the earliest our children have ever been up for Christmas.  A whopping 7 am.  I was really glad too since we had church in the morning too.   FYI: not a fan of Christmas being on Sunday.  Just sayin.

Ninjago, Lego Atlantis, bike, scooter, rollerblades, princess and Barbie galore, and 3DS's.  The morning went by too fast but it was soooo much fun to watch them open up everything a be so excited.  Bryce even said that "Santa is my new best friend".  I take that as a success.

Christmas Lights

Our first attempt at Christmas lights that I made Erik do so we wouldn't be the Scrooge's on the street.

The picture isn't so great but I swear it looks good! :)

Merry Christmas!!

It's Not Easy....

being a beautiful fairy princess.

Washed Away

On November 19, 2011, Preston was baptized.  I've been trying to write this post for the past few weeks but I can't seem to get my thoughts in order.  Do I say how much we talked about baptism this past year?  How excited Preston was to get baptized?  Or maybe how hectic the morning of the baptism was?  Maybe how he ran down the hall when it was his turn?  How he said he just wanted his sins washed away?  How awesome and surreal and wonderful it was to watch my first child walk into the water and be baptized by his father?  How I felt the spirit so strong while I was saying a few words that I could hardly get through anything?  Or maybe how Bryce couldn't really handle not being the center of attention so he made a point to interrupt and talk as much as possible?  Or maybe while at lunch Preston told me how it was "kinda weird" that I had been crying?

How about it all!  Needless to say it was a very special day that was made perfect by Preston choosing his favorite restaurant for lunch, In-N-Out, and chocolate cake that has been now given the name "Baptism Cake".

Preston, you are a extraordinary boy who is becoming an extraordinary young man.  I'm so excited to watch you grow and learn and be the great example you are to your brother and sister.  I'm so proud of your decision to be baptized and how seriously you have taken it.  We love you so much!

Halloween

Does anyone else seem to think that Halloween lasts the whole flippin  month of October?  With church activities, kids' parties, and school activities/festivals by the time Halloween actually comes you are so done.  And, if like me, you're in a sugar coma.

But guess what.  These little super heroes LOVE Halloween.  Costumes are bought on clearance last year and are shown to the children a week before Halloween and are told this is what you will wear thoughtfully picked out and planned with precision.

And don't they look great!  They have so much fun with Halloween....so whatever.  I'll live with a month of sugar and costumes.

See This Little Girl?

Well, she's not so little anymore.  Somewhere along the way my little baby girl turned 4.  How did this happen?  I'm still trying to figure it out.  My current theory is a time travel machine but I'm not optimistic that will hold up.

Do you see this sweet face?  What do I say about it?  That she's beautiful?  Well that's evident.

 That she's silly?  So true.

 That she has her own ideas about how things should run and what everything should look like and she will make sure she gets it her way?  No comment.

That she kind, soft spoken, and loving?  100% true.

How do I stop you from getting in that time machine and fast forwarding this growing up thing?  I don't think I can so I guess I'd better make more cookies, read more bedtime stories, go on more bike rides, play princesses 5 minutes longer, watch another Dora episode, let you brush my hair all through Tangled, sing more songs, and put those extra bubbles in the bath.  Happy 4th birthday our sweet little princess!  We love you!

This Is How We Camp In AZ

No toilets....CHECK!

Cactus everywhere....CHECK!

Drive 1.5 to 3 hours to get to said campgrounds....CHECK!

Scorpions....CHECK!

Forget to bring chairs....CHECK!

Freeze in the middle of the night....CHECK!

Oh, and you can't forget this:

Shooting guns....CHECK!

And after all that we tell ourselves it was fun and do it again next year.  And that's camping AZ style! :)