St. Thomas

This is pictures from our wonderful 10 year anniversary, St. Thomas trip.

So it all began on June 2 @ around 5:30 my mom shows up at our door. (my mom lives in ID) My response was,"what are you doing here?" I was then told that on Sunday the 6th, Marshall and I will be leaving on a plane to St. Thomas and my mom was here to watch the kids.

My mother-in-law had spoiled me the previous month with a new swim suit and sandals. (which I was so grateful for when I was told where we were going and when!! She's the best!!)

When we arrived at St. Thomas we pick up our rental car, a soft top Jeep, (I love Jeeps!!)


We stayed at a little Villa, we had a beautiful view of the ocean, great pool, and we loved Leah!! Seriously we felt like we were staying with an old friend. We had beach towels, chairs, and a cooler in our room. She also had snorkel gear that we were able to use.

We first went to secret harbor where we went snorkeling for the first time, it wasn't the best snorkeling, but it was a great beach with not very many people. Also, we had my favorite food of the trip there (mahi, mahi sandwhich with pineapple). That is where we also saw the Iguanas, up close and personal.

We then went to Coki Beach, where the water was so clear! It had really good snorkeling, if you could get past the fish coming after you! They feed the fish dog biscits there so the fish think you are going to feed them, after you pass those fish and get over to the rocky area the snorkeling was great.
The next day we took the ferry over to St. John's

We first went to Trunk bay, it has the most wonderful sand (it's like powder). You felt like you were swimming in a large salty pool. They have a really cool snorkel path with information under the water, about the fish, corral, and everything else.

We then went to Annaberg trail. That is where we took a pretty hike to the beach and swam (snorkeled) mostly swimming, the island with the snorkeling was way out there. By the time we got there, we realized if we wanted to make sure we got on the ferry back to St. Thomas that day we better get started swimming back. It was still allot of fun just swimming, walking, and talking.

The next day we took it easy. We bought gifts, but mostly sat around and visited with Leah. I can't believe we didn't take pictures with her. We went out to a local pub, don't worry we didn't drink, but they had the best pizza and view. We then finished our trip watching the flyer's game. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. It was nice just having time with Marshall. I am forever greatful for a wonderful husband!!

Spagetti casserole changed to spagetti Bake

For dinner last night I made a family favorite meal only I revamped it to be healthy.
This recipe is made so you can make 1/2 of it for dinner and freeze the other 1/2 for another night. I just used what ever vegetables I had in the fridge. My kids (5, 3, 1)loved it, they both (5 and 3 yr old) wanted seconds, they may have picked out some peppers and mushrooms, maybe I should make them smaller next time :).

Spagetti Bake
cooking spray
1clove of garlic
1/2 package of chopped firm tofu
1 package of fresh spinach
1C sliced red peppers
1C sliced green peppers
1/2C sliced carrots
1/2C sliced mushrooms (even though I'm the only one in my family who eats them)
italian seasoning (I have no idea how much I used, until it looks or tastes right I guess)
1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes
1 package of wheat spagetti (we get ours from Winco in the bulk section, it actually tastes really good)
2C mexican blend shredded cheese (I eye ball it, but because I'm trying to make it healthy I had to limit how much cheese I put on it)

Cook noodles as directed on package. Spray pan with cooking spray let in get a little warm and add garlic and tofu (take out extra water from tofu with paper towels on both sides and press lightly) cook on med. heat for around 3 min., add spinach, peppers and carrots then cover with a lid. Cook another 3 min or until the spinach is getting soft. Add tomatoes and italian seasoning simmer for another 3 min.
Then layer noodles-sauce-cheese 2x
Bake on 350 for 35 min.

Mom's healthy pancakes

Ok so the family photo I posted did not come in clear. I am having computer issues. I can't seem to get my pictures on the computer, for that matter our dvd player on the computer isn't working either. I know I need to get more computer savy, maybe if I could have peace when I am on the cumputer. Ok enough venting. I actually wanted to say I am going to post a very yummy and health recipe. My whole family loves them. It's pancakes!! Okay so they are now called mom's healthy pancakes. I have revamped them several times and this is as healthy as I can get them.

I must warn you that I make them with just eye balling amounts. I tried to make it a recipe, it's pretty close, but for some reason it always turns out better when I eye ball it.

2C wheat flour
4tsp baking powder (I do a heaping TB)
2TB sugar
1tsp salt (see I just go shake, shake, shake over the bowl)
1/2TB (once againg I shake it in)
2TB powdered milk (if you don't have powdered milk 1C milk 1C water)
1ripe banana (1/2 banana substitutes 1 egg)
1TB vanilla
2C water
Mix and enjoy, well of course after you cook them.
We do still use syrup and butter...one step at a time.

Family Photo

My Brother took a family photo of us while we were in Idaho. We liked this spot because it has a part of California in Idaho. (the graffiti) We had a wonderful time in Idaho. The kids loved playing in the snow. JT helped grandpa feed the cows and gather eggs. They loved sledding, we would tie the sled onto the four wheeler and make the round out in the feild. Ashtyn did know if she liked it at first, but by the end she didn't want to stop. I think the best part was the fun they had with there cousins. Marshall enjoyed the chopping wood and hanging doors in the barn for my dad (my dad just had shoulder surgery), and I of course enjoyed watching all of the hallmark christmas movie. Really Christmas can't get much better.

We hope all is well this holliday season! Our year has been full of fun moments and blessings that are too numerous to count. One of our biggest blessings was the addition of Jaxon (March 10th) to our family. He is a bundle of joy who likes to make machine gun noises when mad and eats as much as he can. He has a wonderful smile and loves his brother and sister very much. Ashtyn is now two - almost three and is a very intelligent, adoreable and at times fiesty young lady. Her best friend is her older brother (and vice-versa). She enjoys playing with J.T. in the dirt and with cars but has recently developed a love for princess dresses, kitchen playsets and anything that is the color pink.

J.T. is four - almost five. He loves his brother and sister and is a very nurturing older brother. He'll play just about anything especially in social environments. He loves pre-school and going to Disneyland with our annual passes. His absolute favorite event of the year was his first "mud run" this year in which he did very well. (pictures and comments of the mud run are posted on part of the blog published earlier this year) Leslie and Marshall are doing great and love the house, area and friends that they have made in the past year and a half. Marshall is having fun at his job and has had the opportunity to travel which he enjoys. He has also been attending, and participating in, city council meetings to be more involved in the community and has enjoyed that. He also has enjoyed taking on projects around the house and looks forward to new ones. Leslie has been very busy taking part in a pre-school with a group of mothers that rotate teaching responsibilities throughout the year. She is also busy making custom girl hair bows that are very nice. Her primary products are flowers, but she also does ladybugs, dragonflies, butterflies, and normal bows. She is the only one in the family that gets more excited about trips to Disneyland than J.T.

As said before, we are very grateful for the blessings we have received. We hope all of you have a wonderful holliday season and a happy, healthy 2010!

Marshall, Leslie, JT, Ashtyn and Jaxon

Great books!!

JT read about half of this book (Go dog go) today. I think it is one of the easiest books for children to get the concept of reading. The book Billy & Milly short & silly is a great one for the concept of rhyming and vision of how words are put together. We just check these both out from the library. I am very excited about finding some great books for the pre-reader, to begin reading. Oh and if you click you can't look inside.

Mud run video!