First horse rides

Yesterday afternoon our realtor Jane, had us over to ride her horses. We all had such a wonderful time. I was amazed how natural Maeley seemed to be on the horse, Derek too actually. Maeley told us later it was a dream come true for her.

When we got there the kids feed the horses some watermelon rinds. I think each of them were a little timid to do so.

Maeley was the happiest kid getting up on the horse for the first time.

First lap around the corral.

I love how Chase decided to get in the shot. Silly Chase.

Chase looking pretty excited to get up on the horse too.

3 very happy kids.

Jane's niece and her friend are riding with Zoe. 

The horse Maeley and Chase were riding is named Glory.

The other horse is named Borego.

Chase got a short ride by himself, that is before Maeley wanted back on.

Derek said when Zoe was riding with him she would say, "Go Borego!"

When you've lived in the desert your whole life you truly appreciate the beauty of greenery.

Forgotten summer pictures

While uploading some pictures recently I found some others that I had completely forgotten about.

For Chase's birthday last year he got this Buzz Lightyear rocket blaster from his cousin. It was fun to pull it out this summer and get some use out of it again. The kids became pros at launching the rocket pretty high up.

While our garage was set up as a paint shop when we were painting our kitchen the kids enjoyed washing all their bikes.

I love how Zoe put her rat in her Minnie car. It reminded me of Ralph, the Motorcycle Mouse books.

Chase (before his haircut) and spot

Zoe with her doll Paige.

The best chocolate chip cookie recipe!

I love cookies. They are my weakness. I could do without any other desert but cookies I cannot. I've tried so many plain chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years and this one by far is my favorite. I wish I could remember where I found this recipe. I know I found it about 2-3 years ago, I thought I knew where it came from but sadly I don't.

Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 pound softened butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 T. vanilla
3 eggs
6 cups flour
1 1/2t. salt
1 1/2t. baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter, brown sugar,  and sugar. Next add in vanilla and eggs and beat on high for 4 minutes. This will feel like a long time while you wait but it's totally worth it. The mixture will be nice and fluffy.

Mix in salt and baking soda to mixture. Then mix the flour in but mix as little as possible just until the flour is Incorporated. Hand mix in the chocolate chips. Place medium sized balls on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes. The cookies won't look done and will probably have little if any golden color. Take them out anyways. Leave on the baking sheet for at least 2 minutes so they cook a little longer. If you do this correctly, your cookies will be crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

The best part about these cookies is they taste even better the second day. I love these cookies and so does the rest of my family.

Hope you enjoy!

School BBQ

Last week at Maeley's school they had a BBQ during lunch and families were invited to come. Unfortunately Derek had a meeting and couldn't make it. The kids were all looking forward to this. Sadly it didn't play out as I had envisioned. Let's just say that Chase, Zoe and I didn't get food because the line was so long that we wouldn't have had any time with Maeley. Then Maeley decided to run around the playground chasing boys instead of playing with her siblings. That made Chase really sad. He wanted her to play with him.  Then when we were getting ready to leave she began crying. I was so shocked especially after she ignored us. I did manage to get a few pictures though.

This was Maeley's first school lunch. She was pretty excited. Zoe on the other hand was a grouch.

cute Chase

Maeley chasing a boy.

Maeley chasing another boy.

She is still loving school. On the weekends school is all she can talk about. Monday's I think are her favorite day of the week.

A little change

I had been looking for curtains for our family room for quite some time. I can't believe how hard it has been. Nothing I was finding was what I was looking for. Plus when you need 6 panels they needed to be on the inexpensive side. I was really hoping to find something with a fun print. I eventually found fabric I liked but at nearly $20/yard it was going to be too expensive, plus I don't know how to sew. Eventually I found a website, http://www.curtainworks.com/ . They have affordable options and in many different lengths. Also it just so happened that right when I found the website they had a 30% discount on your entire order.

Chase insisted on being in the pictures.

Now I realize that it didn't transform the room but it has changed the feeling in the room. With such a high ceiling it was kind bare and cold. Now its a bit more cozy and when the curtains are closed we have more privacy. Those woven roman shades do not provide privacy in the evenings at all.

The mirror above the landing I scored at Lowe's for only $20. I love it.

I'm working on pulling in some more colors but I think I'll hold off until after Christmas. Besides we've got another project in the works. Seriously Derek and I can't stop, we love projects!

We are finally tackling the entertainment area. Can't wait for this one to be finished. I've hated this area from day 1. I told Derek I wanted it finished before Thanksgiving, now its changed to the second weekend in October when my sister comes. He he he, maybe it's just my trick to get this finished!

I love our home!

Zoe's emotional side

Zoe has been emotional lately and I'm not exactly sure why. A couple times last week she was crying and then seconds later she started laughing saying, "I'm happy Mom". Meanwhile she still has tears in her eyes. Friday when Derek came home from work for lunch she was upset about something and moaning a little. We were trying several things to get her to smile and change her attitude but nothing was working. Derek was on his way to tickle her and all of the sudden she started laughing. Just like one of those moments, however laughter was then followed by many more tears. She tried her best to fake being happy but she wasn't and it showed. She's a crazy little girl. I would have loved to catch that on video because it was hilarious.

Here are some random picutres of her.

  

Zoe playing Maeley's Leap Frog Explorer while Maeley's at school.

Zoe had been asking me to do her hair curly for awhile. It looked so cute. Note to self don't curl Zoe's hair for church, it's flat by the time we there.

Fun at the park

Today we went to the park for park group knowing we could be the only one's that show up. Ever since school has started very few people have been going. However my kids love going so we decided to go anyways and I brought my camera. I'm so glad we went. I got some great pictures. And yes we were the only one's there.

I love this picture. Zoe's sweet smile always puts a smile on my face.

And then there's Chase. This boy is a sweetheart.

Zoe has attitude. She was all upset over something. This pose cracks me up.

Then immediately after the last picture she did this pose. She is such a girl.

Jumping from one irrigation cover to the next is always a hit with the kids.

Chase hanging from the "licorice" as the kids call it.

Gotta love Chase.

On our walk home I thought it was funny that Zoe shoved Maeley and her rats into the cup holder.

I'm glad we were the only one's at the park today. It was a great day to play and have fun snapping some pictures of them. By the way the weather has turned cool this week and we are loving it!

Labor Day weekend

We had a wonderful weekend. We certainly didn't do anything that exciting but somehow doing the norm is fun when you're doing it together.

Friday Maeley had the day off school and Derek came home a little early. We quickly ate and headed off to the library only to find out it was closing right when we pulled up. That was sad for the kids. To make it up to them we got a movie from Red Box and some candy and went home for movie night. The kids picked out Rio. They loved it.

Saturday was nothing too exciting. The kids watched Rio again before leaving to run errands. Our first errand was Home Depot. They happened to have the Kids Workshop going. Derek kept Zoe while he got what he needed and I took Maeley and Chase to make their dry erase message boards. They loved it. I think we will need to do that again. Those boards came in handy while running around because they enjoyed drawing while driving around. We made it to Restore looking for some cabinets for another project. They didn't have any in the sizes we needed however they had tons of cabinet doors. We decided to buy the cabinet doors (they were half off) and make the bases ourselves. Then we finished up grocery shopping and quickly went home to put the groceries away. Then back out to the library. Good thing we made it there before closing.

Sunday was okay. I think the kids enjoyed getting to talk with both sets of grandparents that evening. Maeley was telling me this morning how much she misses them all. The weather on Sunday was amazing! The high was only 77. It felt wonderful being outside and leaving the doors opened. And in the evening it rained! The rest of the evening was spent reading library books.

Monday I made muffins for breakfast and everyone liked them. Derek got the kids bedrooms rewired so there are separate switches for the light and fan. It has really been bugging him. We got some paint and let the kids paint their message boards. That was definitely a fun activity for all of them. It was another cooler day so we had dinner outside and had races in the grass. Maeley is getting quite creative with the songs she makes up. And we ended the day with family home evening.

We took the dry erase board out and let the kids paint the frame. I had the kids wear my paint shirts.

Zoe didn't make a message board. Derek gave her a scrap piece of wood instead. She was happy as could be.

Maeley waiting for the pink to dry so she could paint some green.

This little boy went to town, he loved it.

We have so much fun together. I love my family and am so grateful for the love that is in our home.