Another Year Over…

And I can't wait for the new one to begin!

I have so many plans and goals for 2014 and I know it's going to be a great year.

2013 Recap

January :: Celebrated 13 years of marriage to my guy! 

February :: My mom turned 50!! And Wyatt ended our no-broken-bone streak. 

March :: Halle made it to the County Science Fair 

Eric had knee surgery and I ran a half marathon. 

April :: We took an awesome mini family vacation to Arizona and it has been one of our favorite trips          to date.  Lots of fun memories mades. Halle & I also saw Wicked while in Tucson.

May :: We camped with friends. 

June :: Yay for the beginning of Summer. I spent the day at SYTYCD with some of the best people.

July :: In July we left for an EPIC road trip that we will NEVER forget! (Although many parts we would like to!)

August :: Back to School! Halle started Middle School at the Western Scrience Center and the boys entered 1st and 3rd grades. And Paige & Paxton came to visit.

September :: After nearly 4 years at the training facility, Eric went back to patrolling. A huge change for our family! I also got to attend my cousin Jesse's wedding and see my cousin Dustin for the first time in years! 

I also spotted this amazing family picture on display at the wedding. Yes my dad is trying to grab my mom's boob. Yes this is completely normal! 

October :: We had our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch and for the first time in YEARS, it was actually really cold. 

November :: I took a little girls weekend trip. 

 Isaac turned 7 on Thanksgiving and chose turkey for his Birthday meal! 

December :: Feeling grateful for a great year and the health report that my dad received that he had finally recovered from his stem-cell transplant. The best news to end the year!

No, Wyatt...

... the mascara is not for "wips."

Whole30... what I've been eating

I am pretty sure I forgot to post the last weeks photos. I am sitting here, day 28 and not even counting the hours until I can indulge. Because I am extending a few days, probably until Father's day at the earliest.

I will be at Girls Camp on my 31st day and I am not interested in reintroducing wheat, dairy or sugar while I am far from my own bathroom! ;) But seriously, can you imagine?

I had some really amazing food this week, and have been feeling amazing.

Broiled salmon (wild-caught at Costco for $10/lb!) over a berry salad, ghee sautéed veggies, and half of a sweet potato

Whole Foods Cajun Drumettes & green beans

Roasted Turkey over a simple bed of green leaf lettuce drizzled with Tessemae's Lemon Chesepeake

I just kind of started liking fried eggs, but I have to cook them so the yoke isn't too runny. Having not liked eggs much at all until this year, I think I have made astounding progress. These eggs are served over a hash of bacon, sweet potatoes and Brussels. 

Same hash with an egg scramble for the man of the house. 

Banana + 2 eggs = pancakes

I know they are not Whole30 approved, but I ate them anyway. Topping is just one cup of fresh berries cooked over medium heat for a few minutes. I mashed them a bit with the spatula and then poured 'em on. 

A delicious chicken served with a homemade salsa verde served along side a butter lettuce salad with grapefruit, berries and walnuts. 

Summer Salad with Blackened Chicken at the YardHouse where Eric and I ate dinner while out on our date. I had them leave out the cheese and sub the dressing for EVOO & balsamic vinegar. Yum! 

Activity Days "It's My Bag!"

I was recently called to be the Activity Days Leader in our ward. This is what happens when you notice they've been a little short-handed and offer to "help out" for a while. 

I couldn't be more excited though. I will get to hang out with Halle and all the other sweet girls. 

For our first activity, I wanted to do a fun, get-to-know-you kind thing. Back when I was called to the YW presidency, we had played a paper bag game where you put things in the bag that represent you. The girls get to try and guess who the bags belong to as a girl empties the contents of a random bag. It's fun and informative! 

I decided to use paper bags for invitations and couldn't help but use the phrase "It's My Bag." If you are/were an Austin Powers fan, you will also be saying it in your best British accent and adding a "baby" at the end. 

I ended up incorporating Starburst into the night for an additional game we played where the girls picked a candy out of the jar and answered questions, while chewing, that corresponded to the colors. This was also very fun for them. We did it in small circles of girls on the floor. That's how I chose the colors. 

Each bag is folded in half. Then flip the flap that is the bottom to the inside of the bag and crease. Now you have that extra little flap. Then simply staple the edge and embellish as much or as little as you like.  This also left a great little space in the front for sending the empty bag for them to fill {see photos below}

I have no idea how to post the files, as I am NEW to doing this sort of thing, but would be happy to email them to you if you leave a comment below. 

the extra bag is sticking out ever so slightly

the full inside of the invite

close-up of activity details

back of invite 

another view of how the extra bag is stuck in 

Thanks for stopping by! I will be updating out Activity Day fun and happenings regularly. 

Oil Pulling

I was researching teeth whitening the other night and came across this article. While I will still get them whitened at a dental office (can we say ROSS?!!) I still am going to try this for improved oral health.

Basically, I took a heaping spoon full of coconut oil into my mouth, then realized i had a little much and spit some out, then switched it around for 20 minutes. Many sites state that a first-timer might not be able to keep the oil that long, but I handled it like a boss. It wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. You are supposed to do this daily for 20 minutes.

I snapped a quick iPad pic mid swish.

I will compare teeth pictures in 2 weeks, and then 4.