Hey, summer

It's been three days of summer break!

Wahoo!

So far I am loving having all three of my kids home with me all day. With Tempe going off to full day school next year, I am really trying to take advantage of the time we have together.

We kicked off the summer with our annual sidewalk chalk party. I started doing this in 2011 and it's turned into a neighborhood tradition that kids look forward to all spring (not bragging, just stating facts as told to me by mothers of said kids... unless you're all lying to make me feel better about myself)

I ask everyone to bring their own chalk and I provide 100 Otterpops (they ALL got eaten this year) and that's all there is to this party! Can't get any easier than that and it's such a fun way to celebrate the beginning of summer! This idea was even featured on Tip Junkie a few years ago. Proudest moment of my blogging life.

I saw this idea floating around Pinterest and I just had to do it. My kids (especially Helena) always want to know what's next. I made a ton of these magnetic strips and every night before bed, I map out the next day's schedule on the garage door. Obviously, every day is different, depending on the day, and the first thing the girls do in the morning is check to see what we'll be doing that day. As soon as we finish a task, they take turns taking the strip down. It's so easy for them to see what we're doing now, what comes next, and what we'll be doing later. If Helena says she is hungry (which used to happen every 15 minutes all day, no joke), now I just point to the door and she can see when snacktime  will be. This has really cut down on the whining, the "I'm boooooored", and the "I'm hungry!" that I used to hear.
And you might notice the first thing on our schedule is yoga... we start every day off with 15 minutes of yoga. I found a children's yoga video on Netflix that I really like. It is filled with positive affirmations ("Listen to your breathing and find peace within yourself. We all have peace inside ourselves, even when the outside world seems difficult" and "Try to avoid judging your practice. Do the best you can, and then move one") and breathing/relaxation exercises. I think it's a great way for us to get ready for the day--I know I feel more relaxed and patient when we start out with 15 minutes of yoga!
How is your summer going? What are you doing with your kids?

Last minute Father's Day gifts!!

Jason! If you are reading this before June 16, I order you to turn back now!

Do you have a hard time thinking of what to get your husband/father/father-in-law for Father's Day?

I struggle with it every. single. year. Men are so hard to buy for!!

This year, I think I really found something great for Jason--something he will actually use and enjoy. 

I made him a personalized bookmark! This is perfect for Jason because he loves to read (he usually has about four books he's reading all at once) and he also doesn't believe in dog-earring books.

(We have differing opinions on this--I like my books to look well-loved, he likes to keep his in mint condition)

I used the collage feature on Picmonkey to make this--the grid was originally 8x2, but I stretched the bottom two squares into a rectangle instead. I added the pictures I liked and then added blocks of color and text. 

On the back are verbatim quotes from our kids about what they like about Daddy. I printed it out on cardstock and had it laminated together. Then I carefully trimmed all the way around, punched a hole in the top, and added some green ribbon. Total cost? $2.75. It was so easy and so fun to make and I think it turned out cute!!!

summer eatin'

Now that it's summer, all I ever want to eat is salads. I haven't bought salad dressing in a while--instead, I make dressing. It's so quick and easy and you can customize your dressings. So here are my two go-to salad dressings!

Honey Balsamic Dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 small onion, chopped
1 T soy sauce
3 T honey
1 T white sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup olive oil

1. Blend vinegar, onion, soy sauce, honey, sugar, and garlic in a blender until smooth; slowly add the oil in a steady stream and blend until thickened. Refrigerate several hours before use. This is soooo good on a green salad with artichoke hearts and craisins, or drizzled over strawberries with feta cheese. Even my KIDS love it with strawberries and feta cheese!

I'm not going to bother posting this recipe, so just go to the post and read about it yourself. I love ground mustard and garlic vinaigrette on a green salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumber. It is sooo yummy! I always make a green salad with this dressing when I make ham and cheese stuffed dinner rolls and then I can dip my roll in the dressing. YUM!

{happy summer}

Welcome to summer!!
School is officially out and I sure am glad. While it was nice having some alone time this year while the girls were at school, I sure love having them with me and I am looking forward to a fun summer spent all together.
Even though today was the last day, Tempe had her kindergarten graduation yesterday. They even marched in to Pomp and Circumstance. The look on Tempe's face was priceless. You could tell that she was so proud of herself! She was a little nervous to do her part of the program, but she did a great job.

Official kindergarten graduate!!

Tempe loved her kindergarten teacher. She's moving up to first grade, so who knows, maybe Tempe will have her two years in a row!

I saw this idea floating around the internet last year (on this Tip Junkie post--#15--and incidentally, #4 is from me and #13 is from a lady that lived in my mom's ward in TN about 10 years ago!) The banner said "happy summer" and was really cute, but you can't read it in this picture. I put it up while Tempe was at school for a surprise, but next year I think I'll put it up the night before the last day of school so they can see it all morning before school!

And here she is crashing through it to officially start her summer break!
I have a lot of ideas to make this the best summer ever. I mean, a lot, everything from fun outings to take every week, to how to manage our daily routine, to a brand new chore/allowance system I am going to break out this month. Lots of good intentions, we'll see how long it lasts!

International Peace Gardens

Today we went to the International Peace Gardens!

If you're looking for a fun, free activity for a nice Saturday afternoon, definitely go here. It is such a neat park! There are about 30 different countries represented. Some of them are really elaborate, some are just flower gardens with the country's flag. The sad thing is this park is very, very neglected. The grass and flowers are maintained, but some of the country displays are literally falling apart. 

China

Greece

United States

Switzerland

Japan

Mexico

This is only a few of the countries represented (the others are kind of boring). Check it out!

South Deuel Creek trail

Memorial Day was the perfect day.

Perfect.

My brother Josh and sister Kelsey had spent the night Sunday night (after our AD party) and in the morning, Kelsey and I went shopping at the new H&M. Looooooove that store. Then Kelsey babysat for us so Jason and I could go see "The Great Gatsby". And I loooooooved the movie. I thought it was amazing. Plus, Leonardo DiCaprio is exactly how I have always pictured Gatsby when reading the book. After the movie, Jason and I took the girls hiking.

We (I) have a goal to be more active as a family and we want to explore some of the trails around here this summer. On Memorial Day, we tried the South Deuel Creek trail. If you're familiar with Davis County, it's in the little canyon just north of the V.

Oh my goodness, it's the most beautiful trail we've ever been on! It starts off pretty high above the creek but then meanders right down to it. Right at the beginning of the trail you have to walk along the very narrow rim of a huge washout. It's a good thing I had Jason with me, because I do not think I could have handled that with three girls on my own. A little way after the washout, the hillside opens up and is covered with wildflowers. It is so beautiful!

After the field of wildflowers, the trail meanders through the woods down to the creek and crosses it in several places with rustic log bridges. And these are really rustic log bridges--4-5 saplings wrapped in wire and laid across the creek. They were fun to cross!!

Down by the creek, the trail sticks close to rocky bluffs and even climbs them. It was so fun to clamor over the rocks and pretend to be explorers!

The mark of a good hike is a dirty bum!

And.... we went back for my birthday! Yesterday I turned the big 2-8. Jason and I got a babysitter and went back to hike sans kids. We had been told that there is a rope swing at the end of the trail. Well, we hiked (fast, too!) for a whole hour and never found it. The trail didn't seem to be ending any time soon, so we turned around and hiked back, then got out camp chairs, a blanket, ice cold raspberry lemonade, and a couple of cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy and watched the sunset. It was the perfect end to a fabulous birthday!
So, final verdict on the South Deuel Creek trail: Beautiful. Slightly difficult for young kids (very narrow along a steep washout--Helena was nervous). Also, unless we just needed to hike even further, there's not really a destination. You should all go!

Spotlight on Helena :)

Let me take a moment to spotlight my little Helena!

She graduated from preschool this week and she'll be off to kindergarten in just a few short months!

Here she is receiving her diploma from Miss Kellie!

This picture isn't from graduation, but it just showcases her awesome fashion sense. She seriously gets it from her dad, who believe it or not, is amazing at picking out clothes. I got those sparkly black suspenders at H&M and when I brought them home, Helena raced upstairs and put together this darling outfit. It was inspired by Eloise!