Pretty Peyton

Peyton has hit a few milestones lately and I have to make a record of them:  Two weeks ago she got her bottom two teeth.  (the Hygienist in me would call them her lower central incisors) :)  Then last week her top left front tooth broke through and her top right one is just behind it.  She's had a tough few weeks but has been a trooper through her teething.  

She is sitting up completely on her own and is quite stable.  She loves to sit in the middle of the room and play with toys.  She'll travel across the entire room by rolling both directions until she ends up under a chair or trying to roll past a wall and then she'll cry from frustration.  - so cute!  

We love our little Peyton, she is such a JOY!

Here are a few pictures of a little photo shoot I did of her in the back yard.  Since it's summer in Houston, it's really humid and the bugs are out.  So I had to hurry, because for the few minutes we were out there, we got eaten alive by the mosquitoes.  They love us for some reason.  -maybe it's cause we're sweet :)  

Taylor and I made a bunch of 'flower' bows this past week

they turned out so cute!

This is one of my first tutu's that I made, my sister in law, Summer taught me how (she's amazing)  

love those rolly arms

love that smile! 

She's not sure about the itchy grass, and itchy tutu  

Go Astros!

We decided to all go to an Astros game on Saturday night.  There were some cheap tickets available and the Astros were doing great, and that night they were playing the Mets.  We had so much fun taking the kids to the game with Grandma Marilyn, Mimmie, Poppie and Curt and Whitney.   Growing up I have fond memories of going to the Astros games at the Astro Dome- back in the day.  Now they have a new field, Minute Maid Park (was Enron Field, but of course that had to change) (Minute Maid's headquarters are in Houston)  The best part for the kids was the huge train that choo chooed across the back of left field when ever there was a run; and the Cotton-Candy and Hot Dogs.  Too bad we didn't see more of the train moving... the Astros lost like 3-10.  But it was fun anyway.  Go -Stros!!

Watching a little batting-practice

Brent posing with his cute Grandma's

the newly-weds

Brad and his two wives... j/k

You can't go to a baseball game without getting cotton-candy!

Brent all sugared up from the cotton candy- being silly

Can you see the remains of the hot dog on his shirt... it's always good to take a little home with you

Our row... my mom is to the right of Taylor but opted to be out of the picture...come on mom!

the Fam

Such a sad face Tay...  As we were standing up to leave, Brent pushed Taylor and she almost fell down the steep bleachers.  It really scared her, and she was exhausted so it took her a little while to get over it...  like the entire walk to the car and half way home, until she fell asleep.  You can see that Brent is sooo remorseful

Jumpin Joeys

I am always searching for fun things for us to do to keep ourselves busy this summer.  We have hit the movies, the children's museum, the pool, the mall, the library, the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory, we've done water fun in the back yard, etc. etc.  I just love the indoor inflatable playgrounds that seem to be popping up everywhere.  In California they had Pump-It-Up and Jumpin Jammin, this one locally is called Jumpin Joey's and it's perfect for a hot summer afternoon of fun without having to worry about suncreen.  They kids had so much fun!  They even had a story time and craft time.  

 

This is the end of an inflatable train that they can run through and play in.... not to be gross but it looks like a hippo is giving birth to my daughter.. I know I'm sorry... yuck 

Brent's making a visor while listening to the story

Peyton waits so patiently in the stroller

They have so much fun together

beautiful Tay

Stamp Art

Once again I was inspired by my sister Sarah to do this fun craft with my kids.  It was fast, fun, and cheap.  It's stamp art using potatoes and carrot sticks.  

We took 2 Russet Potatoes and cut them in half

and used a paring knife to make stamps on the ends

we made a: circle, flower, arrow, and heart

we used acrylic paint, card stock and paper plates

and then took it outside

(easier to hose off the artistic oopsies that always happens off the paper)

They loved stamping with the potatoes

and writing, or filling in with the carrot sticks

Taylor started to finger paint... here is her 'Monarch Butterfly'

Brent loved the hosing off part... this lead into the next activity of cooling off with the hose

Sunday Dinner

Eric and I love to cook, so it has been really fun to cook for our families.  And our mom's especially love sitting back and letting us cook.  We got a new Williams and Sonoma Magazine (love it- one of my favorite stores)  (... if only I could afford more things in it)  and they had this great meal idea and they sold the rub.  It was a Chile-Lime Flank Steak with Cheese Stuffed Corn Cakes.  So Eric, being so inventive made his own rub and instead of using the WS stuffed pancake pan(which we don't have) to make these corn cakes, we decided to do jalapeno, bacon and Cheddar corn-pancakes to go with the steak.  He also kicked it up a notch and grilled sliced limes and made a chili butter to melt over the steak when it was done.  It all turned out so yummy!  Mary Ann made a yummy fruit salad and green salad to go with... gotta love Sunday Dinners.  

Chili-Lime Flank Steak

the meal... minus the green salad... and the yummy Lemon Poke Cake for dessert (We're all hitting the gym on Monday!)

Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheese corn-pancakes in the works

Chile Lime Herbed Butter

(This was after we used it...I forgot to take the picture before.. so it was prettier)

Taylor and Brad (Poppie) 

Mary Ann, aka Mimmie and Peyton

Eric manning the pancakes... do those look a little brown??  j/k

(This whole meal was his... I was just the sous chef)  

Here's the Recipe if you'd like to try it at home

Since Eric made it up as he went, I'll try to be as accurate as possible

... and no it's not too spicy at all 

the jalapeno adds a lot of flavor, not heat

(when you slice/chop the jalapeno, you strip the inner membrane and seeds and discard them.. once those are gone, a majority of the heat is gone too... )

Flank Steak (however much you need to feed your family)

We used probably- 4 pounds- fed 5 adults and 2 kids, plus leftovers

the rub:

Zest 3 Limes

Garlic Powder

New Mexican Red Chili Powder

Kosher Salt

Cracked Pepper

(Just eyeball the amounts... to taste)

Butter:

1 stick of butter, softened

New Mexican Red Chili powder- 2 Tablespoons

Garlic Powder- 2 Tablespoons

(after softening the butter, blend the seasons and roll the seasoned butter into wax paper and tie up both ends- see picture above)

Jalapeno Bacon and Cheese Corn- Pancakes:

1 box of Jiffy Mix

(follow the directions on the side of the box to make pancakes with it)

they'll tell you to add an egg, 2 Tablespoons of butter, 3/4 cup of milk

Saute Bacon Bits (the real Bacon bits you can buy at the store) Hormel makes a good one, 

Slice jalapenos, discard the seeds and inside membrane

Saute the Bacon bits and jalapenos in a little butter and add to the pancake mix

and mix in about 1 cup of Cheddar Cheese or maybe a little more

Heat a skillet to about 350- and cook them like pancakes

For the Steak:

Rub your flank steak with a little olive oil and season with the rub

Grill to your liking

Grill slices of lime

When the steak is done- slice a sliver of butter and set it on the steak to melt and place the lime slice on top of the butter... on top of the steak

Pair it up with the Jalapeno, Bacon Cheddar Pancakes and Enjoy

(This might sound gross to any weight- watchers... but this is what the Steak Houses do right before the serve their steak.. they put a slab of butter on it... why do you think it tastes so good?  :)

The Best part for me was squashing the lime into the steak right before I took a bite.

YUM YUM!  

Happy 4th of July

I love the Fourth of July!  I love our country and I am so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy here. I think it is so fun to celebrate this great nation with food and fireworks!  Eric and my mom had the day off on Friday, so it was so much fun to hang out without a set schedule.  On Saturday we had the ward's traditional pancake breakfast and then the girls headed over to the community parade.  Poor Brent had been sick and running a fever so Eric stayed home with him.  After the parade we crashed Eric's parents house and had a BBQ and swam for the rest of the day.  His parents were in Dallas with Summer and her family.  Summer just had a new baby, Conner, Congrats Summer!  

Since I've been feeling crafty these days I decided to make the kids 4th of July shirts.  I did the same applicae technique from the onesies that I made the other week. (previous post)  It was so much fun and they loved them.  

We ended our day by watching the fireworks...  It was a great day!

I made the girls matching shirts... the bows were gifts from Aunt Sarah from last year, so I can't take credit for those :)

Cute little Peyton... she got her two bottom teeth last week, so she's still getting used to them and keeps biting her bottom lip and licking her chops... so adorable....

You can't tell... but it was hot out!

Brent... feeling a little better, and up to posing for mom in his airplane shirt

We made star cookies and decorated them...

Brent and Taylor had their own ideas on how to decorate them

So I watched my sister make one of these 'edible arrangements' on Easter and it looked like so much fun... so I thought I'd try it...

It turned out so cute... and it was easy

Here's how I did it:

Supplies:

-pot of some type (got my at Wally-World aka.. Walmart on clearance for $3)

-skewers

-cookie cutters;  I used a flower, star, and butterfly

- fruit in season:  I used cantelope, oranges, fresh pineapple, strawberries and grapes

- some chocolate to accent it-  my mom had some chocolate covered cinnamon bears- they worked

- iceburg lettuce for the bottom of the pot.  All the skewers are anchored in it

- green leafy lettuce to garnish

- a ribbon for a bow, if you'd like

Assembly:

-Wash and cut all your fruit first

-Place the iceburg lettuce head in the bottom of your pot/ you might have to trim it to fit

-make your flowers, stars, etc and I tried to space those out

- start from the outside and work your way in

- spearing the fruit and arrange 

(I had an edible arrangement brochure to cheat and look for ideas)  They also dip alot of their fruit in chocolate... hey it's July in Houston.. I knew that wasn't gonna work.  Maybe for the fall..  

The kids loved it and it made for a great centerpeice for the BBQ!

Eric made delicious BBQ chicken basted with his famous 'Sweet Heat' BBQ sauce

... next time I'll remember to take pictures of the food... 

Taylor the Swimmer

When we found out we were moving I had my mom and inlaws research swim teams for me.  I wanted Taylor to be able to swim again this summer in a summer league.  We arrived a few weeks into their season but she fit right in and had an amazing season.  

Every week she improved her times and her strokes.  She made it on the A relay for the divisional meet... which was a big deal.  And they got first place!  Divisionals is the last regular meet of the season with all the teams from the division.  On our team there were 45, 6 and under girls... which is huge.  So Tay had some competition.  So after divisionals there are two 'Invitational Meets' called Ponderosa and All Stars which you have to make a fast time to even qualify to go to the meet.  

She qualified in backstroke for Ponderosa and Freestyle for All Stars and she swam on the relay as the anchor in the All Star Relay.  She did so well at both meets.  (Our Saturday consisted of going back and forth from high school to high school, for all of her events.)  But it wasn't so bad because they opened the schools so we got to sit in the air conditioning instead of the humid heat.  ...which is pretty miserable.. especially for Peyton.  

These invitational meets are for the greater North Houston area for all the summer league teams...

...so she did great in backstroke, and her relay got 4th overall... and da, da, da, duumm...

SHE GOT FIRST PLACE OVERALL IN FREESTYLE....dropping two whole seconds off her time!    

It was so exciting... they had a awards ceremony when they called her name and gave her, her first place metal to wear on her neck!  So exciting!  

I am such the proud mom!  I grew up swimming and I was ok, I swam in Ponderosa, but never as a six and under, and I never placed FIRST AT ONE OF THESE BIG MEETS!   

We are so proud of our Tay!  She's really be blessed with a Talent!   

Taylor was taking the lead in backstroke- Ponderosa

(Tay's in the yellow cap)

Taylor's relay!  Go Kingfish!

Taylor after her relay

Taylor with all her 'hardware' from her season

She's such a doll!

Taylor and me at the Oaks meet  (I swam on the Oaks swim team.. back in the day)

Mom... doing a little coaching

 

It's official!!  She got first!

Her shiny gold metal!    umm.. she might be the next Ms. Micheal Phelps!  

...minus the taking a hit of the bong picture... lets forget that about him

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU TAY!