End of May, what?!

Gorgeous weekend out here! Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Weekend! A big thank you to all our servicemen and women of the past, present and future!!

Gretta swinging her "friends." She wouldn't name names, just that they were her friends. 

Biking to the park....she is in need of a big girl bike! 

Baking cookies and immediately devouring. 

And smearing all over.

Cuteness in the morning.

Here, I'll help you see better.

Lately the girls have been napping together. ADORABLE!

Oh spaghetti, Gretta loves it and this is the only way to eat it.

This is her about to tell a story face.

That mark on Maggie's chin? She got in a fight with a Barbie doll.....and Barbie fights mean, she was lying in wait between the couch and the ottoman for poor, unsuspecting, innocent Maggie to fall directly on her. 

You see these pancakes, don't be fooled by how unimpressive they look. They were The. Best. Ever.

I won't keep the recipe a secret, go try them NOW.

I found it on the back of the Greek yogurt container but I tweaked it just a little...

1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour (recipe called for all purpose flour)

1 1/2 c Greek yogurt (I used plain)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c batter per pancake was a perfect size! It's pretty thick batter, but they came out fabulous and seriously the girls gobbled them so quickly I put them on their plates turned around to flip another batch and they had empty plates and were begging for more! Side note: I just tried white whole wheat flour for the first time and I really liked it. Less grainy and "flavored" as whole wheat flour and didn't make these super dense which I've found whole wheat flour to do, has all the same nutritional value as whole wheat flour too, think I'll be experimenting with it some more in other recipes!!

And you're welcome.

Strawberry! Shoe!

Maggie is talking up a storm lately, but to get it on video is kind of a task! It usually goes like this: Me: "Maggie say....." Maggie: "No." So glad to finally get some proof and with her new favorite words too!

Which way to the pool?

I have to admit I have not been doing a great job lately of taking pictures, we've been doing mostly just every day life stuff, guess I haven't felt like documenting that, unless you really want a picture of the laundry?! Anyway, here are a few pics, I'd have to say they are mediocre at best and I'm going to get back to taking real pictures, real soon, i.e. trying a little harder with a real camera and not my phone.....I cringe that I even do that, but its true, I do sometimes, when its the only thing I have with me. Let me know if you can even tell which ones are camera and which are phone, I have a hard time telling the difference myself!

 

Nothing better than a snack picnic in the park

 

Our first water park of the season! Gretta LOVED it! Maggie not so much, guess nothing compares to the ocean for her!

And our first walk to the pool to actually go to the pool! There's also a park there that we go to often.

 

Again, Gretta LOVED it!

 

It was a beautiful day!!

 

This was as good as I could get of a picture of both of them. That's just how it is sometimes. Keepin' it real for ya.

 

 

Then maybe, just maybe, by the time we got home it was suppertime and I didn't have a clue what to make so we hopped in the car to go through the drive-through of a well-known eatery. Oh well, doesn't happen that often! We brought it home and sat outside....

and it sure made their day complete! Especially after....

Ending the fabulous day of fun in the sun, by heading to get some pool necessities for next time we go....

 
Gonna be a fun summer!!

Happy Mother's Day

Yes, we're a day or so late with a post, but Mother's Day should be celebrated every day right?! Happy Mother's Day to all our friends and family who are mothers and of course to our own dear mothers!

You helped shape us into the parents we are today.....

and continue to share your wisdom and love in so many ways!

THANK YOU to Peg and Rachel for being the best moms we could ever ask for, we love you!

We went out on Saturday night for a Mother's Day Eve dinner and then a little park play! Then Josh and the girls made crepes in the morning and showered me with kisses and pretty snack bowls filled with treats!

The girls LOVE prancing about in my shoes, all the time, everywhere.

Gretta is practically a pro and Maggie is well on her way to becoming one too! Fun fact about these shoes, some of you might not know, they are from Senior Prom circa 1996. 

Maggie has also been so lovey lately and wanting to kiss all the time!

Gretta of course is happy to share in the love!

I would've liked to get some nice pictures of me and my girls on Mother's Day, but maybe sometime this week we'll have to take care of that. I'm a pretty lucky lady to be mom to these two lovelies!

Home again, home again

Well we made it back, flying out literally at the crack of dawn from Australia. The girls were just as great coming back home as they were going! So grateful for our gold star travelers!

We went out hiking the day after we got home, to take in some views we've missed and to get fresh air and sunshine in the system to cope with jet lag, worked like a charm! We're all back to normal!

Roses are red, and pink, white, purple, orange, peach........

That's about all you can say about these beauties at the girls' favorite park.....so gorgeous! Bring on summer!! 

Sorry not as many pictures as the last few posts, we've just been spending time enjoying being back! Gretta got to go back to school, we've gone on a couple bike rides into town for frozen yogurt, spending time in our yard and at the park! Nice to have some SPACE again! Although, we did surprisingly well sharing a 1 bedroom apartment for 5 weeks, we do enjoy our house and having our own beds! Speaking of the house....thinking there might be some projects coming up! 

Margaret River

Our travels took us to the edge of Australia this past weekend, Margaret River to be exact. 

 

 And this little Margaret did some exploring!

 

I think both girls deserve a badge in spelunking, cave diving, adventures in caving.....whatever you'd like to call it, they did a great job!

 

The first cave we went to was self-guided and unlit, hence the helmets and flashlights!

 

Then we headed down to Cape Leeuwin to see the lighthouse

And 2 oceans at once! 

The next day we stopped at a beach before heading to Lake Cave and 

Luckily it was rainy on and off most of the weekend because we saw what started out as this little guy.....

 

That turned into a full rainbow, but those things are super fast!! 

I was trying to get up higher to get a picture of the FULL ARC RAINBOW, but alas...it was not to be captured on my camera. We all got to see the WHOLE thing though and it was AWESOME! No unicorns or leprechauns were noticed anywhere in the vicinity.

Then we went to Lake Cave which was lit and guided and has the only "Suspended Table" in the world, (that you're allowed to see) the only other one is in France and isn't open to visitors. 

 

The “table” is a massive column of calcite weighing in excess of five tons that seems to hang precariously from the ceiling, defying gravity and hovering just a few feet above the lake.

Thanks Australia for a BEAUTIFUL visit, it was another fun adventure to check off our list! We head home this weekend and have to say we've missed California!