Spring Break!!

Wow. Spring break came and went so fast... and now it's time to share some festive pictures. We had a fun visitor (LINDSEY!!) and Justin took off a few days so we could play!!
Friday night, Caitlin and Daddy spent some time counting money!
Pepper and Dodger wearing matching sweaters!
playing with music toys...
oh, hello! Person behind the camera...
Will cracks me up. Caitlin, Sydney and Claire were pretending to be ponies and Will was the trainer... i turn around and he's brushing their hair... so cute!
finally, i sewed Caitlin's blanket together... she's been caring around two pieces of fabric for almost a year... thought it turned out really cute, but i still need to do the binding.
bunny slippers make the world go round...
Most important day of our spring break: the kids in the back yard playing waiting for LINDSEY to come, sweep them off their feet!! I looked out the window and saw this...
Will wanted a turn... Brinley wasn't so sure about the whole situation!
Lindsey came and brought some spring clothes from Nans and Pops!! Will, modeling his new shorts and shirt!
C & W
the brinners... peace baby (Thanks, Nans and Pops!!)
lady bug



Lindsey brushing Caitlin's hair!
more school work...

Thursday, it was off to the beach. it was a chilly day... but the kids had a blast... and so did pepper!
Pretty Auntie Lou

Will singing his heart out to "She loves a Monkey's Uncle"
beach!!


we have the best dog in the world!!
and the BEST kids...

Justin and Pepper running relays... (and did i mention, that we had the whole beach to ourselves?)



Pepper was protecting us from the seagulls... and Brinley was trying to bury Pepper in the sand...

Friday afternoon, we took the kids to Short Pump Mall to check out the petting zoo!









this goat loved us. he was trying to get me to take him home with us...


he reminded us a little bit of Pepper...
Caitlin was in love with these bunnies...

after that we headed to the Fine Art Museum down town... perfect rainy weather activity. i fell in love with this work of art... thought about recreating it someday... just on a smaller scale. what do ya think? doable?
i couldn't resist this picture... Caitlin and Will's expressions were hilarious...
Caitlin, Austin and Lindsey
Caitlin and Daddy and Brinley cruzin' the Aztec art.

Lindsey's favorite...

our crew, feeling inspired...and all that art worked up an appitite for some Peep S'mores...

Dying Easter Eggs...

Now, for the Peep S'mores... toast those peeps
Suuuuugar is kicking in.
Whoa, Austin and Lindsey thought we needed a *little* chocolate for our peep s'mores...
Saturday came and it was almost time for Lindsey to go back to Utah. We went to lunch at our favorite place: Panara before taking her to the air port... Lindsey Lou, it was so wonderful to have you (and your friends) come visit us!! We LOVE and MISS you so much! can't wait till JUNE!

EASTER 2011

Soooo, far behind. here are a few pics from Easter, Enjoy!

Grammy and Papa sent more pages for the kids' sticker books, and really cute family cut outs!


Easter Hunt after church!!
ready, set...
GO!









victory!!!

Family Pic

Will, was kinda done at this point


Look what the Easter bunny brought us...


chalk!



Adriana across the street brought some eggs for her friends...

Brinley coloring...

Will got a hair cut and some Bubbles... he's pretending it's a light saber. (sabor... whatever)

Broccoli Salad

BBQ and picnic season is just around the corner. you will not go wrong if you take this to your Memorial Day Picnic party... and believe me, everyone will want the recipe! Prepare this and you'll prepare yourself to be the hit of the party!!

Special Thanks to my good friend, Rachel for sharing!! Enjoy!!

Broccoli Salad

1-2 large heads (or 4 medium) broccoli, broken in small pieces
1 C chopped celery
1/2 C red onion
1 lb. bacon cooked crisp and broken
1/2 C golden raisins
1/2 C hulled sunflower seeds (unsalted)

Dressing:
1 C mayonnaise
2 T vinegar
1/4 C sugar

Combine salad ingredients. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over. Chill.

Chia SnowBalls

Chia Snowballs

1 c. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1/2 c. raw honey
1/2 c. brown rice syrup or agave nectar
3 Tbl chia seeds
4 c. brown rice cereal
1/4 c coconut (approx)

Stir together the peanut butter, honey, brown rice syrup and chia seeds. Slowly stir in brown rice cereal, form into balls (it's very sticky!) and roll in coconut. Put in fridge till set. Enjoy. *I also just pressed some into a pan like rice krispy treats to save a little time and for non-coconut fans. Either way they taste great and are a little better for you than the typical holiday treat.

(The only brown rice cereal that I found at my local grocery store was 'Inviro-palz organic koala crisp' cereal which tastes just like cocoa krispies. They, of course, tasted great! You could also try kashi cereal.)

*Note: I made these again and changed them a bit because it seemed unnecessary for this recipe to have so much sugar! I only used a little squirt of agave and they turned out the same as with 1/2 c agave. So ease up on the sugar (you just need some 'glue' for consistency sake which can be achieved with the peanut butter and a little honey) and they'll still taste great!

Click HERE to read about the Benefits of Chia Seeds!!