Best of Times in Lake Havasu

We headed to Lake Havasu for Memorial week to rent a house with some of our favorite friends. We were so excited for the trip, the 5 hour ride flew by. Sydney isn't usually a fan of long rides, but she was all excited and watched some movies while snacking the whole way. (the girl never stops snacking!)

The house we rented had the most amazing pool that I've ever seen. It had a beach entry into the pool that the kids LOVED, a swim up bar with stools in the pool and a hot tub that spilled into the pool.

Life is good...all she needs is milk in her glass.

Look at this! I think I just need a big fan to be cooling her off with.

Who knew that we had some of the best cooks and planners under one roof. Fajitas, Fish Tacos, World's Best Bloody Mary's....OH MY!

Sydney absolutely adored Savannah! They sat in their identical chairs with their matching sippy cups, snack cups and blankets; jumped on the couch together and played tag.

Best Friends

Could they possibly be any cuter??

We went to get a look at the London Bridge and had lunch at a brewery overlooking it. The bridge was was originally constructed in London, in 1831. By 1962, the bridge was not structurally sound enough to support the increased load created by the level of modern traffic crossing it, and was sold to Robert McCulloch, the founder of Lake Havasu. The bridge facing stones were carefully disassembled and each piece was numbered. These were shipped to the bridge's present location and re-assembly began in 1968 and took slightly over three years and was completed in late 1971.

This is the original "English Village", a quaint English-style open air mall with hedge maze and historical museum, that has deteriorated and some sections have been leveled.

London Bridge Gift Shop

On Thursday we took a tour of the lake from our boat. Such a gorgeous and calm lake. Can't wait to bring it back there now that we know the girls loved the boat to take it into the canyons!

Loving the lake!!

Boating is hard work! When they sleep, we......

Jump in the water along with some Corona's. (Who can I blame for not bringing a thermos with Bloody Mary mix in it??)

BUT....the only reason we had the beers was because Neil somehow convinced some guy upstairs to open the liquor store just for him. The guy is crazy good!

All good things must come to an end.....but not for long!! WE MISS YOU GUYS!!!!

Little Crabby

Who needs toys when you have kitchen utensils

Snippets

Chris's friend Benny came down from Phoenix to help us with a few projects. Sydney now refers to him as Handy Manny because the guy can literally fix anything. They installed a new battery on the boat, checked the fluids, re-grouted our shower, rewired our surround sound and installed new speakers in the family room. Now this rewiring of the stereo is no easy task and has been attempted by many individuals. 7 hour after the initial start it was completely redone, no more echo or delay and works in all the speakers....and holy moly do we owe Benny! Chris was ready to throw the towel in, but Benny was determined not to sleep until he mastered it. THANK YOU BENNY!!

Sydney the helper

Here's a little snapshot of what happens in our house when I check-out and take a little "me" time. Dad's in charge and all hell breaks loose! *sigh*

Not only do we put our child to sleep on counter tops, but we promote floor sleeping as well.

I've been a craigslist junkie lately. Looking for little items to refinish, reupholster, make into something new. I finally scored a small little vanity/desk for Syd's big girl room for a price that would shock you! Consider this the "Before" picture. Now if the "After" isn't all that I'm dreaming it will be.....well then I'll pretend as though this posting never existed and shall look at you in a confused manner when you ask of it.

We Love Chocolate Zucchini Bread!

Another sneaky way I get Sydney to eat Zucchini is this Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe, that's oh so very yummy!!

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch-process

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 cups grated zucchini ( 2 small)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. I usually sneak a tablespoon or so of flaxseed meal in too.

3. Whisk eggs, sugar, fruit-based fat replacement (or applesauce), oil, vanilla and melted chocolate in another large bowl until blended. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in zucchini and the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.

4. Bake the loaves 55 to 60 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto rack and cool completely.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per slice: 239 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 40 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 143 mg sodium.

ENJOY!!!

Outsmarting My Picky Eater

So while at the local organic grocery store, I decided to try out some dried corn and peas on Sydney. Only recently, (since she moved up to the big kid room at school) has she started experimenting with food. Up until now I've had to get VERY creative with Sydney! She still won't eat pasta or anything mushy, but hey, I'm just happy she's eating more than chicken nuggets! She was so excited about the peas and corn she wouldn't even let me get it home before she tore into it. Success!!!

Sydney made Mother's Day presents for all the Grandma's and Great Grandma's this weekend. Some reason every time we paint, Chris is no where to be found. It's easier to clean up than it looks!

New Blog and Friends in Town

So after a quick realization that I disobeyed the key rule in URL Naming 101, I decided to change my blog name. It's probably not the best idea to not only blog about your life, but then give every person out there the key tidbits to finding out who you are and where you live. While I enjoy blogging and being able to keep our friends and family back home in touch with what we're up to, there are some scary people out there! So I'll keep my blog public, but keep our personal details hidden. I love the fancy little trackers out there to see who is reading your blog so that you know if it's friends or foes! Thanks everyone for understanding why we changed and hopefully you followed us! :) Of course a BIG thank you to Chele for helping me with my name changes...and for putting up with me!

Adam and Kate were recently in town visiting Adam's parents. We try to steal as much of their time as we can while they were here. They had a little baby girl, Lucy a few months ago and I just couldn't wait to meet/hold her. I had no idea how much Sydney would want to play with her too!

I love how even when she sees this picture she says "Nice" to comment about how she has to be gentle with the baby.

Sydney wanted to do exactly what Lucy was doing....while holding her hand of course.

Love this!

I miss the tiny toes

Adam and Chris with their girls

Mother's Day Tea Party

Today Sydney's school had a Mother's Day Tea Party. So cute! We sat around the table singing songs, eating cookies and sipping tea (well Sydney sipped her water). It was the cutest thing!! Don't judge her hair :) One of the teachers decided to "make it pretty"

Sydney showing off her cookies

Sydney and Mommy

Sydney shakin her groove thang

My Mother's Day present. I LOVE IT!!!