Tractor Drivin'

Matt has been REALLY busy with his capstone project so Gavin and I decided to escape to the sticks.  We spent a few days with Grandma/pa and Gavin had so much fun.  He was so good the entire 2 1/2 days we were there - minus the 7 times he screamed out in the middle of the night in his sleep.  Does this kid have night terrors?!?

Gavin was feeling pretty important when he got to help grandpa drive the tractor, feed truck, backhoe and 4-wheeler.

  

 "FREEZE!"  for the picture!

This little trampoline was a hit!

 Drivin' tractor is hard work.

Time for a little R&R.

The Smart Phone

I'm just not the smart phone type.  The other day, Matt tried convincing me to switch phones, and I must have been feeling like I owed him a favor or something because I finally agreed to upgrade.  It was one of those irrational decisions I usually never make.  Matt jumped on it b/c he probably knew I would change my mind if he didn't.  I said "yes," and within the next 45 minutes I was picking out a new phone case...  I cursed the new phone for the first 2 weeks.  But one time it helped me when I was lost in Sandy, and apparently I can calendar in my YW planning meetings (which I keep forgetting about), so maybe there is some good to it.  Then again, perhaps the best thing about this new phone is the ability to take pictures and send them to your email so you can blog about them...

 Now that the weather is getting nice, we've been going on walks to nearby parks.  We'll usually eat our lunch there as well.  Gavin enjoys these outings, and so do I. 

This boy is starting to phase out of his naps.  I tried getting him to do this 3 hours earlier... but apparently he wanted to wait until we got to the grocery store.

Matt's work hosted a Frozen activity.  Gavin did pretty good sitting through the movie and at the end they had a sing along with Elsa and fake snow falling from the rafters above.

 Helping us find the perfect lawn mower?  Or driving a tractor?  You decide.

 Wild Thing, I think I love ya.

Gettin' Our GREEN on!

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2014

 This little leprechaun was caught getting into some mischief.

 Our Irish meal:  potato soup, soda bread, cole slaw 'n' ham sandwiches and shamrock sugar cookies.

 I mustache, 'Are you Irish?'

 Gavin would only eat the cookie.  (Sigh)

 After dinner, our FHE activity was to build a train.  Gavin was in 7th Heaven.  He's only crying here because we made him stop playing with it in order to get this picture with Daddy.

 Chugga, chugga, choo, choo!

 Here he's smiling because we bribed him with a stick of gum.

After the train was all done, he kept hugging it and saying over and over again, "I love you train."

BBQ Shredded Chicken

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately.  Some are good; some, not-so-good.  This one was GREAT!

1 pound shredded chicken
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4-1 c. bottled BBQ sauce
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 c. water

1.  Shred chicken and set aside.  (I buy chicken when it's on sale, boil it, shred it by putting it in my Kitchen Aid on low speed for 30 seconds, then freezer bag it.)
2.  In large skillet saute onion and pepper til soft.  Add garlic for last 1-2 minutes.
3.  Add chicken, BBQ sauce, vinegar, sugar and water.  Simmer til heated through.  (5 min or so)
4.  Put in a bun OR on tortilla chips topped with cheese, sour cream, etc.

Discovery Gateway

My old roommate, Chelsea, and her little boy, James, invited Gavin and me to join them at Discovery Gateway.

 Gavin loved the balls,

 trucks,

 water,

 magnets,

 digging area,

 helicopter,

 construction site,

and grocery store.

Thanks Chels for a fun morning!

Bubbles!

For an FHE activity, we watched Gavin play in the jetted tub.  

 Holy bubbles!

I had no idea it would produce so many...