80's Rock

We went to a birthday party last weekend with an 80's theme. I'm not usually a fan of dressing up, but I did love the 80's. I had a harder time with the belly issue, so I didn't get the tapered pants or leggings that I really wanted. I just had to peg my maternity pants. It's hard to see the bangs here, but they were really the piece de resistance. It's like they just remembered what they were supposed to do. Ratted with lots of hairspray, they were a thing of beauty. Mike thought it was funny that I did my hair faster for this than I ever have otherwise.

Mike went for the tough guy look with the bandanna and some fake tattoos. I basically felt like his knocked up girlfriend. These aren't the best pictures (hint, hint Kara), but you get the idea.

I probably could have used some more color in my makeup, but the 80's makeup standards were really high! And I threw out the bright blue last week. I had to make do with some bright blush.

The other outfits there were amazing. I can totally see why the 80's are back. I missed them and I didn't even know it.

Update: I stole these off Kara's blog. You really get the knocked-up-girlfriend vibe here:
And the bangs. The beautiful bangs...

Where to draw the line...

Between fostering independence and him not looking back one day and saying "why did you let me out of the house like that?"

That's right. A navy blue long sleeved shirt, camo shorts, knee-high bright blue socks and his Vans. Because they help him run super fast. Can you tell his dad works in fashion?

Superheroes

The other day in the car:

Carter: I'm not a superhero, Samantha.
Samantha: Yes you are.
C: No, I can't be a superhero!
S: Yes you can.
This goes on back and forth a few times.
C: I can't be a superhero because I don't have a superhero name. My name is just Carter! If it were something like Batman, then I could be a superhero.

Who knew that's all it took?

Splish Splash

In spite of my desire to do nothing but sit in the air conditioned house when it gets hot out, we do get out occasionally. We went to the splash park the other day with some friends. The last time we went here, Samantha wouldn't leave my side and Carter refused to get wet. It was nice to see them figure out what the water was for!

Nauvoo

We went down to Nauvoo a couple of weeks ago for a quick weekend getaway. Overall, we had a great time. Once we got down there we realized that we would probably need to go again to see everything, so we just tried to have fun without stressing out about squeezing everything in. The best time was probably before the pageant started that first night. They had a bunch of activities for the kids. Prepare for picture overload...

Mike and Samantha spanked Carter in the stick pull (is that even what that is called?)
Me and Carter learned that we were never meant to cut down trees manually. Look at me put my back into it.

Carter took part in a sack race.
So he needed a little help at the end. Give the kid a break - did you see the size of his competitors?

He got a base hit in "stick ball". Carter and Samantha both tried out the stilts.

And lest you think that me and Samantha were sitting around bored while Carter was having all the fun, don't you worry. We found the sno-cone stand. Which I think everyone was grateful for.

There was a little parade when it was time for the pageant to start. The bagpipes were cool. I was impressed with how young some of the players were. It just doesn't seem like a thing many kids would want to do.

The pageant was nice. It would have been better if Samantha had sit still during any part of it, but she's 2, so what can you expect?

The other thing that we really liked was the family living center. We learned some of the things that they did back then.

We made a rope, which Carter insisted on using to lasso anyone and everything until we took it away. We watched a candle making demonstration. Candle, candy, whatever... (she ate the candle) We also sat through a bread making demonstration. The kids were disappointed that it wasn't the bead making that we originally thought it was, but that went away pretty quick as the nice lady let them stuff their faces with homemade bread.

The next day we went on the wagon ride through town. Dick and Mick were the horses pulling the wagon. We went to Carthage, which was the highlight of the trip for Carter. I will never understand the boy's fascination with guns and shooting, but he had to see where Joseph Smith was shot. It was very interesting. Due to poor planning on our part, we didn't get to go into the temple. I wish that we would have, but we will have to next time. We did walk the grounds and got some pictures. To my credit, I never claimed to have photogenic children. This one just makes me laugh. After the temple, we called it good and headed home. I am really glad that we went and I am looking forward to going back sometime (when it's not so hot)!

4th of July

I have been a total blog slacker lately. I wish I had some great excuse like I have been soooo busy with all the fun stuff we are doing, but alas, I am just tired and a little bit lazy lately. But since my blog is the closest thing to a scrapbook that we have, you still get it all. Unfortunately I have found that when I don't post it when it's fresh, most of the witty comments I have thought of are gone, and I am left with a wit-less run down of the event. So, bear with me and I will do my best...

The actual fourth was nothing like I had planned. We were going to get back early from camping, go to the parade and then our friend's BBQ and then the fireworks. The actual day actually ended up something like this:

Get home from camping around 2

3 hour family nap time :)

Dinner consisting of the hot dogs and frog eye fruit salad we had prepared for the BBQ (I ate that dang salad every day for the next 4 days. I love it, but I think it will be a while before I can stomach it again)

Fireworks.

The kids lost interest in the fireworks after about 3. Carter was more interested in the straw all over the ground and Samantha was just in it for the food. All in all, kind of a dud of a day, but I think camping was worth it. So here's a belated Happy Birthday America!

The great outdoors

We were invited by another family to go camping over the 4th of July weekend. I will admit I was a little bit hesitant being 7 months pregnant and all, but I am so glad that we went; we had a blast! There were lots of other kids for Carter and Samantha to play with and lots of great company for me and Mike.
Of course the food was great. I love tinfoil dinners. I really should make them on the grill more often. We tried corn on the cob in the fire as well, and yeah, it was amazing. I could eat this all day long.

One of the other families we were with has a boat and were kind enough to take everyone out. The water was a little rough for wakeboarding or skiing, but Carter and Mike got out on the inner tube and had fun.

Both Carter and Samantha absolutely loved the boat. Samantha could use some healthy fear of the water - once she got used to it, she was wandering all over the boat, trying to lean over the edge, standing up...absolutely fearless. Although once she felt it, the cold water wasn't really her cup of tea.

Here are our co-campers. Thanks for the invite and the fun memories!

Chef in Training

One of my greatest loves in life is food. I would even go so far as to say it is my passion. I love cooking it, I love eating it, I love sharing it. So nothing makes me happier than to walk into the living room and find my little Carter watching the Food Network. He loves to help in the kitchen. While I wish I could say that I am one of those super patient moms who lets their kids make messes and experiment in the kitchen, I'm not. I let Carter help, but the anxiety it gives me sometimes just isn't worth it.

Anyways, one of our favorite things to do is watch cooking shows and get ideas for meals. The other day we were watching Cooking for Real and she was making Catfish Sticks and Wheely Good Pasta and Cheese. Carter decided that he really wanted to make it for dinner sometime, so we finally got to the store this week to get everything and we cooked up a storm last night! Everything turned out amazing, but I did learn that anything that says "quick" or "easy" is neither with a 4-year-old sous chef. We were just sitting down to eat with 15 minutes to go before all of the young women from my church showed up.

Today it was homemade Mozzarella, breadsticks/bread and spaghetti and meatballs (courtesy of ourbestbites.com). Again, neither quick nor easy, but so delicious. It is so fun to see my little man learning so much about cooking and getting so excited about it. I need a bigger kitchen so he can have his own station. For now he will have to settle for his own chair.

Sleepy heads

Alright, with permission from Amber (sorry mom), here are the 2 aforementioned Forsters.

These 2 may not seem so special, but check out the time stamp. They are both from the same day. Amber used to fall asleep on the couch all. the. time. Early too, at like 7 or 8. In her defense, she did work really early. But still. This is usually where I would find her.

And it looks like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree (sorry mom):

She's related!

For my family, you will probably get this right away. For those of you who don't know, the Forsters really love their sleep. There are 2 Forsters in particular who will remain unnamed who are especially well known for their love of sleep. Let's just say that this isn't the first picture I have taken of one of them asleep on my couch. I will leave the other pictures unposted for now. Keep that in mind in your future dealings with me :).