Our Santa Visit...2010

Santa reading the letter Jadon wrote him this year...was so precious! His little cursive writing all fancy telling him "i am trying to be good" and listing a few of the top wishes this year! I swear he wants everything he sees on tv!
Jadon & Santa- Holiday Season 2010
4 1/2 yrs old
Love that smile!

Happy Birthday Jadon!

Rocket Decorating
Rocket Blasting!

Moon cake

Happy Birthday Big Boy... Mom and Dad are so proud of you and the little boy you are becoming! xoxo

Surprise Santa Visit...

No Santa didn't come in Feb... Just late in putting this pics up! This was the best surprise I have pulled off in a long time! My memories of Christmas Eve are going to Kollars's house with many of the families I grew up with. Santa always came and surprised us with a gift. This year was our first year doing Christmas at our house and I wanted Jadon to start having some traditions of his own. Santa came after dinner on Christmas Eve and delivered Jadon's rocket! He was shocked and so was everyone else! It was a great Christmas for all of us!

Updates...

I am a bad blogger...that's all I can say! No excuses...

Let's see if I can add a few updates!

Jadon... loves his friends and going to school, needs constant friends and "special" adventures to keep him happy. He is amazing Jason and I with his zest for learning new things. He is big into telling us letters he see's and telling us what the beginning and ending sounds are of words, writing his name and letters and drawing very cute pictures of happy faces (Dad is a pirate, I have big eyelashes) On the flip side, he is the KING of whining, negotiation and hates eating anything remotely healthy! We are spending a lot of time at Turtle Park, preschool science classes, playdates and Children's Musesum.... Geeks took us to a Coyotes hockey game a few weeks ago. I love this pic of them!

We just got back from a quick trip to San Diego over the holiday weekend. Jadon asked me if we could go back this morning. He wants to ride their trolley/light rail thing so bad! He cried when we were going home. He is so funny-stubborn and opinionated these days!! We spent Valentine's Day at the beach making friends with all the kids, building tracks in the sand and getting splashed by HUGE waves! It was such a treat to spend the weekend there. Thanks Aunt Jeannie!! We had a blast. Promise to post pics soon! :) (in a few months!)

Jason...work, work, work...tax season- that's about all! We did manage to squeeze in date night last weekend. We went to The Mission for his favorite Smokehouse Margarita. I had the 5 Chile Soup and it was to-die-for. The chips, the salsa, the table side guac... yum!

Me...hmm...I'm just trying to keep up with my boys and loving every ordinary and extraordinary day!

Petunia the Class Pig

Jadon and Petunia (Mrs. Seabreeze's Class Pig)

Petunia the Pig came home with us today, which means we have the whole weekend to have adventures with her! I'm sure it will be fun! So far Petunia and Jadon went to lunch at Marley's after school, watched cartoons in the afternoon while I baked Brownie Lollipops for a babyshower tomorrow and tonight we took Petunia on our drive around to look at lights! Now they are snuggly in bed with Lamby! Since Jadon is sleeping with Christmas lights on in his room, I thought I'd probably be safe to go in and snap a quick photo!

Dear Santa...

O.k. so I'm totally going to work on posting on my blog more! I am such a slacker! I promise I will work on it!!!

Last week we went and did Santa pictures with Amy, Connor and Elizabeth! It was so much fun...our tradition of going to Arrowhead Mall to see Santa continues. The awesome part is that it is the SAME Santa every year... So I have 4 years of Santa pictures with the same set and the same Santa! I love it...and love seeing how Jadon has changed each year.

This year I was able to get him to wear a nice shirt...and a belt! Whoa...this is big for my boy who insists on wearing camo with his "Redbird" Cardinals jersey 24/7...and when he isn't in that-he wants to wear these green shorts with a rockin' orange shirt and socks pulled up to his knees! Awesome!!

What I loved this year was listening to his conversation with Santa. It was so priceless... And just went I thought he couldn't get any cuter he sat on the floor at home that night and "wrote" a letter to the big guy in red.

It went something like this... (I was listening and typing it out on my iphone so I could remember it forever!!!)

Dear Santa,

How's the North Pole? I've been a good boy. You can come to my house. Watch out for the booming things and the tumbleweeds. I'm in Litchfield Park on Colter St.

Classic...

Tonight we put the letter in our Santa mailbox... Santa is writing back tonight and reminding Jadon to stay on the good list by being a good boy! One of our neighbors is giving Jadon that book "Elf on a Shelf" I've heard its so much fun...can't wait to read it.

Jadon is so much fun right now! Well actually not so much right now as he is a little sicky...but usually he has been a lot of fun! He's totally into playing Santa. He pretends to sleep, while I put things from around the house under his tree and then he wakes up all surprised! Then we switch and we pretent to be asleep. He loves all the Christmas decorations. The snow globes are his favorite, and the candy cane reindeer, the silly singing decorations are a close in the top 3. All these singing decorations and most of the snow globes were my Moms. It makes me so happy to have them around the house during the Holidays.

Still obsessed with Curious George...lovin' Curious George's Merry Christmas and pbskids.org games. Loves his preschool class and cried buckets when he couldn't go today b/c he has a fever :( We decorated his room with his camo "boy" tree and lights all around the room's chair rail. It's a bribe to get him to stay in his room and sleep all night...so far its working pretty well!

Jason and I are so looking forward to spending Christmas in our house for the VERY first time EVER!!!!! It only took 7 years to happen, but...whatever! We are excited!!! This year we're having our annual Progressive Dinner in the neighborhood and we're hosting the Main Course. Martha Stewart herself is cooking dinner...J/K!

Happy Holidays everyone...I promise I'll post again before Christmas!

Mexico...The first 24 hours...

beer...that is all I can get to upload on this computer...I'll put the rest of the pictures on Facebook I think. Happy Birthday Abbey Krause! Can't believe you are 15 today!!

Memorial Day Weekend in Review & Zoo Day...

Summer is in full swing...lots of swimming and playtimes with friends! Jason, Jadon and I had such a fun Memorial Day weekend...a great mix of adventures and hangin' out at home! Date night for Mommy & Daddy at The Mission on Friday night...seriously...the best chips, salsa and Blood Orange Juice Margarittas ever! On Saturday, I dragged Geegu (Uncle Ryan) to the gym with us. We ran a mile and then did a crazy 90 minute spin class. It was awesome and a serious workout! Then we got to have some adventure time at Encanto Park with friends from Tucson and their daughter...sorry no pictures-bad Mommy!! A neighborhood BBQ that night and we were all beat. Sunday we were LAZY and hung out at home, but had a fun swim with Auntie KK, Amanda and Will...again no pictures...gonna work on that. On Monday we all hit the gym early, went to our first Summer Movie, swam more and made some yummy grilled fish tacos for dinner!

Today we ventured the Phoenix Zoo with Amy, Connor & Elizabeth. Jadon was cracking me up today having full on conversations with the animals and continuing to tell everyone about his new super star shoes...I can NOT get him to take off or stop talking about his new Converse Shoes that Candy, Michael & Camden gave him for his b-day! He watched some Zoo Maintenance guys snake the Rhino drain to their swimming pool (that was super exciting)! He made friends with a squirrel when we first got the the zoo, then he found another one over Rhino/Baboon area. He and this squirrel were playing cat/mouse and chasing each other all over the place. Then we found this turtle who looked lost and we were worried...but we asked a Zookeeper and I guess its a Mama Turtle lookin' for a spot to lay eggs.

Mother's Day 2009

Jason and Jadon took down the crib, officially proclaiming that a big boy is in the house! Of course that night, the big boy was wandering in our room and up from 3:30-5am, but we haven't had too many nights like that since. Jadon isn't much a snuggler, he likes his space and REALLY likes his own space to sleep.


Jadon and I bounced outside in the bouncy for a little bit in our pjs, we were just waiting to leave at 10:00 for a surprise breakfast. Jason made reservations at the Morning Glory Cafe at The Farm South Mountain. It looks like a fun place to go, that day happened to be very busy and very hot, so we all kind of spent time chasing Jadon around. Our friends Dave & Susie came with, along with Uncle Ryan Geegu, Grandma Kate and Grandpa Doc. After breakfast we had tickets to the D'backs game, where I had my hopes on getting one of the 5,000 D'backs Mother's Day bags, but by the time we got there they were all gone! Such a bummer... I guess a lot of Mommies came to the game. The little boy was tired, hot and pretty grumpy, so we ended up leaving early and just hanging out at home. Jason got my favorite Oriental Chicken Salad from Wildflower for me for dinner and everyone went to bed early!

This is quite delayed but I hope everyone had a very Happy Mother's Day!

Our First Quinceanera

So...If you read my blog then chances are you've probably read my posts about Javier, who is a VERY special person to the little boy of the house. Javier is our garbage man, from Parks and Sons Co. He comes by our house on Wednesdays and Saturdays...usually...but the last few weeks his been on vacay...getting ready for his daughter's Quinceanera (Jadon understands that Javier is "on vacation" just hoping that he'll be back on Wednesday b/c Jadon is REALLY missing him!!!) Javier came by the house to drop off an invite for us one evening, then came back the next day b/c the invite was all in Spanish to explain it to us. It was so sweet... So here are some pics of my little monkey at the big party, where he partied the night away with Javier's nephew, Marco and watched as Javier and his wife, Norma, walked Marina around the dance floor. We were so honored to be their guests at this special event, it was totally amazing! Wish I would have gotten a better pic of her dress and a picture of Javier and Jadon...but he was pretty busy! Just kind of bummed that we didn't stay long enough for cake! Darn...I'm still thinking about white cake!!!

Jadon and Marina
The cake! Wowzers...

Jadon and his buddy Marco and the little flower girl

Special toast (complete with NASCAR's)

The BIG BOY BED

Jadon got a big boy bed this week... The Famous Race Car...Lightening McQueen-straight from my cousin Luke. Luke (being a big 5 year old now) has outgrown his bed, but gladly passed it on to Little Cousin Jadon. Oh-boy...Jadon's been so excited about it he could hardly wait for Grandpa John to get it out of his car. Here he is putting his bed together (with his new Star shoes as he calls them...Thanks Creel Family!) with Dad. Later that night, Pilar came over to bounce on the new bouncy and Jadon read her a story...bad news that the boy already has a girl in his bed at age 3!!! Will work on a b-day party post soon...it was such a fun party!

p.s. Jadon "redecorated" his room by switching out the rugs a few weeks ago. So his rug is now in the family room and the family room rug is in his bedroom...not sure why he insisted on this, but we're working to bring back the original rug. As he settles into his new bed, we're going to make some more changes to his Big Boy Room...but right now we're just happy that he is sleeping well at night in his new bed! :)

Busy...

Things have been busy around here...we went to Little Rock, AR for my cousin Charlie's wedding April 23-26th. We were there over Jadon's actual 3rd birthday, so I have trip pics, b-day pics, more b-day celebrating pics...the party just keeps going and going and going.... Tomorrow is Jadon's Birthday Party at the Train Park. He is so excited for his friends to ride the train with him. I hope the day is nice and that everyone has a great time.

Right now I'm making Jadon's b-day cake....mini train cakes to be decorated with frosting & candies tomorrow and placed on a black licorice track. Round one with the first 9 cakes overflowed a little bit. Round Two is in the oven right now! Many pictures to follow... Until then here are a few...

Charlie & Amanda's Wedding Cake

Luke (ring bearer) and Jadon at the Church


Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock...Award Winning BBQ

Lovin' his "All Star" card at his "fancy" hotel...

Random Pics...the last 2 weekends...

We took Jadon to see his D'backs on Easter Sunday. He HAD to buy himself this batting helmet, which now is a crucial element in his t-ball games down at the grass. He and this little boy had fun together, but we didn't last too long in our seats. In the 3rd inning they advertise the "sandlot" area and its all over when he sees that on the jumbo-tron...plus too much Easter Candy that day had him pretty wired. He was more into the game when we sat in our seats the time before...these seats didn't have a good view of the game to really hold his attention...well and let's face it...the seats in the 2nd level have service. btw...if you go up there I suggest trying the new healthy salmon burger...it's seriously yummy!

Jadon and Uncle Ryan (with his Easter Lamb) who now has the name Lucy....Lucy and Lamby...don't leave home without them... Ryan has a funny picture of Jadon he took on his camera phone at the game on his blog...here is the link: http://ryanparrott.blogspot.com/2009/04/1-week-down-14-to-go.html

Jadon got 3 Easter baskets...one from the Bunny first thing in the morning (but Dad was gone) so then the 2nd basket Dad brought in when he got home from work. This one is from Grandma Kate & Grandpa Rashid. It had little balls in it, which Jadon thought were pretty fun. The way to the boy's heart is with some kind of a sports ball...hmmm.... I don't have a pic, but Jadon got a 3rd basket a few days after when my Dad and Ellen brought him a McQueen bucket full of goodies like a bunny on a bicycle with JELLYBEANS and a Hot Wheels Motorcycle (still a fan favorite after a week!) What a lucky boy to get so spoiled!

Here is Jadon with his "loot" from the morning egg hunt. He got lots of money in his eggs, put most of it in his piggy bank, but did buy a cool rocket from the dollar section at Target.

I took Jadon to Disney On Ice...it was the story of The Incredibles saving Disneyland from Incredi-boy and his "pincher" thing. Jadon becomes "Dash" every now and then and he was completely speechless the whole first half. His favorite part was when Buzz Lightyear blasted through the air and there were planets up on the roof. Buzz and Dash went through Space Ranger training. We had the most amazing seats...2nd row on the ice. It was a last minute thing to take him, but he loved it and it kept him busy and distracted on the last weekend of tax season, when Daddy was REALLY busy.

Jadon met a new friend at the end of tax season party...it was love at first sight as he shared his glow sticks, stretchy snakes and Curious George whiteboard markers with her. By the end of the night he wanted his stuff back...so working on the whole concept of sharing. But just like his cousin Alli he loves his collections of "stuff" and the stretchy snakes are REALLY exciting.

We (Jason, Gee-gu aka Uncle Ryan and I) took Jadon to NASCAR...he loved every minute...the pit crews, the people (whoa...seriously...interesting people out there), the cars, the noise, the shopping (2 new NASCARS), the treats and especially the sparks of "FIRE CAME OUT" when the cars made the turns. We stayed for 75 laps, until the high from ice cream was too much for the 3 of us to handle. Plus we needed to get back to the car before the sugar wore off and the "hit the wall" sugar crash happened.

This week we're getting ready for our trip to Little Rock for my cousin Charlie's wedding. Jadon's really excited to be going on a trip! We'll be there over his 3rd...yes 3rd Birthday on the 24th. We plan to spend the day at the Little Rock Zoo. I can't believe that he is going to be 3...he has big plans to be a big boy very soon, which maybe I'll get to post about soon. This many plans include:getting married to Pilar (next door neighbor girl), going to school, riding on a bus, getting his 2nd cousin's Luke Big Boy McQueen bed and a whole slew of other things.... He has already got this big boy party started by wearing what he calls "Big Boy" Shoes... Daddy bought him flip flops. They had to be a size 12/13 so his fred flinstone foot would fit under the straps. Walking in them is a learning process...and we're learning. If I could remember to charge my camera battery I might have a picture soon of the big boy in his big boy shoes... oh yeah...and the shoes aren't camo (I know...I'm shocked too) They have FIRE on them!!

April 15th...Ode to Tax Season's Finale-In Honor of Daddy!

So today is April 15th...its a day that is pretty important in our house! It's the day of the tax deadline and for us that means that Daddy (Jason) won't be spending extreme hours at the office anymore. Most people probably don't like this day b/c they have to send their checks in to Uncle Sam...but for us it's a day we countdown to, circle on the calendar and talk about a lot!

Jadon tells everyone he meets this...seriously every teacher at the gym childcare knows his story and today he announced this to the cashier at Target and his friends at Starbucks..."Tax Season is ALMOST over! and afterwards we're going on an adventure to Little Rock, Arkansas and then it's going to be my birthday-and I'm having a party at the train park with all my friends!!!"

When Jason and I were dating/engaged I got little hint of what tax season might be like, but I was very busy with my teaching job in Kyrene and doing my masters. Jason's aunt Jeannie, instructed me on being a "tax-wife widow" and the first few years we were married with no kids, I kept myself busy with teaching, scrapbooking and cardmaking.

I have to admit that this year has been a little challenging as its hard to rationalize with an almost 3 year old about why Daddy has to work so much. Jadon has really missed his Daddy home days the past few months and the past few month or so, he's really missed his nighttime play sessions with Dad. But like most things he's taking it all in stride. Tonight, we'll celebrate the end of another tax year with the other employees and families. It will be quite the celebration.

And so in Honor of Jason...I want to say how proud we are of what an amazing husband and father you are and know how hard this time of year is on you! How I can't quite fathom how you function on 4 hours of sleep and put in 90+ hour work weeks...your work-ethic and determination is pretty amazing! We've missed you a lot and we know you've missed us too! We love you!!

This post wouldn't quite be the same if I didn't also say a few funny things that Jadon's come up with the past few weeks... Jason's back often bothers him when he works so many hours and at times when he comes home he lays around on the couch with his heating pad (and usually falls asleep...) So one day Jadon tried to negotiate taking a nap on the couch and told me "But Mom! my back hurts!" One day at naptime he also tried to pull this "Sorry, Mom...I just have to go back to work" and tried to tell me that he was "working" in his playroom. You can see a general theme here of trying to avoid his nap...but that's a whole other post!

Hope it's a Happy April 15th for most of you...

Opening Day

Jadon and I celebrated Opening Day a little bit early on Saturday...we wanted to go to Opening Day today, but didn't want to go without our Dad! Jason & I have actually been to every Opening Day since 2002 and have all the "commemorative pins" but I guess this year they were giving away t-shirts, not pins...oh-well... They were playing their last Spring Training game vs. the White Sox at Chase Field. Daddy had to work (only 8 more days of tax season left...we aren't counting down or anything...) so Jadon and I went for a little "adventure". Here is my photo diary... Checking out the new gear at the Team Shop...must have soft ball & bat...we're still sporting the camo gear almost everyday! New favorite t-shirt with BAXTER!!!

Wow...Chase Field is amazing...Sitting in Grandpa John's new seats...Sec 211, Row 5, 17 & 18

Found Mom & Dad's brick!


Hard to see, but Jadon is sitting by our wedding brick! Got a new shirt for joining the No Chew Club...and got free kids tickets for Sunday games and some other D'backs Kids Club Prize, which we didn't stand in line for...

Jadon's guess is 12...gotta work on those estimation skills

Things I would like to remember about the day...

*Driving down Jefferson St., Jadon asks "Is this the city...like New York City?" He was in awe of the big buildings, which is funny b/c it isn't the first time he has been downtown, but I think it was more of the view that we were driving into the buildings that really amazed him!

*How totally fascinated Jadon was with the parking garage and that it was just like his garage at home...and when I found a good spot, he announced "Great Job finding Rock Star Parking Mom!"

*How Jadon made friends with everyone next to, behind and in front of our seats...social much?

*How completely interested Jadon was with the game & who the "thrower" of the ball was...wanting to know every players name on the Jumbo-Tron... what position they played... when the music was coming on again ?, cheering for the Relish Hot Dog...trying to find Baxter the Bobcat...and repeating EVERYTHING the man behind us yelled..."Come on!" "Strike him out!" "Get there!" "Watch the ball!"

*That is took Jadon about 10 seconds to remind me that there is a really cool playground with a "neat" slide at the ballpark (that was the 4th/5th inning stretch and potty break...)
*Singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" yes...we made it until the 7th inning stretch!

*That we CAN'T WAIT to go back to Chase Field with our Daddy...very, very soon!!

Jadon Had a Little Lamb...

Easter Bunny Picture, March 2009

Jadon & Lamby

• So today's adventure was to Arrowhead Mall. We went for bunny pictures with Amy, Connor & Elizabeth. Lamby (pronounced Lamb-e) had to come with us...Jadon's newest best friend or aka sleepy toy as he refers to her/him...not exactly sure of Lamby's gender...it changes. Lamby's brother's and sisters also live in his crib, but they don't usually come out to play like Lamby does. Sometimes we can be convinced to leave Lamby in the car, but on this adventure, Lamby's presence was needed.

• We did a bit of shopping...Jadon selected many soccer t-shirts at Gymboree, but we didn't buy any b/c we're sure they'll be further reduced any day now, Jadon picked out a very interesting present for his Geegu's b-day on Friday (can't give that store's name away...), got Easter Bunny pictures along with the Easter Bunny Snow globe, which will hopefully appease Jadon so that I don't have to venture into the attic to find his collection of Holiday Snow Globes that he keeps bringing up from time to time. Seriously...I kept his Santa Snow Globe out b/c he is still ALWAYS playing with it, but I guess he wants all the other ones to come out and play too... We ventured into a candy store for a promised "Lolli-pop-pop-pop", found a little potty at the family restroom and headed to the car. I had to steer him far away from Build-a-Bear and the nice lady at Godiva Chocolates gave us a catalog so he could circle what he wants. I thought about stopping at Trader Joe's but decided I was already pushing my luck and that would set things into meltdown mode, so we went home.

• p.s. Jadon & I did teamwork today picking out his clothes...I picked the shirt and he did the rest. Camo is like the new neutral in our house...it pretty much goes with anything...
  

Underwater...

Jadon and I took these pictures this afternoon in the cuzzi...I've been wanting to test out the underwater feature on my new digi camera for a while. Today after a hot morning at the Phoenix Zoo, swimming and watching the Luke Air Force Airshow from the backyard was the perfect chance. I think it will be easier to take better pics when we are in the pool...the cuzzi is kind of hard b/c its so small and Jadon is so fast swimming back and forth. Here are my best shots... Enjoy!

Does Camo Count for Green?

Because I can't get Jadon out of his camo pj's today, attacking my stamping markers...who are we kidding-they aren't mine anymore. He isn't moving...not even bribes are getting him movin... (more about bribes later...)

Sorry I'm not feeling the green today...I'm wearing pink.

I don't want to eat beef and cabbage, drink beers...but we might go over to Tailgaters (new neighborhood Bar & Pizza place) with the neighbors tonight? Is a Margarita green enough?

I didn't make green eggs today or anything else green for that matter...but maybe I'll eat a salad today.

Speaking of salads, I was going to share this really yummy salad like forever ago, but that was before Jadon got a nasty virus, turned into nasty colds/coughs, visit to the dr...blah,blah,blah... Things are on the mend now, so all is good.

So back to my "green" salad....

California Chicken Salad with Avocado & Mango

Make marinade: Combine 2T Olive Oil, 2T fresh lime juice, 2 T Mango Chutney (I used the Mango hot sauce stuff we had b/c I couldn't find anything else that was a chutney...), 1T Soy sauce (low-sodium), 3/4 tsp minced ginger, 1 garlic clove minced.

Chicken: 2 chicken breasts on plate-spoon 1/2 of marinade over chicken, turn to coat and let stand 5 minutes. Grill and slice into strips.

Salad: Mixed greens, diced mango, diced avocado...whatever else you might want...I think next time I'm adding cucumbers to my salad. Arrange chicken on top and drizzle with reserved dressing.

Now to the bribe...

Jadon got a splinter in his foot, who knows how/where but this only added to the drama of the whole cold... He would not let us even get close to look at it. So serious bribes were in order... We read online about some baking soda paste...totally did not work... Saw online to use teething gel to numb the area...worth a try. New spiderman bandaids...teething gel, and a bribe to get this ridiculous Ice Cream Truck he saw at CVS Pharmacy and a trip to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream cone. This did the trick, but I'm not really convinced the splinter is out so more bribes may be in the works.

being attacked by a camo monster...must go...

Happy St. Paddy's Day-be safe!

Daddy Home Day...

Daddy Home Day is Sunday, it's the phrase we've always used with Jadon to help him understand why Dad is home on some days and at work on others... It's a BIG deal, especially right now during tax time!

So for Daddy Home Day this Sunday I made the boys a special breakfast of fresh waffles. I LOVE my waffle maker...seriously it is the best! I used a Williams-Sonoma gift card from my Uncle Chuck YEARS ago to make this purchase and its gotten a lot of use! I've used lots of different recipes and pre-mixed batters, but I have to say that the recipe I found this weekend takes 1st prize-it's not lo-cal but they sure were delicious. And by the way I would have NEVER found this if it hadn't been for my friend Duane, who requested I make him this cake (which called for Buttermilk). I just happen to buy buttermilk at Trader Joe's and saw this recipe on the side of the carton. Thanks Duane and sorry you couldn't come over for waffles...maybe next time?

Buttermilk Waffles-made 8 waffles in my waffle iron.
2 cups flour
1/4 c brown sugar, packed
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cut butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff

In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks, buttermilk, butter, vanilla.

Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and stir briefly until just combined. Fold egg whites into batter.

Add chocolate chips, nuts, dried/fresh fruit for variation.

Use 2/3 cup batter in traditional iron, 3/4 cup in Belgian iron

Tomorrow I'll share my low-cal dinner recipe that we had Sunday night...it was great too, but right now my pillow is calling my name....

Spring Break-Part 1...Saturday's BBQ

Tom, Corrina, Cadence, Duane and Rebecca all came to Spring Break with us in sunny Arizona. The weather was perfect for our BBQ Potluck on Saturday. It was great to see everyone and we're looking forward to seeing more of the gang this week and coming weekend! Thanks so much to all of you for driving WAY out west to our house! Hopefully some other peeps captured some more pictures of Saturday's BBQ...I didn't have my camera close by and I only got these 2 pictures...didn't get any on Friday when we all went to the Train Park! I put on Cars for the kids to watch...they did for about 10 or so minutes of the opening scene! We're missing Matthew, but you can see that everyone was in quite a trance over the famous race Car Lightening McQueen!

Tomorrow's adventure is at Desert Breeze Park in Chandler and hopefully The Children's Museum on Thursday.