Tuesday, March 31, 2015

what's for dinner


homemade spinach pasta ravioli filled with roasted butternut squash and ricotta topped with creamy parmesan sauce...ummm...yes please...David opted to also top his with fungus (and had some leftover texas roadhouse ribs on the side). i don't do fungus...i do roasted/salted pistachios...and the boys do hot dogs ‪#‎whatsfordinner‬ ‪#‎gourmetmama‬‪ #‎theydontknowhowgoodtheyhaveit‬

Monday, March 23, 2015

pirate surprise

over the last few months david has been drawing treasure maps for pace.  pace loves to follow the map, and recently, he's discovered if he asks politely, the pirate will plant a treasure for him at the end!  the pirate usually requires shouting random pirate phrases at some point during the hunt:  "arrrrrr, mateys", "land, ho", "ye be land lubbers", etc.  it's pretty much the cutest thing on earth to hear max repeat these phrases!  on this night, there was a treasure map for pace, and another one for max!  i didn't get photos of pace's journey--he's so fast!--the pirate found a lego chinook for him!  





now on to max's treasure map--




making sure they are going the right way...


i'm pretty sure this one was "ye be land lubbers!" while marching in circles...




checking out the map again



max got an alligator race car!


that pirate sure is good at building lego things!



progress

david and the boys dropped me off at the trail head so i could get my run in, and while i was running, they checked out the house and played at the park.  we cannot believe the difference between last week and this week!  last week was just the basement, and we thought this week we'd see the house framed out, but the house is actually the beginnings of a house, not just a frame!  building our own house has been a really, really fun process!--it's one thing seeing the plans on paper, and another seeing it in front of you and walking through it!  this is the house i would pick in a line-up every time--the layout, the space, the windows/light, the openness without being too ostentatious, the ready-to-live-in space and the space to grow into--we're excited to see the finished product--the colors, flooring, cabinets!  we are in love with our new space!

this is the front room/kitchen--i love the openness and all the windows/light.  the mudroom/laundry room is off the kitchen, right in from the garage door, as well as a little powder room.  right off the front door is the office/library (we'll have to get new shelves for all our books!...ikea trip!).  the master suite is also on the main floor, opposite the staircase.  we're pretty much in love with that space, too--bedroom, his/her closets, bathroom with his/her sinks, great big soaking tub (that's going to be awesome after all those runs!).  the stairs go up to a loft, and there are two bedrooms and a bathroom, and another little nook for storage/toys.  there is another room over the garage we'll finish at some point as another bedroom.  


pace, checking out the view from his upstairs bedroom window


out back digging in the dirt


we opted to not have a deck, and we're actually really happy with that decision.  we'll be able to just go out the garage and around and down for backyard access.  basement:  the door on the left will be a picture window door--a full window door--leading to the art studio.  i'm really excited about this space--it's going to be a great space for creativity, and i can definitely see myself using it to give art lessons/art workshops during the summers.  (there is an MATC tech school just around the corner from our house, and i am really going to try and get on as a part-time MA/phlebotomist instructor there during the regular school year!)  the next three windows and door on the right will be bishka's apartment--access to the art studio, bedroom, open living/kitchen space, bathroom, laundry room, storage.  back on our side of the basement under the front of the house we'll eventually finish to have another bathroom, bedroom, and work out/theatre room.  


here's the view from the corner of our lot.  we'll have lots of space for playing, digging, maybe a pergola, and i have a grand raised box garden plan!--we're going to take our time with this house/yard and really do things great, once! 


we can always count on pace to get the most out of bath night!


our realtor sent us an updated rendering of what the outside of the house will look like with the different sidings.  it'll be dark grey, light grey, white, and red brick.  the single car garage will be for bishka, and the other two windows that look like they are part of the house are actually on our two-car garage side.



pace looking out the garage windows



i never get my money's worth at a buffet.  i discovered the secret on saturday, though--run 10 miles and burn 1200 calories, THEN hit up a buffet!  we went to the lucky 5 chinese buffet on main st. in spanish fork and boy was it worth the $7 lunch special!  after eating we went back to the house so i could see it, then headed back to our "in-between house".


Wee School: Letter U

Wee School Letter U:  We started off our day reading Clorinda Takes Flight by Robert Kinerk.  This is a fun book about a cow who wants to fly, and so she builds all sorts of flying contraptions.  They all fall apart except the hot air balloon, which gets them across the ocean to visit the Queen, and then back again to their farm.  We had lots of fun picking out all the things in the book that go Up--an airplane, helicopter, etc.


Then we sat down for a thinking activity:  we had to separate the pictures of things that go Up and things that go Under.  The kiddos did great--some of the "Under" things were a little abstract...(grass grows Under our feet, a chair goes Under the table, we sleep Under the blankets, etc.)



Then we played Run Under the Broom (otherwise known as limbo...haha)








We finished off day 1 with the alphabet puzzle review.  The girls were really into finishing the puzzle!



Day 2 of letter U we took a field trip to the UPS plant (it helps to know someone on the inside...and those cinnamon rolls every christmas probably don't hurt, either)!  We had a UPS scavenger hunt: we had to find a UPS truck, UPS hat, box, conveyer belt, etc.  The managers very graciously took us on a tour, showed us the boxes, turned on the conveyer belt, and we got to go in a truck and everyone got to honk the horn!








we even got to line up holding safety signs!