Fun in the Yard

We got this sweet trampoline for free yesterday! We love it because it's a lot smaller than a normal tramp and low to the ground- so fun for little kids!
I came outside after nursing Jace for like 10 minutes and this is what she looked like... I can't wait for the yard to be done!!! Hopefully in a month it will be done....

Our daughter "Giselle"

Her name is Giselle (from the movie Enchanted). Don't call her Makenna or she will be sure to correct you! She has been doing this for about a week now and is very good about always correcting us! Oh, and my name is Ariel. She seriously calls me Ariel all day long- not mom. She's so funny...

Mother's Day

For Mother’s Day we decided last minute to head up to Scott’s parent’s house for a little visit and because Scott had some work he could do while we were there. We had a really great time seeing Scott’s parents and our other family that live up there. I am so blessed to have such great in-laws. Makenna had a blast with all her cousins playing in the dirt, swimming, and not to meantion falling in the water ditch! Good thing I had extra clothes!

Cute cousin Lizzy and Jace. Lizzy just loved to hold him and asked me all day long if she could!
This is my silly mother in law. She put these pink extensions in her hair for school to help raise money for cancer. (She is a high school teacher.) She is so funny!

And here is my mother. Just wanted to tell her happy mother's day and that she is a wonderful mother and friend. Love you!

I don't want to leave Scott out because he was such a sweet husband on mother's day. Thank you for spoiling me- you are the best! He gave me the movie Enchanted- I just love that movie!! (I am a dork) I am so blessed to have such great kids and a great husband.

Merry Christmas!!

So my mother-in-law found our long lost camera the other day! I've been so sad ever since I lost it because it had our Christmas pictures on it, but now that we found it here they are!

Makenna the angel
All the kids dressed up for the nativity and Scott the wiseman
Cute cousins
Opening presents
Lovin her new hat and sunglasses

Our 3 month old

I got some good smiling pics of Jace today! He is a very happy little guy. He will smile back at just about anyone that smiles at him. He is such a good baby. He is sleeping through the night now which is lovely. I can see that Makenna and Jace are starting to grow this bond with each other. Sometimes if Jace is crying and I can't get to him I'll tell Makenna to go make him happy and then he'll stop immediately and sometimes even laugh at her- I love seeing my kids that way! I can't wait until they can really play together! Jace's new thing is sucking on his lower lip as you can see in that last picture... it's pretty funny!

Makenna put these on Jace the other day and he didn't seem to mind! I think he was born to be cool.

Not the greatest pic, but you can see his pretty eyes and gorgeous long eyelashes...

Cheapo

Ok, so I've always been cheap ever since I can remember. I never, I mean never, buy anything full price- I just go straight for the sales racks! Having a new house doesn't help. Let me just say there's not a lot of extra money right now! So I've been to garage sales before, but never had much luck. That all changed about 3 weeks ago when I hit up a couple AWESOME garage sales! We're talking cute kids clothes at 50 cents each, an awesome toy I almost bought the other day for $20 I got for $2, and a sweet spring horse for Makenna for $10. It was from this day that I became obsessed. I looked on craigslist for the "good" garage sales and scoured my neighborhood every weekend since trying to find amazing deals! I just can't get over the fact that I can buy something for so little that is worth much more to me! So I think I'm officially.... a cheapo.

Makenna and Brody on my "amazing find!" Was I ever going to buy a horse like this? no... But that's beside the point!!

My new favorite recipe

This recipe is just like the title says... SO YUMMY!! Just thought I'd share...

Unbelievable Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight.
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

Jake Dean

Congrats to the Becks on their adorable baby boy! He was born Monday weighing 7 lbs. 3 oz and 19.5 inches long. I'm sure Jace and Jake will be good friends when they get older! We miss you guys! (Sorry I stole the picture from your site Megan- its so cute!)

All Makenna

I realized I need to document Makenna's life a little more since Jace has kind of taken over my blog! Makenna is so cute these days with so much personality! If anyone knows her well, you know she is LOUD, very outgoing, and very high energy! She is such a fun kid and always busy busy busy.

Makenna is a very observant little girl. We have taught her not to say hate, stupid, and dumb which are some words that she picked up from other kids. She is very good about not saying them now, however, mom has realized that she says them quite a bit! Makenna has to correct me fairly often saying, "mom that's a bad word." I never realized how much I use those words! This is the dailogue that goes on between us... "I hate when people don't use their turning signals!" "Mom, don't say hate that's a bad word." "Oops sorry Makenna." or then there is "This thing is so dumb!" "Mom, don't say dumb, that's a bad word." "Oops sorry Makenna!" How am I ever going to teach her not to say those words if I'm using them more than she is?! I realized I really need to be more careful about what I say around her!

I just love the way Makenna says her prayers. She says thank you for everything she can think of! These are just a few of the cute things Makenna said in her prayers today... "Thank you for carseats, thank you for baby brother's pacifier, thank you for you, thank you for prayers, thank you for elephants, and this and this and this" (as she's pointing to things in her room :)

Makenna's favorite things these days: playing outside, dress-ups, her dollhouse, DIRT and MUD, making Jace smile, cucumbers, lizards (there are tons in our backyard!), playing with her tea set, and going shopping with mom! We love our little Kenna!

She loves this bed! Scott painted it and I made that quilt for her a few months ago- so fun!