Family Fun Friday... Rexburg Rapids

Rexburg, in my opinion, had the chance to do something amazing by putting in a community pool, several years ago, since there are none in this town, except at the university and that water is freezing! Like so cold that the one time I took Aniston there it took 3 hours for her lips to change from purple back to pink.

Rexburg screwed it up.

They built an outdoor water park (not the kind of water park that I grew up with mind you) that is usable for about 3 months out of the year. And let's be honest, that's only if we're lucky. Rexburg is insanely windy and doesn't always have lasting summer weather.

Honestly I would enclose it and make it usable year round. I think that is a good idea. Yes, that costs money, but come on Rexburg, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Honestly, they probably should build a football field for their high school first since they don't have one (weird right?), but the priorities seem a little silly here sometimes so yeah....

Last year Aniston took swimming lessons at Rexburg Rapids. She didn't learn to swim because they didn't teach them how to swim, but she did have a blast! Every time we drive by she says, "Hi, swimming lessons!"

We hadn't hit up Rexburg Rapids yet this summer because it was always so crowded every time we drove by and the weather hasn't been amazing.

We decided to go this week once school had started in hopes that it wouldn't be crowded.

We picked an overcast, slightly windy but still warm afternoon.

Still. Crowded.

Do that many people home school their kids?

Does every school in the area have different start dates?

Oh well.

Aniston had a BLAST and Benson really enjoyed the water as well.

The water was the perfect temperature and Spencer only had to glare at a few silly kids to make them stop splashing my 9 month old. Win-win right?

I love that they allow you to bring in outside food. This made it perfect for a little picnic. And by picnic I mean we went to the store grabbed some sushi (Broulims does have AMAZING sushi) and crackers and a lunchable for Ani and called it good.

Aniston's favorite part of the day was sliding down the slides. Last year she was too scared to go down them, but this year she did great! It was definitely something that made this year a little more special.

We really did have a fun time as a family.

You know, everything becomes a little bit more difficult when you have kids, but the memories are definitely a thousand times better!

DAY 1451... 3 Months to Go!!!

Pregnancy, for humans, last for 9 months.

It's not always the best thing in the world. It's really hard to surrender your body to someone else. You just never completely feel like yourself.

Obviously my pregnancy with Benson was a thousand times better than my pregnancy with Aniston.

Hyperemesis BLOWS!

Today I celebrate my baby's 9 month birthday!

It's strange and hard to believe that he has been on the outside just as long as he was in the inside.

It's really not fair how slow times goes when you're pregnant compared to how fast it goes once they're born.

Not. Fair. At. All.

Benson is the BEST!

He now says "dada" and "yay".

He isn't crawling yet, but he rolls and scoots around like a boss. He has absolutely no issue getting where he wants to go.

Sometimes he gets stuck.

He reaches for everything.

This kid has insane back flexibility.

He is all boy.

Very destructive.

Always grunting.

He is finally getting taller. 

He has always been short and fat, so I am appreciating his growth spurt.

He has a tooth on the bottom that is finally poking through.

And he is always surprising us! 

Sometimes, it's not the best surprise.

He is such a blessing and such a sweet little man! 

I'm so excited to see who he becomes!

On a side note...

How do you not compare your children? Ani was crawling by this age, and I am finding it difficult to not think that there's something going on because he's not crawling. I know that every kid is different, but I still can't help but to think that there is something going on, even though I know he's totally fine.

Monday Munchies... Hawaiian Chicken Salad

Do you ever just watch Keeping Up With The Kardashian's reruns and just crave a salad, because that's all they seem to eat?

No? 

Just me? 

Okay.

This recipe is something my sister made for us once and we fell in love! 

The flavors are amazing and the taste is so on point.

Seriously, there's nothing better in the hot summertime than a good refreshing salad.

SHOPPING LIST

Lettuce

1 package of Canadian Bacon

3 Chicken Breasts

Teriyaki Sauce

Pineapple

Croutons

Cherry Tomatoes

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Ranch

1. Cut uncooked chicken into bite sized pieces and marinade in teriyaki sauce in the fridge for 4 hours.

2. After the chicken is done marinading, cook on stove.

3. Cook pineapple in separate pan with some juice.

4. Remove pineapple when it has started to brown.

5. Cook Canadian bacon in pineapple juice in the some pan you cooked the pineapple until browned.

6. Cut cherry tomatoes into two pieces.

7. Layer lettuce, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, Canadian bacon and pineapple.

8. Top with croutons and ranch.

ENJOY!!!!

We love this salad and hope you do too!

Also why do we call anything with Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Hawaiian? I lived in Hawaii for 2 years and I never once ate Canadian Bacon unless I went to Pizza Hut.

I think that's strange.

Family Fun Friday... Ririe Reservoir

Summer has just flown by! We haven't even done half the things on my summer to do list! Let's just say the next couple of week are gonna be pretty busy.

Over the weekend, my parents invited us to go to Ririe Reservoir with them. Not to go swimming or boating, but to picnic and to go fishing. 

Aniston was so excited!

One of her favorite gifts that she received for her birthday was her Mickey Mouse fishing rod. Yes. My 3 year old calls it a fishing rod, not a fishing pole. 

We had a FANTASTIC time!

We are in trouble my friends. This boy is now moving and shaking and gets what he wants to get. Chips included. (Don't worry... we didn't let him eat any chips).

Benson was so excited to be outside. He didn't cry once the entire night! He is such a little blessing!

I was worried that Aniston wasn't going to love her life jacket, but I knew that there was no way in the world that she was getting on a boat without one on. She surprised me though. She LOVED it! Never even complained once.

That saggy bum though...

She practiced reeling in her fish for a good 15-20 minutes before they actually got on the boat.

These two. Spencer didn't even care if he didn't get to fish. All he wanted was to fish with Aniston. He really wanted her to have an amazing time. What a great Dad!

Let's be honest... All I could think about as they were floating away was, Titanic!!! This is the same reason that I have never been on a cruise and may never go on a cruise. Boats sink sometimes. I prayed the entire 2 hours that they were out on that lake for their safety. Spoiler Alert... Heavenly Father answered my prayer.

Ryan kept busy reading some H.P. (Harry Potter) while we waited for our fishermen/fisherchild.

Give this little man a water bottle and you will keep him happy for hours.

We are so blessed to live so close to my parents! I am so glad that they know their Nana and their Papa and I just love how much they love them!

While we were waiting, we took Benson down to the water. He was completely mesmerized by the tiny waves.

Those eyes...

Uncle Ryan is the BEST!

After two hours, we saw them coming into the dock. Then we noticed that Spencer was rowing the boat. We figured the engine had died. Nope. Just my studly husband wanting to row the boat to get exercise. What a hunk!

Ani was a little upset that Mom forgot her swimming suit. This is her, "I'm totally gonna jump in the second you look away Mom," look.

My Dad was the only one who caught a fish, but Aniston was really excited about it!

I have no memory of taking this picture, nor do I understand what is going on. Apparently my Dad is really proud of his fish and hungry.

This was a fantastic adventure with my little family! I am so glad that Aniston finally got to go fishing and that she had so much fun doing it. Notice that she has definitely been wearing her life jacket almost the entire night.