January

Haven's class visited a local fire department where one of her classmate's dad's is a fireman. Her favorite part was spraying the big hose. She is now reading and is participating in "Redeemer Reads" - where she will read 100 books in 10 weeks.


I competed in the In-Shape's Diva Dash at Mission Bay. You can read about my experience on my most recent blog for BFit San Diego:
http://community.bfitsandiego.com/bfit-community/diva-dash/


Rowyn swinging with her friend, Josie, at Moonlight Beach.


Parker attended a few swimming lessons. She thrives in the water and loves being wet. We can't wait for more pool time this summer!


Haven started arena soccer and was also selected to join a competitive team that will play this fall. This is our first experience with competitive anything, and we are being told Haven has great potential! We are just encouraging her to have fun and play hard! Inwardly, I am thrilled she picked soccer and grass stains over leotards and ballet slippers. Nate is still trying to persuade her on how great basketball is! =0)

Christmas 2011 - Flatau Lodge, Cle Elum Washington

We spent Christmas with my parents up north in Cle Elum, Washington. To our delight, we did have a white Christmas and relished in the beautiful winter surroundings while being with my side of the family. What a blessing! We assisted my mother with the Christmas Eve service at Suncadia and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the beautiful resort. The girls loved being with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles - and of course, Santa knew just where to find them!



Santa found Parker!


We saw "Cinderella" at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle...


Girls loved helping Grandpa Mark plow the snow...


While Rowyn found something else that captivated her attention.


The kiddos were tucked in my a REAL elf at Suncadia Lodge. Super cute!



Day after Christmas, we visited Leavenworth. We brought back wine and cheese. Yummm.


The girls were excited to spend time with their cousins!

I'm BACK!

Hello there! Remember me? I can't believe it has been close to three months since my last post. The holidays completely got the best of me and I just checked out of my blogging duties for a bit. So, I am going to pay a little catch up on this post... Bare with me.

December 18th was Haven's 6th birthday. I somehow convinced her that taking her closest four friends to birthday dinner at Red Robin followed by cupcakes at Sprinkles was going to be soooo fun! We had the discussion that not every birthday will be celebrated with a BIG party where we invite her entire class, have the bounce house and pony rides. Sometimes smaller is better (and less expensive). We also took birthday girl Haven and Parker to have lunch with the Disney Princesses as part of her celebration. Nana was able to come down and join us on the special day! I surprised the girls the morning of the trip with matching Ariel shirts - their favorite princess.

Butternut Squash Soup

Seriously, this cleanse is forcing me to become a legit cook! I have to prepare many of our meals from scratch now and am actually enjoying trying healthy "cleanse friendly" recipes. I made this soup tonight. It was amazing (and simple). It is a must try if you like Butternut Squash Soup.

2-3 TB Olive Oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cubed) OR Trader Joe's bag of already cubed butternut squash
1 (32 oz) container of chicken stock
pinch of the following: sea salt, pepper, cumin, curry powder, cinnamon, nutmeg
1/2 C of Sour Cream (this is not cleanse friendly, so I left this out)

1. In a large pot, saute onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash in olive oil for 5 minutes. Pour in chicken broth - enough to cover the vegetables. Add seasonings/spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 40 minutes or until veggies are tender.
2. Add sour cream if desired then transfer soup to a blender or use a hand held blender - blend until smooth.

Maddie and Rowyn

Meet Maddie. She is Haven's friend and classmate who we love to have over for playdates. Her mom was also our family photographer. Maddie has taught Haven about what it is like living with childhood diabetes. We hope someday doctors can find a cure for kids like Maddie.

Sweet Rowyn... I still have a hard time believing I have a little blue eyed beauty.

Family Pictures Part 2

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Here are the rest of the pictures from the family photo session a few weeks ago. What a treat to have so many great shots of our family. If you are local, go check out Kirsten's website at www.kirstenevans.com. She does a great job!

Cleanse

Nate and I started a cleanse today. I am posting this declaration because I need as much accountability as possible! I am addicted to sugar, anything made with flour and coffee with lots and lots of creamer - especially the Pumpkin Pie flavor that is out right now! UGH. None of these delicious treats for the next 24 days.

Nate has been turned onto a company called Advocare (www.advocare.com/110910203). He has found a miracle energy drink called Spark and we both have enjoyed the all natural, sugar free, great tasting solution to our sluggish mornings. I take it each morning before my workout and love how much energy I have! So, as we have researched the company and products, we soon found that all of Advocare's vitamins and supplaments are 100% natural, pharmaceutical grade, and tested by board certified doctors. I have heard the amazing benefits of the cleanse, so decided to give it a go since I feel like my eating habits and overall health could use a boost! Plus, I still want to shed the last 7 pounds of baby weight that just keeps hanging on...

Today is our first day. I have not had a bite of sugar today and I am missing it! But, I am committed and determined to follow the rules since I know I am going to feel great in the end. I have been scouring my cookbooks and the internet for "cleanse friendly" meals. Pretty much a focus on lean meats, veggies, fruits and complex carbs. A friend gave me this recipe and it is worth sharing! I would make it and eat if even if I WASN'T on the cleanse! Plus, the girls ate it. That says a lot about a dish that is mainly veggies!

Italian Vegetables & Meatballs
One quartered and thinly sliced zucchini squash
One quartered and thinly sliced yellow squash
One small onion chopped
2-3 TB olive oil
2 Cups of baby spinach
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 "jar" of water
Meatballs - I used 2 bags of Trader Joe's frozen Turkey meatballs (24 total)
Brown Rice
Parmesan cheese

Saute chopped onion with olive oil in large sauce pan. Add sliced zucchini, yellow squash and spinach. Saute until veggies are tender. Add jar of marinara sauce and then fill jar with water and add that to mixture. Add meatballs and bring to a low boil. Reduce, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve over brown rice and top with a little Parmesan cheese.

If you have any more recipes that you think I may enjoy on our cleanse - PLEASE send them my way!! =0)

The Great Pumpkin

Haven and her Kindergarten class went to the pumpkin patch last Friday. I was able to bring the other two sisters along so I could be a part of her fun day of pumpkin decorating and jump house bouncing. I love the fall...

Trick or Treat!

These are the Speer girls' Halloween costumes this year. Haven wanted to be a cheerleader (Thank you Costco), Parker a doggie (Thank you Nana for the most awesome pink poodle costume out there!) and Rowyn is the pink octopus (Haven's first Halloween costume that I saved). Maybe one of these Halloweens we will all coordinate with a fun and cute theme, but since my girls are so diverse in their personalities and interests, that may have to wait until we can all decide on something. May you have a fun and safe Halloween!