The Future Of Our Little Family

Hello Friends!  I started this blog 5 years ago to record the story of our little family.  Having a collection of the snapshots of our life is truly a treasure to me, along with the wonderful friendships I've made along the way.  Through this blog, I've been able to stay connected to family near and far and that's been a blessing.  After much thought and contemplation, I've decided that it's necessary for this blog to have a private setting.  If you are already a friend of this blog, you are invited to follow along.  In order to send an invitation to follow, I need your e-mail address.  You can leave it in the comments below or you can send it to ourlittlefamilyofsix@gmail.com. 

Thank you again for being part of our story.

A Sunday Afternoon In the Park

After a week or two of very cold weather, our little family was so happy that it was warm enough to go to the park this Sunday.  We really needed some fresh air and some time in the great outdoors.  As soon as we got to the park, the kiddos headed to the merry-go-round.

They took a few turns spinning each other, before I hopped on with all 4 kiddos and Jason spun us all super fast.  I got a little queasy. That seemed to tickle everyone's funny bone.  lol!  We headed over to the jungle gym and had a great time.  Karsyn impressed us all by making her way to the third monkey bar all by herself.  Here she is at the second. 

She also had a lot of fun zipping down the slide.

Payton decided to give her daddy and Addi a spin.

After we played for a little while, we decided to go for a walk.  We enjoyed checking out the creek.

The girls all got walking sticks.  Every since we went to Devil's Den State Park a couple of years ago, our entire family has been obsessed with going hiking. From my dad, to Uncle Billy, to Jason, to well....you get the idea, we've all talked a lot about hiking.  It's our goal to get a family hiking trip together this spring.  The girls had fun pretend hiking.  They'd yell "Halt" and poked a few different things with their sticks on our walk. 

Karsyn and Addi both found a yellow dandelion or two on our way.  That made them so happy.  Jason and Evan picked up some trash along the way.  I was proud of them for that.  We walked around to the other side of the creek and enjoyed it's peacefulness.

It was so, so nice to get outside together as a family.  I enjoyed it very much.  I hope that you had a great weekend too.

The Weekend What - The Extended MLK Edition

 Since our Friday nights are nearly always the same, I thought I'd skip on over to Saturday morning.  The kiddos and I got up and went grocery shopping.  That's always a hoot and a half or maybe it's not.  ;)  We got home in enough time to eat a quick sandwich and for me to throw a load of towels into the dryer, before we went and picked up Stephen and Emily for Payton's basketball game.  When we got to the court, Emily went inside with Payton.  Payton has to get there a little early to do some warm ups. The rest of us hung out in the van for a few.  Fun times!

Then, it was time to watch Payton, or Bull Dozer as her coach so affectionately calls her, do her thing.  If I've never told you before, I LOVE watching Payton play basketball.  This season has been the best that I've ever seen her play.  She scored her beginning free throw and was played as a starter. My #2 going after the ball.

 Payton has been playing super aggressive this season.  This game, she had her dial turned way up and got 3 fouls called on her before the half way mark of the first period.  Her coach reminded her to dial it down. =)  Here she is with the ball.

Here's a few more pictures of my girl playing some D!

Despite their team's best effort, our blue team took a loss.  We'll try again next week for a win.  After the game, the kiddos and I went to my Aunt Norma's house.  The company Auntie N works for does a lot of projects for veterans.  Auntie N asked if the girls would mind helping her decorate some valentines to send to the Veteran's Hospital and to the Blue Star Mothers.  The girls were more than happy to help.  They had so much fun!

 They used all kinds of stickers and glitter glue and decorated over 60 valentines!

When we wrapped up our decorating, I dropped Emily and Stephen off by their house.  Then, we headed home.  Jason got off work and we made homemade pizza for dinner.  It was very good.  We watched a little football and called it a night.  Jason had to work Sunday - boo!  The kiddos and I got up and went to church.  Other than Payton, Karsyn, and I reorganizing some cabinets, we had a pretty lazy afternoon.  The kiddos, Jason, and I were all off on Monday.  We had a few errands to run and for the first time this month, we all went out to eat as a family.  We had Zaxby's for lunch and it was good.  Then, we headed to the mall.  Jason got a gift card for Christmas.  He and Evan shopped together, while the girlies and I went to the play area.

When we got home, we did a few projects around the house.   Before we knew it, it was time to eat dinner and get Evan to Goju.  He got to wear his new gi and he looked so cute tough.

Here's a little mother/son picture comparison.  The picture of me was taken after I won first place in a forms and fighting tournament.  

And that concludes our very nice weekend!  I hope that yours was great!

On The Menu - BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza

 Our little family is trying very hard to curb our bad eating out habit. I'm pleased to say that we are doing very well.  For me, it's more than just about not eating fast food, I'm trying very hard to lose some lbs.  I've been on the look out for yummy, healthy recipes and was very happy when I found BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza when I wasn't even looking.  I follow Chris Powell on Instagram.  He's on the show Extreme Weight Loss.  His Facebook and Instagram pages are filled with healthy ways to get in shape and lose weight. Click here to view his profile. Last week, Chris posted a recipe for BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza.  I knew it was a recipe that we had to try.  Here's what you need.

2 tbsp reduced sugar BBQ sauce.  (I used Head Country.)

1/2 Cup shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese 

2 oz cooked and shredded chicken 

Red onion

Thinly sliced cilantro 

1 whole wheat pita

Now, here's what you do.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Spread BBQ sauce on pita and then pile on the remaining ingredients. 

2. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

 Here's what it should look like.

To better suit our taste, I made a few tweaks to the recipe.  First, I used 2% cheese and only used 1/4 of a cup to save a few calories.  Also, I'm not a huge fan of whole wheat pitas, so I made ours with the regular style.  For the shredded chicken, I slow cooked chicken breasts in our crock pot for around 6 hours.  I shredded it all and used what we needed for this recipe and then froze the rest to be used later this week.  Next time, I may cut down my cook time or broil it.  When cooked for 15 minutes, the pita was crispy.  Here's what our looked like with the few changes I made.

It was very, very good and I look forward to having it for dinner again!  According to the calculations I made on My Fitness Pal, you can eat the whole pita pizza for 372 calories.  (That's if your pita has 150 calories, before you add the toppings.)  If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

Friday Favorites

Today, I'm linking up here for Friday Favorites.  Click the link and join along.

one.

When the new year rolled in, I changed up our little family's morning routine. It's funny how a few small changes and tweaks can really save so much time.  Having time to curl my hair is a favorite. =)  

two.

 Karsyn and I are on the homestretch of being at the same preschool.  In at matter of a few months, she'll be moving on to elementary school.  The little moments are my favorite - like when she steps into my classroom with blue hands.  I also loved watching her build and then rebuild herself a throne this week.  She let us all know that she's the queen. 

It just needed a few minor adjustments.

She always loves pushing the cart down the hall on unit switch over day.

 three.

On the way home from church on Wednesday evening, the moon looked really pretty and there were quite a few stars in the sky.  We could see Orion's Belt.  When we got home, we got in our p.j.'s and headed outside to do a little star gazing. Payton by far outlasted her brother and sisters.  Watching how excited she was one of my favorite moments this week.

four.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that Jason works in retail management. Any time a new dollar store, Wal-Mart, Target, auto parts store... you name it opens in our area, we try to go check it out.  We have a strange definition of fun -ha!  This week, we went to the grand opening of a Neighborhood Market.  Walking through the store with Jason and seeing it through his perspective from an operational side, was another favorite moment of mine this week.  Karsyn enjoyed a piece of grand opening cake at the store.

five.

Every Thursday at the girls' elementary school is purple day, since it's the vice principal's favorite color.  It's also Miss Addi's favorite color and she was decked out in it this week. This picture of the two of them was posted online and that was yet another favorite.

six.

Another favorite moment from this week, was teaching Evan how to make pancakes.  Last night, we had breakfast for dinner.  Evan was a great sous-chef!  I made scones and scrambled eggs.  It was all quite tasty.  Payton can't wait for her turn to learn, which will be sometime next week. 

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Weekend What

When January rolls around, I always become a major blog slacker.  I'm not really sure why, it just happens and has since I started blogging.  This past weekend was very, very, VERY low key.  But, there are a few moments I thought I'd highlight.  Basketball practice resumed for Payton.  Natalie met us there so that we could walk a few laps.  (I've hit a weight loss plateau and once I'm on the other side of it, I'll write more about what I'm doing to lose weight. I'm a little frustrated with the process now, but I refuse to quit!)  After Nat and I walked laps, things took a silly turn.  There just are no words.

After practice, we went home and hunkered in for a big snow storm.  Everything for the next day was cancelled - including Payton's basketball game and Evan's district academic team meet.  We were promised icy, trecherous conditions with an inch or two of snow. We woke up to a little bit of snow that didn't stick.  That gave us a rare weekend at home with no plans.  I decided to whip up some pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Karsyn came to the table with playing in the snow on her mind.

I thought she looked a wee bit like Edith from Despicable Me.  What do you think?

 We were all sorely disappointed that the snow and all traces of it were gone by lunch time.  I spent the day doing laundry and watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix.

The kiddos had fun hanging out in their p.j.'s. On Sunday, we went to church.  After lunch, we went to see my Grandpa Chuck at the hospital.  He's had a few health issues going on, but all should be well.  He was tickled pink by a steady stream of visitors.  After our visit, we did a little grocery shopping, then headed home.  That evening, I went to my parents' house and ended up staying a while to do some secretarial work for Dad.  I've been put on retainer (payment in the form of a can of Diet Coke) and will help Dad later in the year by typing up his performance reviews. =)  When I got home, we got our evening activities going.  I enjoyed watching my beautiful little bookworm do some reading.

And that concludes our very low key, kind of sort of not blog worthy, yet here I am blogging about it weekend.  =)

This Week...

This week, we enjoyed Monday off, but then got back into the swing of things.  Addi and Karsyn were excited to get back to dance.

 This weeks, I switched units out in my class room.  Karsyn decided to help out.  She did a great job picking out and hanging up decorations on her own. =)  Oh, and somehow over Christmas Break, Karsyn seemed to have really grown up.  I'm not sure what it is, but she just seems like such a big girl.

 This week, Payton finally got her braces.  She was soooo excited!  She only has 6 brackets on her top teeth.  This is Phase 1 and she'll have a full set, but that's a ways off.  I love her brace face!!  I also love that Jason has been the parent at the appointments.  I'll be honest, I really want to take Payton, but we've been scheduling her appointments around Jason's days off.  They always squeeze in a mini daddy-daughter date.  This weeks appointment was a little later in the day, so they went out for milk shakes after.  Usually, they go out to lunch before her appointment.  

 This week, this guy started private trumpet lessons. The band directors were thrilled that he signed up and gave us such positive feed back.

 We had a few minutes to waste before his first lesson, so we took a few pictures. ha!

This week, I saw these on Instagram.  The search has begun.  I must try them. =)

This week, I've started working out.  I'll do a post on what I'm doing and when I'm doing it really soon.  Hope you all have a great weekend!