train rides with favorite people...

Ryder took a train ride with his Mia to have a sleep over and hang out with his cousins.

 She was so bummed to not be going too...

But she handled it like a champ!

 Thumbs up!

 These two have the best time together!

A little story:

I had picked Ryder up from school and we had planned to go to my parents house, but the weather was perfect so I decided to surprise him with a trip to Disneyland.  He MELTED down that I would consider doing something that would take longer to get to his Mia's house.  "We can go to Disneyland ANYTIME!"  Ok, they have a serious bond♥.

First trip to the dentist!

Yesterday the kids both had their first trip to the dentist.

 Showing his Mia how he opened his mouth for his cleaning: 

Eden was not a HUGE fan of the dentist but she was happy to get toys and stickers when it was over:

It was such a positive experience and I am so excited that this staff will be caring for my kiddos!

celebrating our girl...

Yesterday, while we were staying out in Redlands, we spent some sweet family moments celebrating Eden's third birthday:

Her birthday plate and some presents:

 Waking up with Mia and Papa AND doughnuts is pretty much the best ever!

 Pure delight!

 She got an amazing cookie set:

 And little Frozen dolls, courtesy of Kit, before he left for India:

 I seriously can not believe this little girl is 3!

Our Eden Marie is Three!

Today marks the anniversary of when this beautiful human being  came into our lives, and we have never been the same since.  Her name means delight and it could not be a more fitting description of her.  My girl is fierce and sensitive and passionate and funny and kind.  She is tough and nurturing and cares for others deeply.  You never have to wonder what is on her mind.  She brings such joy in our home and to each person that she comes into contact with and I am so honored to be her mama.  The story that the Lord is writing for this little girl is going to be epic and I am so excited to be be part of it.

Happy Birthday to our baby girl!

(Because who am I kidding, no matter how old she is, she will always be my baby girl...♥) 

Now we are off to get some doughnuts and have some fun!

so happy together...

They were really quiet the other day and, especially with Eden, that is not a good sign.  So I went looking for them, having no idea what I would find.

To my relief, and sheer joy, I found them cuddled up together on Eden's chair, reading books.

 They were so sweetly "reading" to each other (Telling each other stories based on the pictures in their books...) Such sweetness!

Gosh I love these two so much!♥

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today Kit leaves for India for 10 days and I am already missing him so much.  It will be a long trip and I will be SO happy when he is home!
We love you, Kit Rae! Hurry home to us!

legos (a.k.a. a pink house for the win!)

A friend recently gave us four HUGE boxes of legos and my kids have been having the best time going through them and building all sorts of stuff.  In the legos, we found a girl set of pink and purple legos and Eden was THRILLED that there were legos in such "Pitty colors, mama!" (Pretty...)

I love watching these two work together!

We are so thankful...♥

french onion dip

One of Kit's favorite snacks is french onion dip.  We usually use a packet from the store and call it a day, but since Ryder has been SO into cooking, I thought we would check out a recipe for a home made dip.  Here is what we came up with:

Food Network is such a great resource!

Onion Dip By Alton Brown:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups diced onions

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/onion-dip-from-scratch-recipe.html?oc=linkback

We had the best time putting this super easy savory treat together for Kit:

 Photo by Ryder:

I just love that this little guy loves to cook and that we can enjoy things like this together!

An added perk was that Kit said it was THE BEST onion dip he had ever had!

oh these two...

There are moments where my children drive me absolutely CRAZY bonkers.  But then there are moments like this:  

My two kiddos, snuggled up in their blankets, pretending that they are on a camping trip together.

 Silly faces...

I can't tell you how sweet it is to watch these two love each other. Being their mom is such an honor...♥

Valentine's Day celebrations...

Last night we celebrated Valentines Day with our annual king crab leg tradition!

Crab, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar biscuits,and arugula and spinach salad...  I can't tell you how good this tradition is! 

It was our first valentines in this house and we can't wait to keep this tradition going for many years to come!