the Yak

Me and the boys flew up to Seattle to catch the end of my family reunion and spend some time with my immediate family. Let's just say 2 kids through the airport and 2 flights is not my favorite thing. We managed somehow.

Washington is SO nice after being in the heat and humidity of Texas. Which makes me realize me and Aaron were crazy to think of moving out here.. climate makes a big difference when it comes to my comfort and happiness! =)

It's become a tradition for my dad to take the grandkids (Carter) and my little siblings out on the 4-wheelers

4-wheeling in a dress? Why not?

My dad has always loved babies. And Mason got plenty of attention that week!

Carter loves berries, and that's also his and Grandpa's little thing, is to go pick berries in the yard =)

 I got to spend some time with Melanie, which is always fun! It makes me a little sad that I'm not around much to see her grow up =(  And I never thought we looked alike til I saw this picture!

Since I was flying out of Seattle, Aimee and I made a day trip out of it and took the kids to the Pacific Science Center- one of my favorites places for me growing up

And as my luck would have it, we missed our flight the following morning! So Uncle Ryan came to our rescue! We got to spend an extra day in Seattle with him and his girlfriend, and go boating. I was not bummed about this.

We had missed our flight but our luggage had gone through so we had to make a Target stop to get toothbrushes, a change of clothes, etc. Ryan took over the kids while I busted through Target.... and he is not wearing shoes haha! We went right after boating, and his sandals had blown off the boat! So he pulled a "walmart" at Target... so embarrassing ;)

And now I want to go back to Washington already.....

JuMbLe of pHoToS

I just got back from an awesome trip to Washington to see my family but I haven't been able to upload the photos yet for some reason. So here's just some fun pictures from our time out here in McAllen, TX.


I had forgotten about this cute picture and just found it. Grandma Belinda helped us drive out to Texas- she is awesome and the boys love her =)

Here's our silly boys- Mason who had to bathe in the sink for a while (he now likes to lay in the bath tub). And Carter, who hid in the dresser. He did get stuck, and cried.

 Fourth of July waiting for daddy to get home

 gosh this kid is cute. even when it's blurry

 This is one of only a few family photos we have! For the 4th of July, the guys played softball and we had a team BBQ. Good times

 The girls!

It's weird to have so few kids

Carter loves Mason. A lot. Almost too much...

We love our little Mason. It's become kind of a routine where Aaron will get up early and work out while I get the kids going. Then he'll get home and take over while I head to the gym. And Mason is usually asleep on Aaron's chest when I get back =) So cute

But he's still a mama's boy.. note the drool all over my shirt ;)

Happy boy with just those two teeth still. He's rolling all over the place and hates to be tied down to one spot- like his car seat.

 And here's the whole team + significant others. We had a service project, picking up trash at a local park. 

Go vivint.

recipe time

I made a tasty, colorful salad today and posted it on instagram. As promised, I am posting the how-to. So yes I DO share recipes! It's not my own though, I found it on pinterest. Duh.. This is the original. If you haven't jumped on the quinoa bandwagon yet, what are you waiting for?!

Thai Cashew Quinoa Salad... (vegan and gluten-free)

Ingredients

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1-2 cups shredded red cabbage, depending on how much crunch you like
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ red onion, diced (I omitted this- I don't like too much onion)
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup diced green onions
• ½ cup cashew halves or peanuts
• Optional: 1 cup edamame or chickpeas
• Fresh lime, for a bit of tang
• For the dressing:
• ¼ cup all natural peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten-free if desired
• 1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan- or if you hate honey like me!)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Water to thin, if necessary

Cook quinoa in 1 1/2 cups of water for 10 min and fluff with a fork.
Microwave peanut butter and honey/agave for 20 sec then add the rest of dressing ingredients.
Toss it all together!
I thought the recipe needed a little more zing, so I added more lime and some sriracha!
And since I decided to share after all, I added some chicken so my husband wouldn't be like.. where's the meat? ;)

It supposedly tastes even better the next day. We shall see!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1/6th of recipe Calories:
260 Fat: 13.5g Carbohydrates: 27.7g Sugar: 7g Fiber: 4.3gProtein: 8.6g