Long Live the 80's

Last night was a stake dance with an 80's theme!!  Rock on!! I know all about the 80's.  Bummer I didn't keep any of my awesome 80's clothes.  During the time when you clean your closets, you never think that those styles would come back around.... Somehow I never thought I'd be old enough to see my teenage years as becoming a dress-up day.  Thank you Target for carrying all the same styles I wore in 1984!

A great group of girls got ready at our house.  What a bunch of babes :)

Classic photo. LOVE it!

 All summer long our lovely Magnolia Tree drops leaves.  (Strange, yes!)  So everyday someone gets to rake the leaves.  Yes, you read that right. EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!  Seriously, I know the kids hate it. It is rather annoying.  But we are grateful for the shade this lovely tree provides.

Riley, always one to do things his way, was given the assignment to rake the leaves.

I promise. We do own a rake.

 No rake needed for Riley.

He'd rather STAB each little leaf.  Good thing they are already dead.

Yes. What a nice collection.

Thanks for doing your part Riles.

PS

did you notice the wild hairdo?  Yes. That is what we call swim hair.  It is illegal to cut your hair during swim season. (I don't know where this law came from -- But Kevin always followed this law too.)  Riley has got some awesome swim hair.  His is most definitely the blondest of the swim team.

Last Saturday Kevin, Jessica, and Marissa ran a 5k.

Just a little Saturday morning fun.

I am SO impressed. I don't understand why people would sign up to run. I loathe running. However, I am always impressed with people who do it. :) 

So cute!

 and here's Kevin finishing the race.

 and Jessica

and Marissa.

You. guys. are. awesome.

Happy Birthday Jimbo

Jim turned 46 today!! Yikes-- I'm sorry to say, but he and I are getting old!! I used to think people in their 40's were ancient!!!

But, we still feel young on the inside. Jim is still young all the way around. He'll be running his first 1/2 marathon this year....

Jim is the best-- in case you didn't know. He is the best son, brother, husband, father, and friend. He would do just about anything for anyone. He works so hard to give his wife and kids everything and anything they could want.

Happy birthday Jimbo! We are all blessed to have you in our lives. (especially me)

Utah State WINNER

 Watch out world!!  Here is the new Utah State Champion Bridge builder!!

Kevin's bridge came first holding up 9497 pounds (which is almost as much as last year's national champion!).  This great honor also got him $200 cash as the grand prize!!

BYU's SAMPE club landed 1st place and 3rd place (Mark- his held 6852 pounds)-- shown here with Kevin.  2nd place's bridge held 8239 pounds in case you were wondering.

Kevin's bridge is made from carbon fiber.  He recently gave us a tour of the lab where he builds these bridges.  It is pretty cool. These bridges are amazingly light too.  Kevin is currently building a new bridge to send to the national competition!!  It would be awesome if he could win that little contest too :)

Congratulations Kevin!!

She's A BeAsT!

I wouldn't want to get in an arm wrestling match with this girl.

However, I feel a little safer with her around ;)

overnight oatmeal

so, I know this isn't our cooking blog...

but I've just found my new love.  OVERNIGHT OATMEAL!!

I made a sample of this last night, ate it this morning. And I'm in LOVE!  This was so, so, so yummy.  I'm a huge fan of oatmeal. But not so much when the weather is warmer... I can't believe how easy this is and how yummy it is. I can't wait to try all the different variations. The cool part is that you can make it however YOU like it.  

I'll be honest... I don't have the chia seeds yet-- so my first run wasn't as healthy as it could have been. I also didn't use greek yogurt, but I just didn't add as much milk.  I simply added 1 tsp of strawberry jam and 1/2 a sliced banana.  Holy goodness.

Here's some links:

Overnight Oats

Overnight Oatmeal

This link has a few links on it that are worth visiting as well.  Now... I must find some chia seeds. They sound pretty incredible.

UPDATE:

Got the chia seeds. You don't even notice them!! They don't taste or 'crunch' so wow-- some serious nutrients are packed into those little babies.  I am SO in love with this oatmeal-- I was even craving it on my home from work today. You've got to try it!