SPRING BREAK DAY 1

We started off our Spring Break in Breckenridge Colorado, and took advantage of the gorgeous day and immediately went skiing. The girls now ski independently and our little guy went to ski school for the first time. We had a great time skiing with the girls!

FUN Weekend!

What a fun weekend we had. Friday night Kiersten, Kade and I headed to Lawrence (for Kiersten's BB tourney), we made a quick stop at my favorite restaurant Chucky Cheese, and then headed to our hotel. We spent Friday night swimming in Lawrence, and then it was off to bed for early morning BB games. Kiersten's team did great and won 2 out 3 games. We had some down time inbetween games, so we took some of the team back to the hotel and swam some more. These girls were tired by the time they played their 5pm game-yikes. What a fun filled day. We headed to K.C. after the tourney and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Sunday...what a blessing-filled weekend!

FUN Birthday!!!!

What a GREAT Sunday and GREAT Birthday. My morning started with breakfast in bed, and then another brunch at Early Edition (where Jordy Nelson was also dining), then it was off to church. My kids cleaned my entire house that afternoon, and then my parents came up from K.C. My mom cooked an awesome birthday dinner and we had cake. My family surprised me with an ipad (Whoot-hoo)-I can't say I have played on it yet-my kids keep stealing it :)! I also received these "smokin" HOT Mizuno Elixer racing shoes-so Awesome! We headed to the bowling ally for a little birthday bowling. GOOD TIMES!

A Fun night on the town

Scott and I got to hit the town Friday night! What a blast we had. Good Times with Great people!

Mini Cats-1st Place

Kiersten's BB team took 1st place in the Wamego tournament this weekend. Great job Kiersten and team!

Happy Birthday Juls

Happy to Birthday Juls. We all went out Friday night to celebrate..Julie finally made it to 30! Cheers to an amazing friend, runner, trainer, and mommy! We love you!

A Basketball filled weekend

This past weekend we had 8 BB games going on. Kiersten had 4 on Saturday, Karli had 1 practice and 1 game, and Kiersten had 3 more BB games on Sunday. Scott and I were exhausted. Both girls did excellent. Kiersten's team took 2nd in both tournaments, and played super tough. And Karli's Little Dribblers team persevered as well. Karli scored 8 points during her game. Great job Mini Cats and Monrachs

Kade's DISCO party at school

After seeing the Justin Beiber movie this past weekend-Kaden was off to a nightime DISCO party at his school (Apparently this was Kaden inspired). He of course rose to this occasion and had a blast. He brought the kids his microphone and amp, JB CD's, and his paper JAMZ. they danced the night away.......

Karli's Valentine Party

Kaden decided to see what a frozen flagpole tasted like

Kade knows that putting your tongue on anything frozen, especially while outside-could cause your tongue to stick there permanently. Kade has watched "A Christmas Story" over and over again, especially the "tongue" scene-so this little guy knew exactly what he was doing today-he simply said...he just wanted to find out "for real"! Well he did, and as you can see part of his tongue was left on the frozen pole.

4H Gavel Games

The Cico Shamrocks went to Randolph to perform a gavel
game competition for 4H. They had to practice many evenings, and had specific roles to learn. Kiersten was the treasurer. All the kids did a GREAT job emmulating a 4H club meeting-they actaully won the purple ribbon (highest honors)-Hoo-RAY Juniors!!!

Karli's Little Dribbler BB game

Karli had her first BB game this past weekend. The Monarch's had a great game against the Sparks and had fun to boot. The best part is watching how much fun the girls have while playing ball. I only wish I could keep them all in 1st and 2nd grade forever. Great job Karli! Of course, a shout out is needed to the 4 awesome coaches (Scott, Teri, Bill, and Mickeal), they are so encouraging and patient!

HUNGRY GIRL CHICKEN SKEWERS

Yummy! I found the the BEST chicken satay recipe tonight from Hungry Girl and only 109 calories....Whoot-hoo-these are awesome!

Chicken Skewers 12 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness 1/8 tsp. curry powder 1/8 tsp. salt 2 dashes black pepper Sauce 1/3 cup plain light soymilk 2 tbsp. reduced-fat peanut butter, room temperature 1 1/2 tbsp. lite/low-sodium soy sauce 1 tsp. granulated sugar 1/4 tsp. crushed garlic 1/4 tsp. dried minced onion 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (Or bring a grill/grill pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat.) Sprinkle chicken with curry powder, salt, and black pepper. Evenly cut chicken into 12 strips, and thread each strip onto a skewer. Place skewers on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray, and bake in the oven until chicken is fully cooked, about 10 minutes. (Or grill until cooked through, 1 - 2 minutes per side. If using a grill pan, remove from heat and re-spray between batches.) Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients except yogurt in a small nonstick pot. Bring to medium-low heat on the stove. Stirring constantly, cook until hot and well mixed, about 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and let cool slightly. Add yogurt and stir until smooth and blended. Serve sauce with chicken skewers, spoon it on, and EAT! MAKES 6 SERVINGS Serving Size: 2 skewers with sauce Calories: 109 Fat: 2.75g Sodium: 269mg Carbs: 4.5g Fiber: 0.25g Sugars: 2g

4H Sewing Project

Kiersten's 4H sewing group made pillowcases over the past couple of weeks. Their goal was to make one pillowcase for themselves and another to give away to the "1 Million Pillowcase Challenge".

The idea of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge is simple – make and donate pillowcases to local charities in your community."

Pillowcases will be donated to the Crisis Center here in Manhattan.

Topeka to Auburn Half-Marathon 1.15.11

WoW!!!! When I thought Hospital Hill was the MOST challenging course around.....the Topeka to Auburn race decided to show its ugly head. This half marathon I ran this past Saturday was the hardest course I have ever done. The elevation alone had gains of of nearly 1200 ft (yes that's in KS folks). The hills were never-ending, and the weather conditions did not help. The race started at a balmy 20 degrees, and roads were slushy, snow-packed, and full of ice for nearly 5 miles of the course. Why anyone does this race is beyond me........WILL I do it again you ask.....Of course. What an AWESOME start to the new year and great way to prepare for Spring races.

I ended up placing 4th in my age-group (I think around 25 ran in the 35-39 group)-this was after the student-athletes could not accept awards. My final time was around 1:50-which I was thrilled about considering the elements we had to face. My award you ask???? Why it was an exquisite coffee mug, of course!

*** Shout out to my amazing husband for shuffling all my kids around Saturday so I could do what I love-thanks honey!

Snowdays........

The kids were off school today...due to all the snow....we took complete advantage of it, and played in it ALL DAY long. Fun Times!!!!

KSU vs OSU BB game

More BB was on the agenda this weekend.......We attended the KSU/OSU woman's BB game on Sunday. It was a great game and good time with friends!

A basketball filled weekend

Kiersten had her first BB tournament in Riley this past weekend. The girls were concentrating so hard on the "plays", and "pleasing" their coaches, I think they lost sight of the "big picture"....scoring baskets. But...these girls are smart and tough......although no medals for them this weekend-they will rally when they take on Salina next weekend!

Christmas service projects....

This Christmas we decided to focus more on the gift of giving...and what a joy it was to help out our community the past couple of months. Thanks Nate, for encouraging our family on this endeavor......we will continue to strive to help with these missions.

MAX Fitness Grand Opening

What a great day we had a MAX's grand opening...... Patrons could come in and sample food from "Nutrients", taste protein shakes, tryout cycling, kickboxing, boot camp, body jam, and musicgarden (for kids). I was fortunate to teach the first SPIN class of the morning, and we had a great crowd, and many new cycling enthusiasts came to try out the class!




Aimee and I