Taggart.

Today the newest member of the family was born, Taggart Curtis Quinn to my little brother Nate and his wife Lauren.

We knew Lauren was starting the induction process last night so we have been on pins and needles all day for the news the baby was born.  Then at about 6:30 PM we got this picture {above}.

Best. Picture. Ever.

My parents were here having dinner and simultaneously everyones cell phones started dinging - we were glued to our phones for about an hour waiting for details and more pictures to come.

New mama Lauren and Tagg.

Because news from Nate and Lauren was so sparse all day, Lauren's little sister Carmen and I kept tabs with each other all day via text.  Above is a text and picture I got shortly after we heard news that baby had been born.

I LOVE this picture of my little brother Nate.
Congratulations!!!
We can't wait to meet him.

Temple.

Our date nights are numbered so we are taking full advantage of any time out together we can get!

Bath.

 This morning after I got out of the tub I turned around and saw this!

Bodie feet.

 Bodie loves to take a bath.  I swear no matter where he is in the house he can hear the bath water when it starts to run.  This night I had the kids all tucked in bed so I crawled into the tub {a nightly thing when you are this pregnant} and pretty soon here came Bodie.  I couldn't be mad at him for getting out of bed, instead I told him to jump in with me.  You should have seen the look of surprise on his face.

{I know he looks like a cooked lobster in this picture, it's an iphone picture and I promise our bath was not that hot}.

Mexican Layer Bean Dip

Mexican Layer Bean Dip

The Pioneer Woman - Ree Drumand

Ingredients

• 1 can Refried Beans
• Tabasco Sauce, To Taste
• 1 can Diced Green Chilies
• 3/4 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 cup Guacamole
• 3/4 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 can Black Olives
• 1 cup Pico De Gallo

Begin by throwing the refried beans into a small pan over medium-low heat. Add several dashes of Tabasco sauce and a small can of (undrained) diced green chilies. Stir well. Next, sprinkle a little bit of ground Cumin.

Spread the beans on the bottom of a glass bowl or high-sided dish. Over this sprinkle the sharp cheddar. Next, plop your sour cream. And spread it into a single layer, being careful not to disturb the cheese underneath.

The next layer is the guacamole. Spread it over the sour cream. Follow this with a layer of Monterey Jack Cheese and a nice sprinkling of chopped black olives.

Lastly, place a generous layer of Pico de Gallo. You can also, if you have the gumption for it, sprinkle some diced jalapeños over top.

Enjoy!

BYU Men's Volleyball.

 Tonight we went on a double date with a couple from work.  They treated us to dinner and we treated them {thanks coach Chris} to court side seats at the BYU men's volleyball game.

BYU men's volleyball never disappoints!

Dr. Haderlie.

 A couple of weeks ago at one of my prenatal checkups Dr. Haderlie asked if our family would come in and be 'models' for a photos shoot for his new web site.  Today we went in for the shoot and it was actually kind of fun.  The staff was so nice to the kids {as always} and the kids got to "help" do a check up.  Dr. Haderlie said one of the reasons he wanted our family to come in was because the boys are always so interested in what he is doing and want to help.

 Between Gregg and I we snapped a few photos on our phones - when we get the real photos from the photographer we will post them.  Here the boys got to help with the ultra sound and see the baby and they loved it.

 Gregg had to fake getting stitches in his hand.  He and Dr. Haderlie had a hard time not just laughing - it felt funny to be all mocked up for a photo shoot.

 

 The boys were weighed and measured and did a little mock check up.  

 Every time I tell Bodie we have to go to Dr. Haderlies he says,

"mom, is my arm broken again."

Freezer Meals.

Today with the help of my mom I embarked on the task of making 10 crock pot friendly freezer meals for my family.  I am not one that usually makes extra meals and puts them in the freezer but the idea of being prepared with some super simple dinners when baby arrives sounds really good to me!

The recipes along with a shopping list can be found HERE.

I pulled everything out of my pantry that I already had on hand and then marked on the shopping list the items I needed to purchase.  I had about 45 minutes between picking up kids so I ran to Wal-Mart and literally 'grabbed' the items I still needed.  I did't price compare or shop ads and I ended up spending about $60.  And most of that was on meat, which is a complete rip off at Wal-Mart {in my humble opinion} I never buy my meat there ... but I was in a hurry.

The shopping list was so organize and made everything really easy.

With my mom's help in the kitchen we had all 10 meals made and in the freezer {and all the dishes done} in about a hour and a half.  Seriously, it was so easy.  When Gregg came home tonight and I told him about it he was so excited.

Here are some of the meals;

Black Bean and Corn Salsa Chicken

BBQ Cranberry Chicken

Pineapple Glazed Ham

Sweet Teriyaki Chicken

Creamy Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes

I wrote what each meal was on the zip-lock bag and also how long to cook it in the crock pot.  Most of the meals require that you also make fresh rice, potatoes, etc. 

I followed the recipes EXACTLY even though as I was making some of them I was thinking of how I might do things a little differently.  I figured for the first time around I would follow the directions and then take good notes on what my family likes and dislikes and how I might change things in the future.

I will definitely do an update to this post with which meals my family liked, and which ones we didn't - plus things I changed and added.

Sleeping Bodie.

Apparently I like to take pictures of Bodie napping, these are all from the last few weeks.

One day I was going over specifications at my parents new house with the builder when my mom took  Bodie out to her new car to turn a movie on for him.  While she was trying to figure out how to turn on a DVD Bodie fell asleep in the back seat, with a stick of gum on his chest.  She texted me this picture.

Bodie is so programed to take a nap around 1 pm every afternoon that on most days he asks for it.

"mom, I need some quiet time"

And always with a sippy of chocolate milk and "blanky" {and usually in our bed}.

A little snuggle and quiet time with dad.

And it's always funny when he falls asleep eating in the car.

One Friday night Gregg was working late so after baths I let the boys watch part of a movie in our bed.  Truman fell asleep immediately while Bodie rubbed his head.

Brotherly love!

Book Club.

Tonight I hosted book club at our house.  We read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of my high school favorites.  I chose this book because I like it and I really like the new movie {and I thought it would be fun to have a movie night for book club}.  If you haven't read this book you must, it is a quick read and the new movie is great.

 I didn't take any decent pictures of the party or the food.  We had caramel corn, sodas and movie candy {"G" for Gatsby}.

 The things I love most about the new movie are the super creative cinematography and the way they incorporate modern music into a 1920's time period {which also seems to be the most criticized aspect of the movie}.

 The original movie with Robert Redford is really good to.

 I found this great character map on line.  I could have used that in high school!

Next we are reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Snow.

I am loving all the snow lately.  The picture above is from Truman and I shoveling the driveway before it got to dark last night, the picture below is this morning before heading out the door to school.

Truman is in charge of shoveling the front steps and then usually he off to sled while I shovel the rest of the driveway.  It's my winter/pregnancy workout!  I kind of like shoveling the driveway, it feels therapeutic to me.  It brings back memories of shoveling our driveway in Park City growing up, although I bet my mom would beg to differ that we ever helped.  I think most of the time we got sidetracked throwing snow at each other or building snow forts - or running across the street to sled down our sledding hill.

Creativity.

I love when my kids are creative all on their own.
Today while Bodie napped and I did some work on the computer Truman got these supplies out all on his own and started drawing mazes.

Snowman.

Today Tiffany and her younger kids came to play while the older kids were skiing.  With all the great snow storm we have had lately we decided to build our own Olaf, the kids had a blast!

Anna, Jean, Tiff and Truman

We have the perfect little hill in the back yard for sledding which  Truman loves.

We have also been working on a little sledding hill in the front yard that Truman sleds down while I shovel the driveway - it has turned into a pretty slick little run.

Today Tiff pushed Anna down it against her will - the video is pretty cute.

And here is Truman going down the little hill in the front - the end of the video is the best, listen closely to what he says!

These two are best buddies.