Girls On The Run 5K

Savannah decided she wanted to participate in GOTR this year. It's a great program that teaches healthy habits and self-esteem promoting topics to young girls starting in 3rd grade. They also run each time they meet as they train to run a 5K as the final event of the 12 week program.

She made some good friends that were in other classes at school and had a great time running twice a week.
Today was RACE DAY! (Despite having to wake up at 6am, it's the BEST!) Mom gets to be the running buddy/mentor.

Look at all those fabulous little ladies! It was so fun to talk to some of their parents who were nervous because they haven't ever run 3 miles at a time. ;)

Savannah ROCKED it! She kept a positive attitude the entire time and really enjoyed her first race experience.

Right before I snapped her picture she said, "This is my FIRST medal, EVER!" I know it won't be her last! :D

Strawberry Season

May-Early June is Strawberry Season here. In fact, there is a Strawberry Festival going on this weekend. I received an email from a friend with little kids that she was heading over to a local farm to pick her own berries with the kids this morning and thought that would be a fun Sydney and Mom activity.

It was only about 5 minutes away from home, tucked in between suburban neighborhoods!

Strawberries are $2.09/lb and chasing the chickens is free. ;) There was a white hen that kept escaping the plastic fencing. We named her Houdini.


Turns out this little perfectionist is a REALLY awesome berry picker!

She loved every minute!


I don't think I've ever had fresh-picked Strawberries before, but they taste SO different from store-bought. I think I will have to go back again a time or two before the season ends.

Here are my tips:

*Go EARLY! We showed up around 9:15 and there were only a handful of people there. By 10 the parking lot was FULL! (we picked all the good berries by then)

*Explain very clearly what is a RIPE berry and what is NOT to your helpers. You pay for whatever they pick. ;)

*If you are planning to dip them in chocolate (don't judge me), pick them with a long stem. Super fancy!

It's ALMOST summer, bring on the berries and melon!

White Chili

OK friends. Here is an oldie AND goodie that I forgot about for a while. I received the recipe from a neighbor back in 2005 (thanks Barbara!) and loved it to death for a few years. I recently hosted a birthday lunch for a girlfriend and pulled it back out. OH BOY, was it better than I remembered!

So, because I love you all.. I'm going to share. Print it out and give it a try. Or just pull it up on your iPad if you're an early adapter, which I am not, but sometimes wish I were. :(

WHITE CHILI

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Rotisserie chicken - highly recommended (or 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up into bitesize pieces)
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small can green chopped green chilies
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 2 cans Great Northern beans (I rinse half my beans and add the entire contents of the other can, the extra starch thickens the soup nicely)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• juice of 1 lime

Heat olive oil in large pan. Add onion, garlic and green chilies. Cook until onions are soft and clear.

Add chicken broth, beans, cumin, chili powder and cilantro. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While simmering, chop rotisserrie chicken into bite-size chunks. I used about 1/2 the chicken for 1 batch, the whole thing when I'm doubling for company. Add chicken at the end of simmer time.

Add the lime juice just before serving. (this MAKES the soup!) Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and any other Mexican toppings you like! It also tastes fabulous with a side of cornbread!

SO easy, yet SO satisfying. I ate it several days in a row this week for lunch. You could even omit the chicken, add more beans and use vegetable broth if you're trying out a vegan diet like so many people I know are right now.

Fashionista

I won these fingerless gloves from a giveaway at a friend's blog. An Etsy seller repurposes old sweaters to make them. Aren't they totally adorable? And GREEN to boot!

Savi was SO thrilled that I picked some out for her instead of myself. Sadly, I don't think I could pull off that style at my age! ;)

A Perfect TEN!

A decade ago, this little one changed everything for our family. Savannah Shae came into the world kicking and screaming and didn't stop for about 2 years. We still remember the day (right before Gunnar was born) that we made it to bedtime WITHOUT any meltdowns. It was momentous! ;)

Savannah was always "ooohhhhed" and "ahhhhed" over everywhere we went. Big blue eyes and tumbling brown ringlets attracted a lot of attention. Plus, she was the only child, so her outfit was changed multiple times a day before we went out. Yes, she might scream every time I put her in a car seat or stroller...but she was GOING to be CUTE while doing it. THAT, I could control!


It's hard to believe this was NINE years ago!



Savi has taken to big sisterhood very well and is quick to be the good example. She often takes the higher road during arguments that have a way of popping up on a regular basis with 3 kids.

She is a good friend and likes to spend as much time as possible with her girls. She loves to dance, sing, play Wii, read diary entries, make cupcakes, watch movies and do homework together with friends. I have enjoyed having her friends in our home often and getting to see their sweet personalities and how these girls add to each others lives and happiness.

Sydney and I visited Savi at lunch today to bring Krispy Kreme doughnuts to her classmates.

Tonight we will dine on some Mexican food at our favorite local authentic joint (sadly Cafe Rio is too far away). Next on the agenda will be some old-school roller skating, followed by present opening and Birthday Key Lime Pie at home.

Happy 10th Birthday Savannah! We love you!

Road Trippin': Wilmington

We planned to get away MLK Jr. Weekend to Wilmington. The kids had to be back at school Monday because of the missed snow days the week before, but Chris still had it off so we decided to go ahead and follow through with the plan.

Wilmington is approx 3.5 hrs drive from Charlotte and has lots of beach access, aquariums and some cool Naval (and Civil War) things to check out.

To be honest though, the kids seem to love the hotel aspect the most! We've done so many little trips in the last year that they have the routine DOWN.

On their MUST DO AT THE HOTEL list:

• Try to crack the safe code if there is one
• Ask, "When can we go swimming?"
  
• Turn the closet into a secret clubhouse
• Leave little notes clipped onto the pant hangers in "Clubhouse"
• Establish where everyone will sleep as soon as we arrive and set up those areas
• Ask "WHEN are we going swimming???"
• Plan a movie and popcorn night for the 2nd night after sightseeing all day

This is at a State Park and Nature Preserve where we stopped for a picnic the first day. This is the Flytrap Trail. Venus Flytraps only grow wild in a 120 mile swath around Wilmington. We saw a pitcher plant on this trail, but the flytraps are so small and they are not blooming this time of year so we didn't see any. We DID see some later though. (We also went to Wrightsville beach right before this, but I have no photos since my battery needed charging. The kids spent the entire time collecting seashells. It was frigid!)

Swampy Critters seeking out flytraps in their natural habitat!

My little Monkey-girl!

After lunch (and about 45 minutes spent watching the kids collect spent air-soft pellets...don't ask) we headed the the Fort Fischer Aquarium. Bonus: Free entry with our Zoo Pass. I love reciprocal programs, don't you?

Croc attack! Ahhhhhh!

Syd loved the touch tank at the aquarium. They had lots of sea-stars, anemones, horseshoe and hermit crabs.Horseshoe crabs getting friendly...

SEA HORSES, my favorite!

And lo and behold, on our way out of the aquarium they have a little boardwalk and a VENUS FLYTRAP PLANT! See how small and easy to miss they are in the winter?

We thought this was cool too....this is the level the water got to during each of the listed hurricanes! Hard to imagine...


On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Carolina Beach and walked around for a few minutes...not too many shells, but the beach and pier were pretty.


The next day we only had ONE thing on the agenda: USS North Carolina


The kids were so excited to check out all 9 levels of this beast!

Just look at all the dials and buttons and wires! It's a little boy's dream! The kids were running this way and that, like they were going to run out of time before they could explore everything.

Savi's got something in her sights...this was in the room where they aimed their big cannons.

Gunnar in one of the many bunk rooms. They slept 4 high. The info posted talked about how HOT it would get inside the battleship and how STINKY the mattresses would get after being sweat on all night and having to be covered during the day. They would take them up on deck on sunny days to try and air them out. Ick.

It was truly amazing how many levels there were, it just seemed to go down forever, pipes and wires and dials and switches EVERYWHERE. The kitchens were pretty amazing too. They had to feed 2000 men within an hour! Pretty incredible stuff. I coveted the potato peeling gadget. (Basically a sandpaper surface pot, throw in the potatoes and some water, agitate, and out came peeled potatoes)

Definitely a cool experience.

I'm sure we'll be back to visit Wilmington when it's warm so we can enjoy the beaches more. :)

Ice Day (S)

Last week we were kept housebound for the better part of 3 days by 4 inches of snow layered with some ice. School was cancelled for 3.25 days and the kids had a grand time "skating" down driveways, shoveling snow where needed and pulling the wagon around in the snow.

Here is the fort they've been building since summertime with fallen branches in the woods. The squirrels love it!

You can see the cracks in the ice as my boot touches down. It was the loudest, most alarming sound just walking around the yard.

My attempt to show the thickness of the ice. I'm estimating it was around 1/2" or so. Not bad on the grass, but on the roads it is deadly.

I love the iced over dogwood...looks like ice berries!

This is sunset on the 3rd day. The snow has melted underneath next to the grass, but it stayed in the teens so the ice didn't have a chance at melting!

I am still avoiding it on my runs in the shady spots over a week later!

I love snow days and a chance to snuggle in with the family for a bit. However, I do not love that we are having to make up these missed school days during previously planned holiday weekends. I would take a long weekend over being cooped up for an unexpected day or three anytime!