The Many Faces of Izzy

Izzy is one funny little girl. She is all sass and spunk. She has so much character. There is never a dull moment when Izzy is around. I took these pictures at the park one afternoon and I was laughing the whole time. She kept posing for me. I love that little girl and her stink eye too.

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Our little Izzy is growing up. She decided she wanted to have a butterfly party. She explained that there were going to be ants that were trying to get the cake and the butterflies were going to come and save the cake from the ants. We went able to make it happen but it was a great party with lots of pretty butterflies.
Grandma made the most wonderful butterfly cake like always. When I was looking for cake ideas I found some beautiful layered cakes with butterflies on them. I thought they were perfect. When I showed them to Izzy she said "no I wanted a butterfly cake." I guess her idea and my idea of a butterfly cake were not the same. She is a little girl that knows what she wants. Grandma came though, like always, and made the most wonderful cake.
Thank you grandma for all you hard work and the oh so tasty cake.
Mama and Tata worked the grill to make carne asada...Yummy Yummy...
It was a great day. We love you our little Iz. Happy Birthday.

Getting Down and DIRTY

Last Saturday we headed out to Irvine Lake for a Mud Run. We had heard about mud runs but had never been able to get signed up for one. They are very popular and by the time we heard about them they were always sold out. This one was no different but there were spaces for the kids run. We knew the kids would love it so we signed them up.
It was a very HOT day!! We took advantage of the shade and got the girls shaved ice. The line for the Shaved Ice was 45 minutes long but in the words of Cherish, "It was totally worth it."
Jose did get the chance to run and when he got back I couldn't hold back the laughs. I don't think he could have been dirtier. My little Iz who loves all things involving dirt (I mean if she sees dirt she MUST stop and play in it) wanted nothing to do with him.
Then it was the girls turn. It was so much fun. Cherish took the chance to float in it.
Because Izzy is so little I stayed with her to help her though. She loved it once she got over the initial shock.
This has to be one of the best pictures ever. I love the pure joy on our faces.
In the next puddle the mud was much thicker. It got to the point that we were all suck and had a pretty hard time getting out.
Good Times!!
I love this picture of all of us. The lady captured it perfectly. Not one of us could get up.
We will have to repeat next year. We had a great time. I've washed the clothes three times and they still aren't clean. I don't know if they will survive but it was all worth it. Some good ol fashioned family bonding. Love it!!

Chopped!!

Here at our house we love the show Chopped on the Food Network. It is a cooking competition show where they are given a basket of mystery items that they have to use to make a 3-course meal. They are usually given very difficult uncommon ingredients or ones that simply don't fit in the generally accepted ideas for that course, like hot dogs for a dessert course. Cherish has been wanting to play chopped at home. A couple of weeks ago we decided to do it. We each picked one secret ingredient and that is what we had to use to make our dish.

The secret ingredients were Feta Cheese, Balsamic Vinegar and Doritos. Thanks Jose for the Doritos. We gave ourselves 45 minutes to see what we could come up with. Cherish was done with in 10 minutes. She took Rosemary Bread and smashed Feta Cheese into it, crushed Doritos over it and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar. She garnished it with strawberries and grapes. She said she wanted more color for contrast. It really does have some great color contrast.

Jose made thin sliced chicken cooked with balsamic vinegar and shallots. He diced it and put in in a pita with cheddar and feta cheese. He also added the Doritos inside the pita. He paired this with a balsamic strawberry sauce. Which I must say was VERY YUMMY!! I licked the pan afterwords it was so good.

I made a chicken breast stuffed with feta cheese and fresh thyme. I breaded the chicken with panko bread crumbs, finely crushed Doritos and spices. I lightly pan fried the chicken until it was golden and finished it in the oven. I thinly sliced some potatoes and put them in a pan I sprayed with Pam. I didn't want to use too much oil and you know what they turned out great. Even Cherish thought so and she only eats potatoes in the form of french fries and chips. I then finished it off with a balsamic reduction.

We had a great time. It was fun to see Cherish get creative in the kitchen. She was so cute. I love to watch that show with her because she is always saying what she would do with the ingredients.

If You Think it is Too Quiet...

Chances are there is a reason!!!

I love this little girl. She gets into everything every chance she gets. She was so proud of herself. All I could do was laugh.

Easter

We had a fantastic Easter. We spent the morning at home. Izzy was so proud or herself. She loved finding the eggs.

That evening we went to my parents house for dinner and an egg hunt. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins.
We stopped by the park to enjoy a little of the beauty of the world around us. I was surprised by just how busy it was. Who knew the park was the place to be on Easter?
Right before we left I took a step and the ground wasn't where it should have been. Living in CA my whole life I knew what that usually means. The swaying trees confirmed it...Earthquake. For me it was a reminder of the great power of my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of his love for me. Jesus Christ gave his life for each and everyone of us. I know this and it gives me great peace in my life. I will do my best to love my beautiful girls and teach them well. Happy Easter Everyone!!

Happy St Partick's Day

Those pesky little leprechauns made a visit to our house this morning. They turned our toast and eggs green and covered out table in confetti.
Cherish made sure everyone had green on so they wouldn't get pinched. Thanks Cherish for looking out for us.