Happy Birthday To Us!

Since Jake & Mallory's entire school class except one girl have summer birthdays, we decided to throw a little group birthday bash before the school year ended.

I think the kids drove their poor teacher crazy all morning because they were so excited for lunch time to arrive.  Our party kicked off with lunch from Chick-fil-A.  Yum!

 

Poor Molly was sick & had to miss out, but we had the other seven there.

After a giggly rendition of "Happy Birthday To Us," candles were blown out & wishes were made.

Four-year-old party staple:  cupcakes!

And of course, presents!  Angie made each of the kids a play doh book with fun pictures that they can decorate & add details to using play doh.

 It was a fun & low-key party & got my kids even more excited for their actual birthday to arrive!

Peekaboo!

This game never really gets old to either of us.  I mean, how can you resist this cuteness?

Yummy to My Tummy: Shredded Beef Tacos

*Thanks so much to my dear friend, Jodi, for sharing this recipe!  We used the meat to make soft tacos with corn tortillas, but it would be equally great substituted for ground beef in other Mexican dishes.  The flavor was very good but also wasn't too spicy for my kids.  Best of all, it's easy!

Shredded Beef Tacos

1 (3-4 lb) beef chuck roast
1 can of beef broth
1 recipe of taco seasoning (from allrecipes.com)

Place roast in crock pot.  Pour beef broth over meat, then sprinkle taco seasoning generously on top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  Shred with two forks, then serve in corn tortillas with assorted toppings.

Taco Seasoning

1 T chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Mix all spices & store any unused portion in an airtight container.

Brotherhood

It can be all fun...

or sometimes make you a bit nervous.

Either way, these two love each other!

Beau's Favorite Person

There's not even any worthy competition here.  

Beau may love to spend time with me, but if Daddy's around, that's where he wants to be.  

His sweet little face lights up each evening when Daddy arrives home from work.  I love to hear him exclaim, "Dada!" & head for the door.  If he has a toy phone, he throws it up onto his shoulder & says, "Hey, Dada."  

This boy is all about Daddy.  And that's just fine with me because watching Justin's relationship with all three of our kids, but especially our boys, is one of the things I love most about parenthood.