Big boy!!!

I have not posted in so long!!! We celebrated Owen's 5th birthday back in February! I will do a post soon with lots of photos- but he had a great time.

We recently spent some time with family in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It was so nice to spend some time outside of Wyoming! I love it here, but I definitely enjoyed the lack of wind and snow for a bit!

We had some amazing family photos taken by my very talented friend Kris!

I am so excited to have an updated picture of our little family! The boys have gotten so big! 

Speaking of big.. guess who went to Kindergarten Roundup this week??? THIS GUY! 

I can not believe he will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall!!! He was so excited to see the classes and meet the new teachers! He is most excited to "ride the school bus!" 

Owen’s 5th Birthday!!!

In February we celebrated Owen’s 5th birthday. I seriously have no idea how he got that big!!! It feels like I was just pregnant with him. Now he is no longer a baby, no longer a toddler, he is an actual boy…. a boy who is about to start kindergarten!!!

My Friend Annie is an excellent cake maker. She pulled up a few caked ideas after I told her the theme would be construction… and she created us such a masterpiece.

This is Owen seeing his cake for the first time… he was in AWE!!!

The cake was so awesome and so well made we almost did not want to eat it…. almost!

Owen blowing out his candle!

Opening presents with friends!

Here are some great pics with Owen and some of his buddies.

This is Owen and Joshua… his best friend who moved away in April!

With his buddy Matthew who also moved

With Joshua and Matthew’s brother, Isaac.

Owen and Cooper. They will be starting Kindergarten together in the fall.

With Olivia, one of the first friends we met in Wyoming.

Owen and Elizabeth and John… they lived next to us in TLF when we first arrived.

A special thanks to everyone who made Owen’s day special. We OF COURSE had yummy chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-a and lots of other wonderful food. What made it super special though was all of our wonderful friends who attend. I am so blessed with a great “Cheyenne Family”!!!!

More On Meal Planning

In order to make my life a little easier when meal planning, I assign a certain theme to each day. This really helps!!!
Sunday- Italian Night
Monday- Meatless Monday
Tuesday- Mexican
Wednesday- Beef
Thursday- Chicken
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Something new

Here are the links to some of the recipes I am using in the next two weeks.

Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie over Biscuits

http://coersfamily.com/2013/02/17/chicken-pot-pie-in-the-crock-pot/
Stuffed Shells (meat and Cheese), Garlic Knots
http://thisweekfordinner.com/2013/07/17/garlic-knots/
Grilled
Enchilada Casserole
http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2013/10/dinner-tonight-easy-enchilada-casserole.html
Chili Macaroni
http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2012/10/dinner-tonight-chili-mac.html
Chili Stuffed Peppers
http://www.michelleshealthybites.com/2013/02/chili-stuffed-peppers.html
I am really excited for the next couple of weeks and all of these tasty recipes!

My Meal Planning Method

I have a new method for meal planning I am really excited about. This hangs on the wall in my kitchen so that we always know what is for dinner. I do mine for two weeks at a time because that is how I try to grocery shop.
To make this great board you just take a picture frame (mine was 12x12) and put any kind of scrapbook paper behind the glass that you like. I first wrote on the scrapbook paper the days of the week so they would always be there. Once you assemble your picture frame just take a dry erase marker and fill in your meal planning. I have been doing this for a few weeks and it makes my life easier.
Once I decide what I want to eat for the two weeks I use this grocery list below for marking off each ingredient I need to get at the grocery store. Some things, like fresh veggies, I will have to get in the middle, but I try to shop only every 2 weeks as much as I can.
You can get this printable from Organized Home Life. If you like them on facebook you get to download it for free! Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/OrganizingHomelife?fref=ts
This has become such a great way to meal plan for me and I hope you try it as well!
Tomorrow I will post some links to the recipes I will be using.