Over the Weekend

Friday was a long day.  Charlie wouldn't nap and Joey slept for only 20 minutes that the afternoon.  By the time Tony got home, I was ready to rip my hair out!  We had our co-op at six so he suggested we get dinner out.  We picked a restaurant that was on our Family Live List: Tusk and Trotter--a new restaurant off  Bentonville Square.

forgot the flash, oops!

It had a fun atmosphere although I could have done without the razorback wall & tribute to Sam Walton.  I guess I'm not a true Arkansan yet?  Maybe this will be the year I purchase some razorback clothing, who knows?

I wish I would have taken pictures of all the food because seriously, it was awesome. And because I love to talk about food, here is what we had...

Risotto Balls: deep fried with sausage, ground beef, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan, topped with a roasted garlic and basil aioli.  They just melted in your mouth.  I wish this was a main course!

Chicken & Waffles: fried chicken with a maple glaze & carrot cake waffles topped with gravy & roasted vegetables.  I picked this because it is something I would normally never order.  It seemed like such an odd combination to me, but turned out to be the most perfect combination of sweet and savory. 

Smoked Applewood Rabbit & roasted root vegetables.  We ordered this to try rabbit and it was all right.  It tasted just like chicken but a little more gamey. 

The whole reason I wanted to try this restaurant was because I knew they had creme brulee on the menu.  We were going to split it until Tony saw the chocolate cake. We were going to need our own desserts.

 A little bite of vanilla creme brulee with a little bit of chocolate cake...oh my. 

Vanilla bean creme brulee & Valrhona-Callebaut Chocolate Cake: french chocolate chiffon cake filled and glazed with dark chocolate fudge.


It was so fun to get out and try something new!

In other weekend news, I finished my first week of half marathon training, we watched Bolt & Tarzan (Charlie's new favorites), Joey is even closer to cutting his bottom two teeth & Tony cleaned the whole house for me because he is sweet like that.

I Spoke Too Soon...

We woke up to snow this morning.  Just a tiny bit, but still it's now cold enough for snow.  Bummer.

 Isn't Joey just the sweetest thing?!

I need to get creative if we're going to be indoors for the next couple of months! 

January?

We have been having the best January weather.

 

I hope winter weather never hits!

2012 Family Live List

Tony and I started our 2012 family live list a few nights ago. This is a check list of things we want to do this year.  Most activities are for our whole family and some are for just he and I.  It's fun to have a list to refer to when we need some ideas of things to do!

2012 Family Live List

camping

visit the temple 4 times

walk Crystal Bridges trails

firefly hunting

hike Tanyard Creek

Go to Utah & see Jack come home from his mission

make homemade ice cream

watch fireworks

Tulsa zoo

make & send Valentines

eat at Tusk & Trotter

story time with Jesse the dog

roast marshmallows

family squirt gun fight

play in the snow (if it comes) & have hot chocolate

family slumber party

bowling

eat at Bonefish Grill

special family Valentine's Day dinner

ebelskivers

swim at Beaver lake

host a bbq

watch a movie with the projector 

 

This list is on our fridge so we can add things when we think of them. A lot of things are seasonal so we'll add them as we get to each season.  I'll be updating this list as we add more things and highlighting things we've done.

A New Year

To me, a new year is a new start.  Of course each day is a new start, but the beginning of a year feels more official.  I find myself slacking off towards the end of the year because I know a new year is coming.  Is that awful? 
Last year was a happy one.  It wasn't blissfully happy everyday, but when I look back I don't remember that.  I learned that being a stay at home mom requires a lot of self-motivation-- Exercising and getting ready in the morning makes me feel good about myself--I make things harder on myself by not using my time wisely--I have a lot to offer--I'm very blessed.

I've thought a lot about what I wanted to work on this year.  I came up with 3 things I think will help me with where I'm at right now.  Here are my 2012 goals:

Have a plan

If I wake up without a game plan for the day, I'm anxious to the point where I can't finish anything.  Several weeks ago, as a trial run, I bought a little notebook (pink of course) and started writing down my game plan for each day the night before.  This has lifted a huge burden off of my shoulders.  Each night I write down my chores and fun things to do with the boys.  Some days I finish everything and others only a few things get crossed off.  In 2012 I'm going to continue planning my days ahead of time.

Joplin Memorial Half Marathon--May 19th 

I've been running 2.5 - 3 miles several times a week and have hit a plateau.  I've been playing with the idea of a half marathon, but have been too scared to say I want to do one.  My friend Audrey said she would be training for one and I'm going to join her!  I will be following Hal Higdon's half marathon training schedule.  You better believe I'll be slapping that 13.1 sticker to the back of my mini van once I finish :)

Gain a stronger testimony of fasting

I have fasted only handful of times, over the past few years, due to being either pregnant or nursing.  This year I will be fasting once a month and reading stories about prayer combined with fasting in The Book of Mormon.

Happy New Year!

A Visit from Grandma and "Pa Pop"

This past week has been wonderful as we have spent time with Tony's parents.  Our original plan was to have them with us at the Gibson family reunion, but when dad got sick we had to make other plans.  Even though we missed them in October, I think this worked out better.  We had lots of one on one time together and it was great having them in our home.

3 generations

Crystal Bridges

While they were here, we were able to visit the new art museum that just opened--Crystal Bridges.  It was incredible! The building itself was a work of art.  This is a big deal for the Northwest Arkansas area!  We're looking forward to walking the surrounding trails this spring.

During the week, we celebrated a mini Christmas, went out for breakfast, played at the park, watched movies, played games and celebrated New Year's Eve.  It was a great visit.  We're sad to have them go!

We love you both!  Thanks for coming!

Highlights of 2011

2011 was a great year.  I can't believe it's already over! 

Here are some 2011 highlights....

Our best highlight, was the addition of Joey to our family.  He adds so much joy to our home. 

Both of our moms spent a week here after his birth- such a help and a lot of fun.  We also loved every second of Tony's paternity leave.

 Besides Joey's birthday, this year Tony turned 27, I turned 24 and Charlie turned 2!

We met our family goal and attended the temple 3 times

 

Spent a week in Utah visiting my family

Gained a new sister in law/aunt when Brian got married!

 Celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary

Traveled to Florida for our Gibson family reunion

spent time with family, rode horses, visited Coco beach and Disney World!

had family pictures taken

traveled to Derby Kansas for Thanksgiving with my extended family

celebrated Christmas at home

and welcomed 2012 with a wonderful visit from Tony's parents.

We are looking forward to 2012!