The Husband and his Mini-Me.

One of the many things that I love about my husband is his interest in sharing his hobbies with Dylan. Ben decided that it was time to teach Dylan about golf, so he had his old putter cut down to Dylan size and started to teach our two year old about the game. 

Of course, Dylan just eats this up-- Dylan adores his dad and tries to imitate everything that Ben does. It's adorable, really. From the silly characters that Ben creates (Mr. Frog, the duck, and the woodchuck to name a few), to his mannerisms and interests, Dylan loves to follow in his dad's footsteps. 

Since the weather has gotten warmer Ben and Dylan have spent a little time each week outside with their putters. Yesterday when Ben asked Dylan if he wanted to putt, Dylan's whole face lit up and he yelled, "Uh-huh, YEAH!"

Here are some snaps of the  golf pros:

Here are a few taken on another day:

I sure love my boys. 

Friday Five.

Here are five great things that went on this week:


1. I discovered these:

Ohmygoodness, they are absolute heaven. I love almonds as is, but brush them with cocoa and I really cannot imagine something better. I may have eaten half of the can for dinner last night. Whoops. 

2. During one of my work appointments this week, a teenage girl whom I have never met came up to me and said, "You're a really pretty caseworker." Random compliments like that just warm my heart. It kind of reminded me of the somewhat creepy time when I was driving somewhere in a State car and some guy who was in the lane next to me rolled down his window and yelled at me, "Hey, are you a PO (probation officer)?" I said, "Nope, I'm a caseworker." He gave me a big smile and said, "I wish you were my caseworker!" before speeding away. Ummmm thanks, I think? BTW, you should not have to have a PO or a caseworker, just saying. 

3. Mmmmm, Yogurtland. Every day I try and find an excuse to go there for yogurt, which seems to have resulted in one real visit each week. Cheap, low-fat, and delish.

I prefer to get just yogurt and not mess it up with any toppings. Yuuuuum.

4. I found the perfect swimsuit for this year! Unfortunately, it's a little more spendy than my usual suits. I showed it to Ben and said, "Mother's Day present, please?" We'll see. Here's the top I picked, and I want to order the matching bottoms too- both in "vivid blue."

5. I discovered how ridiculously easy and convenient freezer meals can be!

{not my freezer...yet}

Good heavens, where have I been? My dinner making efforts have been pitiful at best this spring!  I come home from work and feel exhausted and don't feel like cooking, simple as that. Well, times are a-changing on the dinner front- enter freezer meals. All I have to do is take a little time and make some freezer meals over the weekend, and then I'm set for the week! I'm definitely going to keep doing this. There are some great sites with tons of freezer meal recipes and instructions- here, here, and here. 

Real quick.

 How cute is this boy? Yesterday he was so excited to get on his little bike and go to the park. And he insisted on wearing the sunglasses. I die.

Is it possible to botch No-Bake cookies? Cause I think I did. I've made them numerous times in the past, but this time they just wouldn't set and remained goopy for hours and hours. Even then, they went from goopy to kind of sticky and fragile. What gives? Unfortunately, the goopiness did not stop me from eating 5 of these on Sunday. Hangs head in shame.

That's all for today, friends. Enjoy the sunshine and have a great day!

Friday Favorites

Here are a few things that have been my favorite this week. Mainly, it's because they've made life a little more enjoyable.

My co-worker Jenny brought a Scentsy catalog to work, and I ordered a warmer and some Scentsy bars. To be honest, I've been wanting a Scentsy warmer for ages, as I love my home to smell good, and I love that I do not like running the risk of setting my house on fire with a warmer. 

I picked a warmer that would be able to go from room to room if I wanted, so I ordered the Crinkle full-size warmer. 

Cute, right? It's pretty and functional, which I love. I also chose the Scentsy bars in Perfectly Pomegranate and Home Sweet Home, because I think that's what my friend Taylor has. Her home always smells amazing, and I'm fine being a copycat when it comes to delicious smells. 

Holy delicious, people. I spotted these yesterday afternoon while out and about and decided to give them a try. They. Are. Amazing. Seriously, it's like the people from Mars read my mind about what I would love the most and put it in M&M form. I hope this is not a limited edition treat, because I want to eat them for the rest of my life. Yep, they're that good. 

Ben and I are absolutely drilling saying "please" and "thank you" into Dylan's head. Seriously, toddlers are demanding enough, and everything sounds a little better when it's polite. If Dylan asks for anything and doesn't say please, we prompt him to do so. If we give him anything and he doesn't say thank you, we prompt him to do so. He's getting really good about remembering his pleases and thank yous, which is rewarding and adorable. 

Oh my goodness. I saw this ring and I gasped. How beautiful is this? Diamonds + bows + Chanel = perfection. If I would have been been among the lucky three winners of the Super Lottery then this ring would have been one of my first purchases. Dream big, right?

Have a great weekend, friends! 

April Birchbox.

Hooray, hooray- it's my favorite time of the month again- Birchbox time!

Last month's Birchbox was absolutely spectacular, so I kind of expected this month's box to be a little more normal. I realize that it's rare to love everything in my box, so a box of some great things and some ok things was anticipated. And that's pretty much what I got. Great and so-so. Here's a look!

Atelier Orange Sanguine Perfume- Smells nice and orangey, but it's not really my favorite. I can see myself wearing this scent every once in awhile during spring or summer. 

Yes To Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes- LOVE THESE! Smell is wonderful, and they do a great job. I love cleansing towelettes, as sometimes washing my face is more work than I'm willing to put forth, but these are a perfect remedy. I think I'll end up buying a full-size pack. 

Marula- The Leakey Collections Omega Rich Pure Marula Oil- Whoops, haven't tried this one yet. It's supposed to be an anti-aging face oil... we'll see how well it works. 

Weleda Pomegranate Firming Night Cream- Not too shabby. Thick without feeling greasy, nice smell. 

Zoya TRUE Spring Collection Nail Polish- Oy. The color is called "Farah," but it should really be called "Corpse." It's one of those nude polishes that does not work for my skin tone. 

Let's all say VOM- both for the color as well as the state of my cuticles. 

What I must say about Zoya polish is this- it stays on! Even though I've hated this color since minute 1, I still find it on my fingers 5 days later, free of any and all chippage. This stuff doesn't budge. 

Terrible polish colors or not, I love Birchbox and cannot wait for next month's box to arrive!

And again, if any of you want to sign up for Birchbox, email me at chrissi.harris@gmail.com and I'll send you an invite. 

The Zoo!

Last weekend we were able to have Ben's dad Carl and his Aunt Carrie visit us for a few days. They're such easy guests and we love having them. Dylan and I went to the zoo with them and some of Ben's cousins on one of the afternoons. It had been awhile since Dylan's last trip to the zoo, and I knew that he would love it at 2 1/2 years old. 

It isn't a Hogle Zoo visit without a ride on the carousel, right? Dylan was so excited by all the options  of which animal to sit on, but in the end picked the elephant. I'm telling you, he picked the largest and most high up animal on the whole carousel- it was not easy to keep a grip on him!

Here we are! Dylan was obviously not into pictures or being held... nope, he preferred to run around the zoo like an animal himself. Luckily, the zoo was absolutely empty, and it was very easy to keep track of him!

Dylan loves his grandpa, and was excited to get such a great view of the elephants. Dylan was such a happy boy and was telling me what sounds all the animals make. 

Dylan also loved sitting on the fake versions of the animals and would have conversations with them. 

"Oh hi, mommy lion. How are you? Hi baby lion."

We had a great view of the tiger, who was just taking a nap during our visit. Thank you tiger for taking a nap right in front of the window!

Our visit ended with a trip on the train, which had to be the highlight for Dylan. How do I know? Because he had an absolute come-apart when we had to get off the train. He cried, he wailed, he tantrumed. He is still talking about the train days later. 

What does that mean?

Another zoo trip is in order!

Thursday Mish-Mash.

1. As you may know, I looooove cereal. Like, I eat it between 1 and 2 times a day, every day. Now that I'm on a health kick I realize that I need to curb my cereal appetite. Enter in my new favorite breakfast: 

2. Dylan was so cute on Easter morning and loved everything in his basket. Here he is trying to master the art of the Pez dispenser. 

3. We decided to get rid of cable on Tuesday morning (gasp!), and I've been perfectly ok with it until this morning. I really wanted to watch The Today Show while eating my oatmeal and strawberries breakfast, but alas, there was no way to watch it on the tv. I probably could have watched it on my computer, but seemed like more work to me. Bah. 


4. I am quite fascinated with the whole colored denim trend, and I think that I may get myself a pair in the near future. I fully expect to be ridiculed by the husband, since he detests all things trendy. Have at it, husband. I like them anyway.

5. Tickets are booked to an Indiana trip next month! 8 blessed days of family and no work! Hooray! Double hooray that we're flying out of the Provo airport, rather than SLC. So darn convenient!

Alright, Dylan's up, and it's time to get on with the day. Have a great one!

On my DIY to-do list...

In the words of Uncle Jesse, "Have mercy!"

Isn't this lovely? Wouldn't it look great in my kitchen? Yes and yes. 

Unfortunately, the etsy price of $139 is more than double what I was looking to spend. 

Looks like some DIYing is in order...

This Ikea frame

Plus some of this

And this. 

Yes, I was a little terrified to do a google image search of "wood." Luckily my eyes were not assaulted with, ahem, something else. 

Lastly, some of this. 

I really think that I can do this project for less than $50. What do you think? Best project ever, right? Get excited, cause it's coming. 

Easter, Easter.

This weekend has been all about Easter. Dylan is to an age where he understands lots of what's going on, and  I love that I can teach him things. A few weeks ago I bought him these books in preparation for the holiday:

The first one is just for fun and getting excited about the Easter bunny, but the second was a great pick- it talks about some of the fun Easter celebrations like the Easter Bunny and such, but then it has a great message of, "The eggs are fun and the Easter bunny is okay, but Easter's not about that stuff. It's about God's son." Great book. Both were found at Barnes & Noble.

Last night we tried  dying eggs for the first time with Dylan. I was a little afraid that Dylan would end up knocking over all of the dye cups (or worse- drinking them!), but he really did a great job. Here are the finished products:

True story: Yesterday was the first time I had ever hard boiled an egg. I had no idea how to do it, so I turned to trusty Wikipedia for help. Unfortunately, there were a few egg casualties:

I think it  may be the result of Dylan's overzealous fingers than my hard-boiling skills. Just saying.

Today we took Dylan on his very first Easter egg hunt! We went to the Orem City hunt, and it was really fun! We ended up seeing some of our neighbors too!

A look at the area pre-hunt. 

At first Dylan was content to wait patiently for the hunt to begin, but that didn't last...

He may have tried to get a head start on the other kids...

He did a great job finding eggs and candy when the hunt started. When it comes to candy, this boy will do just about anything. 

I was there, too! Unfortunately, I'm looking a little like Cousin It in this one...

{Happy child, The End}

Over the weekend.

Our weekend was lovely and low-key. Just the way I like them. 

A good chunk of the weekend was spent getting some wonderful spiritual guidance thanks to General Conference. I loved all of the words spoken, especially the words about the family. Such a great conference. Want to know more? Click here! 

I also tried out a few new recipes that I found on pinterest:

Creamy Bacon Carbonara

Olive Garden Breadsticks

The Carbonara was amazing, but the breadsticks didn't turn out like I hoped. Kind of like breadstick shaped bricks. Maybe it was because the yeast I used had a "best by" date of May 2010? Ummmmm yeah, I know. Kind of gross. Also, my KitchenAid doesn't have a bread hook attachment, so I think that the beater didn't do the best job at kneading the dough. I'll try again after I pick up a bread hook and some fresh ingredients.


I also got a lot of quality time with this little monkey:

Like I've said many times before, he is just a riot. Dylan is obsessed with the crossing guard's stop sign and always asks to hold "the octagon." Yes, that's right. My boy calls a stop sign an octagon. Genius or weirdo? You decide. I'll thank Jack Black for that one, as Dylan loves the following video:

There were many other happy parts of the weekend- playing with friends, enjoying beautiful pre-Sunday weather, and watching waaaaaayy too much Grey's Anatomy with Ben. It's a good life we have. 


*** And to those wondering, the play set took about 12 hours for the main part, 3 for the slide. Darn manual did not lie.