naughty and nice

Today, the girls and I were in the mood for some cinnamon rolls.  When I come to think about it, I don't think I have ever made cinnamon rolls from scratch before.  I have always LOVED those ones that come in the rolls in the States.  I can always count on my mom to make them when we visit.  But, remember, we live in Mexico...they don't have all that fancy pre-packed food like in the States.  In most ways, that is a good thing. Unless you are craving something like that.

Since we were going to have something so naughty (remember, I am losing weight, folks!  Cinnamon rolls really aren't the sort of thing I should be eating.), I figured we would try to balance it out a little with a healthy, fun snack.  Fruit kabobs! 

I bought lots of yummy fruit at Costco the other day.  I wish I had bought more.  It is almost all gone.

For the cinnamon rolls, I used this recipe that I found through Pinterest.  I picked the non-yeast version to cut down on the time.  They turned out really well.  And, you can't beat the icing!  If we are doing this, we are doing it all the way!  Icing and all!

The girls were in heaven!

Since early February, I have lost 37 lbs!  I'm on a roll.  And, I only ate half of a cinnamon roll, so I don't think I did too much damage!  And, it was worth it!

animal time

Well, we got back from the beach Saturday evening.  We were ready to come home.  It is always fun going on vacation, but nice to be in your own home.  Even though that bed in the hotel was heavenly!

I will definitely miss this view!  Wish this was what I could see out my own bedroom window. 

While at the resort, there was a company that brought different critters throughout the week and let you take your photo with them.  We only caught two of them -- a macaw and a little crocodile.

Emily got her picture take with the bird.  She was excited about it.  I asked Bella if she wanted to and she was afraid.  Who knows!

Yet, when the crocodile was around, Bella was all up for getting her picture taken with it.  Weird child! 

Emily was on board for the crocodile, too.  They snapped a few pictures and when Emily shifted the crocodile, the crocodile swung it's head back towards Emily's face.  I said, "He is trying to give you a kiss."  She said, "No he isn't.  He is trying to bite me!"  True.  But, you can see in the picture, they put a rubber band around the mouth.

We all had a good time.  It was nice and relaxing.  Now, back to reality!

superhero comes to life

The whole time we have been here at the resort, there has been this muscle guy that has been walking around.  He stands out because he is not only muscular, but really tall. 

Emily spotted him and said he looked like Captain America.  So, a few days ago he was in the pool and we swam over to him so she could say hi. 

I wasn't sure how he would respond.  Maybe he would be annoyed that we were bugging him.  But, he was really friendly with her.  She was more than excited to meet him.

Everyday since, he has been saying hi to her as he walks by, sometimes stopping and chatting with her.  The look on her face has been priceless.

Yesterday, I had my camera with me and we snapped a few pictures of him and her together.  (His real name is Thomas.)  Just take a look at her face.

Then, last night, we were walking through the main lobby area of the resort and we spot a guy in a costume.  A closer look reveals that it is Thomas, dressed in a Captain America suit.  He said that he had to find a costume for her since she claimed he was Captain America. 

I still can't get over how sweet that was of him.

beach week

This week, as some of you might already know, we are at the beach.  We got here on Monday and will be going home on Saturday.

So far we are having a blast!  The girls are in seventh heaven!  I'm not sure we will be able to get them in the car on Saturday.

Just thought I would share a few pics since it has been ages since I have posted anything.

The view from our room.  We are on the first floor so we don't have a spectacular view of the ocean, but this will certainly do!

They have an infinity pool.  Very neat!

Here is a shot of our bathroom in our room.

And, the VERY comfortable bed!  I wish I had one of these at home!

There is a pull out couch that the girls are sleeping on.

A little wider view of the bed and bathroom area.

The girls playing on the beach.  They can't seem to get enough.

Bella lounging like she is a pro.

Emily posing as best as she can.  The necklace she is wearing we bought here from a local vendor.  It is some type of bone.  And, typical of Emily, she loves it!

The girls posing for me in the pool.

Emily having fun!

Splashing!

Emily is a fish out of water.  She went underwater for the first time this time here and now we can't keep her from jumping in the water.  She always wants to go to the "deep" pool!

Here she is underwater.  Under that splash is her.

Bella won't go under the water, but she jumps around in the shallow end.  They couldn't be any more different, the two of them.

We are off for another day of fun in the sun!

tissue paper bowls

The girls were looking to do something crafty yesterday.  So, I opened up my Pinterest homeschool/kids activities file.  I had just pinned a new art project that day.  It was a great project because, not only did it require only a few items, I had all the items on hand!  Plus, it was something that the girls could do all on their own.  They like those types of projects best.

We made tissue paper bowls.  I just followed the exact directions on the link from Pinterest.  It worked out pretty well.  The girls had a great time making them.

Bella made the smallest bowl.  I think I removed it from the actual bowl a little too early. (I'm impatient.)  I think that is why it looks a little wonky.  But, it still functions the same.  Hers was also the easiest to remove from the actual bowl.  Maybe next time I will spray the cooking spray on the actual bowl before and after I put the plastic wrap on.

Emily made a little bigger bowl.  I had to keep reminding both of the girls to make sure to put the tissue paper around the entire bowl, not just on one area.  She can now store all her treasures in a bowl that she made.

And, what kind of person would I be if I didn't join in on the fun?  So, I made a bowl too.  It ended up in Bella's possession.  She likes to "store" things everywhere.  Bags, boxes, bowls, etc are right up her alley.  She has tons of little things to put inside of something.

Here are all of the bowls side by side.  The smaller the bowl you uses, it seems the easier to remove once it is dry.  Mine, the largest, was a bit tricky.  I ended up having to cut down on the sides a bit because when I removed it, it tore a little.  Just wanted to throw out that advice.

Maybe you can try it out for yourself!  Have fun!  We did.