better late than never

Well, here I am.  Almost 2 months later.  And I am alive.

And so is Mia.  Maybe we will have a guest post from her before we turn 80.   Although she has been M.I.A (how appropriate is her name?) from the blog for the past year, my love for that girl hasn't waned even one tiny bit!  We don't get to spend nearly as much time together as we'd like, but we touch base often and never have quite enough time to talk.  I'm here to tell you she is doing great, looks the same, (fab) and has been really busy with projects around her home.  She's done some amazing things lately, and if she doesn't blog about them, I will! Here's a peek at a super cool wall treatment we did in her dining room recently.

So much has happened since my last post.......SO MUCH!

First of all, you may be shocked to learn that I decided to stay in the position I was in at work instead of moving up to be a Gate Agent. The main reason was because I was eligible to start dropping and trading shifts on May 18th.  If I had started the training to be a  Gate Agent, I would have been in training full time for five weeks and then on probation (again) for another three months.  Which would have resulted in NO travel with my family this whole summer and I just couldn't comprehend all that work with no play.  At the end of three months, I have to have worked 60% of my total scheduled hours.  I can work really hard for a week or two (picking up extra shifts) and then take a month off at a time.  I've been working a lot the past month, so this summer is going to be full of lots of time off and abundant traveling.  We are all super excited about it!

Just in case you were wondering, I have worked the last eight holidays.  (Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, St. Patrick's Day, Good Friday, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day and Memorial Day)   I send pictures like this to my friends and family on Easter Sunday while I'm sitting in the break room eating my dinner and feeling sorry for myself.

I have tried to make each holiday up to my family if I have a day off before or after.  We had a lovely Easter dinner out back on the patio this year on Saturday night.  The weather was perfect and we had such a nice evening together.

 Andrew took this picture of the kids after church on Easter Sunday and I really love it. So much.

We moved Jaci to Utah because she had some friends that needed another roommate for a few months.  She decided that since she had flight benefits and could come back and forth to Arizona, she would love to have the fun experience of living away from home for a short spell.  Me and the little boys flew to Utah to see her this past week and help her organize her tiny space.   It's tricky getting everything a girl needs into such a small space, but we did it and had some fun cheering up her miniscule bedroom.

We walked around the Provo Temple while we were there, and I've never seen such beautiful pink roses in my life!  It seems like they went on for miles!  This picture doesn't do them justice, and I loved being there with my kids.

Jaci won a contest on Instagram for two free tickets to the Karmin concert in Salt Lake City.  Andrew loves Karmin, so Jaci called and told him she wanted him to be her guest to the concert, but he would have to catch the next flight out of Phoenix to make it on time. (the flight was leaving in an hour)  Fortunately, he works about 10 minutes from the airport.  He hopped in his car, got through security, ran through the terminal, and got to the gate just as they were giving the final boarding call. (just like in the movies....)  A quick trip to H&M in Salt Lake where Jaci helped transform him from businessman to a hip concert goer, and they were off!.  They had an absolute blast and I'm so happy that through my job I am able to provide fun experiences that my family wouldn't be able to have otherwise.

Jaci flew in on Mother's Day and the boys and Andrew came to the airport to pick her up and got to see me in action at work.  It was so much fun to see them for a few minutes on the very day I was feeling very thankful to be their mom!

Are you already trying to think of some easy summer meals to make while your kids are home?  I kid you NOT, I am Mother of the Year when I make this very simple dish.  The kids love it so much.  Make (or buy) some basic pizza dough.  I love The Pioneer Woman's {recipe} for pizza dough.  I actually love every single thing she makes and I wish she was my twin.  Trader Joes has some good, pre-made dough if you aren't in the mood to make your own.

Get a little ball of dough, spread it into a circle the size of your palm, fold a pepperoni in half and then in half again, place it in the middle of the dough and add some mozzarella cheese, fold the edges in and seal it up really well into a circle.  I just hold the dough in my palm the whole time and roll it back into a ball shape.  Then I submerge that whole ball into some melted butter seasoned with a little bit of garlic powder and place it in a bundt pan.  I just keep rolling and filling until it's a little more than halfway full.  If there is any extra seasoned butter, I drizzle it over the top.  (I'm confident the Pioneer Woman would be proud)

I throw a towel over it and let it sit for about 30 minutes, then bake it at 350 for around 25-30 minutes or until the top layer is lightly browned.   Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate and serve with your favorite pizza sauce.  They pull apart into the perfect kid-sized food.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't love them, too.

So, what are you doing for fun this summer?  Since we are already well into the triple digits, we are going to escape this furnace as often as possible.  I'd love to hear some of your favorite summer destinations that are low key and family friendly!  Maybe we will meet you there.....

your girl,

jilly