Moments 04.2018! April was a busy month, we celebrated Easter, two of our kids had birthdays and we took our first family vacation in two years!

“I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.”

Welcome to “Moments” here on JoyFoodSunshine. At the end of every month I share a recap of all the shenanigans that went down in crazy town (i.e. my life in a nutshell).  So here it is for April 2018!

Recipe love:

Here are a few must-share recipes from the month of April from my favorite spots around the web!

How to make a Rainbow Cake from Also the Crumbs Please {The prettiest cake ever}.

Crispy Salmon from Dishing out Health {I can’t get over how delicious this looks}!

Banana Bread Ice Cream Cake from Feasting on Fruit {Once again, Natalie is a GENIUS}!

Lemon Blueberry Swirl Loaf from the Sweet and Simple Kitchen {Sunshine in bread form}!

Paleo Breakfast Hash from Paleo Running Momma {YUM}!

New Recipe Videos

Here is the video we produced for you in April! More to come in May!

Chia Pudding Finger Paints

 

Vitamix Mother’s Day feature!!!

You all know how much I love my Vitamix. But it’s not just the blender that I’m crazy about, it’s the whole company. Since starting my blog I have had the opportunity to work with them on many projects and I feel so absolutely blessed. So when they told me they wanted to do this on their homepage…I was blown away and very excited!

When I started this blog I told my husband that my dream would be to work with Vitamix one day…sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind myself that it’s all real! 🙂

Life with my tribe

April was a really fun and busy month for our family! We celebrated Easter, had TWO birthdays, and took a family vacation to Moab, Utah! But I have to start by sharing a hilarious conversation I had with Naomi. I painted her fingernails in the afternoon, and an hour or so later this happened…

Me: (after noticing Naomi’s nail polish had come off). “Naomi what happened to your nail polish?!”

Naomi: “It came off on something.”

Me: “What did it come off on?”

Naomi: “My tongue.”

Me: “Honey that’s not good for you…nail polish is like poison! Why did you eat it?”

Naomi: “I was hungry.”

Easter

We had a great Easter this year! It kind of snuck up on me, but we were still able to make some Resurrection Rolls, discuss the story of Jesus’ death & resurrection using these Resurrection Eggs, and get all dressed up to head to church on Sunday! 🙂

Mara Hope

Mara turned ONE! Read all about it here. We had a blast celebrating our sweet baby girl, and since her birthday she has learned a few new tricks.

Kisses!!! Mara has learned to give kisses. I’m in love. If we say, “Mara, give me a kiss” she will lean in half way, (making the other person come the rest of the way of course), give a sweet little kiss and then clap for herself! I can’t get enough!

She can actually eat real food! We have started the transition from baby food to table food. I do this by just giving her a little bit of whatever we’re eating at every meal (as long as it’s not a serious choking hazard). She is already losing interest in the baby food so I’m focusing more on cooked fruits and vegetables, soft cheeses, cereal, etc. etc. She ate an entire Cliff Kid’s Z Bar while we were hiking, and a half of a PB&J! Hooray for transitioning out of having to make Mara her own separate meals!

Standing. Mara is starting to stand on her own, which is great because having a crawler in the summer is not the best (think concrete and scraped knees)! Gabe and Bethany both learned how to walk two weeks after their first birthdays. But Mara is on pace to be more like Naomi, who didn’t learn how to walk until she was 14 months old. I’m not surprised, as they share many similar personality traits! 😉

Moab!

Get ready for picture overload….We traveled to Moab this month and had a blast spending time exploring both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. If you haven’t checked it out, I wrote an entire post two years ago about hiking with kids, and I still fully recommend every single bit of advice in that article!

The kids loved scrambling all over the rocks, seeing the sights and hiking through unusual terrain. It was really great to get away and be a family without any distractions!

This was one of my all-time favorite moments with Mara. She was very audibly snoring and absolutely passed out asleep on me. As I soaked in the beauty around me, breathed her in, and felt her chest rise and fall against mine it was just the epitome of perfection.

Gabe Turned FIVE!

Honestly, for some reason this birthday didn’t hit me as hard as others have in the past! I think I’ve thought of Gabe as “five” for a long time now. I mean, that dude has been wearing size 5 clothes since he first turned four! Plus he is wildly independent and can read like a pro! He’s such a kind and sweet boy and it’s such a joy being his mommy!

To celebrate Gabe chose French toast as his birthday breakfast and pizza for dinner! I made him a chocolate cake and while it tasted amazing, I can’t say that I loved how it turned out {read: I loathe this cake lol}. He acted super bossy on this birthday, and said on many occasions, “It’s my birthday, you have to do what I say.” LOL! Oh Gabe, we love you so much!

A few of my favorite things…

Ergo Baby Carrier. 

Mara has officially outgrown the Solly wrap, so I started using my Ergo again. I absolutely love this thing. Gabe and Naomi practically lived in it, and it’s always my carrier of choice when we go hiking. Mara slept SO well in it, like my other babies did, because of the cover that goes over their heads. It’s so comfy too! I hiked with her for many, many miles and wore her most days and never felt a thing!

North Face Hiking Shoes

My mom bought me a pair of North Face hiking shoes before I went on my honeymoon eleven years ago (because we backcountry camped/hiked for part of it) and I still wear them every time we hike! They are the BEST shoes EVER and I feel like they’re old friends since I have worn them on every hike I have ever done over in the last 11 years. Is it weird I have shoes older than my firstborn child?! haha

But really, I implore you to never hike in shoes that were made for road running, walking, biking, etc. Choosing the proper footwear will prevent injury and make your hikes more enjoyable. I could rave on and on about these shoes, but I’ll just tell you again that they’re the BEST and so worth the investment!

Recipes I’m Making on Repeat

Here are a few recipes we enjoyed in April!

Homemade Pizza Dough & Homemade Pizza Sauce 

Because everyone requests homemade pizza on their birthdays! I dressed this one up for Mara’s birthday, even though she had no idea what was going on! 🙂

Gluten-free Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese

This is a staple recipe for us. This time I chose to use Chickpea Pasta and skip the baking step!

Homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread 

I make this recipe all the time, and when I do I usually double it. We eat one right away (mostly to enjoy as BLTs) and then use the other for sandwiches for lunch!

Well that’s all she wrote! I’d love to hear a highlight from your April! What are you looking forward to in May!?

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