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 February 2017!

Blood Orange Cheesecake from Baking a Moment {SO beautiful}!

Blueberry Oat Flour Waffles from Feasting on Fruit {Breakfast all day, breakfast every day}!

Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Blondies from The Paleo Runing Momma {Chocolate = YUM}!

Red Velvet Pizelles from Kitchen Confidante {Absolutely stunning}!

Lemon Cheesecake Tart form The Sweet and Simple Kitchen {Everything about this post}!

Life with my tribe:

Valentine’s Day

We keep it pretty chill on Valentine’s Day. Ritch and I much prefer to stay in, shower our kids with love, and then go on a date another time when there won’t be crowds and long waits {introverted much}?!

Of course we make it fun! I made individual heart-shaped pizzas with heart-shaped pepperonis for Ritch and the kids! Ritch showered his girls with flowers and candy! Seriously these are the roses he brought home for me this year {along with two other smaller bouquets for his littler ladies}…wowza. And some of my favorite chocolate!

Bethany lost her 2nd tooth!!

How does this keep happening? Please tell me I’m dreaming and I’ll wake up and my sweet Bethany will be little again! It doesn’t work like that? Shoot.

Seriously though Bethany has been SUCH a champ when it comes to losing her teeth. Coming from a kid who literally freaks out if she gets the tiniest splinter, the fact that she acts like losing a tooth is no big deal is amazing. Of course I make an enormous deal about it and celebrate like crazy because she really wants me to. I just can’t believe how big she is. Like at all.

Ritch in Israel

My husband is my best friend in the entire world. I truly believe we were made for each other. God said, let there be Ritch, and then 3.5 years later said…Ritch needs a Laura, and 20 years later He brought us together {Thank you Jesus}!

Anywho, before this month, in our {almost} 10 years of marriage we hadn’t been apart for more than 5 days at a time. Well, he had the opportunity of a lifetime and got to go on a 17 day-long trip to Israel without paying a dime. Of course he had to go, but I will tell you that those were the longest 17 days of my entire life. It wasn’t because I couldn’t handle the kids or was too tired and sore from being 33 weeks pregnant, it was that I just missed my best friend.

Not only is Ritch the most amazing husband a woman could ever ask for, but I truly believe he is absolutely the best daddy in the history of the entire world. He adores our kids and is incredibly intentional about the way we raise them. Not once has he ever come home from work and “checked out” by watching TV, being on his phone, answering e-mails, etc. He walks through that door and wrestles, reads, cuddles and plays with our kids from the moment he says “Hello” to the moment we tuck them into their beds. Then he sits and chats and cuddles with me until we’re ready to hit the hay. He truly is my partner in crime, my other half, and I am not whole without him! I literally felt like half of me was missing while he was away, and I am so grateful to have him safely home with us!  Plus hello, have you ever tried taking 3 kids to the OB…definitely not easy or fun. 😉

Honestly one of the hardest things for me was going to church without Ritch! Since he’s the pastor, Sundays just aren’t the same without him. As soon as we walked in Naomi yelled “DADDY” and ran off to try to find him. Sad to have to tell her he wasn’t there! But there’s nothing a little  chillin’ and snack eating can’t fix. Right?! 😉

But honestly, the kids were CHAMPS. They did SO well and I was the one who couldn’t hold it together! I missed my main man so much it hurt!

Here’s a pic of the first moments after Ritch got home! Of course he’s giving them all the goodies he brought back from overseas! The favorite? A tiger’s eye marble…that he only got two of….let’s just say we have three kids, and little miss Naomi was not pleased that she didn’t get one of her own! LOL!

Family Visits

Since I am super pregnant and I knew 17 days without Ritch would be a lonnnnng time, I asked my sister and mom to come out and visit at separate times during his trip. I really believe it made the 17 days go by way faster than it would’ve if they hadn’t come. Plus, I had some reinforcements and my kids had someone else to play with when I was a little tired.

My sister was here the first weekend and we had a blast! We went to the children’s museum, swimming at the indoor pool, to the library and out for ice cream. We all had colds during this time so there was also a lot of game playing and movie watching around the house. Besides Ritch, my little sister is my favorite friend in the world, and I am so grateful for those few days we got to spend together!

A few days after my sister left my mom came out! She was super duper helpful and it was so nice having her here. Bethany got pretty sick during her visit, so we kept things pretty chill too. We did make it to the indoor pool {again} for a little swim session! And went out to eat and enjoyed some good food!

I am so grateful for such a helpful momma, and for how much my kids love her! Plus, it was much easier to say goodbye to her this time for two reasons. 1) Ritch came home the day after she left, so I was VERY ready for that day to come. 2) She will be back in a few short weeks to help again when this little baby girl is born!

Here they are baking together! 🙂

And here is the letter Bethany wrote for her on our way to the airport. Seriously I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Bethany is just the sweetest ever and she love her Nana so much! I especially love the “puddle of tears.” My word!

A few of my favorite things…

Donut Pan 

I got this donut pan for Christmas and I have been LOVING it! I’ve made some seriously delicious healthy donutty treats, like these Baked Paleo Spinach Donuts!

Food52 Shop

I want to own everything in the Food52 Shop! Seriously I just ordered this pie dish and already have these napkins. If you click on this link we both get a $20 referral credit if you buy something! YAY!

Mazza

Mazza is my absolute favorite restaurant in Salt Lake City. Ritch and I have found ourselves at this restaurant on every single date night we have been on for 6 months! Seriously we always think we’ll try someplace new but we decide to just go to Mazza. Their hummus & pita is literally the best I’ve ever had {see first pic in this post}. And this falafel salad feast is to. die. for. If you’re ever in SLC and need a place to eat, definitely check out Mazza!

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