“I can’t remember all the times I’ve 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 May 2017!

Recipe love:

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

Vanilla Roasted Rhubarb French Toast from Dishing Out Health {YUM}!

Strawberry Rhubarb Basil Jam Rolls from The Sweet and Simple Kitchen {Made with the Vitamix!}

Easy Tomato Mozzarella Salad from Oh Sweet Basil {BBQ Side Perfection}!

One-Pan Salmon and Veggie Dinner from Wife Mama Foodie {A meal for Momma}!!

Cherry Oat Muffins + Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze from The Kitchen McCabe {Cherry season is here}!

Life with my tribe:

Everything Food Conference

I bought a ticket last minute to attend the Everything Food Conference in Salt Lake City and I’m SO glad I did! Even though my participation was limited because Mara was just 3 weeks old, I learned so much, met some awesome people and got to spend time with some of my favorite blogging friends! I feel so blessed to live in the beautiful state of Utah…the blogger capital of the world! 😉

Plus, I got to meet Amanda from I Am Baker…the woman who, eight years ago, changed my cake decorating life forever with her rose cake tutorial! #girlcrush #loveher

Tulip Festival

Every spring we make sure to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point! We have so much fun walking {or in my kids’ case, running} through the flower-lined paths, rolling down hills, and throwing rocks into the waterfall.

Mara was 3 weeks old when we went, and I was feeling good enough to walk around! However, apparently I wasn’t with it enough to do Naomi’s hair! LOL! LOL! My special little unicorn child.

Me and my babies….{and again, Naomi’s hair is unreal LOL}!

Mara Hope

If you haven’t read my most recent update on Mara…here it is! Mara Hope: 6 weeks!

Also, my sweet friends at Vitamix sent me an amazing gift to welcome Mara into the world! Have I mentioned how much I love the people who work at that company?! 😉 Oh, I have?! Ok. There definitely will be some “Make your own baby food” posts coming in a few months!

Mother’s Day

This was my first Mother’s Day as a momma of four sweet kids! I felt very loved! My kids made me some adorable cards, and my hubby got me some gorgeous flowers and my favorite chocolate! He also treated me to dinner at Spitz in Cottonwood Heights, so I didn’t have to cook or do any dishes! It was a wonderful day and I feel so blessed and grateful to get to be a mom to the best kids ever!

First Postpartum Hike

I had my 6 week postpartum checkup on a Friday, so naturally we woke up Saturday morning and headed straight to the mountains to go hiking! We tried doing our favorite “hike” around Silver Lake, but it was completely covered in snow still! So we drove a little ways down the mountain and hiked Donut Falls instead! It was still pretty wet and muddy, but we had fun and are looking forward to many more hikes this summer!

Naomi turns two!

It’s crazy to me that Naomi just turned two. Usually I’m surprised by how fast time passes by, but honestly it feels like Naomi has been two for a while now.

The year after she was born was one of the roughest seasons of life for me personally, which effected us as a family in a big way. So to say that time passed laboriously slow during that year is an understatement.

We had a blast celebrating Naomi. I mean look at her, just about everything is more fun when she’s around.

As always, Naomi was super spoiled by grandparents {even from 1400 miles away}! We got her a Tinkerbell dress because I resisted the princess “thing” with Bethany until she was 5, so I didn’t have a “pretty dress” that fit Naomi and she asks for one every time Bethany puts hers on.

For the record, I still don’t love the whole princess thing, however trying to fight a girl wanting to be a princess is like trying to keep a boy from turning everything into a gun! It’s in their nature so why not just roll with it! LOL!

Here’s little miss Naomi enjoying all her presents while watching Tinkerbell. Pure birthday bliss.

Summer vibes

Warm weather means bike rides and BBQs with friends! And lots and lots of laundry! 😉

Love this boy!

A few of my favorite things…

What to do when your friend loses a baby 

This article from Pinch of Yum is so perfect. If you don’t follow their blog, you need to! They had the heartbreaking loss of their sweet baby boy this year and her article is so real, raw and helpful. As someone who has not only experienced the heartbreaking loss of miscarriage, but has also walked with friends through losing their babies, this article truly captures the struggle and needs of someone in that situation.

This dress! 

I bought this dress in gray (it is darker than it appears on the site)! I am always a small, but I sized up in this dress based on the reviews and I’m glad I did. I don’t like my clothes super tight and this one fits perfectly! One thing I will note is that it’s not easy to nurse in, but it is so cute and comfy I’m willing to get creative when I have to feed Mara in order to wear it! 😉 LOL

These Sandals

I bought these sandals last summer and still am just as in love with them this year! They are SO cute and comfy! It seriously feels like walking on the softest yoga mat ever! I have them in grey but you really can’t go wrong with any of the colors/styles!

Almond Butter

I’ve been LOVING a few of the new flavors of Barney Almond Butter! Especially the honey + flax…it’s slightly sweet with a little crunch from the flaxseeds. SO GOOD!

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