Trying to master my To-Do Lists

I like making plans. And lists. There's something almost therapeutic about writing out things that I'd like to do or things that need to be done. I have a notebook especially for this task sitting on my nightstand, not to mention the lists on my iPhone.

However, I wouldn't exactly call myself a master of my To-Do Lists.

Like everyone else, I write things down as a reminder; I'm notorious for forgetting something just moments after thinking about it. But, do I actually accomplish anything from my list? Sometimes, but more than likely, no.

During spring, the idea of spring cleaning gets lodged into my head and that's when long, elaborate lists come out, mostly for the house and yard. We've lived in our house for 11 years now and the junk has accumulated; our basement is really overrun with "stuff." So when spring rolls around, out comes my notebook and the pages are quickly filled.

My goals are usually to accomplish all of this during summer, but it hasn't happened...yet. In the years past, we've cleaned, but not decluttered, so we usually end up right back to where we started.

This year, the goal was to get our backyard in order. 

I'm totally cringing at these pictures, but as you can see, it really needs some work. (Some of the sprinkler heads were broken, hence the yellowing grass, and the weeds were wild)

Ryan is completely immersed in lacrosse and would like to transform at least half of the backyard into an area where he and his friends can shoot and practice. We have the materials to build him a giant backstop and a square of brick wall for some wall ball, but Scott has been busy with a multimillion project at work that has him working late (doesn't get home until 2 or 3 in the morning), so materials are just laying on our back patio.

For now, we've had to settle for the tiniest of projects. Like spraying weed killer or (finally) washing the windows at the back of the house. Just a few weeks ago, we finally put together the shed we bought Scott for Father's Day, and on Saturday, Scott fixed a couple of broken sprinkler heads. Slow, but steady progress.

But, it's still progress. One of my accomplishments was clearing our back patio and setting up an area for our family to relax. I used some of the gift cards from my birthday to buy some deck chairs and a fire pit.

It's nothing fancy, but we've put it to good use. We've made s'mores a couple of times, and by early afternoon there's enough shade to sit back here and just hang out. I like to sit out here and read while Ryan or Jeff make use of the lacrosse and soccer goals.

So, we still have a ways to go, but we're slowly making it better. We leave for vacation in about a week, so hopefully, with the smaller problems being taken care of, we won't have too much to worry while we're gone.

Make Your Own Pizza Night

I'm always trying to cook more for our family, but my plans always seem to get derailed. This week, however, planets were aligned and the cosmos seemed at peace: I actually made dinner more than twice this week! Woohoo!

The Crack Monkeys are big pizza eaters; they'd eat pizza every night if they could. But, since that's not advisable for our bank account, I thought we'd try some homemade pizza.

Pinterest was my go-to for a homemade pizza dough, and I think my brain just about broke from all of the different recipes there were. I had to sift through all of the "best homemade pizza dough" and "easiest homemade pizza dough" recipes until it became a bit overwhelming, so I settled for the one with the one that had the most pictures to go along with the instructions. (Here's the recipe I used: The Best Homemade Pizza Dough)

The dough was easy enough, and the kids were really excited at the idea of putting what and how much they wanted on their pizzas. I don't have any pictures of them making their pizzas (my hands were covered in pizza sauce and cheese), but here are some of the end results:

Don't they look absolutely thrilled with their creations? ;-)

I think I can file this one away as a success!

Happy 4th of July!

So grateful for those who fought for the freedoms of this great nation! Thank you to those who have served and continue to serve! And, Happy Birthday, America!

Front row seats to Big Poppa's fireworks

Before the 4th of July festivities

This is what our days leading up to the 4th of July look like: Scott searching for the perfect bunch of aerial fireworks. Since Utah now allows aerials in our neck of the 'burbs, I now have to set money aside for the 4th and 24th of July, just so Big Poppa can have that smile on his face.

I am married to a pyromaniac....and the Crack Monkeys love it.