This and That

Father's Day with dad

Doug's father's day ukelele (idea from Dan) and a matching one for Allie so they can play together.

Swimming Lessons...diving!

Kicking

Holding breath?

Father's Day cake with cousins

Allie and Logan

Allie and Joshy with Pa

Larry and Ben

Ryan, Luanne, Katelyn

Dress up

Day with Rosey!

Squished cheeks :) Love them!

Our friend Sarah came from Logan. Miss her and husband Eli a lot!

Baby Birds

*Note: We just found out that starlings eat the Idaho State bird and that you are supposed to have Fish and Game come and kill them. Hmmmm, that ruined our fun little time there.

We found this in our old bbq a few weeks ago.

Starling Eggs (they look just like Robin eggs). The mom laid 5 eggs, one a day. I didn't want to disturb them too much so my picture is just of the 4 eggs.

Baby chicks hatched and they are a little freaky looking. It has been so fun to watch the process and Allie is really into it. :) Glad we could provide a safe home for them.

Eating Machine

This girl is all over the place and into everything all the time. She puts everything in her mouth. I cannot turn my back for one minute.

She is usually crying about something. She wrestles with Allie, climbs all over her, eats her, laughs at her, trys to find her all the time.

But she's ours, she's great, and we love her to pieces! AND she turns ONE next week. She is our toothless ONE-der :)

I am in complete shock! We'll be back with cake pictures :)

i LOVE the zoo

Hogle Zoo.

Beautiful morning between rain storms.

My family.

Ran into best friends Natalie and Casey.

Carousel and animals + bird show.

Katelyn exploded...literally from both ends and all over me.

So much fun!

Bestie

Lynds and Tyler. We always have a good laugh when we get together and this time was no exception. Love you guys!!

Expecting their first squirt in September...a girl!

We've been friends since kindergarten. Oh the stories we have! Look at her cute preggo belly :)

Allie LOVES her because she's always up for a good/silly time

Adorable!

Mission

While we were in SLC we had the opportunity to see where my parents are serving their part-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They serve in the Family History Center, which is huge. You could get a lot of work done there. They are enjoying the opportunity to serve and help people find out more about their families.

Hahaha

No words needed. What a crack up!

Personal Pan

If you are from Green River, Wyoming then I have a question for you.

Where was the coolest place to have a birthday party growing up? Why?

I hope you answered Pizza Hut because we could make our own personal pan pizza in the kitchen. That is until they stopped letting us do it because of some "Health Code." Lame.

I got a call from a friend inviting Allie to come make her own pizza at Pizza Hut. WHAT!? Yes, sign us up. This was my favorite thing. I was easy to please and I'm from Wyoming, give me a break!

She loved it to. Like mother, like daughter.

I wonder where this Pizza Hut's Health Code is?! Oh well.

My camera would not take this picture so Allie was posing for a long time...hence the very fake smile. Still so cute though. She put pepperoni, ham, and pineapple on her pizza.

Going into the oven...

Allie telling the lady that she's 3 (as if that lady cares)!

Waiting for the finished product. Look at my pipsqueak :)

City of Meridian

We have some wonderful news to share...

Doug's job is now full time at the City of Meridian. It has been such a long year of waiting and wondering. But it paid off and now we can stay here in Boise. We feel all grown up now that we can settle down somewhere and have a real job. What a huge relief. We have had our patience and faith tried but so much good happened during the long wait. We have been blessed beyond measure. We are so thankful for the loving support of our family and friends. We have grown so much as a family and with our Heavenly Father.

Now on to a completely different note. Last week was Public Works week (which is the department that Doug works for). On Saturday they did their annual "Poop Scoot." Oh dear, now I have to explain it because it's so funny. They have everyone start at the Water Plant. They drop a tennis ball into the pipes (AKA a poop into the pipes) and everyone races to see if they can beat it to the Water Treatment Plant (AKA the sewer). Whoever wins gets the tennis ball on a trophy. Gross huh!? Yet so funny. So we walked/jogged it with the girls and had a blast!

We beat the tennis ball. It actually goes pretty slow!

Peanut Butter

I LOVE peanut butter. I eat it on everything...really I do.

Have you ever thought about making your own? I never did.

We have really changed the way we eat but it does require a bit more money at times. If I can make it then we can save $$$. I LOVE making nut butter because it's so easy, better tasting, and of course healthier.

My mother's day gift was this beauty. A food processor. Maybe you have one. Maybe you've had it in your closet for 5 years because you don't know what to make with it. Now you can try it out.

I mean look at how creamy and delicious it looks. My face says, "Why would I ever buy peanut butter again?"

You want to just lick the bowl right!?

Well enough of this torture....here is the SIMPLE recipe for you to enjoy for yourself!

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER (Yields ~12 oz.)

*3 C organic unsalted, dry roasted peanuts (I buy in bulk at Fred Meyer)

*1/4-1/2 tsp. salt

*1 Tbsp. pure cane sugar (optional)

1. Add nuts to food processor.

2. Turn on and scrape bowl as necessary until smooth + creamy (~10-15 min.)

3. Add salt and sugar slowly, process, then taste test. Repeat until desired taste is reached.

*If you like chunky peanut butter just stir in some chopped nuts.

THAT. IS. ALL.

Almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, it's endless...yeah we are having fun with this!

Have a great weekend. Love to all! xoxo

2 months late...

Allie's birthday video of last year.

She's such a sweet, special girl...with so much personality.

She is SO FULL of life. She is still at an age where life is so exciting and fun. Can I please freeze time right now??

Here are just a few lines she gets from complete strangers. They sum it up well:

"She is a 12 year old in a 2 year old body."

"You've got quite the chatterbox."

"She's the smartest girl we've ever seen."

"You look just like your mom."

"You are the cutest girl."

"Your eyes are so big and blue."

We love her to pieces!

(Allie chose the pictures and the song...it's "Something That I Want" from Tangled.)

Crawler

Katelyn is so funny. For months now she has crawled backward, away from everything she wants, thus resulting in extreme sadness tantrums. She now crawls forward!!! We worked with her forever and the thing that finally worked was GOLDFISH. That's right, goldfish. We would put them on the floor and she would come snatch them up. Good girl!

P.S. She is 10 1/2 months. She's getting so big :( but also :)

Beauty

Friday was National Public Parks Day so it was free admission into the Botanical Garden. The weather was so nice and we loved walking around with the girls. It was beautiful.

Allie took this picture. She's getting pretty good. Katelyn looks very thrilled here :)

It gets harder and harder to get a picture with Allie. This was a cute white bridge that I loved.

{My girls} I'm blessed to be their mom.

It's the hardest but greatest gift.

I love them.

I love our moms.

I love all the women in my life and the way they have touched me.

Womanhood is beautiful.

Allie's dress was crocheted by the woman I'm named after, Marilyn Smolka. She finally fits into it and she looks beautiful. :)

Allie's grocery list. I LOVE her writing in the lines!

I was looking at these with Allie and did a triple take to make sure I was adding right. I thought I was wrong but zero plus five actually does equal five. Even princesses make mistakes :)