A Lanie-Bug Birthday

So the little lady turned one. This entire weekend has been one big celebration with us celebrating in Burley on Saturday and at home yesterday. There has been plenty of food, so Dalanie hasn't complained at all.Grandpa Hillman's birthday is the day after Dalanie's, so they each got a candle in the strawberry pie (which Hudson blew out.)

It seems like only yesterday that we brought her home for the first time. But how we have grown to love her in just one year! Here are a few reasons that this little girl takes up big pieces of our hearts. She
-growls and grunts
-gets so excited when Daddy comes home
-gives us kisses
-has the tiniest, but strongest little hands
-eats her vegetables
-is a little spunky and sassy
-isn't afraid to get dirty
-is such a little tease
-is still addicted to her pacifier, but now like to share it

Sticker Shock

I'm getting used to having to mortgage my firstborn in order to fill up at the pump.

My stomach gets butterflies when I'm at the grocery checkout. When the cashier tells me the total and I think "big money, ouch! that was a whammy!"

Let's face it, everyone is out to get my money. I've become calloused to the fact.

Almost.

My last trip to Target found inflation rearing it's ugly head yet again.

The popcorn/drink combo is no longer $1.00. That's right, the one constant in my life is no longer. They now stick you $1.50. I about declined. And then I looked at my kiddos in the cart. How could I face them or my shopping list without popcorn. So I opened up my shrinking wallet, shelled out the cash, and enjoyed an otherwise pleasant shopping experience.

Make Shift

It seems as though I've got some kids that are great at improvising. Call it deprived, but they find their way to get what they need.Who needs McDonald's playland when you've got an oversized box full of packing peanuts. Did you know unshelled garden peas make awesome teethers? They've won Sissy's endorsement.

Camping Insert: Primitive Krispy Kreme

No matter what diet you're on, it goes out the window when you camp. I mean, camping is as much about the food as it is about the scenery. Here's a surefire way to make a few friends while you're out in the great outdoors.

Take a few tubes of refrigerated biscuits, fry 'em up.
Let them cool a minute.
Drown them in a nice sugary glaze and you've got a pretty darn tasty treat.
Here's my suggestions for a good glaze. Some might call it a recipe, but if you know me-- it's only a suggestion.
1/2 c. milk
3-4T butter
1 t. vanilla or maple flavoring
warm over stove until butter melts
incorporate 1 lb. powdered sugar with a hand mixer
This should coat 6+ dozen donuts.
Enjoy

Wildhorse Camping Trip

We set out to go camping this weekend. As always, it was a rush to get everything ready by time we decided to go, but we were off and away Thursday night. We got into camp at dark thirty and proceeded to put up our new tent. (I always chuckle when I hear people that do practice runs before hand.) Mission accomplished, now time for bed. It was a chilly night and the forest ranger confirmed it--a whopping 33 degrees.I tried to simplify and rely on our charcoal grill and square cooking irons for cooking. Sausage cooks up awesome in the cooking irons, as do egg sandwiches, and blueberry french toast. At first I thought I was crazy for not taking the camp chef, but it was a fun little challenge and cut down on the required gear.We did a good deal of 4 wheeling. A ride inevitably guaranteed some amount of nap time for the kids. There were a lot of trails to ride. A favorite was up to a lake where Hudson was able to do a bunch of casting. He's a casting maniac, and pretty darn good at it too.On the way home, we had a bit of a set back when the 4 wheeler came crashing through the rear window. Luckily none of the kids were hurt. Scared yes, but not hurt.I'm glad we made an opportunity to go as farming doesn't provide a lot of away time. Hudson is already talking about "next time." It was a great experience and neat to have so much fun as a family. Hopefully he can wait until next year.

Blessing or a Curse

Since Sissy was born, she's had a head full of hair. It's always the thing people comment on.
"Boy she's got a lot of hair."
"Did your other child have that much hair?"
"Look at all that hair."

Now I just smile and remark, "A blessing and a curse."

So this morning we counted our blessings and put 9 little curlers in before church. And this is what we ended up with.

Only Child

Since Brother is having the time of his life at Grandma and Grandpa's, Sissy and I have been able to spend some quality time together. In the process I have learned some new things and have been reminded of others. In no particular order:

-Teething is miserable even if you are 11 months.
- Brother keeps her out of a lot of trouble. I think she is loving the freedom to go and do whatever her little heart desires. I have found her upstairs playing with toys several times.
-Black beans are this girl's best friend.
- Patty-cake never gets old. We've got a roller on our hands.
- Standing is easy, moving your feet is the hard part.
- She's aspiring to be a secretary. Writing instrument of choice, big fat permanent marker.- She is a little fireball.
- Babies don't stay little for very long.

4th Fun

Our day got off to a poor start when the tire on the boat exploded as we were passing Mom and Dad on the freeway. Just 5 seconds earlier I told Brent that something weird was going on with the tire. After the initial pop, tread went flying through the air along with a trail of sparks. (Our own version of fireworks for the occasion.) Mom and I about went in to cardiac arrest. Dad and Brent made an awesome pit crew and they had us fixed up in a matter of minutes. For rest of the trip I was too gun shy to look in the mirror at the tires.

We continued on to Bear Lake where the Stephens + Tameka met up with us for some boating/beach fun. It was a little overcast, but that didn't stop us from having fun. The kids loved the beach, once Hudson realized that he could have fun even if his feet were dirty. Dalanie was a little skuttlebug that raced across the sand with her bum in the air.Tameka let us stay in her vacant apartment Friday night. Stephens fed us breakfast and then it was off to Hyrum Dam for more boating fun. Westerns met up with us too. The kids loved tubing and they even tried skiing.

Cookie Monster

As a mom I get to witness a lot of creativity, ingenuity, and innovative things.

I walked out into the family room to see this:Any ideas? If you're like me, you're a bit puzzled.

Upon further questioning I learned that my first born was attempting to glue these Little Debbie oatmeal cookies to the underside of his chair for safe keeping. He said he was tired of me "bossing" him so he was trying to hide them.

Nice idea, a little tough on the execution. A glue stick is no match for a heavy, cellophaned cookie.

And to think this is only the beginning of the "Independence" Day week.

Marathon Day

In every sense of the word.The morning started off by participating in the To Bone and Back relay marathon. It was a neat experience. I got to meet some fun new ladies since I originally knew only a couple from our 8 man team. Stacey ran leg 2 and then ran beside me for encouragement on leg 4. She's such a tough chick. It was more of a challenge than I anticipated but something I was glad to be a part of. Moral of the story: I definitely need to add some more hills to my running regimen. As soon as I finished running, we had to leave so I could shower at my sister in law's house and get ready to attend a wedding luncheon in Rexburg.
After the lunch, we went to the Spray Park and killed time until the reception. It was a busy place on account of the warm weather. There is also a carousel to ride. Brother got too cold too fast, but sissy is a trooper.

By the time the reception rolled around, we were completely exhausted. It was a long day!

Mighty Fishermen

Brent, Hudson, Mitch, and Grandpa went fishing down on the river at a farm we're running this year. They hit the jackpot. Brent said he never had time to cast a line because everyone else kept him too busy getting fish off the hook and more bait on. On top of the awesome fishing, they saw a bald eagle, and hay brokers kept calling Brent and out bidding each other.

Yes siree, it was the kind of day the Brent deserves and finally got.

You can see Hudson being hysterical in the background. Apparently the flailing fish was too much for him and he went and sat in the pickup.

Proudly displaying their catch.

We had a fish fry and grilled up some darn tasty trout. It was complete with a spinach salad and fresh strawberry pie straight out of the garden. You don't eat any fresher than that.

Cape

A super hero must always be ready.

He must have a fast horse.
Gloves.
Hat.
And Cape.
But that doesn't mean a super hero can't get tired.

I made Hudson a cape today. His adventures have officially started.

We Be Jammin

Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement.

I thought I might let you all in on one of my little secrets. If you find yourself making jams, fresh salsa, or dicing more onions than you'd care to, I've got the perfect tool for you.

The Kitchen Plus 2000.

I usually steer clear of As Seen on TV items, but I received this as a gift. At first I made fun of it and planned on sending it to DI. But one day I decided to give it a whirl and that's when I was sold. You can make fresh salsas in seconds and chop strawberries with a few turns of the handle. I've only used the triple blade for chopping applications, but it's awesome. So if you want a true time saver for canning prep, you've got to get yourself one.

That's my testimonial.

The end.

Smorgasbord of Fun

Mitch took this picture of us.
This summer thing has taken it's toll on the kids and they both took long naps yesterday. Really long naps at the same time, so it was a good day. I finally finished washing all our windows, inside and out. You can see streaks from the squeegee still so I don't know if they qualify as clean, but it's a job that's done now. I also finished putting the border around my picnic quilt so it might get finished in time to be used this summer.

Mitch, the kids' cousin, has been staying with Grandma for a week. Hudson can not get enough of playing with that kid. We had him over the other night for a weenie roast and sleep out. He's a good helper too. Whenever you ask him to help he'll say, "Yeah, sure."We've been trying to keep the yard and garden watered and weeded. Our garden is finally starting to make some headway. Our strawberries are on, so we've been picking and jamming. Yesterday I ate some of our mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette and it tasted gourmet.

We have been enjoying playing in the water, eating icecream, going on 4 wheeler rides to deliver water and treats to the guys. Summer is so fun.

Oh, and I've been keeping up on my training. I run in my first race on Saturday.

Just A Phone Call Away

So what do you do when you're popping popcorn Sunday night and your air pop popcorn popper refuses to put the pop in the popcorn? You pick up the phone and call my Dad, air pop popper advocate and popper extraodinaire.

He immediately began trouble shooting "I'm pretty sure it's a wire, they come loose. Take off the bottom and check for a loose wire."

"They're all connected."

"Okay, um. (trying to calm himself down and think logically) Oh I know. Occasionally they over heat and just need to cool down. Put it in the freezer, that'll cool it right down."

After blowing on the thermostat and hearing it click, I plug it in and wonder of wonder, it begins to work.

Dad, you're amazing.

Freeze Warming

I remember waking to the cool summer breeze blowing through every single, wide open window in our house when I was younger. I remember shivering at the breakfast table and complaining to my Dad that it was too cold. He always gave the same response after taking in a big breath of fresh air, "feels good, doesn't it?"

Now that I have my own home and pay my own power bills, I find myself trying to capture every bit of cool morning air before it warms up. Lately I've heard Hudson in his room, but he will not get up and out of bed no matter the coaxing. He stays huddled under his covers and says "I've got to "worm" up first."

I chuckle within myself and think. . . "feels good, doesn't it?"