Celebrating June

There are so many other things I should be doing right now, but this is my last chance at the computer for a couple weeks. We are getting ready to sign the papers on our house, and will be moving soon. Yikes! Anyway, on to the blog!

Here is a little bit of random that started off our summer:
We went to the park with our friends, and they treated us to Ice Cream Cones. The kids looked so cute, lined up on the bench with messy faces! On one of the rainy days, Teegan got bored, and decided to add to my decor. I thought it was pretty funny! And of course, after taking Teegan's picture, Coleman insisted on having his picture taken too!

Once the sun came out, the boys were all about playing outside, and are constantly begging to have the swimming pool out. It's not anything fantastic, but they love it (and so does Dad!) We also headed to Eagle one Friday night to check out the Carnival, and eat some yummy food! However, it turned out the carnival wasn't so much fun, and Phil and the boys didn't really want any of that deliciously greasy food. Oh well, I enjoyed it!


Last week, Teegan turned two! He is growing so fast! It was a very busy, but fun day. We went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries for dinner (Teegan LOVES their hot dogs), and to Wahooz Family Fun Zone to celebrate. The kids got to play in their big Jungle Gym, and also played the arcade games. They won big blow up swords in the end, and had a blast attacking Dad with them! Afterwards, we headed back home for presents, cake, and ice cream! Teegan was so spoiled! Thank you everyone for thinking of him!
I made Teegs a Mickey Mouse Cake, and can I tell you what a disaster that was? I had some major issues just trying to get the cake out of the pan, and after making the second batch which ended in the same results, I just ended up gluing it together with the frosting. Oh and did you know that no matter how hard you try, you CAN'T mix enough food coloring to make black? It just doesn't work. Anyway, poor Teegan received the World's Ugliest Cake for his birthday. I think next year, I'll just buy one! All in all, it was fun to focus on Teegan for a day! He is such a sweet little boy!

Coleman has especially loved playing with Teegan's new toys. One of which is the soccer ball and net.


Well I better head, I have to be at the title company in an hour! Happy Summer everyone!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little man! He is turning 2. I can't believe how fast time has flown! Two years ago today, we were celebrating Father's Day by fixing dinner for the missionaries, and my contractions began getting a little too close for comfort, so after a few phone calls, our friends were on their way over to feed the missionaries, and take care of Coleman, while Phil and I headed for the hospital. A few hours later, this little guy was finally ours!

Teegan at one year. Look at that chubs! :)

Teegan at (almost) 2 yrs.

Wow! It is crazy how much they grow! Right now Teegan is starting to speak in sentences. He has a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and after his nap (he likes to just lay there for a bit). He loves to be outside, and especially loves getting his hands dirty. He adores bath time . . . except for the getting clean part. He loves to eat "sta-beh-dees" and almost any other fruit. He doesn't really eat breakfast (with the exception of a few marshmallows from the cereal). He likes to watch Mickey Mouse, Wall-E, Chipmunks, and Penguins ("Happy Feet"). He can always spot an airplane in the sky, and ALWAYS shouts and points when he sees one. Teegan could eat "ummies" (Ice Cream) and "cooookies" for every meal. He absolutely loves Coleman, and tries to copy everything big brother does. He loves to give hugs and likes to cuddle (at least with Mom!) And he is so smart, but also very stubborn! For two months now, he has called Coleman, "Teeguh". We have tried over and over to tell him that his name is Coleman, but he refuses to do it. (Coleman has finally accepted this and responds when Teegan says it!) Anyway, we are so blessed to have Teegan!

We love you so much Teegan!!! Daddy and I are so grateful for the opportunity to have you for a son. You add so much to our family, and we can't imagine life without you. Thanks for being such a happy and sweet boy. Happy Birthday!!

Seriously, so BLESSED!!!

Anyone remember this little beauty?

Well, yesterday, we FINALLY heard the good news. We got the acceptance letter, and now we are preparing to close on it. Did I mention that this good news came the day before we WALKED? Today was our last day of waiting. We knew that if we didn't get a letter by today, we wouldn't have time to close on it before the end of June. And at the end of June, we would lose out on the tax credit (which was basically the only thing keeping us attached to this house). Not to sound completely fake and infatuated with money, but this process was HORRIBLE, and we just wanted to be done and start over on a house that WASN'T a short sale.

If you want to see more pics, I did a post about it, oh 2 + months ago. Which means, that is how long we have been waiting to see if the bank would even say yes to our offer. Anyway, now it is just finishing up paperwork, un-winterizing, doing another appraisal, getting an inspection, packing, closing, cleaning, renovating, more cleaning, unpacking, etc . . . all in the next 16 days. Maybe I'll just go hide under a rock and let someone else do all that work! :)

Yeah for Blessings!!!

May Days

We have been keeping busy this last month. A good kind of busy! The weather was beautiful Mother's Day Weekend and while we were out running errands, we drove by a Car Show, and Phil wanted to check it out. (Not exactly MY kind of activity, but I got to enjoy the sunshine!) On Sunday, Phil made me and some friends Dutch Oven dinner. It was so yummy! Thanks Sweetheart! Phil and the boys gave me a cute dress, a sweater, a shirt and some perfume! I was so spoiled! I LOVED being able to wear my new dress to church that day. It was perfect!

That next week, Phil had off (the original plan was to be moving into our house, but that didn't work out). I decided to put him to work by refurbishing our kitchen table! And WOW was it work! I think we made like 5 trips to Lowe's, 2 trips to Home Depot, and a whole bunch of trips to eat out!

We started by taking apart the table and chairs, and then stripping the varnish off. (Except for the table top-that we just wanted to leave the same.) Then it was onto sanding and re-gluing some of the chairs. Then we painted, and sanded again. Next came the antiquing. I sanded down all the edges and applied the stain. Then we put on 2 coats of the polycrylic (top coat). And to finish, we reupholstered the seats. Whooo! I'm tired!

But I LOVE it! I think it turned out really cute! However, I think next time, we will just go out and buy a new table! (Especially since we only paid $250 for this table 5 years ago!)

We took off one of our work days and spent the morning on a bike ride with Jordan, Jess, Blake and Kaybree. We rode to one of the parks and let the kiddies play. Afterwards, we went to lunch at Westside Drive-In. HEAVEN!! Love that place!

At the end of the week {while waiting for paint to dry} we drove past Maverik, and saw that they were having their big Grand Opening. So we stopped in to check out the HUGE monster truck, get our faces painted, and some free balloons! That evening, we drove out to Emmett, ID. I kept hearing about how nice of a town it was, and about all these houses with 5+ acres, and I wanted to check it out. We were amazed when we entered the valley! It was BEAUTIFUL! The town was very small town america, and maybe just a bit run-down, but Phil and I loved it! We drove up to Black Canyon Reservoir to collect some free firewood, and look around. At first I thought it would be a fun place to go camping, but after a run-in with a big snake, and a nasty stink bug, I think I'll pass! We then headed back home, with a quick stop at Cold Stone for dessert!

And I just had to post about this! I was reading a friend's blog and she posted about this super easy Artisan bread. She got the recipe from HERE. I decided to try it out. I only used 1 TBSP of salt and added 1/2 TBSP of sugar. I also used white flour instead of wheat and it was amazing! And definitely the easiest bread I have ever made!

Well, I guess that is all for now! Have a fun and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

Birthday, Graduation, Blessing, etc.

We have had a busy couple of weeks. On the 18th of April, I celebrated my birthday! The weather couldn't have been better, and Phil and the boys couldn't have been sweeter! It was perfect! We spent the weekend building my birthday present (as well as Mother's Day presents). I saw these Candlesticks on Drab to Fab and knew I HAD to make them! So for my Birthday, Phil went and bought the tools he needed to help me out! Yeah! I have tons more ideas that will be putting him to work! :)

For Family Home Evening one night, we had a lesson on the Creation, and appreciating this beautiful earth our Heavenly Father has given us. We decided to go feed the ducks for our activity. But in Boise, the geese take over! So we fed the geese!

Last week, we drove to Utah to celebrate some momentous occasions with family. At the last minute, we decided to leave on Wednesday night at 6:30 pm . . . which means we didn't get there until Midnight. The boys were so good, though! Teegan fell asleep right around 10:00pm, and Coleman finally fell asleep at 11:45pm. Thanks Coleman! That 15 minutes sure was great. No, he really was good, and very quiet so his brother could sleep. We spent most of Thursday hanging out with Andrew and Kendra, and really appreciate them letting us sleep at their house. On Friday we went to Andrew's graduation. He received his Bachelor's degree in Nursing. Yeah Andrew! Congrats! That night, we headed to the Jazz game with Andrew, Kendra, and Nate. It was a little stressful, taking the boys and the game not starting until 8 pm, but they loved it . . . and the Jazz won (but I forgot to take pics at the game.)

On Saturday, we joined Grammy and Grumpy and went to see Colby play soccer, and met baby Justin for the first time. He is such a sweetheart! I wouldn't let anyone else hold him! That night, we met up with Chelsea and DJ for dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then some bowling! It was lots of fun, and it helped the boys get rid of their crazy amounts of energy! On Sunday, we went to Justin's blessing and got to see everyone else, except Ashley's family (soon though, right Ash?!)


Anyway, it was lots of fun, and we are already missing you all! Come see us in Boise! Love you!

Disneyland!

We spent last week vacationing in sunny California! It was so wonderful, and warm, and exhausting, all at the same time! We went with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Nate and Uncle Danny. I'm so glad they joined us, because we really needed those extra sets of hands!
The boys were so excited about this trip. In the few days leading up to it, every time we had to go somewhere, Coleman would always ask (or sometimes demand) that we go to the airport, so we could fly to "Mickey's Castle"!

We flew down on Monday, April 5, in the morning. The second we checked in to our hotel, we headed for Disneyland!
Right as we walked into the park, we realized a parade was starting, so we quickly found some great seats, and started our trip off watching all the Disney characters sing and dance. The boys faces were classic! PERFECT way to start!
It really wasn't busy Monday night, and we were able to ride all of the classic Fantasy Land rides without much wait at all! We also headed to "Toon Town".

Teegan driving Donald Duck's boat!


We then went back to the hotel and met up with Grandpa and Grandma (who had driven down).
The next morning, we got up nice and early and took advantage of our Early Bird pass! We had Breakfast in the Park with Minnie Mouse. I LOVE this! The food is so yummy, and it's lots of fun to be entertained by all the characters while you are eating! :)

The park got really crowded, I mean REALLY crowded. Apparently, it was California's spring break, too! It didn't keep us from going, going, going, though! We spent nearly 15 hours at the park, and by the end we were all so tired!


We stopped in at the "Mad Hatter" and Coleman saw the Pluto hat. He tried it on, and refused to take it off! He looked so cute with it on, we couldn't resist getting it for him! But then, of course, Teegan and Phil had to get hats too!

On Wednesday morning, we got up and headed to the beach! We were just a few minutes away, when Coleman puked EVERYWHERE! I guess he got carsick, because he acted totally fine after that. Poor Grandma's van stunk so bad! Anyway, the weather was perfect (I thought) for sitting at the beach. There was a light breeze and a cloudless blue sky. I LOVED it! Teegan went in the water once, and stayed very far away after that! It was a little chilly! Coleman loved catching the minnows, finding seashells/sand dollars, and being covered in the sand. It was very relaxing and fun for all of us!
We headed back into the park again that night, but it was still so crowded, we only went on 3 rides and then called it quits!

On Thursday morning, we headed to California Adventure. We got there right as they opened the gates, and we RAN to their newest ride, "Toy Story Mania". We went on this ride 4 or 5 times! It was lots of fun, and Phil says, by far "his favorite"! We spent the rest of the very HOT and Sunny day exploring and having fun!

I somehow missed putting this in the collage, and Coleman looked so cute, I just had to blog it! :)


On Friday morning, Grandma, Grandpa, Nate, and Danny, started their drive back home. We still had one more day, and decided to go back into the park. The funny (and sad) thing was that it wasn't nearly as busy as it had been on Tuesday and Wednesday. We took it very slow, and went on all of Coleman and Teegan's favorite rides, like Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, and Buzz Lightyear.

That afternoon, we headed back into California Adventure and went to the Playhouse Disney Puppet Show. It has all the characters from the cartoons on the Disney Channel (which is on at our house almost every morning). Coleman LOVED this! He thought it was the best thing ever!
The last thing we did was watch the Pixar parade. The boys loved seeing it, especially Lightning McQueen and Mater. After that, we left the park and went back to the hotel to pack up for our early morning flight.

I think we all had lots of fun, and I'm sure our feet have never been so sore! Disney World, anyone?! :)

Easter 2010

Happy Easter everyone! We have been busy with egg hunts, coloring eggs, and all the other activities that come with Easter. Our neighborhood had an Easter Egg hunt last week.
Afterwards, we stayed and played at the park with friends!

That afternoon, we went to the zoo and participated in their Easter Egg hunt. There were SO many people and it was crazy. Coleman and Teegan LOVED seeing all the animals. I think Coleman's favorite were the penguins, and Teegan's favorite was probably the Tiger. He kept growling like one. It was so cute!

On Thursday we colored Easter Eggs. Within the first two seconds, Teegan grabbed one of the cups and dumped bright pink all over the table, but I guess that is what you should expect with a toddler! My table has a nice pink hue to it now. Oh well!


We had a wonderful morning checking to see what the Easter Bunny left. I think he may have gone a little over-board. In his defense, Coleman really, really needed/wanted a bike, and what better time to receive one than in the spring when you can actually take it outside and ride it!

Phil also received a "little" gift from the Easter Bunny. He has been saving up to get a nice BBQ grill, and yesterday, he was finally able to! It is one with infra-red technology or something. You would have to ask Phil. I'm just glad we have one so we can grill steaks, ribs, chicken . . . oh the possibilities for dinner have just opened up!

Oh and I also wanted to post about this dessert. I saw the recipe on the box of Nilla Wafers, and decided to try it. Am I glad I did! Wow! It is so yummy! Here is the recipe:

Lemon-Raspberry Mousse Squares

48 Nilla Wafers
3/4 Cup Boiling Water
1 Pkg. Jell-o Lemon Flavor Gelatin
1 Cup Ice cubes
1 Pkg. Cream Cheese (8 oz), softened
1/4 Cup Sugar
2 tsp. Lemon juice
1 tub Cool Whip
1/3 Cup Raspberry preserves (jam)
Fresh Berries

Stand 16 wafers around edge of plastic wrap-lined 8" square pan. In small bowl add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in ice until melted. Beat next 3 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually beat in gelatin. Whisk in 2 Cups Cool Whip. Pour half the gelatin mixture into prepared pan; cover with 16 wafers. Microwave preserves on HIGH 15 sec. or until melted; brush onto wafers. Top with remaining gelatin mixture and wafers. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Invert dessert onto plate; top with remaining Cool Whip and berries. Enjoy! So YUMMY!

Anyway, we are off to Disneyland tomorrow. Can't wait! Happy Easter everyone!