Check it Out!!

My mom and her genius hearts blog decided (per the request of my lovely aunt) to make her pictures and little sayings into greeting cards to sell. She started her very own little Etsy shop and I think they turned out absolutely divine. She is so talented and if you have ever thought that I had any shred of talent, I can promise you that it has all come to me from my beautiful mother.

Check it out HERE

FOR KRISTA

Your kids all pinned me down at the park and went on and on and ON about how much they loved the video of my kids and they had watched it a thousand times. They were so cute and so enthused about it... I thought I would make a couple for your kids to enjoy. Have fun!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Hope you guys like it!! Have fun, I love you!!

Quick Cali Trip

Samuel called me Wednesday night and asked if I wanted to go with him on a quick trip to San Diego. Can't pass that up! So Thursday morning I went and got the fluids changed and tires rotated on the car- and we were off!

We...
met my newest, sweet baby nephew Gordon
played with the kiddos
went to a couple parks
stayed up to ridiculous hours laughing and chatting with my fav. brother
went to the swap meet
went thrifting and got some amazing finds!
went to the beach (can't go to Cali and NOT go to the beach- even tho it was freezing, we all LOVED it!)
went to a friends pool and swam/ sat in the hot tub
mid-night Denny's run- kids in bed, babysitter chillin
my first time dumpster diving (didn't actually get in or even touch anything, that's just what we called it)
and as always we all laughed until we cried and had so much fun! I love anytime I get with my siblings and like I've said before I miss them all terribly when they are away.
To top it all off I came home to a beautifully clean house and my husband bought two new gorgeous house plants. Pics of those to come later- I LOVE THEM!

Happy Halloween!

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Cameron, Alex and Patrick

Lots of family birthdays in October.

Cameron turned 5! I can't believe he is growing up so fast. Cameron is sweet and fun. He is a bit of a stinker and I'm sure he keeps Krista on her toes non-stop, but she lovingly refers to Cameron as her "delightful". I can definitely see why. He has the sweetest side to him and I absolutely adore Cameron.


Alex is such a princess. She is strong and beautiful and knows exactly what she wants. She just turned 6! My nieces and nephews are growing up too dang fast. Alex is a friend to everyone and everyone that meets her loves her (and vice versa). I wish she lived closer so we could see her all the time because we all miss her dearly!


Patty is every ones best friend! He just turned 26 and is Shawn's youngest brother. Patrick is one of the most giving, selfless people I've ever known. He is always giving and serving others with out ever expecting anything in return. He is absolutely hilarious and will have us all rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. He is so quick and witty! He is Shawn's best friend and we are so lucky to have him and Chazilyn so close.

Happy Birthday guys, we love you!

I'm going to get in trouble for this!!

sorry, its super long.

Shawn asked me to take his flash drive last night to my computer (which is hooked up to the printer) and print out this report he had to write for his sociology class. When I pulled it up, the heading at the top of the first page said...

"Attributes I was looking for in my spouse."

Well I got super curious so I read...

1. Beautiful
1.1. long hair
1.2. bright eyes
1.3. nice legs
1.4. tight butt
1.5. in shape
1.6. clean
1.7. fresh

2. Smart
2.1. intelligent
2.2. well spoken
2.3. outgoing

3. Religious-LDS
3.1. High Standards
3.2. Faith in God
3.3. Testimony
3.4. Desire to have a Temple Marriage
3.5. In pursuit of an Eternal Family

4. Adventurous
4.1. Likes to camp (in a tent/ under the stars)
4.2. Likes the lake (swim/ wakeboard)
4.3. Likes to hike
4.4. Likes to mountain bike
4.5. Likes road trips

5. Sense of Humor
5.1. funny to me
5.2. can have fun
5.3. can take a joke
5.4. can give a joke

6. Good Family
6.1. Has a good relationship with parents
6.2. Has a good relationship with siblings

(I love that he threw tight butt in there- such a boy!!)

Then he had a second page that broke down that list once more to the essential attributes (the one's he wouldn't budge on or whatever) then the third page he had to write a short essay on the attributes he wanted compared to what he got.... in me :) He's going to be mad at me for posting this, but its so darn cute and made my week. He makes me so happy... just look at this.

The Comparison
In comparing what I wanted and to what ended up with for my spouse I want to say I got lucky. In reality I believe I got what I was looking and working for. I was raised in a LDS family and was taught from my youth that I marry who I date. So when I started dating at the age of sixteen. I always had that thought in the back of my head. Jenny, my wife, was raised in the same area, from the same type of family background, and the same long term beliefs. That it what I think makes us different from most sixteen year olds. We had a different perspective. I was from the start of my dating career looking for someone I could not only spend a lifetime but an eternity with. With these standards I feel we pretty much got what we both were looking for.
My wife is the love of my life. Jenny brings me joy on so many different levels. She is an absolute perfect ten to me. She had those items of beauty I was looking for when I was dating and still carries them today. She is very smart and determined as it showed with her graduating early from high school and moving straight onto college. She received an associate in massage therapy and is licensed to practice. Jenny could have stopped there as most due with massage therapy but she is looking to further her education and get a bachelors degree.
As for my religious desires, my wife and I share the same beliefs. Because of this I know she was preparing for me as I was preparing for her. This is the main reason I feel my wife met my dating standards. Not because I feel she was the only one for me but because we had been raised in the same area, same type of family background and with the same long term beliefs.
She meets my other needs of adventure, humor and family relationships. Jenny continues to surpass my expectations even now six years into this relationship. With the last statement I made that we had been raised in the same area, same type of family background and the same long term beliefs my wife and I met not only our dating attributes but we also met the essential attributes.

pretty sweet, right!? i've got to say- he's a perfect 10!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTERS

In our family on our birthdays we always go around and say why we love the birthday boy/girl. Its a fun thing and it (to me) if my favorite part of birthdays, more than the presents, cake, etc. So here I go, doing mine publicly, they deserve it!


Happy Birthday Chantal!!!


I love Chantal because..... Chantal is hilarious and we spend all our time laughing when we are together. Mostly at stupid things that nobody else thinks is funny. We have so much fun when we are together, crafting, shopping, cooking, cleaning, playing with our kids, whatever! She inspires me more than most people (well all my sisters and my mom inspire me). She is a wonderful friend, sister, mother, daughter, wife and many more. I am so glad she came into this world 28 years ago- she has always been my best friend and confidant. I LOVE YOU SISTER, Happy Birthday!


and... Happy Birthday Clarissa!!!


I love Clarissa because she is always a ray of sunshine and happiness. She is wiser and smarter way beyond her years. She is amazing at everything she does and inspires me to try new things and to step out of my comfort zone. She is bold and confident and gorgeous and I wish I was more like her. She is also my bestest friend (hey- a girl can have as many as she wants, don't judge me!) I love all the time that we get to spend together and I love that she is close enough that we can do it most anytime we want. She too is a strong and beautiful woman (mother sister etc). I LOVE YOU SISTER, Happy Birthday!


p.s. i did half the siblings.. so I just had to shout out to the other two. i miss Charmaine terribly and I am so jealous that my parents are visiting. I am even jealous that our friends just drove through Iowa. I want to go so bad!!! I love you and think are super fabulous and you are amazing at everything you do. i get to see Samuel more than any of my other siblings. He is one of my most favorite people to talk and chill with. he is hilarious and confident and i know that everyone that knows him absolutely adores him. I'm lucky to have such awesome siblings!

its just so.... BLACK

So I am super poor and can't really afford the amazing hair stylist right now that I want to go to. So I went to Target, shelled out $6 and bought myself a box dye (shhhh.. dont tell). Elise came over for a lovely day of chillin with my girl and voila, I got me some black hair. Yay!! Now I just gotta save up for the good stuff- I'm countin my pennies- it is sooooo worth it!
p.s. I'm hiding my face in the pics because I just got out of the shower. I shouldnt worry, I should "love myself now" as Ashley would say... I'm workin on it...

Painting!

One of our most favorite crafts for the kids over at the Browns is covering the whole kitchen table with butcher paper. It keeps the kids happy for hours and hours!! Lacy was dying to craft, and have a friend join her. We called Andin over and the two of them had so much fun painting the whole table. Hugo had fun with stickers and crayons.

I too had fun painting, more on that later!

Devin... and tempura

So I am totally going to blog about...

This is Devin. He is Andreas husband. He is so funny- he has a mad love for food. I think anytime you ask him what time it is or whenever he looks at a clock, he says "its eleven- time to eat", "its 2 in the morning - time to eat", "its 7 am - time to eat" Its pretty hilarious. Well anyway, a couple Sundays ago they invited us over for lunch and while Andrea and I were out visiting teaching the boys watched all the kids and Devin made some really yummy vegetable tempura. I have been craving it ever since. He told me a little of how he makes it and I also looked around online and came up with some yummy stuff.

I was really proud of myself. I am not good at "experimenting" so this was scary- but it turned out absolutely delicious.

I cut up some fresh veggies. I did ONE potato, ONE zucchini, a handful of baby carrots (I would have used regular carrots but this was all I had) and ONE HALF a sweet onion. I thought I would only do a tiny bit in case it didn't turn out right. Okay it made A TON!!! I'm glad I didn't do the broccoli or mushrooms. We had to throw away some as it is, it doesn't really keep well.

Then I made the tempura batter to go on the veggies.

I first mixed

1 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

a couple pinches toasted sesame seeds (my own addition)

then added a couple eggs and 2 drops sesame oil (also my own add.)

then once that was all mixed I took about a quarter cup water and added it to the mixture until it was a good consistency. Thick enough it would coat the veggies but not too thin it would run off or not coat it enough.

I then heated a bunch of oil in a pan and coated the veggies in the batter and dropped in the oil for only a minute or two. I actually have a deep fryer I just need to buy more oil for it. I think it would work PERFECT in the fryer and be a lot faster.

Anyhow... it made a TON! I set out some dips one of fry sauce and one a mixture of toasted sesame dressing, yoshidas sauce and water. SOOO DELICIOUS.

I also baked some shrimp on skewers and covered them in terriyaki sauce.

I was really proud of my yummy meal.

And nothing tops off a yummy meal like some fresh baked cookies and an ice cold cup of milk.