Moving Cows

Earlier this week we had a little more excitement than usual, Von recruited me and the kids to help John and Debbie move some cows. We followed behind in the truck and i even got to ride for a little while Debbie drove the kids. It was fun and nice to practice my cow call (hup, hi-up, yip yip yip)

John was sure worn out afterwards. I love this sleepyhead.

"A beautiful lady and a handsome young man" (10 pts to whoever knows what movie that line comes from)

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Man do i love these two.

Good day to run through the sprinklers

Well, its 65 degrees outside, aparently thats a good temperature for running through sprinklers. These were taken after he begged me to bring him inside because he was COLD! Go figure...

Weekend with family

We had a fun weekend with the Olsen's. They came Thursday and stayed through Sunday. We played, and made applesauce, and tore down walls, and painted kitchen's (not mine). Natalie and my mom both posted pictures and unfortunately i just didn't have many :(.

Here's what i've got :) First off though, remember when Jack fell off a horse? Maybe i forgot to mention that...anyway Jack got bucked off a horse the other day. It was pretty scary and thankfully he was fine, but this first picture is of Jack telling the story to the Olsens

"I fell down the horsie, got grass in my mouth, ouchie"

This is him demonstrating what he did after he got grass in his mouth

My mom and i went on a little horse ride, my mom is quite the cowgirl, she did great, and she even came prepared. I love this picture

She is most definitely ready for anything :)
It was so fun to have them here, we LOVE visitors!!!

"Happy birthday to Jack"...not really but this is what Jack says almost daily, whenever he see's something he got for his birthday, when he see's balloons, or when he see's a cake. Then he wants us to sing the song. "Happy birthday to Jack, Happy birthday to Jack, happy birthday to jaaaack, happy birthday to Jack. Thats how our song goes.

I think he really liked his birthday this year, but mostly, i think he thinks its pretty cool that there is a song with his name in it. I love this little guy

Nellie

This post is about my sweetheart Nellie. Since she's been born i haven't blogged much...about anything, so i want to tell you about this little girl of mine. 

She's so soft. Everything about her is soft

Her smile melts mine, and her daddy's, hearts

she loves her brother. He makes her smile
She ALWAYS wakes up happy

She's been sitting since 5 months, but doesn't feel the need to roll over. (my kids seem to not feel the need to move, at all really, for the first 8 months...) 

She's my little copy-cat. If you make noises she copies you, if you move your head, she moves hers too

She loves music and she loves to dance. Singing sooths her, she likes to move her head with music, its very cute

She loves the baby bjorn. I had a hard time finding the right carrier for her, but the Bean's let us borrow the Bjorn and she LOVES it. 

and last but not least....

She's a momma's girl. I love this about her. I feel bad because she doesn't always like other people. She wants me. If she's sitting in a room, or laying, she watches my every move and is sad when i leave. She likes me to hold her... a lot...she's happy for me (most of the time) and she LOVES when i carry her around in the baby Bjorn. Sometimes its hard that i can't leave her, but mostly i kind of like being needed, it makes me feel loved. Jack was the opposite, i know he loves me, but he didn't need me. He's just as happy with me as he is with the next guy, or girl :). Jack's always loved strangers and will go to anybody. And if he's sad, or mad at me, he just starts crying for Daddy, or Grandma, or Debbie, or anybody really. He's not so attached. And thats okay. I love that about him actually, i love that he's so good with strangers, he has a gift for making EVERYBODY feel loved. and i'm grateful for that. But that's what makes me really enjoy my clingy baby. So for everybody out there, don't feel bad if you look at her and she cries...its nothing personal and i'm sure she'll grow out of it, but for now, she's just making her mommy feel loved. 

I never new being a mother would be so amazing. I seriously love my kiddo's. I don't know what i'd do without them. Yes, they can be challenging, but the happy times far outweigh the challenging ones. John and I have seriously been so blessed. 

The Beast

I was reminded today that suprisingly, i had not yet blogged about this Beast... Seriously, how could i forget? He's like, huge. 

Did i ever mention we got a dog? This is Ona, she's a blue heeler/boarder collie mix. She really is a great dog, she goes everywhere with John and is so quick to learn, we kind of like her

Because John drew both his big bull tag AND his buck tag this year we headed to Utah for a "family Vacation". We spent time with the families and John spent most of his time in the mountains, hunting for Elk. He was actually on his way to a spot where he knew there was elk when he happened upon the beast at the top, and decided he was worth taking :). 

Way to go John, it was fun to go camping with him for a few nights as well as spend time with our families. 

We've been talking about our future home, like the one that we'll own someday and can do whatever we'd like with it, anyway, John's only concern was that this deer had somewhere to hang....

Life as we live it

And the newest member of our family. Tootsie. Isn't she cute?

My 2 year old

Happy Birthday Jack! We love you so much and are so grateful for you in our lives. You bring us so much happiness. I can't believe you're already 2, you talk so well and give the best hugs and kisses. We never get sick of your big eyes and sweet smile. Love you Jack!

Summer fun in Idaho

We headed to the hot springs the other day, good times it was :)

  

I know i know, i never blog

Well, here i am, Hello! My excuse for not bloging? Well i haven't had the internet....but we've had it now for over a week so truly, i'm just a slacker. I'm not going to try to catch up either, the thought of that is too daunting, so, i'm just going to blog a seriously AMAZING recipe :) Here goes, its from Just Cook Already and really, you gotta try it. Its like a yummy Thai Coconut Curry

Chicken and Vegetable Curry

1 1/2 can coconut milk (I went ahead and used the whole 2 cans, it worked and it was still yummy)

1/2 can of water (use the coconut milk can)

1 whole red pepper, sliced thin

2 carrots, sliced thin

1 tsp. ginger

3 tsp. minced garlic (about 3 cloves)

3 tbsp. yellow curry powder

2 chicken breasts

2 tbsp. coconut oil

kosher salt (to taste)

1/2 onion, sliced thin

1 sweet potato (or 1/2 if it's large), peeled and sliced (i just used regular, they worked)

1/2 can baby corn (i just used frozen, put it in when it was all about done)

1 lime

2 cups spinach (fresh)

Directions

In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil (if you don't have any, use canola oil).  While the oil heats up, cut your chicken into length-wise slices, about 3/4 inch thick.  Then cut those slices in half.  Season with kosher salt to your liking, then add the chicken to the hot skillet.  Flip the chicken once and continue to stir until cooked through. Set aside.

In a LARGE skillet (you'll need some room) over medium-high heat, add the coconut milk and 1/2 can of water.  Stir with a whisk.  Add the curry powder, ginger, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt.  Completely mix together with a whisk.  While that heats up a bit, cut your vegetables (or make your life easier and cut them before you start cooking anything). As the coconut milk starts to boil, add all of the vegetables (red pepper, carrots, onion, sweet potato, baby corn) except the spinach.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cover with foil.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.  Add the chicken and spinach and cook for about 5 more minutes. Give it a taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve over rice (if you want... I like it just the way it is), and squeeze fresh lime juice over top.

Hmmmm, just seeing that recipe again makes my mouth water. I think i'll make it again tomorrow... seriously, go try it:)

I guess i might as well end with some updated pic's of the cutest kids in the whole world :)

I love my life

Changes

Well, i know it's been a while. A lot has changed.
We moved to IDAHO. I'm sure this is old news to most of you but i figured i'd better update anyway. We moved 2 weeks ago today to a beautiful ranch in Idaho, same ranch as Natalie and William, John's working and we're just enjoying life. We really do love it here, Jack loves to ride the horses, motorcycles, and fourwheelers. And i just love the fact that i get to see my husband throughout the day. Its been great really. I've taken so many pictures but we don't have the internet so i haven't yet been able to post them. We also don't have a phone
line so if you want to talk to us, the best way to contact is via texting to my phone :) John doesn't have his anymore.

Natalie and I just returned from a trip back home and it was a lot of fun. We went to movies, pageant, to lunch with friends and family, went swimming and just enjoyed spending time with family. It was a blast but its nice to be home again. Thanks for the fun everyone! And if you want to come visit us, we've got a spare bed just for you :)

The taste of soap

Why i thought this would work is beyond me...

Here's the story. Jack has a thing for eating dog food. Grosses me out. I can't stand it. Today when i caught him eating dog food again, i got really mad and took him inside and i washed his mouth out with soap, ya know, to get that nasty stuff out, and to teach him a lesson....i forget that this little boy, for fun, eats soap, lotion, cough drops, vicks....i think he quite enjoyed it. 10 minutes later he was at it again. The funny thing? I tasted the soap before because i wanted to make sure it was bad...it was. Ever since i've had a slight taste of it lingering.

Note to self: Soap is gross, son is weird. This form of punishment just isn't meant for us.

P.S. Yes, John got his ranch dog to move to Idaho with us, she's a sweetheart, but i'm very much looking forward to John being around to take care of her. I feel like i went from having 2-3 over night. I guess i kind of did... i guess i sort of prefer the 9 months of getting used to a new addition :)

Nellie pictures

About a month ago we finally got around to taking Nellie's newborn pictures, we tried to get them right away but never could. I'm so happy we finally did and i LOVE these pictures! Jacki Stoddard did a great job (Live Out Loud link to the right) Thanks so much Jacki! We LOVE them!

Mowing

This is from the first time i mowed the lawn, Jack was very scared of the lawn mower and just wanted me to hold him, after a few minutes of trying to mow one-handed i stuck him in Nellie's snugly :) It worked good but this picture makes me see how HUGE he is

Idaho- New baby

Well this is old news by now but we headed to Idaho a few weeks back to see my brand new nephew Thomas. It was so fun to see him and to be with my sister's little family. They live in such a cool little valley and Jack had so much fun playing outside and riding Patches. Get ready for a picture overload!

Thanks Natalie and William!