oh john

Our BIG little boys...

John and I found this little pond by our house the other day when we went for a walk so of course we had to come back to catch all the turtles and frogs we saw.

John trying to catch the frogs the the NASTY water, don't worry, he only walked away with one leech...

The first frog he caught
The Cooler frog he caught....i think he's trying to turn it into a princess maybe....

I thought this wa sa pretty cool picture, it doesn't even look real, but it is, they were so bright! We didn't catch any turtles though, which was what John was so excited about so we'll have to go back with some nets sometime to see if we can catch a little one....

Fun times, and so good to be back with my husband! Today he's off to make the big bucks and me.... i'm looking for something to do... any ideas, let me know!

Maryland....

Amber did a great job of blogging about our trip! So head over there is see all the fun things we did (on my Blog list, amberjill :). It was so fun to go to Maryland for a few days and hang out with the Gunters, thanks guys! One thing i did learn though is NEVER NEVER NEVER drive through New York City again, traffic was a nightmare! Gratefully i made it through and i made it home to the sweetest husband in the world! I am very very blessed.

a.maz.ing

Mom, i had to take a picture of this amazing meal i made last night! I thought you'd be so proud! I even ate those green, red and orange things, AND i added the onion it called for! Let me tell you it was AMAZING!

After eating leftovers today for lunch i decided i had to post the recepie i used! It was just off of the internet but it was just so amazing and actually pretty healthy! I was very excited ;) Oh, the recipe will be after the cute picture of my sweet husband.... he's just so handsome don't you think?

Sweet and Sour Chicken (prep/cook time is about 55 minutes)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (6 ounce) can pineapple juice (i did what it said and just used the juice i drained from the pineapple, it worked great)
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 large boneless chicken breasts, in strips
1 large carrot, sliced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/2 medium sweet red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 medium green pepper, cut into strips
1 (8 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained
cooked rice

Directions

In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, pepper and pineapple juice until smooth. (*If you drain juice from tidbits and add apple or orange juice to make 6 oz - this works just as well.) Stir in the ketchup, lemon juice and soy sauce. Set aside.

In a nonstick skillet or wok, cook chicken, carrot and onion in oil (or use veg. spray - works just as well) until chicken is browned.

Add the zucchini and red and green peppers. Stir until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Pour sauce that was set aside over chicken/vegetable mixture.

Add pineapple.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Serve over hot cooked rice.

Let me tell you A.MAZ.ING!

crazy seagulls!

So John and i were sort of planning on having a nice relaxing Sunday at home but since we went to the beach last week and John talked it up so much, the rest of the office wanted to go after church so we packed up our outerpops and went with them and it was SO fuN! I was glad we went. It was a beautiful day and good company. The highlight though was the definatly the seagulls. Matt saw this movie on youtube so he and John wanted to try it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWfWGRFu6jw&feature=related

We weren't as successful but it was still HILARIOUS! Matt is the one buried and my video for some reason isn't uploading, so here's a few pics of getting of getting him ready, hopefully kara (hint hint) will put the video's on her blog because her's are probably better anyways. Check them out!

After the seagulls the boys played a game of football against these 4 black guys and they smoked them! It was awesome and it was fun to watch them play but i don't think these Utah boys are used to running on the hot/rough sand, John's feet were pretty sore after.

Thanks everyone for the fun!

No pics, but fun times

This past week was fun. Our office won a little competition the company was having so for the prize we got to go golfing! It was actually a lot of fun, i've golfed once before with John (in high school) and was terrible but never really tried again because its always a pain to try to find left handed clubs, or expensive to rent so usually i just got along for the ride but this time i got to actually golf and it was fuN! They rented me clubs and everything. We did a four man scramble and our team won! Ten dollars a person.... john and i spent ours today on a nice lunch :) During golf John almost got his fingers SNAPPED off by a Snapping Turtle! And I'm NOT even exagerating, it was seriously close. Lol, we weren't sure how fast it was and how LONG its neck was but we found it when John grabbed its shell and tried to turn in onto its back, he got so mad and striked right at John... scarred the living daylights out of all of us, who knew turtles could be so fast! On the next hole we saw a normal turtle laying eggs. He was just a little guy and he didn't snap, John didn't bug him but i don't think he had the capability. The wildlife around here is a lot different than we're used to, but its been fun. I guess the turtle we saw the other day was also a snapping turtle, we didn't know it and i guess we're lucky we didn't agitate it or get too close. Tomorrow is Sunday and our adventurous plans consist of taking a good long-needed nap after church, thats about it but we're excited. Love and miss you all!

what i've been up to

I've been sewing like a mad-woman! Here's some of what i've made....

(on the bottom of the chair is the car seat canapy, pretty cool ;))

The nursing cover, i just think the fabric is so cute!

John, gotta love him

Beaches

The Beach! Another Sunday adventure. We found Ocean Beach Park and it was beautiful. Great weather, great company, freezing cold water.....good times. This is our first step onto the sand (sigh)John... I think he's trying to not get his shorts wet, nice legs huh!?

This log, washed up from the sea, it "could have come from Africa" according to John, so we had to get a picture
My favorite picture! The only picture i've ever liked of us kissing....good times

Seriously, it was a beautiful day, i love the ocean, i love the beach and the rocks and the waves, it was a perfect day and we're excited to go back in swimsuits in July when it'll be even warmer out!

John is looking for some kind of critters
This is what he found...he found a few of the, and then crushed them all

BUT for some reason he wouldn't eat it....weird i know

John, like always, Looks great, me on the other hand, looks a little wind blown and sun burned, oh well, we look happy :)

Its fun because it seems like on the east coast there's a lot more sailing, not so many surfers so the boats were pretty and fun to look at.

I like John's feet, so here's a picture of them

:)

What the...

So this is where we live. Well not exactly i guess, this is only the Office and the pool but if i took a picture right behind me, then that would be where we live...Anyway, this is not the point of this post, my only point is that here's the pool and the parking lot right next to it. See that black fence that goes all around it? Well, i want you to remember it for future pictures... This is a turtle. The Turtle is just hanging out right by the black fence. ITS HUGE! Me and some girls were walking back from the pool when Brittany says "is that real?" So we all stop and look at it and sure enough it really is a turtle! I couldn't believe it, we didn't know this was a semi-normal thing for the east coast so we try to let everyone in the pool know that: A TURTLE HAS ESCAPED FROM THE ZOO! or something because this isn't normal. Well the man in the pool informed us that this is a normal thing and that he's just probably trying to get to the water in the pool to cool off. Either way, seeing a HUGE turtle the middle of a city and NOT in a zoo wasn't normal for me so i took pictures....
I wanted to capture the size of this thing so that is a size 8 flip flop next to the big turtle.

I was pretty excited about this turtle and i knew John would be just as excited so i called him to tell him, this is how the conversation went:

Elise: Uh, Honey, sorry to bug you. i know your out there working hard but i just had to tell you something.

John: What? (in a worried sort of, and understanding way)

Elise: I just saw a turtle

John: Did you catch it?
Elise: This isn't one of "those" kinds of turtles

John: What do you mean you? So you didn't catch it?
Elise: This kind of turtle wouldn't be much fun to try to catch.... its been sitting in the exact same place for over an hour....honey, this turtle is probably at least a foot long and will most likely be in the exact same place in 6 hours when you get back home..

John: A FOOT??? (he thought i was exagerating) Well awesome, i can't wait to see it!

I'm hoping its still there when John gets home, but if its not, i've got pictures and friends to prove it!

Rhode Island!

Yesterday we decided to go on a little day trip after church over to Rhode Island. It was fun and BEAUTIFUL! We drove into Newport and they have fun streets that will need exploring next time we go, it smelled amazing there like yummy fish and fresh ocean. First we headed to the "Cliff Walk" which is a sidewalk on the side of the ocean cliffs and it walks right past all these old (turn of the century) mansions that were built as summer homes. They were incredible. Here's the ocean side of one of them:

John posing for a pic, i think he's cute, Everyone was worried for his safety up there but i know he's got the balance of a gymnast.

The ocean, it was beautiful!



This one is John touching the ocean, don't worry, he splashed some up on me so i could touch it too, such a sweetheart!

After the Cliff Walk we drove down Ocean Drive, i guess its the same road that's in the movie "Dan in Real Life". The one he drives down on his way to the cabin thing. Kinda cool and super pretty! More mansions with beautiful views.

After our exploring we were invited to our friends grandparents house for dinner. They were so sweet and hospitable! We had fun, this is there awesome huge deck and the next picture is the view from the deck.

It was so much fun to be someplace so beautiful! The water is a salt-water river that empties into the ocean, it was so pretty and perfect weather. Not too hot, and not too cold. We'll for sure have to go back though, we didn't a chance to try any seafood by the ocean.... next time!

I did it!

I did it! This is the Viking 320, and it sews! And it was a great deal. I'm very happy with it, and i've already started sewing! Below is my first project: Burp Clothes for the little one. Can you see the design? I knew as soon as i saw it i had to get it, yes John loves them.

Thanks for all of your suggestions on sewing machines! I guess i really didn't follow any of it but they did help with research! I guess vikings are up there with bernina's on quality so i was excited to find a great deal on a used viking, more projects coming! (i mean seriously, what else do i have to do?)

Buying a sewing machine...

So i'm looking to get a sewing machine, I've wanted one for a long time and my mom wanted to help get me one as a graduation gift so i'm looking into them, but i don't know what kind to get, whats good? I need mostly the basic's but i want it to last, to work, and to not be breaking all the time. The only brand i know is good is Bernina because my mom's had one FOREVER and it still works great and is lifetime warrentied but they are so expensive! Anyway, if any of you know anything about sewing machines i'd love to learn from you! Thanks!