Strawberries!

I love summer.
I love the sun.
I love the warmth.
I love swimming and water.
And I love fresh produce.


For our fun family outing this past Saturday, I took Caleb to pick strawberries.
Mackenzie rode around in the snugli but she didn't care too much for it or the strawberry-pickin'. Caleb had fun...I think.

He really wanted to pick the white berries...and kept squishing the red berries. And then he realized there were rocks all of the place (bottom right pic)...and the strawberries were over.

We gathered enough to balance our $3.00 entrance fee, and that was it. We went and found the play ground.

It was a fun outing, and the strawberries were really yummy!!

I'm looking forward to when our tomatoes start yielding some yumminess, too.

I love summer!!

Another little project

So, I had some left over material from Mackenzie's dress I made for her before she was born,
and I decided to make Caleb a matching tie.

I had to combine a couple different patterns I found online, so it took me about an hour longer than I thought it would...which also means the next one I make (if ever) should go just a smidge faster cuz I'll know what I'm doing.

Well, here are the finished pieces! I am quite pleased with how they turned out! Caleb's tie is anything but perfect, but it definitely worked for me! Yay to projects getting finished!!

And here, I asked Caleb to smile for me...this is what I got.
I thought they weren't supposed to do that until they were teenagers??

But then, he smiled when he got to hold his baby sister in his lap! He loves her...but man, sometimes when I hear her start screaming and see him running suspiciously away...gotta wonder...


And just one more shot of my two children. It's crazy that I've got two of 'em!
And Mackenzie is 1 month old now! And Justin comes home in ONE WEEK!!
We're totally rejoicing over here and I'm definitely going to have a party once he's home!

24 years! and 3 weeks!

Yup, it was my birthday yesterday! yay for me!

I'll be honest, it was a tough day. I didn't feel like celebrating; I didn't feel like doing much of anything with Justin being gone. But, I was under orders from my dear husband to have a "happy" birthday...and to do something fun.

Well, I decided that play group in the afternoon would be good for all of us. So we all got packed up and headed to the park...and surprise! no one else made it! lol I thought it ironic.

Caleb and I still had lots of fun. We played on the swings, and on the slide, and in the sandbox. And then we walked around and looked at the geese, and the boys fishing, and all the ROCKS (like the big one in the picture), and the fountains that made rainbows, and the creek, and we ran across the fields. It was a beautiful day and it really lifted my spirits. The sun really is rejuvenating!



And then we came home. Mom made a great meal of fried rice and P.F. Chang's shrimp lo mein. Then Caleb and Mackenzie gave me their present (apparently Mackenzie and Justin communicated via Morse code so that she could give her input on my present). A book of recipes on a budget! It even has price per serving. I'm excited to peruse it!

Mom and Dad sang to me; Caleb thought they were singing to him and he even tried to blow out my candles. He's gonna do really well at his 2nd birthday! I finished the day off by watching "Mama Mia," one of my presents from Mom and Dad.

It's funny, all the phone calls really made me miss Justin that much more. I know everyone was trying to make me feel special, and I was trying to let them. It was just a tough day. I miss my husband. But I'm grateful for all the friends and caring people in my life.

I was on the verge of tears all day; but somehow I made it through.

Yup, I survived my birthday.

It was Mackenzie's 3 week birthday (already?!). It made me refocus on how much I love my children. plural. haha! They're so much fun and I just can't let they're little lives and excitement pass me by!

All in all, it was a great birthday! Thanks to everyone who helped me have a good day. :)

Guessing Game!!

Okay, everyone, here's a little game. Justin, I, and many other people think that Mackenzie looks a lot like Caleb.

Now, I can tell the difference, but the question is, "Do they really look that much alike?"

So, these 5 pictures are numbered. pretty clear.

Just indicate in a comment which picture is which child?



And no, there aren't any tricks. They're all either Mackenzie or Caleb.

I can't say there's a prize...just satisfaction that you can tell our kids apart. lol

List of Gratitude: #11-20 or so

So, Maybe I should clarify: when I said I'd post a list everyday, I meant, every day that I get a chance. lol

I'm still totally thinking about it and trying hard to focus on the things that I'm grateful for, but I'm not stressing out about taking the time to get on here and post (learned that from my sister, too).

Well, Here's the current addition to my on-going list:

11. A wonderful night's sleep: Mackenzie woke up only once!
12. water. mm it's so good and it entertains Caleb like nothing else
13. Caleb's expanding vocabulary...in his "own" language of course. Currently I love his frequent use of "ra" (rock) and "wow!"
14. air conditioner.
15. pop sickles. in this heat...gotta have 'em.
16. A successful dinner made: I love getting back into the routine!
17. Random people that Justin met at church that have been very helpful and appear to have connections for housing.
18. Justin got complimented for his waxing at class. My husband is so talented! It's my prerogative to brag, right?
19. Cheap second-hand boutiques. Seems like a paradox, but it works!
20. Disappearing fever blisters. I hate them, so I'm glad this one is leaving.

21. An ever-slowly returning tan!
22. A wonderful and caring mother who is always thinking of me and my family
23. A beautiful new sister-in law (not so "new," but I haven't posted about her! I'm excited to meet Thaciana!)
24. Exciting family plans for the next few years
25. Caleb's infant-to-toddler rocker and his willingness to let Mackenzie use it
26. Longer hair. I always get bored with it and then chop it, but then I hate not being able to pull it back, cuz I'm lazy and that's always an easy solution. so I'm very glad it's gotten long enough to be "long" now!
27. Lessons learned.
28. Family Home Evening. Such a wonderful, inspired tradition! It's so good for me and I'm excited to make memories for my children.
29. Scriptures. I'm trying to make time now (again) to read. It's such a hard habit for me to get back into, but I'm so grateful for the spirit the word invites into my life.
30. People in the ward willing to help out with anything! I love it!

Well, that's it for today! There WILL be more another day...but there might be some other posts going on too.

Pity Party: Denied

Everyone deserves a pity party once in a while, right?

Well, I didn't want to indulge myself. So, I decided I'd take my sister's idea and do 10 days of 10 things I'm grateful for. That would be 100 things I'm grateful for. Count 'em.

So, starting for today.

100 Things of Gratitude: 1-10

1. A loving husband, even from a distance.
2. web cams, that let me talk to family (sisters, husbands) from far away, and also lets me have a simple job at home so I can stay home with my kids.
3. internet, so full of information and capabilities and allows such great communication.
4. pictures, memories, the laughs, the growth, the tears...all of it!
5. Surprises: Shh, I can't tell! It's a surprise. ;)
6. Caleb's fabulous appetite.
7. Tomato plants that are actually growing in our "containers."
8. Mackenzie's sweet, dependent eyes and cute baby noises
9. friends: near, far, close, new, acquaintances...they are all so special to me!
10. the spirit of song.

Stay tuned. I've gotta do this every day. I might do more than 10 days. Justin's gone for a month.