Say cheese!

We love our ward, and I'll tell you why. When we were expecting Lincoln, tons of other families were also expecting babies. Fast forward 9 months and Lincoln has a lot of little friends, so therefore, so do we! We decided it would be a good idea to try taking a picture of the little munchkin gang all together...I think it went a little differently in our heads. Crying is a chain reaction. Once one kid starts, the next does and so down the line, so our photo shoot was 10% not looking, 10% grabbing one another's nose, ears or hair, and 80% screaming! Nonetheless, cute kids equal cute pictures so it was still a success.

Here's the gang! Watch out nursery, here they come!

Shout out!

I went to Five Guys burger with my father and sister-in-law last week.They always post on their sign where their delicious fries come from. It just so happened, that the day we went, they came from my family's potato warehouse.



Way to go, Idaho! Watch out In-and-Out. You ain't got nothin' on us.

A "Splash" of Color

I grew up in a tiny town in Idaho. My parents are potato farmers (so cliche, I know) and I grew up with parents and brothers who taught me how to work. My Dad is the hardest working person I have ever known. He always has a project going on. He can make or build ANYTHING: farm machinery, potato cellar, tree house...and most recently he remodeled our house. By remodel I mean nearly gutted the entire upstairs, moved the staircase, raised the ceilings- this was no small project. My Dad designed the whole thing and made it happen- quickly too. Tim and I were so impressed and inspired that we wanted to take on a project of our own...but on a much, much smaller scale.

This is our kitchen. It's one of the last rooms in our house to be painted because we couldn't come up with a color to match our scheme with these Christmasy red and green ceramic backsplash tiles...so we decided to switch it out. Easy, right? If I'm my fathers daughter, it will be done flawlessly by tomorrow morning!

After weeks of living with our stove as an island and our microwave on the countertop we finally finished the last touchups today. I feel like I should know better how to do this type of project because they were always going on growing up...but I guess I wasn't paying very close attention because each task we undertake is such a learning experience.

We love how it turned out...but just don't look too closely or your bound to see our beginner's flaws.

Happy Birthday Momma!

Dear Mom,
We heard it was your birthday.
In your honor, we told Lincoln one of your funniest jokes. You know, the one about the guy who did that thing...but when we got to the end of the joke, we couldn't remember the punch line ;) He's not much into punchlines anyway.



We think of you often, but especially on your birthday. I am frequently overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and example you and Dad have shown for me. I am so thankful, especially now as we are trying to act like we've got this parenting thing figured out, that we have parents who actually do. I will be reflecting often on the experiences I've had with you as I try to decide how to act as Lincoln grows. I'm amazed at your patience, your wisdom, and your selfless giving.

Super Mom

Mom, you're a wonderful mother,
So gentle, yet so strong.
The many ways you show you care
Always make me feel I belong. You're patient when I'm foolish;
You give guidance when I ask;
It seems you can do most anything;
You're the master of every task. You're a dependable source of comfort;
You're my cushion when I fall.
You help in times of trouble;
You support me whenever I call. I love you more than you know;
You have my total respect.
If I had my choice of mothers,
You'd be the one I'd select! By Joanna Fuchs
I'm not sure how this Joanna Fuchs knows my mom, but she said it well. I love you Super Mom! Thank you for your phone calls, your prayers, your advice, and listening ear. For your efforts to make our every visit special, for your example of true selflessness, and the laughs that come in the middle of the joke, when we realize we won't get to hear the end of it :) Love you Momma! We miss you. Have a very Happy Birthday! We can't wait to see you.

Hungry!

Our little man is a good eater...infact a GREAT eater. I can't think of anything he loves more. My new favorite thing that he does is when he's really hungry and he spots a bottle- he locks his eyes on it, opens his mouth so wide as if he thinks milk will just fall in if its wide enough, and starts panting. So cute...and unfortunately for him, really fun to tease him :)



He's a little distracted by the camera.

Pink Elephant

A few weeks ago our Relief Society had a "Pink Elephant" service exchange night. It was run like a white elephant but we each wrapped an IOU service that we would give. People got things like fresh bread, family home evening kits, art lessons, babysitting, and I got homemade salsa each month for 3 months! It was a super fun activity. I offered to do a birthday cake for someone...and the time has come that she is cashing it in! Her daughter is celebrating her birthday Saturday and wanted a Piglet and Tigger themed birthday cake for her and her friends to enjoy.
So, that's what I made- and I'm pretty excited about how it turned out.

The birthday girl's favorite cake is red velvet. Do you know anyone that has red velvet as a favorite cake? I honestly don't know that I had ever eaten it before, let alone made it. Did you know Red velvet cake has cocoa in it?





I made a beautiful and delicious three-layered red velvet cake- mind you my first successful layered cake. A single batch of the recipe made 3 eight inch round pans.


No birthday party is complete without cupcakes! So, to stick with the Winnie-the-Pooh theme I made little head-shots of Piglet, Tigger, and the Pooh himself from squished Tootsie Rolls. Just roll them out in between some wax paper, cut them into shape...



and draw the eyes, mouths, and whiskers with black frosting and a fine tip.

Drumroll please.....



Voowahlah!

The best part of the cake was the frosting. You know how usually you kind of scoop the frosting to the side and just eat the cake- its way too sugary and there's usually soo much of it. This frosting kind of makes me want to swim in it. Its so good! It's buttery sweetness is super light and you just can't get enough of it.

I wish it was my birthday.

Bangs; a True Story

I don't have much experience with bangs- and the few I have are not particularly pleasant. The last time I had bangs I was in 2nd grade- making me, what? 8?

One morning before church I was fixing my hair but my bangs were dipping down past my eyebrows and into my eyes. My dad was calling for me to leave for church but I had one piece of business to take care of before I could leave. I got out a pair of scissors and made one large snip across the span of my forehead to clear up my vision and free it from my locks. Unfortunately the scissors weren't straight and I ended up with a 'business on the left, party on the right' slant look that I was sure was very modern and sheek. I guess my dad wasn't up on the latest fashion trends because when he saw me wandering out of the bathroom and into the car, he turned me around and marched me right back into the house. Can you believe he wanted to straighten them up and make them boring and even? In order to fix the damage i had done he had to cut them pretty close to the roots, leaving me half-inch stubs jetting straight out in front of me. The stubs were even though, I've got to give him that.

I don't think I've had bangs since this incident. Once they grew out they were gone for good. Even though some of my friends were sporting what I like to call the double-layer bang where you curl one layer under and one layer up and run your brush through them to give them a little poof. Such celebrities as Sally from Charlie Brown sported these bangs for years.


but bangs just aren't for me...

OR ARE THEY?

You think I would have learned my lesson, but earlier this week in a state of boredom I decided to trim my own hair and once again, sport some bangs. Not many, just a few shorter strands in the front. I didn't think it looked too bad the first day, but the next two days I wore my hair pinned back and that night I had an emotional break down! Its just hair, I know, but it's my hair and I was convinced it would be slicked back, pinned back, or braided back for the next few months until my mistake grew out.

I decided to take it to the experts. I took it to the great folks at Great Clips. I usually go a cheaper haircut route to get my long hair trimmed cause it's pretty hard to mess it up and when I do something more dramatic I'll go somewhere nicer...but there wasn't time for that now. I knew Great Clips was open early, they were close by so nobody would have to see me in shame, and plus they were having a $6.99 haircut special. A perfect combo. I think the nice man who cut my hair got a good chuckle at my emotional state but he did a great job and I am now sporting a new do.



So here's the glam shot of me and the newest addition to our family; bangs. Kids, don't try this at home! Please!