elder short returns

my youngest brother, tucker, returned home from his two year lds mission to las vegas a couple weeks ago. its a tradition to make fun posters for the airport to welcome the returning missionary. this was my attempt to recreate the infamous las vegas sign.

the nervous little guy coming up the escalator and seeing us for the first time in TWO years!

my boys were so excited to see uncle kucker.

taylor and rachelle got married while tucker was gone so this is the first shot of our complete family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

two prrrrrrroud parents.

the originals.

that night, tucker came over to watch his first movie. he lasted about 45 minutes. apparently being an elder for two years does not make one a night owl. :)

the following sunday tucker gave his homecoming talk in sacrament meeting. he did such a wonderful job. we are all so incredibly proud of his hard work over the past two years and cannot wait to see what his future holds.

crafting at girls camp

a few months ago i was asked to be craft lady at girls camp this summer. i was a wee bit apprehensive about saying 'yes' (a. i dont like to camp b. im pregnant. and c. i dont like to camp) but when megan said she would come with me to help i figured it was doable. :) the morning we arrived, we set up the craft supplies for that day and decorated our craft shack.

amy joined us as the third crafteteer and we couldnt have done it without her. it was quite the party.

the nail station all set up for the girls. needless to say, i kept trying to color coordinate the polishes and the girls kept messing them up. silly girls. dont you know a nail polish station at camp should be organized and pretty?!

i set up the tent all by myself. a very proud moment.

our crafts went really well the first day. and afterwards the three of us snuck off to taco time, floated down the river and almost broke the tire swing.

and later that night, after the girls' skits, there was a mini dance party on stage. we danced for a minute until we felt like the girls were all thinking "why are these old (and some pregnant) moms dancing with us?". and then we got off the stage and went to bed.

the following morning was another craft session. the girls loved the tshirt headbands and pom pom earrings. i loved having grace/sophie at camp. always fun to have a familiar face around.

overall, a pretty fun 36 hours. im glad its over but im glad it happened. and i love my besties for coming along and making the experience that much more fun.

independence day 2014

we had a super fun and super busy fourth of july this year. i have decided it is my new favorite holiday. friends, family, food, fun, fireworks. kind of doesnt get better.

we started off the day with the bothell parade. craig's parents had set our chairs for us FOUR days in advance so we could have a great view of tagg and sully coming down the line with their festive bikes! it was very exciting to see them be a part of the parade.

after the parade, we went back home to make to treats to bring to our friends' pool party. these are my new obsession: homemade whoopie pies. taste EXACTLY like hostess suzy-qs.

i wouldnt let the boys touch the whoopie pies until we got to the pool so sully enjoyed one of his red white and blue popsicles instead.

after the pool and before we headed to the big fireworks show, the boys lit up some tanks and flowers.

this is the second year that we have gone to a local golf course to watch fireworks with our friends. their firework show is perfection. no crowds, easy parking, free glow sticks and what seems like five different grand finales. love it!

such a fun day with my boys.

the morning after. after the golf course, we came back home and put on a fireworks show of our own with family and friends. by that point, tagg and sully were zombies but nothing was going to keep them from the party. fourth of july is the best.

cowabunga bay

a few days after school let out, the four of us flew to utah to play at cowabunga bay. and eat chick fil a. lets be honest.

tagg and sully were thrilled to be in the hot sun and running around the super fun water park.

sully even got in on the bucket drop situation.

that evening we went up to salt lake to walk around city creek. the water features were very pretty.

we walked over to the joseph smith memorial building. i love this shot of tagg. he looks so old!

we had dinner at the pie. of course.

bunny ears for life.

happy pizza campers.

the next morning we woke up, put our swimsuits on and did a little meditating.(tagg's kindergarten teacher taught him how to meditate and he is actually kind of into it. got myself a little hippie)

the lazy river was my boys' favorite.

that evening, we met up with our friends for dinner and to see their new house thats under construction. the kids had so much fun together.

on sunday, we drove back up to salt late to try and find my cousin who is serving a mission on temple square. no such luck. but it was a beautiful day and we loved walking around the grounds.

i did, however, bump into my friend kera! temple square is such a small world!

cute little guys.

our first family vacation with just the four of us!

the next day we drove over to thanksgiving point to check out cabelas and the new kids museum. tagg got a little tired in the car so sully started playing with his hair. are you kidding me?

tagg at the kids museum. it was a fun place but verrrrrrrry crowded. 

on our last evening in utah we met up with the pugmires again for dinner. a balloon artist came around and made all the kids little creations. 

before we flew back home on tuesday, we ran by cowabunga bay one more time. it was craigs birthday so we wanted to live it up! we had such a wonderful weekend in utah. good food, good friends, good mom time (love you, linda!) and good sunshine. couldnt have asked for more.

20 weeks!

i am twenty weeks along and everything is looking splendid with the baby. keeping it a surprise again! i just love a good surprise. cant wait for november 20th.

earls warm potato salad (dont let the name scare you)

im not that big of a potato salad person. so when my friend told me she had this amazing recipe for warm potato salad i was pretty skeptical. but i was wrong to doubt. very wrong. its more of a fantastic over-the-top loaded baked potato all mixed up into a bowl. so good.

earls warm potato salad
2 1/2 pounds small potatoes
1 1/2 cups white corn (i cut mine off the cob but you could use frozen)
3 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

5 slices bacon, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill)
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste

preheat over to 425 degrees. line baking sheet with foil. cut potatoes into bite-size pieces. in a medium bowl, mix potatoes, corn and garlic with oil. place on the sheet pan in a single layer, sprinkle with a little salt, and roast until the potatoes and corn begin to turn golden brown, about 45 minutes.

meanwhile, fry bacon to desired doneness and drain on a paper towel. reserve 2 tablespoons bacon fat.

in a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, lemon juice, parmesan cheese and bacon fat. add salt to taste.

when potatoes and corn are done, remove from oven. remove cloves of garlic and mince them and add to dressing. pour potato and corn mixture into a large bowl. add bacon. add dressing and combine. serve warm at your favorite summer bbq and enjoy the amazing leftovers cold!

roasted potatoes and corn.

the insanely delicious final product. 

end of school 2014

sully and tagg had a great school year. they both learned so much from their amazing teachers. the boys and i put together little 'thank you' packages to show mrs. judy, mrs. jessica and mrs. dearden how much we loved them.

its very hard to pick a favorite drawing or art project from the entire year. both boys came home with some fantastic stuff. but i liked these little drawings from sully's 'preschool dictionary', look at that mitt and zipper!

tagg's last day on the bus! he had such a fun year riding the bus (our new house is approximately 5 feet from his new school.... so no more bus :( ).  he made great friends and i'll never forget seeing his little head bobbing up and down as he ran from the back of the back each afternoon. yes. my kindergartner rode in the back of the bus. im scared.

on the last day of school the kindergartners had a performance for the parents. lets be honest. i cried a little when i saw tagg walking out with his graduation cap on (and also because he took of the nice sweater he had on when he left for school and looked like an orphan in that tshirt!) 

seriously the cutest little guy on the planet. and apparently, a future computer engineer! thats the award mrs. dearden gave him.

celebratory popsicles with his best friend, aidan.

again, hard to pick a favorite..... but i sure do love the antlers on the snowmen and his cool pigeon.

love this graduate so much.