It was a perfect day to get sand in the diapers and enjoy the sun and the cool ocean breeze! And we got to enjoy some time with Ellie's Aunt Natalie (Matt's younger sister). We love you Auntie Natalie!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
- beach day -
We decided to start working on our summer bucket list , and what a better way to start than a family beach day!
It was a perfect day to get sand in the diapers and enjoy the sun and the cool ocean breeze! And we got to enjoy some time with Ellie's Aunt Natalie (Matt's younger sister). We love you Auntie Natalie!
It was a perfect day to get sand in the diapers and enjoy the sun and the cool ocean breeze! And we got to enjoy some time with Ellie's Aunt Natalie (Matt's younger sister). We love you Auntie Natalie!
Friday, July 8, 2011
- our summer bucket list -
buck·et list
-noun
1. A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket".
I feel like at the beginning of every summer, Matt and I talk about all of the cool stuff we want to do. And then, summer flies by so fast and before we know it, it is October and we are thinking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! So this summer, I decided I will write a summer bucket list...and I know, I know, it's already July...so my bucket list is already a little bit late, but here it is!
1.Go on an awesome family vacation
2. Have a "brown bag blind" wine tasting party
3.Have a homemade pizza night
4. Plan a year's worth of date nights (see here)
5. Attend some of the free music festivals and concerts around our city
6. Set up an inflatable pool in our backyard so Ellie can cool off on hot days
7.Make our own popsicles
8.Make homemade sangria
9.Visit the farmer's market
10. Go on a boat or ferry ride
11.Make new friends (but keep the old)
12.Be creative and make something crafty, preferably for Ellie's room
13. Go to the movies to get out of the heat
14. Sleep outside, even if it's in our own backyard
15. Bake cookies for our neighbors
16.Get back into an exercise routine (I was doing so good...and then we had a heat wave...I can't run in this heat!)
17.Go see a live band that we have never seen before
18. Go on a hike with Ellie
19. Enroll Ellie in the dance class that I have been talking about for 2 months now!
20.Have some family beach days
-noun
1. A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket".
I feel like at the beginning of every summer, Matt and I talk about all of the cool stuff we want to do. And then, summer flies by so fast and before we know it, it is October and we are thinking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! So this summer, I decided I will write a summer bucket list...and I know, I know, it's already July...so my bucket list is already a little bit late, but here it is!
1.
2. Have a "brown bag blind" wine tasting party
3.
4. Plan a year's worth of date nights (see here)
5. Attend some of the free music festivals and concerts around our city
6. Set up an inflatable pool in our backyard so Ellie can cool off on hot days
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. Go to the movies to get out of the heat
14. Sleep outside, even if it's in our own backyard
15. Bake cookies for our neighbors
16.
17.
18. Go on a hike with Ellie
19. Enroll Ellie in the dance class that I have been talking about for 2 months now!
20.
- our 4th of July vacation -
In 2009, for our "Babymoon", Matt and I found a quaint, family friendly mountain town right next to a beautiful lake and we spent our 4th of July there. We fell in love with it, and promised ourselves we would make it a family tradition to go up there every 4th of July once we had Ellie. And so this year was our 3rd year heading up there for the 4th of July!
Here are a couple pictures from our first trip up there in 2009. I was 5 months pregnant when we first vacationed up there. We absolutely adored this little mountain town and knew that we had to go back!
And our second trip up there in 2010. Ellie was almost 7 months old. She had so much fun and even stayed up to watch the fireworks with us!
(My little patriotic girl!)
Here are a couple pictures from our first trip up there in 2009. I was 5 months pregnant when we first vacationed up there. We absolutely adored this little mountain town and knew that we had to go back!
And our second trip up there in 2010. Ellie was almost 7 months old. She had so much fun and even stayed up to watch the fireworks with us!
(Love this family picture!)
This year we went with our good friends, Dwayne & Lisa, and their 20 month old son, Brayden. I'm not going to lie, Lisa and I were a little nervous about two toddlers on different sleep schedules, who rarely sleep away from their own cribs, staying in one rental house together! Turns out we spent a lot of time worrying for nothing! The kids did great! They slept like angels both during their naps and at night! This was a huge step for Ellie who usually does not sleep at all when we are away from home! Must have been all of that fresh mountain air...or all of the running around that she did. Either way, I was relieved.
While the kiddos were taking their awesome naps each day, Lisa and I did a lot of this -
And the boys did a lot jumping off the dock doing crazy stunts, kind of like this -
(Boys will be boys huh?)
The house we rented was literally right on the lake, so we had a pretty awesome view from the deck.
(Mimosas in the morning on the back deck. What a view to wake up to!)
We also had our own private dock to relax on. Neither of the kids would to get into the lake the whole time we were up there (the water was pretty cold), but they had a blast playing on the dock and splashing around in buckets of water to keep cool.
(We were trying to convince them to get into the water, but they didn't want any part of it!)
I didn't get many pictures of Ellie in her 4th of July dress, but I did get some cute ones of her in her 4th of July bathing suit!
Unfortunately, Brayden didn't stay up late enough to see the fireworks, but Ellie did. We thought for sure she would love them like she did last year. We went down to the dock and set up chairs and blankets, and settled in for the awesome fireworks show right over the lake. Not even one minute after they started, Ellie decided they were much scarier than they were last year, and immediately crawled into my arms and demanded to be taken inside. She was so scared of them! She refused to look at them even through the window inside the house! Poor little one...so, her and I ended up sitting inside and reading her favorite book with her stuffed bunny, while the rest of the gang enjoyed the show.
(This was about 30 seconds into the fireworks show...about 30 seconds before she decided enough was enough!)
Overall, the trip was wonderful! We cooked some great food, enjoyed a beautiful view, and did absolutely nothing except relax! We can't wait to go back next year! We enjoyed the company of our friends, and hope they will join us again in 2012!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
- we're back -
We just got back from an awesome family vacation! We took an extended long weekend and spent 5 days relaxing by a beautiful lake in the mountains! I will be back to post all of our pictures soon! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!
Monday, July 4, 2011
- quick recipe of the week -
In honor of the 4th of July, Allison from Twingle Mommy has shared a super yummy recipe for apple pie! It is her great grandmother's recipe and it sounds so good!
Allison is a stay at home mom of 3 kiddos under 4. Isabella is 3 and her twins Mark and Molly are 19 months old. She loves staying at home with her kids and love most of the time we spend together. Like most moms, she sometimes feels like her kids can drive her crazy with their antics and challenging behavior though! Allison uses my blog to make people laugh at her life and provide her with some free therapy. If your kids have the ability to make you want to laugh and cry at the same time, I’m sure you can relate to her posts!
4th of July Apple Pie
1 cup sugar
3 TB flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt (love old recipes huh?)
a squeeze of lemon
a few bits of butter
granny smith apples (just buy a big bag and peel and slice... stop when you have enough)
premade pie crust (Allison's great grandmother used to make her own pie crust...but to make this a quicker recipe, premade it is!)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and slice the apples. For a measuring tip, as you slice them, put them into the pie plate. This way you know exactly how many apples you need. Mix apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. This is best done with your hands, a spoon takes way too long. Allow the apples to juice while you put spread the pie crust into the pie plate. Squirt the lemon juice over the apples and mix. Pour into the pie plate. Top the apples with little bits of butter (about 1 TB of butter). Top with second pie crust and fold over the the edges to seal the crust. Take a fork and poke holes into the crust. **Optional-put a tiny bit of melted butter on the crust and top with some sugar and cinnamon.
So if you still haven't made you dessert for today's holiday celebration, try out this recipe! It sounds so good! Hey there has to be a reason why it's been Allison's family for 130 years right?
Allison is a stay at home mom of 3 kiddos under 4. Isabella is 3 and her twins Mark and Molly are 19 months old. She loves staying at home with her kids and love most of the time we spend together. Like most moms, she sometimes feels like her kids can drive her crazy with their antics and challenging behavior though! Allison uses my blog to make people laugh at her life and provide her with some free therapy. If your kids have the ability to make you want to laugh and cry at the same time, I’m sure you can relate to her posts!
4th of July Apple Pie
1 cup sugar
3 TB flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt (love old recipes huh?)
a squeeze of lemon
a few bits of butter
granny smith apples (just buy a big bag and peel and slice... stop when you have enough)
premade pie crust (Allison's great grandmother used to make her own pie crust...but to make this a quicker recipe, premade it is!)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and slice the apples. For a measuring tip, as you slice them, put them into the pie plate. This way you know exactly how many apples you need. Mix apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. This is best done with your hands, a spoon takes way too long. Allow the apples to juice while you put spread the pie crust into the pie plate. Squirt the lemon juice over the apples and mix. Pour into the pie plate. Top the apples with little bits of butter (about 1 TB of butter). Top with second pie crust and fold over the the edges to seal the crust. Take a fork and poke holes into the crust. **Optional-put a tiny bit of melted butter on the crust and top with some sugar and cinnamon.
Place in the oven with a cookie sheet under the pie on a lower rack. This will catch any drippings. Bake for 10 mins. And without opening the door, turn down to 350 and continue baking for 30 minutes.
Allison cools her pie on soup cans because that's what her mom and grandma always did! You could probably use a cooling rack, but she doesn't mess with tradition. This pie can be made in advance. Just cover with a dishtowel once it's cooled.
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| (Image credit pantryspa.com) |
So if you still haven't made you dessert for today's holiday celebration, try out this recipe! It sounds so good! Hey there has to be a reason why it's been Allison's family for 130 years right?
Friday, July 1, 2011
- some oldies, but goodies -
I was backing up some of my pictures and videos the other day, and I started taking a trip down memory lane. I know I started this blog when Ellie was already 17 months old, so some of you haven't seen what an adorable baby she was!
And just a few of my favorite pictures from the first year -
Wow, she looks so big now compared to all of these pictures! My baby girl is growing up way too fast!
And just a few of my favorite pictures from the first year -
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| (Image copywrited by Nina S.) |
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| (Image copyrighted by Nina S.) |
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| (Image copyrighted by Nina S.) |
The dainty little one barely wanted to touch the messy cupcake on her 1st birthday!
Wow, she looks so big now compared to all of these pictures! My baby girl is growing up way too fast!
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