05.17.2008 Whirlwind Week!

Wow! It's been a whole week since my last post? Not that surprising, it's been CRAZY around here! No photos to share-at least not now-not sure if we even took any this week. DeRell borrowed my camera and shocker..i haven't gotten it back. We had a weather swing on Weds., and we actually got SUN,SUN, glorious SUN! I's been HOT too-70-89 degreees depending on the day. We are lovin it this week. Erick had more dental work on Monday-then a trip to Msla to get the parts the dealership ordered installed on the car-oops messed up my appt date so had to GO BACK Tuesday (did i mention it's 49 miles ONE WAY!?!) Then Monday night went to the movies w/ girlfriends and saw Made of Honor (gotta love Mothers day that carries on into the next day by guilt! Thanx DeRell for watching the kids so i could get some girl time in!) On Tues i dropped off car and walked to the mall (only 1-2 mi away) Then car still wasn't ready after 8 hrs (oh...i can do DAMAGE in a mall in 8 hrs!) so they gave me a nice car (for free) for TWO days cuz i wasn't about to go to Missoula 3 days in a row! Went to the park a couple of days, speech therapy on Friday, the movies (saw What Happens in Vegas-cute movie)Friday night, gosh lots of little things in between. My days have been so "harried" lately i can barely stop the head from spinning. And to make it even more fun...guess what?..... we get a quick trip to California on Weds. YEAH. Just down to the Bay Area for DeRell to do some work for some clients, but hey, ROAD TRIP. Taking the new Camry to see how he does for the big trip (2 1/2 wks) in June/July. Get to stay w/ my friend Karen over Memorial Day Weekend-how cool is that? And do some real estate lookie loo stuff. I have like 25 houses that I need to narrow down to 5 or less here real fast. Anyway, I've bored you to tears i am sure-so I'll sign off for now. Fun BBQ/picnic tomorrow so i am sure I'll have photo's to share.

05.11.2008 Mothers Day

We had a pretty mellow Mothers Day. Actually, we kinda celebrated yesterday so as not to have to meld with the masses today. With church and bible study in the evening it gives me only 4-5 hrs. in between and we didn't want to chance it. So Saturday we took our drive to Missoula and went to my favorite restaurant and did some browsing around the mall and stuff. It was fun. Today (Sunday) we went to church, ALL of us, and then came home. I was hoping for a decent pic to update our blog-but anyone with a family knows those are hard to come by. Always someone is uncooperative, picking their nose, making a face, eyes closed or hiding. Such is the way it goes! I got a good one of the kids and I before the uncooperative stuff kicked in. Danielle, MOM and Bubba below.

Here is the whole family, not the best, but what can a girl do? Bubba has exagerated eyes and i had to run before the timer clicked off and am all sprawled out! Erick tried to hide, but you can mostly see him. We'll hope for a better shot another time!

Happy Mothers Day to all the other moms out there and your wonderful families. Cherish the little ones as they grow up so fast it makes your head spin!

05.09.2008 Vegan Cupcakes take over my kitchen!

Incase you missed it...we've been transitioning to a vegetarian diet around here. I scour Amazon and my local library for amazing books. I LOVE AMAZON! Especially cuz of reader reviews of what is a good cookbook & what isnt before i shell out the cash. Well i got a winner recently with "VEGAN CUPCAKES take over the world"! OMG it is the MOST awesome book, even for non-vegans! (Well omnivore/non-vegans would have to buy lots of ingredients maybe u wouldnt normally have in the kitchen, but lemme tell you it's worth it!) This is the GREATEST cookbook, vegan or non-vegan. These cupcakes are AWESOME! Tried them on my non-vegan friends (sadly who are mostly dieting thus didn't indulge in 5 or 6 like i would have...).SCRUMPTIOS Killer good cupcakes! Made your basic choc cupcake, with choc buttercream icing. Buttercream is not my fav normally-but awesome good! I tried my best to do them up right-but didn't have all the fancy tips bakeries have so i did as best i could. Delicious. BUY THIS BOOK! I plan on making lots and lots of cupcakes in the days ahead. We are gonna be FAT HAPPY VEGETARIANS! LOL We might try the Banana SPlit or Margarita Cupcakes next, no wait....coconut lime? Hmmm...too many to choose from. I'll keep you posted. WHo knows, Mother's Day i might turn my kitchen into a cupcake factory!

05.05.2008 Little Lamb

On Monday the kids had no school (yes, ANOTHER day off!) so we went for a visit over to our friends house-The Bartosik's. The have lots of sheep, who have been very busy having babies lately. It's always fun to see the little lambs. Danielle got all gussied up in her pig tails to see her friend Tylor. Here they are-with Danielle holding one of the chicks (adolescent to kinda gangly).

Here are some of the sheep/baby lambs. Danielle and Bubba also got to see chickens, and Tylor had some baby chicks in a heated pen and Danielle got to hold one. Bubba was not very interested in holding any.

I definately thought one of the newer lambs (the cute brown one below) was one of the better looking ones. That baby and her momma are being given away to some of their friends. I couldn't resist getting a picture though!

Jason & Tracy are doing a major renovation to their home (currently mostly gutted) and so there is lots of stuff to see an explore. One of those was a HUGE dirt mound which the kids loved running up and down, rolling down, etc. They were covered in dirt/dust head to toe when they were done! But very happy. What kid doesnt like to get dirty! A fun day was had by all. They especially liked the monkey bars too! Thanks Bartosik family for all the fun!!!

05.01.2008 Vegetarian Transition

Ok, so i have really HAD IT with the way WE (and most Americans for that matter)eat! We are making ourselves FAT and SICK. Well i am sick and tired of being sick and tired. My family that is. I had read so much lately on the effects of eating so much Meat, Dairy, Eggs etc. that i've said enough is enough. I know it will be hard, and not happen overnight. But we have been slowly phasing out the bad, and phasing in the good. It's not too hard when you set your mind to it. We are a LONG way from being there, but just healthier choices help. More fruit less snack foods. More veggies, less meat. Yes, yes, naysayers...you can get just as much (if not MORE) protein and calcium from green veggies than you can from Meat and Dairy, it's PROVEN! Anyway, i read The China Study - Google Search and it has changed my life!