sienna

Just had to steal this adorable picture of my sister in law's blog. This is my niece Sienna. I've only gotten to see her once and I am excited to see her again.

sunny days

The weather has finally gotten nice around here. We have been able to spend a lot more time outside. Alaina doesn't even mind sitting on the grass...or eating it.



Last week the girls and I hiked Badger Mt. with my friend Bethany and her baby Zoe, who is about a month younger than Alaina. I decided that she just might be the first person ever to hike Badger Mt. with a jogging stroller. Probably not the most efficient way to do it, but she made it. Katelyn was a great little hiker. It took us about an hour to get to the top. Both babies feel asleep on the way up. I'm excited to do it again.


p.s. Last time I posted that we hiked Badger (as a family) we weren't actually on Badger Mt. at all. Silly us. Now we know for sure where it is.

yard sale!

The neighborhood behind our church has a big yard sale every year. Actually twice a year. Well, it was last Saturday and I really wanted to go. Last year, there were two really nice double joggers, but I couldn't get one because we were about to close on our house. I was hoping I might find something this time. Well, I didn't see any at the houses I went to. But I did get some pretty good deals...in my opinion. First, I spotted this cute pink bike. I hurried over to take a look at it. Looks like it was hardly ever used and it's a Raliegh. The kind you can get at REI for about 130-150$. I got it for $25 bucks. Sweet! Katelyn's birthday is just around the corner.



Next, I came upon this bike trailer (that actually can be used as a stroller as well -a jogging stroller even). We have been wanting one of these for a while. I got it for a whopping $20 bucks.
So excited.



Once again, we could only hook it up to MY bike. (This was also the case with the baby bike seat we had). But that's ok. I took the girls for a spin the other night and it was a lot of fun. Yay for yard sales! (Katelyn got that pink princess bucket at one of the houses and it hasn't left her side since).

they are perfect

these are the two sweetest girls I could ever have hoped for.



I couldn't resist this cute shirt. perfect timing for mother's day. I'm pretty sure she is in love with me :)


I love this baby! She has always made me laugh, from the very beginning.


My sweet Katelyn. She has grown up so much in the last year. I love this brown-eyed girl.

tooth #P is here too!

Sometimes I listen to a Christian radio station while I am in the car and every now and then when I am at home. I like to see what other churches are talking about. Most of the time there are really good messages being shared. The other day I caught part of a discussion about dinosaurs which I thought was kind of odd. Odd that there would be an entire discourse devoted to the discussion of whether or not there really were dinosaurs and how the Bible proves it. I guess I didn't see the importance of a topic like that. ANYWAY. On the other hand I listened to a message about "gifts". The gifts that we are all individually bestowed by God. The main thing that I took from it was how often times we tend to judge others based on the fact that their gift is not like ours. I think this is so true. It is easy for us to judge others and even find fault because we can see their differences from us, as weaknesses. Instead, when someone is different than us, we should remind ourselves that that is "just the way God made them". Basically, we ought to take it more easy on each other. It's hard to do sometimes.

it's here!

She got her first tooth today!!!! You can feel just the tip of her lower left central incisor, or tooth #O.

Bread making party

Today I had some friends over for a bread making party. I'm not the most proficient at making bread, so I figured 4 or 5 heads was better than one. It also gave the kids a chance to play. 4 toddlers and 5 babies. It was great!


(Alicia, Jen, Bethany)


Valerie (thanks for kneading)



After last week's healthy eating class, I decided I want to start making my own whole wheat bread. I found a recipe online for 100% whole wheat bread. There was only one problem with the recipe involving the yeast, but we were able to figure it out. Also, the recipe said you could either use honey, molasses, or maple syrup. I chose to try the molasses. It made the bread a really beautiful dark brown color. I believe I finally figured out the knack of rising my dough in the oven. Worked out great this time. Just look at these beautiful, big, bad boys! The best part is that it tastes really good too :)

alaina jane

Alaina is now eight months old!
We just love her squishy cheeks.
She loves to jabber, slobber, crawl, put everything in her mouth.
She is a very curious baby and is fairly easily distracted.
She still has no teeth.
She appears to have a bit of a temper, but is a very happy baby all at the same time.
We love when she smiles really big and her nose gets all scrunchy.
She is very, very wiggly. This makes diaper/outfit changes a bit challenging.
She growls, or at least that is what is sounds like. It's a happy noise though.
We are so glad Alaina is a part of our family.
Time...where does it go?

thinking about....

The other night at church we had a class on healthy eating. It was really, really interesting. A bit overwhelming for me, but I was very intrigued and interested in some of the things that were talked about. For example: Did you know that you are supposed to soak nuts before eating them? I had never heard of this. Here is something from a website I found while searching this topic after I came home....

The main reason soaking nuts and seeds is so important is because they contain enzyme inhibitors.

The purpose of these enzyme inhibitors is to protect the nut or seed until it has what it needs for growing.

Nature allowed the inhibitors and toxic substances to be easily removed when the conditions (enough rain and sun) were met.

In nature, when it rains the nut gets enough moisture so it can germinate and produce a plant. The plant then continues to grow with the sunlight.

By soaking nuts and seeds, you release these toxic enzyme inhibitors AND increase the life and vitality contained within them!

The Benefits of Soaking Nuts and Seeds

• Enzyme inhibitors get neutralized.
• The amount of vitamins your body can absorb increases.
• Gluten breaks down so digestion is much easier.
• Phytic acid, which inhibits the absorption of vital minerals, is reduced.

Soaking times vary with the nut. Generally the more dense the nut, the longer the soaking time. Ideally, soaking should be done at room temperature.

Anyway, I had no idea! There were a lot of really good ideas that night as well as some really cool demonstrations and tasty recipes. I have decided I really would like to get a grain mill attachment for my kitchen aid as well as a dehydrator.