Sunday, September 27, 2009

Huckleberry Hike











Saturday, we took off right after breakfast, and headed to the Jewel Basin for some hiking. It was a beautiful clear day, but kind of chilly. When we arrived at Camp Misery parking lot, we chose the Twin Lakes hike, and started off. The info said it was 2.5 miles to the lakes. The kids started out well, and then we found huckleberries, and they wouldn't keep going happy unless they were stocked up! Luckily, I had thought ahead, and brought a couple extra bags for them... needless to say, we did not make it to the lakes... we might have made it 3/4 mile or maybe one mile into the hike... but we did come back with a half of a gallon bag full of huckleberries, and the kids probably ate that many by themselves!
We only had one little mishap, and that was that Colton forgot to tell us when he had to go potty, so when he had to go so bad, and was trying to get his pants down, he peed all over them! So... we stopped for lunch, laid out his pants to dry, and covered him up with our picnic blanket (which happens to be my baby blanket!) They dried, we recovered, and headed back to the van.

A GREAT way to spend a Saturday. And then, we had huckleberry waffles this morning... and they were every bit as delicious as they sound!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Granola and sprinklers



Today was the first time since spring that we made granola! The kids love to help me pour and scoop, and it is pretty easy, so I let them! I love homemade granola for breakfast... yummm! Quin, the little girl I watch (I watch her little brother, too), was here to help also...
and then later...
they all decided to get their swimsuits on and run through the sprinklers in the front yard after lunch. They all had a great time.
I cut Ayla's bangs yesterday and I think they look so cute... kind of punkish, but adorable. I was thinking of giving her a bob, but I haven't fully decided yet.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ayla is in the local paper!


My sweet little munchkin found herself (with me in the background) on the front page of our local paper The Daily Interlake. We had a play group type thing at a local organic farm, Raven Ridge, that is having a fundraiser, and the reporters happened to be there while we were volunteering. Here is the article. (Hopefully)
We had the task of removing a hoop house (small greenhouse thing) of basil, and transferring it to the compost pile. BUT... we got to keep as much of the basil as we wanted. So the kids and I pulled out a couple rows... well, I pulled them out, and the kids (if you look closely at the picture, Ayla's baby doll is actually "helping" too, she insisted!) took them to the wheelbarrow. And then we grabbed a couple plants and headed home to make some pesto. Colton helped with the simple recipe, and we ate some for dinner, YUMM!
It was fun to see that we were on the front page though!

On a VERY sad note, I am sad to say, that a close friend of Tyler's family lost her battle with melanoma today. She was only 30 years old! Married, with 2 young kids and a full life in front of her. Check your moles... you can't be too careful! Tell your loved ones to check their moles.

Monday, September 21, 2009

I have never used any sort of attachment with my Kitchenaid, and today I used a slicer/shredder that I borrowed from Jill. AND I love it! It really helped reducing the huge pile of zucchini I had adding up by the day! I think I shredded about 8-10 pretty big sized zucchinis and came out with about 22 cups of shredded stuff! We made two loaves of zucchini bread and shared it with a friend that dropped by just in time! Thanks Jill! I am putting it on my wishlist, for the simple fact that unfortuneately I won't always be your neighbor!




Friday, September 18, 2009

Swimming in the pool




Tyler decided to hook the hose up to the sink, so the kids could have some warm water in their pool.... sucker! But the kids ABSOLUTELY loved it! They played in it for about an hour, and did not want to get out. Ayla is a little daredevil, and didn't fear going down the slide at all; she even jumped off of it! We told her don't go too crazy! Colton is cool and collected, and really just loved laughing at his sister... he is good at that.

The kids and I have been solo for the last couple days, and I have been trying to just have fun with the kids, so I don't go completely insane! (I can't believe what single mothers go through!) We had raspberries for snack today, and "raspberry hands" came to be... such goofy rascals!


We had a baby appointment today; we are 16 weeks along, and everything is great. The heart rate was 130ish today, last time it was 150ish... so he/she was just relaxing. Ayla also had her 2 year appointment: She was 77% for height, and 50% for weight. She is growing like a weed. A couple months ago, we measured her at our house, and she had grown almost 3 inches in 2 months! (Please allow room for error in this!!) On the downside, Ayla and I had to get our flu shots today; but we both did great... Ayla only let out a little cry, and then a sticker got her mind off it (and promise of some chocolate!)
Love these kids, but can't wait for Tyler to be home in the morning!!!!!!!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Little Ayla turns 2!


Today is awesome! Ayla has had such a great day with our family, just celebrating what a great little girl she is! Tyler and I decorated a little last night (the balloons, birthday banner, and presents), and Ayla did her part and acted surprised and in awe when she came down the stairs! It takes such little effort to bring such big smiles!

What more could a little girl want? Balloons, ice cream cake, chips for lunch, spaghetti (homemade from a special secret recipe from Aunt Danielle! Thank you!!) for dinner, and birthday presents all for her!

I love my special, wonderful, beautiful, crazy, independent, stubborn, fantastic little Ayla.

Happy 2nd Birthday to Mya too!

Birthday banner that I painstakingly made for the kiddoes! I love it!
Breakfast: english muffin cut-outs with egg in the middle. Yum!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

It's my Birthday!

Today is going to be a wonderful day..... I didn't realize before a couple days ago that this years birthday was going to be extra special; it is the only year that will be 09-09-09, and I think it is called my Golden Birthday (but not the 50 years old one!) I am only 29! So today is my special birthday. I went to bed last night with a sore back, and woke up without one! Birthday present number one!
However, Tyler's boss is in town for today, so he will be gone all day. Bummer! Tonight he is making some big juicy steaks and mashed potatoes. I am super excited for that! Craving steak... must be anemic!
Today also is another milestone of sorts. We are almost 15 weeks pregnant, and I am wearing maternity pants for the first time! (this pregnancy) I have been putting it off and I bought a pair of jeans a size too big, but the jeans' waistband felt tight, even though it wasn't tight.... so I gave in. And I am okay with it.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Our last (probably) camping trip of the season :(



This last weekend, we decided to take off for one more camping trip... at 830pm! We weren't sure where we were going to end up, it being labor day weekend and all; so we started down to the Holland Lake Recreational Area. We were told it was beautiful there, and we had been meaning to go there all summer. Well, we got to that campground around 930pm and it was full.... so we headed further south towards Seeley Lake and stopped at the next campground we saw called Lake Alva campground. We took the first site that was open (site number 4), set up tent, and took the sleeping kids from the van to the tent, and we all went to sleep....
Waking up the next morning, we were pleasantly surprised with the beautiful campground. We were surrounded by tall trees, and we couldn't even see our neighbors (unless we looked carefully) It was great! The kids had a fabulous time riding their bikes around the spacious site, and Colton and Tyler built a very intricate pine cone operation that kept them occupied for HOURS! Look closely at the pictures and you will see how talented they are.

We had a fantastic time, even with the slight rain one of the nights, and the site ranks right up there for our favorite camping trip this whole year! We even saw another bald eagle fishing on the lake... they are really magnificent birds, aren't they?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Isn't this sweet?


I found these two asleep on the couch after a long day of "nothing"! Tyler was home feeling sick, and Colton was just so happy that his daddy was home!