Tickle Torture!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks or so. It was a fun summer, even when we were just giving tickle tortures at home, in fact sometimes those are the best times.

I Love This Girl!

Francesca is getting bigger and cuter every day! I can't believe she will be four months old next week! She smiles and sometimes giggles, even at the boys. She loves tummy time and loves to play in her new garden party exersaucer. I wouldn't sell her for a million bucks.

Crystal Gayle

This is Crystal Gayle. She was one of my favorite singers when I was a little girl. I used to listen to her tape over and over again.

A few weeks ago my dad took me and my sister to her concert. It was awesome. Twenty years later she still has the chops! and the ridiculously long hair!

We even got her to autograph my cd! Super cool!

It was a super fun daddy-daughter-daughter date.

My brother Mark took me out for a brother sister date fro my b-day present. It was fun, too. I am so grateful that I have good relationships with my siblings and parents. It means a lot to me. Thanks guys! :)

My Little Gardener

I know I just made a post about Michael but hey, he is one cute kid. These pictures say a thousand words.

My fave recent Michael quotes

"It smells like coloring book in here."
"But, but Marissa is crazy."
"Look at that mess! Look at this mess!"
"There is sooo many monster trucks, I like 'em."
"I can see catfish jumping."
"This is crazy and weird."
"This is not fun."
"If I do that one more time, then I'm going in time out?"
"Panthers are scary. Sometimes dads have to shoot them because they are scary."

and just from last night: "...and we're thankful for this day, and we're thankful for this wonderful day..."

My Hero

My mother's mother is one of my heroes. She is cheerful and fun and delightfully well rounded. She has eight children and about 30 grandchildren and about 19 great-grandchildren. She and my grandpa have been married for over 60 years. She was in a ladies singing group called Sweet Adelines for years. I inherited my love of board games and puzzles from her, among other things. When I am with her we laugh a lot and have lots of fun. She has always supported me in whatever I have done. I love her. I hope to be like her someday.

The Challenge of Dinner

Making dinner is important. First of all, it is a good time to bond with your family. Studies show kids who eat dinner at home with their family do better in life. Another reason to make dinner at home is because eating out can break the budget. Also, you can serve more nutritious meals at home if you choose. But it can be quite the challenge. The time. the effort. the cooking ability. I am starting to realize that all it takes is some planning, trying new recipes, thinking outside the box, and buying chicken when it's on sale.

Here we are little newlyweds, not knowing that the simple act of making dinner would become such a big part of our lives. I started out making spaghetti 2-3 times a week. I didn't really know how to make too much else. But Justin was happy.

Then I got brave and made homemade lasagne. Justin actually loved it!Then I read this book. It didn't really tell me how to make good dinners but it did tell me why I should make dinner. I highly recommend this book to any married woman.

And then I had kids. Making dinner for kids is a whole different ballgame, especially if you have picky eaters like I do. If you have any tips for feeding kids, please send them my way.

My dad taught me a few things about making yummy dinners as a child. This is him showing us how to make sushi. He is an excellent exotic foods chef.

Here is one of our favorite dinners, yellow chicken curry with black rice.

I ordered this cookbook off of Amazon a few weeks ago. It has a ton of great info on cooking basics.

I recently had a goal of making a two week mealplan but when I sat down to write it, I realized it can be easier than this. I just wrote down about a dozen of our favorite healthy dinners that we had all the ingredients of. Instead of assigning a dinner to each night I am going to pick one then cross it off until the whole list is made. I have realized that if I don't have the ideas up then I resort to mac and cheese or frozen pizza, just because I can't think of anything to make. I am discovering making meals from scratch can save a lot of money and trips to the grocery store. What meals are your favorite to make from scratch? Do you have a hard time figuring out what to make for dinner, too? Or is it just me? Anyway, wish me luck on feeding my family better food for less money without sacraficing the taste. Here goes...

Side Note: I have come to realize this whole blog thing is basically like our family journal. It's amazing. Sorry if some posts bore you but I've realized I blog to keep a family record of our lives and it is such a fun thing to go back and see what we did on a birthday or how our day to day life is going. Why do you blog?

Two Already?

My sweet little Wesley had a birthday, so we threw him a fiesta. Here is his two-tier cake.
That is a "W" in case you were wondering.

Here is my sister and her three daughters. It is so nice that they live a lot closer now so it is a lot easier for them to come to stuff like this.

And this is my dear friend Lilian holding Francesca.

The kids loved licking the columns after the cake was gone.

Including Michelangelo.

Here is my niece Savannah, playing with one of Wesley's presents.

After the main party we did a few fireworks.

Wesley even did his own sparkler. With help from Justin of course.

Latest family photo.

Wesley loves his cousin Ella Brielle. They are just nine weeks apart.

Wesley loves his new Little Tikes Guitar.

Kids playing in the front yard after the party.

Me and my girl.

She was in a really good mood that night.

I love this picture. I often find him playing on his own, concentrating so hard.

Lisa and Francy.

These boats have been some of Wesley's favorite presents.

Wesley's grandparents came over a few days later and had a grandparent birthday party but I don't have many pics from that day. All in all it was a really fun birthday. :)

It makes me so happy

...to see someone else find their soulmate! Yay for Jillian and Ed! They seem genuinely happy and in love.

The Great Outdoors

Here are pictures from our camping trip/family reunion we attended recently. It was a beautiful campsite and the fresh air was very refreshing. The kids spent many hours with their cousins hiking and pretending. We spent a lot of time near the campfire getting reaquainted with family we haven't seen in a while. I heart camping!