Bear Lake Family Time

Getting kids home and bathed and all of us fed after days at the beach was always kind of crazy but there was still a little time for fun before bed. The first night after the beach Marissa had a pinata for everyone which is always fun to watch but I didn't get pictures because I had to keep Owen away from the bat at all times haha - needless to say, the kids went to bed a little later that night due to all the candy and fun ;) But the next night we did bubbles in the yard which was a total hit too!

Even the dads got in on the fun :) Owen is looking so much older in this bottom picture to me and he sure loves his big cousin Ike!

After the kids went to bed the adults got to have the famous raspberry shakes - which Devin and I have determined that Quick and Tasty was better than Zips or Bear Lake Pizza Co but we never did get to go to Le Beau's this time, so we'll have to try again next year, or just convince his dad to make his own because his are better than all of them ;)

Wednesday night we played the whisper challenge game where someone puts on headphones with loud music playing so they can't hear and they have to read our lips to guess what phrase we're saying. Each of us takes a turn saying the phrase and they have to repeat what they think it is after every person - so funny! The person with headphones on was always SO loud or talking really funny. Some of our funnier ones:
"World's greatest farter" - strings and forks
"Born in Pennsylvania" -  Portland?
"I don't want it to suffer" - I don't want kids ever
"Shari does the dew" - "Shari doesn't like you? Shari does like me!"
And when Heather was the guesser and the phrase was "These pretzels are making me thirsty" she just started dying laughing because she knew what it was and the Seinfeld reference had her in tears.

The last night Laura had these posters with ancestor pictures on it and she had some really cool stories from their life that she read and each couple had to take turns guessing which ancestor went with that story. I was impressed with how many Devin and his siblings knew and it was really inspiring to keep reading and learning more about my own. Of course it was even more fun to get Neil's famous prizes after each one. You never knew if you were going to get a gift card or some handy device/gadget from his "stash" aka closet :) always a good surprise though!

Dinner/breakfasts were rotated between families for who was in charge but planning for 25 people usually leaves quite a bit of leftovers so Friday morning before check out was kind of a free-for-all/clean out the fridge. How cute are these two girls enjoying their last breakfast together on the deck? I have always thought Rose reminds me of Ava but wow, especially in this picture.

Kind of a random assortment of pictures that weren't beach related but that I still wanted to document because it's amazing how fast these kids grow up and the things we forget but there was so much effort to make it happen and it really does go by so fast! Pin It

Mother's Day (Saturday) at Capital City Market

Devin knows that I love going to farmer's markets and he particularly doesn't so he watched Ava Saturday morning while I went downtown. Not going to lie, it was nice to be by myself and look at whatever I wanted for however long I wanted and buy...whatever I wanted haha! It was my Mother's Day gift :)

^^How do you people who go to farmer's markets and take beautiful pictures of everything not feel totally awkward? Do you do it all with your iPhone instead of a big black DSLR that makes people feel like they're actually getting shot at? haha I seriously felt like such a creeper.  But this guy was so nice and told me all about Brioche dough so I had to get his booth.

^^Basking in beautiful morning weather and people and food and pretty things...in peace!

The Goods

Thanks to some Mother's Day specials a lot of the the booths were having: I got a bag of fresh made pasta, a little bag of delicious toffee, jars of yummy caramel sauce, some natural baby ointment for rashes, acne, dry scalp (we'll see if it works), and this yummy caramel nut roll made with brioche dough, which is a little different than normal bread dough and it was delicious! I saved it to have for breakfast on Mother's Day :)  As you can see, I'm not one of those people who sees spending money on food and treats a waste of money. It really does make me happy!


And so do flowers...I was so happy to pick up this basket of begonias before the weekend came.  This instantly draws my eyes up from all the work that needs to be done to our lawn and I love the light pinks and creams and greens against our olive-colored-house

And even though it was nice to take a break from mommy time on Saturday morning, I sure do love being this girl's momma, she surprises me everyday with new things I love about her.  And I can't wait to see how my love grows and changes when we add our little boy in just 3 months!

Pin It

Memorial Day 2013 | Camping

MEET:

Tuck and Koa

                                                                                    Ava                                                                                  Holland

Madison

As you can see, we had this awesome portable high chair that all the girls (and parents, obvi) loved! My mom sent it to us for Ava's half birthday - which was the perfect timing for how much we plan to use it this summer!

Devin and Patrick rocked the tin foil dinners while the girls made the peach cobbler in the dutch oven.  No to self (actually, Devin): don't leave tin foil dinner on chair, unattended, near carnivorous canines. Or if the said canines are going to be tied up anyway, tie them up away from your food. 

Sleeping:

The high the day we were there was only about 58 so the night time was chilly! However, Devin bought a "Buddy Heater" before we went, so our tent stayed nice and warm. Oh how I loved that heater!  We slept on our air mattress with Ava in between us.  I had her pjs layered pretty good, then Emma let me borrow the adorable little fleece bear suit seen below to put over her pjs.  THEN we put her in Devin's North Face down vest - it was like her own little sleeping bag :) She was nice and toasty and slept SO good! 

This is Ava waking up at 7 am, such a happy camper :)

Race, Emma, and Holland were in our tent with us, so these girlies were so happy to see that they had a friend to play with in the morning!

We forgot a spatula for the eggs/sausage in the morning so Patrick made a makeshift spatula out of tin foil wrapped around our saw.  Genious!

^^Sleepy girls going on a walk to the hot springs

There were hot springs just a short walk away from our campsite! There were some small pools and then one larger pool that you had to wade through the chilly river to get to , but so worth it because it had this amazing waterfall that showered hot water down on you in large droplets.  Amazing!

The campground was called Pine Flats and we loved it because we could hear the river from where we were.  All we had to do was walk a couple yards from the fire and look down the hill to the river.  It was close to where we were rafting, had a nice fire pit, outhouse, and not too many other campsites so it was really quiet!

Pin It

Claire Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

I turned 23 on Friday!  It seems like it's been party central around here with all the fun Halloween things to do and getting ready for baby, I love having a fall birthday!

Devin and I went to Denny's on Friday morning because they give you a free grand slam (with ID).  After he went to work, I met up with some girls and pretty much shopped til I dropped!
1. Other Mothers' consignment shop was having a huge 25 cent sale that me and Annie hit up and I got a TON of cute onesies/clothes for the baby, a diaper genie, and a baby bathtub all for $12.50. Score!
2. Cafe Rio for lunch with Tyne, Annie, and Erin who was so sweet to drop by and visit and gave me a super cute apron!  Cafe Rio gave me a free Tres Leches with my meal AND I just asked for a water cup but the girl at the cash register gave me a soda cup "just in case you change your mind, since it's your birthday"!
3. Got my eyebrows done at the Brow Bar at Ulta.  Loved the girl who did it, we talked baby, labor, and delivery which seems to be the majority of my conversations with people as of late.
4. Went to the mall and met up with Tyne at the Body Shop where Devin got me a groupon - we picked out some scented oils to put in our oil warmer.  Tried it last night and the house smelled amazing!  Then I headed over to Romy and got a super cute dress for $10 - Devin took some maternity pics of me in it yesterday which I'll put up soon!
5. Devin met me at Cheesecake Factory for dinner, thanks to Heather who sent me a gift card!  We split the Chicken Madeira/Steak platter (I just said, anything that comes with mashed potatoes...like always haha) and it was delicious!

6. Stopped at Cabela's my favorite store ;) Jk, dropped Devin off at Cabela's while I perused TJ Maxx and DSW but we weren't there long because I wanted to get home and open PRESENTS!
7. Opened presents:  Super soft bath robe (heavenly), awesome cutting board with treats, Pride and Prejudice (6 hour on DVD - It was strange to hold something so small that used to come in 6 VHS!), comfy socks, baby clothes, and a really warm cover for the carseat! My parents sent me money that contributed to all of my birthday fun as well as a much needed future haircut and possibly some new shoes or fun thing I don't know I need yet :)
8. Watched Shawshank Redemption on our clearplay.  I probably would have chosen a chick flick but we have a stack of movies we're borrowing from some friends that we wanted to put a dent in and this had the most potential to me out of those.  If you like Prison Break,which you can read about our recent obsession HERE, you will love this movie.  I thought it was really good!

Devin was so clever and went on Pinterest for my gift idea.  I have a "printables" board of quotes and things that I like so he got two things printed and put in really cute, white frames for our kitchen.  I love it!  My new camera lens is also from him, which we got for a steal off of craigslist.  Devin is the best gift giver I know!

For future reference on BIRTHDAYS

Awesome "free" birthday things to take advantage of:
-If you are an Ulta Rewards Member (free, you just sign up for e-mails and stuff) you get a free brow wax by their "arch specialist" on your birthday.  She was fantastic :)
-Free grand slam or build your own from Denny's on your birthday (with ID)
-Free Redbox code (they e-mail it to you, so you have to be signed up)
- If you are a DSW (shoes) member, they e-mail you a $5 coupon to use the month of your birthday.
-Tucanos - free meal the month of your birthday! (Have to sign up before the month of your birthday, they mail you a card) We went there a couple weeks ago with Devin's parents, grandma, and Talane after going to the Boise Temple open house :)
- Baskin Robins e-mails you a free scoop of ice cream coupon
-Noodles & Co. sends e-mail for free birthday meal (there aren't any in Idaho so I couldn't use mine :( )

There are so many more, these are just ones that I took advantage of or had sent to my inbox. 

Pin It

You've Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

DEVIN TURNED

26 

on Saturday!

Above is a pic from his last birthday...good times :)  (no, I didn't get him flowers for his birthday)

 I don't think Devin would say it's the best birthday ever but we tried to do the best with what we had.  Unfortunately our last 8 hour long classroom training session (for tour driving) fell on his birthday.  However, it is located right next to Denny's, where they give you a free Grand Slam! on your birthday...who knew?!

...and a trick candle :)

After coming home from priesthood session he finally got to open presents!!

Recap of his 25th year: Got engaged (on his birthday!) went to Philadelphia (twice), went to France, got married, became a bus driver, got knee surgery.  Quite eventful!  Here's to the next year to come :)

Pin It

Friday: No work, no class, no problem!

That's right...we finally had a day off! With the threats of snow coming next week, we decided that we better take advantage of the wonderful weather we've been having and give me a chance to try out my new hiking/camping gear. Desination: Rock Canyon. It was quite the spur of the moment decision....but we were surprisingly quick and prepared in our travels. I was deemed "gatherer" while Devin started a mean fire (it really was mean...lots of damp wood because of recent snows in the canyon and it was tough to get anything to catch fire). Finally after getting some coals, we cooked the tin foil dinner Devin prepared. Having no meat that was thawed (hence the spontaneous decision to go), he put in some turkey bacon which we discovered tastes like popcorn when it gets a little burnt - obviously we were fighting for those pieces :) We love tin-foil dinners and decided they're too good to only have when camping.

For Devin's sake, I will show you a partial product of our silly pictures in the tent...if you know Devin, there are more where these came from.

We woke up to a beautiful surrounding that we didn't exactly get to see when we got up there because it was really dark. Also, on our hike down we were amazed at the beautiful view of Utah Lake and the valley.

Final stop: Provo Bakery = DELICIOUS! According to Devin, they have the BEST donuts in town. I would have to agree with him. Apple fritter, crumb donut, and chocolate milk, of course.

Pin It