Things I am proud of...

I have been working on my cooking skills lately, and I have to admit, I have made some yummy stuff. It may not look the beautiful in the picture (and JD thinks I am a nut for taking pictures of food)but this stuff really was tasty!


I got the idea for broccoli cheese soup from eating at Jason's Deli one too many times.


Stuffed Pork Tenderloin..Mmmm


JD and I have also been working hard at our garden...here are some of the fruits of our labor...

My herb garden! Yay! The cilantro, parsley, and a little bit of sage came up (I have way too much if anyone wants some) but I am going to have to re-plant the basil and oregano.


Yes, we grew carrots! This is just a preview of what they will be. I have had to pick a few to thin the crop and make room for them to grow really big, and this is what I picked! How fun is this?!?


This is what our garden looked like a week or two ago. Things are much taller now. Emma is sitting by the tomatoes and strawberries helping herself to the strawberry patch. The carrots in the front are a lot taller, and our lettuce just keeps coming back!


STRAWBERRIES! My favorite! I go out and pick a handful of strawberries almost everyday!

AND OF COURSE....

My baby girl sitting in a bucket!

EASTER

We went down to Thatcher for the Easter weekend and had so much fun! My oldest brother, his wife and two kids also made it down for the family fun. We spent the weekend relaxing, feeding ducks, playing games (and wii), going to church, having an easter egg hunt, and eating some yummy food. Thanks to Mom and Dad for letting us stay with you and taking care of all of us. We took a few family photos on Sunday, but the rest I will have to get from my mom.

Family Photo=Bleh


We had to feed Emma and her cousin Benjamin chocolate to try and get them to pose...didn't work to well


Here is Emma practicing for the easter egg hunt

The PC and me!

Okay guys, I am really going to do it. Starting April 1st I will be selling Pampered Chef. They have gadgets and gizmo's of plenty. Whosits and whatsits galore. Anyway...they sucked me in. I love the stuff. So, this is my official announcement. If anyone would like to have a show (for a kitchen show i would actually go in to your home or do it at my home and the other option is a catalouge show where you just give your friends the info and most of it is done by phone) or if you need just a random thing or two, I'm your gal! Just let me know if anyone is interested and in what.

Valentine's Day

This year JD and I had a pretty low key Valentine's Day. We weren't doing gifts and so it was mostly about spending time with eachother. JD Surprised me with a boquet of beautiful flowers the Thursday before Valentine's Day and I was so excited about getting to enjoy them open on Valentine's Day. I had been watching the food network a ton before this and JD and I had both started drooling when we saw someone make asian dumplings. Mmmm. I decided I would try my hand at it for the big day and just see how it worked out. I actuall went to an asian market for some of the ingredients. It was a really neat store. All kinds of things you aren't used to seeing in a store like Frys or Bashas. We ate dumplings and Emma ate pizza. It was a really good day! We did a Friday-Saturday celebration, so Friday was the dinner and Saturday we went and saw a movie. I love that there is a day set aside for pink and hearts and I guess to show love :) JD thinks it all is a bit silly, but I still like it.

My attempt at making a romantic looking dinner


Some of these were crispy, but I actually liked the crunch (not saying that just because I messed up)


My pretty flowers openening up


E-monster sharing with Belle

Aunt Cindy

I waited and waited to post anything about this because I just didn't know what to say. My cousins have all said it best in their blogs, but I still have felt like I would like to say something about my mom's youngest sister. Last Tuesday around 6 am I got a phone call from my mom telling me that my Aunt Cindy had died that morning. She had battled with a rare blood disorder for somewhere close to nine years, and this past year she had a bone marrow transplant that doctor's were hoping would take care of her condition. There were so many complications after her transplant, but she never lost hope and always seemed to fight over each medical mountain that was placed in front of her. I saw her after her transplant, when she had no hair and was swollen because her kidneys weren't working right, but she was so happy and making jokes. It was hard to believe she was as sick as she was.
When my mom called me that Tuesday it hit me so hard. It hit the whole family hard. I had always expected a miracle, the one that would take away her pain and leave her healthy and strong and without disease. One of my cousins reminded me that she had so many little miracles throughout this disease. Her life was prolonged for who knows how much extra time, and that was a blessing and a miracle for her whole family.
My Aunt Cindy had the sweetest voice, once you heard it, you would never forget it. I have a million memories of things she has said to me or to others, and I am so glad I can remember that voice of hers! She was so kind and always cared about others before herself. She was a great example of being faithful and enduring to the end. I am so grateful to her and to my mother and all of my Aunt's for being the kind of women I can aspire to be. I just want her to know I love her and I am so glad has no more pain ans is healthy, strong, and without disease. I love you with all my heart Aunt Cindy!

Flowers and Spice and everything Nice

A few weeks ago JD and I decided to get things ready to plant our vegetable and flower garden this year. We also added a spice garden! I can never choose what flowers to get because I love them all. I made a second trip a week later and picked up some snap dragons and another narcissus. Am I a complete dork? Our herbs and spices haven't come up yet, maybe it's still too cold, but we have lettuce and strawberries and some baby carrot sprouts so far.
This is from the day I planted the garden...

This is what it looks like now. A little messy because of the wind and rain!

Little Miss Mischief

Emma has decided lately to get in to EVERYTHING. A few of her favorite things to do are pull all the books off the bookshelf and get in to the pantry to pull things off the shelves in there. I can usually keep her out of the places I don't want her to go by shutting the door, but now she can open the doors by herself! I thought we had the house baby proofed, but she managed to get in to one of our cupboards and drop my crock-pot top and it shattered! I have dropped that thing a million times and nothing has happened. Leave it up to a baby to figure out how to break things! Besides making messes she now opens the door to the laundry room and gets handfuls of the dog food to feed to Belle. So cute, but so dirty! Oh, what is a mom to do? I guess taking pictures is my only option.

I can't believe she is big enough to open doors!


This is a whole box of corn starch! Thanks for the help cooking, Emma!