Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today (Halloween) is my dad's Birthday! So I just wanted to tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love you and we'll see you later today!

GoInGs On......

Since I'm not the best at keeping a journal, this blog is the next best thing. So this post might bore some of you, but I just wanted to write down what our family is up to, and some of the cute things that Macie does because she is changing SO FAST!

Macie: She is getting to be such a big girl! She is 15 months old, but thinks she's way older than that! She LOVES to play with older kids, and mimics everything they do. She loves to help me cook dinner, bake cookies, do the dishes, and even clean! She has to be "helping" with everything, which I think is really cute, and I'm sure won't last as long as I wish it would.......like when she's old enough to actually help:) Actually the other day she made a puddle with her sippy and she went and grabbed a dish towel and tried to clean it up...so smart:) I chase her with the vacuum and she laughs so hard she can hardly run away. She loves us to chase her and play hide and seek, but she ALWAYS hides in the same spot....behind the chair. Daddy gives her horse rides and she laughs so hard she can hardly stay on his back. She LOVES her dad! When he comes home she RUNS to the door, and she will never turn him down when he asks for kisses, even if she is bawling! She's started to give us hugs too, which I think are even better than kisses. She is already SUCH a girl and loves to wear pretty things. When she has something on that she thinks is pretty she gets this little smirk on her face, puts her arms together, and walks around thinking she is SO BEAUTIFUL! It's so funny. She loves to sing songs, especially ones with actions....Itsy Bitsy Spider is her FAVORITE, and she asks me to sing it about 20 times a day. She thinks she can count, but all she says is, "Two, two, two, two...." Every time she or anyone else takes a drink she says, "Aaaaaaaah!" She loves music and dancing......she's got quite the moves. It's so funny how they just make their own moves, they make me laugh so hard sometimes. She is obsessed with going outside and playing with Jed & Jeannette's kitties. When she wants to go out she goes and gets her coat and shoes and says, "Oooooooooh!" She says that whenever she sees the cats. She is such a busy little girl and I am wondering how I am ever going to keep my house clean when I have a nursing baby and Macie having free range in the house. Any tips? She is starting to open the door handles, especially to the bathroom! She opens the door to the bathroom, shuts it, then opens the bottom drawer, which makes it impossible for me to get in! So I just have to sit there forever and try to talk her into shutting the drawer, which usually takes a while. It is so fun to watch her learn and grow, but it happens so fast! We love her to death, and are so happy that she came to join our family!

Reed: He is really busy lately between work, class, and his calling. He is taking a class at H&R Block this fall and is going to try to do some Taxes for them this tax season. He is such a hard worker, and I am so thankful he is mine:) Macie also loves him to death.

Julie: I am feeling almost back to normal, still just a little tired, but really nothing to complain about. We are really excited for this new baby, and I am pretty nervous too. I've just been trying to stay busy with little crafts and projects while Reed is gone, so if you have any good ideas, feel free to share. Last week I attempted to sew a shirt for Macie....Huge flop! But I'm trying again this week, so hopefully it will turn out better. Nothing huge is going on around here, but I thought I would update, mostly for our own sake.

Our Family......

Of FOUR!!!! We are so excited to let you know that we are expecting another baby at the end of April!(The 27th to be exact) I am 12 weeks pregnant, and feel so blessed to be adding another little one to our family.

FaVoRiTe SeAsOn.....

I LOVE the Fall! I also really love going on drives...I am always asking Reed to take me for drives. Last weekend he was SO nice and decided to take me for long beautiful drives all weekend long! We drove while we listned to Conference and were able to get out and walk around between sessions....PERFECT! On Saturday we drove to Palisades and then back to Swan Valley to Reed's Parents' cabin. Between sessions we went on a 4-wheeler ride that was GORGEOUS! Then on Sunday we drove to Cave Falls (by Ashton) and Mesa Falls (by Island Park). Both were beautiful, especially because of all the changing colors. But even though they were pretty, the drive was my favorite. In the Fall those mountain roads look like pictures on a calandar! It seems like this season is the very shortest, so I am so glad we got to spend all weekend out in gorgeous Fall scenery.

Mesa Falls...while we were walking down the stairs to see the falls there was a really pretty little spot for a picture:)

Mesa Falls

Mesa Falls

Mesa Falls

Cave Falls.....Yes, it is SNOWING!

Cave Falls

Swan Valley 4-Wheeler ride

Reed's Parents on 4-Wheeler ride

4-Wheeler ride

4-Wheeler ride

Up by Palisades

Up by Palisades

Palisades Lake

Half Marathon....

My friend Ashley (and Reed) Talked me into signing up for a half marathon in
Pocatello. I thought Ashley was crazy!! But I ended up signing up anyway:) Last weekend was the big run, and it was so fun to be able to accomplish that. To some that might not seem like a big deal (half-marathon), but to me it was a huge deal! I did better than I thought I would by about a half hour, but it was also a lot harder than I thought it would be........due to the HILLS! Next time I will train for those:) Reed was so sweet and came to just about every drink station to cheer me on! Thank you Ashley and Reed for helping me step out of my comfort zone and do something challenging. I definitely will do it again!


Ashley's sister Kortney made headbands for Reed and Macie that said "GO JULIE!" and "GO MOMMY!". Thank you Kortney!


Me and Ashley getting bussed to the starting line....a little nervous:)


Me, Ashley and Amber after we finished!

Canning....

My parents grow an amazing garden, so they are always nice and share their fruit and veggies with me:) Last year I canned apple pie filling(Delicious), peaches, and nectarines.....all grown by them! This year wasn't a good fruit year, but I was able to try out my bran new pressure canner (thank you Jody & Donna), and can beans and pickles! And tomorrow I am going to can tomato Juice with my mom. Thank you Mom and Dad for sharing, hopefully next year I will have more from my own garden. Here are some pictures of the goods.....I get so proud of myself because I'm still learning:)

Camping & Huckleberry Picking!

We love to go camping as a family! And this last weekend we were able to go for about the 5th or 6th time this summer. Fall is our favorite though, so we are still looking forward to a few more camping trips! This camping trip was up past Kelly Canyon, somewhere we seem to go a lot. The HUCKLEBERRIES were still on, so we got to pick some of those too. I had no idea that there were so many berry bushes up there. We just walked a few yards from our camper and were able to pick right there! Macie loved to eat them, and even picked them herself once Daddy showed her how to find them. So the whole time we picked, Macie picked....and ate:)

tHe GaRdEn...

This year we are sharing a garden with Jed and Jeannette(Reed's brother & his wife), and it is doing WAY better than last year! So far we have been able to get beets, peas, some tiny carrots from thinning them out, zucchini, yellow squash, a couple tomatoes, potatoes! I took a picture of some of the food I picked because the garden is a little out of control:) And soon to come......lots of tomatoes, potatoes, spaghetti squash(I think), pumpkins, more zucchini, and more yellow squash. Did I forget anything Jeannette? Sadly to say, my carrots are gone. Some kind of animal came and ate all the tops off one day:( Some day I hope to grow a garden as good as my parents! Their garden produces TONS of food, way more than they can use by themselves, so they always share. Thank you Mom and Dad for the yummy veggies!

5 Years!!

Today is Reed's and my 5th anniversary, I cannot believe it's been five years already! I am so lucky to have such a great husband, so I just wanted to brag on him for a second.....Reed is such a hard worker and a great provider for our little family. He's also really SMART! I am always asking him a million questions, and he always seems to know the answer! Our personalities are almost opposite....he's brought me out of my shell a lot. He has such a friendly and outgoing personality, and that's how I want to be. He eats all of my dinners and tells me, "Thank you for dinner, it was good." Even when they're not. He honors his Priesthood and leads our family in the right direction. He loves me and Macie, and always shows it, so we never have to wonder. I am SO thankful for such a good husband, I got SO LUCKY! I love you babe.......Happy 5th Anniversary!

Our Little Baby Girl Is Not A Baby Anymore!

I can't believe it, but Macie turned one yesterday! She had a great birthday that she absolutely LOVED! She loved the attention, and (even though you weren't supposed to get her them) she loved her gifts! She has had a ball playing with them all night last night, and all day today. The first thing she did this morning was play with all her new toys, so thank you! I made Macie her own special little cake for her to dig into, thinking this would be her favorite part of the whole day! But she didn't like getting frosting on her hands, so she ate it with a fork! Go figure. Our little girl is no longer a baby, and has been growing up so fast the last few weeks! She's walking all over and won't even crawl anymore. She knows how to say about six words (that I can think of right now) which are: Mama, Dada, Uh-oh, NO NO No, Kitty, and Wass-att(what's that). Oh, and HI! Make that seven:) Macie is learning how to fold her arms for prayer, which is SO CUTE, but it only lasts a few seconds. She loves to wave and dance and give big cheesy grins. When she's in the right mood she'll maul you with hugs and kisses. She also LOVES to pretend to talk on the phone and read books. I love listening to her baby jabber that she thinks is words. She also loves playing in the water, following Daddy all around the house when he gets home from work, and helping me cook dinner. Don't get me wrong, she also loves to throw tantrums:) But we love her do death and are so happy to have her in our lives. Happy Birthday Macie!



Opening her first birthday present...


Which was a new BALL!


More unwrapping gifts...


Aunt Sonja got her these glasses because she likes to play with everyone else's. Macie loves them and even loves to wear them!


It took her forever to eat her cake because she was taking tiny bites with her fork!

Camping and Big Judd's!

A couple weeks ago we went camping up by Ashton. On our way we stopped to eat at Big Judd's because Macie and I had never been there. Thank heavens we all split the meal because it was even huger than I thought it would be. When Reed was in high school I think he ate that thing (and the fries, drink, and I think an ice cream cone) three times! Anyway, it was fun to finally go there. Reed's uncle has some property up past there that they made into a really nice camping area. It's on a little private lake, and it's beautiful! In the morning we went out on the lake in a little paddle boat, and in the afternoon we went on a little four-wheeler ride which was kind of fun, but mostly HOT! We had a really good time and I can't wait to go back in the fall when the leaves are changing!


Macie at Big Judd's...I think she was amazed at the size of that hamburger!





Macie eating her part of our HUGE burger.


Here is a picture (not a very good one) of the little lake up at Reed's uncle's property.


This is one of the 16 turtles that we saw on the lake.

SoMe CuTe PiCtUrEs...

Our little girl did not used to be a snuggler. I always wanted her to be, but she didn't like it. But lately she has gotten a lot better about it. So here is a cute picture of her and her Daddy.


Macie LOVES the water! One day I was doing dishes and it got quiet in my house, so I went to look for Macie. I found her in the laundry room sitting in her floaty! I thought it was way funny that she figured out how to get in it all by herself.

4th of July and Macie's First Steps!

I know it's a little late, but we had a good 4th of July, so I am finally getting around to posting it. During the day we went down to Firth for a little family reunion/BBQ at my parents house. Macie LOVED being surrounded by so many people who would smother her with attention. She loves playing with little kids and has a fascination with teeth, and especially if they happen to have braces! Sorry to my nieces who had Macie's finger in their teeth all day. We had a good lunch and then had a combined baby shower for my two nieces. Then we all headed to Menan for another little family reunion/BBQ on my Dad's side. I'm sure I'm boring everyone with this, but I am going to finish:) Then we went and watched the I.F. fireworks with my family. I thought that Macie would either love or hate the fireworks. She hates thunder, so I thought maybe she wouldn't like the noise. But she liked them for the first ten minutes, then she didn't really care either way. We had a great fourth spent with family and are glad to live in a country that allows us our freedoms. Here are a few pictures from the fireworks. I forgot my camera at home during the day:(



I guess I do have one picture of our BBQ. I was able to snag this picture from my sister's Facebook, thank you Lisa. Macie stole this ice cream from one of her cousins! She's never had her own, so I thought I would be nice and let her keep this one. She was in heaven...what could be better than ice cream on the 4th of July?!


Reed and Macie.


Cousins!


More cousins!


And more cousins! This is only a very small taste of Macie's cousins on this side of the family!


This is Reed with our niece who fell asleep in his arms. Reed loved it:)



And this is a picture that was too cute not to post! She is growing up way too fast! On Sunday, July 5th, she took her first few real steps. And they were to her DADDY! I'm sure he would have wanted me to put that in:) She keeps getting better and better, she'll be running around in no time! And here is the really crazy thing...our baby girl turns ONE on the 28th of this month!

Fun New Recipe...and HEALTHY:)

I found a recipe for homemade whole wheat pita pockets that are soft and delicious, and fun to make. I can't exactly take credit though. I found the recipe on moneysavingmom.com, which my sister Mandy introduced me to. The website also has white pita recipe which I haven't tried yet, but I'm sure it's just as good! So if you are ever wanting to switch up your sandwiches, you should try this recipe:) I made a bunch and froze them to have them on hand.



Description:
Soft whole wheat round breads with a pocket inside!

Yield:
8 whole pita pockets (or 16 halves)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup gluten*
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add the gluten and 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)

Alternately, if you have a bread machine, you can put the ingredients in the pan in the order listed and use the dough cycle. Skip to step 3 if using your bread machine! :)

2. Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour). I like to turn my oven on for a minute or two, then turn it off, and let the dough rise in there, since our house is cool.

3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.

4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured counter top or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though! :D)

5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.)

6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.

7. Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired. :)





***This is for you JO***
I don't have a recipe for the raspberry jam, I just followed what was on the back of the fruit pectin box, sorry. I'm sure any recipe would be good though. And yes, I do freeze my extra loaves:) Do you?