sunday afternoons

What do you do on your Sunday afternoons?

I absolutely love to take a nap, go for a walk, and then eat a yummy treat

So that's what we did...well, we didn't nap because Porter slept all through church
so we just laid on the bed and played with Porter

 Then went for a walk and fed the ducks

And came home and ate delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

The cookie dough...more delicious than the cookies so we ate lots of cookie dough
You should make some and see for yourself....

 Ingredients
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teas. vanilla (double it...it'll taste better!)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
3 cups Oats (quick oats better!)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more...just keep adding)

What to do:
Heat oven to 350
Beat butter and sugars until creamy
Add eggs, vanilla
Add combined flour, soda, salt
Stir in oats
Stir in chocolate chips
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown

a hike

For FHE, we drove up Logan Canyon for a hike

It was Porter's first
James went off the trail for a little adventure
But WAIT, what if the lions get us?
I screamed as I stepped OFF the trail
And when coming back on the trail, I got pricked by a stinging nettle
It hurt.  It felt like lots of bee stings

Cute huh?

he laughs

Isn't he the cutest?

We know...he's your favorite
(I was not throwing toys on him...gently dropping stuffed puppy - ha!)

Sorry Charlotte

I hate spiders

I especially hate spiders crawling around my house

Each morning I seem to find a BIGGER one than the day before

Usually I scream and scream until my hero (James) smashes it

Except sometimes he's not around.  Twice.  Twice he has not been around

This morning was one of those times.

The BIGGEST spider yet was crawling around my kitchen floor

I grabbed the BIGGEST boot out of James's closet 

And with loud screams, I smashed the boot against that effing spider

Yes, I said "effing" 

Because with big eight legged monsters, you can say half-naughty words

I then examined the spider and honestly, it looked as though it had been smashed

I bathed Porter and put him down for a nap

I came back, moved the boot and the spider was GONE!

He's going to eat me in my sleep....I just know it.

Ode to Country

I used to tease my husband for his love of western movies and country music

But as we watched Crossfire Trails snuggled on our mattress (which still rests on the floor)

I realized that these "westerns" are absolutely beautiful

The main character, who is always a ruggedly handsome cowboy,

Has manners, treats women with respect, is loyal to his friends and family,

and above all...does everything he can to fight for what he believes in

And country music...MOST of it is about love, our country, God, families, loyalty...
and sometimes it's just a beautiful love story
How can you not fall in love with a song like this one or maybe this one

So I've decided that it's not all that bad.

And I happen to dearly love my own cowboy

And I secretly hope for a ranch in Montana where my cowboy and I can 

sit on a big porch and watch the sun set.

Lately...

 What have we been up to lately?

Porter has found his feet...

We go for a walk everyday...Porter sometimes likes it

We stole a high chair from my parents house and this is how he sits in it...'just kickin it'

Porter can hold toys!

James cut his hair - sexy huh?

Just b/c I thought this was cute.

AND...we live within walking distance from Fresh Market, Smith's, the Dollar Store, Great Harvest, the Post Office, the library (thanks Michelle!) our bank, and a Hostess Bakery Outlet!  We never have to drive again!

Birthdays

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Forest!
(no pictures of Forest...sorry Rachelle!)

Idaho

Sister, Niece & Nephews, Grandma, Aunts & Uncles, Cousins, and the Eastern Idaho State Fair

We drove to Blackfoot to enjoy all of those things :)

James was scared to see the bunnies...

Candice, Moroni, Baby Porter, James and Kelley

Porter did GREAT in the stroller

Porter's first encounter with a horse :)

Porter and Emmett - two weeks apart.  You can't tell...but Emmett is MUCH bigger than Porter!

Eldridge family and Ad's 4/5 kids.  This is how we're going to look one day...ha! :)

And Labor Day weekend is over...there are county fairs...peach stands everywhere...summer is over. It's awful isn't it?  I could have summer forever.

A few things...

1. Relocating

Early morning, long drive, great friends who are awesome at lifting boxes, KRISPY KREMES and CHOCOLATE MILK, long drive, BEAUTIFUL CACHE VALLEY, very old...yet spacious and lots of character of an apartment, unloading, interesting neighbors, hour long car ride to try and find where the HECK to drop off our stupid truck, angry wife and unhappy baby...understanding husband, dinner at Angie's - "Where the Locals Eat", the BIGGEST blow out of all time (literally, it ran down his legs, all over my hands and arms, onto the bench and the floor at the restaurant...hilarious!), baths for Baby and Mommy, mattresses on the floor, baby asleep, and a little Red Box to complete one FREAKING long day

The End

2. College

James has started classes.  I think I might love it more than him.  I love driving up to campus to pick him up (totally takes me back to my BYU-Idaho days).  I even love when I have to wait a few minutes and I get to watch lots of college students walk by - couples holding hands, athletes running (why wasn't I ever motivated?), lots of little freshmen (seriously, they look like their twelve) and people in flip flops, shirts, and tank tops...WHOA!  Never saw that one before :)  But really, I love the atmosphere of Logan and USU campus.  Go Aggies!

3. Porter

We think Porter likes his new house?  It's only his third one in three months...dang.  Porter weighs 15 and 1/2 lbs, can roll over while on his back and his tummy AND has done a consecutive roll - back, tummy, back.  He loves to look at his Mommy - we try to put toys in front of him, we push the buttons, they light up, make noise, and the whole time...he watches me :)  He never wants to be laying down...just sitting or standing up!  Oh, and he finally has a room of his own...not so sure how I feel about that just yet.  I didn't mind him in the same room - I quite liked it.  I knew he was breathing (really, why do moms constantly check to see if their baby is breathing?  So annoying...), I only had to walk 3 steps to pick him up to feed him in the middle of the night...it was so easy!  Now it's like...10 steps...ah!

So if you're ever in the mood for a beautiful drive, cheese, Goldfish, Creamies, a dozen different hikes or some good company...please oh please...come to Logan and see us!

*Sorry no pictures...I can't find the cord to the camera - ah!