Summer Wrap

Our last few summer weeks can be summed up with... lots of outside fun! Here's our little beauty at the church camp. She loves to ride on these little animal guys!

 

Here she is giving Puppy (who she recently named Ralphie) a ride in the baby stroller. This is a popular request in our household... "Can I go outside and give Ralphie a ride?" She always is so careful to strap him in and and make sure they get to their 'destinations' safely...with a little off-roading along the way :)

Now to Iowa State Fair fun!


Everly and Daddy at the Big Bull!

Brave little girl down the BIG slide! She screamed and belly laughed the whole time we were sliding down.  When we stopped at the bottom she immediately asked if she could go again!

Giving Cici's picture at the Drake booth a flame thrower :)



 

We were in Omaha for an overnight visit and made a quick trip to the zoo...

Saying hello to the nice goat...

 

She's telling the goat to look at the camera and say cheese!

And maybe her favorite part of Omaha...swimming!  The water was freezing, and she shivered most of the time, but she didn't want to get out! She got good at jumping in off the edge to Mommy or Daddy too!

 

 

Houston...Part ONE

We just got back from a fantastic family vacation to sunny, warm Houston,TX! Dustin, Everly, and I had the wonderful opportunity to go with my parents and brothers for the week. Between all of us there were three full-time cameras going, so I'll post again with more pictures of everyone together once they're all compiled and with more details on what we did and saw :)  For now, here's a taste...

 When we got back and everyone in DSM asked Everly how vacation was, the first thing she said was, "I touched a stingray!" Every time. Here's proof...

 The aquarium even gave her a tattoo for her bravery, and if you know Everly, there couldn't be a better reward!

 More to come...

My little dancer... or construction worker!

It seems Everly has been growing up so much in the last little while! She always has good topics for conversation, loves remembering and telling stories, is singing and learning news songs, starting to pretend more, sleeps soundly in a big girl bed... and is even going down the path of potty training!  She takes good care of her 'babies', but has loved every second of being outside and finding bugs to touch in this warm spring weather. She's really funny to me and among all of the new things she's discovering and enjoying, it seems that her favorites stretch to opposite ends of the pastime spectrum. She loves ballet and dancing and also loves big construction trucks and helicopters. There are new dance moves that come out of her little body daily and our eyes are peeled for construction sites whenever we're in the car and for helicopters overhead in the sky. She can't seem to get enough of both! Her two go-to books at the moment are exhibit A. She probably has a line or two memorized on each page of these books (as does Mommy from reading them so much!)

My outside loving girl...

Splashing

 Ways to go down a slide

 Taking time to smell the flowers

And to help water

My favorite little dancer...

Tap shoes... she's a master shuffler and lovely noise maker :)

Here are more moves

Arabesques... 1- 2- 3

 Have a great Easter!



Recipes

It seems like I've lucked out the last couple of weeks and found some yummy recipes that our family has enjoyed...even Everly approved! Since we're now officially in winter, I thought I'd share a few easy, yummy winter recipes for everyone! Happy cooking!

Oven Barbecued Chicken Thighs

• 8 chicken thighs
• Montreal Chicken seasoning
• 1 cup ketchup       
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar, packet
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 garlic clove, mashed and finely minced

      1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle chicken thighs generously with grill seasoning.
      2.  Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Sear the chicken thighs on both sides until browned; transfer to a baking dish.
      3.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.  Spoon over the chicken thighs.
      4.  Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

• 6 medium baking potatoes, fully cooked
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons dried chives

1. Cut baked potatoes into chunks (approximately 1-inch cubes) and put into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
2. Beat together sour cream and cream cheese until well blended.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed.
4. Spread evenly over potatoes.
5. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes or until heated through.
6. Sprinkle with additional cooked crumbled bacon and dried chives if desired.

Wendy's Chili Recipe

• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 4 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 ounce) can ranch style beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can pinto beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans
• 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package mild chili seasoning
• 2 lbs ground chuck/ground beef

1. Brown meat and cook until onion and pepper are tender.
2. Add all canned items, including juice, into large pot and heat through.
3. (You can also throw everything in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours once step 1 is completed).

Biblestudy Chicken Wings

• 5 lbs chicken wings
• 1 (8 ounce) bottles soy sauce
• 1 lb brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 2 -3 cloves garlic, minced

1. Mix all ingredients together, add chicken wings, and marinate for 2 days.

2. Drain marinade and bake at 350° for 1 and 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. 

'And happy eating too!'

Birthday girl!

This is a bit late, but on Saturday Everly turned T-W-O! Everyone tells you time goes by quickly, and it's proved to be quite true since we've had Everly.  She is a blessing to be around and is learning so much every single day.  We are treasuring each moment and very proud of the big girl she's becoming!

 

On the big day we had some family over for lunch, cake, and present-time.  I think Everly's favorite part was blowing out candles!  She asked to do it again and again! Ever since Saturday, if anyone asks how her birthday was or what she did, she always answered that she 'blew the candles up!' She's not the biggest fan of cake and made sure to dissect the piece that she had.  I think next year I'll make a birthday brownie :)

 

Moving on a little...winter is here!  Not sure that needs an exclamation point.  Since birthdays are officially over we've embraced Christmas in our household.

Everly got a gingerbread house kit for her birthday and she's loved her new decorating project!  It's a fun, interactive way to enjoy the holidays.
First we had to mix up the frosting and set up the walls...

 Then decorating! Every day we've added something to the roof or the yard...

And our Christmas tree!  Everly was a good helper getting the lights out and finding all her ornaments.  She put all her favorites at eye level on the tree and visits them everyday.  She loves seeing the tree all lit up as she comes down the hallway after she wakes up.  Every time we come back from being away, the first thing she wants to do is turn on the tree!

Harvest Party fun...

Well let me introduce you to the cutest little giraffe that's ever lived...

Everly never actually liked having the giraffe part on over her head. Oh well. You'll have to use your imagination and trust me that there was a giraffe on the end of that costume!

And now some family shots:

The Doctor and Mrs Pepper

Cici the Nerd

Besides the recent party, another fun fall event included picking out and decorating pumpkins and gourds! Who doesn't love that!

Now to find the perfect one...