Thoughts on a food Blog?!?!

So I have been thinking about doing this for a while now. I have really wanted to start a food blog. Recipes, mistakes, tips, life lessons...haha...etc! I have really had to learn a lot on my own about cooking. My mother has played a big role in this adventure as well! I used to be good at cooking "certain" things...cookies, waffles, taco soup, etc. That was about the extent to my cooking. After I got married, I started to take a greater interest in cooking, baking, etc. I love it! I love to try new simple recipes and add some of my own touches and WA-LA--a meal, a treat, a drink! Let me know if you think I should do this!

Today we spent part of the day raking leaves! It was Daddy's day off, and we decided it was time to take care of the massive amount of leaves that had fallen from the tree. It was sad to see
them all fall, but Braxton absolutely loved it! So I grabbed the camera hoping to catch some fun photos! It was a success! Braxton is such a great helper!

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween was BUSY it seemed like! Ricky and I didn't even get a chance to dress up. And still last minute, we didn't have a costume for Brax. We thought, "what lousy parents!" Till Tessa Allen, kindly enough, let us borrow a costume. The Chicken Costume. It was a lot of fun. We took Braxton to the mall Friday night to trick or treat. That was a lot of fun! Saturday night, our ward had a activity for the primary children. So, since we had put the chicken costume through enough torture, I pulled out last years costume, the pumpkin, and put him in it! I could not believe he still fit! It says on the tag 18-36 months! YEAH RIGHT! Anyways, that is where we saw the cousins! Caleb was a fireman and maryanne was a tiger. We will try to better next year!

Greetings!

We have been VERY busy over these past couple of months!! Braxton has enjoyed his time with both his cousins and close friends. We are back at school now and already missing our summer break we had! This fall, Ricky is going to school, working, staying involved in church responsibilities, and most of all, being the best DAD a family could ask for. Braxton is so excited to see him each time he comes home. Braxton is growing up so fast! It has been the most fun to watch each new thing he does. He can point to his teeth, head, hair, eyes(he blinks), nose, ears, fingers, belly button, and mouth! He can say mama, dada, papa, ball, what's that, shoes, clock, fish(kind of), nana(banana), and some other babble(we haven't quite interpreted yet). We recently got some pumpkins to decorate and put out on the porch. Braxton really loved that! He kicked all the pumpkins and thought it was fun to knock them over:) Overall, he is a blast! As for me, I am still hanging out at home, keeping busy with my little one, and still a part time job at Anytime Fitness(which I have been currently working out at every day for two weeks!). That is a great accomplishment for me! Thanks to my good friend Tessa Allen, who pushes me, inspires me, and motivates me. Tessa's daughter Kloee is pictured below in the basket. Her and Braxton are just one month apart and they are "buds."

This time of year is absolutely beautiful. I woke up this morning wondering why Ricky had left so many lights on. Come to find out, it was the reflection of the bright red leaves that are out on our tree shining through our sky light. Beautiful. We are doing well! Sorry for the late update!

Spring Valley & Cousins

I was watching the cousins and we decided to have a photo shoot!

Um....does he totally look guilty or is it just me????

Maryann as sweet as she can be!

We had to snap a quicky because we were stopped in the road to wait for these geese to cross...

Ricky took me fishing to spring valley and it was a lot of fun! Braxton talked to everything he saw! We are hoping to get a few more trips in before summer passes us by!

Waterpark!

We had a great time at the warkpark this last weekend! We made it a big family outting! It was a lot of fun, we had fun taking the kids out, and acting like kids ourselves. We enjoyed the waterslides and more than anything just having our family all together. Afterwards, everyone came over to our house for rootbeer floats and pizza! Yum!

Braxton got really tuckered out at the end of the day!

Ricky and I going down the waterslide!

Brian and Tracy coming out!

Braxton running around in the grass!

STP Race

Ricky, Braxton and I took my dad out to his STP(Seattle to Portland) ride. It was so much fun! We left Friday July 16 and headed out to Seattle. Once we got there we ate at Outback Steakhouse(yum), and dad got his carbs in for some energy! We woke up the next morning around 3:15am, and dad stretched and was getting ready for the big ride. It is 204 miles. Ricky and I took him over to the drop off area, and then we came back to the hotel to sleep for a couple more hours. We ended up missing him at the first stop, but from about 130 miles into it, we were there with him till the end! It was really cool and something absolutely inspiring to watch. Way to go dad!

With about 20 miles to go, we met up with dad and did a quick drink switch.

This was actually right at the end of the race. The first thing he did was go buy a hot dog with all the fixins!

Braxton ended up getting a fever on Saturday, he had 8 teeth coming in all at once.....first time he has ever had a temperature. Poor Kid......:(

Brax and I waiting for dad at the next stop.

About 4:30 in the morning and dad getting ready to head out!