Starbucks Pumpkin Scones--Homemade

That's right, HOMEMADE Starbucks Pumpkin Scones. Incredibly awesome, with a recipe found here. You're welcome. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

A few weeks ago we headed down to Disneyland for my birthday and Ada's 1st trip. It was so fun! Jon's parents and sisters all came, and Ruth and Eric and the girls joined us for one of the days as well. Fun was certainly had by all.

Hanging out at Sleeping Beauty's house...


Going on our 1st ride...


Hanging out with Mimi and Farfar...


Taking a ride on an elephant...


Going on the (scary) Ferris Wheel with Auntie Chelle...


Becoming a Space Ranger...


Entertaining herself when necessary...


Getting her 1st pair of ears with Auntie Kiki...


And ADORING the fireworks...


She was a pro and did so great. We had so much fun with her. Ada, thanks for all the fun memories! We love you little girl.

She's a Hoot...

I feel almost overwhelmed by blog material, which means only one thing. Nothing gets blogged about. However, Farah requested some pictures of the Doodle in her Halloween costume. So apparently, my blog has become TRL, and I'm fine with that because it means I may actually blog. Without further ado...Halloween 2009.

Our Small Group traditionally has a party thrown by the ever fabulous Shaw Family. This year's theme? Famous Couples. And as you can see, they were not only famous, but epic!

The Shaws as Alice and that Oh-So-Mad Hatter!


The Patterson's as Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm.


The Baldizon's as Ketchup, Mustard and a Hot Dog!


And us as, ha ha, The Shaws! And the Doodle as an owl. A super cute owl.


It was a wonderful evening of food, friends, and fall themed games. But the fun couldn't end there, no. The next night (actual Halloween) we headed over to the Harvest Festival with the Baldizon's and the Grindy's. While it was a little 'old' for our kids, we all had fun hanging out, and heck, I'm all for any excuse to see Ada as a sweet little owl.

The Baldizon's ditching the condiment costumes, and opting for some subtler ones. Gotta love that cute Darth Vader!


The Grindy's, aka 'The Jedi Clan'.


We figured no one would appreciate our Michael and Farah costumes since no one here knew Michael and Farah, so we went for Karate Master and Starbucks Barista (aka, stuff we had in our closet.)




It's almost too cute, right? Right.

Happy Halloween!

Saturday Mornings

I love Garage Sales. What I don't love about them is that they tend to be early on Saturdays. Because of that reason, I'm not at them on a weekly basis. Now that I have a baby I definitely don't get to sleep in like I used to, but they're still hard to hit up sometimes. Last weekend, we decided to go out there and try our luck. We're in need of some baby gates since the babe has started her army crawl. We thought perhaps we could find some nice used ones. We went to one neighborhood where it was apparently garage sale central. We honestly hit up about 15 sales. NOTHING. Not one thing. How is that possible? I don't think that's ever happened to me in my life. Here I am with money to spend and not one cool thing jumps out at us? Nothing useful, or perhaps even un-useful but cool none-the-less? Well, we hopped in the car and drove over to a church that was having a sale. This was our last attempt. Did we find something? No baby gates, but...well, this was definitely worth $3.


Really? For me? In almost mint condition with the keys and everything? The perfect place to hide my knitting from curious hands? Excellent.


So, knitting is on the list of things that will start being done seriously around here. It's fall, and guess what, it actually feels like fall! Most of my free time has revolved around getting my talk together for the Women's Retreat this Saturday. (Please keep me in your prayers!) But once that is done, it's all about knitting, The Chronicles of Narnia on CD, and lots and lots of tea. Mmmmmm, I love fall! What do you guys like about fall, and what's you best garage sale find?

Yum?

We're rocking food over here. Rice cereal and applesauce. Actually, we're not rocking the applesauce so much. We're kinda hitting a wall.

'Mama, what is this?'


"I don't like it!"


"Why this torture???"


Ahhh, this makes feeding time SO entertaining and fun. You'd think we were feeding her lemon juice, honestly! I also find it pretty funny that she's so offended by apples when I ate my weight in them during the pregnancy. What a hoot. Being a parent is truly a blast!

Six months, and could someone get me a tissue please?

Today our sweet girl turns six months. I think it's the fastest time has ever gone by, and while I'm sad it's gone, I've loved and cherished all of it and can't wait for what's to come. Adelaide is such a sweet, happy baby. She smiles (almost) unconditionally. She loves the outdoors. She loves laying under trees and watching the leaves rustle. She loves bath time, but not necessarily any cold lakes. She loves 'Flying Baby'. She loves music, especially anything with a beat. She rolls her heart out. She loves people, but she loves Mama and Daddy best. Especially Daddy. Her eyes light up everytime she sees him (and his tend to do the same thing). We feel so blessed, truly, that God entrusted her to us. We pray that everyday we'll be the best parents we can be. That we'll love her and guide her to the one true source of love, God. We're so thankful for all she teaches us. I only hope I could be as joyful as her. Adelaide, we love you!

Days old...


One month, and comfy as can be...


Two months old. Peace ya'll.


Three months and already a Dodger fan.


Four months old and having fun with the best Daddy ever.


Five months old..and finding out all water isn't necessarily warm.


Six months old and happy as a clam. As are we.

Raindrops on roses...

Hi everyone! Did you miss me? I'm glad to return to the world of blogging. Apparently, I took a bit of a sabbatical, but I'm back. For today at least. And really, today is an excellent day. Why you ask?

Because this book just came out. Woo hoo! It's the sequel to Hunger Games, which I just read last week after Brittany highly recommended it. I am now totally obsessed. This is such a great series. So, if you haven't read it, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today. (End public service announcement.)

Other things I'm loving lately? This paper.
Darn you Martha Stewart for having so much lovely stuff I'd like to purchase. Honestly, bandana paper? That just makes me giddy.

I'm newly obsessed with this blog, the Old Red Barn Co. She's delightful, and she has this wonderful Quilt-A-Long that is so great and helpful I am now fully inspired and plan to make a quilt. It's wonderful and completly user friendly. The quilt I'm going to make? This one. From the ever excellent Posie Gets Cozy blog. What is it with all these wonderful crafty women inspiring the world at large? Someone buy them a Starbucks, honestly, they're too great.

And last buy certainly not least, an ever present favorite: Fall. Autumn. Not Summer. September 1st it is, and although there's no Fall Equinox, let's just face it...it's here. There are Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks and they're selling Christmas stuff in stores. Ahhh, I love it. Now for some cooler weather, and we'll be right as rain.

And in other wonderful-ness, the Doodle is now rolling and sitting up and happens to be a super fun and happy baby. I feel so lucky that I'm her mama and get to hang out with her everyday. She's seriously the best.

I love those two.

So, what are you loving these days?

Addiction

It's true, we all have our weaknesses. Luckily, I'm pretty good at avoiding the temptation of shopping for mine. I can stay away long enough, at least until my mom gets to town. Then, to the fabric shop we go. Oh fabric, why are you so stinkin' phenomenal, and generally, soooo not cheap. (I'm talking to you Amy Butler).

But I've recently required some good stuff that happened to be on sale, so all is well in the world of fabric, Here's my loot.



I love them both to pieces, and adore the vintage feel of them. I have plans to transform them into wonderful skirts for myself, since my summer wardrobe has basically consisted solely of t-shirts, flip flops, and skirts. Addictions are bad...but man is this a fun one.

Snape, Snape, Severus Snape...

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's finally here! I've been waiting for so long, and while I was very excited to see Twilight in November, I remember sitting during the previews thinking, "Man, this was supposed to be Harry Potter!" But now, it's here. Favorite Harry Potter book. Oh my, oh my, oh my! I've never been a huge fan of this Dumbledore, but I think he's going to be fierce in this one. And I'm so excited about Snape. Bah!!!

In other news, I have certainly been slacking on this blog and I have no real good excuse. But my house is pretty clean, so maybe that's something. Also, we were on vacation, then recovering from vacation, then going down South for our friend John's show which was phenomenal, and so on and so on...but enough excuses. So, how have you all been? Anything you're excited about (besides Harry Potter, because honestly, who's NOT excited about it???)?

Grand Adventures at the Grand Canyon

Drove. A lot...

Enjoyed the peace of sleeping outdoors...

Had some good 'ole family time...

Enjoyed a sunset...

And even a sunrise...

Celebrated a happy day of independence...

Hiked along the canyon...

And all along the watchtower...

Contemplated ancient homesteads...

And were generally shocked at the wonder of God's awesome creation.

Friday Favorites: Favorite Things Swap

I'm very excited about this Friday's Favorite. It seems it was designed for this little weekly tradition of mine. Here it is. The 3rd Annual Favorite Things Swap. The gist is, you sign up and are in turn assigned a partner. You then create a package of three of your favorite things to send to that person. It can be anything; books, clothing, music, lip gloss, you name it. And in return, you get a charming package yourself full of fun and wonderful goodies. How great is that? I'm already signed up, and think you should as well! Head over to Kelly's blog for all the info and to get yourself signed up. Here's a way to spread your horizons a bit and make new friends at the same time. Have fun!

And the winner is...

Michael! You'll be proud to know that the Doodle drew your name. Thanks to everyone that entered, you guys make these give-a-ways a lot of fun!

Lots of exciting, blog-worth things going on here, but too busy to blog about them just now. Stay tuned.

Friday Favorites: Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

I love Ruth and Eric for many reasons. They're kindred spirits, aye? We all love our Lord, traveling, books, and good food. Or maybe I should say great food. Eric's a 1st generation Italian that was raised on a farm, so let's just say that this guy knows what food is supposed to taste like. So, apparently he started researching ice creams, to see what's out there, what's good, and what's natural. The answer? Haagen-Dazs. It's a household name. And while I'm sure I've had some before, I never really sat down and tasted it..savored it. Now that I have, I'm pretty sure it's the best stuff on the planet. (Sorry, Snapple.) It's 100% all-natural and made with truly quality indgredients. You can taste the difference. Being high quality, it's not cheap, but there are deals here and there. (Trader Joes, I love you!) They have killer flavors like Vanilla Honey Bee, Creme Brulee, (that looks odd without the accents...) Rum Raisin, Green Tea, and my personal fav, Dulce de Leche. They have a new selection, "Five", so named because each ice cream is made from five simple indgredients: milk, cream, eggs, sugar, and the "flavor component." "Five" flavors include ginger, passion fruit, and brown sugar. And as if all that wasn't enough, they have their Reserve Label (what is this, wine?). I mean, come on, Fleur de Sel Carmel and Amazon Valley Chocolate? That's just too good to be true. And check out this, because each reserve flavor has a food and wine pairing. Ha! These Haagen-Dazs people know how to please the masses. Or me, at least.

So, as if the ice cream itself didn't induce you to try it, this might. It's time for another prize! Leave a comment, and on Monday I'll randomly pick a winner and buy them some Haagen-Daz, their flavor choice. If you live far away, we'll work this out somehow...good luck!

Travel Plans

A trip to New York City needs to spring into action, because this girl is obviously ready for the Subway.

So, while we're speaking of travels, what are your summer plans? It seems this is the year for adventure. Amy's in Rhwanda as we speak (as I write?), Britt and Hannah are headed to Haiti again. Michael and Farah are going to, wait for it, ROME! And my dear friend Emmani is crossing the States and playing shows. And seriously, check out this blog of his, I laughed so hard.


Jon and I are headed with his fam to the Grand Canyon very soon indeed. I've been there 3 times, but combine all the time I've spent there and it's less than 24 hours. Quick trips. It'll be nice to chill there awhile. (Anyone out there remember the Epic Adventure of the Secret Valentines Day Road Trip back at CBU? Good times.)

Then, later we're headed up to Mammoth with ALL of Jon's family and my mom, plus 3 or 4 other families. It's a tradition that dates back to Jon's grandma and her sorority sisters. They headed up there in the summer with their families, and it's kept going, slowly trickling down through the generations until, here we are. I find it pretty amazing. Last time they went (it's every three years) we were in the Carribean, so we missed out. But we're ready to embrace the fun this year!

So, what are your fun summer plans?