Happy 21st Birthday Elder McGregor

One of the recent photos from Elder McGregor. So proud of him and what he has accomplished while on his mission in Africa. We are super excited to see him again after 2 years Sept 9th! It's going to be awesome!! 21 years old! That makes me old, very old! Haha :)

Happy Birthday Buddy! See you soon Airgar!

p.s: we call Erik, Airgar because when our nephew Cash was just learning to speak and say all our names, he called Erik, Airgar! So it stuck! :)

V is for victory

So yes I am lame, I know this all to well! Last night I nailed it...finally! It only took FOREVER to finally figure it out. There were a few no-no's I was doing and now I figured it out. YAY! I am one happy mama and my husband's tummy is happy too! I found this recipe on pinterest and it has a secret ingredient, can you guess what it is? ;) 

Warning: They are good and you will find it hard to have the will power to stop! 

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

barely adapted from Anna Olson, Food Network Canada

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen. 

22 months old and enjoying our new environment

 So this week was fun, my brothers and sister in law took our little ones up to Bridal view falls in provo canyon. The mountains, water falls and the scenery was just beautiful. We walked and had a picnic for a few hours. I am really starting to love this whole exploring thing ;) 

I walked to historic downtown provo {its not called that, but thats what Im calling it} Shops and food and just that old small town urban feeling. The outside lights...LOVE! All I needed was a backyard and a hammick! 

Taking a family stroll. I am loving this 3 days a week hubby home thing!

Some one is 22 months! Yay! 2 months and our precious babe is 2 years old! It's going to be fun taking her to Disneyland for the first time. {crossing my fingers I can talk Todd into going while we will be In CA visiting} he he! She is teething like no joke this time. Tantrums, fevers and no energy :( Breaks my heart!

Up at park city eating with family at Red Rock Brewery. Great food and root beer! Yum!

Hello Hello Hello

We are alive and well in our new environment...aka, Utah! We are living in Provo Utah till we figure out where we want to buy in Utah county. It is quite nice to be together as a fam under one roof again permanently! Utah has been good to us so far and it has also been fun exploring. Don't get me wrong, I have been to Utah since I was a young child but to live here day in and day out, it's "A whole new world." We have had a lot of visitors and fun events to keep us busy while getting used to our new home. Here are a few updates of what we have been up to while getting settled in!

Got to love new movers. Boxes coming out of your ears! I must say though, I rather unpack than pack! Here is Aila keeping me entertained ;)

Her first pair of plastic heels from auntie wing wint. Ha ha, she LOVES these shoes!

She is definitely my daughter!

We hang out while STILL unpacking. At least a month long process right!?? Ha!

Yup...definitely my daughter! 

Did some thrifting. I am a mug lover. I love collecting mugs and I don't even drink coffee or tea. 

BUT who cares...hot cocoa, water and juice work just fine in my mugs! ;)

B-B-B-B-Bad to the Bone my friends...watch the frick out! 

he he he

Fun evening while the In Laws came out to visit. Shooting was on top of the guys agenda of course. SO us ladies tagged along and we had a good time. The bad ace AR-15 was my fave surprisingly. 

It looks more scary than it feels. Move over Angelina Jolie! 

Provo's Farmer's Market was full of some fun and disappointment. There were a lot of really cute vendors and goods for Aila, but no fresh produce!? I thought that's what a Farmer's Market was? Am I missing something...ha ha! I had to buy this awesome homemade bow for my Nephews. 

Todd modeling it quite well :P

Aila found her way to the splash pad. The only child prancing around soaked with ALL of her clothes on. Shoes and all! That a girl! How could I get upset when she was having to much fun.

Cute babe!

Can't forget Fathers day! Steak and eggs for my handsome devil! Aila and I are the lucky ones!

^ My Love!

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The countdown starts

4 days my friends and then it's farewell California and Hello Utah. Confused? Read up a couple blogs down for a quick catch up ;) I am happy about moving...I honestly am, which is somewhat of a surprise to me. Either I am truly happy about it or the reality of it hasn't hit me yet haha. I pray it will all workout for us and I do feel we are doing the right thing. It feels right and you can't ignore that. I will of course try and keep our blog bubbling with our life and new adventures. So don't be a stranger and stay close by! ;)

Cousin Slumber Weekend

This past week my parent's took Cash and Ryder for a few days so my sister and brother in law could have some free time with their new baby. So while Aila and I are here from just one more week, it was a great way to spend some quality cousin time! Aila LOVES Cash and Ryder, she gets all hyped up and giddy when they are around. It's really cute to watch them play and interact now that she's not a baby anymore and can totally hold her own! 

I told Cash to go and hug Aila. These precious moments will surely fade! I'm all about savoring them as long as you can! :) Aila didn't mind one bit that Cash was squeezing her with all his might. 

{She's one tough cookie!}

My mom and I took them to Chick-fil-a for a mid day snack and to get them out of the house for a few hours. --Funny story while we were there, Aila was playing in the play area really well but after awhile wanted to come out. She was right at the door to get out, and before it opened a girl came up to open it to get out as well and knocked Aila in the mouth with the door. Aila starts crying, holding her mouth and comes to me...I hold her and tell her she's ok. And as the girl walks by us, Aila looks at her and screams right at her. It was quite a mean scream! {yes my child screams when she's mad} it's her new thing to do since she can't yet speak fluently. Me and my mom were laughing for a long time. If Aila's scream could have been translated, I'm positive there would have been some not so nice words flyin! She has been better about screaming lately, but not this time. Haha! I couldn't help but laugh, it was hilarious. I'm not fond of having a screamer so I nip it quick while she's at a very young age. I know her daddy was a screamer when he was little...so it's genetic...thats just grrreat! 

Like Father Like Daughter... ;)

{at least she's a cute little bloody murder screamer}

POOL time with Papa! She loves the pool and walking around the pool with her stroller. She went in with no diaper and just her shirt on {courtesy of Gammy}

Tooshy Toosh Toosh!! Squishy Squish Squish!!

At a b-day party today. Aila was really enjoying herself! Tasting the water that all the other kids were putting their hands as they played. Goodness...

Me and my red tomato! It was a scorcher today! Her first tan of summer and hopefully her last. 

Save that precious beautiful fresh skin!