Crazy Cousins

Just after we finished picking cherries Saturday night, Julie's family arrived!  We have had a fun visit with them this weekend and now they are on their way up to Olympic National Park to camp for a few days.  They took Acadia with them and I know she's going to have a fun time camping with her cousins!  She really wanted to go but still had quite a teary goodbye.  Poor emotional girl.  But I am sure she will have so much fun she won't have very much time to miss us. ;)  They all come back on Thursday or Friday, in time for the festivities on the Fourth. :)

Here are a few pics I took yesterday:











I put on a movie in attempts to calm everyone down a little before putting Rori to bed.  We watched The Ugly Dachsund, even Simon wanted to watch...





All of a sudden, we couldn't find the girls!  Instead, there were these cute inch worms invading our home!



We figured with the girls gone we had room, so we sent them down the hall to stay in Cadi's room.





Silly, silly fun! :)

Five Minutes

In just the last five minutes, Rori:

•Got caught trying to climb out of her crib. (Yeah, she hasn't been doing that at all lately but it looks like she's back at it again. Joy.)
•Had a nasty diaper for me to change.
•Tried to eat a bottle of Tums.
•Got into two board games.
•Poured a glass of OJ over her head and all over the floor.

Yep, all in the last five minutes.

Cherries make me think of...

Aimee!  So Aimee, this post is for you! :)

We have a WONDERFUL cherry tree in our yard that we LOVE!!!  No, not the confused cherry blossom/cherry tree.  This lovely, delicious, wonderful cherry tree:



Except, that was taken a couple of months ago.  This is what it's branches look like now!



And that means, it's cherry picking time!  So last night, Ryan, the girls, and I started picking cherries.  We picked the lower portions and filled our big bowl, we don't even have half of them picked yet though!  We'll pick some more either today or later this week. :)  But here are some pics of us picking our cherries:











They don't all make it into the bowl!









They are so yummy!  June just might be my favorite month of the year.  Strawberries are in season and these cherries are always ready to harvest in the last week or two of June! :)

Oh, and here are a couple of roses that are in my yard, too.



(This is the same rose, just without the flash this time.)





Yep, June is a great month!  But then again, July is good too... :)

Triple Digits

There are people who like to laugh whenever I say it's "hot" here. It is true that we do not live in the hottest part of the country. In fact, we usually only average about a dozen days over 90 degrees each year. It's quite nice, really. I like it! :)

However, according to the local TV station's website, today we hit 101 degrees here in Vancouver. Now, I don't care where you live, that's HOT! And especially for us NorthWesters who are used to seeing those kinds of numbers elsewhere while thinking to ourselves, "I love living here where it doesn't got that hot!"

Needless to say, we broke the record high today. But thankfully, we do still live in the NorthWest and even though tomorrow will be in the mid 90s, on Monday we'll be back in the 80s and by mid-week, we'll be right back where I like it - in the 70s. That's one of the great things about summers here. While we do occasionally get up in the 90s, it is usually for just a couple of days and then we're back down in the 70s and 80s for several days before we are even threatened with 90 degree weather again.

I love living in the NorthWest! :)

Pioneer Park

Last night we went to a ward picnic at Pioneer Park.  Each family brought their own dinner and the ward provided the dessert (pie, ice cream, ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches... good stuff!).  It was quite fun!  It had been a pretty hot day but by the evening, sitting in the shade with the breeze gently blowing, it was a really nice night for a picnic! 

I took a few pics.  I wish I had gotten a pic of all the dads playing croquet, each with a child in one arm. lol  THAT was pretty funny!

*Scroll over for captions*

Splish Splash!

The girls and I went to the pool today.  We ran into our bishop who was there with his grandkids.  The last half of our swim was nearly filled with Cadi and Julie in a waterfight with him.  lol  It was pretty fun! 

After our swim, when we were changing in the locker room, Rori was playing in the locker.



She kept closing the door, then I'd say, "Where did Rori go?  I can't find her!"  And then she'd giggle, push open the door, and say, "Here 'e is!"  And then she'd start it all over again. lol



As we were leaving, Rori kept sucking her thumb!  She never does that!  I think she was half chewing on it, actually.  I think it's just her teeth bugging her but it was kind of suprising to see, so I took a quick pick.  It's not the best, but it is what it is! ;)



We had a nice time.  Unfortunately, it's not nearly as hot yet as it will be today, we really just went for fun not necessarilyy to "stay cool".  Now we've got the A/C cranking and the girls are watching The Spiderwick Chronicles since we didn't get to it last night. :)

Convo that just took place as soon as I finished my last post...

Ryan: "Pencil Sharpener is fixed!" (Which resulted in an appropriate, "Yay!" from me.)

Acadia: "Yay, now I can do my multiplication tables! Do you know where my multiplication pencil is?"

Activity Day Camp, Movie Night, and Pics

Cadi and Julie have spent the last three days at Activity Day Camp and had a BLAST!  They have come home each day with fun little things they have made, silly stories, and crazy camp songs. lol  I let them each take a disposable campera but of course I don't have pics from them yet.  Today while we were at the grocery store, we ran into the Stake President and his wife (she had been one of the leaders at camp who happened to teach them about manners) so they had fun shaking hands and properly introducing themselves in the middle of the soda aisle. lol

Tonight the girls get to stay up late again since they don't have to get up early for camp anymore, so we rented some movies!  They wanted candy and there was no way I was paying the outrageous prices they had at the video store, and that is why we ended up at the store where we ran into President and his wife.  We visited the "bulk" section, they each got to pick out a couple of different kinds of candies and we loaded up on some Reeses Pieces that we're sure Ryan would like.  :)

It's bath night so I think I'll quickly bathe Rori and put her to bed, have the girls take their quick baths and then we'll start the flicks!  First up is National Treasure 2 Book of Secrets and then The Spiderwick Chronicles.  :)

We haven't decided what we're doing tomorrow but it's gonna be hot, hot, HOT, so I'm voting for swimming!  But this time I'm not taking my camera - I'm gonna be in the pool playing with the girls!  Sorry there haven't been very many pictures lately, the girls have been gone and so these are the only ones I've taken recently:

What's One More?

Do you think someone would notice if I just tagged along on their family vacation? lol

We are expecting Ryan's brother and his family this weekend. Then they are heading up to Olympic National Park for a few days and will return for the Fourth of July. They have invited Acadia to join them on their camping trip and I'm thinking that will be fun for her; she will love having more play time with her cousins!

I knew Olympic National Park was north but I didn't realize it's exact location. This afternoon, I searched for the exact location of Olympic National Park, and now I have a serious problem: I WANNA GO!!! Olympic National Park is located right near Port Angeles and Forks!!! Hello!!! I could go hang out with Edward and Bella!!!

Yes, I should have realized that from reading the books, it is mentioned in them. I just didn't realize that it was right there.

I'm tempted to pack myself in Cadi's bag. ;) Too bad I have too many things to take care of here to just drop everything and run away for a few days!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid x 2

This was just too cute so I had to take a pic!

Stop! Break a fortune cookie. "Beware of grape with wooden mallet." Ain't that the truth!

Hehehe... sorry. I love VeggieTales and I simply couldn't help myself. That was honestly the first thing I thought of for the title of this and yes, it actually does apply.(If you're familiar with that song, at least.) lol

Looking for inspiration for dinner tonight, I picked up the most recent issue of Taste of Homes Healthy Cooking magazine and flipped through the pages. One recipe totally jumped out at me! It looked so good and I had all the ingredients so I thought I'd give it a try.

I think you could classify this as a Kid Pleaer. All of the girls loved it and both of mine asked for seconds! Both of them!! Ryan and I both thought it was pretty good too. So, I'm sharing the recipe with all of you. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Prep: 20 minutes + marinading
Cook: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided (I just used regular soy sauce because that is what I had on hand)

1 Tablespoon sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used water because I didn't want to open a thing of chicken broth for just one Tablespoon)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks (I don't know if mine was unsweetened or not, it was whatever I had in the pantry)

2 Tablespoons plus 1/3 cup cornstarch, divided

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon canola oil

2 cups hot cooked rice

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sherry or broth (or water), salt, garlic powder, and ginger; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Add enough water to juice to measure 1 cup (I didn't need to add any water). In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespooons cornstarch, sugar, and pineapple juice mixture until smooth; stir in the vinegar, ketchup, and remaining soy sauce. Set aside.

3. Drain chicken and discard marinade. Place remaining cornstarch in a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a large nonstick skillet or wok coated with cooking spray, stir-fry chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

4. Stir pineapple juice mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken and reserved pineapple; heat through. Serve with rice.

Nutrition facts: 1 cup chicken mixture with 1/2 cup rice equals 428 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated fat), 63 mg cholesterol, 571 mg sodium, 65g carboydrate, 2g fiber, 26g protein.

Girls in the Graveyard

The girls have been asking to play Ghosts in the Graveyard late at night for the last couple of days.  Crazy girls.  So far, that hasn't happened.  But I did take them to do the next best thing - to go "play" in a real graveyard!



I have some friends who occasionally go to the cemetery to clean and photograph grave markers and then one of them, Millie, posts the pics on-line for people who are searching for deceased relatives and/or doing genealogy work.  Ever since I heard about this, I thought it would be fun to join them because 1) I like these girls and it would be a fun way to get some visiting in, and 2) I'm HORRIBLE at doing genealogy and at least this way I'd be doing something to help someone else do theirs! :)

Today the girls and I went for the first time and we had a really good time!  Except for Rori wanting to be her independant self, but what can ya do? ;)  Here are some pics I took of the girls.  I do have a pic here of my friends and I did fail to ask their permission to post their pics, but I don't really have any clear pics of their faces so I think I'm gonna be safe posting them... and if not, they can yell at me and I'll take the pic down right away. ;)

I intended to have Cadi and Julie watch Rori while I helped my friends but Cadi and Julie really wanted to help clean instead.  When we got home, Julie said to me, "It was really fun cleaning the gravestones!"  I think they were suprised at how much fun they had, more they were expecting! :)









Rori even got in on the act for a short time and it was very cute to see her spraying and scrubbing away.  That was the best behaved she was all morning! lol







Yes, Rori is wearing a leash.  I'm sure some of you are totally laughing or thinking I'm a horrible mom but trust me, with this kid, in an open place like this and in a situation where I'm not going to have my eyes on her every second - it's totally necessary!  I half joked that next time I'm bringing a stake to put in the ground so I can just tie her to it. lol  I really am only half joking... really. lol

***Update***  I just heard from Millie.  We took almost 50 pictures today and some were shared headstones, she estimates she may have 75 new people to add to her website.  Here's just one that she was able to add from today's work already.  *warm, fuzzy feeling* :)

Up on the rooftop are two goofballs!

After Acadia's party yesterday, Ryan had a nice chunk of day left to work on the shed.  About half that time was used buying more supplies (and deciding which supplies to buy) but he and James were still able to get some work done before calling it quits and heading off to see a movie.  Yeah, I guess they have been working hard and did deserve a little guy's night out.  Before they finished their work for the night, they called me out to take pictures of them being goofballs...