20 Questions with 4 year old Katelynn

1. What is your favorite color? Red

2. What is your favorite toy? Violet

3. What is your favorite fruit? Plums

 4. What is your favorite tv show? My Big Big Friend

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pancakes

6. What is your favorite outfit? Dance clothes

7. What is your favorite game? Hike and Seek

8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks

9. What is your favorite animal? Zebras

10. What is your favorite song? Frozen & Hello Kitty

11. What is your favorite book? That's Not my Dinosaur

12. Who is your best friend? Bella

13. What is your favorite cereal? Nemo Cereal

14. What is your favorite thing to do? Watch a tv show and play outside

15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk & strawberry milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My mom

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Golden Corral

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A veterinarian

20 Questions with 7 year old Isabella

1. What is your favorite color? Teal

2. What is your favorite toy? Violet

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

 4. What is your favorite tv show? Spongebob

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & Cheese

6. What is your favorite outfit? This years dance costume

7. What is your favorite game? Minecraft

8. What is your favorite snack? Pudding

9. What is your favorite animal? Puppies

10. What is your favorite song? My dance song (Play my Music)

11. What is your favorite book? The Giving Tree

12. Who is your best friend? My mom

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch

14. What is your favorite thing to do? Snuggle my mom and Oynx

15. What is your favorite drink? Root Beer

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My dog Onyx

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Donuts

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Subway

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Pie maker, farmer, dog farmer

20 Questions with 3 Year Old Kate

1. What is your favorite color? Red

2. What is your favorite toy? Peppa Pig

3. What is your favorite fruit? Blueberries

 4. What is your favorite tv show? Peppa Pig

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & Cheese

6. What is your favorite outfit? Red Dress

7. What is your favorite game? Pretending to be a mom

8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks

9. What is your favorite animal? Zebras

10. What is your favorite song? Bumble Bee

11. What is your favorite book? Peppa Pig Ballet

12. Who is your best friend? Bella

13. What is your favorite cereal? Donut Cereal

14. What is your favorite thing to do? Work out

15. What is your favorite drink? Water

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My puppy (stuffed animal)

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Donut Cereal

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cake

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A bee

20 Questions with 6 Year Old Isabella

1. What is your favorite color? Blue & Purple

2. What is your favorite toy? Puppy stuffed animal family. Honey, Cupcake and Sam

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

 4. What is your favorite tv show? Spongebob Squarepants

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & Cheese

6. What is your favorite outfit? Sweater Dress

7. What is your favorite game? Super Mario

8. What is your favorite snack? String Cheese

9. What is your favorite animal? Leopard

10. What is your favorite song? Anything Justin Bieber

11. What is your favorite book? Nickelodeon Fairy Tales

12. Who is your best friend? Jersey

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch

14. What is your favorite thing to do? Museum of Natural Curiosity

15. What is your favorite drink? Coke

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Onyx

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Golden Corral

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Veterinarian

Summer 2014 Pics

I finally took the girls out and got some new pictures! They are growing so fast and I wish I could capture every little moment so I can remember it forever!

20 Questions with 5 year old Isabella

Keeping up with tradition!

20 questions at 5:

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What is your favorite toy? Lalaloopsy Dolls

3. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

 4. What is your favorite tv show? Team UmiZoomie

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & Cheese

6. What is your favorite outfit? Mouse shirt

7. What is your favorite game? Playing with Lalaloopsy

8. What is your favorite snack? Bunny Fruit Snacks

9. What is your favorite animal? Elephant

10. What is your favorite song? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

11. What is your favorite book? Bell & Jingle the Husky Pups books

12. Who is your best friend? Tayzhia

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch

14. What is your favorite thing to do? Play with mommy

15. What is your favorite drink? Strawberry milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Onyx

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Grapes

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza at Boondocks

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Park builder - set up and build parks

My favorite fall soup

This is my favorite fall soup! It's easy, delicious and it's a crockpot recipe.. which makes it a winner in my book. This recipe is also vegan!

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, shredded
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16 oz.) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 3 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 5 tsp. parsley
• 1 tsp. tabasco sauce
• 1 (20 oz.) jar Prego traditional spaghetti sauce
• 8 oz. pasta (I usually use whole wheat rotini noodles)

 Add all ingredients (besides pasta) into a large crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Cook pasta according to directions and add to soup before serving.

Recipe adapted from this one from Favorite Family Recipes.

Bella at 4 and 1/2

Bella is our little beauty. She has a heart of gold, a soft spot for animals and is polite as can be (most of the time.) She is ecstatic to start preschool next month. On top of everything else, she is brilliant. She is going to excel with preschool and that is part of the reason we chose a kindergarten prep class for her.

 Bella at 4 1/2:
- Likes to make forts.
- Likes to solve problems.
- Loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates. She also likes Dora, Spongebob, Doc McStuffins, 
- Loves going to the park.
- Loves sleepovers at her cousins house.
- Shes obsessed with rainbows.
- Still loves mac & cheese.
- Loves playing dressup.
- She's finally likes playing with Barbies, My Little Ponies, etc.
- She likes to help load the dishes and has affectionately named our dishwasher "washy." Which I think is a silly name for a dishwasher who doesn't like to wash. Our new one is being delivered soon and I'm afraid she might cry!

Funny things she has said lately:

She says she wants to be an "art girl" so that she can paint zombies, rainbows and all the other things you can paint.

She loves the song "Can't hold us" by Macklemore. Part of the lyrics say "So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us" and she sings it as "So we put our hands up like the silly jam-o does". I asked her what a silly jam-o is and she told me it's a wolf. Like, "duh mom."

She sneezed and I reminded her that she needs to cover her mouth. She asked why and I told her so she doesn't give her germs to someone else. She said "Well why do I want to sneeze them on me then?" Good question!

Kate at 15 months old

Kate is so much fun right now. She is running, climbing and getting into everything.Her hair has gotten SO curly. I keep hoping that it will eventually grow down instead of out. She rocks curly hair like no one else!

 Kate at 15 months old:
- Climbing on everything. Chairs, the kitchen table, into the bathtub, she climbs up on the step stool in the bathroom and into the bathroom sink. Heaven help me.
- Loves monkeys!
- Loves everyone, waves to strangers and loves animals. She isn't shy.
- She loves flies and little ants (gross!) Lucky for her we don't have a shortage of bugs out here in farm land.
- She is really into dancing lately. 
- Loves any toy that plays sounds or music.
- Loves bath time!
- She doesn't say many words, especially compared to Bella at this age, but she definitely communicates and gets her point across. She is getting good listening and completing small tasks (hand me the toy, help mom shut the door, sit down, etc.)
- She likes pulling hair and bites!
- She is really good at getting off her pants and diaper! Not good!
- She loves to play with big sister and tries to imitate everything Bella does. She thinks her big sister is the funniest person she has ever met..

Tree of Wind Chimes

At the Ogden Cemetery near my dad's grave is a huge old tree with a dozen or so wind chimes. It's one of the first things we noticed when we went there for the first time. Every year we try to find the perfect wind chime to hang in the tree. I love the sound they make. I found one today to hang in the tree for his birthday next month.

 You always hear that time eases the pain of losing someone but I don't find that true. As the years go by, all that changes is more time lost. Birthdays, holidays, graduations. My dad didn't get to meet my girls, not on this Earth anyway. But I guess time does soften the edge of the pain you feel. Some days are harder than others still. I could use his advice today. I miss him but I know he is always here.