*Memorial Day*

Some of the many flags displayed.

Wayne King's grave... Barbara's Hubby

Grandpa and Grandma Rew's Grave

This Memorial weekend my Husband spent most of his time laying our new wood flooring. It is so beautiful and once it is all finished I will take pictures.
:)

On Memorial Day we were so tired, but I managed to force my wonderful sleepy and exhausted Husband out of bed and to Sunset Memorial Gardens to watch the Memorial Day Ceremony and to see all the beautiful flags that they display. I have grown up doing this almost every year because my Mother usually plays the piano for the choirs that always sing and as a family we have always tried to be there. The last couple years I haven't been able to go because I lived away for school and I just didn't want to miss it. I didn't know the time of the Ceremony so we missed the speakers, but showed up in time to here the Choirs sing "God Bless America" and other traditional songs and to watch the "Salute to the Fallen Soldiers" where they shoot the Guns and raise the American flag. This usually is my favorite part for some reason, I can't decide if it is the meaning behind it or the fact that cute old men that served our country, along with younger men, do it and I find it fascinating. But, either way I love it and it seems to always make me cry.

I was happy to see that, enjoy the beautiful sunny weather, see all the flags and take some pictures of my Grandparents grave, along with Barbara King's husbands grave. Barbara is like a Grandma to me and I always take her to visit Wayne, bring him flowers and talk. It was a beautiful day, an important day to remember and the best way to end a long weekend.
:)

IF yOu PlAnT iT... It WiLl GrOw...

The Garden growing HUGE!!!

I was taking care of my garden today and noticed that certain plants are starting to grow little buds. Even though nothing is ready to eat, I was so excited and decided to take pictures of what is in store to come.

I found...

ONE beautiful little green tomato,

a BUNCH of green beans,



and a HANDFUL of green strawberries.





I can't wait until they produce to their capacities and my garden is full. I am looking forward to eating from it, sharing and being able to pat myself on the back for the hard work that paid off! Especially since it hasn't been easy bending over with this belly... Ha ha.

Woo Hoo!!!!!!
:)

My Best Friend and I

Heather and I

My best friend Heather and I both happen to be pregnant at the same time. Last Saturday was her son Rowan's 2nd birthday. We decided to take a pregnant picture together. She is due in June and I am due in July. I can't wait until she has her baby because she never finds out the sex. If it is a girl, our daughter's will be friends! I can't wait to find out. I thought this picture was cute... Love you Heather!

New Creations :)

The newest beanie.
:)

Baby Boy Beanie with Brim. I just finished this one. This will be for Heather if she is having a boy.

This is a Beanie and matching scarf that I did for Ryan's Mom for her Birthday. I finally took pictures of it. It looks really cute on!

This is a headband with a new flower. White headband with a hot pink and light pink marigold. I love how they curl on their own! This is my favorite!

The Front View.

The beanie. I think the flower will be so cute because it is huge and will look adorable on a little girls head!

This last week Chevy had surgery. She was Spade. So, I had to do a lot of sitting to keep her from moving around. Being that she is a puppy she wanted to still play, even though it put her in even more pain. So while we sat, and took naps, I did a little crocheting. My friend recently found out that she is having a girl, which is really exciting because everyone is having boys that I know of, but me! So I thought I would make her a really cute beanie and headband. Plus, her first child was a boy, which means she has nothing for a girl! I wanted to learn a new flower, and thanks to youtube.com I was able to achieve another design. After 3 hours of practicing and messing up WAY too much, I finally finished and thought I would share. Enjoy! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

The brick wall is really cool looking. Makes for a great background. I believe this was the side of a Restaurant or Pub... I can't remember.

I seem to feel good about everything I wear when I actually dress up until I see pictures, ha ha.

I know I am a little late. But, Happy Mother's Day to everyone!!! This Mother's Day I was in a little pain from pregnancy and not up to really doing anything. My parents were out of town so with Ryan's family we went on a family drive. We did a lot of sight seeing, chatting, and spending time together as a family. It was relaxing, fun and it helped that we actually had beautiful sunny weather! That brought a smile to my face. Melinda, Ryan's brother's fiance, is really great at taking pictures. She took a lot of pictures of old barns, landscape and some of Ryan and I. I look huge from my dress, but who am I kidding I am huge no matter what at this point. I stole them off of her blog and since they are the latest ones that I have, I thought I would share. Happy Mother's Day!!!

~Southwestern Bean Soup~

Don't forget the toppings! This soup is healthy, hearty, and SO YUMMY!

The past 2 weeks for some reason the weather has been nothing but chilly, rainy, and WINDY. It hasn't been exciting spring weather and my poor garden was struggling for a while! On nights that my husband is away at school I am usually dreading being alone, running away to my Mom's house to make her entertain me or Ryan's parents house, or just trying to keep busy. I am still weird when it comes to being alone - I hate it. For example, when Ryan leaves for work in the morning I make him close the closet door and bathroom door in our bedroom. I can't sleep with them open!!! I am still such a child in so many ways! But... tonight for some reason I felt excited to have the house to myself. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being with my husband. I cried for the first three days that he went back to work because we had 4 MONTHS of lay off time to play, annoy each other! (Basically our Honeymoon) But, I have been craving foods that I know he wouldn't eat and I figure this will be a great way to spend an evening alone... Eating something warm and tasty that I love, watching a girlie movie, and not having to worry about what to make MR. PICKY-PANTS! Tonight... The schedule is engorging myself with my homemade Southwestern Bean Soup simmered to perfection in my crock pot all day, my favorite and most comfortable sweats, popping in an Audrey Hepburn movie (I love her), and possibly crocheting... Here is my recipe... I thought for those of you who enjoy soups on a cold day and a soup that is HEALTHY, you would especially enjoy this!
Bon Appétit!


Southwestern Bean Soup:
(Pictured above)


1 can Black Beans
1 can White Beans
2 cans Kidney Beans
1 can diced green chilis
1 can diced tomatoes
2-4 cups chicken broth (Depending how liquidy/chunky you like it)
1/2 Red onion chopped
1 package frozen corn
1 tbls. minced garlic
1 jalapeno pepper chopped (Optional)
1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped
1 tbls. Chili powder
2 tbls. cumin
Salt and Pepper
Dash hot sauce (I like Tapatio)

Toppers:

Cabbage shredded or chopped
(I love fresh cabbage, it adds a crunch. You can use lettuce if you like)
Fresh tomatoes chopped
Green onions chopped
Fresh avocado sliced
Fresh cilantro as garnish
Shredded pepper jack cheese
Sour cream

Directions:
1. Saute onions and garlic until cooked. Place in crock pot.
2. Open all cans, rinse beans and add beans to crock pot. Add chicken broth, diced green chilis, diced tomatoes, and frozen corn.
3. Chop jalapeno and cilantro. Add to crock pot.
4. Add salt and pepper, cumin, chili powder and hot sauce. Stir ingredients together.
5. Cook on low all day or cook on high 3 hours.
6. Serve in bowl with toppings you desire. Delicious!

***I freeze this dish to make it last longer. It makes a lot and since I only like it, if I freeze it I can enjoy it another day! :)

I am SO Blessed :)

The new "Mommy car". Don't I have the best Hubby in the world?
:)

Ryan promised me that when and if we got pregnant he would buy me the perfect car for the baby and I. Well, little did he know that this would be happening so soon after we got married! Needless to say, with a baby on the way, he not only fulfilled his promise, but I AM SO BLESSED! My sweet hubby surprised me with a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer and came through with everything that I wanted in my first "Mommy car" as we like to call it. It is perfect, SO nice and has everything that I need!

I just want Ryan to know how much I love and appreciate him working hard to support and take care of me and our future family. I am proud of you babe, I couldn't ask for anything better and I am so thankful for all that you do. Thank you and I love you!

Craigslist is ADDICTING!

Where the kennel used to be we are going to put sod all the way up to the shop. WooHoo!!! It is GONE!!!

This weekend I sold my first item on Craigslist. It was SO exciting! When Ryan and I bought the house in our backyard was a dog kennel. It is a very nice kennel, but we were never able to use it with Chevy because we got Chevy in October and it was too cold. Since we have lived in the house it has sat in our backyard, piling up with weeds and long grass and had absolutely no use. So I thought, why not sell it? I put it on Craigslist and was flooded with emails and people who wanted a dog kennel! Who would have thought? Anywho, we finally found someone who was SERIOUSLY interested and this weekend they picked it up. I was thrilled!

Also, in the last month we have bought an extremely nice desk and will be starting on Ryan's office. Now that I have sold something, I keep walking through the house thinking and trying to find something else I could get rid of. It is too fun. I finally got an offer on my wedding dress. The more that I sell the more I can buy!

I made an offer on a jogging stroller and graco. Both as good as new and hardly used. Wish me luck!!!

(This could be a problem with me not working and having PLENTY of time to search Craigslist away... Ha ha)

Doggy Daycare...

Riley trying to relax with all the chaos. Poor girl.

The trouble makers looking at me like, "It wasn't ME!"

This picture is taken from a normal weekend of babysitting. This is Cole and Chevy showing their affection for one another.

SO... This weekend Ryan's parents went to Portland, Oregon to help his brother move into his new home that he purchased. Very exciting for Nick! Ryan and I couldn't go because Ryan has school all day Saturday. As always, Ryan and I get to watch the dogs when they go out of town and my house becomes Doggy Daycare. We have done this quite a few times and normally it always goes well. It usually is a big help to Chevy to have the older girls here because they keep her out of trouble and they obey better, but this weekend that hasn't been the case. Chevy (Our pup) absolutely loves this because she gets a lot of play time with her favorite puppy Cole and usually they play SO hard they sleep like babies all night long. Riley the old lady of the group I think doesn't enjoy it quite as much. She doesn't eat when she is away from Ryan's Mom and she is constantly walking to a different room to sleep and get away from the younger crazy pups. By far she is my favorite because she is so sweet and puts up with so much, ha ha what a sweet lady.

Anywho... This weekend hasn't been like any other weekend. We have had more doggy poop and throw up accidents then every before! It is absolutely crazy, especially when you think that they are all potty trained and have been for quite a while! I am not sure if it is the rain or maybe something in the air, but it has been QUITE the weekend... I guess this might be a good way to prepare me for the poopy diapers and mess of a child because since Ryan has been either at work or school, I have had the blessing to clean it all up. YUCK! All I have to say is I am glad that we are getting new flooring and this might help Ryan get a move on that... Wink Wink... :)