Didn't you Know? It's still July

At least in blogland. In July we were able to take another fantastic trip down to the beach house! Shannon (my sister in law) was gunning for a new bike. She didn't find one in Monterey, but Ethan sure did. Oh and it wasn't this fantastic green one. He wanted the purple one with streamers and all the frills. It really was fantastic. (Just don't tell John I told you).We spent some much needed time down at the beach. Ethan L-O-V-E-S the water. Even though I thought it was freezing cold, he didn't want to stay away. And really, let's face it. I'm quite a baby when it comes to things being cold, so it wasn't THAT cold. It's still July, remember?
He would spend some time just running around the beach and warming up. This kid loves to run. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being a track star.
We also went to the tide pools this trip and E was the perfect age for it this trip. He loved splashing around and was surprisingly good at balancing on all the slippery rocks. We made lots of discoveries...

Mr. crab
Lots of those squishy things that squirt water when you touch them. Anyone know what they are called? E was definitely hesitant at first.
Then he finally decided that they looked harmless enough.And he couldn't wait to find more.We also found a mermaid there! On no, that was just the starfish. We found I think a total of 5 down there. One was bigger than John's hand!

A successful trip to the tide pools.

After that, we went on a bike ride downtown.

The boys got to be lazy and get hauled around in the carrier. Ethan was thrilled, Henry was less than thrilled. Maybe because Ethan got to wear the pretty pink helmet? We had a fantastic trip at the beach house. Oh how we love you beach house. And we love my dad for sharing.

July unfortunately brought sad times as well this year, with our good friend April (well her whole fam) moving away to Southern California. We did get to see a friend, Naomi, who moved away a few years ago, who happened to come into town to celebrate our last get together. Here she is on the left, pictured with our non-moving friend April. I know pay attention here, it gets confusing.

Here is star of the evening, April, on the left, with Hayley.

Tammy & Teri.

The whole shebang. Whenever April plans to get together with people it always seems like everyone can come. She's fantastic and we will definitely miss her.

Oh and I can't forget to give a shout out to my sister in law Shannon who gave us the recommendation for the place to eat. The food was AMAZING. And we would like to hire you pro-bono to find all of our gathering venues.

April and I couldn't stand to leave one another, so we ended up getting together for a "date-night" later that week. We found another fantastic place to eat (via Shannon), and devoured our dessert for two.

Bye April! Miss you already.

My Oh My it's the 4th of July

I can't believe how quickly this summer has flown by! 4th of July already seems like a distant memory, although it was a fantastic celebration. We started the day off at our ward annual breakfast. (I only took one picture.)From there we went with the fam -- which included my brother, Jared, his wife Shannon, and their son, Henry as well as my dad, Rex, and his wife LeeAnn -- to Tilden Park. It was our first visit ever and we discovered that anywhere in Tilden Park there is no cell phone reception, just to warn anyone who may consider visiting. We miraculously ran into Jared & Shannon at the the little Farm, and I miraculously planned ahead and brought celery and carrots to feed the animals. Much to my dismay, it has signs posted all over that you are not to feed the animals carrots because it gives them bad gas. As usual though, Jared pretended that he couldn't read and went on ahead. After all, what the heck was I supposed to do with a Costco 10 Lb bag of carrots anyway? Did I mention how I'm excessive in all things?

Ethan at first was super hesitant and wanted nothing to do with any of the snotty-nosed animals, and looked on in horror as we approached.As soon as he got a little better perspective though, he was willing to bend the rules and offer a piece of wilting celery.He got off Daddy shoulders and quickly found this fantastic bench to relax on -- the relaxing lasted about 3.2 seconds.Then went onto explore more animals finding the "doats" and sheep. And used his super sonic scream to notify us that there were in fact, rabbits and "piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigs" on the premises.After that he was the expert on feeding and was pulling up weeds to feed that animals. Who knew you could go through 10 lBs so quickly, eh?FYI, they do call this the Little Farm, Why, you may ask? Ask this bohemouth, maybe she knows. After the farm came the Steam train. I think I was more excited than Ethan. Please note too, the fantastic timing of this photo as the steam train was in motion behind us. Thank you very much.Getting comfy in the cars.The whole crew, well except for me, because you see, you can't do a timer on the train and expect it to turn out. Thanks for a great outing!

Oh yes, the fireworks part? Well we actually went out to dinner in San Francisco, and got shafted by the hostess in seating and ended up waiting over an hour for our table, and heard the fireworks going off as we paid our bill. But I was trying to keep the blog positive, so you'll understand why there are no pictures explaining this part, because if there were, they might be of us, giving the bird to House of Nanking. Happy 4th!

Surprise! It's June!

Yes, we're alive, just busy as always. No excuses this time (wait, did I already give one? oops. Well no MORE excuses, certainly). I decided it's ultra boring to only go backwards to catch up, and most likely not going to ever be achieved, because, really, who wants to see pictures from 8 months ago anyway. It's all about the here and now, baby. I may slip in some old ones at some point, but it will be sporadic at best. Onto the good stuff, pictures of course. Oh yes, and cake too.

As for little man, he seems to be getting bigger every second. And boy, oh boy, has the language explosion occurred this month. He now says words like "bus" and "juice" with amazing precision. The speech therapist in me is beaming at every sound. Of course, the mommy in me is working to sound interested when he says it at every truck that passes by in the car. But really, at the end of the day, I always want to eat him up every second. Look at this kid. I bet you want to eat him too.

Now for the month's Recap:

So, in case you missed it, it was my birthday. I'll forgive you for sending my presents late. ahem. Anyway, John did a fantastic job of spoiling me this year. He made me many many meals throughout the entire birthday weekend. Got me a superb fancy green watch (which, sadly, got returned to Costco and put into savings for one fancy camera instead, release date to be determined). On my birthday eve however, he invited friends over for cake and ice cream. We devoured not one, but two delicious cakes. The first of which was a delightful rainbow chip cake made by Jane, John's mom.

And the second one, I made. Now, I know that it's sort of against the rules to make your own cake, but I wanted to. I really enjoy a good bake off, especially when I know I won't be doing the dishes. Plus, this is a lemon angel food cake that my mom always made for me on my birthday and it had to be just right (not unlike many things in my life, the dishwasher, the pillowcases, my closet hangers, there are rules people). And of course, I couldn't let John take all the credit. I'm super selfish in case you haven't met me. Sadly, I failed to get a group shot. So if you were there, I hope you remember it. It wasn't THAT crazy of a party.Next thing on the list, John climbed Half Dome! He went with these crazy yeah-hoos:and of course, had an amazing time.

And in case you didn't know it, John is super skinny. And super hot. So proud of him. ahhhhh.

Then came Father's Day. I had a super fantastic day with meals planned, activities planned, and I don't think anything I planned happened accordingly. First off, I told John I would be making him biscuits and gravy for breakfast, I slept in, and when i woke up, he was "setting up" for breakfast (aka halfway through making them), oops. Then we went to church, I think I did make him some lunch, and then he did get to take a gigantic nap along with Ethan. Then instead of my park day feeding the animals, John begged to go fishing instead. So we went to the Delta. It was awesome. All except for the part where Ethan kissed the fish...on the lips!!!!

The following weekend, Ethan and I went boating with the youth group in our church. It was awesome. Here is Ethan saying, "cheese." Funny how saying "cheese" doesn't actually make you smile, eh?
I met a new friend, actually the sister of one of my friends, I shall call her fancy Nancy, although she goes by many other names. She was one heck of a tubing partner. Ethan screamed his head off the entire time we were on the tube. Well I guess I was screaming too, but for entirely different reasons.At the end of the day though, we loved it. As we love all water sports and non-work activities.

The following week, another birthday celebration! Yeah! I love it when it lasts all month long. Next year, for the big 3-0 I hope it lasts for a month too, hint hint, John.

Funny how you can look so awkward with balloons on your head. Yeah, I was totally surprised too.And the fantastic ladies who helped me celebrate. And especially my friend, Tara, who I bullied into making me a fantastic apron. I love it, and wear it daily.Now for the last weekend, I know, you thought the month would never end, huh? So it's been super hot, in the triple digits party people, so I decided, since we don't have a pool we can go to all the time, we needed to bring some pool to us. So I bought E this little mini pool that has little spout all around it. It worked like a dream!E and I ran through it, laid in it, splashed in it. It was all I could ever hope for a $15 investment.

And did you check out his speedo? Ah, my heart melts for this little one.

Now, just one tiny little tidbit. I started running. Like, not after a ball or anything, but for fun. Well, torture, really, but kind of a sick-pleasure. It's been three weeks now of running everyday. I'm running now 2.75 miles every morning at 6am. So when you see me, you should ask and make sure I'm still doing it ok? Somehow by putting it in print, it lets me brag, but it also makes me have to keep doing it, just in case you ask.

What's the mama tomato say to the baby tomato?

Ketchup! Get it? I'm trying to get back on the band wagon and add some photos here to the blog again along with some supremely cheesey narration. But, in order to keep every thing flowing correctly, I'm changing the dates to just pretend like I posted on time, and no one will know the wiser. Except in the case of all you google reader fans, who will have this random new one from September of last year. Oh and you might notice that Ethan has grown up quite a bit! But at least I'll be putting something up new to look at right? Until then, here are some photos courtesy of my new iphone. See? I have been busy.

Ethan, 17 months.

Thanks-Giving

*Note to my avid readers, I'm sorry that I'm still doing my catch-up homework, but our computer broke, (and may still break again in the not-too-distant future) thankfully we were able to recover everything, but I was not able to update the blog. I'm back on the bandwagon again, and am ready to recommit myself to update again.

We had the Crawford Crazies (love you!) over to our house again this year for Thanksgiving. This is the Holiday that always seems to sneak up on me like a week after Halloween. But we get our fill and I get to eat my favorite food, Thanksgiving Yams. (Enter shout-out for Aunt Sally for her super sweet recipe).

Family Shot:

The star of the show:

Or was it these scrumptious delights? (see the yams, front and center)

Ethan fell in love with Cody this year. Cody had an amazing Indiana Jones hat that he bravely let E play with throughout the festivities. E now repeats "hat" all the time, and does the baby sign along with it.

Here is said Cody, again, entertaining E. I think Cody might have even gotten a little jealous of E's sweet ride.

GG (Great Grandma) and Grandma

Sharon & Tim

Juli, Joanie, & Meriel (Please tell me I've learned to spell your names right)

Courtney, James, Cody, Brigitte, and Zach

Pie-Palooza

This post is for all of my friends who say that they really want to learn how to make pies, but then never come over to make them with me. aka, my first attempt at a tutorial.  Lucky for you, my friend Tammy did come over (I swear I'm not as bitter as I sound), and even luckier, has a fancy camera to document our hard work. Of course, if you're just looking for the secret recipe, you may find it here (pie crust) and here (Razzleberry Filling). I'm totally famous and was featured as a guest blogger on my friend's recipe blog. I know you're jealous. And without further ado:

Pie Crust That Will Make You Famous

Special equipment:

1 Large Pie tin (I prefer 10 inch)

1 tea towel

1 pastry knife or pastry cutter

Combine the following Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 pinches sugar

Mix. Then add:

1 cup shortening (I prefer butter-flavored, but do what you must)

Then, using the pastry knife, cut the shortening into the flour mixture,

until it is uniformly the texture of cornmeal (less is more here). 

Pour cold water, about 2 tablespoons at a time, evenly over all and mix quickly with a fork

Shape into a ball, then divide ball into two equal pieces. Cover one ball with a towel.

Using a floured, flat napped tea towel, roll the other ball flat, evenly rolling from the center outward with a rolling pin (nonstick or silicone works best here). Be careful to keep the circle even and round as you roll. Don’t be afraid to patch, either. You will have to occasionally add flour as you roll when the dough begins to stick. 

When the circle becomes approximately the size of your pie tin in diameter, fold in half, and place inside the pie plate. Unfold the pie dough and adjust to fit your pie plate. Patchwork is not frowned upon.

Fill the unbaked pie shell with berries. By berries I, of course, mean a 12 ounce package of frozen raspberries, and 1 pound package of frozen boysenberries. (I have also substituted the costco three berry mix here with delightful results (not the whole bag of course, this is only 1 pie).

In a separate mixing bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour and 1 ½ cup – 1 2/3 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it). Pour over the berries. 

Cut 2 tablespoons butter in small chunks and place evenly over flour & berry mixture.

Drizzle 1 Tablespoon vanilla over the top of everything. 

Roll out second ball of dough, using above directions. Then, if you're super fancy like me, you can use cookie cutters to make vents for steam to escape during the baking process.

Place second crust on top with vents. 

Place the second crust over the filling and press the two crusts together at the edge of the pie plate, sealing them to each other. 

Using a sharp knife, cut off both crusts evenly, slightly larger than the pie plate. Tuck the excess under the edge of the plate and crimp the edge of the crusts with your fingers in a decorative pattern all of the way around the pie. Optional: Brush egg-white over the top for a nice glossy finish.

Place in 375 degree oven for about an hour. Cook until lightly browned. Don’t forget to put a baking sheet on the shelf underneath to avoid a messy cleanup. 

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

November

E has discovered that hiding in cupboards is an excellent way to entertain oneself. Look at that dashing smile. 14 months already!

That and, enjoying the benefits of being a Costco shopper, you get to play with the cardboard boxes.

E and Henry, his cousin, got to spend quite a lot of time together this month. Next month they will be making bff bracelets. Here are the boys as they enjoy the Oakland Zoo. Neither one seemed too impressed with the whole thing, but mama got some great shots of the giraffes, elephants, lions before the camera went out.

Here are the boys getting a hose down.

Henry playing chauffeur.

E seems a little more wreckless.

Enjoying the views from the Living Room

This month Kai came for a visit (and brought Justin too) and we got the boys together for a photo shoot.

Halloween Part 3 - Prestons Party

Our friends, the Prestons threw a fantastic party on Halloween. We had a chili potluck with amazing cornbread. E had his first encounter with a pinata, which I discovered is one of my favorite party games. Mental note to include a pinata at all parties. Jared, Shannon, & cousin Henry even came to enjoy the festivities. Here a demonstration that E CAN share. Here Henry is enjoying the fantastic car.

The best solution for the boys to enjoy the car together. Everybody wins.

Shannon wins the best costume award. The best part is, all items were from her closet. Not the closet with the dress up clothes, her real closet. I think just the Aqua Net was the only addition. She is a fashion guru. Henry might win second place with the dragon getup. It was pretty great too.

After all of our "smashing" good time at the Prestons' Party (remember the pinata, hehe). We went trick-or-treating in the Prestons' neighborhood which included a firehouse. What a highlight.

The whole fam-damily

E and Henry again, sharing the wheel to the firetruck. We won't mention how E bellowed louder than the fire engine horns when we removed him ever-so-gently from the drivers seat. We won't mention that part at all.

What a long night (and month, eh?)

Halloween Part 2 - Pumpkin Patch

Several friends of mind got together at the Pumpkin Farm, which we did last year. You can see how E measured up compared to last year. And I know I know, there are one million pictures, but you will notice I didn't even include pictures of other people's kids. I am being picky, these are only the good ones. Because there is a plethora of pictures, I will do my best to not be verbose.

Almost two and a half feet now! Last year, he was barely over the 18 inch mark.

Lest you think I only stick E's head through things, oh no. Everybody gets to play.

Poser. By that I mean, we didn't actually purchase any of these pumpkins. We just pretended to.

E's eyes are too big for his little arms (much like my eyes are always bigger than my stomach)

E and Grandma taking a break from this 85 degree weather! I love California!

You might notice that E had two different outfits on. Simply because he got too hot in the long sleeve onesie, so luckily I packed something a little lighter. Hey, now I'm getting better at being prepared.

Here's one my size...

They had these huge baby swimming pools (is that a paradox?) filled with Lima beans. E didn't want to get out of these. Consequently, we came home with a few still lodged in his diaper.

E also fell in love with this castle and repeatedly went in and out of the doors.

See? Only one picture of E going down the slide, when I'm sure he did this at least 500 times. I'm being selective.

At the end, we decided to take the "Express Train" around the Pumpkin Farm. Totally worth it.

Halloween Part 1 - Ward Party

This was our big debut with the coolest costume ever. And by that, of course, I mean, low cost, little effort, and excellent excuse to purchase mini car for E and use that one-piece I bought back in college (oh don't you wish you knew why...long story, with little to no comedic factor, so I will spare you.)

John had to come straight from work, and would have no chance to spend some real time dressing up. So E was our little racecar driver, and John and I became the pit crew. Genius, I know.

The whole she-bang.