It’s about time I surrender to the fact that baby James is a clone of his father. He does seem to have my nose and there are aspects of my features there, but seriously he is his father’s child Check out this picture Austin’s dad just found. James looked so much like this when he was born. (Austin is on the right).
And seems as if it is only getting to be more so. I’m okay with it though. They are both super handsome to me : )
My puppy OSA is 15 years old this month! Cannot believe it! I adopted her from the pound with my college roommates my freshmen year of college. She was five at the time and was the only dog that was house trained and that would play with us at the pound. She is seriously the best dog in the world. So loyal, loving and always has a smile on her face! She may be getting old and criggity, but she still has her spunk! Love you Osi bear!!! Happy Birthday!
I do not usually like scones all that much but after having discovered Raging Sage scones, which really are the BEST IN THE WORLD I decided I needed to be able to reproduce them. Mostly so if I leave and live in a foreign culture again I can satisfy my cravings! Seriously, these are INCREDIBLE! You simply must try them! It is probably a good thing I don’t live next door anymore because I went far too often for these gems!
Scone recipe
2 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 c Unsalted butter frozen
2/3c heavy cream
1 egg
Toppings of your choice
Milk for brushing the tops
Mix flour cloves baking powder and soda and salt together
Cut butter into cubes and mix until course quickly so still cold
Whisk together cream egg
Add to flour mixture
Mix in toppings (almonds, Craisins, chocolate chips, whatever you like in a scone)
Work dough together Until just together
Make into a circle cut into pie shaped pieces
(if you are doing a jam flavored scone add jam now and gold over your triangle so that the jam is in the middle)
Bake at 400 for 14-16 mins on aluminum foil
Enjoy!!!
We celebrated my Dad’s birthday this weekend! I made my first attempt at baking Eclairs, a favorite of his. They are lots of work but turned out pretty good. We went out to lunch and finished the night off watching Downton Abby which we are obsessed with right now!
I could not be more grateful for such a wonderful father! Love you Daddy! Praying many blessings on this year and many more to come!!
Recipe for the Eclairs here
**note I did note use a package of vanilla pudding, instead I made that from scratch too**
Being a stay at home mom has turned me into THAT PERSON. You know the one who talks to the person next to them in line at the grocery store, as if starved for adult interaction. The one who you purposely avoid at times because you can just tell it will not be an in and out situation. Yes, that is me. I also have become the person who takes my time at the store, going down every aisle even if all I need is one thing and I know where it is. I soak up every minute of being out of the house on days where we don’t have any play dates or things to do. Oh the life of a stay at home mother. However, I would not trade it for the world! I mean look at this face!
Not that I think this matter is of any real importance, but I am just not sure what to do with this situation. I have always been the person to return my cart to the designated area at the grocery store but now I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do I return the cart and risk someone calling CPS for leaving my baby in the car for 30 seconds to return the cart? Or do I leave the cart by the car for the store employees to hate me forever? What to do? What to do?
This week I started taking care of Benny, a 15 month old baby of one of my friends. James and I weren’t sure how the adjustment would be adding another rug rat to the mix but we are actually loving it. Benny is a very sweet boy and James loves to play and interact with him
We decided to take them to the zoo because my brother was still in town and we have zoo passes. The boys loved watching all of the animals. Benny’s favorite part was interacting with the fun games at the new elephant exibit. James loved playing in the small water park for kids to cool off after walking around in the heat.
Overall it was a great day at the zoo!
Unkie Drew soaking up being an Uncle
It was so wonderful having my brother here for a full week! We got to spend lots of time together since I stay at home now which was nice. We ran errands, went to the zoo, played with the baby, made dinners and enjoyed each others company very much! I wish he lived closer but I sure am happy that he is not going back to Afghanistan!!! Love you so much brother!
This weekend we headed North to the beautiful town of Flagstaff, Arizona to get out of the heat and for Austin to compete in his first Olympic distance triathlon.
The weather was incredible the entire time, high in the 80s, low in the 50s with scattered rain showers and light breezes. Perfection! This made walking everywhere that much more enjoyable. I LOVE being able to walk to restaurants and shops. Unfortunately in Tucson this is not always possible and the heat is a turn off in the summers but not in Flagstaff. We walked to the park, coffee shops, grocery store and restaurants. The restaurant scene in Flagstaff has really grown since I last spent time there. We used our handy dandy Yelp app to give us some hot tips on places to eat and we were not disappointed. We ate a new Tapas restaurant which we were so happy about! We love Spanish food! And a new pizza joint called pizzicletta which has some of the best pizza I have ever had. Seriously!
Besides having a relaxing weekend in a gorgeous town, Austin participated in his first ever Mountain Man Olympic Distance Triathlon. He swam a mile, biked 24 and ran 6, while James and I cheered him on. We were so proud of him.
It was a wonderful weekend as a family! We hope to spend more time in Flagstaff in the near future!
Date Night
Like father like son
Random art in Flagstaff
This kid is happy!
Gearing up for the swim
Transitioning to the bike
Finishing the bike
Happy it’s almost over!
Yay! He did it!
After 10 months serving in Afghanistan, with the army, my brother is finally home!!!! And he surprised us! So thankful that he made it back safely. So thankful he is done with his time there. So thankful he finally got to meet James in person. So thankful he is home.
Put on Love 