Thursday, May 28, 2009

When it rains, it pours!


I'm coming to realize that South Carolina has some crazy weather I'm really not used to. It is pouring in sheets! You can see a nice little pond forming on the grass out there.These pictures really don't do it justice. It's raining so hard it is LOUD! And I need to go out in it in 15 minutes. Nice. Cross my fingers it fizzles by then...



What about you? Do you have any crazy weather where you live?


UPDATE: It did slow down by the time I went out! And a little while after that it's sunny and humid and hot. CRAZY!!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Our First Family Camp Out

Call us chicken if you want, but this is the first time we've gone camping since having Emery! He loved it and we had lots of fun too! It helped though that it was a ward camp out so we had lots of friends to hang around with.
We roasted some hot dogs and marshmellows, then bummed some watermelon from some friends!
So excited!

Relaxing in the chairs.


Emery's friend was our tent neighbor and they had tons of fun bouncing around on the air mattress and blankets!



We even let Emery stay up past his bedtime. We are such nice parents! :)

Until next time...

Thursday, May 21, 2009

We love Spring!

We love that it's getting warm enough to enjoy being outside! We like swimming....

coloring with chalk

smelling the flowers
and riding around!










And there's lots more fun to come...

It's Finished!!

After many sleepless nights, it's finally done! Joel finished his Master's thesis in Mechanical Engineering!!! He presented on May 4th and passed :) Congrats honey!

He did a great job presenting. I actually understood quite a bit of it! Which is surprising since it's pretty technical stuff! Hoorah for Joel!!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Playing in the rain


Emery has always been a big fan of splashing in the rain! Here he is, ready to go...

Found a great puddle!

Having the time of his life!


And here is a little video clip of the splashing fun.

But as the old saying goes, it's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Not long after this he fell in the puddle and hurt his knee :(
But he cried more when I made him come inside and get warm and dry than when he fell. Silly boy!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Strawberry Picking

Ahh, strawberry season in the south :)
Emery and I went with some friends to Stewart Farms to pick strawberries today. For only $7 a gallon and about an hour of picking time, I'd say we got our money's worth!
Emery was pretty excited!
He had a little trouble knowing which ones to pick. I kept telling him only the really red ones, but we may have gotten a few yellow ones too!

They are really nice about allowing sampling while you pick! Emery had his fair share for sure. I finally had to tell him no more after 20 or so.
I'm a little worried how that's going to "come out" tomorrow :/
I don't know why this picture is sideways, oh well. These are our 2 gallon baskets (which they provide and let you take home) full and ready to go.


When I got home I spread them out on cookie sheets. My 2 gallon baskets=3 cookie sheets full! Oops, should have just got one gallon!
I made 2 batches of freezer jam and it only took 3/4 of one cookie sheet full. I guess I need to make more jam! Anyone want some?
From 2 batches I got 10 (8 oz) containers + a little left over too.
When I went to the store to get canning jars, I discovered they have these plastic screw-top containers made for freezer jam! I love them! Not breakable and I can reuse them! Plus they were cheap!
And I also made a strawberry desert for dinner. This is strawberry-apricot dutch babies (minus the apricot). I found it in my Woman's Day magazine (June issue) along with a handful of other strawberry recipes!
I suppose I'll cut some up and freeze them too, since I have so many left. But we'll try to eat as many fresh as possible. Yum yum!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day ladies!


(It seemed like a good idea to do pictures on our porch at the time. But it's not! Door knobs and door numbers really look goofy I think! Oh well, now I know for next time!)

Happy Birthday!

Joel's birthday was May 7th!! We had yummy ice cream cake from Baskin Robins. His gift was a work table for the garage.

You are the best husband ever! I love you! Hope you had a great day :)

(I always feel a little bad since his birthday is trumped by Mother's day soon after. But he is wonderful and doesn't mind at all)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

This moment in time: 2 1/2

As I try to think back and remember Emery at different ages, it's all starting to blur. So, I decided to write down things that are going on right now, so I won't forget them!

Age: 2 years 6 months

Weight: 32 lbs

Height: 3ft. (plus 1 1/2 inches)

Hobbies: Reading books, playing outside, playing with pretend food, jumping, running, and climbing.

Skills: Talking much more (finally), navigate and click computer mouse, put on shoes, push play and stop on the remote, and using the key to open the car/house lock.

What I'm into: Playing in the sink, helping out (vacuum, dishes, etc), watching Elmo, going to the library/park/store etc, doing things myself, playing in the rain/puddles, and bubbles.

What I'm not into: Getting too much help from Mom/Dad, sitting still, being quiet, holding hands in the parking lot &/or store, riding in the grocery basket, being strapped into a carseat, runny noses, sun in my eyes, brushing my teeth, and teething (2 year old molars! ouch).

Foods I like: Popsicles, marshmallows, goldfish, animal cookies, milk, hot dogs, cheese, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, toast, candy, fruit snacks, crackers, fries, chicken sandwiches, spaghetti/noodles, dipping sauces (ranch, ketchup, etc), rice, raisins, corn, eggs.

Foods I refuse: Chocolate, orange candy/fruit snacks, anything new.

Favorite songs: I am a Child of God, Elmo's World, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Heavenly Father loves me, The Wise Man, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, If you're happy and you know it clap your hands, Daddy song, Once there was a snowman, and classical music to fall asleep with.

What I'm saying: "I do it!", "Come here!", "Meee" (please), "Elcome" (your welcome)

Monday, May 4, 2009

Greenville Drive

On Friday we went to a Greenville Drive baseball game! We went with a some of Joel's friends at Michelin (and their families). The field was pretty impressive. It even had a little playground for the kiddos to play on!
I had some funnel cake. Mmm...
Messy messy! But worth it!



Surprisingly Emery had a great time too. He's getting one of his 2 year old molars and has been pretty grumpy the past few days but seemed to be fine while we were there.
By the time it started getting dark (and past his normal bedtime of 8:30) he really got into the music, clapping his hands, dancing, and shouting "charge".After the game they had a firework show. Emery keep saying "loud?"But he still really liked them. See, pure excitement! It was a great night!We can't wait to go to another game! Let us know if you'd like to join us. We'll have a blast :)