Lucky

Here's a quick shout out to the man of my dreams....


And the wonderful Father of my children... aren't we LUCKY?

Happy Father's Day!

Sweet, Sweet Girl

Happy Happy Birthday to my baby whose no longer a baby!


Who knew that in 4 short years, she could go from THIS sweet innocent baby girl (note the proud papa)


To THIS...still sweet(now, with a little bit of spice) girl enjoying a snow cone on her grandma's back porch.

Here are some things we love about our little Katers.


Her uncanny resemblence to her older sister and idol, Morgan.


Her beautiful blue eyes, that change shades depending on the mood and the weather.


Her chubby, kissable cheeks.


Her spicy attitude that can make me laugh or want to pull my hair out in the same five minutes.


Her cute imagination and ability to entertain herself in any surroundings.


But most of all, how she completes our family. She gets along famously with her brother and sisters, and watching them all play together makes me smile. We love you Kate, Happy 4th Birthday!

The New and Improved...

Cedar Creek Dental!

Quinn, I'm so proud of you and thrilled that you now get to

work in such a beautiful place. Thanks for all your hard work! WE LOVE YOU!

Bountiful Basket Anyone??

Can you believe I scored all this farm-fresh goodness for $15? I KNOW!! All I had to do was log into their website (www.bountifulbaskets.org) on Monday, pay my fifteen bucks, and pick up my basket at the designated location on Saturday. Easy Peasy. Each week I get different items in my basket which has greatly enhanced my cooking creativity, and here's a bonus..my kids actually grab for the fresh stuff instead of cookies and fruit snacks! There are locations in Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming, and new locations are opening all the time..check it out!

Through the eyes of a 3 year old...

One day when I was busy sitting in front of the computer screen for possibly a little too long....


This little one got a hold of my camera and proceeded to entertain herself taking random pictures around the house. (After she stripped herself of the cute white sweater that her mother insists she wears with this dress!)

This is what I discovered after the camera was confiscated....




Not bad for a three year old. A budding photographer? We'll see.

Excuse My Rookiness

Okay...I said it was my first video upload! Sorry about the private thing. But I think it is fixed now, you may have to give it a minute or two to load...and we did have a bit of a rough start so just bear with! :)

Sunday Stew (day old)

This is how my Mother's Day went...

Kate making sure there is NO peeking going on...

Then.... SURPRISE!! Holy Cow, are you serious?

Let me take a closer look at this gem.

Definately a keeper!

Complete with amp, mic, and music stand, it will no longer be Angie "Unplugged"! How did I get so lucky?


And since stew tastes even better the second day....




I had a surprise visit from my Grandma and Grandpa Herbst today! I can't tell you how excited I was to open the door and see those two standing there.

My Grandpa is a master guitar player. I remember sitting for hours when I was a kid listening to he and my dad play together. When I was about 15 I decided I wanted to learn to play like that and so it began. I wasn't the only one with a desire to learn to play. I also have a dad, a brother, 3 cousins and an aunt that all play as well. All because of this guy. What a legacy my grandpa has left! I am nowhere near as good a player as he is, but I hope someday I will be. It was such a treat today to be able to sit and watch him strum away on my new Mother's Day present. Then I got my old trusty out and we had a little jam session. So now, for your viewing pleasure, (well, at least mine) is my grandpa and I playing a song that has been sung in my family ever since I can remember. It's called "Pearly Shells". (this is my first time uploading my own videos, so I hope it works)

Sunday Stew... a whole 2 weeks worth!

or 3...or 4...

Sunday Stew (thanks Kara) is my new solution to bloggers block. My utter lack of storytelling skills shows repeatedly on this blog and in hopes of making things a little more interesting, or maybe just easier for me, Sunday Stew will be random mixture of all the good things that go on in our family.
So this is coming at ya in no particular order, and the obsessive compulsiveness in me is screaming at me to fix it, but it's not gonna happen today. So here goes.



A few months ago, 3 to be exact, I signed Morgan up for club volleyball and thought about how fun it would be to go watch her play every Saturday. Ha. I then get a phone call from the coordinator saying they need a coach for Morgans team and that I was the last one on the list. And because I have no concept telling someone "No", well yeah, you guessed it. So much for leisurely Saturdays watching from the bleachers. Mind you, I have zero experience in anything besides Young Womens volleyball that I played when I was 14, so I was a little nervous. But what started out as something to dread, became something I really looked forward to. We had a great group of girls on the team, and for most of them being fairly new to the sport, they were really good! It was so fun to watch them improve throughout the season...and who knows...maybe my coaching days aren't over just yet.....


Layton had his first Pinewood Derby last week! Here is his car and his award for "Best Design". His Dad worked so hard. (wink)

Layton with a couple of his cute scout buddies, waiting for the races to begin.

Quinn "helping" Layton with his car. I love how into it the Dad's get.

I had to throw this one in for flavor. I love this kid's grin. He makes me smile.

And this one too. What can I say? They all make me smile.

This is cute Allie with her Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Herbst(my grandparents) at her 6th birthday party. They have never missed a birthday(NOT ONE)and I'm so glad they are around for my kids to know them. Notice the camera on my Grandma's lap. She probably had those pictures downloaded and into books before the night was up. She is a master historian and computer wiz and a regular facebooker. Yup. She's amazing.

Allie with her traditional birthday breakfast in bed. Something we all look forward to each year!

This gorgeous lady is my SIL and her cute little girl. We had Quinn's family up for dinner on Easter Sunday after conference. It was even pleasant enough that we were able to go outside and have a small easter egg hunt.

Here are all the kids waiting patiently as the eggs were hidden outside.

I love this pic of Kate and her Grandpa looking through an old photo album. He was telling her stories and she was eating it up.
And there you have it. Sunday Stew. Next week will be bite size.

New-Found FAV

This incredible looking dip is HUMMUS and let me tell you, can transform a piece of celery from tasteless watery crunch into something near heavenly. It is an awesome spread for sandwiches and wraps, and the health benefits are great to boot! I'm hooked! Here is a fantastic recipe for you if you get the urge to try hummus:

Turkey Hummus Wrap
Spread 3 tbsp. hummus on a whole wheat tortilla
Layer:
3 oz. skinless white turkey breast meat
1/4 of a sliced avocado
1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
2 slices tomato
romaine lettuce
Roll up and enjoy!

(Hummus is store-bought by the way, I'm sure you could make it if you wanted to, but it's very good and much easier from the store!)

That's My Girl

And it's time for another birthday at our house. Allie, our third baby, second girl, is celebrating her 6th birthday tomorrow. When she was a baby, everyone always told me she looked like a cabbage patch doll. And Oh, what a doll she is. Just can't get enough of this girl's million dollar smile.
Here is a peek at our sweet Alliecat. (I wanted to start with a hospital pic, but our scanner was being a bugger, so we'll start with: )
Age 1

Age 2

Age 3


Age 4

Age 5

Here is what makes our Allie so special:
*Her smile is contagious.
*She is 98.7% instantly obedient.
*She was so excited to get into this world, she came 4 weeks early!
*When she grows up, she wants to be a mom or maybe a bus driver.
*She reminds me at least once a day that I am the best mom in the world. I never get tired of hearing it.
*She is our best eater, always the first one to the table, and the last one down.
*She adores, and is adored by, her siblings. She makes the perfect older and younger sister.
We love you Allie, and hope you have a special day!

Hello out there?? Has anyone missed me???

Wow. It's amazing how time can fly without even realizing it. Here we are four months later and it still feels like Christmas outside. Yup, that's right. My kids just had thier first day of cancelled school because of snow, and it happened in April. Is this what it's like in Alaska? Here's a quick recap of our 2010 so far.


Cute Layton turned 8 and started scouts, and he is all business.


He was baptized in February by his dad. His little toe popped up, so he had to do it twice, but made sure to get it right the second time!




Did I mention the snow we've been having? Yeah, we've been pretty busy trying to get the most out of it. Quinn and I took a quick overnight trip to Big Sky for our 12th anniversary. We love to ski with our kids, but it was really nice to spend a quiet day together and enjoy the awesome slopes.

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We were able to get the kids up to Kelly's quite a bit...Allie is becoming quite the little skier. Her favorite thing is to play movie trivia on the chair lift. Morgan tried snowboarding for the first time this year, and I don't think she'll ever go back to skiing.

As much fun as it is to play in the snow, I am ready for spring!! My garden thumb is starting to itch.