Recipe Blog

My sister and I have started a little recipe blog. We kept "meaning" to send recipes to each other and love to share ideas so we thought that we'd start a blog. If nothing else, we can share recipes with each other :). The site is www.itssupersimple.blogspot.com . I'm really in need of some easy crock pot and grill recipes if anyone has anything fabulous that they want to share :).

We're Getting a Pool!!!!

We've decided to get a pool!! I really can't believe how fast it's going. The contractor even said that we were ahead of schedule (knock on wood). They've only been working for about a week. Here are a few pics.

Harrison checking out the progress (in his pajamas).

Here is Lyddie's little play step.

This was taken yesterday.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!!!

We have been SO busy and I haven't had time to post anything. Here are some random pictures of the kids over the last month.

This picture cracks me up. It wasn't posed at all. She was eating her bacon for breakfast as her little pig friend sat and watched :). Zane walked into the garage one morning and this opossum was sitting on the ground. When Jared went out to see what it was, it had climbed up on the ladder. Hmmm...since Max never comes home at night we should start closing the side door :).

Lyddie getting her first soccer lesson.

My nephew, Jacob, came and spent the night a few weeks ago. It was their first sleepover.

Playing at Gulley Park. Harrison was showing her something in the water.

She wouldn't hold my hand!!

She ran out of hands. I grew up next door to Jared (most of you know THAT story :)) and his parents used to joke that I would drive down the street talking on the phone, honking, waving, and eating all at the same time. Looks like she will have no problem :)

Zane is such an awesome brother. I actually cried the other day. I was watching from the back porch and he was playing with her on the play set. He was so careful with her. He buckled her into the swing and pushed her and took her up in the top and let her slide down. He'll just talk and laugh with her. It was SO sweet. No pictures though :(.

Playing with our neighbor's dog.

Harrison is SO great with her, too! Usually, if he sits down and she's close, she'll turn and back into his lap. SO CUTE! She comes up and hugs his legs and pats his head if I'm holding her. She says "Bubba" ALL the time.

Harrison and Jared doing a science experiment. A Christmas gift that we are JUST getting out :).

They were playing soccer in the backyard a few days ago.

Harrison looking a little worn out.

New York City!!

Last Friday, Jared and his group went to NYC for conferences and I got to tag along! It was my first time there. I LOVED IT!!!!! We were staying at 53rd and 7&th for any of you that know the area. The location was amazing. We could walk to so many great places. We went to the Empire State building the first night, saw a Broadway (Jersey Boys-GREAT), took a ferry around the Statue of Liberty, shopped on Canal Street (the most exciting part of the trip!), walked thru Central Park and down 5th Avenue (saw a photo shoot at a STREET CORNER), ate great food (CHEESECAKE!!), and just WALKED. It was so much fun to get out and see everything. Time Square was just a few blocks from our hotel. AND I do believe Flava Flave was in our hotel! I didn't see him but some of the girls did and said he even had the big clock around his neck. I know that you are ALL jealous now ;)!

The limo rides were great!! Less exciting than the cabs!

Cheater, Cheater...Jerky Eater?!

SO, we have a dog named Max (those of you that know this story are probably already smiling!). We've had him for about six years (since he was a puppy). We used to have a dog named Heidi that was a couple of years older than Max. She got hit by a car a few years ago. She survived running loose in Little Rock and "downtown" Springdale (unintentionally of course) and then we moved her to the country and she got hit. It was very sad. Anyway, Max was a very lively dog until Heidi died but has just never been the same since. He's got a bad habit of getting out of the neighborhood (none of us have fences) and tearing up trash. I got a phone call a couple of months ago and a man asks me if I have a dog named Max. I immediately say yes and start apologizing and asking if he's been in his trash. He tells me, "No, no we saw his tags this morning and called the vet to get your number." (Jared had taken Max and Tuck (our cat) to the vet the day before and gotten their shots and tags (oops, he'd been running without those). He goes on to tell me that Max had been coming to his house for the past YEAR and they didn't know who he belonged to since he didn't have any tags. They'd been calling him Big. "He's just the best dog we've ever had. He gets along with all of our animals so well. You should just see how his eyes light up when we get out the the deer jerky! How old is he anyway?" I tell him six and he acts surprised because he "acts like such a puppy and lays in the yard and wrestles with one of our little dogs." (all he EVER does at our house is lay around!). I tell him about Heidi and he says that figured that he liked going there so much because of all the other dogs (I think that he was just being nice). I tell him that we'd thought about building a fence to keep him in and he all but begs me not to. THEN he tells me that since it had been so cold at night they'd been letting him come in and sleep on a PILLOW in their ROOM with their CAT!!! We had been so worried about him because of the weather and didn't know where he was going at night!! Then for the icing on the cake he tells me that they just love him SO much that they put him on their CHRISTMAS CARD!!! He told us that he was welcome there anytime and if we ever decided to get rid of him (umm, no!) he'd always have a home there. He said that if we couldn't find him he was probably at their house (he usually sleeps on a pillow on their back porch that overlooks the RIVER) and we could come and get him anytime. So, every once in awhile Jared will go to their house and call his name. He trots from the backyard and jumps in the car to come to his "other" home. I feel like the not-so-cool step parent :( We do let him come in and sleep some (you've gotta keep up!) and he loves the kids, but when left outside for very long, he goes back "home"!! Here are some pictures from his last visit. Who wouldn't want to live with these SWEET kids??? Can't you just see all of that PUPPY in him!?! He is seriously living a double life.

Hangin' With The Boys

Zane had some friends spend the night last weekend. I can't tell you how sweet they were to Lyddie (and Harrison). Nick (on the left) made a comment about Lydia not having any hair. Woody (on the right) was a little defensive and said that she did but you just couldn't see it very well. THEN he says, "When you have more hair, we'll come over and play beauty shop and fix it for you." I could have melted into a puddle RIGHT there!!! This little boy loves guitars and rock and roll but couldn't be sweeter to the little sibs. I would just adopt him if I could :).

Lyddie loves to go around the kitchen and "clean". She wipes down the cabinets and the floor. Maybe she'll keep it up and help when she's older!! Tonight, I peeled her an apple and let her go after it. She LOVED it!!! I don't know why she looks so scared :). H loves to pose for pics!

Get Outside!

We've had several nice days of warmer weather. It's so nice to be able to get out and run some energy out of the kiddos :)! The first group of pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago (before that wonderful ice storm hit).

Zane LOVES for Jared to push him on the swing. It goes out over this little hill so you're pretty far off the ground when you swing out. I like to swing on it, too ;).Lyddie enjoys a more peaceful ride. She doesn't like to go very high!!