Sister Love--lots of photos!!

I have to say that I am enjoying watching Cameryn and Jaidyn's relationship really blossom. It is so neat and cute to see how the interact, play and talk to each other. I hope this is a good sign that they will always be close and will always love each other. I try to get some captured on video but of course as soon as I get the camera out, they stop. Here are some photo's I was able to get.

A Nice Visit

My long time high school friend Lee came out for a visit this last Wednesday with her adorable son Ethan and stayed till Sunday. This was Lee's third time coming to Boise. The first time it was her and her husband Jeremy and Ethan. It had been a couple years since I had seen her so I was super excited that they came out. She also came out a few months ago to be with me and help me with the kids over the weekend while Tyson was in Texas, an it is always nice to have the extra help!

It was perfect timing too because our state fair started that weekend, so I was excited to be able to get out of the house and have some fun! Next year if they come Ethan will be able to partake on some rides, he was still just a little to short to be able to do that.

We just hung out during the week, catching up and watching the kids play! Ethan took a liking to Cameryn and was giving her kisses all the time! It was too cute!!

Saturday was our fair day!! I was so excited, we always go right away in the morning since it is still kind of cool out, however this year the fair changed their hours and didn't open till noon. There was no way the kids were going to be able to last that long w/o a nap so we put them down for a nap and after they woke up we fed them lunch and took off. We got there at about 1 pm and it was HOT already! We tried to stay in the shade as much as possible but it was hard in some spots. We of course were super excited about the fair food and I wish I could of ate more but I was stuffed at the end. I of course had a pronto pup (tradition), I ended up getting a Gryo (it was okay), shared some fries with Lee and than we went to the rides so Morgan could have some fun!

How can you not love this adorable face???

It was nice this year because she was tall enough to go on most of the kids rides, where last year there were only a few she could go on. My favorite part was when she went on a kids roller coaster, as soon as they went over the first mini bump, she grabbed the sides of the coaster and her face was priceless! I wish I could of gotten a picture of it! This was the HOTTEST part of the day. Lee and Tyson, and the little kids hung out in the shade but I had to stand by the rides for when she got done. I was glad we only got her 25 tickets, which was 6 rides. I even went on two of the rides with her!

He was talking.

The visit went by way to fast and I didn't want them to leave! I was very sad when I had to drop them off at the airport. At least there will be some more future visits ahead!!

Tyson taught Ethan "Knuckles"

My Menu

Here is my menu for this week. Last week we stuck to our menu and ended up ordering pizza on Friday. Saturday we just snacked as we had ate a TON at the fair so I wasn't even hungry for dinner. The Chicken Oriental Salad turned out AWESOME and tasted just like the one you get at Applebee's!!! It is something I will make again for sure.

Sunday: Smoked Chicken Legs (in our smoker), roasted potatoes and a veggie (haven't decided yet)

Monday: Pork Chops, rice and corn

Tuesday: Chorizo's, macaroni salad and tator tots

Wednesday: Rigatoni w/ spaghetti sauce, salad and garlic bread

Thursday: Juicy Lucy Cheeseburgers, baked beans and fries

Friday: Chicken Kabobs, Cous Cous and salad

Saturday: Smoked Baby Back Ribs (in our smoker again), twice baked potatoes, and corn on the cob

We have only used our smoker once and we made pulled pork. It turned out really good, so we are excited to try some more things. We decided that we are going to try some "cheaper" things before we splurged on a turkey or a brisket, we don't want to spend $20 or more to ruin it, so we thought we would "practice" a bit more! Have a great week everyone!

My Menu

Here is my menu for the week. I went grocery shopping yesterday and our fridge is packed full of fresh veggies and fruit again! I have a TON of vacuum sealing to do as I bought a lot of Meat for our freezer as well. We have to make one trip to Costco to get the rest of our stuff (I get hamburger there, coffee, whole milk, corn and green beans). Yesterday we bought a smoker from Home Depot so we are going to be using that alot to see what kind of good food we can smoke! Yesterday we BBQ'd homemade pizzas and they turned out delish, so we will probably do that more often!

Sunday: Pulled Pork (on the smoker), Corn on the cob (on the smoker), twice baked potato's and home made bread sticks (I have left over pizza dough)

Monday: Chicken Fajitas, homemade guacamole, mini tator tots, and refried beans (Morgan LOVES refried beans)

Tuesday: Oriental Chicken Salad--from Applebee's, except I am making it, you can find the recipe Here. Maybe some spicy chicken wings as well.

Wednesday: Taco Soup and Cheese Quesadilla's (I have to use the rest of our tortilla's)

Thursday: Lasagna (cooked on the BBQ), Garlic Toast and Salad

Friday: ?? My friend Lee from MN is coming with her son on Wednesday, so maybe we will order out or something

Saturday: ?? I want to smoke a Turkey, but we are probably going to the fair in the morning....and it takes forever and I don't want to leave the house after we start it. Brisket is an option as well!

I am super excited for the fair, nothing is better than fair food. I know my "must haves" will be a pronto pup for sure, I want to definitely get a Gyro, corn on the cob is always good. I haven't had tortatoe's forever so maybe those as well, otherwise I want to try something new, either Gumbo or something different that is deep fried? Gotta love fair food!

34 Things

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it would be fun. I decided on 34 things because that is my age, and who am I kidding, I could of kept going but decided to stop and in a few months I will do some more. So, here is 34 things you may or may not know about me

1. I was a baton girl in elementary school. I would march in our 4Th of July parade and I have to say I was pretty good at it!

2. I always wanted to be a cheerleader in high school but didn't try out again after not making it freshman year.

3. I joined Gymnastics in high school and always wanted to be better at it than I was, but I didn't have the "discipline" to get better.

4. I wish I could carry a tune...I can't, I am an AWFUL singer.

5. I want to take a photography class and buy a really, really nice camera

6. I have always wanted to go back to school to become an R.N.

7. I have always wanted to know how to style my hair nice and to be able to put make up on so that it looks nice.

8. I am OBSESSED with purses and I dream of one day owning a Coach Purse!

9. I despise putting away whites...not sure why maybe because of all the socks?

10. I have always wanted to backpack through Europe

11. I want Lasik to my eyes but I don't qualify.

12. If I crave a food most often it is Chinese...I love Egg Rolls, Crab Rangoon, Kung Pao Chicken...I love it all!!

13. Some of my favorite memories from childhood are going up to the cabin...I miss going there!

14. I LOVE seafood...I am more apt to order Crab Cakes, Calamari, or Crab Legs when I get the chance to eat it!

15. I think of my Grandma Fitz everyday and wish I could call her on the phone.

16. I wish I could live in Minnesota to be by all of my family.

17. I love to listen to the Oldies...it reminds me of my parents and growing up

18. I miss sometimes being able to just get up and go w/o having to get all the kids ready!

19. I want to own a cabin one day.

20. I want to renew my wedding vows in Vegas when we reach 10 years of marriage!

21. My favorite type of pizza is TONS of pepperoni, green olives and thin crust.

22. I love buffet's but only for the salad

23. I love cookbooks and would collect them if I could. I love to try new recipes.

24. I have always wanted to skydive.

25. Daisy's are my favorite flower.

26. I think working at a wedding dress shop would be fun.

27. I love water slides and roller coasters.

28. My favorite fair food is Pronto Pups, tortato's, gyros, well who am I kidding, I love ALL fair food.

29. I love kitchen stuff....bowls, plates, glasses etc.

30. I am deathly afraid of spiders

31. If I am bored during a book, I skip some of the lines.

32. I prefer water over soda.

33. I love winter because it gets dark early

34. My favorite movie of all time is A Chorus Line.

1 year checkup

Cameryn and Jaidyn had their 1 year check up last week! Everything went well, all except for one detail, which I will get into in just a little bit. Here are their stat's from the appointment

Cameryn:

Weight 24.56 lbs---95 percentile

Length 29 inches---38 percentile

Weight to Length---99 percentile

We were told to go down to 24 ozs of milk a day (I had been giving 32 ozs) and to especially watch Cameryn...she LOVES her milk but she is so chunky already she doesn't really need the "extra" calories. She is built just like Morgan was so I am not concerned, I know once she starts walking a lot of the chub will go away!

Jaidyn:

Weight 19.94 lbs----50 percentile

Length 28.5 inches---21 percentile

Weight to Length---69 percentile

We had mentioned to the nurse that when Jaidyn is upset she will throw her fore head to the ground, over and over until we are able to comfort her (she does it a lot when I cant get her bottle made fast enough or if one of her sister's takes something away from her, even when "strangers" look at her she will do it. When my nephew was here one Sunday she kept crawling on the carpet, on her forehead, crying. It was so bad she gave her self a carpet burn. The Dr. said that it is common to have a kid who will bang their head in frustration and that the best thing to do is scoop them up and put them somewhere safe where they cant hurt their head, like a porta crib and then they will learn that they are not going to get comfort from throwing a "tantrum" Once she started reviewing the girls stat's that was when the one concern came about! Jaidyn's head size jumped from 17.91 from her 9 month appointment to 18.8 (Cameryn had gone from 18.11 to 18.5). So the Dr. was a bit concerned about the rapid growth along with the head banging. She said that if the head banging gets worse we need to call in and she is going to order a head scan. If it doesn't get worse on her next appointment if her head size jumps than she will order a head scan then. So, that is some scary news and I am hoping that everything is okay.

Her head banging has continued, I wouldn't say worse, but is still happening. I am going to give it a week or two before seeing if I should call in for the head scan. On the other news, Jaidyn is consistently standing up, in the most random spots, I would say, she just doesn't want to take that first step (little stinker). Days after she started this Cameryn started as well. It is amazing what they learn from each other! Pretty soon, we are going to have walkers on our hands (help me now please).

I still can't believe a year has gone by! I am getting excited for this winter to see how they are at Christmas time with presents and snow (what little snow we get), and I am so excited for the new adventures and memories we will have as a family!! I will keep you all updated on the result of Jaidyn!

My Menu

Here is my menu for the week. We didn't make it to the grocery store this weekend, but there will have to be a trip this coming weekend as we are getting down the the nitty gritty in our freezer/fridge and pantry. Which I am totally fine with because then we get "fresh" stuff to stock up on.

Sunday: Chicken Wings and roasted potatoes (we didn't have this on Saturday because we ate a late lunch and weren't hungry)

Monday: BBQ Chicken tenderloins, Cous Cous and green beans

Tuesday: Meatloaf (cooked on the BBQ), mashed potatoes, gravy and corn

Wednesday: Carne Asada, grilled veggies and Spanish rice

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner--I have heard people call this Brinner. I am going to cook Almond dipped French Toast and bacon.

Friday: Cheeseburgers, baked beans and pasta salad

Saturday: ???? depends on grocery shopping.

Now that Cameryn and Jaidyn are eating people food, I am going to start to have to alter how I am cooking. Right now us 3 can get away one can of corn, or one box of rice, etc. But that doesn't leave too many leftovers for the babies...(they eat the leftovers the next day for their meals) So I guess now I am going to have to start cooking 2 of everything! It will probably take a week or so for me to get it figured out on exactly how much of the main entree to cook, but at least they are off of formula and baby food!! Have a great week!