ABC's of summer

My sister told me about this really cool idea to do! You go through and from A-Z list ideas or plans you want to accomplish for the summer!! I will be going back and filling these in as they come to me...

A-
B-
C- california! its the second annual Lake Combie trip! Counting down the days! So fun!!!
D-
E-
F- farm! Lots of visits out to the farm, Chloe loves all the animals and seeing her fam!
G-
H- hiking-i have a great jogging stroller with the heavy duty wheels-just need to find a good mountain to take her up on!
I-
J-
K-
L-
M- mariners game! Fun for everyone!!!
N-
O-
P-
Q-
R-
S- swim lessons!! We are all signed up and cant wait to start!
T-
U-
V-
W-
X-
Y-
Z- zoo (only z i could come up with) Chloe loves animals so this will be a fun time!

Fun in the Sun!

Being in Ellensburg has so many perks! Being in between both of our families is a big one-and in the sunny months, being only 35 minutes away from my good friends cabin in Sunland!!! We have already taken a few day trips out there and it is such a blast! It is such a short drive, but feels like we are on vacation every time we go!! It is this fun little community right on the Columbia river. Chloe loves it! She can go in the pool or go for a ride in the swings. It is so relaxing and so much fun spending time with Kielie and her fam!!

Chloe and dad loving the swing

cruisin in the golf cart

the bbq master himself!

poolside with the little one

daddy and chloe in the pool

BBQ time!

happy babe

The beginning of a sunny, splendid summer!

We kicked off the summer by attempting to surprise my sister at her kids birthday party! My niece Bailey turned 3 and my little Mason turned 1! I say attempted because i thought i was so sneaky telling my sister weeks before the party that i wouldn't be able to make it due in part to the busy traveling weekend(she had it on memorial weekend) But of course, the morning of the party, she called me early and just randomly asked if i was in town!!! I tried to play it off like i wasn't but i couldn't fool her. It was great celebrating with everyone!! It is so crazy how much our family has grown the last few years!  Chloe loved being around all her cousins and they loved her! (I would upload all the cute pictures but i cant copy them off my sisters facebook!) I got my little Bailey a hot pink skirt (Chloe has a matching one) and she absolutely loved it!! Which of course, totally warms any Aunts heart! She is such a character and i am so lucky to have her for Chloe to grow up with! She is a great kid and has a great pair of sassy pants to keep her parents on their toes!! Marissa and the newest member of their family made it to the party also! Big Mike, as we call him, is such a little cutie!!! He is such a smiley, happy little guy!!! Him and Chloe had fun together too!

Chloe with the bday cousins!

Loving on Big Mike

Uncle Bubba aka the baby whisperer

The BIG 1 year anniversary!

before heading out to din din

 Ive been a horrible blogger-so i am going to do my best to try and catch back up and get back into it! The start of Spring brought some gorgeous, long over due sunshine! We headed out to Seattle to celebrate the BIG 1 year anniversary!! We celebrated at both mine and Robs favorite restaurant, Benihana. Roby surprised me and set up ahead of time telling the restaurant it was our anniversary, so right when we sat down, they came over and snapped a picture of us and wished us a happy 1 year! We lucked out because it was such an amazing Seattle night!! After dinner we strolled around the streets aimlessly (thanks to Gammy and Poo-pah for watching little Chlo!) It was such a fun milestone to celebrate! Crazy how fast the year went-and it definitely has been the best year of my life!!! I feel so lucky everyday to have Roby in my life, he is such an amazing husband and dad. Even with all the stresses of school, basketball, and family, he always has the best attitude and never seems to be flustered by it all. I am truly blessed!!!!

most delicious place!

Junior Miss-Ellensburg

Chloe with Grandma and Grandpa before the show

Roby's sister Crystal was asked to be the guest talent at the Ellensburg Junior Miss and it was such a treat!!! She plays a piece on the piano from Phantom of the Opera and it gives me goosebumps every time she plays!!! Roby's parents came out to watch and we had a fun dinner at our house with them before the show. Crystal played great and got some big cheers from the crowd!

Roby with the star of the show

I love this picture because of how cute the babies are together!

Eat This Not That - Healthier Alternatives

My good friend and workout partner would always talk about these awesome books her mom was really into. She explained them as healthier substitutes for popular foods and menu items. I did not get the just of it until after a workout one day, my friend and I ventured down to the Central bookstore where she told me about these "Eat This Not That" books. I was instantly hooked!! I sat in the cooking book aisle glued to the version "Cook This Not That". There were so many awesome recipes that show you the nutritional facts of certain dishes prepared by popular restaurants, and then show you a healthier (yet still very tasty way) to create them at home with half the calories! I called my sister-in-law Marissa raving about these books, spitting out "did you know" facts. She laughed when i told her i had taken pictures with my phone of a few recipes that i could try myself. So, instead of making me return to the bookstore and secretly snap more photos, she surprised me with my own copy! Some of the stuff in there is just jaw dropping!!! Even though Chloe is not on solid foods yet, I still want to be prepared and knowledgeable when it comes time to start her on it. The one dish that caught my eye and made me cringe came off a children's menu!! The children's fettuccine Alfredo at the Cheesecake factory is packed with more saturated fat than a full-grown adult should eat in 4 days, and more calories than you’d find in 40 Chicken McNuggets! What i love about these books is its not a diet book by any means, but instead of ordering this awful children's dish, they offer a more reasonable one that you should feed your child. Another version of the book is "The Supermarket Survival Guide". It showed misconceptions that many shoppers make. Nutri-Grain bars had a page in it exposing that they are no where near as good as many people (including myself!) believe them to be. "Healthy" cereals was also a focus. Kelloggs Smart Start has more sugar in it then Fruit Loops! I could go on and on with all the jaw dropping food that i have always thought to be good for you, when in reality, its nutritional facts are comparable to a candy bar! The recipes i have tried so far from the cook book turned out great!!! The Chicken Parmesan and Baked Ziti are popular with Roby. I am so excited to try out more of the recipes and by the time i am grocery shopping for Chloe, i will be a nutritional pro!!! I highly recomond these books to anyone-i attached a link that takes you to a site that gives you a few examples of each! Enjoy!!!
Eat This Not That

Here I come Ellen!!!

So for anyone who has seen the Ellen DeGeneres show-you know that she has a segment where she shows videos of laughing babies that people send into her. Personally, i believe Chloe's adorable chuckling would be a great addition to the segment  :)