Jake's 25th

Jake turned 25 years old today. His golden birthday- 25 on the 25th! Oh how I love this man!
25 things I love about Jake:
1. His burning testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. His dedication and devotion to his family
3. His contagious laugh
4. His urge to share a drawn out, detailed, scientific explanation for the most simple questions
5. His hardworking nature (you'll never find a guy that works harder!)
6. How he wrestles with Tyler everyday
7. How Tyler cries "Dadda, dadda" every day he leaves for school (Jake's boy loves his daddy!)
8. His desire to always have a strong, faithful, playful, romantic, marriage
9. His back and foot massages
10. His humble nature
11. His love of fishing, sports, water, geology, and anything outdoors
12. His desire to provide for his family
13. His granny driving
14. How he reminds us to pray every morning and night
15. How he so readily serves others
16. His support to help me reach my goals
17. His love of games- yahtzee, farkle, and boggle to be exact
18. That he loves crossword puzzles, that we get excited to find them in our weekly ads, and set aside time to do them together that evening
14. That he'll sit and watch HGTV or Food Network with me (even though a more exciting ball game might be on)
15. That he still gives me butterflies and makes me shiver (sorry Mom... you're probably blushing)
16. His love of school and learning
17. That he tells me all he wants for his birthday is for me to be happy (really? who is this guy? I love him!)
18. That he'll help with Tyler when I've been up with him in the night, even though he has class early in the morning
19. That he can laugh when hard things happen- especially when it comes to diaper explosions
20. His complete honesty
21. That he loves my cooking and encourages me to try my own twist on recipes (he's a brave man!)
22. That he tells me I'm beautiful everyday
23. That he drives whenever we're in the car together
24. That he's handsome, strong, and darn right hot
25. That he married me in the temple and has followed his promise to my dad to take me there often

Oh there is so much more about him I love, but there's a little snapshot for you. And apparently in my world- 14 comes after 18. So i guess that was 30 things I love about Jake. For his birthday we got together with both our families and had a little swim fiesta. The water was freezing, but the kids enjoyed it. We had enchiladas, 7-layer bean dip, fruit kabobs, and boy was it yummy! I love you Jake! Happy Birthday!

The Help

My friend Megan has started a book club and invited me to join. I've never considered myself as much of a reader, but apparently I LOVE it! This was the first book we read. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This book was amazing! I loved every moment of it and had a hard time putting it down (ask Jake!). I read it in less than a week (which is super fast for me- especially when I was working 2 of the days in the week). The characters became my friends and I loved being brought into their world. The author did an amazing job of giving each of the characters a distinctive voice. The story takes place in the 1960's in Jackson Mississippi and is told from the perspective of 3 different ladies: Miss Skeeter, a young Ole Miss graduate who is pursuing a career in journalism; Aibileen, a black maid who is raising her 17th white child; and Minny, a plump black maid that has a lot of spice and a mouth that has gotten her fired from numerous jobs. These 3 ladies "will come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed." If you are looking for a good book to read, go get it... now! Good luck finding it in the library though. Last I checked there were currently 109 holds on the book at the Mesa libraries. Let me know if any of you have read it or decide to read it. You will love it!

Hello Again!

Well, we're back. It's been awhile since we've been in the blogging world. I think we've been a little selfish- we haven't been sharing our Tyler with any of you! So here are some pictures.

Tyler loves to sweep the back patio. I'm glad because it's one of my least favorite things to do!

Jake and I hiked the wind caves with my "little" brother and my dad. It was such a beautiful day and the desert looked so green from all the rain we've gotten the past little while. I believe this picture was shortly before I tripped and fell hiking down. I should have gotten a picture of my knee and my hands- it was pretty gruesome. What a klutz I am sometimes! I haven't had the feeling of scraped hands and knees since elementary school. Pardon the lovely face- gotta love the timer! And we decided Jake looks like Dr. Pendanski from Holes in this picture.

I love this face! Tyler is such a happy boy and we love him so much. He is such a smarty pants (at least we think so, but then again we're his parents- we have to think that!) He loves learning. He already knows 14 letter sounds and talks all the time. Here are some words he knows: ball (bah), up, binkie (beebee), baby, bob (and he also sings part of the "Bob the Builder" song), Nana (Savannah), Bake (Blake), Papa (Grandpa), Momma, Dadda, Erin (Eweh), drink (dink), cheese (cheeeee), please (peas), hi, bye-bye, help (hep), almost (awmote- after almost making a basket in the hoop). He is learning more everyday and will try to repeat almost everything we say.

We got to go to the zoo while Jake was on Spring Break. Tyler fell asleep after awhile, but enjoyed seeing all the animals- especially the random squirrels running around, waiting for snacks to fall from the stroller.

Me & my man


Ty still loves his bath time every night with Daddy. He loves his puppy towel from Grandma Richardson. Look at that smile!

For some reason Tyler has started loving hats- particularly this candy corn hat Aunt Cindy got him back in October. It's a little snug on his huge noggin, but he loves it!

Ty's favorite thing to do is wrestling with his daddy. Tyler will charge after Jake and throw himself on him until Jake starts tickling/wrestling with him. It's one of my favorite things to watch. I love my boys!

Tyler turned 1 (back in December- I know! I'm awful!) Here he is with his "circus tent" cake that Jake made. Not what I had in mind, but Jake was so excited about doing the cake, and Tyler was obviously excited about it too.

Yodipity

Get your BUY 1 GET 1 FREE coupon.
Free yogurt for bloggers, click here for details.

Looks like a yummy place! You can get a free yogurt by going here and then blogging about it.

Starfall

Tyler has been obsessed with Starfall lately. Starfall is a website that teaches letters, sounds, and reading. We used to use Starfall when I taught at Guerrero Elementary, and the little girl I nanny likes to play it, so I thought I'd try it out with Ty. I think he likes it just a little too much. He gets so enthralled in the interactive books and letters- he honestly would sit on my lap for an hour and do starfall if I would let him. I think it's great because he'll repeat the sounds he hears on the computer- his favorites are "a", "m", and "s". It also has fun little games, and songs (Tyler always claps after the songs and signs/says "moe, moe" (more, more).) If you have kids 2nd grade and younger, you should check it out. Enjoy!

Southwestern Egg Rolls

I found the yummiest recipe for Southwestern Egg Rolls on my friend Kelli and her sisters' blog called Hold The Onions. You can see a picture on their website. I made them for dinner last night and they were so delish. Try them! They are just a tad bit spicy, but oh so good. They remind me a lot of the Southwestern Egg Rolls from Chili's. We had them as our main dish, but they would be great as little appetizers or side dishes if you were hosting a southwestern/Mexican dinner. Next time I think I'll serve them with dipping sauces like guacamole ranch or just salsa and sour cream. Mmmm. I can't wait until I make them again!

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Ingredients

* 2 Tbs vegetable oil
* 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half
* 2 Tbs minced green onion
* 2 Tbs minced red bell pepper
* 1/3 c frozen corn kernels (I probably used more like 1/2-3/4 cup. We like corn!)
* 1/4 c black beans, rinsed and drained (Again, I used more like 1/2-3/4 cup)
* 2 Tbs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (I also tossed in a little extra spinach)
* 2 Tbs diced jalapeno peppers
* 1/2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp chili powder
* 1/3 tsp salt
* 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
* 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I didn't have Monterey Jack so I used mozzarella)
* 5 (6 inch) flour tortillas
* 1 quart oil for deep frying (I didn't deep fry- I did the baking option)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side in 1 Tbs vegetable oil, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.
3. Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.
4. Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute or until hot and pliable.
5. Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with wet toothpicks. Arrange in medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours. *I didn't freeze mine because we were eating them right then. I put them on a cookie sheet and baked them.
6. In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry frozen, stuffed tortillas for 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving. (Instead of deep frying, you can bake them in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.)

Everything Vinyl

Hey ya'll. My best of best friends Raylene has a new website called Everything Vinyl. She can do pretty much anything vinyl you want. Check out her website and take a look! Also, she is doing a free $25 vinyl give away. Post about her website on your blog or facebook and let her know by commenting on her website and you're in- it's that easy! P.S.- she also has an adorable website called BowzieBaby. She makes the cutest things. Check that one out too.