Some cousinly love...

Isabelle and I went to Gigi's on our daily walk and got to play with Paisley.  Isabelle was so cute with her!

She is holding her hand and Paisley is a little unsure of things.  Paisley has the same play mat Isabelle had, brought back memories... it's crazy to think that Iz was that little and could lay under it, now she can barely sit under it.

Checking out Paisley's little hands...

I love this, they are checking each other out.

Lunch with the girls!

Walking back to Gigi's after her nap!

This is true cousinly love!  Isabelle kept giving Harper hugs, it was the cutest thing... she loves her!

Paisley was lookin' good in her shades!  All the girls had such a good time playing together, it was fun to hang with everyone- outside- in the beautiful weather.

:: Parents as Teachers ::

Our Parents as Teachers coordinator came over for the first time and she gave Isabelle this book {called 'Pets'}, Iz was being so quiet again so I had to go see what she was up to and it was the sweetest thing.. just laying on the ground looking at her new book.

This pic kind of reminds me of the baby pics where the mom set up scenes around her baby while she was sleeping {'Mila's Daydreams' if you haven't seen them, they are amazing}... like she's reaching for balloons or something.

Just reading... don't mind that it's upside down ;).

The PAT's had open gym once a month and we just happened to make the last one, I'm so glad we did because Isabelle had so much fun!

She loved this big wedge and the little slide they had.  At first, I had to put her on the slide and hold her hand going down, by the end, she was climbing up the ladder and going down by herself, almost flying and then would plop onto the spring floor laughing... she loved it!  I can't tell you how many times she went down the slide, but I can tell you that she learned how to wait in line ;).

They had all sorts of toys and equipment for the littles to play with and Isabelle had such a great time... so bummed it was the last one until Fall.

I had signed us up for PATs in Lawrence, but we were on a waiting list until about a week before we were moving, so it was a nice surprise when we were able to start right away in Salina.  My friend Kellie had recommended it to me {thank you!} because they have really enjoyed it, so I will keep you posted on ours!  It's a great program and super easy to get involved in, just google it for your area {if you aren't familiar} and check it out if you're interested.

holy tornadoes!!

Jacob and I are in a dinner group in our new town of Salina and we had our first dinner the night of tornadoes!  The couple hosting just happened to live right in the path of the tornado, what are the chances?  I should have probably mentioned that they live at the top of an old college {sounds weird I know, but it's pretty cool}, so this is our view of the tornado coming at us.  All the girls ran downstairs and I was busy filling my glass of wine {I guess I thought it would help calm me down a bit ;)} that I missed the way to the basement and got stuck storm watching with the dudes.  I have always hated tornadoes and am usually the one running to the basement, but for some reason, I could not stop watching!  It reminded me of my dad- he would always be on the front porch while the sirens were going off and my mom and I were in the basement- so I was feeling a little bit like my dad :).

You can see the tornado dropping down a little here, still coming straight at us.  We had all the windows open and literally had our heads out the window watching it.  As it came closer to us, it got so still outside, like eerily still and then just huge gusts of wind came through the windows and you could see the clouds just swirling above us - really the most incredible/insane thing I have ever seen!  We kept saying, we should go downstairs, let's go downstairs and then we would just keep watching... scary, I know!  I got some video of it and you can kind of see the clouds swirling.

The girls came back up and we all crawled through a window to stand on one of the roofs of Marymount College {wine in hand} and continue to watch the tornado go on its way past us {thank you lord!}.  We saw it touch down not too far from us on a dirt road so you could see all the dust flying and swirling around.  

We ended up having a wonderful dinner + desert and tour of the college {they are turning parts of it into loft apartments}, to go back to more tornado sirens!  This time, we all went to the basement to the storm shelter.. it was too dark, we didn't like the fact that we wouldn't be able to see it coming.  Izzy girl was at Gigi and Papa's so they had to wake her up, which of course I was worried about, but she was safe!  It was so hard not being with her during the whole ordeal, but at least I knew she was being taken care of and safe.  

The paper showed the path of the tornado and we were in it, we were so lucky it didn't drop down on us.. all prayers answered!  Thank goodness!!

:: Strawberry Mango Smoothie ::

I love this combo, it's so refreshing and delicious!  

Isabelle loves mangos! 

Add to blender:

1/2 C strawberries {I always use frozen}

1/2 C frozen mangos

1 frozen banana

1 tsp flax seeds {I just add these to all my smoothies because they are good for you and you can't taste them}

1 scoop protein powder

*if you use all frozen fruits, then just add about 8 ounces of water, you shouldn't need to add ice... unless you add too much water, put a few ice cubes in and blend.

Just playing in one of Isabelle's favorite outside toys... the wagon.

My little daredevil!  I think we have our hands full with this one- she climbs and stands on everything!

huh?

:: Oh Isabelle ::

Isabelle has been playing by herself and keeping herself entertained pretty well if I need a few minutes {which is great}, so I was in the kitchen and thought it was pretty quiet so I went to check and see what she was up to- this is what I found...

Pretty funny!  As you can see, the dogs were thrilled!

Poor Lucy, she loves her so much, but she just pulls on her ears, squeezes her, pats her {a little too hard} and follows her around... it's pretty cute, but Lucy had had enough I think...

love this.

I love how she is holding the blocks in somewhat of a heart shape... goes with her shirt :).

Thank goodness it stopped raining so we could go outside!

We went for a walk and Isabelle had to try and carry everything.. she puts things under her chin so she can hold more - so resourceful!

"I can pull it myself mom."

Haha!  This picture makes me laugh- we walked to Gigi's and had a fun surprise of seeing her cousins... Iz didn't want to sit in the car with Harper, but Harper was happy about it- their faces say it all!

She decided to give in - kind of.

:: blueberries + pigtails ::

I have been making Isabelle and I smoothies pretty much every morning and it has been fun just experimenting and mixing different ingredients + great way to start your day!  I use berries in most of them and we started our morning with this one today.

*Blueberry Smoothie*

1 small banana 

1/3 C protein {I use Juice Plus+ Vanilla Complete Powder}

1/2 T flaxseeds

1/4 C frozen blueberries {I just grab a handful}

1/2 T honey {or agave nectar}

8 oz of water

{I also usually add a handful of spinach or kale, just didn't this morning}

*Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth... I usually add a few ice cubes, but you don't have to.  Enjoy!

 I finally decided to see if I could get Isabelle's hair up into pig tails and it was pretty much a success!

 She looked so cute!  This was actually the first day I turned on the TV, I needed a few minutes to vacuum and Isabelle loves Elmo so I thought I would give it a shot.  She got so excited when she saw him, but it caught her attention for maybe 5 minutes.

 Because she decided making a toy tornado would be more fun.

 And wanted to help me clean.

This was one of my toughest days, Isabelle and I had been together for over a month straight {since I left work} and me, not being used to that, needed a break!  I had just put Iz down for her nap and the painter showed up about 45 minutes later, so the dogs went crazy woke her up {grr!}, luckily Jacob walked in about that time and could tell I was going to have a melt down {yes, literally} so he asked if he should take her for a bit - yes, please.  I know it probably sounds crazy, that being home can't be tough, but I have it admit, it is!  I am getting more used to it, but it is not easy!  I love Isabelle to death, but I need to have a little 'me' time I've realized, if I am going to stay sane ;).

:: Juice Plus+ Complete Balls ::

I got this recipe from a newsletter that we receive from our JP+ friends and I finally made them... they are pretty delicious, a great bite first thing in the morning to give you a little boost before your workout.  Jacob ate them for breakfast, nice little energy for the day.

1 C organic peanut butter {or any nut butter, I use the fresh ground peanuts pb}

1/2 C honey {or agave or rice syrup}

1 C chocolate JP+ Complete {a protein powder}

*Mix peanut butter, honey + Complete together, then fold in:

1 C organic, whole rolled oats {they don't have to be organic, up to you}

*Optional: shredded coconut, cinnamon or other for rolling {I used cinnamon}

*If too dry, add a little water to make it easier to work with

*Makes approx. 30 balls {so you will have them for awhile!}

This picture is funny, I had a hard time deciding how I was going to take a picture of the finished product, so if they looked placed, they totally are!  Ha!  

Oh and if you are interested in Juice Plus+, let me know!  Would love to give you some info... I have been opening the fruit/berry/veggie capsules and dumping them into Isabelle's smoothies so she gets the extra goodness for her :).