:: hair like dad ::

Izzy girl and Emme had fun playing with the water guns at Gigi's... Em thought it would be fun to give Iz's hair a little styling...

Hair sticking up, just like dad's!

side view.

the girls. on the weee.

:: my compost bin!! ::

Hooray!!  I have a composte bin!  I have been wanting to compost for so long, I used to save all things compostable and give them to my mom for her compost pile and now we have a good spot for it, so I can make my own :)!  We shopped around a bit and this one seemed to be the best for us, that we found at Home Depot.  It's super easy, just add grass clippings, twigs, weeds, fruit/table scraps, tea bags and turn it every 3 days or so... can't wait to have my first batch of compost!  I will let you know how it goes ;).

:: rice cooker spanish rice ::

We used to buy the box of Spanish rice from Uncle Ben I think but we didn't have any and I was like, 'I can make this on my own'!  So, I looked up a few ideas and then just started adding things to the rice cooker.  It tasted really good and I knew what all was in it- double bonus!  I also made some 'spanish-ish' quinoa after the rice was done and mixed it, just because I love it.

1 C brown rice {you can use white, whatever tickles your fancy}

1 C water

1 C veggie broth {or chicken/beef, your choice}

1/2 C rotel, with a little liquid

2 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp cumin

2 T salsa

dash of red pepper flakes

Add rice, water, broth + all other ingredients to rice cooker.

Stir and turn on!

Enjoy!

I love this because you can really just add anything to it, garlic salt, salt, cilantro, whatever!

We also made some delicious quesadillas.. mine had grilled veggies, black beans + cotija cheese in it.. yum!

a little from the week...

Iz found another bag she liked to carry around.. lasted about 2 days..

Attempting to ride the trike at Gigi's!

Helping mom water...

Driving Miss Daisy at the grocery store.. these things are a pain to steer, but they can be a lifesaver sometimes!

Just found herself at home at the library.. I thought she looked so cute in her sweater with her book, like a librarian or something ;).

Doing her thing, putting a new pair of shoes on...

'Cheese'!

:: easy no bake peanut butter bars ::

Um, YUM!  Of course I found this on Pinterest {@ 'six sisters' stuff'.. holy smokes, can you imagine having 6 girls?!!}, but we used to make something very similar when I was little and they were one of my absolute favorite things!

1 C butter, melted
2 C graham cracker crumbs {grind in food processor to get tiny granules}
2 C powdered sugar
1 C + 4 T peanut butter
1 1/2 C milk chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and 1 C peanut butter until well blended.  Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13" pan.  In the micro or saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the the 4T peanut butter, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth.  Spread over the peanut butter layer.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.  I like to keep them in the fridge all the time, they just taste better to me that way :).
Okay, then try and eat just one!!

:: my little ::

This is where I found Iz... she loves to sit on the coffee table, I mean loves... I'm not sure that's the best thing, but she can get get up and down on her own and she enjoys it, so sue me I guess ;).

Oh and this is a new game, she loves to take the clips off of our temporary blinds and I put it on her nose once, so she always wants me to put it on her now...

I love how she has her hand 'splayed' out {is that a word?}

Iz wanted to match mom and wear a head band... it just doesn't quite look the same as it does on me, but you get the idea ;).

A little 'weee' and park time...

This is me trying to show you how many 'owies' she had on her knees.. it was kind of ridiculous there for awhile, I'm sure some people thought I was pushing her down constantly ;).

I am in trouble, my little just loves shoes.. always wants me to take mine off so she can try to put them on.. she just sits down, takes off her shoes and puts other ones on, changes her mind and puts the first ones back on.

I just thought this was great, reading her book with her legs crossed- just lounging before 'nigh-nigh'.

:: happy mama's day ::

My 2nd Mother's Day... Jacob and I got to work out together while my mom made veggie biscuits + gravy {one of my favorite things, thanks mom!} and this is what was going on while I was showering, so cute...

just making a card for mom. love.

I love this picture.

Surprise mom!

I made this cake for our lunch and it's the same strawberry cake I posted last year, but I realized I didn't take a picture of the cake after I swirled it, so I wanted to show how pretty it looks.. and then of course I forgot to take a picture of the cake after it was baked and decorated... next time!

I did get a pic of a slice {or two} when I had a piece the next day :).

We all went out to the farm for a late lunch and some QT with the family.

Holy piece of watermelon!

Paisley just hangin' out.

Isabelle and Harper were so cute with Paisley, Iz was pointed at her eyes, nose and patting her head - so cute.

"bye mom, going to see the dog!"

yaaayyy!

I love when littles run, I think it is one of the cutest things. ever.

our little fam.

Dad was running around {fast!} with Isabelle on his shoulders and it was the funniest thing, we were all laughing so hard!

rest time.

my happy girl.

running!! :)

Paisley sporting her shades and hat!

Taking a little ride around with Aunt Courtney, Emme + Max.

Such a lady!

I caved and bought this tutu skirt at Target because it was only $5 and I couldn't resist the neon pink.. apparently the waistband itches and this was Isabelle's way of letting us know.

So we go pantless!  Aunt Betsy was checking out her new look ;).

Max was so fast running next to them!

What a crew.

A little wiffle ball game... Iz was up!

Nice round up to that throw!

Going in for the steal...

She totally stole the ball from Harp and was making a run for it.

It was nice to just hang with family and be outside.. Isabelle had so much fun, I didn't think we were ever going to get her to leave!

Happy Mother's Day {late now, I know.. still means the same ;)} to all you wonderful moms!!  I hope you had a wonderful day with your fam wherever you were! xoxo