My 22nd!

(my new hot glue gun! and basket of crafting things!)

Haaaaaapppy Biiiiiirthday Toooooo MEEEE! ANd many moooooore! Yes- I sing to myself on my birthday :) Who doesn't like to celebrate a little "me" once in awhile?! I like to celebrate by shopping! Ryan thinks that it is lame and boring that all I ever want for gifts is clothes! And then of course he doesn't like to pick clothes out for me (something about no sense of style or opinion)- so I get to go on shopping sprees with my sisters! It's WONDERFUL! So thank you to my wonderful husband and in-laws for the shopping spree! I so appreciate it! And to my parents and sisters- thank you for the gift basket full of crafting supplies! Lately- I've been going on crafting binges! Pinterest is to blame. I will soon be adding photos of some crafts that are still in the making! But I am so excited for my new crafting supplies and can't wait to put them into use!

So, when it comes to birthday cake- I like to get creative. Last year I had an oreo pizza pie for my "cake", the year before that I think I had strawberry shortcake with berries and whipped cream. This year- I went with a good 'ol mississippi mud pie! It's based with an oreo crust, layered with hot fudge and mint moose tracks ice cream and mint cookie crunch ice cream.... oh DIVINE! It was heaven in mint and fudge form! Overall- I'd say it was a spectacular day! Not to mention the extra long nap Hailey took just for me :D

One more thing I'd like to mention about my birthday. Since now I am older and wiser I have gained a little bit of perspective in the last year- I'm talking about giving birth to my daughter who now has a birthday of Sept 21st. She would not have that birthday if I had not carried her for 41weeks, loved her immensely, and given birth to her. So as I have reflected these things I find it only fair and appropriate that I thank my dearest mother for all she has done for me! I thank her for the 42 weeks she carried me, for giving birth to me, for loving me, and for giving me this day as my birth day. I am so grateful to her! Enjoy the box of your favorite cookies! :D

Trying New Things!

So since we've been living with my parents, we're all still trying to adjust a little. I have been trying to find ways to make cooking meals for 8 a little easier on my mom. As a result I cook dinner at least once a week. But I decided to try something a little different this time. It's easier and supposedly cheaper to buy in bulk, prepare meals right away and freeze them. My mom has been shopping once or twice a week, so I decided to go to Costco and Shoppers and bought about $300 worth of food. From there, I spent about 2 hours preparing meals in gallon bags and freezing them! I made Teriyaki Chicken, BBQ Chicken, Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Honey Garlic Chicken, and Ranch Pork Chops. I made about 10 of these and all of them we can pull out in the afternoon and throw in the crockpot all day! Makes for easy clean up and easy prep for busy nights! We'll see how it goes, But I'm excited to taste them all! Does anyone else have good freezer meal ideas?

New Addition!

So we finally decided to take another big step in our lives. We agreed it was time. I mean, we are done with school. We have a great job and things are going pretty well! So we thought... Why not?! We have room to love another! So we went out and bought our second car! So far, we absolutely love it! It's a brand new 2012 Ford Escape in this lovely red color! This is basically my car to drive around since Ryan takes the corolla to work. I'm loving it so far! I have been making excuses to drive it around. Like take my daughter on a 2 hour road trip down to Harrisonburg to visit my best friend for a couple days! It was great! 

We were feeling crafty and made front door wreaths! We found the idea on pinterest... Which is the love of all crafts and good ideas. It was great to spend time with Anna! Thus is my update on our lives so far.

Hailey's First Fourth!

Hailey is now almost 10 months old! Can you believe it?! I can't. She's getting so big! Not to mention her personality is overflowing with independence and stubborness... I guess she really is my daughter. Lately she's been doing this new laugh that sounds more like a high-pitch hiccup every 1/2 second! It's SOO funny! So the 4th of July came and went! It was Hailey's very first Fourth of July... and I'm sad to say- we didn't even do a single firework! We went to a ward breakfast in the morning (that was fun!). Then we went car shopping. When we came home, unsuccessful, we had some other families from the ward over to swim and BBQ. It was fun! Oh wait.... except for the part where I got thrown into the pool with ALL my clothes on! Sneaky Ryan and sneaky dad! In the evening we decided to have a "Legend of Korra" marathon! Happy freedoms to us! Maybe next year we'll have to bust out the fireworks and sparklers.

Howell Family Reunion

(Hailey and her second cousin Henry- he is 3 months younger than her)

(each family took a picture with a letter H-O-W-E-L-L for a picture frame for Gma and Gpa)

(can you find her fingers?)

My mom's side of the family- Howell- has a one week long family reunion every other year. Most people look forward to it... there are always the stragglers though :/ I wasn't able to attend the last one, so I was excited to go this year! This year we stayed in a huge cabin up in the Smokey Mountains in Pigeon Forge. The view was excellent, but man was it hot! The family has grown very much in the last few years. This was the first time my mom's side of the family got to meet Hailey, and for some it was the first time to meet Ryan too! Of course Hailey's charm was capable of wrapping anyone around her sweet little fingers, I however found my inner tiger! I found myself unable to control my anxieties while Hailey was napping or down for the night. One house full of crazy people is enough to keep anyone awake! :) I felt bad being the "tiger" but at the same time, I've never been one to keep quiet. Oh well!
During the week we played lots of games and ate lots of AMAZING food - thanks to Chef Aunt Diane and SuChef Uncle Scott! We swam, played picture scavenger hunt, risk, flip, played minigolf, etc. Most times it was way to hot to do anything that did not involve water or indoors. But all in all it was a great week! It's always a blessing to get together with family and reunite friendships. It is especially special to see how the family grows! What a week! 

PREEEESHHHHHHHH!

Me and my youngest sister, Brooke. These are our angry faces. 

(mom and I duke it out with water guns at "hoedown night")