I love him!

I love this man. Happy anniversary Mike! It's been 5 fast, fun filled years!

Things I miss

I'm feeling nostalgic. This morning I made some yummy rolls that we always had growing up. Here are some things I miss from home. Seeing things like this out the front window.
Gotta love the snow in Rexburg! ha ha! This picture was taken in April.
Doing things in the mountains. (I'm not really a big horse person, but this was fun.)
Mom and Dad. Also gotta love having a temple out your back door. I could go for some Reed's Dairy Ice cream or a motorbike ride. I miss hearing the pipe swishing, or just irrigation in general- though I know my Dad could do without it! I miss dirty pick ups, fire pits and great stars. I miss potato fields, Osgood elementary, the Love Saq and "special day" plate. I would love some of Grandpa Reed's popcorn. Wouldn't it be fun to go elk hunting? Or just shooting rifles? Alas, some of these things are gone. Things change. You grow up. But you have memories and you have people, and those you keep on loving!

Odds and Ends

Tonight I am tired, but I felt like putting some things down in print since I like to write. I have not slept well these last several nights. I thought I was too hot, the next night I over did it and got too cold. Perhaps it is my new, slightly too fluffy pillow? No, not that either. Last night it was definitely the dream about me stealing candy from a candy shop and being punished by torture. (I woke up just prior to the torture taking place- whew!)

It's just about garage sale season. I can't wait. I'm on the hunt for an electric drill.

Mike bought a prepaid cell phone. We feel very hip now, though I am envious because his phone is much cooler than mine. My cell phone is a $20 phone from walmart that does not even have a color screen or a camera. Way behind the times I know!

We can't find the title to our car. If you find it, please let us know.

We also bought a wheat grinder. Aren't we self reliant. Next, we bought wheat. This would all be great if I didn't kill the yeast in my bread recipe. Wheat bread isn't so good when it never rises and is more like a dense potato than bread.

I went to Time out For Women in Indy (Some day I will post pictures of this.) And guess who I saw there? My cousin Camille who lives about 2 hours away, but who I have never visited. We grew up 2 miles from each other and it was SO fun to see someone from home! Families really do need to stick together! She's the closest family I've got!

Last week I pulled out my back, which happens every now and then since I had Colton. I put a heat pack on it. (Well, a sock with rice in it, if you consider that a heat pack.) Lydia saw it the next morning and asked what it was. I told her I used to to make my back feel better. Later in the day she smashed her finger, or got a scratch of something. She went and found my heat pack and put it on her finger to make it feel better. I love the innocence of youth!

Recipe

Well, I finished the dishes and I even managed to shampoo the family room. Once I finish this, I am off to bed! Hooray! If you have the time to make this, it is wonderful!

Café Rio Pork

5-6 lb. pork roast

1 T. cumin

1 C. brown sugar

20 oz coke

12 oz salsa

1 can enchilada sauce

Put roast in crock pot with all ingredients (only half on enchilada sauce) and cook for 3+ hours. Shred pork and serve on tortilla’s with lettuce, cheese, beans, or whatever you like. Top tortillas with remaining enchilada sauce. I recommend the following rice and sauce with it.

Café Rio Rice

4 tsp. chicken bouillon

4 tsp. minced garlic

½ bunch cilantro

1 can diced green chilies

¾ tsp. salt

1 T. butter

½ onion chopped

2-C cups rice (non-instant)

Mix all ingredients except for rice in a blender. But mixture in pot with rice and add water to cook rice as normal. Serve with Café Rio Pork.

Café Rio Dressing

2 tomatillos

1 buttermilk ranch packet prepared as directed on package

½ bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

1 lime juiced

1 jalepeno seeded

Mix all ingredients in blender and serve over Café Rio pork.

It's Mmm Mmm good!

When Mike and I lived in Rexburg, our favorite restaurant was Bajio's, a mexican grill comparable to Cafe Rio. While Indiana has much more to offer in the way of restaurants, they do not boast a Bajio's, which was the cause of much sadness for us. However, a few weeks ago, we were on campus and hungry so we decided to try a new restaurant that caters to the college students. When I walked into Fiesta Mexican Grill, I was home! It was Bajio's with a different name on the front! The same fake tile counter with the plexiglass so you can watch them assemble your burrito, the same aluminum containers for your food, and it might have even been the same Jose who put my order together! Over the weeks, I have come to love Fiesta Mexican Grill more and more. On Wednesdays, everything is half off! With Mike's Purdue ID, we get a free drink. AND, come to find out, if you bring your child in, they can get a free cheese quesadilla! Oh, Bliss! Now, to put you all up to date. . . I had a long day. I watched 4 children today at various times throughout the day that were not my own. Trying to keep 2 two-year-olds in the house when the door gets open is like trying to keep water in your hand! Bathing 4 kids at once made me feel like I worked on an assembly line! But the day was not bad and that is because of what I had for dinner. No, it was not Fiesta Mexican Grill! A friend of mine gave me a recipe for a knockoff of Cafe Rio. It is a crockpot meal, so I thought with my busy day today, that would be perfect! Oh was it ever! I seriously think it was the best food I have ever made with my own two hands! (Except for maybe peanut butter pie.) I will try to get the recipe on here, but now I need to quite reveling in deliciousness and do the dishes that provided it all.

Friends from the past

A few weeks ago a girl called for Mike. It was an Ohio number and I assumed it was a friend from high school informing Mike about their upcoming 10 year reunion. I took her name and number. A few hours later, she called again, but did not want to leave a message. When Mike got home I gave him the message and asked who Sarah was. (Name has been changed.) He couldn't recall her and did not want to call back not knowing who it was. Well, he didn't have to call back because she had called again by 9 AM the next morning. After about 5 minutes of conversing with Sarah, a hint or recognition finally showed on Mike's face. She had gone to school with Mike for one year and participated in a few plays with him. Aparantly she was a little odd, but Mike had been nice to her. Well, I didn't want to be nice to her when I heard her calling him 'honey' and 'sweetie'. Mike hung up the phone intrigued? Confused? Well, that was odd, but I guess it was good that Sarah could relive all "the great memories we had from Bye Bye Birdie." That was that, until a few days later, a familiar Ohio number shows up on caller ID. Sarah. "I'm sorry, Mike is not home." 'Ok honey, well will you tell him his friend Sarah called? Thanks Sweetie.' Now I'm honey?! The next day. Sarah. The day after that, Sarah. She has the bad luck to never catch him at home. Everyday. Occasionally when I answer she just hangs up. Guess I'm not that sweet to her anymore. I've thought about telling her to leave my husband alone. (In a nice, Heather-like way) but then I was reading in my journal from when I was 15 and I had written about a dance I went to and a boy who liked me,(we will call him Steve) but was a little odd, had asked for the last dance, at the beginning of the dance. I had said Maybe and then danced the last dance with a boy I liked. Steve cried. Would it really have killed me to dance with him? What kind of an answer is 'maybe'? Did I really do something that mean? I had forgotten about this, but maybe he didn't! So for now, Sarah will continue to call everyday, because it won't kill me to ask if she would like to leave a message and I won't tell her 'maybe' in response. And perhaps, I will finally accept the friend request I got from Steve on face book!

Spring

Lydia took this pic of Mike and I. We went for a Sunday walk. I think she did a really good job. It's kind of nice having someone around to take our photo because Mike hates asking strangers to.
I love Lydia's hat.
Watching the geese. Lydia is wearing the dress I made her. A little short, but not too bad!
I wanted to do a photo shoot. Colton didn't want to do a photo shoot. I was able to get a few shots of Lydia by bribing her that every pic I took of her, she could take one of me.
Me making good on my bribe.
What is a walk without walking sticks?
Colton loved this statue. You can't see it, but the people in the statue are looking at a bronzed turtle. Lydia was trying to pry the turtle up off the cement. It was funny.
The kids enjoying the new toy organizer.
Lydia getting some help from Aunt Eve at the Easter Egg hunt.

Colton got the hang of Easter Egg hunting, but he could use a bit more speed. Those eggs go fast!

1/2 Marathon

These are my before and after photos from the half marathon I ran on Saturday. I will not pretend that I am a runner. I am however determined. I set a new years resolution to run a half marathon, just to prove to myself I could do it. I have come to enjoy running after the past few months of training. My run was a memorable one. It was the only rainy day in weeks! This was a trail run along a river. With all the rain, it got very muddy and there were times I couldn't run because it was so slippery. There were also logs to hurdle over and branches to duck. I just laughed to myself as mud splashed up to my knees and my big poncho flapped in the wind- what an initiation! I managed to run all but about a half mile, but man did my calves hurt when I was done. (Thus the squatting position in my 'after' picture.) I actually think I would do it again- but this time I will pray harder for nicer weather!