PB Cookies & Old Friends

Kennedy & Isabel at the park this summer in Utah.

Last night we had some old friends over for dinner, Summer and Mike Voorhies (and their cute girls Kennedy and Sophie). They just moved to Parker, Colorado and we could not be happier about it! :) Actually, we could. But that would involve them living in Fort Collins. ;)

We had so much good food and so much good conversation. They are both smart, hilarious, and--did I mention--hilarious. We're so excited to have them closer to us. I already have about 57 day trips planned out for us. You don't mind right Sum?

Kennedy has a strong personality like another little girl that we know, so we weren't sure if they would LOVE each other or be a little too much for each other. Turns out, we had nothing to worry about. They all got along great and kept us cracking up with all of their antics. There were no less than 30 costume changes during the night too. The only thing that has caused contention is that Milo and Isabel are insisting that Kennedy CAN be their cousin and want to know why I won't tell them WHEN she will be their cousin. (This argument is similar to the "Mom, yes, we ARE riding the bus to preschool" argument. No matter what I say, they are convinced otherwise. I surrender.)

Summer brought over the yummiest PB Cookies ever. Turns out, it was a recipe that I shared with her when she got married--but I'd forgotten about it for a few years! Here it is, in all it's glory. It's a PB cookie that anyone can love (even Spencer).

Best Ever PB Cookies

1/2 c. reduced fat or regular creamy PB (sorry, not the natural kind)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp skim milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips (or whatever other kind you want to use)

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Combine PB, sugar, brown sugar, mix well. Stir in egg, milk, and vanilla. Add combined flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

-Using a small cookie scoop (if you have one), drop 2 inches apart on a baking stone or baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup that has been dipped in granulated sugar.

-Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

-Allow to cool briefly (3ish minutes) on the cookie sheet or stone and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

On a side note, Milo is currently dressed up like a monkey (Halloween '07 costume), referring to himself as "The Easter Monkey" and going around asking all of us what we'd like for Easter. Apparently, Easter Monkeys limit their gift giving to "eggs or furniture...or hugs, Mommy".

In case you were wondering...35 days

Until the return of Jim and Pam!!!!

Last night we had the Pierces over for dinner. We had yummy BLTs and corn on the cob--all with fresh veggies from the farm. It was to. die. for. I love August.

I will just come right out and say that this whole dinner invite was simply a ruse. It was actually an attempt at a "dry run" for Office Party. Office Party occurs every Thursday night from September through May (reruns included). Overall, we were satisfied with response times (everyone arrived in a timely manner), the humor level (mucho laughter), and the usual eating on the living room floor (not enough chairs for all the grownups and kids to eat at the table). We're hoping to have a safely padded room for the kids to run wild in once the actual episodes resume (on September 25th!!) so as to minimize disruptions ;). Also, Mike still needs to work a little on his respect and understanding of the fact that The Office is obviously a romantic comedy that happens to take place in an office. It is not, as some people might believe, a workplace comedy with a few romances thrown in for good measure. Also, I am working on forgiving Mike for saying that 30 Rock "might be funnier than The Office".

I am so excited for this to return--I think this is, easily, the most "into" a show I've ever been. (Although, to be fair, I will say that I think I've blocked out the 90210 days so...) Will Jim and Pam finally get engaged? Will they jerk us around for another whole season?? What will become of Dwight and Angela slash Angela and Andy??? My heart is all a flutter just thinking about it!

On another note, YAY for the U.S. women's beach volleyball! GOLD MEDAL!!! Those girls are amazing. As always, it was one of my fave events to watch!

It'll make you cry...

Finally, Blogger cooperates. The Fab Four in March of '06.

Well, maybe it won't make you cry, but it definitely made me cry! My sister-in-law, Abbie, put together a beautiful post about her brothers and her sister (the biological ones that is) for her blog. The pictures are great (and some are super funny, popped collars were hot in 1987 apparently) and the memories are even better.

Spencer is lucky in that he has such strong and amazing relationships with his siblings. They have all grown and matured into such different people yet they are so close, supportive, and caring of one another. I can't even begin to summarize it all...I'll just say that you should check out Abbie's post, we should all take a moment to reflect on the blessings that siblings are in our lives, and that I love each of them to pieces (and Erika and Melissa Rae their half-sisters).

I'd post a super cute picture of the fabulous foursome right here but I'm getting no love from Blogger tonight. Perhaps tomorrow...

We've been kinda busy...

...going to the zoo with our fun friends Anna, Joan, Erin, Dylan, Avarie, Christian and more! We saw more obscene and, quite frankly, disgusting animal behavior on this zoo trip than on all our others combined! (Monkeys anyone?)

One of the more well-behaved animals that day.

...partying like rock stars. Pretty easy to do when a.) your sweet older (and, therefore, super cool) cousin has a birthday and b.) your shoulda-been-a-party-planner-or-travel-agent grandma plans a rock star birthday party complete with cool rock star sunglasses, glittery hula hoops, make-your-own rock star necklaces, and a video camera for making rock star videos.

The beautiful birthday girl--7 years old!

...letting our jaws hit the floor when we got home from an afternoon at the gym to find that our yard had been destroyed by a wind/hail storm. Our trees lost nearly 2/3 of their leaves, we couldn’t see our driveway (covered in the previously mentioned leaves and other debris), and the front of our house has been plastered with more of those same wet leaves. Hail was inches thick in the yards around us too!

Our neighbor's milk delivery cooler and driveway.

...answering questions such as, “Mom why did Heavenly Father put gypsies on this earth anyways?” and “Mom, why do rock stars wear such ridiculous sunglasses?!”.

...having our hearts melted by pictures like this one from Erika’s wedding:

RMNP

This weekend we went camping at Rocky Mountain National Park (within a short distance of Estes Park's hospital for any who are wondering) with my parents. It was so beautiful and so fun. The weather was perfect, the campground was gorgeous, the food was good, and the kids had a blast. We saw deer, elk, squirrels, and all kinds of birds. It was so darn fun, we just might go again next weekend!

Beautiful stream that ran along the side of our campground.
Grandma Kim and Grandpa Manuel on a bridge.
Sitting by a stream with Daddy.
What is going on here? Isabel crossed her legs like that every time she sat in her camping chair and she insisted on calling her hot chocolate "hot cocoa". Guess that's the fancier way to do it?

View across one of the beautiful valleys.
These ground squirrels have no fear. They will, seriously, nibble on your toes if you wear sandals.
Mommy & Milo
Sadly, both of my children are now afflicted by "Ican'tlookatthecameraorImakeweirdfaceineverypicture-itis".
Don't do this. Really, don't. Picking flowers is a HUGE no-no. If your children "accidentally" pick some flowers, hide them in your pocket. Then, whatever you do, do NOT go to the Ranger talk that night about "Humans and preservation: minimizing your impact on the park". It will make you feel hideously guilty. You'll think that the ranger knows it was you. Or your children.

The Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich

Tree swing? Check.
Puffy dress (over your existing clothes, of course)? Check.
Tiara? Check.
Weirdo Toffutti ice cream sandwich your mom bought you? Check.
Eating it with the most serious and intense precision ever? Check.

Perfect. :)

More fun than you can...

Holy fun Batman!! We just got back from a very long trip to Utah. Erika, Spencer's youngest stepsister, got married to the always-hilarious-and-even-funnier-than-I-thought-he-was Tyler on Friday. The wedding was beautiful, the reception was perfect, and we had tons of fun throughout the trip. (Although, I made Spencer leave a bit early and drive like crazy to get home fast because Milo broke out in hives on Sunday morning. Let's just say that those EpiPens don't offer me much peace of mind. :) )

Back Row: Isabel, Royan, Milo, Eli

Front Row: Olivia (the gymnast), Audrie, Lyla

We had so much fun with all of the cousins. Isabel told me "Mom, when I grow up I am moving to UTAH !"more times than I can count.

Abbie (Spencer's youngest sister), Forrest, Eli, and Audrie were in town from Texas for the wedding. We hadn't seen them in over a year (sniffle) and we'd never met baby Audrie so we were pumped. Folks, we were not disappointed. Audrie is, as we suspected, completely adorable and excellent at snuggling. Eli is, as we also suspected, utterly adorable, hilarious, and Milo's newest BFF. Their parents are also still amazingly funny, smart, nice, and fun to be around. WHY does Texas have to be so far away?

This picture cracks me up. Milo was not amused by Isabel's attempts to make him pose for what appear to be engagement photos.

The flower girl and her best guy. :)

Isabel took her job as flower girl very seriously. She would stay right next to Erika then venture away for a drink or a snack and tell me "Okay mom, I'm going to go visit with some more family now." or "Has anyone seen the bride?" and off she'd go to mingle or stand by Erika some more. She got some sweet Fancy Nancy shoes (with leg ribbons!!!) for her hard work. She's in heaven. :)

Milo LOVED riding in Uncle Justin's Rhino. His hair was so windblown by the end--it looked like he'd taken a blowdryer and some hairspray to it.

Isabel, on the other hand, would only ride in the Rhino if Daddy was driving and kept telling him "Please, no rocks okay? I do NOT want to go over any of those rocks!" The scary rocks in question? The gravel in Grandma's driveway.

Tiff, Melissa, me (with Isabel and Milo), Summer, and Mindy. (Stef had already left.)

On Tuesday, we met some of my oldest friends from elementary, jr high, and high school at the park. The kids all played and we did our best to visit--not easy when someone always wants a snack, a drink, or needs a sunscreen reapplication. It was so fun to see how big all of the kids are and to catch up. The highlight was, by far, Mindy getting stung by a bee. Thankfully, it was on the arm this time. :)

Lyla, Milo, Isabel, Brynn, Halle, Olivia (none of my pictures with H&B's little brother, Owen, in the mix turned out!)

On Wednesday, we went to Aislinn and Justin's for a playdate. We had SO much fun. :) Aislinn had twins just a few months after Milo and Isabel were born. It was so fun to work together when we were pregnant and to commiserate that first year and a half. Melissa brought her twins too so it was a regular ol' twintastic event! Halle and Brynn are adorable and so sweet. It was fun to just hang out and laugh and bond over twin-mommyhood again. We miss you guys!!

Milo, Isabel, & Cara

On Wednesday, we also went up to Primary Children's Medical Center to visit Cara, one of the twins' primary nurses from their days in the NICU. Cara was a lifesaver for me and did such a terrific job with the kids. She had a special affection for Milo and made it so much easier to leave him when Isabel was at home and he was still there. She's a Family Nurse Practioner now and works on the Sedation Team at PCMC. What a smartie!! :) She's coming to visit us in September (right Cara?!) and we can't wait.

The blushing bride-to-be, Erika.

On Wednesday night, I laughed so hard my face hurt. Seriously. It was Erika's bachelorette party. This is the only picture that I can post on this blog. Okay, so it's one of the only pictures I took but, seriously, it was HILARIOUS. We got pedicures and then went bowling. Melissa Rae (a.k.a. the greatest maid of honor ever) brought a game for us to play. Anytime someone got a spare or a strike, Erika had to draw a "dare card" from the deck. She had to do a variety of embarassing things such as singing to a random guy who was on a date with another girl, asking another guy to propose to her, and calling the last person on a stranger's cellphone. SO FUNNY.

This is the amazing wedding planner slash mother-of-the-bride slash fantastically amazing Grami Tami. She did such a great job on everything. It was perfect. The food, the pictures, the decor, the colors, everything. And she only cried 2 1/2 times. :)

The cutie-patootie-Kings

We had a fun, fun, fun bbq at Grandma Cathryn's house with the Seeley/Nelson side of the family. There were kids EVERYWHERE. We should have counted because it was impressive. Spencer has such a fun and funny family. We love hanging out with them because there is ALWAYS something entertaining to talk about and there are so many kids that everyone has somebody (or several somebodies) to play with.

Spencer's cousins Goldie, (mom of)Ava, and Sydney. Also known as: our future bandmates. As in RockBand.

Spencer's Aunt Stacy, (mom of) Hannah, and (great aunt of) Olivia.

Everyone was kung-fu fighting! Milo was in heaven. Uncle Cade loves a good fight as does his adorable son Jason.

Spencer's cousin Hannah, Aunt Lorena, and cousin Brooke (daughter of Lorena)

The famous Arizona Seeleys were in town and joined us for the bbq. We only get to see them once every 14 years or so...okay maybe it's only been 2 years but it felt much longer than that...

Other than that, the usual RockBand shenanigans went down, we swam in the no-longer-poopy pool, and we had some good eats (Cafe Rio anyone?). It was a good time all around. I want to go back! But, sadly, I am a grownup and I must return to my responsibilities...like mowing my dang lawn and hiring a new nanny. SIGH. Real life is kinda lame. ;) But, we did miss our library and our bikes so tonight we're off on a family bike ride to the library!