Home Sweet Home

After our trip to Europe, Hailey and I had a chance to spend a week with my parents in Idaho. It was so wonderful to be home again. There's something about the place and the company (my parents) that are so replenishing to the soul. I love to get out and mow the lawn, work in the garden, enjoy the beautiful flowers in my mom's flower garden, cook with my mom, eat fresh produce and meat, feed the horses, milk the cow, gather the eggs, work the cattle, see old friends and just be on the farm. I loved introducing Hailey to it again. This was the first time she was old enough to join me in the barnyard and enjoy it. She was still a little hesitant when the cows came too close and I wasn't holding her, but she kept asking "horsey, horsey" and got so excited when she heard the animals "talk." She LOVED the swing, driving the tractor with me, the gumball machine and Grandma's dolls. It was wonderful to see my siblings and their families while I was there too. I even got to meet my new niece, Caylee. She's four months old now, time flies so quickly and she has already changed so much.
My beautiful mother and eldest niece (who's waiting for her mission call!) and my handsome dad with our community lake in the background.
Hailey with her bouquet from Grandma's flower garden. She loved wearing her boots all the time and thought it was so cool that she got to sit up on the seat by herself. Also note the grin. I don't know where's she's learned it, but when we tell her to look at the camera and smile, this is her look.
Showing Grandma her loot.


Sitting with Grandma while we work in the garden. It was a treat for me to work in the garden with them, but Hailey wasn't too sure about it. "Dirty, dirty." My mom was sweet enough to hold her by the side so I could work for a few minutes.
This was before my mom came out and I was trying to hold her and plant the potatoes. Isn't the soil beautiful? I've always been impressed by my parents' garden.
One of my favorite things to do at home - mow the lawn. It may sound silly, but I LOVE it.
Hailey and Uncle Shane at one of her favorite places - the swing. She'd often grab my finger and lead me to it. It was fun when Shane was there because I told her to get Uncle Shane, and she did. It was sweet to see them play.
I even joined in and sat in the tire swing beside her. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as I remember as a kid. I couldn't figure out how to get out - this belly of mine kind of gets in the way of my flexibility.
This is Megan - Hailey's oldest cousin. Hailey loved playing with Megan. My parents' kitchen and living room are back to back with doorways on both ends creating a "roundabout" that Hailey loved to go around and around. She thought it was the coolest thing when Megan chased her. She had so much fun.

While I was there we vaccinated the cattle on the home place. There were some that needed tagging, banding, and branding. I forgot how bad branding smells. It was fun to be out with my dad, brothers and nephew. I was the needle loader and let them do the dirty work in with the cattle.
I was so glad my brothers and family could come up. It was so fun to see them, even if it was just for a few hours. Hailey had so much fun with them.
Most people know - but I was raised on a horse ranch and my parents still have them. This colt was born just a couple of days before we got there. He's got an incredible bloodline.
Hailey and I spent quite sometime on the tractor helping my dad. He's got a broken collar bone and has several bales of hay to feed everyday so he uses the tractor to be more efficient and less stress on his shoulder. It was fun to drive and Hailey loved to help me turn the steering wheel.

These are two of the doll carriages of my mom's that Hailey loved playing with. Her blue teeth are from the gumballs...see next photo.
I made this gumball machine in shop class in seventh grade and my mom has kept it around all these years - I love that she has. Hailey thought it was the coolest thing. You spin the nose and the gumball comes out the mouth. One day I was cooking dinner and I heard Hailey playing the piano. Well, after a few minutes I went to check on her and found that it was her feet playing the piano as she stood on the keys to reach the gumball machine on top of the piano. Little turkey.
While I was there I experimented and made my parents a few of my favorite French dishes: quiche and pain au chocolat (croissants w/ chocolate inside). These little pain au chocolat took eight hours to make. They were delicious, but next time I think I'm going to double the recipe. Eight hours for twelve didn't seem very efficient. It was after 11pm when these finally finished.
As I mentioned above, I was able to see lots of famil while I was out. Above again is Megan, my niece.
This is Tammy, my sister. She's the one that gave me the delicious freezer meal ideas from their company (there are those reading this that know what I'm talking about).
These are Tammy's children, Janeen, Makayla, Parker and Calvin.
My brother Shane and his wife, Chelsea.
My sister Christine holding her new little Caylee. Hailey and Caylee - it was tough to call the right name.
Cousins of Hailey's who were so excited to see her. Unfortunately, Hailey was a little overwhelmed and hungry at first so she didn't take too kindly to their immediate friendship. By the end of the visit though, she was in heaven. Isaac, Natalie and Carrie are pictured.
This is my sister, Sondra. She's the one who, in the past 10 months (I think) has lost 105 pounds. I'm so, so impressed!! She was embarrassed because she had been working in the yard all day, but I still say she looks incredible.
Some of my nieces. Alicia, Kami, Natalie and Carrie. Cuties.

Baby Jay

We found out Tuesday that we are having a baby boy! We're quite ecstatic. He's measuring on just perfectly for his due date and looks very healthy. Matt felt him for the first time last week and he's gotten more active each day. Feeling the baby is probably my favorite part of being pregnant. We're so excited to welcome baby Jay into our family. He'll be the fourth generation Jay. His great-grandfather is still living and we can't wait to get a photo of the four of them.

French braids!

Okay, this will be my last post for the day. I think I've got a little wild - four posts in one day. That's crazy! It's just that Matt figured out this incredibly fast way to downsize several photos at a time so they load up in just seconds. It makes blogging so much less time-consuming that I actually look forward to posting photos. So, here's this morning's happening: french braids!! It's my first successful attempt and they even lasted until lunch. I'm sure after her nap we'll have to do a new hairstyle, but it was fun while it lasted. 

And for anyone that hasn't picked up on this little "Hailey detail," she has sucked on her two fingers since the was a tiny baby. It's not complete without her other hand guarding and her pinky up by her eye. I love little details that make people unique. One other little detail to point out - the poor kid has my hair line. Half the hair grows back, the other half forward. At least I have some experience to help her out when she's older.

Easter

This has to be a record for me. I don't think I've ever gotten holiday photos up this close to the actual holiday. I was disappointed that we didn't get pre-church photos of Hailey with her hair all perfect. I did little braids on the side that went back into a crown. It was so precious, even if it didn't last even 30 minutes. When we finally did get the camera out, she had no intentions of holding still and giving her adorable smile, so here are some action photos. After church and her nap we did a basket and egg hunt around the house. It didn't take her long to catch on after she found the first jelly bean inside an egg. She had so much fun, and so did we. I love holidays!! 

Multi-Layered Jello

I laughed at myself as I wrote the title because it's a joke that Mormons love their jello. Apparently it must be true if I'm actually posting about it. No, really, I just wanted to show off this pretty photo. Maybe it's just because I'm pregnant and really like food right now, but I've found myself taking photos of food lately. Odd. Oh, and that's mango on top, not cheese, to Matt's grateful relief after first seeing it.

The instructions are in the comment section for anyone who wants them. Kids seem to think it's pretty cool to make (according to my friend who gave the recipe). 

Mango Demonstration

This might seem really strange, but my sister and I were chatting last night and she mentioned that she bought a mango a couple of days ago to try with her kids. She said she was disappointed because by the time they got the fruit off the pit it was a mashed mess. Matt served his mission in the Philippines and ate mangos all the time. He's taught me how to cut them and, honestly, how to love them - they just tasted like a pine tree to me the first time. Hailey and I ate one for lunch today so I thought I'd grab a few snapshots while I worked and share. For what they're worth to anyone, here you go.  I have to admit too that the fourth photo was just so pretty that I had to come up with a reason to post it.

Wash mango and gather knife and cutting board.

Holding mango vertically, cut along both edges of the pit.

Peel the skin off the outside of the fruit left on the pit. You can either cut the fruit off with a knife or eat it off. This provides entertainment for a kid if you need space while you finish cutting up the rest. I actually prefer to peel the edge pieces as well. I seem to get the most fruit, and it's the easiest way if you're going to use the fruit for a salad, topping, etc.

The "fancy" way to serve the mango is to cut the fruit into squares and bend the peel back so that the fruit fans open. It makes for a pretty photo as well.  

Another option is to spoon the fruit out of the skin. 

We're Moving!

Earlier this year we had considered moving and had even given our 60-day notice, but when we were unable to find anything that seemed just right we decided to stay in our apartment until our contract ended at the end of summer. However, on Sunday we got a call from a lady we know who told us about a fantastic deal and said we should look at the house. We were a little skeptical, but  after taking a tour, we're so excited! It's a fantastic price, much less than others we had toured, and even nicer as well. It has been very well maintained inside and the yard has great potential. We're most excited about the big, beautiful trees in the back yard and the wonderfully large kitchen with tons of storage! So these are a couple of photos of the outside of the house prior to being cleaned after the last tenants. We're excited to put up after photos later this summer.