Summer 2011

Well, here I am.

Last summer we spent a couple of months at my parents' cabin in Cascade. It is so stunning, it's hard to believe we have access to such beauty such a short way from home. Even growing up in Idaho, I guess it's something I'll never get used to.

Jason came up a night or two each week and then was there for the weekend. I think I will always feel a special connection to Cascade because of the summer of 2011.

Cascade had a summer reading program through the library. Each week they had an activity at the park. They focused on a different country each week. My kids each got a t-shirt and a backpack. It was the highlight of the week.

Becky & co. came down for the week before the 4th of July. The kids played outside and enjoyed each other's company. We had so much fun we decided that it has to be a tradition from now on. My brother and his family moved to Spokane. More close family, yay! They got there just before the 4th, unloaded their moving truck, and then drove the 5 1/2 hours down to Cascade to be able to sit on the golf course and watch the fireworks over the lake. (Gorgeous, by the way. It's my favorite way to enjoy fireworks.)

After that the kids and I spent a week in Pocatello, where I suffered through 3 root canals. Joy. Not. But I will survive. We also made a trip to SLC while I was visiting to see my friend from TX, Megan. It was so great seeing her and Makena!

Then it was back to Cascade for another month. In August it was another family gathering! My sister Leslie and brother-in-law Alex came to visit and brought my newest niece, Lola. Norah, Lola, and Ila (destined to be BCF-best cousins forever) got to meet up! They were born between January 2011 to June 2011. They haven't seen each other since, but I'm hoping they will again this year over the 4th.

We didn't plan on being there as long as we were. However, when buying a house in this crazy economy, you never know when it will all finally fall in to place. We had a stressful time of it all, and closed a month and 10 days after we initially hoped to. Luckily we were in to our house before school started, and that was really what I was concerned about.

We had 2 weeks to enjoy the neighborhood pool. It was pretty fantastic, something I would have really liked to have available in Texas, but I'll take what I can get!

Now for the pictures. There are about a million, so I apologize ahead of time, but I have problems cutting down.

Field right off the deck.

Our friends came up to spend a few days with us.

We drove up into the mountains when the Binghams were visiting. The day after we were swimming at the lake.

Miss Jo

Story time

We went to a church picnic on the beach and didn't put the kids in suits because we thought it was too cold. Instead they went swimming in their clothes. Take a closer look at Elliot. :)

Maggie, Naomi, and Lilia

My grandma and Ila

Greatest float in the Cascade 4th of July parade

Colby teaching grandma how to play DS.

Ila and Norah

Sitting waiting for fireworks

Cousin time

In-N-Out in Utah with Megan and Makena

Hogle Zoo

Tina, Emma, and Jake came for a visit

One of our trips to Boise for a work party

The most amazing view.

Rodeo/Fair in Cascade

Back to Boise for good. Some quality daddy/daughter time.

Into our house!!! YAY!

Lola, Norah, and Ila Jo

Cousins at the cabin

Western Idaho State Fair

The neighborhood pool.

Jason and his dad pulled up all the weeds covering our backyard, put down sod, and killed the hundreds of bees/wasps. Real manly work.

Sweet Jo again

Enjoying having a real backyard of their own again!

After thinking back and looking at all these pictures I almost want to live in Cascade for the summer again. Hmmm....

Psych Marathon

The girls and I are prepping for the season 6 premier tonight.

Feeling Uplifted

I've watched all sessions of General Conference but the Saturday afternoon session, so I missed this talk. My friend shared it on Facebook this morning.


Children by Neil L. Andersen


I especially loved this quote:

[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.” She then adds: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.

I have always struggled with feeling lesser somehow, definitely judged, almost irresponsible, by having 4 kids so close together. It was so nice for me to hear this. It's okay, and it was the way our family was meant to be. It also makes me feel a whole lot better about considering a number 5, crazy as the world (and friends and family and husband!) will think I am. It also made me realize I don't take motherhood seriously enough most of the time. It's like I always have a measuring tape out and get after my kids about things that aren't really all that important. I worry too much about small things and don't appreciate them for who they are right now. I need to work on that, I need to focus more on loving them and not reprimanding them. Feeling loved no matter what is the greatest gift I can give them. It'll be a work in progress my whole life, but I need to make some leaps right now while they're so young and impressionable.


Read. Be strengthened. Enjoy. :)

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Dedicated to Corinne

When I found out I was pregnant my friend, Corinne, told me she would help me make crib bedding. I still have Colby's crib bedding, but because I was sooo positive baby #4 would be a boy I sold my girl crib bedding and sold/gave away all but my favorite my baby girl clothes. Good thing I had Corinne, since we now have Ila! Many hours were spent looking at crib sets online and online fabric stores, trying to figure out the right combo and what look to go with. At first I thought I wanted a modern flower print in pinks and greens, but then we found a set that was a large damask print. So we headed in that direction and found a smaller damask print in pink and green. It was perfect, meant to be. Many hours were also spent making the bumper, Corinne tutoring me along the way.

I found out we were moving before we had finished. We rushed to finish the bumper, and Corinne finished the bed skirt and mailed it to me. My mom made the matching quilt. When we found the fabric we had to jump on it because it was 20% off and I was able to get another dollar amount off. It ended up close to $4/yard! (i.e. GREAT price.) So I bought a bunch of coordinating fabrics to go into the quilt. I love it. It is perfect with Ila's (...or Grandpa's) crib.

I miss you Corinne, I'll never be able to forget you every time I lay Ila down or get her out of bed! Thanks for your help and friendship. :) I promised pictures, better late than never!!
PS Sorry the ties aren't in bows.....

Ila Jo - baby model

Okay, not really, and I know I'm biased, but I'm a proud mama and think she could pull it off.
Remember my bestest, most generous friend, Tina, who watched Quin? (previous post) Well she is also an insanely talented professional photographer. Here is a taste of Ila's six month shoot.

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March to the End of the School Year

We had our house up for sale for a few weeks before we left Texas, but no bites, so we moved up to Boise and were lucky enough to have Jason's parents to live with. They have plenty of room, but even with all the room in the world 4 kids and two extra adults living in your home would be overwhelming. So, we gave Patty and Ernie all the breaks we could by going up to my parents' cabin every weekend possible. I guess that is off season in Cascade because we had the place all to ourselves it seemed. We were also able to pick up Quin (from my AMAZING friend Tina's house, who so generously let her stay) and she would come with us. I think the kids almost forgot we had dog.
The most gorgeous drive...especially spring when everything was still green.











Lilia fell in.

















We went up for Memorial Day weekend with my parents and the VanderLouws. It was so much fun. These kids love their cousins. That right there is one of the, if not the, best thing about moving back to Boise. They got along smashingly. That's a saying, right?
Little cousins, minus Ila.


Colby and Elliot playing Angry Birds. (peas in a pod, peas in a pod)


Grandpa 'tello and Ila (one of the few times he was out of the shop.)


Grandma 'tello and Ila


Maggie and Ila


Jason and my dad made a Boise State picnic table over the weekend.





Lilia chopped her hair (ahhhhhh!!!!)


We found our house!! We made our first offer June 5th and didn't close until mid August. I'm skimming over that frustrating time. We decided to rent out our Texas house and find a cheaper house to buy because we had to be in something before school started, and right now in Boise it is so much cheaper to buy than rent.


Eva turned 5 and had a birthday party at Pojos.
Emma and Eva





And Colby graduated from kindergarten!





Colby and Mrs. Donovan.


So there it is. The summer was just as fun.
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Delish Soup

I made this soup today and loved it. Surprisingly, so did the rest of my family. That usually doesn't happen on any given night unless we are eating corn dogs or spaghetti, but even more surprising because it sort of reminded me of split pea, in a way, but I'm really the only one who likes that. So enough of that, here it is. I got this from Kalyn's Kitchen blog. You can google it, she has tons of amazing recipes. (I thought about taking a picture from her blog since I didn't take any, but is that legal?) Enjoy!

Crockpot Recipe for Red Lentil, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika

1 large yellow onion, diced small
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Vege-Sal (or use 1/2 tsp. salt)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup red lentils
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed
5 C chicken or vegetable stock (or use 3 cans chicken or vegetable broth)
2 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice (14.5 oz. can)
sour cream or plain yogurt for serving, optional

Heat olive oil in frying pan and saute the diced onion until it's soft and starting to brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, dried thyme, Vege-Sal, and black pepper and saute 2-3 minutes more, or until spices are fragrant.

Add onion-spice mixture to CrockPot, then rinse out the frying pan with 1 cup of the stock and add to crockpot along with red lentils, rinsed chickpeas, and rest of stock. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until lentils are starting to soften and dissolve into the soup. (I cooked mine for 2 1/2 hours. Cooking time will depend partly on how old the lentils are.)

When lentils are starting to soften, add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes with juice. Cook for 1-2 hours more on high, or until the lentils and chickpeas are both quite soft. Then remove about 1/2 the soup to a bowl (or the large 8-cup measuring cup I had worked perfectly.) Puree the soup you removed using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. (If you're using a food processor or blender, be very careful with the hot soup, pureeing in batches if necessary.)

Stir the pureed soup back into the soup in the CrockPot; taste and add more salt or fresh ground black pepper if desired. Let soup cook about 15 minutes more, then serve hot, with sour cream of plain yogurt if desired.



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