State Fair

We really wanted to take the kids to the state fair this year, and we're sure glad we did! The girls had an absolute blast looking at the animals, playing, and eating fun food!





Aiden kept pointing to all the animals and, just like the zoo, got frustrated when she couldn't touch most of them. She got her hands on one or two, so that ended up appeasing her! Katelyn loved petting the animals. She also thinks that we need to get our own goat. Why a goat? No idea! She just wants one something fierce now!





The girls loved playing at the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit. Aiden was so excited to have her own little bucket and play right along side her big sister! Katelyn was having so much fun, she kept trying to sprint an exhibit ahead of us! It was just too much fun for her! When they got done "working on the farm", they each got to pick out a treat. Katelyn got cereal and Aiden got her favorite, crackers!











We spent a few minutes looking at booths and what not, but that never lasts long when you have the kids in tow! We decided that it was time for a snack and we headed off to get some twisted taters (aka ribbon fries)! For those of you who don't know what those are, it's essentially a big potato thinly cut into one giant ribbon of potato, fried up like regular french fries, and fun to enjoy! They're one of my favorite things to get at the fair. In fact, I know EXACTLY where the booth is each year! ;) We all dug in, but of course, Aiden was after them more than the rest of us! She'd scoop some off of the plate, take a bite, and head back to the plate for more long before what she had in her hand was gone! The girl knows good food when she sees it!





I love being able to do these fun things that only come around once in a while with my family. Reminds me of when I was a kid and even makes me feel like a kid!

Live List: Anniversary Picture

So, I've got some serious updating I need to do on my Live List. I just need to sit down and let you all know what I've accomplished so far! We'll start with the most recent check off my list!

After Nate and I took a quick snapshot of ourselves out to dinner on our first anniversary a year ago, I decided that it would be fun for us to take a picture of ourselves every year on our anniversary. Nothing fancy, just a quick picture, freezing a quick second in time. That way, we can look back and see how we've changed. We can also show our children the pictures as they get older, to which they can laugh and say "You look so young and dated!", because that's what all kids say about their parents pictures in their younger days, right (I did with my parents haha!)?

We celebrated our anniversary on Saturday, since it actually fell on Sunday. We had a great weekend, just the two of us. We went up to Midway and explored Swiss Days, which I'm so glad we did just the two of us because I might have lost my head chasing children up there! We stopped in Heber on the way home at a quaint little cafe for dinner. Grabbing a bite to eat at some random Mom and Pop diner in small towns is one of our favorite pastimes, so although it may not seem like much, it's one of our favorite things to do! Once we got home, we wanted to see a movie. We decided we were too tired to actually go to the theater, so instead we reverted back into 10-year-olds and went to the store to stock up on junk food. We took our haul back home and snuggled up to watch a movie together. Nate's parents took the kids for the night, so we could be alone for one night. Good times! :D

Sunday we went and picked up the kids from Grandpa and Grandma's house. While we were there, I had Lisa snap our picture. Ignore the bare feet and swollen preggo legs, I ditched the heels as soon as I could! ;)



It's been an amazing 2 years, my dear! I love you so much and can't wait for all the many more memories that we'll share together!

Domestic Diva: Fried zucchini

I've been quite the little domestic diva lately! I find this rather odd since being pregnant, you'd think I'd be fighting just to get through the day on the simple tasks, yet I've taken it to a whole new level! Go me! *Party dance*

For those of you who are LDS or avid gardeners, you've probably heard the joke about locking your car doors when you go to church during the summer, because if you don't, you'll come back to a car stocked full of zucchini. Well, the other day I snagged this ginormous zucchini from outside of someone's house trying to pawn off their over abundance of veggies from their garden. I love zucchini bread, so I knew right away I'd be making some of that. After realizing I'd have A TON of zucchini left over, I pondered about what new things I could do, since I didn't want any of this to go to waste. Then the most delicious idea came to me. Fried zucchini. MMMMMMM. I've only had it as an appetizer at restaurants, but the thought never crossed my mind until now to attempt it on my own! After browsing a few recipes online, I ended up taking pointers from a few and making my own recipe. This is what I ended up doing...

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
Dash of salt
1 egg
Sliced zucchini
3 tbsp oil

In one bowl I mixed the cheese, bread crumbs, and salt. In another bowl I whisked up the egg. I dipped the zucchini in the egg and then coated in the breading mixture. I laid them on a cookie sheet until I was ready to fry them up like so...



(See? I told you that zucchini was ginormous!)

I warmed up the oil in a large frying pan and fried the zucchini on each side until it was a dark golden brown. I say dark, because if it is too light, I don't think you get the awesome crispiness out of the breading that you could otherwise. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of the color after they were cooked, as I had a friend come to the door right while I was frying these bad boys up! We dipped the zucchini in a homemade marinara and it was uber delicious! Katelyn even ate it and liked it! We're talking about a kid that we have to force feed anything green to! Amazing, right?

To be honest, it was ridiculously simple to make and I will probably do many more times in the future! Plus, I have plenty of zucchini left still haha! ;)

Home Makeover: Soules Edition!

So, my makeover isn't as dramatic as leveling a house and completely rebuilding it in 7 days, but I am sure excited about what I did! I've had this wood knickknack shelf for over 10 years. When I first got it, I was 15 and ultra obsessed with the color green. So, I decided to paint it a mint green, which was fine...10 years ago. For weeks I've been eying what I considered my green abomination in my living room and wondering what on earth I should do with it. Tossing it was the first thing that crossed my mind, but I figured there was SOMETHING I could do with it. I thought about repainting it, but then immediately concluded that it would take way too much effort. While still brainstorming, I spotted another wood project in my living room that I had made a couple years ago. Simple project really...just some wood blocks that I spray painted and applied vinyl lettering to. Then it FINALLY hit me! Spray paint that green monster!!!

Here's the green shelf in its mint green glory (uck)...


After a $3 can of spray paint and 2 hours later,a new accent piece for my living room!


Watch out Martha Stewart...