A tribute to...

Brynlee! She is my "pretend baby." Her parents are our best friends are Jared and I like to pretend she's our little one because she is so stinkin' cute! Also because we miss our nieces and nephews! Brynners is so very smart and advanced for her age (I can brag about her a lot because she's not actually my child). She is a very tiny little person but she makes up for it in attitude! We love you Bynner-boo! Mom (Felisha) teaches Brynlee everything, that's why she's so smart!

Us hangin' out outside (Brynlee's favorite thing to do) and eating some snacks.

She is such a dare devil and Mike (dad) and Jared encourage it!

Brynlee and Tommy (her wanna-be-boyfriend). Don't they look like they belong on the cover of a Gap kids magazine?

Miss Brynnie Mouse! Ha ha we found this awesome bow at an accessory store in the Mall of America and it was HUGE, as you can see! I really want to see a grown woman wear this! It would be the highlight of my Summer! So if anyone would like to go and get it and wear it for me and take some pics that would be fabulous!

I hope some day my kids will be as cute as Brynlee! We'll keep our fingers crossed!

24th not in Utah...

The 24th of July is, of course, not a big deal if you are not in Utah. But I really enjoy the 24th! I used to go down to a little place called Elmo, they had a wonderful parade and dance. It's always good to have family and tradition!
I just want to express my gratitude for the saints that have gone on before me. They were strong pioneers who endured so much trial, heartache, and sadness. However, on the other hand, they were greatly blessed by the Lord and I am sure they are "happily ever after."
Happy Pioneer Day!!

Much belated happy 4th!

We were lucky enough to have fireworks to watch right outside our apartments! So that is what we did! It was a really good show, I wish there were fireworks every weekend!

Mike decided he could be in our picture and pull a "Mike face," with a firework about to explode in the background.

Beautiful fireworks being observed by little Tommy on the bottom.

Jared and Greg teaching each other a few football moves.


This is our backyard! Sweet, right? This is our little piece of the Mississippi. All of these boats came in for the show, they were quite a scene as well! At the end of the fireworks they all blew there horns in a kind of send off. It was a great 4th of July, the only thing missing, for me, was the patriotic music. It's just not a holiday to me without a little music to go along. But all in all very enjoyable!

Valley fair amusement park

We got to go to an amusement park! Our office won some competition and this was our reward! It was basically like Utah's "Lagoon." It wasn't huge but we had a lot of fun! Jared and I had not been to an amusement park together and it was a great experience.

Here we are on an extreme swing! It was huge and awesome! You'd get to the top of the pique and your stomach was in your throat! I love that feeling!
(Hap, Jas, Felisha, me, & Janelle) Mike and Felisha enjoying the day.

The boys playing hacky. They play ALL the time!

Brynlee and I. Brynlee is saying cheese and clearly enjoying her cotton candy.

Funnel cake! Believe it or not neither Jared or I have ever had this scrumptious piece of heavenly fried, artery clogging, dynomatic desert! We LOVED it to say the least. It was the highlight of our week (name that movie?).

All in all a very fun filled day with lots of thrill rides, blood curdling screams, sun burns, fatty foods, and people watching. Oh, come on, you can't say you don't do that at amusement parks!

Minne scenery

This is what I see when I go on walks: Our apartments and down town St. Paul in the background.

Minnesota has A LOT of vegetation and gardens are not in short supply!

So, all the little fuzzies you blow when you make a wish, I swear they end up in Minnesota! They're gathered up everywhere, along the sidewalks and just floating through the air - apparently they can travel up to 500 miles in 1 day! Just ask chacha (or Kara).

A bridge by our temporary home. I have never seen so much water!

We also see lots of trains and old train tracks.

Basically just another day and another walk along the streets. I like St. Paul.

Crock pot granola

It's official! I am a Utahish house wife. I am posting blogs about cooking granola in a crock pot. It's strange, really, to think of myself that way..I kind of like it. Anywho, this is some yummy granola that I made in my crock pot and I thought others might like the idea.

What's in it?
1. 5 cups oats (just regular quick oats/rolled oats/oat meal)
2. 1 cup flax seed
3. 3/4 cup coconut flakes
4. 3/4 cup slivered almonds
5. 1 stick butter (melted)
6. 3/4 cup honey
7. 3/4 cup dried cranberries
Really you can add anything you like or take out what you don't. These are my preferences. I don't actually ever measure anything so if the measurements seem really off to you feel free to change it up!
Mix everything (I leave the cranberries out until the last 30 mins).
Cook on high for 4 hours, stirring frequently (about every 15 minutes) and vent by sticking a wooden spoon under lid. This isn't clumpy like trail mix granola, its more like cereal. I love it with milk. I think for it to clump you have to add A LOT more butter and honey. Oh, and if the cranberries are in the whole time they get really hard instead of chewy.

After the 4 hours and a lot of stirring (if you don't stir enough it'll burn) and when it's golden brown, dump out and spread on a piece of parchment paper. let cool and dry out, stick it in a zip lock or sealable container! You're done! Enjoy!

I have this for breakfast nearly every morning after making it! I really like it and I think it's pretty healthy aside from the stick of butter;)

The zoo

I love the zoo and there is a HUGE one here in Minneapolis. We were there for hours and still didn't see everything! We'll be back.
Here's Brynners looking at the prairie dogs. They were one
of her favorite and she didn't want to leave them.
Brynlee feeding a goat. She is such a dare devil and not scared of anything!

She didn't even flinch when the goat ate out of her willing fingers. Anisten clearly having a good time!

Emery is waving to the most awesome grizzly bear ever! He just swam back and forth in front of the glass for the 10 minutes we stood there in awe of this large and usually scary animal and looked like he wanted to play.

And a final pic for you animal lovers. Doesn't this monkey look so cute with its long white mustach?

Definitly another visit to the zoo soon!