Where's Adin????

Yesterday Adin discovered the empty Pampers box, that I had setting by the front door to take out to the dumpster. A few moments later, Miah and I heard some fussing...I ran to release Adin, and Miah ran for the camera :)
Needless to say, he was a little distraught... although not too much later, he was back playing with the box again!

mmmm.... blackberries!!!!!

My favorite everything is BLACKBERRY!!! Blackberry shakes (especially from Burger Express), blackberry jam, blackberry cobbler, blackberry pie....

But I have a very hard time bringing myself to buy blackberries, since growing up in Washington, where they grow like weeds, we used to go out and pick them for simply the price of purple-stained, scratched fingers. I finally broke down and bought a flat, when I got a good deal through the produce co-op I participate in. Ohhhhh, they are as good as I always remember...

Today I made jam: As easy as
1)
2)

3)

And had to top the day off with some cobbler... as fabulous as I recall it being... YUMMY!!!!

Child Labor

Teach 'em while their young!!! It's never too early... right?!?!?
Kerri told me that when she was growing up, her and her sisters swore that the reason their parents had kids, was to make them do the work... I guess they were right ; )

Surprise Easter

Miah's sister, Leah (who lives in Georgia), has been up with her four children visiting their mom in Utah. We really wanted to see her and the children, and of course his mom as well, so we decided to drive up and surprise them. We have been planning the trip for some time now, but it became more and more difficult to keep a secret as his mom kept pestering us, and begging us to come visit. So anyways, last Thursday afternoon, I picked Miah up from work with the car packed, and we made the nice long drive up. We arrived there at 2 in the morning, that is, 3 am their time. What a time for a surprise visit!!!!! No one, thankfully, was clubbed in the head with a baseball bat, or shot at, and after the realization set in, Leah and Mom were so excited to see us!!! Philip and Jill and their kids drove up the next day to see everyone as well. Unfortunately the trip was brief, as Miah had to get back to work on Tuesday morning.
Adin absolutely loved playing with his cousins - We tried to get at least one to come home with us, as he absolutely adored the attention, but no luck there.
The "boys" fixing something on Grammy's tub
All the Grandkids before church
Grammy, Miah, and Adin
My HANDSOME boys!!!!
Adin was taking a nap during the actual egghunt, but he had a little one of his own :)
The Easter Feast
Adin's Easter Feast (don't worry- I fed him more than bread... I have plenty of witnesses)
Miriah's Olive fingers
The day before Easter, we all went to Temple Square, and toured the conference center, walked by the temple, and watched the Restoration Video at the Joseph Smith memorial building.

Adin's experienceNathan at the foot of the First Vision statue
Sativa feeding Adin
All of us on the roof of the Conference Center
I hope that everyone had a fabulous Easter as well! I love you all!!!!

My projects

Earlier this week, chicken breasts were on a really good sale, so I bought a few packages, and decided to can them. I have done this once before, and it is surprisingly easy. I just boiled the chicken in my new giant stock pot, and then I skinned and pulled the chicken off the bone. Stuffed it in the sterilized jars, and filled them with water (last time I used broth instead of water). Then I took them over to my sister-in-laws, and used her pressure canner to seal on the lids. I have used the chicken to make Tortilla soup, Enchiladas, Stir-fry, chimichangas, and pretty much anything else that chicken is good in. It makes life a lot easier... not to mention I am trying to follow the prophets counsel to build up my food storage.

WHAT's for Dinner??? Adin Stew!!! Yum Yum!

New Crocheting project
I decided to try something a little new and different - I made a Lion! It took me a little while, but it really wasn't too hard! I had a lot of fun making it, and I think Adin really likes it too!!!

An Army of One

Adin apparently wants to join the Army! He has really been perfecting the "Army Crawl" lately! The other day, he decided he wanted the laptop chords that he saw dangling on the other side of our coffee table.
He got a little stuck for a little bit,
but figured his way through eventually.And of course, as mean as we are, we took the chords away from him as soon as he got there... terrible I know ; )

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. . .

We decided to take a little day-trip today down to Tucson - only about an hour-and-a-half drive for us. We went to the Reid Park Zoo, his first time to a zoo. I have been to this zoo once before with Paul and Kerri and their kids... almost 5 years ago (can you believe that?!?!) Miah had never been to this one. It is a small zoo, and all the animals are pretty close together - so we were able to see all of the animals in about 2 hours. Although everything is close, they have a lot of animals, and overall the zoo is very interactive. Adin actually enjoyed a lot of the animals in the exhibits. We of course took a ton of pictures, and even a few short videos.

Adin trying to touch the fish in the Caiman cave.
Can you find the black panther?
Adin and me in front of the giraffe Adin and Miah in front of the giant turtles - all lined up
Adin and me in front of the polar bears


A few more videos:







Just for Craig and Camille... do you recognize this??????