BRING ON MAY

We had a fabulous weekend and happily welcomed May. I am happy to say that the baby is coming THIS month. Now when people ask when I am going to "pop", I can tell them SOON!

We had a great weekend. I love everything about the weekends but mostly just having Sterling around. The boys and I are much happier to have dad home.

I started the weekend early on Friday morning by watching the royal wedding. I was up before 6am and watching. The plan was to make popcorn but I couldn't bring myself to eat that early. (Surprise. Surprise.) I loved every second of the wedding. I can't figure out how people didn't love it. Kate's dress, her smile, William, I could go on and on.
On Saturday we ventured out to the new Cafe Rio that opened that week. It is in a tiny town called Olney, Maryland and it is abour 35 minutes away. It was packed. There were tons of people there wearing BYU and UTAH gear. We also ran into several people we knew. This Cafe Rio has been long awaited. (You may notice that I wear the same thing in every picture. I have moved into my "last weeks of pregnancy" outfit. I have this shirt in pink and blue and I wear that same skirt almost everyday.)
The boys loving their food.
I have been dreaming of this salad. I usually can only eat about 1/2 which is why I normally get the tostada. I polished this baby off and had no regrets!

We then headed over to Bass Pro Shops to see the fish and get Dellin a new hat. The boys love the fish tank as you can see.

They were having a boat show and Sterling Henry got to sit in each one.
My mom comes exactly 3 weeks from today. YIPPEE!

BABY CELEBRATION

One of the best things about where we live is definitely the friends we have made. We have been lucky enough to meet amazing people while living out here. I have the best group of girlfriends. They are the type of girls that you can count on for ANYTHING!

Two of my best friends wanted to have a little party for baby Dellin (yes, that is going to be his name). They went above and beyond. The food was delicious. They really went all out!

YUMMINESS!

There was a train theme which I loved. This train cake was adorable!

These were the cute little train cookies that they gave out as favors. The detail on them is unbelievable.

For as much as I hang out with these two, you would think I would have more pictures but I don't. This is from when I was pregnant with Sterling Henry but I pretty much look the same.

Thank you so much Taryn and Jessica (and everyone else who helped and came). You two really are the best!

WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE WINTERTIME?

It has been FREEZING here. We pretty much look like this when we leave the house.

Two things are helping us enjoy staying indoors. Thanks to homemade yummy pizza

and Legos, we are surviving the cold weather. (And of course friends.)



Seriously though, how could we not have fun when dad is making the coolest Lego creations for us to play with. We might just need to buy MORE Legos so that we can have even MORE fun. Oh and have dad stay home from work because mom does not have the Lego vision that dad does.

I never would have thought to make a Lego robot or guitar.

INTRODUCING COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES

A couple of weeks ago at our RS opening social, I had the pleasure of being introduced to this yummy little treat. She is called a Cookie Dough Cupcake and she is DELICIOUS! I searched the internet for her everywhere and found a close second on Picky Palate.

I made a batch last night for our RS munch and mingle and let's just say I could have called in sick and eaten every last one by myself.

I made regular size and minis and they were all delicious! The only part I regret is using store bought cream cheese frosting, which is NEVER as tasty as homemade.

Make. Eat. Enjoy.

GETTING CLOSER!

Missing these people. (And the rest of you not pictured!)


Dreaming of this.



ONE WEEK!

SUMMER LOVE

I love summer for lots of reasons but mostly because of popsicles. (I also really love shaved ice but haven't really found a good stand here.)

Yesterday I bought a new box. As I took one out of the wrapper, Sterling Henry could not take his eyes off it, he was dying to try it, so I let him. HE LOVED IT! Even though it was cold, he couldn't get enough!

Here he is...

VISITORS ARE THE BEST!!!!

Sterling's parents were here for graduation and we had such a great time. There are so many fun places to go around here so we went to check out some new ones.

Our first stop was Oatlands Plantation. This was a beautiful mansion home in Leesburg, built in 1804. It only had a few owners and then was turned over to the National Trust Society and was kept in great condition. The house itself was amazing, it is hard to imagine anyone today living in a house of that size much less 200 years ago!



The ladies!

The gardens were in full bloom. They were getting ready for a big wedding, it was pretty amazing.


We stopped at the Ben Lomond Plantation, which was used as a hospital by the Confederates after the First Battle of Manassas. It was not open but the house was beautiful anyway.

On Friday we went to Woodlawn. This mansion was built for George Washington's nephew and his grand-daughter (through marriage), and just three miles from Mount Vernon. This place was UNBELIEVABLE!

The grounds were beautiful. We have been getting so much rain so everything is green as can be.


We then went down to Gunston Hall (George Mason's Home). Little Sterling spent all week in the Bjorn with his dad and had the time of his life! I am not sure who liked it more?!?

Of course we had to take Sterling's parents to Ray's Hell Burgers. Sterling LOVES this place and there is no question why... check out that burger! Our friends changed our lives by introducing us to this place!

Loving it.

David and Emma Jean both LOVED it!

We had the best time with Sterling's parents. Thank you so much for coming out. Little Sterling misses you also. I can tell he looks around wondering, " where did my fun grandparents go?"

Thank you for an amazing visit!

MOVE OVER GERBER!

I made my first batch of baby food today and it went pretty well. I started really easy with sweet potatoes and butternut squash. With the way our little man eats, this will be gone in no time!!

What baby food recipes have you made and like?

THE PERFECT SNACK!

If you are anything like me then you have a serious sweet tooth! When it comes to treats I have very little self control...if any! Easter is the worst time of year for me thanks to Cadbury anything, especially the mini eggs in the dark purple bag!!!!




I have found that keeping a case of diet Barqs (or A&W, whichever is on sale) in the fridge makes for the perfect snack, especially in the evenings and on Sundays!

Final Cravings!!!

For the last couple weeks I have totally been craving a whole wheat cinnamon roll from Great Harvest. The best part is, I haven't had one of those in at least 5 years!! Anyway, I decided to give it a try. I made a batch today and they are delicious!!!! I do think my frosting is a bit tastier. As if you could go wrong with all that cream cheese!
Anyone who stops by to visit me in the next 24 hours can have as many as you want...that's if I don't eat them all first!!!

MY NEW BEST FRIEND!!!

Some of you may have read my post a few weeks ago about a delicious frozen yogurt place in DC called Mr. Yogato. I have only been there twice, but have craved it every day since.

I would go there everyday if it didn't take forever to get there and find parking. So my wonderful sisters told me about a little trick...making my own. I bought this ice cream maker and have had frozen yogurt almost every night since!

Here is my favorite recipe...

14 oz. non-fat plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup sugar( adding more will make it sweeter. I like it tarty.)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped fruit( I think that peach is the best.)

*Mix in a bowl. Turn on ice cream maker. Wait 20 minutes...and VOILA, you have the best frozen yogurt of all times.

The best part is...it is totally guilt free!! Hope you enjoy!!!

FRUIT PICKING!!!

There is no one who loves fresh fruit as much as my husband. I am constantly buying all sorts of fruit for us. As most of you know, fruit gets sort of pricey. There are lots of farms out here where you can go pick fruit for a fraction of the cost and that is what we did yesterday with our good friends Wes and Ann. Last year, Sterling went twice without me so this year I was thrilled to go.

Our main two things we went for were blackberries and peaches....yummy!!!! The blackberry picking was very painful with all the thorns but totally worth it. Here we are, standing in the the middle of the blackberry rows!


I found two blackberries that were the size of a golf ball...HUGE! We had to document it so that people would believe us. The best part is you could eat while you picked...I ate a lot! Not the most flattering picture of me but whatever!!! You get to see the blackberry.

Here we are with our loot! We picked tons of blackberries, peaches, tomatoes, and one cantaloupe! Last year, I made jam with the blackberries and peaches....tasty! The peach jam recipe is compliments of Eliza and the blackberry was sugar free. Both were delicious and will be made again this year!

What is it with boys and swimming? Sterling brings his swimsuit almost everywhere we go, just in case there is a river or lake that he can take a quick dip in. This was in the Shenadoah river. It actually looked really tempting until they got attacked by a huge horse fly.
We had such a great time. Just another reason why it is blast to be married to Sterling, we are always doing such fun things!!!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. YOGATO!!!

One of the guys I work with has been telling me about this delicious frozen yogurt place in DC. Right before Sterling and I went to Utah, we tried it....DELICIOUS!!! Since our first trip there, I have pretty much thought of nothing else. It is the best yogurt I have ever had. If you live anywhere in the Northern Virginia area, you HAVE to go there, it will change your life!!!On Friday we went in to DC with some of our friends and had a great time. We took the metro and this is exactly how we looked. Three babies out in front. Two in the baby bjorn and one in my belly. I am sure we looked like hilarious to most people!
I can't wait to join Taryn and Jessica in the mommy group. Then we can go to Mr. Yogato everyday if we want to!!! (do I really always look that tall?.....yikes!!)

Who wants more turkey???

We spent Thanksgiving at Matt and Eliza's this year and had the best time.

Ann, Sterling, Matt, and Wes enjoying our yummy appetizers.

Mr. and Mrs. Fillmore!!

This is Matt and Eliza's little boy Theo. He usually is sort of freaked out by Sterling, but they had a major breakthrough and are now friends!

Our cute place settings...Eliza has fabulous taste!

The bird in all it's glory! Matt cooked the turkey and did a wonderful job! It was super yummy. Eliza, Hannah, and Rob were also there but I have no pictures of them because our battery ran out. We had such a great time and are truly grateful to Matt and Eliza for hosting and making us feel at home!!!

Get ready for rolls!!!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving that I did a test run on rolls to make sure they would be turn out. I think they look pretty good and they are super tasty! (Don't worry, I will be making a fresh batch on Thursday.)

Bastilla anyone???

We have so many great ethnic resturants around us. Last night we ate at Taste of Morocco. It was very good but the best thing we had was the BASTILLA. It was delicious!!!! If anyone has the chance to try it......do! You will thank me later. It is this yummy sweet meat pastry thing. I can't even do it justice but it was awesome......