SaSSy SuNfloWerS

So the other day I saw some of these

And they reminded me of the band my sisters and I started when we were little. Our band was called The Sassy Sunflowers. I was Classy Colette, Shae was Rockin' Rachel and Misti was Dancin' Danielle hahaha cheesy I know. Shae would write the songs and all three of us would be on vocals haha hilarious I know. We would record ourselves on tapes and use background music from other songs. It's a really good thing you can't really find tape players anymore because bringing that old dusty tape out of the dark and pressing play would be pretty scary I'd probably be rolling on the floor laughing. We would dress up and go "on tour" pretending we toured with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera but we were bigger than them hahahha We would go around the house outside singing our songs and I think we even used the hose as our microphone...classy huh! Oh I love those days and miss them it made me think more about childhood memories that I miss....here are a few ok a lot but not all of them I have to consult my sis's for more I know I missing a ton!

Running up the hill in the backyard and playing for hours on Castle Hill

Night Games

Sledding down our hill in the winter

Flying Bags

 Filling up the Barrel to swim in

Playing Mailbox, Upset the Fruit Basket, The Present Game, Hot Lava, Graveyard, Hide-n-seek, The Water Game, Fruit Octupus

Building forts in the Basement

Parades around the house banging pans or riding bikes then switching

Switching Rooms

Playing dolls/barbies with Misti (we had like 50 of them and I always remembered their names and Misti always had to ask me "what's her name again?")

Playing Small people castle with Shae

Swimming in the pool--getting numb on your bum, makin waves, whirlpool- going around the pool in a circle singin "whirlpool whirlpool", saying biskae biskae hoping it would make the water warmer

Sleeping outside on many summer nights and whoever went in early we told them they had to wear grandma's undies--mom would make us breakfast and bring it outside

Makin slip-n-slides or a waterslide down our slide

Lying in the road and seeing who could stay there the longest before a car would come (we live on a highway)

Picking plums and apricots off the fruit trees I always hated the apricots

Having Sales--  we would sell our stuff to our other siblings--Kirk tried to sell a hanger for $11 once hahaha

Gettin' tan on the van- a random moving van some people dropped off at our house cuz it broke down--we had it for years...we also slept in in and would swing on the doors. We celebrated when it left...it was bittersweet.

Inventions- finding what food we could in the kitchen to make new inventions

Wearing all my sisters clothes (misti and I doing each others hair)

Trading Candy after trick-or-treating

Making music videos or commercials

Putting on plays (the famous Johnny Lingo)

Going to look at "the signs" we would always get so excited when we found out "the signs were up!" at eagle elementary meaning we would find out which teacher we had for the next year

playing baseball in the field for FHE our family was big enough to have two teams

staying up late talking about memories, quoting lines from movies and listening to 80s songs.

This is my childhood. (Well most of it) Couldn't have asked for a better one or for better siblings. love em.

Jared, Me, Shae, Nikki

Shae, Me, Kirk

Jared, Shae, Me

Me, Misti, Shaelyn

I'm Staring at you in front

Nikki, Shae, Misti, Shiree, Me, Eric, Jared

In the White dress...I was 8 my baptism dress

15 years later from the above picture...Nina, Shana, Chad, Laura, Trent, Krista, Shiree, Nikki, Eric, Shaely, Jared, Me, Misti, Daren, Kirk, Dad, Mom

ThE FoUrTh!

 So everyone knows the 4th of July is coming up and I am so excited to celebrate! I feel so blessed to live in America and have the freedoms that we do. We truly live in such a great country and I'm so glad we have a holiday to celebrate it. Growing up we would always and still do have a BBQ and fireworks at my Uncle Marv's down the street. Some years my siblings and I  would take a huge bag of popcorn and climb our hill in the back of our yard to watch the fireworks. Ann Morrison Park in Boise has a nice fireworks display every year and that's where we'll be celebrating the fourth along with the parade downtown. I do have to say that I will miss the Idaho Falls fireworks though, every year they put on quite a show. Those fireworks are amazing especially if you are lucky enough to get a good view up close. I hope everyone has a wonderful fourth of July celebrating the amazing country we live in. Here is a recipe I found on skinnytaste.com it looked so yummy I had to share.


Red White and Blueberry Trifle

ingredients:

• 10 oz angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes*
• 2 pints strawberries, sliced
• 2 pints blueberries

For the cream filling:

• 6 tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used Borden Eagle)
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 package sugar-free white chocolate instant pudding mix
• 12 oz fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Whisk the condensed milk and water in a bowl. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping.

Arrange half of the cake in the bottom of a 14-cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Spread half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread (I piped it using a plastic bag and cut the corner off). Top with a layer of strawberries. Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then add more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a pretty pattern. Cover and refrigerate at least one 1 hour.

*I only used 10 oz of a 16 oz cake. 

Wedding Bells!

So last monday Carson and I took at trip down to SLC with my family for my Niece yes my NIECE's WEDDING! I was stoked because I was one of her bridesmaids! My niece Chelsea is two years younger than me she is my sister Misti's age and is also older than my two younger brothers :) pretty awesome huh! That's what happens when you come from a family of 15--love it! Keith couldn't come because he had to do somethings for work which I was bummed about but I was still excited for the wedding. I love weddings! It made me think of my blizzardy cold but beautiful wedding day 3 1/2 years ago. How happy I was to be marrying the love of my life and all the wonderful family and friends that were there. So many good memories that I will never forget. Especially how Keith's family can dance! Seriously his aunts, cousins, siblings, grandma, and parents know how to DANCE! I'm glad I got it on video! We had so much fun at the wedding. The sealing was beautiful in the Salt Lake Temple, the Luncheon was so yummy (I think I ate way to much bread), and the reception was GORGEOUS! Here are some pictures of the beautiful bride and the wedding.

Chelsea and James coming out of the temple

Me and two of my cute nieces

The Fakkel Fam

Aunt and Niece

I can't believe this girl is already married! We spent many Idaho summers with my other sisters making up dances, shopping, looking for cute boys, flipping through yearbooks, prank calling, camping, swimming, laughing and talking for hours and hours. I have countless inside jokes between her and my sisters--I think we wrote them all down once and there were like four pages front and back filled with inside jokes. It really hit me how we're all growing up. She was  like a sister to me since we were so close in age. I love this girl and am so happy for her and James.  Chelsea Chapman.... has a nice ring to it...and she has a nice ring :)

Cutting the cake

First Dance

Saying goodbye with bubbles and sparklers

Just a part of the gorgeous reception outside

Me and Brooklyn on the way to the wedding

So that was my week pretty much besides getting the flu while Keith was in Alaska whew that was fun...not! Glad he is home and I'm getting over the flu. So excited for the fourth of July coming up...lots of fun things planned!

A Little Treat

So my sister Nikki and I love to try recipes out of my new cookbook that I got from my sister-in-law Catherine for mothers day. We made these yumminesses the other day and fell in love. They are perfect for a baby or bridal shower or just a little treat! It's a great way to add a little flavor to chocolate covered strawberries.

Cream Cheese Filled Strawberries

2 pints strawberries
1 package of cream cheese
3/4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 c semi sweet choc chips
1/2 tsp shortening

Rinse and dry strawberries- set aside
Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond extract with an electric mixer on high.  Using a sharp knife cut a strawberry from tip almost to the stem in the middle of the strawberry. Make another cut crosswise, making an "X" Be careful not to cut all the way trhough the strawberry. If the strawberry is stitting on the stem it should flare open, repeat this step with the remaining strawberries.
Using a filled decorating bag (or ziploc bag) gently pipe the cream cheese filling into each strawberry.
Place choc chips and shortening in small ziploc bag and microwave for 20-30 seconds or until the choc is melted. Make sure top is sealed and mash choclate with the melted shortening. Cut a small corner of the bag off and drizzle chocolate over the filled strawberries. Refridgerate and serve once chocolate has hardened.

NATATORIUM!!

Today we took Carson to the pool for the first time. It was his first time swimming and he loved it! It was a perfect day out not too hot just perfect. We went to the Natatorium Pool in Boise with my brother from Alaska Jared his wife Mary and their two daughters, and my sister Shae and her daughter. I had never been there, but we loved it and had such a great time. My brother Jared bought some rides on the Hydrotube so we had fun going down that too! We will definitely be going back again many times this summer! Here are some pics!!

Bucket LIst

50 Things to Do Before I'm 50!!!

1.Go to Times Square on New Years Eve

2. Learn to drive a stick shift
3. Travel to Europe
4. Swim with dolphins
5. Visit all of the LDS Church history sites.
6. Climb Mt. Borah in Idaho

7. Learn how to Juggle
8. Buy a home
9. Go on a cruise
10. Visit the Grand Canyon
11. Run a half marathon (I don't think I could do a full one)
12. See Mt. Rushmore

13. Learn to surf
14. Ride in a hot air balloon
15. Read the bible cover to cover
16. Visit Puerto Rico
17. Learn CPR
18. Go to a BSU game

19. Ride in a Limo
20. Visit all 50 States
21. Meet Taylor Swift
22. Learn to play the guitar
23. See Niagra Falls & Shoshone Falls

24.Record and transcribe my mom and dad's stories of their youth
25. Visit the San Diego Zoo
26. Take a culinary class
27. See the Eiffel Tower
28. Reconnect with a long lost relative or meet one I've never met
29. Get my food storage
30. Go to the Cake Boss Bakery in Hoboken, N.J.

31. Plant a tree that generates fruit
32. Eat moose
33. See the 7 Wonders of the World
34. Take my mom back to Spain where she served her mission
35. Make a giant sandcastle

36. Win a contest
37. Visit a WWII concentration camp site in Germany
38. Try every recipe in the Our Best Bites Cookbook
39. See a Broadway musical

40. Learn to snowboard
41. Camp in the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho (the second largest undeveloped land in the U.S.)
42. Drive a convertible
43. Bike the Boise greenbelt from one end to the other
44. Ride in a train
45. Catch a fish
46. Tour the White House

47. Ride a tandem bike
48. Learn how to do a back flip
49. Go Whale watching
50 Get my entire family together for a day (including 31 nieces and nephews, 14 siblings, parents, 10 bro-sis-in laws)

Do You Know Me?

I been trying to think of other things that I can blog about besides that day to day experiences that I have here in good ol' Boise. So my sister and I found this one blog that has a lot of cute ideas and this was one of them.

35 Random Facts About Me

1. I lived in the same house all my life in little Eagle, Idaho until I moved out when I was 18 to attend college at Byu-Idaho.

2. My daily must haves include- chapstick, water, sunglasses and fruit--random I know.

3. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. I must have it. My favorite is strawberries with waffles and whip cream.

4. I can never get sick of nectarines. I absolutely love the hard kind.

5. I am a budget-savvy kind of person.

6. Some of my biggest pet peeves include Utah drivers and cigarette smoke.

7.I love swedish fish and peanut butter m&ms.

8. I absolutely cannot sleep with noise, even if it's just Keith watching T.V. or talking to someone in the next room I like silence.

9. I hate Tuesdays- I think they should be removed from the week.

10. I have 30 nieces and nephews. (some of them below)

11. I have never met my paternal grandfather. He was born in 1892 and died in 1967. My grandma and him were about 25 years apart.

12.I hate seafood but my husband loves it.

13. Politics get me upset--don't even get me started on Obama-- ugh!

14. I have a perfect driving record--not even a warning.

15. My favorite summer activities are white water rafting and water skiing.

16. My least favorite household chore is doing the dishes.

17. I can never get sick of U2, The Goo Goo Dolls, Taylor Swift and Boyce Avenue--love them!

18. My favorite season is fall--love the smells, weather, and holidays.

19. My sister Misti is my best friend (along with six other lovely high school/middle school friends-Kathryn, Emily, Danni, Mary, Nichole, and Brittany)

20. My husband is a way better cook than me, although my new hobby is trying new recipes.

21. Some of my favorite places that I've been include-- New York, Alaska, and Hollywood.

22. I really want to vacation in Puerto Rico.  (Where my husband served his mission).

23. I want three kids.  (maybe... just maybe, four)

24. The Washington D.C. temple is my favorite (still have yet to see it even though Keith's parents are three hours from it....someday)

25. I hate flying.

26. I love watching Boise State football--don't interrupt me it gets intense. BRONCO NATION BABY!

27. I love to shop at Forever 21, Platos Closet, and Rue 21.


 28.My favorite restaurant is Chilis--I love the variety of their menu. OK, and I gotta say I love Moons in Downtown Boise too--classic.

29. I've had kidney stones three times. (twice after giving birth)-- not fun!

30. I hate mint flavored things--especially mint ice cream. ick!

31. I think I eat too many sweets--gotta have my muddy buddies

32. I have easy pregnancies (well, so far out of the one that I've had!)

33. I almost drowned in a sewer when I was three.
       My brothers Jared and Eric and sister Shae were all playing by the sewer when I fell in, Jared and Eric stood there laughing as I was struggling for air. Shae ran and got my mom who jumped in and saved me. 

34. Keith and I are 6 years apart.


35. I am the 12th out of 15 children in my family and am the only child with naturally curly hair.