Oregon Zoo

I finally got our pictures up from our Zoo trip.

The Polar Bear was definitely our favorite, he was so fun to watch playing with his ball and when he would dive into the water he did it just like a human, arms up by his ears and jump and dive head first. So fun to watch!

The elephant on the left was HUGE! And the baby elephant was cute.

We walked by this rock and a speaker was making a growling noise.

Krew thought it was so funny.

Krew's favorite animal was the Zebra. He didn't want to stop looking at them.

We rented this for the kids to ride in. They wanted to pull more than ride in it. By the end of the day Kali decided is was time to rest. We finished off the day with a train ride that goes all around the Zoo.

The Zoo is always a fun place for the kids, they love to see all the different kinds of animals.

It was fun going with the Brook family, Lindsay says Kali is the little sister she always wished she had, so she spoils Kali. It is fun:)

Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

He is such an amazing husband, father, brother and friend.

How did I ever get so blessed to have Aaron as my eternal companion.

He is a dreamer.

He loves talking about the future and is always working toward one of his dreams.

He is a hard worker.

He has done such an amazing job working while in school. It is not easy working, going to school and having a family, but he does it.

He brings the funny :)

He is always making me laugh, he does a good job at looking the bright side of things and is always reminding me how lucky we are.

He is a creator.

He has a natural artistic ability. He loves to create things. He is good at designing. He is always coming up with new ideas, new creations.

He is a father.

He is such a good dad, and cares so much for his kids, he is always worrying about them and wants the best for them.

He is a husband.

He is always taking such good care of me and helps me in EVERY aspect of my life.

He is a friend.

He is not only my best friend, but has gained long lasting friendships with others.

He is a brother.

Not only does he have a good relationship with his brother Zach who he loves and is always thinking about, but he has gained 4 more siblings from my side of the family and now knows what it feels like to have sisters. He is protective of them :)

He is known as the Ox, Hulk, the big guy, etc.

My husband is not hard to miss because of his massive size, but he is this way because of his dedication to working out. It is so amazing to me how he has been so dedicated for about 6 years now.

Aaron, I love you.

I am such a lucky girl to have you as my man :)

Truffle GIVEAWAY

In celebration of the Country Mercantile's new blog, we are going to have our first GIVEAWAY.

I could not think of a better way to celebrate than with a box of our decadent homemade truffles. They are my favorite gourmet chocolate.

We ship ANYWHERE!

Head over to the Mercantile's blog for details!

Saturday, May 1st the winner will be announced!

HAVE FUN and GOOD LUCK!

2010 Tri-City Blogger Meet-Up

photo credit : Kevin Salisbury

photo credit : Kevin Salisbury

photo credit : shanaejonesphotography :)

This picture above is of the barn next to the mercantile, not to be confused with the massive building next to it which it the ACTUAL mercantile :)

Susan Petersen of freshly picked is hosting the 2010 Tri-City Blogger Meet-up

When: Friday April 23rd @ 6:00pm

Where: Country Mercantile

The Mercantile closes at 7:00pm, but we will be staying after hours to party :)

If you want any food or goodies please come before 7:00pm.

Come for Giveaways, fun and friends :)

please rsvp to suezpetersen@gmail.com

Cutler Family:sneak peak

My sister Janica has been bugging me to get a sneak peak up of the Culter Family. Rachael has been like a sister to us. We grew up with the Empey family. So here you go Jan one of their pics:)

my little girl

Kali loves to pose for me now and gets jealous if I am taking pictures of someone else.

Her grandpa David taught her how to whistle with her fingers and she loves trying to do it all the time now. I cannot even whistle like that, it is hard. She doesn't quite have it down, but with all of the practice I am sure she will get it down :)

When Kali reads she likes to wear her "glasses" so she can be just like me:) She understand that they are sunglasses and wants me to buy her some real glasses.

Kali loves to help Aaron get fire wood for the cabin. She is a big help.

Recently Kali told me when she turns 5 she will stop sucking her thumb, because than it will taste like grapes. I asked her, "what does it taste like now?" She said, "cake."

Now I see why I am having such a hard time getting her to stop:)

On Kali's birthday everyone who called told Kali to give your mom a big hug and she said, "they all told me that because they want me to love you so much" :)

spring is here

The orchards are in bloom, reminding me of rebirth, renewal.

I did not have a chance yet to write a post on my thoughts of Easter and the Atonement and my Savior, but when I look all around me, I am reminded of my Saviors love and sacrifice for me.

I know that he loves me, I know that because of what he did for me I can repent and become clean again as if it had never happened. This is the only way I will be able to ever live with my Father in Heaven again. As we know, "no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God." Moses 6:57

I had bought some Nutella from Costco, which they sell now in two packs with twice as much in each jar and they same price as one jar with half as much :) SCORE! (obviously I didn't pay attention to details, like the exact amounts and prices;)

Kali and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Nutella and she was begging me to make crepes and Nutella, so I did. AND I LOVE IT!

I used bananas inside but after my dad had one, he said it would taste better with a different fruit, (he not being a lover of bananas). I told him I had wanted to use strawberries but could not find any in the fridge, low and behold my mother pulls them out of the fridge in a camouflage container which she tucked every so lovingly in the very back ;)

OK OK so I didn't look very good.

BUT he was right, the strawberries tasted MUCH MUCH BETTER!!

Either way crepes + Nutella = YUMMY!

Kali had Cheyenne over to play and they had a little tea party.

They decided it was too hot in the house and since is was a woppin 65 degrees outside they decided it was the perfect weather for cooling off in the sprinklers.

and they had a blast!

I just love this time of year, when things start warming up and we can just spend time outside

running around, riding bikes, flying kites and enjoying the beauty of our Heavenly Fathers creations.

Falls

The Brook girls and the kids and I went on a little vacation this last week to Multnomah Falls, Portland Zoo and of course OUTLET SHOPPING!!!

There are several falls along the way, and they are just GORGEOUS.

There are so many hiking trails all over the place.

Stephanie and I are already planning our next trip to go hiking all around that area.

(sadly, the kids will not make that trip:)

It was looking like a rainy weekend, so I bought both the kids umbrella's.

We got lucky and it was sun shine for us most of the trip. The kids still liked using their umbrella's.

THIS AREA WOULD BE A PERFECT PLACE FOR A PHOTO SHOOT!! LOVE IT!!!

Zoo pics coming soon...

Country Mercantile

Just wanted to give all my blogger friends a heads up on the FIRST giveaway for the Country Mercantile. Should be within the week. These decadent truffles are my favorite and thought they would be a perfect way of rewarding someone :)

The blog should be ready soon, but in the meantime you can become a fan of the Mercantile on Facebook and stay updated with events, promotions and giveaways.

Rudolph

While working on a blog for my father's business the Country Mercantile. I ran across these pictures from Christmas time.

This is the barn where Rudolph lives.

Meet Rudolph

Kali's first reaction. priceless.

the fam with Rudolph

Kali trying out Santa's slay

For Christmas time the barn is decorated just perfectly. I was in awe as I walked in there!

Lights, trees, Santa's big red chair, presents, Santa's slay and of course Rudolph.

So as I said earlier I have been working on my fathers blog because I get to start blogging for the Mercantile. I AM SO EXCITED! It is just SUCH a COOL place with so much to talk about and take pictures of. It is constantly changing and just gets better and better. Hopefully with in the week I will have the blog ready to go and we will have our first giveaway!!

Are you excited? I am so excited I can not sleep. :)