Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Thank you for this day.

My adorable 4 year old nephew was playing with my phone this weekend. Isnt it amazing how little kids know how to use smart phones?? Even my 1 yr old nephew was thumbing through my photos! Anyway, my nephew Kel was looking through my pictures and said the sweetest/funniest thing:
Kel: Ahhh, she is saying a prayer!
Kel:(imitating our kitten) Dear Heavenly Fodder, thank you for dis day...
I asked him to show me what he was looking at and sure enough, it does look like she is saying a prayer!
I love kids.
Thats a lot sweeter then what the picture actually was.
Griffin fell asleep on my lap and she was like a total gumby. I was moving her hands and legs all over the place and she wouldnt budge. In this particular "praying" pose, I was actually making her rap to the Fresh Prince of Bell Air.
I think Kels idea of the picture is much better.

Friday, May 25, 2012

I Run for Hope

We had a really fun time at the Race for the Cure again. Its always a fun time to get out, do some exercises while raising money for a good cause. Our family, and our team had a lot going on this year. They all signed up and donated but opted to go to breakfast and do a "cheers" to the race for the cure. Russ, Heidi and I decided to still attend. And we were glad we did!! Before you start the race you can put if you are running in celebration of someone that had survived the terrible disease, or you could run in memory of someone who lost their life to breast cancer. Russ and I ran in memory of my Gram.
Heidi was also running in memory of her friend, she just wrote it on the wrong side :)
I love every year seeing all the creative names people come up with. And its always so great to see Survivors walking with their friends and families. The ladies always love Russ.
Nothing starts a 5K off like a good stretch.
It was so fun to have Heidi there with us this year. She is always such a good friend and willing to support you in whatever you do. Running through the cheer tunnel...
Heids, thanks again for joining us! Its always a good time with you around, and you are always so good at taking pictures. Thanks for sharing.
And Im really sorry again about the dang parking ticket. Dont you think when there is a big event, like 16,000 people going on down town, especially a fundraiser that the city would be a titch more understanding when you are there for less than 2 hrs? Always out to make a buck right?

Monday, May 21, 2012

Hard Work- Dedication

We love watching The Biggest Loser. I love when Dolvette yells at his team.."Hard work! Dedication!". Russ has worked so hard around our yard to make it fun for summer bbqs!
I cant believe how much I dislike yard work. Im not a girly girly I would say, but I do NOT like bugs. Especially snakes and spiders and our yard has both. Creeps me right out. But Russ has been doing a fantastic job at weeding, cleaning things up nicely, and attempting at a garden. I just only wish something would grow. Im really good at mowing the lawn though! I help...a little. We hung some really cute lights in our back yard.
Our fire pit is all set up in the back, and ready for a full summer of mallows. We even broke out the hammock. There is nothing better then laying out on a summer night watching life flight fly directly above your house (We live across the street from a busy hospital). But hey! If we are ever in need of medical attention I could wave my arms as they pass or walk there in a jiff.
We bought a new patio set for our first summer together as a MR & MRS. Its bright, comfy and currently covered in bird poop. Darn those birds! Bring on the summer BBQs!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Momma Kemp

I have the greatest mother of all time. How awesome that we have a full day dedicated to our moms?
Isnt she lovely? I have been lucky enough to say my Mom has been one of my greatest friends my whole life. I love talking to her and getting her advice and making fun of her technology difficulties...she is just all around awesome. This Mothers day was exceptionally fun. The whole fam was in town. We treated KK to a big breakfast made by all of us and a present of her favorite things...

We took a walk as a family..however my Mom thought it would be a good idea to give 6 kids under the age of 8 water guns. It was a wet walk, but a fun one :) I cant imagine what I would do without my Mom. She has been there through the good times and the bad, and there were plenty of bad times there for awhile. But she was always there to tell me what I needed to hear to get back on my feet and make my life what I wanted it to be. "You create your own happiness. You, and you alone are responsible for your happiness". Wise advice, and oh so true. I love you Mom! Thanks for all you do for me and everyone else.
Also, I am so grateful to have the kindness, most sincere mother in law, Sharon. I am lucky to have TWO wonderful examples in my life.
Did I mention that my mother in law raised EIGHT kids? My goodness, she is a champ to say the least. Russ was so sweet and surprised me with a bouquet of flowers Mothers Day morning.
Im truly blessed. Happy late Mothers Day to all you mothers.
Speaking of flowers...my co worker sent me this really funny video. It made me laugh.
Mormons CAN send flowers, and they do! ;)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Invention

I have always wanted to be famous for something, anything really. Not the kind of famous where people stop you on the streets and you cant live a normal life famous. But think about it...Enya, quite famous and I could not tell you what she looked like. That kind of famous.
I always think If I could just come up with the "million dollar idea".
When I was really little we had to invent something in school one day. I invented wind shield wipers for your glasses. Clever right?
Well I cant say I am going to become wickedly famous for this, but for the first time EVER, I literally threw together a bunch of ingredients that I had left over in my cupboard and it made for a FINE cookie.
I love eating oatmeal cookie dough. In fact, when I am eating oatmeal packets, I will put enough water in it just to make it all stick together, but not enough to make oatmeal consistency because do you want to know why? It taste like warm oatmeal cookie dough. Delish.
Back to the cookies. I thought I would share with you all because it was a hit at my work and Russ's work.

 
      1 cup butter
      1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • Hand full of white chocolate chips
  • Hand full of toffee chips

  • I baked them at 350 F for 10 ish min.

     
    Russ kept watching me like I was a mad person because I am a TERRIBLE cook.
    I will have to tell you about the time I tried to make homemade Cafe Rio pork salads from scratch...disaster.
    Any recipe you give me that you just "cant screw up" I will. It sucks.
    So the fact that I wasn't following a recipe was oober scary to him.
    But these were delicious and I think you should try them.
    I didn't put that many toffee chips in, only because I didn't have that many left, but just a little hint is good.
    If anyone makes them, you will have to let me know if you thought they were as good as we did.

     
    Side note** If anyone has a good recipe for Cafe Rio Pork salad stuff, I would love it.

    Wednesday, May 16, 2012

    Inspired

    Im feeling pretty inspired right now. I havent followed Nie Nie Dialogues at all. I would check on it a couple times a year, but after 6 long months of trying to get through The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I was offered a book from my friend called Heaven Is Here.
    I started reading it a day ago and am already half way through it. Such a good story, and it already makes me want to be a better wife, and one day a great mom. I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a good read. I truly cant imagine being burned over 80% of my body and having my image change completely in an instant. Getting a tiny burn on your hand while cooking is painful enough. I look up to her a lot.
    Plus, how adorable is her family?

    Friday, May 11, 2012

    Lions & Kittens & Birthdays! Oh My!

    I bought Ecko when she was just 8 weeks old while I was living in Hawaii. She was the "black dog special". She was the only black dog out of 3 dogs total, after they advertised this huge "puppy swap meet". I guess 3 puppies is huge in Kona. She was $50 and that included a bag of dog food. Best $50 bucks Ive spent. I love her. I cant believe its been 6 years, but this May 1st Ecko celebrated her 6th birthday! We thought it would be fun to take her to In N Out for her birthday dinner. How awesome is this? The people in the drive through probably thought we had gone mad. Yep, that is Ecko in the back seat with the birthday hat on. She was loving it.
    We grabbed our take out and went by a river for her to enjoy and eat.
    I often wonder why my thighs and my butt are suddenly starting to swell right up and not fit in my jeans...it could be that I had a cheeseburger AND fries animal style. Russ made a good point though, how could you not get it animal style when we are celebrating a dogs birthday. Yikes.
    I think our mission was accomplished, she looks happy to me!
    I stole this picture from my Istagram. Anyone else out there loving Instagram? Im kind of digging it right now. After Ecko's birthday Russ decided he would give her an early haircut. I take her every year for a spring cleaning at Petco and now that we are married, Russ thought he could take care of it on his own. I kind of put my foot down here and asked him if he realized that when I drop her off, it takes them 6 hrs. I said I would be happy to pay for it, or he could do it alone, but I wasnt about to spend my day fighting a dog. He decided to go for it. He started with a brushing her. Can you even believe how much hair came out of this dog??
    He then gave her a bath, which included me out there holding her down getting soaking wet. So much for putting my foot down, but it was fun. After she dried, he started shaving her. Doesnt he look so good without a shirt? I think so. He's sexy and he knows it.
    This isnt the greatest picture of her, but basically after being at it a whole day, he gave her a hair cut like a lion. Poor girl.
    I guess that is that for now.
    A week ago we hosted a BBQ in our back yard. Russ kept disappearing in the middle of everything, and I was thinking.. where on earth is he going? After everyone had left I was laying on the hammock in the backyard hanging out under the stars and Russ came and laid next to me and wished me a happy 6 month anniversary and plopped a baby kitten on my chest. I was so surprised!!! This picture makes me laugh. You know those pictures of new born babies on their moms check? This reminds me of that...my little baby kitten.
    Turns out he was hiding a kitten in his truck, so he kept disappearing to check on it. I guess neither of us wanted to "look" to see what the gender was, so we just assumed it was a boy and named him Griffin :) A couple days later we discovered she is a girl! So please meet our girl kitten Griffin. I like to call her Griff. I thought about changing her name to a girl name, but different is good. Russ has been hilarious with this new kitten. Its like its his first born son...I mean daughter. I was at work the next morning and Russ Facetimed me at like 10 am
    He said he was worried about the kitten and couldnt concentrate at work so he went to hang out with her. You can tell by that ugly face I was a tich touched :) Introducing lil Griff to big Ecko was a bit scary. Ecko kept staring at her like she does her treats while she waits for us to say "get it!"
    But we just spent a ton of time the first couple of days getting the 2 used to each other. Ecko even yawned the other morning and the cat stuck her face in Eckos mouth. I about died. There goes that kitten. But Ecko gently pulled away and spared her life. After that, I knew they would get along just fine.
    Remember how I mentioned my thighs and butt are swelling right up? Thats not fun at all. In fact, it makes me angry. I guess thats what happens when you are pushing 30. Yuck. I started doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I like it. I even bought the "Killer Buns and thighs" and made Russ do it with me. The only problem was we couldnt walk for like 3 days after. The other night I was doing one of the workouts in our front room and Russ was like..I think I am going to give the kitten a bath. I had to remind him that cats hate water and that might not be a good idea. After my work out I went into the bathroom to find this..
    Russ and the kitten were just chilling in the water. That cat could have cared less that it was in water. Russ was washing it so gently and in all the right places and I was like...yep, he will be a dang good dad one day.
    And for the last picture of Griffin, last night she fell asleep in my hand and her head went completely back and she just went limp. Russ was scared she was dead. Nope, just super relaxed.
    This has made me think I will be a terrible mother. That dang kitten cries all night, I am super moody in the mornings and all I can smell now is cat food and kitty litter. A guy at worked popped a bag of popcorn and it smelled like cat food to me. I dream about the kitten running around in our room and Ill sit straight up in bed looking for her. The other night, I had the worst dream ever that I was making cat food out of human brains. I have scratched all over my lower half of my legs from the kitty trying to climb my bare skin. Im excited for the weekend. But welcome to the family Griffin!