///Stripes///

I can't get over stripes, I love them! Here are a few of my recent favorites:

1.Striped swimsuit 2.Striped Maxi skirt 3.Striped Rain Boots 4.Striped Duffle  5.Striped Shelves DIY 6.Striped Children's Teepee  7.Striped flats 8.Striped shorts 9.Striped Paper straws 10.Striped Scarf 11.Striped Onesie DIY

Currently...

Loving: That I have tomatoes and other fresh veggies and herbs growing just out side my backdoor again. The last time I had a real garden was about three years ago and my life doesn't seem quite complete without one. The one I have now is somewhat small, but we're planning on expanding it so I can plant a lot more next year. For now, while still moving in and decorating, it's plenty big to keep me busy.

Reading: I just finished The Pioneer Woman. I want to read it again, but I had to pass it on so others could enjoy it for the first time too. It's one of the best books I've ever read! It's comedic, real, and romantic. It's even more perfect if you're a wife, mother or both!
I just started a little book Anthem that my cousin loaned me. It reminds me of The Hunger Games a little(the same general idea anyway) and I'm really liking it so far!

Working on: Decorating/organizing my bedroom. It's a slow process having a toddler that's always wanting to get out of the house and feeling ill the past couple days. I think it's slowly turning into one of my favorite rooms of the house though. I can't wait to share the pictures of our work in progress.

Thinking about: I know it hasn't been long enough yet at all, and I love our house as a "first house", but I can't help thinking lately about my forever house. It really pushed the thought after we got some new neighbors that have been pretty obnoxious to say the least... not to mention the yippee dog haha.

Anticipating: Fall. This summer has just flown, and I know I'll be anticipating summer soon enough again, but there's just nothing like the fresh, crisp, coolness of autumn. Not to mention how much I've been craving warm pumpkin and apple goodies!

Listening to: I've been noticing, funny enough, that A LOT of my favorite artist and songs have come out in '09. This is one that I had forgotten about that came out that year, but luckily rediscovered it yesterday!


Wishing: That there were no such things as bad days, health problems, and money issues. Some days, it seems like it all gets flushed down a toilet, but it also makes my stop and think about what really matters, and thats the people around me that I love so dearly.

Eating: Not only have I been trying to eat vegan, no processed foods or sugar, but I've also been trying to consume only what's in season... which is a lot of tomatoes and egg plant lately. One of my favorite dishes is eggplant parm, but I created a whole different way of making it. All fresh veggies, no bread and no cheese, and it's really simple! Maybe I will share the tutorial on how I make it soon.

Reunion

 Every year, a bunch of us gather together for a (Biocic) family reunion. We have a few funny family traditions, but it's a lot of fun and I think it really holds us closer together. Some of the experts get up really early in the morning to begin roasting the lamb for our family lunch. My family has a special basting glaze and way of cooking it thats been passed down for many generations.

 All the little cousins

 This picture is so hilarious to me in more ways then one.

 My brother and sister were chosen to butcher the meat this year... I gladly took pictures...

It looks like an operating table.
I was able to have one of the first pieces. It melted in my mouth like butter. It didn't have that strong lamb flavor that normal lamb always has. SO GOOD. I had more than my share.

Life This Week(according to cellphone pictures) #49

Teeny rog, polka-doted rocks, Mr. Mud, goofing of, peanut butter oreo bars, making dinner, Ice Cream with Rachel, New backpack, Lovely flowers from a lovely lady, Weekend finds 1, and 2, finally pulling my books out of storage, dress designing for Red Rabbit, roasting lamb at our annual Family Reunion, polkadots and stripes, funny rules of #2.

Bringing Up Bebe

I forget… a lot to update about what's new with Everett. The things that are too insignificant to mention are probably the most memorable though. Like when we were hastily walking out the door early yesterday morning, he stopped, pointed at the shoes I had just put on and said, "I wike you shoes, Mama!" My heart melted…
So since it's really hard for me to keep up with all the little things this growing boy is going through, here's a quick list about what's current in his world:

•   Favorite foods: Hot dogs(turkey dogs) I think mostly because we always get to sing the hot dog song, blue berries, Lara Bars, hummus, cucumbers w/ranch… pretty much just a food lover in general.
•   Can count all the way through 1 to 12, if he's in the right mood. 
•   Can be entertained by books for hours on end. Total book worm. 
•   Hurts himself constantly and laughs about it. 
•   Is also gonna be a class clown, I can already tell. He will do ANYTHING to get a laugh out of you.(that's his dada too) 
•   Is pretty amazing with numbers, shapes, colors, and can already read his own name!(he also knows what it says when he sees the Chick-Fil-A logo on anything. A little obsessed with chicken). 
•   Practically anything his Dada eats, says, or does, he wants in on it. He drinks up any time he gets to spend with him. 
•   Loves cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, dump trucks and knows specifically what each of them are. 
•   Some favorite activities: long bicycle rides, playing in water, throwing rocks and balls… and recently toys down the stairs… yeah. 
•   Always asks to sing "Mazing Gwace" right before bed. 
•   Is afraid of NOTHING! Balloons pop, dog barks in his face, falls off things… nothing! 
•   Is turing two in less than a month! Crazy, crazy. He likes too tell me pretty often all the plans he has for his party. A few of his favorite things are involved including, pies, food, water, frogs, balloons, and candy.

1, 2, 3...

Everett's been really into counting lately. He loves to learn, but he gets super shy when he knows someones watching or listening to him. I caught a little of him, but as usual he was more worried about me video taping him than anything else!

What's Fair

This last weekend we decided to take a spur of the moment break and went to the fair. We ended up having a lot more fun of an evening than we were expecting too! We got to see lots of goats, sheep, cows, and a dog show. We spent a lot of our time watching the rodeo though. We all enjoyed it a lot, and it's crazy to see how good some of those REAL cowboys are! One of my best friends was working a vendor, and it was really great to see her since we hadn't seen her much after she started her 12+ hour shifts for the fair. Afterwards we splurged a little on some bad food, but I think it's good every now and then to splurge and just eat whatever sounds good! It was a real blast and definitely a great family time memory!