Grandma Millie's Dill Pickles

As dorky as this is going to sound, I have been so excited to make my Grandma's dill pickle recipe. I wanted to make sure I did everything exactly how she did it. After talking with my mom and aunt Kris I knew it was important to use fresh dill and to use well water. I found a lady that works at a nursery that Bran and I go to often who grows it fresh and brought me an entire bag in for free. The well water was pretty easy to get my hands on thanks to a sweet girl Bran works with. I know people around here that make pickles probably think I'm crazy, but I wanted to follow her recipe to the "T". I love how food brings back certain memories, and that people really do live on through the food we make!

I'll let you know in a few weeks how they taste.

Can I Mow?

When Bran is outside mowing Adi LOVES to watch. When he mowed the back yard the other night Adi stood at the back door the entire time making little faces at him when he drove by. She smashes her face up against the window and Bran makes faces and waves back at her. She thinks it is great. (You can also see that our little baldy is getting more and more hair everyday).

Happy 1st Birthday!

Yesterday was Adi's FIRST Birthday party! The day really went better then I even imagined. She woke up at a great time and took a perfect morning nap. Adi got up with enough time for us to dress her and snap a few cute pics of our sweet little girl. She thoroughly enjoyed her lunch and cupcake. She had a great time playing and opening her gifts. Before long she was ready for a nap. All the adults were able to chat and enjoy each others company. We're so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Thanks to everyone for making Adi's day so special!!!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July weekend with all three of us back home. Brandon had Monday and Tuesday off so we were able to spend a lot of quality time together. He brought back this adorable little outfit for her from Japan. Adi is just getting so big and is getting close to celebrating her FIRST birthday! I just keep thinking to myself there is just not enough time in the day to fit everything in. It seems like life just keeps going faster and faster and that I have less and less time to get all the little things done. I am really learning to concentrate on spending time with our family. Cleaning bathrooms and dusting floorboards can wait. The only thing I hear people tell me is that they wish they would have spent more time with their kids/family. Thinking about how fast this first year went really makes me take the time to savor every minute with the people I love.
We are thoroughly enjoying our garden. We are starting to get tons of tomatoes. I am so happy to have fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese for a snack daily (I even have Adi on board).

AZ Visit

I was able to spend two weeks in AZ while Brandon was in Japan again. I have a feeling that these trips will become even more frequent for the remaining year and all of next year, but I understand. I CAN'T WAIT for him to get home tomorrow afternoon! Here are a few pics from my time in AZ.



Adi and Kate in their crab outfits.




Jen (my sister-in-law) and I took the kids to the aquarium one day.


Will (my nephew) cheesing it for the camera when we were out shopping.


Me and Kel getting ready to go out to eat.



This was on father's day up at Jamie and Jen's.