The scoop

We've had a lot going on lately... and I haven't posted on a majority of it. For those of you who don't know yet, here is the scoop on our lives as of now....

Dallas has a job :) It originally was supposed to be a temporary job that we were using as a "backup plan" if Dallas didn't get a job. I guess you could have called it and internship. Then as you all know, Dallas didn't get a job and so this was a huge blessing for us. Then to make a long story short this temporary job changed to a full time position (wahoo!!) I can't even tell you how relived and happy this has made me! Dallas started almost two weeks ago and that's that. He is adjusting to his new job and work schedule. He enjoys it for the most part (work is work). He too is very happy to have such a great job. We don't know how long we will be here... at least a year, if not longer.

We are moving :) Now that Dallas is working we had to find a new place to live (we've been living in a subsidized apartment complex). We found a cute two bedroom duplex just west of where we are now. I am so excited for so many reasons (garage, dishwasher, fireplace, master bathroom, walk in closet, one level... no stairs, cute neighborhood....). We are moving next month and so we have some time left here with our friends (we love where we live and it will be sad to move!). 

It is just crazy how life changes so fast. I would have never imagined us moving to Indiana and now here we are, sticking around for who knows how long! I am excited to see where life takes us but for now I am so happy to be where we are.

Cooking.

Cooking. It's not really my thing. I haven't decided why and I haven't decided if it is a permanent thing or just temporary. Let me explain. I LOVE food, LOVE it. I love eating, yum. Cooking.... not so much. But I am curious.... will I enjoy it more maybe one day... when I have a bigger kitchen.... when I have room for my kids to help rather than just get in the way.... when I have the money to buy all the random ingredients I need for something yummy... when I have all the cooking tools and appliances needed to make something fabulous? Who knows... for now I will leave it open. Maybe one day I will not only love to eat but I will also love to cook. We'll see. For now I will move on with life... and eat out as much as Dallas will let me :)

Speaking of food and cooking.... here is what I made with some of the strawberries we picked yesterday... (I will admit, cooking this weekend has been pretty fun.)

Last night we had these German Pancakes for dinner... mine didn't work out as well though. I don't know how she kept hers from sinking in as soon as she took them out of the oven... (personally, I won't waste my time making them in muffin tin again. To much of a mess and they don't hold their shape.)

This morning I made these. I am in love. Oh dear, try them and you will love them. I can't wait to make them with blueberries, and streusel on top :) I think I will go and eat the last one now... before Dallas gets to it first.

And this is what we had for dessert. Yum. Though, I am not a cook (as said above) and I need to improve what ever I did wrong... it was far from perfect. I did make it with the cream cheese spread on the crust and we loved that.... yum!

I have to throw in these two pictures of Kiah... she is just too cute! I love this cheesy smile she always gives me...

And she looked absolutely beautiful today for church. This picture doesn't do her justice. I will have to take some better photos of her in this dress, I love it....

Mmmmm

We had a few different things we wanted to do this weekend but then I remembered that it was the week to pick strawberries at Annie's Orchard. I am so glad we went! The kids loved it of course and I was surprised at how much Dallas enjoyed himself. He would have picked all day if I would have let him :)

These are the best tasting strawberries that I have ever had....

This picture reminds me of the children's book:

The Little Mouse,

The Big Ripe Strawberry, and

The Big Hungry Bear

I told you that he loved it!

Now, what to do with all of those yummy strawberries.....?

One LAST Nauvoo post...

I have to throw in one more post :) When we stayed in Nauvoo we stayed at the Nauvoo Log Cabins. We absolutely loved it! If you ever head out to Nauvoo I definitely recommend them. Dallas and I stayed in the Ferrin cabin and my family stayed in the Jameson cabin... check out the pictures and the site :)

"Our Cabin" as Evan came to call it :)

My fam's cabin...

Look at how much fun we had :)

Can't go with out the DS :)

DJ's fam

After we came home from Nauvoo we were able to spend time with Dallas' family. We were able to see a lot of different sites, though it was rainy and cold (which was probably better than the 90 degree day we had today! It was so humid and hot). We went to the Tippecanoe Battlefield, downtown antique shop and candy shop, Samara, and the Clegg Botanical Gardens. It was so fun to show family around town! Thanks for coming fam! We miss you lots....

Jason, Dallas and their girls...

Grandma and Kiah

Dallas' parents

Oh and this little cutie will be missed! This is little Elsie...

Jason, Shalee, and Elsie

There you are Evan! He hasn't been in to many photos.. 

Grandma, can you come back? The kids miss you and have been a pain at bed time!

Oh and here is Grams! I wish I would have taken more photos with Grandma Bateman... 

We miss you all, thanks for coming out to see us!

My Fam

Dallas and I were both so lucky to have our families come and visit. My family got here the night before Mother's Day. It was fun to have my mom here to celebrate with. I even got to sing to her (with the primary kids) in church :) Two days later we all headed off to Nauvoo and that is where we met up with Dallas's family. They came to see us here in Indiana after we spent time in Nauvoo. (I have been rambling in past posts about our trip... scroll down to see more and get ready for a couple more posts...)

The kids LOVED having family here! Evan still talks about it and when we get in the car to go some where he asks if grandma is following us (we spent a lot of time in the car....). The day My family left Nauvoo Kiah clung to them... literally. She somehow knew they were leaving. After they left we were getting into the car and I said something about grandma and grandpa. Kiah said (with a sad little voice and a frown) "grandma go bye, bye." Lucky for her she still had about four days left with her other grandma and grandpa... and she loved every second.

Here are some fun photos that I took while my family was here...

The whole crew...

(Evan, Myself, Mom, Cami, Kiah, Jillian, and Dad)

Kiah loves her Grandpa!

Us girls and the awesome cabin we stayed in...

Girls again in Carthage...

Bad lighting... adorable picture! Jillian, you are cute. Evan, you are silly.

Thanks for coming fam! And please come again... we miss you...

Guess where I went?

So I need to take a break from posting about the Nauvoo trip... just for a second. Today I went somewhere fun... see if you can guess where....

You still don't know? Here is another clue...

Okay, okay, I'll tell you. I went to a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Really. It's true. The cool part? It is only about a mile away from where we live :) And I never even new. Here's the proof that I was there...

So it turns out, this house called Samara is here in West Lafayette. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built back in 1955-56. The amazing part is that the original owner still lives there and it is one of the most complete Frank Lloyd Wright homes. It was such a fun experience!

Here is the website about this home if you are curious... http://www.samara-house.org/ If you live in the area I highly suggest you go and visit. And a word to the wise? Get a babysitter :) I promise, it will make the experience much more enjoyable. Evan and Makiah did come with us (we toured the home with Dallas' family who are here to visit) and I have never been so anxious and nervous about my kids breaking something. And then Evan knocked over the side table in the photo below. I about had a heart attack! We went outside with the kids after awhile and I was so surprised when the tour guide asked us to come back in! I guess my kids weren't as bad as I thought (though I am sure Dallas' family were biting their nails the whole time we were there, luckily my kids didn't break anything).

This is John Christian, the owner of the home. His story is amazing! He is 93 years old this year and his wife died back in 1986. Such a long time to be apart from your spouse. Dallas' Grandma (who is also here visiting) will also be 93 this year and her husband died in 1986 as well. I thought that was quite the connection.

This dragon was really cool... Evan loved it.

The house was amazing, I loved it. I loved the colors, the windows, the garden and the design. My favorite part of the home is probably the dining room. I loved the stories about Frank Lloyd Wright, it was such a great experience!