Oh Those Summer Nights (And Days)

I meant to post this ages ago! Oh well, here it is :)

This weekend was one of those Summer weekends you don't want to end. Perfect weather, good food, road trips, and family fun.

On Friday, we participated in Free Fries Fryday, thanks to Lambweston! Several area restaurants give out free fries on this day and for every free fry given out Lambweston donates .10 cents to Second Harvest. This yearly event is a great opportunity to eat some yummy fried goodness and give back. Jeremiah and I got our free fries from Arby's this year and they were not just the plain old small fries, they were a medium curly fry! I was impressed. Thanks Arby's and Lambweston!

With Our Art Show Yummies

Later that evening, I headed to Art In The Park with my mom, sister, niece and nephew. We strolled through the art, saw some old friends, and topped off the evening with delicious fresh squeezed lemonade and Kettle Corn... that I am still munching on as I type. Love this tradition :)

Drive To Walla Walla

Hubby At Olive's In Walla Walla

On Saturday, the hubby surprised me with a day trip to Walla Walla. Before we went to bed on Friday  night, Jeremiah told me to get up and get ready in the morning... no lounging around (well, he let me lounge a little). Then we were off to Walla Walla. What a sweet boy :) I forgot how pretty the drive is, despite the stinky Boise Cascade paper factory. We ate lunch at Olive's and strolled main street before getting candy and root beer floats and heading home.

Next up, we met my mom, sister, bro-in-law, and of course my angels to watch the Dust Devils beat the Vancouver Canadians. It was a blast watching my niece and nephew at their first baseball game. We ate sweet potato fries, nachos, and ice cream, and even met Dusty the mascot and  got his autograph. The game ended with a great fireworks display. I am like a kid when it come to fireworks. Sparkly explosions in the air excite me.

Eli In His Pirate Gear Enjoying The Game

Harper Enjoying Some Snacks At Gesa Stadium

The Atkins

On Sunday after church, we picked up some milkshakes and drove down Canal to catch the air show at The Columbia Cup boat races. We don't usually pay to go the races themselves, but I always like to see the air show! Diving, stalling, spinning low flying B-15's are just a little amazing! Later that night, I finally saw "Avatar". How I managed to not see it in theaters is pretty amazing, but we had moved it to the top of our Netflix queue so it was time. My review: Eh. Maybe I needed to see it in theaters, but it was a little slow in the beginning and blue naked aliens are really distracting to a storyline.



In Awe At The Air Show



Hope Summer is going well for everyone!

Bisquick Sugar Cookies

Approximately 2 years ago, my mother-in-law baked some cookies she saw on the back of the Bisquick box. She didn't care much for the cookies, but I did! They were buttery, rich, and tasted like a sweet, moist, dense biscuit. I have wanted to make these cookies for some time, but could not find the recipe. I looked online, but couldn't guarantee I found the same recipe. Well, today I decided to pick one of the Bisquick website recipes and give it a try. Although, I am not sure it's the exact same recipe, they are very close and just as good! What is great about these cookies is they can be colored for any occasion, are super easy to make, and don't take many ingredients. I added pink and blue colored sprinkles to the sugar to give them a fancier look. I brought some to mom's for dinner last night and my whole family enjoyed them... raved about them actually! I am one happy girl :)

 Bisquick® No-Roll Sugar Cookies

4 cups Original Bisquick® mix

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 400ºF. In large bowl, stir all ingredients except granulated sugar until soft dough forms.

2 .Shape dough into balls, about 1 inch in diameter; roll in granulated sugar to coat. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart. Flatten balls slightly with bottom of glass.

3. Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks to cool. Store in airtight container
 
Enjoy.

Holly's Baby Sprinkle

Every baby deserves a celebration! That's why I threw my sister and baby #3, Samson, a "Baby Sprinkle." Although my sister didn't register, want gifts, or want to seem like she was asking for gifts, auntie had to throw a celebration! And c'mon, all babies need new clothes and of course, lots of diapers! My nephew, and older brother Eli, was a winter baby and Sam is due in August so they can't really share clothes anyway. This "Sprinkle" entailed a raffle for anyone who brought diapers and no cheesy or cliche games. Just fellowship and fun.

My sister is the most beautiful girl pregnant or not and has a heart of gold! She is a wonderful mommy and sister and I wanted a day full of friends, laughs, food, and fun to celebrate her and baby #3! Here are some of my favorite pics from Holly's "Sprinkle":

                                               

Happy Day Harper

My niece loves the song "Happy Birthday." For weeks she had been singing, "Happy Day, Harper" and we kept telling her that her "happy day" was indeed coming up. Although, she didn't believe it at the time and I think by some of the pics you can tell she was a bit surprised that it really was her "happy day" and we weren't joking. To celebrate my sister threw a beautiful flower themed party that any birthday girl would love :)

Harper Josephine turned 2 this year and I can't believe that little baby girl I used to hold and think about shopping and painting nails with is already doing those things with me. I am sure blessed by this girl everytime I see her! She is the sweetest, most beautiful, funniest, and smartest little princess ever! I love you and Happy Day Harper :)

The birthday girl.



Posing for Aunt Mimi.

Aunt Mimi always brings a crown. She loves it. I promise ;) She is just confused as to what is going.

Loves her balloon!



Time to sing her favorite tune!



Can't forget about the boys. They got a little something special too!

Adorable decor on the tables.

Must-Do Summer

It's officially Summer! My favorite season. It's also the longest day of the year! Maybe only by a second or so, but I still celebrate the extra daylight and the joy of sitting outside at 9:30 p.m. and still being able to see sunlight. Makes time seem to go a little slower. And can't we all appreciate that? For the first day of summer I have compiled a list of the best "Summer Must-Do's" that you shouldn't miss out on! What will you be up to this Summer?

Cool Desert Nights -
     http://www.cooldesertnights.com

Blueberry Daze Festival -
    http://www.billsberryfarm.com/events.html

Fourth of July Festivities-
    http://www.tcrchamber.com/tri-cities-events-and-programs/23rd-annual-river-of-fire-festival

Miss Tri-Cities Pageant -
    http://www.misstricities.org/ticketorder.htm


Waterfollies Talent Show -
    http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/06/13/1527681/water-follies-talent-show-begins.html


Free Fries Fryday - 
    http://www.freefriesfryday.com/

 The Art Show at Howard Amon -
    http://www.alliedartsrichland.org/HTML/aitp.html

Boat Races -
    http://www.waterfollies.com/

 The Farmer's Market -
    http://calendar.tri-cityherald.com/richland-wa/venues/show/1123783-market-at-the-parkway-richland-farmers-market#

Dust Devils Games -
   http://tricity.dustdevils.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t460


A Few More Summer Must-Do's:

Hit Up Country Mercantile For Lunch, Dessert, and More!
     http://countrymercantile.com/

Bike Rides or Walks Along The Columbia

Hiking Badger

Boating or Floating The River

Eating Outside At Any and All Restaurants You Can

Slurpees From The Slurpee Capitol Of The World In Our Very Own Kennewick

Slip n' Slides, BBQ's, Laying Out, Gardening, Milk Shakes and Ice Cream, Iced Tea and Lemonade... Go Summer!

A Few Favorites For Friday

Favorite new cereal! Pick it up at Fred Meyer. Now! It has so many marshmallows in it and is surely chocked full of so much sugar you could get an instant cavity. But at least it's fortified ;) Your kids will love it too! I mainly eat it as a snack so that's got to be better than for breakfast...

Reebok Runtones are my favorite tennis shoes to date. I bought them at the end of last summer and got to do a little running in them before it got too cold. They are comfortable and ventilated so your feet don't get hot. The first time I ran in them I felt like I could run longer and my calves could instantly feel the work out. Now that the weather is warmer, I brought them back out and even wore them to the 6 mile March of Dimes walk. I could definitely feel my legs working more... but I was not nearly as sore; nor were my feet in as much pain as previous walks. That was the test that convinced me this shoe is a winner and I must share! Bonus: They are not HALF as ugly as the Sketchers! You can even get the Reebok Easy Tone if you're not a runner. I recommend this shoe... stay away from Sketchers. For real. Don't listen to Kim Kardashian.

Chukar Cherries Honey Pecans! Bonus: Supporting a local company with its headquarters located in Prosser, WA! Love this! Tried these little gems about a year ago and am so addicted to them. Good thing they are not sold at grocery stores. I love all the Chukar Cherry treats, but these are my favs! Pecans sweet as honey, dipped in creamy milk chocolate, and dusted with powdered sugar! Oh my mouth! My niece loves them too and is only 1 1/2 years old. They are worth the $12! Order them online here http://www.chukar.com/ or find somewhere they are sold! You don't want to miss out on these sweet babies!

Great Jeans

After much deliberation (5 years worth), I have come to the conclusion that 7 For All Mankind jeans really are the best premium denim money can buy.

My journey into premium denim began about 5 years ago when I purchased my first ridiculously over priced pair of Paige jeans. They fit like a glove and were so cute with their little leather strip by the pocket that I had to splurge. The quality was great too! I only recently retired them last year, due to the frequency of wear tearing a hole in the butt (mostly due to my bad habit of pulling on the belt loops). I do have to admit I regretted the decision at first, as everyone thought I was crazy for paying the price I did, but I loved these jeans and definitely got my monies worth in wear.

Before my Paiges came along, I was a Buckle or Macy's jeans type girl (note: The Tri-Citie's Macy's does not sell 7s or other "premium" denim brands). While I do like the fit of the BKE Star denim, my Paige jeans made me feel so... grown up! I made the decision to buy the jeans at this price with my hard earned college graduate money and it was quite empowering and confidence boosting. Now the forbidden fruit had been tasted and I wanted more.

A couple years later I bought my first pair of 7s. The softest most crack concealing pair of jeans I have EVER owned! I still wear them all the time and everyone always compliments me on the look and softness of my 7 Dojos. Later on, I decided to purchase a pair of True Religions. Verdict: Cute, but no 7s or Paiges. So, I bought another pair of 7s. I tried on a pair of Hudsons this year and bought them, but they are still no 7s. I swear they weren't the same jeans after I bought and washed them. While I am always trying on other brands, I keep coming back to the 7s.  I haven't purchased another pair of Paiges though and think I am about due ;)

While I know it seems ridiculous to spend a high dollar amount on a pair of jeans, you have no idea what it's like to be short and have everything fit wrong and find a jean that finally feels right. I will add, I am still a Buckle jeans girl and love the quality for the price. They are probably my second fave pair of jeans I own. Furthermore, if you shop for jeans through 6pm, Zappos, or even through the designer websites you can get great deals on premium denim. The 7 website has some great sales! I also shop The Rack when I am out of town and purchased my Hudsons there. You can save over $100 shopping this way. While It may seem stupid, and I totally see how you may think that, it's the little things that make a difference. A good pair of jeans is a little thing that helps me feel excited to get dressed for the day and makes me feel worthwhile, in an odd way. Maybe it's my insecurities talking, but hey at least I'll admit it. One day I may retire from the premium denim, but I sure hope not. It's kind of like a hobby to me and rather exhilarating finding the right pair of jeans. I might just be the crazy person who puts my baby in them too. Ye be warned ;)