Clara's First Birthday

This past month we celebrated our little Clara's first birthday.  Since Clara was born last August, people have been telling us how fast the time goes with these little ones.  I heard it, but didn't think much of it and thought we have time, so much time...until her first year was gone...just.like.that.  I had bittersweet feelings on her actual birthday.  Feeling so blessed and thanking God that we have a happy, healthy little girl that has made it to where she is right now, but also sad that the last year almost seems a blur and that we no longer have an infant, but a toddler on our hands.  Despite the feelings I had, she turned ONE anyway, and we threw her a birthday party with family and friends and celebrated the last year of this sweet little gals life!



My mom made and decorated these cakes...didn't she do an awesome job!?  They turned out better than I had envisioned them!

A whole year of her life, month by month.

Mom and Dad built this silverware/plate holder...They sure are handy!

 

Beautiful flowers grown by some dear friends of ours.

Hmmmm, not sure what to think of this cake



She LOVED the frosting.



Even shared a little with Daddy.

 

I had so much fun planning and crafting and we had such a great day celebrating with the amazing people in our life! Until next year little one, until next year...

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend Jeremy and I packed up the jeep and headed for the North Shore to celebrate our fourth anniversary. We stayed in a one bedroom condo right on Lake Superior. It was just what we needed and we had such an amazing time. We spent a lot of time relaxing and just enjoyed the simple pleasures of life...it was divine!!!

 

Our condo

Taking in the scenery

View off our deck

Coffee with a view

The resorts mascot, Jackson

Where we spent at least an hour every morning.

Temperance River State Park

Temperance River Gorge

Temperance River State Park

Temperance River State Park

Devil's Kettle Waterfall at Judge Magney State Park

Outside our condo

Best dinner!!  Catch of the day...Herring. 

Lake Superior

Lake walk from resort restaurant to our condo

We made smores every night in our room with the smore kits they handed out...so fun!

 

We decided to make this place an annual trip!

Decorating

I LOVE fall, and I LOVE decorating for fall! I've been browsing pinterest on a daily basis it seems looking for new fall decor ideas...there are so many cute, crafty projects!! One of them I found seemed quite simple and not too involved and with being a bit short on time lately I decided to try it out!

All you do is pick out some fall colored scrapbook paper that you like and two different sizes of frames.  I got my frames from IKEA for really cheap.  Print each letter on the desired scrapbook paper and place it in the frame...easy right?!?!  AND, super cute!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Puget Sound Artichoke Salad

We have a huge abundance of kale in our garden and today I re-discovered a really yummy salad recipe with kale.  I had found this recipe last year, but forgot about it and when I remembered it the other day, I couldn't find the recipe anywhere.

Ingredients:

* 1 can non-marinated artichoke hearts
* 1/2 of a Green, Red and Yellow bell pepper
* 1/2 Red onion
* One bunch of Kale
* Kalamata olives (I usually get them in bulk and only buy 1/4 lb or less...they are really pricey)
* Feta cheese
* Safflower oil
* white wine vinegar
* Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

I really just guess when making this salad...I usually add enough kale til it looks about the right size of salad I want, then add everything else until the ingredients look equal.  When I add the safflower oil and white wine vinegar, I just drizzle enough to coat the salad, then season, taste and add where need be.

Enjoy!
  

One Step closer...

Last Wednesday, Jeremy took the CCA Exam (Comprehensive clinical assessment).  It's basically a hands on cumulative exam of everything they have learned in the past two years.  When sixth trimester rolls around, each student must take and pass this test.  Last trimester, out of the 55 that took the exam, only 10 passed!!!  Crazy right?!?!  Being that Jeremy is in his sixth trimester, it was his turn to take them...AND HE PASSED!!! 

One step closer, one more hurdle jumped!!!  Way to go Honey!!!

Door County

This past week, our family headed up to Door County, Wisconsin for our annual family vacation! We enjoyed the gorgeous weather, beautiful beaches and sunsets, indulged in nummy food, and just plain enjoyed each others company!!!

Kangaroo Lake, where our condo sits

Playing frisbee

Enjoying a nummy breakfast out...

We went to "The Farm" and had fun petting and feeding all kinds of animals



Multiple animals to choose from, but it's the broom that is most intriguing

Our cousin Nathan, his wife Aprille, and their sweet little girl Shylah stopped in for a visit!

Look at those blue eyes!!!



Waiting for the fish boil over

Boil over!!!

Sunset beach



A bit blurry...I really need a tri-pod

Wilson's...the BEST ice cream

Hanging out on our last night before bed

Can't wait for next year!!!