the FARMER'S wife

beckam | 5 years

2018-05-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Beckam is FIVE.

And suddenly I am cursing time for taking away my babies.

Luckily... I have some amazing big boys that love their mom to pieces, and that makes it all a little bit better.

It is always shocking to me how different kids are... that come from the exact blood line and the same upbringing.

Beckam is very much his own little person.

He is very care free, imaginative, sweet and explorative.

He also has great hair and eye lashes.

And that dimple!

Beckam can spend hours in a room of legos, or blocks, or magnatiles and create the coolest things I've ever seen.

Things that I probably couldn't even build.

And he also comes up with a purpose or a plan for it.

The best part... if his amazing inventions break, he rarely gets upset.

He sees it as an opportunity to build it again, but even cooler than the first time.

And every day it is something different. A new invention or architectural genius.

He does however tend to break a lot of lego masterpieces.

In his eyes, he wants to build something cooler, which is unfortunate for the generally type A family members of his,

The kid is obsessed with his baby brother... who I suppose I should stop calling "baby".

He can't get enough of him, and likes to touch his face (?).

This usually results in Bennett's eye getting poked.... seriously, at least once a day.

He also likes to get Bennett to agree with him on any number of topics by just getting him to say "ok."

They giggle lots, and I just love it.

He is still very much so allergic to eggs.
Peanuts too, but not as severe.
It is great that he is old enough to kind of understand the importance of asking before he eats something, but also terrifying that eggs are in SO many things.
Let's just pray that he doesn't ever need the epi-pen I am always toting around.

The sense of humor on this boy is the best.
He loves to make people laugh and will do almost anything to make people happy.
He seriously loves to laugh.
And it is the BEST little laugh!

We have been so blessed with the sweet boy.
I am so proud at the young man he is becoming.
His free spirit makes me realize he will probably not live on the farm forever... but he has informed me I get to go to college with him and pick out his wife... so... I'll take it.

As he likes to tell me every night.... i love you 100.

brody | 7 years old

2018-05-21T22:22:00.003-07:00

Since Beckam has a birthday tomorrow, I figured that it was only fitting that I do Brody's birthday post from February. After all, this blog is basically my kids baby book. (Boy have I fallen off the blog wagon!)

Brody, Brody, Brody.

What an amazing kid.
This boy will do great things!

He is driven, a great worker, and a little boss.

He needs to be kept busy, or else he is getting into trouble.

I can always count on him to help me work in the yard and garden.

His specialty is driving his 4-wheeler with the leaf rake and picking up all of the cut grass.

He is also an excellent gardener, and has quite an array of vegetables growing currently.

I am hoping that these traits, along with his love of helping all around the farm, means that he will one day become a farmer and never leave me.

He enjoys bossing around his brothers.

Beckam has not been quite as eager to follow along recently, and that causes a ridiculous amount of fighting.

When they aren't fighting though, they have so much fun together... and he is working on letting Beckam have a say in what they are doing.

Brody is a huge help with Bennett too, and Bennett just adores him.

I love watching him sing to Bennett at night time, and do their own special bedtime routine.

Brody has a bit of his mother (ahem) in him also and a few weeks ago when he saw a little video clip of Bennett as a baby, he nearly cried at how little he was and how fast he is growing.

Their bond is cute.

Bennett still can't get away with stealing Brody's legos though. Brody makes sure that those are built and hidden in a special location where they can't be reached or destroyed.

Boy are we blessed to have this dude leading our pack of boys.
Being a big brother is a big responsibility and he does it well.

This guy is smart!

He digs math, science and history the most, and really enjoys his homeschool group.

We are so proud of all of the hard work he puts in to school and learning.

I can't wait to see where this next year takes him, and all of the new accomplishments he makes.

He is growing up way too quick for my liking.
His two middle bottom teeth have come out, and a top middle tooth is currently loose.
Before long we will have those super awesome adolescent stages happening. :)

Boy is this kid loved!
A special dude, with a big heart, and a huge fan base.

We LOVE you Brody!

bennett | 2 years old

2017-12-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't exactly mean to take a 5 month blogging hiatus.
But it happened.
Aaaaand, I'm not mad about it.

What better reason to make a reappearance though, than Bennett's second birthday!

Today is the day.
My final baby turns 2.

I don't have anything profound or eloquent to say about the passing of time.
But really... it all just happens SO. FREAKING. FAST.
And no matter how hard you try, you can't stop it.

So you better just try to enjoy the ride... and maybe not yell so much... and try to sneak in a few extra snuggles every day. (#goals)

Somehow I went from having this squish (birth story here)...

To this big guy... overnight?!?

Meanwhile, our whole household is over here like...

"Pump the brakes.

Give us a second.

What is life?

Let's just pretend that he's an infant for like a second."

BUT, he's not.

In fact, he is quite the opposite.

Because opposite of infant is, like... 2. Right?

Bennett is quite the little character.

He likes to have a good time.

And he likes to make people laugh.... people that he knows at least.

If he doesn't know you, don't expect anything from him.

Especially eye contact.

You will only get a peek of the side of his eyes and he glares at you from them.

Such a little people person we are raising. Yikes.

He will however, go to extreme measures to get his brothers to laugh.

Whether it is by racing, dancing or just making crazy noises.

They love each other.

And I love to watch that love.

He is always quick to go and give Brody or Beckam a hug if one if them is hurt or sad.

Yet, he will also get his "fight face" on and attack one of them at random... in which case it sometimes causing them to be hurt or sad.

Kid has no mercy.

And he wrestles with the big boys as if a medal is on the line.

Can we say competitive?

Bennett is somehow still sleeping in a crib.

I have no idea how... but I am pretty sure I have been successful in making him believe that he can't crawl out.

I make a big production about getting him out of it, and he probably thinks that you have to count to three and jump SUPER high in order to clear that rail.

(Brody was crawling out at 13 months and Beckam 18 months)

Either he is super obedient, lazy or just likes some time along without a brother smothering him.

Or maybe it is all three.

He is certainly capable of crawling out, considering he is by far the tallest of all of my babies.

Big guy is starting to talk a lot more.

He is also screaming and whining a lot, so... those words just can't come quick enough.

Just recently Bennett decided that he wanted to be attached at my hip again.
This was after a long stint of him ignoring me in the presence of Ryan.
I'm not sure why he decided to love me again, but I'm okay with it.
They extra love doesn't go unnoticed.
Especially after I've been carrying around all 30-ish pounds of him for an extended period.

In the last couple of months he has decided that he hates getting his picture taken.
This is unfortunate.
Mostly for him.
Because I am obviously not going to stop. Ever.

Bennett's loves in life are pretty much the same as they were when he was 18 months.
As I think about what he truly loves to do though, it is without a doubt play with tractors.
(And just recently cars too.)
He goes through our tractor bin very carefully and selects certain tractors and implements.
He then carries them to the kitchen table and proceeds to hook them all up and park them in very tidy rows.
He doesn't really farm with them though.
They mostly just change implements and re-park.
Although I did see his combine unloading into a baler the other day. Room for improvement. :)

This task keeps him busy on most days.
He takes breaks from "farming" to go and destroy whatever it is his brothers might be playing with though.
Quite the pot stirrer.

The kid is huge.
He is super tall and full of muscle.
At least, that is what I have to assume since he is so skinny, yet incredibly heavy.
It might just be that giant noggin though.

He is constantly hungry.
He will munch all day and still eat three full meals.
His metabolism must be stellar.
And he certainly didn't get that gene from his mother.

I just can't even imagine life without this crazy kid.
He makes everyday more fun.
We sure are blessed.

You are loved beyond measure Bennett Zane.
I love you 100. xx

our TEN year anniversary + mccall, idaho

2017-07-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

My farmer and I just celebrated our TEN year wedding anniversary.
It is crazy to think that I have known him for nearly half of my life.
And even crazier to think of all of the things that we have done/accomplished since we have been married.
Talking to you... kids.

When we decided to get married in June, I knew that I was signing on to zero anniversary celebrations.
Because... farming.
But this year, something magical happened.
We were done with hay, and there was a tiny little break in farming.
SO, we decided to take a quick little vacation to McCall, and ditch the boys at their grandparents.

Our first stop was zip lining.
As soon as I got up to the edge I was pretty nervous.
BUT, after my first drop, realizing I was hooked up tight, it was just so much fun.
I mastered the jump off without hands, and even did a mean canon ball in a zip line race with my farmer.
It was just so so fun, and that was only the start of the weekend.

Right after zip lining wrapped, we headed further up the mountain to McCall.
We went straight to Aspen Villages to check out our new digs.

If you are heading to McCall, you need to check it out.
You can get rooms by the night, unlike most other rentals that make you do a minimum stay of usually 3 days.
Probably best of all though, there is no cleaning fee.
Every time we have gotten a vrbo, the cleaning and misc. fees are always astronomical.
So I was thrilled to see that wasn't even on their expenses.

AND they are much nicer than any hotel you could stay in.
Just take a little lookie...

This is the very smallest rental, which can sleep 6 people.

It was just my farmer and myself, but there is PLENTY of room for our whole family to stay comfortably.

In the future we will definitely do this.

If we ever take up more people... the rooms just keep getting bigger.

And we were even greeted with flowers, bubbly and huckleberry chocolate!

That chocolate lasted about 5 minutes.
It didn't have a chance.

After moving in, we headed down the street for a delicious sushi dinner.
And I'm talking DELICIOUS!

Apparently they fly their fish in daily?
That's what they said at least.
I wouldn't know either way.

After we are our weight in sushi, we ran to the grocery store, grabbed some pints of ice cream, and headed back to our rental.
We were able to sign onto our own Amazon account on the TV there and rent movies.
SCORE!
I'm pretty sure I fell asleep during the movie, so it must not have been that good...
or I was just so full of sushi and ice cream I couldn't keep my eyes open.

The next morning... after I slept in until 9 am (what!?? prettttty sure i haven't done that since i was like 16)... we hit The Club.
Not like dancing...
At Aspen Villages they have their own high end club that is free to use for any renters.
It is actually used by many locals to McCall even, because it is that awesome.
Racquetball court, basketball court, tennis courts, pool, sauna, ping pong, and a full gym.
I didn't get any pictures here, because I was very busy trying to beat my farmer at a few games of racquetball and basketball.
And then we had a little stationary bike race.
I am certain that I lost at every one of our competitions... but that didn't keep my from trying.

Fun fact.
My farmer used to come and stay at Aspen Villages growing up.
Every winter, when the farming was halted, they would take a week and spend it in McCall.
They stayed in a unit that was the same as the one we stayed in... but with very 80's decor... (luckily they have updated them very modernly.)
I think that we will continue this fun tradition.

After losing to my farmer, we hit the road and ate some delicious breakfast at the Pancake House before going and renting a side-by-side for the afternoon.
As we drove into the rental place, it started snowing.
Mind you this was JUNE... not January.
They offered to let us cancel our reservation... but we stuck with it, bundled up, and started our trek.

Somehow blue skies came out for about the first hour of our adventure.

AND then it began to rain, hail and snow on us more.
We did our loop that we had planned, but returned the rental a little early since we were freezing.

McCall has a few natural hot springs around, so of course that was our next stop.
We drove out to Burgdorf, and got super warmed up in their small 115 degree pool and then their big pool.

We ended the night with more sushi, more ice cream, and more amazon tv.
The next morning, when we woke up, we found a fox playing out our window.

It was so cool.
Also, that pool and playground!!
Hopefully next time we go, it won't be snowing so we can take advantage of that too.
It was a fabulous fast getaway, and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Again, if you are headed to McCall, check out Aspen Villages (HERE) to stay.

our very favorite baby + kid shoes | FRESHLY PICKED

2017-06-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

You all know I love to share with you some of my very favorite items for my boys.... or just kids in general.
I have written lots of posts about amazing small shops to snag the cutest and best made clothes.
(if you want any recommendations, just shoot me an email)
I have not, however, shared my very favorite brand of shoes...

We are pretty obsessed with Freshly Picked over here.

Bennett lives in his moccasins, and are really the only pair of shoes that he actually wants to wear.
He learned how to walk in them in fact.
And every time I tried to put any other type of shoe on him... he acted as if he was stuck in concrete.
Luckily, we have moved past his drama filled - stuck in concrete - ways, but his moccasins are still number 1.

It is practically as if he is barefoot in them.
With the added bonus of adorableness and durability....

I mean, just look at how cute these shoes make his entire outfit!

And let me remind you, we are farmers here.
My boys are no strangers to dirt, mud, rocks, etc.
Their days are pretty much filled with them actually.
We own many pairs of these moccasins, and not once have they been even close to being ruined by these crazy kids antics.
Or mine for the matter.
I washed one on accident once... and it's totally fine... although I wouldn't recommend it for cleaning them, ha.

And can I just mention quickly how easy it is to get my kid out the door. They slip on SO fast... no need for socks, no tying, nothing... just slip on and let them be free and wild.

All of the above to say... I don't like to fight with my kids.
And these shoes make that possible.
Mr. Independant can get out the door quickly, walk on his own, and play anywhere he wants... all while looking totally adorable.

It's a win for everyone.

If you have been on the fence about getting a pair... don't wait anymore.
They are worth every penny.
Mary Janes - check.
Dozens of different colors and patterns - check.
Available for newborns even - check.
Go take a look for yourself.

AND if you have a kid that is a little older, they have brand new adorable t-strap sandals, and also some hard sole (next step) moccs, that we have for Beckam... and are on sale for $49.
All of which are very cute.
Just like him...
And his entire Periwinkle Jazz outfit. :)

Have a great weekend friends!
And don't forget to give those daddy's some extra loving.

xoxo

BENNETT | 18 months

2017-06-13T19:27:00.003-07:00

I'm a few days late here, BUT I thought it was worth noting that Bennett is 18 months old!
My baby is growing up entirely too fast.
In fact, he has very little "baby" left in him at all.
The crib sleeping and diaper wearing we are holding onto for a little bit more.

Bennett is talking a TON.
I understand about 1% of it... but still.
Non stop jabbering.
Some of the things I do understand consists of...
Where is my water?
Pat, Pat, Pat (while giving great big hugs)
Poopoo
Bird
Tree
Bubba, Mama, Dada, Papa
BYE!

He would be happy spending ALL day outside.
He loves to slide, collect rocks, play basketball, ride on his tractors, and feed the animals.
And if by chance there is any water to get into, he is bound to find it.

This boy is smitten with his brothers.
He screams when Beckam tries to snuggle him nonstop, but he will never complain if they let him play along with them.
He particularly likes to sit with them on the couch if they get to watch a show.... although he is the least bit interested in TV himself.

Although he loves his brothers, he really loves me.
And it's a good thing, because I clean up a lot of poo from him.
He likes to give me kisses and hugs (sometimes), but he mostly just wants me to pack him around and play blocks or trucks with him.
Most of all though, he is through and through a daddy's boy.
If Ryan comes home, he grabs his boots, and stands at the door.
He also won't even look at me to say goodbye, in fear that I might grab him and make him stay home.

All of this time with his daddy is helping to turn him into our mini-est farmer.
The kid has strong tractor-sound game.
And if I would allow him to sleep with those hard metal tractors... he would.

One thing I do allow him to sleep with is a tiny little stuffed dog.
I had to buy him one that looks like Beckam's, because he was obsessed with it!
The hugs, kisses, and high pitched oo-ing was nonstop.
So, now he has his own.
I think the love for this stuffed dog came from his love for real life animals.
He has always LOVED our dog Gunner.
And they are quite the duo together.
Bennett also loves our cats, however he isn't nearly as nice to them.
He walks around pulling the cat by its tail most of the time.
Our precious cat, doesn't seem to mind.

Another love of his is food.
Boy loves to eat.
And preferably on his own.
Don't you dare try to spoon feed him anything.
He will do it on his own.
And he is really very good at it.
I would list some favorites, but he will pretty much eat everything.
One of his newest food tricks though... putting olives on his fingers to eat them.
It's the only way it's done.

Perhaps all of this food he is eating explains his size.
He is such a big boy!!
I will get official stats on Friday, but he has been tracking 95th percentile in height for quite some time now.
His weight is generally around 75th.
And that noggin'... it is large also.

Bennett is such a goof ball, and he thinks that he is hilarious too.
It has been so fun watching his personality form...
When he was about 8 months old, he burped at the table. The big boys laughed at how loud it was, and Bennett then burst into tears.
NOW, he will burp at the table and then begin to laugh hysterically.
Such gentlemen I am raising.
His cute smile, blue eyes and blonde hair kill me, and it is still amazing to me that I grew him!
What a lucky mommy I am.

We LOVE you Bennett Zane!

BECKAM | 4 years old

2017-05-30T07:53:00.001-07:00

I officially have a four year old in my brood of children.
And it is truly hard to believe that he is such a big kid already.
This whole 'time' thing is really working against me lately, and suddenly my babies are practically grown ups.

Thank goodness Beckam is a momma's boy!

I can always count on him to sit and snuggle with me.

Or give me approximately a million kisses in a day.

He truly is the sweetest little soul.

Can we talk about his heart?

Pure gold.

He is always looking out for others and very perceptive of others feelings.

However... he is is also getting quite the voice of his own, and looking out for himself too.

Especially when it comes to his brothers.

I am beginning to see a bossy side of him...which is a dominate trait in both of his brothers... so I think he feels the need to fit in.

Speaking of his brothers, Beckam has to be the very most loyal.

Even from a very young age, he has always had Brody's back.

And the moment Bennett was born, he took him under his wing also.

If Ryan is wresting and has Brody pinned, Beckam rushes over and starts trying to pull Brody out, yelling, "that's my brother! let him go!"

I love that he is always watching out for his bros, especially in public.

His brothers are lucky.

Beckam has some things that he totally loves.
Animals are definitely one of those.
He goes and checks on his kitties multiple times a day, giving them all sorts of cuddles, even though he is allergic to them.
Our dog is also very loved by him.
And his sweet voice when he talks to them!!! It just kills me.

Some of the other notable loves of his are... his dirt bike, playing anything with Brody, playing by himself (which he is quite good at), finding worms in the garden, and snuggling his mom. :)

While he is super sweet and lovely and loyal... he is also very opinionated and a terrible listener.

He is also the very worst at cleaning up any mess that he has made.

He also knows how to make up for it when someone is mad at him.

So many kisses, so many hugs, and so many times of saying "I'm sorry" with his incredibly long lashes flashing in my face.

I love this kid SO much it's crazy.
His jokes, his infectious laugh, his crazy cute dimples.
I can only hope he stays this charming forever.

Happy fourth birthday precious Beckam!!!
WE LOVE YOU!

a bounce house party | beckam turns 4

2017-05-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we celebrated Beckam's 4th birthday.

I was determined to not get too involved in throwing a big bash, and focus more on the things that he would love and enjoy.

Really, the only early prep I did do was go to Target a week or so before the party, and have him help me pick out a couple of items of decor.

It was very liberating.

It turns out... zero prep means you can still have an awesome party.

Maybe because I busted out some cake pops the night before the party....

Or, it was most likely the fact that I got a bounce house.

Yes.

Never have a party without a bounce house.

I have told you this before.

If you learn just one thing from all of my blogging, it should be this fact.

Cakepops + bounce house =

Gosh he's cute.

You know who else is cute?

Bennett.

He had a whole lot of freedom to roam the food tables, and he took full advantage of it.

Double fisting it here with a strawberry in one hand and a chip in the other.

And look how TALL he is!!

Brody was darling as always too, but was far too busy running wild with friends, and tackling girls in the bounce house, to get near me for a solo picture.
I did happen to snag a pic of a group of the kids though... and as you can see Beckam looks like he is having the worst day of his life...

Cakepop with a candle to the rescue!

The morning of the party I found a box of deflated beach balls that we had ordered back around Easter time.

You may recall my farmer's idea to play a life size version of hungry-hungry-hippos?

This was what they were for.

But they came after Easter.

Amazon fail.

They certainly came in handy for the party though.

24 beach balls.

We strung some, we threw some in the bounce house, and a good dozen of them were used by the adults to kick at each other with as much force as possible.

Quite a lot of fun, in fact.

We wound up the party with some gift opening...
And I am still completely unsure of who gave Beckam what.
A bunch of kids with a pile of gifts is pure chaos.
And I barely tried to oversee it.

All in all, this kid had the very best party.

AND, if that wasn't enough...
The next day was his actual birthday.
If you don't follow me on Instagram and watch my stories... you are missing out.
I posted Beckam's BIG surprise on Monday, and he was just the sweetest.
He got his very own little dirt bike.
With training wheels.
And safety gear of course.
He has to be the cutest 4 year old ever, cruising around on it.

It is safe to say that he will be disappointed for the rest of his life when it comes to birthdays.
This one takes the cake.

oh hey, friday | farewell

2017-05-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well friends, this is it.
A final oh hey, friday!
AND, well... I'm okay with that.

So, nothing like a little farewell post to plug my own business ventures!
Well, one business venture really.

1 | STYLED

I am starting a fun little business for brand photography and instagram marketing!
IF you have any products that you are making and selling, OR just need professional product photos taken, I'm your gal. (email me here)
I have been doing mostly kids clothes BUT I have a few new jobs in the works (non clothing related) and I am so excited.
Go and give my IG a follow HERE.
And check out my unfinished website HERE.

2 | FARM
Well, the farm isn't necessarily a new business venture, BUT our office kind of is.
My parent's are coming to the farm next week and I am thrilled to put my dad to work on helping finish our office/homeschool room.

It will be a while before I get to decorate it, BUT its currently in studs, with a concrete floor.
SO, really anything is progress.
Once there is any progress to share, I will try to that on my personal IG stores.
Follow me HERE.

3 | HOMESCHOOL
I get a bunch of questions regarding homeschooling.
Assuming I can get my blogging act together, I will be posting more regularly about homeschool.
What are the types of things you would be interested in seeing?
Any specific questions you'd like answered?
Give it to me!
This blog has gotta get it's feet back.

4 | BECKAM
My sweet little Beckam is having a birthday very very soon.
He really wanted a bounce house, because... who doesn't?
And while I don't make super cute invitations, my gal Karli does!

So cute!!
Go to her Etsy site HERE, and stock up on invites!!

5 | MODELING
My children are obviously the most talented models ever. Ha.
They get their fair share of time in front of the lens.
I share all of their precious little poses and outfits over at their personal IG page... HERE.

Ok, there you have it.
A whole lot of goodness for you, and a lot of following that you need to do.

And a lot less plugs from me in the near future.

Have a happy weekend, and a very happy mother's day to all you mama's out there.
I'll be enjoying some time at a spa without my children.
Cheers.

Now, FINAL link up. Go.

oh hey, friday | brody takes pictures + SOME are gold

2017-04-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

Brody has decided that he LOVES to take pictures.
Sometimes I am a little taken back by the things that he chooses to capture...
but that is the glory of digital cameras.

Today's post is dedicated to my sweet 6 year old's new hobby.

1 | dirt
When I look through his hundreds of photos, I find that about 50% of them are of dirty spots around my house.
Like actual dirt. Not like a mess.
Things that I didn't realize were that dirty, until I saw his photos.
Maybe he is trying to tell me something through the art of photography.
Like... "hey mom, this has been dirty for a little while now, and I've noticed you aren't cleaning it, why don't you go ahead an hop on that, eh?"
And they are ALL at child level... imagine that.
These farm boys sure know how to make a mess.
I will spare you any actual photos, because I'm embarrassed.

2 | heads
The next 15% of his photos are usually of the back of peoples heads.
Or the top of Bennett's head.
Or blurry Beckam because he won't hold still for poor photography Brody.
Again, I will spare you.

3 | furniture
10 % are furniture shots.
Pillows on the couch.
The chair in the corner, etc.
You get the idea.

4 | toys
A good 20% of his pics are of his toys.
In fact, he even set up a little lego photoshoot one day.
(Probably because his subjects don't move.)
Taking a picture of every single one of his legos separately.
I managed to find one with a couple included...

5 | GOLD
And lastly, he has about a 5% margin of GOLD.
Whether he so graciously cuts me out to focus on this precious...

Or, he captures Beckam in a moment of yogurt bliss (all while getting the perfect blurred background)...

OR, he sneaks up and gets a priceless pic of me reading to Bennett....

He is bound for greatness folks.
And I couldn't be more proud of him!

Now... more gold and less dirt. Ha.

Ok friends, it's link up time!!

Grab this html, slap it on your post, and link up below!! :)

Happy weekend.

oh hey, friday | adult egg hunts + ROAD TRIP!

2017-04-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

It is currently 10:30 Thursday night, and I am sitting here waiting for some banana bread to bake.
I don't even know why I thought it was a good idea to do this when I am already going to get about zero hours of sleep.

We are waking up in four hours to drive to WA to my farmer's sister's house.
Her littlest cutie is turning one.
AND her other two boys have birthdays too.
And it is my mother in laws birthday.
Basically it is birthday season.

I am not going to write about 5 things, because... I'm feeling rebellious.
But I am going to share with you our Easter.
Last week I shared with you some things that I was planning on doing.
We did exactly ONE of them.
Colored our eggs.
And I didn't even take pictures.

Our super fun hungry hungry hippos game we were going to play... amazon failed me, and the balls didn't arrive on time.
EVEN when I overnighted them on Wednesday.
Dumb.

I also didn't bake a thing.
And no one even cared.

Our day went a little something like this...
My in laws and Karli and her family showed up at 10.
We ate a super delicious, and pretty healthy, brunch.
The farmer's chatted nonstop farming, while the kids ran around happily screaming.
We made them all stop to take pictures, which no one was excited about...

except maybe these two...

Then we hid a bunch of eggs for the kids find.

We like to get that part over with quickly, because we all know, that the best part about easter is actually the adult egg hunts.
We put Bennett down for a nap, and a movie on for the big kids, and then we got busy.

This years rules were as follows:
-break up into teams of two.
-one team of two hides the eggs.
-when the hunt begins, you and your partner must always be either holding hands, or holding onto the basket tougher.
- team with the most eggs wins.

Side note: My farmer decided to surprise us all, and come out dressed as a pokemon.
Karli's farmer is pretending to NOT like it, but we all know that is lie.
He proceeded to wear it for the rest of the day also.

I don't want to brag, but I'm pretty sure Karli and I won all of the egg hunts.
We also hid them pretty good.

After the intense competition, we decided to keep it up and play some baseball with the kids.
There were definitely some home runs (not by me) and significant amount of strike outs (by me).

It was, yet again, a perfect day!

What did you do!?
Leave a comment and tell me all about it.

AND then link up!

oh hey, friday | a crappy week + some easter inspiration

2017-04-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

Wasn't it juuuust Friday like a day ago?
This past week went by so SO fast.
I could seriously use about 10 more hours in each day to get all my shiz done.
But instead, I will settle for 24 (like I have a choice) and continue to do just about everything subpar.

Typically I would do a little recap of my week for this fun little link up...
but I can sum it up real quick and then move on.
I spent approximately 40 hours in the office in a two day span, one of our employees passed away after having a burst aneurysm in our house a week ago, I have listened to way too much fighting and screaming from three certain little boys, and I have been working in the yard for every other spare second.

So basically it's kind of been a crapper of a week.

Which is why it is time to share with you some items I have recently found on pinterest.
We are doing a little Easter get together here, and I got sucked in to wanting to eat/do EVERYTHING.
Here are a few things that caught my eye...

1 | lemon pound cake with vanilla bean glaze

Because... I am not currently eating sweets.
I have a fitness challenge to win.
BUT this looks amazingly delicious.
You can find the recipe HERE though.

2 | pom bum bunnies

How cute are these?
And super easy to make.
Time to get the boys crafting!!!
Instructions found HERE.

3 | glazed orange sweet rolls
I have made orange scones for many easters in a row.
And they are delicious.
THIS recipe looks crazy good too though.

Maybe I will switch things up this year.

4 | egg decorating
I have 4-5 dozen fake eggs to decorate with the boys today (you know... egg allergy for sweet Beckam).
Since they are fake, they can't be dyed the "normal" way.
Here are some alternative ways I have found...

source.

Can't wait to get my artsy pants on!

5 | hungry hungry bunnies
This is not a pinterest idea...at least I don't think it is.
My farmer decided that he wanted to create a fun game that will go a little like this...
- 4 people are blindfolded
- 24 beach balls are placed around large lawn
- each person is basically tied to a stick that is staked in his/her corner (for a home base to store balls)
- who ever can find the most balls wins.
It is basically an easter egg hunt mixed with life size hungry hungry hippos.
Stay tuned to see how this works out.
I will definitely do some IG stories about it, so if you aren't following me on Instagram, don't wait.

Ok friends, link up time!!
And HAPPY almost weekend.

oh hey, friday | my quest for abs + and a finished remodel

2017-04-07T05:30:00.000-07:00

I had to pull myself away from "my 600-lb life" to write this post.
WHY am I so fascinated with this show!?
I just can't look away.
The good news is, it is definitely helping with any snacking after dinner.

SO, now that I am here, let's do this!
Oh hey, Friday.... here's what I've been up to...

1 | goals revisited
The bad news is I don't have a six pack, or anything that is even close to resembling muscles on my abdomen.
I have however been doing lots of running... at least, lots for me.
Today is the day I will run three miles.
Wish me luck.

I have been doing really good with all of my food intake.
AND I just signed up for the TIU Bikini Challenge!!
Because those gals are smokin' - and their workouts are killer.

In fact, new goal... next week start waking up before the children, and doing a TIU exercise from last years bikini challenge.

2 | bennett the brand rep
Tomorrow Bennett is 16 months old.
I literally just had to do the math, because I don't keep track with him like I did with... Brody, and probably Beckam.
All I know is that he is one, and he is precious, and he is growing up far too fast.
He has also been a little baby model for most of his life.
I mean, just look at him. The kid is just a natural now...

And his poses kill me.
Although 98% of the time, he is being super mischievous.

ALSO, this adorable little outfit is from Periwinkle Jazz.
She has THE cutest line out right now, and you can save using code TEAMFARMER.

3 | remodel
Our remodel on the office space/homeschool room is coming right along.
Oh wait... no it's not.
It is farm season.
And we have exactly 2 pieces of sheetrock screwed in.
The good news is that I have it all decorated in my head.
I know I mentioned before I was going to refurbish an unfound table from craigslist... until I found a picture of another one.
That goes reallly nice with my light fixtures.
AND one of our employees can make for me in like an hour... when we are actually ready for a table.
Here is my quick little inspo board.

Maybe I will need to schedule a "party" to get this done.
We are having Easter at our house... I may just tell the men that they can't eat until the sheetrock is up.
This idea JUST came to me, and I like it. A lot.

4 | frog
We have been a whole lot of yard work around here.
We have a massive yard, that likes to grow weeds.
On Wednesday, the big boys and I were out hoeing and we came across two giant frogs... or toads... I really don't know the difference.
Sweet little Beckam decided that he wanted to have one as a pet.
I picked it up (only because I had gloves on, I am not into holding small creatures) and set it in his hand.
He held it for a long time, and then was done with it.
(and that is why I have to feed his cat... because it would have starved like a week after we got it.)

5 | kids
They sure grow up fast.
These two big boys helped Ryan move some pipe out of the way so he could keep planting sugar beets.
Brody was a really good help.
Beckam... well, he probably wished he was back holding his frog.

There were a few crappy parts to the week too, but those don't need documented.
If you are the praying type though, one of our employees is currently in the ICU and could some extra thoughts. Thanks!

Ok friends, link up time!!
And HAPPY almost weekend.

oh hey, friday | a remodel in session

2017-03-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

It snowed yesterday.
And rained... but the snow, really!?
Also, the wind blew 40 mph ALL DAY.

Typically I wouldn't be too pleased with this, but I actually enjoyed it very much.
The boys were at grandmas for the day, and my farmer wasn't doing any farming in that weather.
SO, we set back to work on our little outer building remodel.
Here is what we've been up to...

1 | wiring
A couple of youtube videos in and we were basically electricians.
We got the place all wired up.
I had to convince my farmer that an electrical box on EVERY stud wasn't necessary.
Although he did sneak in five in a row.
That is where our office/desks will be, so we will have no shortage there.

2 | walls
The walls are starting to get sheetrocked.
I will then be in charge of taping and mudding.
There is one wall that is covered in plywood, and my farmer has his eye on some old barn wood that just came off a local farmhouse.
I'm not sure if there is enough to cover it, but we may try that... shiplap style.

ALSO, for the ceiling... which also already has plywood on it... I bought some thing pieces of wood (same type used for lattice) and I am going to put that over all of the seams.
It will give the ceiling an effect similar to this...

source

Except all white (because... old plywood) and not symmetrical.

3 | floor
I already have the flooring, and it's been in the back of my suburban for a couple of weeks.
Fingers crossed that we can get it down SOON!
I think it's going to look good!

4 | decor
We pretty much have everything that will go into the room.
One section will have our farm office in it, with three desks.
The other will be homeschool.
I plan on redoing a giant bookshelf that we have.
AND as the time gets closer I will search craigslist for a large dining room table to repurpose.
I think this will be much more useful for homeschooling, rather than individual desks.
I am still toying with the idea of all different chairs... but my OCD may take over.

source

DO you know of a place to buy good quality chairs for cheap?
Please share.

5 | lights
I have a bunch of can lights to put up, BUT I want some pendant lights for over the homeschool table.
I just found these, and I am in love.

What do you think!?

I can't wait until it's done.
It might be another year, but I can't wait.

Ok, friends.
Have a super weekend.
Link up!

oh hey, friday | let's talk more about me working out

2017-03-24T05:43:00.002-07:00

Oh, BRB.
I FORGOT it was Friday.

While I type my post though... you can go ahead and get linked up!

OK = I'm sure you guys are sick of hearing about this fitness challenge... but I'm telling you all to keep ME accountable. ha.

So here is what I have been up to for this first week...

1 | pictures
You might not think that taking pictures is much of a workout, but you are wrong.
I swear I am sweating after doing it.
But it is definitely worth it, even after 400 photos.
Just look how cute....

2 | in actual workout news
We have a big circular drive way that is basically a track.
Six laps = 1 mile.
Since all of our workout equipment is packed up waiting to move into a new workout room (once our current office is moved out) using it isn't an option.
So I run.
AND I have never liked to run.
So far I have run one mile a day... which i know sounds pretty pathetic.
I am hopeful that by Monday (the start of week 2) I will be running two miles.
And perhaps by week 6 I can run 6 miles!
I will just have to figure out a different way to track my laps because surely after 10 I will lose track.

3 | food
You guys... I have been so diligent.
I haven't eaten a carb all week long.
And I finished off my bag of chocolate chips the night before the challenge.
Speaking of chocolate chips... I used to put them in the freezer, thinking that if they were frozen I wouldn't touch them.
That mind trick did nothing.
I would still hammer them.
BUT, no more chocolate chips. Or kettlecorn.
And guess what?
I'm juuuuust fine.
And I feel great actually.

Although, making two dinners every night is kind of obnoxious.

4 | injury
I would really like to be doing some other sort of weight training.
But that hasn't been in the cards for me.
MY ARM!!
It hurts so bad.
It started on Saturday, and was just kind of obnoxious.
By that night it was pain throughout the whole arm.
I googled it and legitimately thought I was going to have a heart attack.
Yea, I'm one of those people.
After I realized I was going to live, I realized it is more localized in my shoulder and collar bone.
If I can ever find a spare minute I need to go see someone.
I'm just not sure who to go to.
A doctor? Chiropractor? Masseuse?
I really don't know.
And honestly I'm just hoping it feels better magically.

5 | goals
My goals for the coming weeks are as follows:
- run more laps
- do more weight training
- meal prep ahead of time
- get abs

There you have it!

Ok, friends.
Have a super weekend.
Link up!

oh hey, friday | LAST CHANCE fitness challenge

2017-03-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a little room reno in our master.
And by "room reno" I mean, I bought a planter and a plant.
BUT, I have big plans for the future... that include a new love seat couch in our little sitting room.
And the way that I am going to purchase that couch???
Winning a little fitness challenge I am starting.
Obviously.

I am not sure if you read my post from Monday, but things are about to get real here.
Real serious.

Fitness challenge will commence on Monday the 20th, and I'd love for you to join!
Turns out in order for me to get motivated to get fit, I need friends on board doing it with me, AND a chance at a cash prize at the end.

Today, I am going to tell you FIVE reasons you should join in:

1 | It's practically summer.
The sun is shining, and shorts are calling your name... which means swim suits are whispering your name. This competition will run 6 weeks, so when it is over, you will be ready my friend, and feeling extra confident.

2 | Comradery.
We are all doing this together. When it is late at night, and you want to go to the freezer for those chocolate chips that you put there so you wouldn't eat them (but it NEVER stops you)... you know that Sally across the country is holding strong, and not eating any chocolate, because she wants to beat you at the upcoming weigh in. Damn you Sally!
Not sure if that is comradery, but it is nice knowing you aren't doing it alone.

3 | Competitve.
Everyone has a little competitive nature, so that's all.
It'll be fun.

4 | Prize!
You have the chance to win a big chunk of change.
That's always a bonus.

5 | Bod.
And guess what... even if you don't win the cash prize... but you fought like crazy... you still have a rockin' bod. And that, my friends, is what I want more than a couch.

So let's get rockin' bods together!

For the details again, here they are...

Here is how it is going to go down.
Biggest loser style.

-- Every person puts in $20 via PayPal.

-- The challenge will go for 6 weeks.

-- Every person will send a picture of themselves on the scale every Monday. (Feet only... so you need to be honest... no stacking books on your head to start or anything. Also, take a front and back before and after picture... you will want this to compare your end results to... no need to share them if you are uncomfortable though.)

-- I will keep everyone updated with a weekly spreadsheet of each person along with the percent of body weight lost... I won't share your actual weight with the group.

-- At the end of the six weeks, the person with the highest PERCENTAGE of body weight lost WINS all the money.

Sounds like fun, eh!?
I don't care how you lose the weight either.
As long as it is healthy of course.
But, I am certainly not here to sell you anything... except a fun challenge.
You better believe that I am going to be competing too... otherwise I would have zero incentive to do this.

Here's the kicker... we need to spread the word!
The more people that sign up, means the more money you could win.
Share this blog post with your friends, mom, co-workers, etc... or just give them my email address and I will get them set up.
(farmerswifeamy@gmail.com)

If you have any questions feel free to email me HERE.

And if you are game, and want to join in... fill out THIS form.
Actual competition won't start until March 20th.

AND after you sign up... link up - with the NEW button!

a fitness challenge | let's win some MONEY!

2017-03-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the deal.
I need to lose 10 pounds.
I could even lose 15, and if I happened to lose 20... I wouldn't be mad about it.

I have found that the best way to do this however, is motivation from others doing the same thing.
SO, I have a wild idea... that will be so so fun.

Here is how it is going to go down.
Biggest loser style.

-- Every person puts in $20 via PayPal.

-- The challenge will go for 6 weeks.

-- Every person will send a picture of themselves on the scale every Monday. (Feet only... so you need to be honest... no stacking books on your head to start or anything. Also, take a front and back before and after picture... you will want this to compare your end results to... no need to share them if you are uncomfortable though.)

-- I will keep everyone updated with a weekly spreadsheet of each person along with the percent of body weight lost... I won't share your actual weight with the group.

-- At the end of the six weeks, the person with the highest PERCENTAGE of body weight lost WINS all the money.

Sounds like fun, eh!?
I don't care how you lose the weight either.
As long as it is healthy of course.
But, I am certainly not here to sell you anything... except a fun challenge.
You better believe that I am going to be competing too... otherwise I would have zero incentive to do this.

Here's the kicker... we need to spread the word!
The more people that sign up, means the more money you could win.
Share this blog post with your friends, mom, co-workers, etc... or just give them my email address and I will get them set up.
(farmerswifeamy@gmail.com)

If you have any questions feel free to email me HERE.

And if you are game, and want to join in... fill out THIS form.
Actual competition won't start until March 20th.

LET'S DO THIS!

oh hey, friday | on the road

2017-03-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

Hi friends.
I am on the road today.
We are heading to California for my grandma's funeral, unfortunately.

She happened to be this blog's number one fan.
And to say that she will be missed is an understatement.

If you feel so inclined to link up today, have at it!

I will most likely need some reading material for our drive.

Grab the html from the fancy new button, put it on your post, and link up below!

oh hey, friday | PARTY edition

2017-02-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

Before the party post starts I wanted to remind you all that I have a big freshly picked giveaway going on right now on my IG page.
You can win a free pair of moccasins, and entering is super easy.
So, go do that.
Maybe after you read this post... :)

It's been a couple of weeks now since Brody turned six.
And I thought I should document his 6th birthday.
This was the least amount of planning I have done for a party.
And I am pretty sure I will be doing this again for future birthdays.
No stress, lots of fun, grainy cell phone pics.... mostly all wins.

Here is how Brody's sixth birthday went down...

1 | bowling
We met up with Karli and her gals in the big city for a bowling date!
Brody thought it would be fun to dress as super heroes while they bowled... so they did.
And they were cute.

We also used the bowling ramp, and Brody & Kaye perfected their ramp skills game.

2 | eating
It just so happens that at this bowling alley, there is also a lovely waitress who brings you food and drinks... AND a massive surprise sundae for the birthday boy.
Pretty sure they were in a sugar coma for a solid hour after.

3 | bonding
It also turns out that a bowling alley is the perfect place for some bonding.

If I only knew what they were talking about!

And just look at this crew... Brody is a loved little guy.

4 | playing
After the bowling adventures, we said goodbye to the ladies and headed upstairs to play some games!

Our boys have never been to an arcade before, and they were geeking out.

Until we ran out of money!

Those places are spendy!!!

5 | caking
To end off the day, we had a nice dinner with my farmer's parents.
AND we ate cake.
Brody requested a superhero cake... and saw a professional fondant covered one on pinterest he thought would be realllll nice.
I knew better than to even try.
Instead I found THIS free printable... (AND the nice lady even customized it for me... changed the name and the number... she's amazing!)

And the inside of the cake...

Turns out we don't need fondant to impress a six year old.

Now I have a couple of months before another birthday hits our family!

How do you guys like to party plan?
Do you like to go all out, or would you rather just go on a special outing?

Ok, link up time!
Grab the html from the fancy new button, put it on your post, and link up below!

freshly picked | GIVEAWAY + new releases

2017-02-21T08:20:00.001-08:00

Today is the day my friends...

Where my love of the perfect leather shoes + gelato mix. :)

Is this real life?

Freshly Picked is releasing a brand new line up of moccasins today, and the whole theme is gelato!

Happy dance...

This lovely pair that I am showing off today is... Hazelnut!

You just can't ever go wrong with Hazelnuts... moccs, gelato, nutella.

That's enough for me.

In addition to this beaut, there are a few others that are just as yummy!!
Head over to Freshly Picked to snag a pair tomorrow (2/22) at 10am MST.
Don't wait though, because I foresee them going FAST!

If you don't have a pair of Freshly Picked moccasins yet, you need to bite the bullet friend.
I'm on my third kid, endless pairs of shoes and brands, and these are hands down my very favorite.
They are easy to get on and off, they don't fall off, they're not clunky and easy for kids to walk in... and they are super cute, with so many different designs to choose from.
Bennett literally giggles every single time I put them on his feet... he loves them too.

Lastly, if you would like to enter to win a brand new pair of FP moccasins, head over to my IG page HERE, to get entered!!

oh hey, friday | some SUPER embarrassing and awkward moments

2017-02-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

You guys... yesterday was a real doozy.
I mean just thinking about it all and replaying it makes me uncomfortable.
SO, why not share it with the world, right!?

1 | letting it all hang out
It all started with a trip to the big city for an annual OB appointment.
I left the boys with my farmer, obviously.
I went through the whole check in process, and was then told I had to get down to nothing but my socks, and put on the gown.
NOW, to be fair, I haven't put on a hospital gown in like... forever, and I totally over thought this.
I put it on the traditional way (open in the back).
But, as I sat there waiting for what seemed like foreverrrrr, I began to overanalyze the gown.
It was a yearly check-up and I knew that there was going to be checking for lumps and bumps, so... maybe the gown was supposed to open in the front?
You know, easy access!
I was wishing that I had asked the nurse, and honestly debated sticking my head out the door to ask.
I finally had convinced myself... yes - open in the front. It's gotta be.
I was even super proud of myself for thinking I didn't even have to disrobe to change it... just stand up, arms in the holes, turn it, and voila!
As I began to execute my plan, the door began to open.
I swapped it around, and sat down quick, trying to play things off real smooth like.
But let me tell you... things were hanging out.
And I was not playing it off as cool as I had hoped.
After about 30 seconds of small talk, my doctor said... "stand up, let's fix your gown."
And I stood up to get things situated correctly.
I was wrong.
Always go open in the back... and always go with your first intuition.
Awful.

2 | locked out of my car
One of my stops on this so far glorious day, was West Elm, to pick up a mirror that I've been waiting on for weeks.
I got there, and parallel parked my big-rig like a pro.
I never lock my car with the door, and usually always with the keys, but for some reason I didn't.
No worries though, because my keys were in my bag.
As I hopped out of the car, my phone fell onto the ground.
And as I found out later, at the same time my phone fell, the keys went with it... into the built-in storage of the door.
I finished at the store, and as I was walking to my car I was digging for my keys, which are always in a particular pocket in my bag.
They weren't there.
I peeked through the window to see if I had accidentally left them in the car... but didn't see them anywhere!
I walked back to west elm thinking surely they had fallen out of my bag. No.
I went into every store from my car to west elm asking if a set of keys had been brought in. No.
I emptied out my entire bag on a desk in west elm.
And I finally came to the conclusion that they must be in the car somewhere.
I called a locksmith who was amazingly quick, and came to my rescue.
It took about 45 seconds for him to break into my car (huh!?) and that is when I found the keys in the door.
UGH.
And it cost be 45 dollars.
That guy basically gets paid a dollar per second.
I think I need to move to the big city and start a new profession.

3 | getting hit on?
I ran to a grocery store as my final stop of the day.
As I was walking back to my car with my goods, I noticed a guy standing next to an old van a couple of parking rows over.
(always be weary of old vans, kids)
It seemed like he may have been looking at me??
I kept the corner of my eye on him, while I was loading up the groceries, and then noticed as I was about to walk the cart back that he started heading my direction.
We both got to the side of my car at the same time.
At which time he said, "sorry."
And I was like, "huh?"
And he said, "oh I just like to say sorry."
And in my head, I'm like, "huh? Justin Bieber?"
And then he said, "you so pretty!"
And then I got in my car and locked the door.
As I started the car up, I was watching him in my rearview mirror smiling at me, doing a head nod, and biting his lip.
Gross.
Instead of backing out of the parking spot, I obviously drove forward into the wrong way lane and high tailed it out of there.
Not so embarrassing - mostly just creepy.

4 | poo water
I was finally done with my day, and heading home.
What else would possibly happen?
I got a call from my farmer who told me that while he was finishing up a project outside... the poo hit the fan... or whistle in this case... inside.
To make a long story short... Brody had to poo, Bennett came into the bathroom with a toy whistle, he ended up throwing said whistle into the toilet (yes... the toilet that Brody was sitting/pooping on... and why he didn't close his legs, we still haven't figured out), Brody apparently loved this whistle, fished out the whistle, yelled for Beckam to come and wash off the whistle in the sink... and that is when my dear farmer came back inside.
Don't worry, the whistle has since been thrown away, much to Brody's disapproval, and all of the children were washed up very thoroughly.

5 | on a good note
Luckily, I don't have a fifth terrifying story to add to that 4 hours of our day yesterday.
So, instead I will leave you with a cute picture of family.
We just got our pictures back from the whole huge family photoshoot, and there were some of our individual family.
I will share more later, but for now, I'll just leave this right here.

And now, it's your turn.
Please tell you you've had some embarrassing moments this week.
I'd love to hear about them, so I don't feel so sorry for myself.

Link up!
Grab the html from the fancy new button, put it on your post, and link up below!

brody | SIX years old

2017-02-15T10:13:00.001-08:00

Well, it turns out that six year olds have more attitude than five year olds.
At least, that is what happened in our household.
Brody seemed to be in constant trouble on his 6th birthday... and has been testing us quite a bit since.
I'm pretty sure he thinks that he knows eeeeeverything, and that has been causing some butting of heads around here.
I think he is coming around... fingers crossed... but I'd really like for him to grow up to not be an angry-bossy-know-it-all.

Luckily, this occasional behavior doesn't define him.
He has plenty of other traits that are amazing.
And today, I'd like to focus on those. :)

Brody is smart.

Sometimes too smart for his own good.

He is an amazing builder, and loves his legos!

He has been able to assemble multiple age ranges of legos solo.

And he loves it.

He also like to take them apart, sometimes color code them, and then rebuild/change them.

He enjoys math, and will randomly say some math problem out loud to me.

"Hey mom, 9 plus 6 equals 15."

Brody is responsible.
I am pretty sure that I could leave him to babysit Bennett for a day and they'd all be fine.
The house would be destroyed, but everyone would be fine.
He already likes to prepare himself meals and will help out in anyway that is asked.
He enjoys cleaning the floors, and accomplishing a task that is given to him.

He is creative.
He likes to craft things.... even in the kitchen... especially if they are sweet.
And his drawings are always amazing.
The games and scenarios that he and Beckam play are always very well thought out.

Brody is funny.
He loves a good joke, and loves it even more if he is the one telling it.
Potty talk makes him laugh every single time.

He is a mamas boy.
Even though we butt heads sometimes, he loves me a whole lot.
And hates to see me sad.
He really is a good boy.

Brody takes after his daddy.
He is like Ryan in so many ways, like his voice intonation for example.
But he is mostly like him because of his love for farming.
Seriously, by age 3 he knew more about farming than I do currently.
He knows the names of equipment, the crops, how they are harvested, etc.
Who knows if he will actually become a farmer however... because he currently states that he wants to be everything when he grows up.
He's certainly not limiting himself. Ha.

He sure loves to play with Beckam.
Maybe because he is older and can create and control most of what's taking place... but they play for hours everyday.
I hope that they will continue to do so, and be best friends forever... and perhaps let Bennett play with them some too. :)

We sure do love this kid.
I am certainly grateful for him too.
All the hugs, kisses and heart eyes for my big 6 year old.

recipe | HOMEMADE chocolate pudding cups

2017-02-14T12:45:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to all of you lovelies!

Nothing says Valentine's Day, like a crap-ton of chocolate, amiright?

This recipe kind of came about on accident, and I'm certainly not mad about it.

My farmer loves pies.

Specifically chocolate pie.

BUT... with Beckam's egg allergy, this led me to get creative.

I looked through endless recipes, and came up with this one.

Basically these pudding cups, are the extra filling.

SO this recipe I am going to give you will make probably a dozen of these pudding cups.

It is super easy to make, and can be vegan if you know where to get the right chocolate chips.

ALSO, there is one super sneaky secret ingredient...

INGREDIENTS:

10 ounce dark chocolate chips

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled overnight

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ripe avocado

And that's it.

It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare also...

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour chocolate chips into a saucepan and then remove can of coconut milk from the refrigerator. Scoop the solidified cream from the can, placing it into the saucepan, along with 1/3 cup of the liquid... you might not use it all, and that is ok. You can discard the rest or use it for something else. :)

2. Warm the sacucepan over low to medium heat until the chocolate has all melted. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

3. Using kitchen aid/food processor/blender, add the avocado flesh and get nice and smooth. Mix in cooled chocolate sauce until smooth. Make sure there are no chunks of avocado.

4. Pour mixture into cups (or a prebaked pie crust if you want) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set.

5. Add toppings if you wish, and serve cold. ENJOY!

A fun, kind of healthy, treat for you and your kiddos.
Super easy for your kids to help you make it too.
Just don't let them know there is avocado in it.
OR do. Whatever.

My boys don't care what is in it, they just know it's delicious!

So, give it a try... and tell me what you think!!!
xoxo

oh hey, friday | birthdays on birthdays

2017-02-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

It is birthday central around here!
Brody turned freaking SIX years old yesterday.
And my farmer is turning 35 today.

Non-stop celebrating over here.
And... all while we are hacking up our lungs.
We are sick, and I sound like a man.
I guess it was bound to happen, since we had 10 children together for over a week.
Nothing can get us down though!

I will give Brody a post of his own next week... and maybe even my farmer if I am feeling ambitious.
But today, I thought I'd throw it back to some prior birthdays of his...

1 | FIVE

For Brody's fifth birthday we did our first birthday out.
And that was when I got smart about birthdays.
You can look at the party HERE.

I also wrote some things about my sweet boy turning five HERE.

2 | FOUR

This was probably my all time greatest party for Brody.
I did a train theme, and it turned out pretty great.
You can look at that HERE.

I also wrote some things about him turning four HERE.

3 | THREE

Welllll.... this is right up there with my favorite parties.
This farm theme was pretty awesome, and turned out pretty cute.
You can see it HERE.

AND I wrote some things about Brody turning three HERE.

4 | TWO
Not my finest party moment, but I conquered my first tractor cake.
You can see it HERE.

Also, I seemed to have failed in taking any good pics for his birthday.
At least I can't find any.
Mom fail this year.

5 | ONE

Mustache bash for my guys.
You can check it out HERE.

And I kind of wrote something on his birthday, but not much. At least there is a cute picture of my first baby! It is HERE.

There you have it.
Now I'm going to cry about how fast my babies are growing.

But you can link up!
Grab the html from the fancy new button, put it on your post, and link up below!

oh hey, friday | how to wrangle TEN KIDS

2017-02-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

It has been busy since the last oh hey, friday!
My farmer's brother brought his family of 6 over from Hawaii.
And his sister had her family of 5.
We all met up in Walla Walla over the weekend to get all TEN cousins together for the first time... ever.
It was fun. And loud. And wild. But mostly fun.

We came back to the farm on Monday and were able to bring everyone with us except my farmer's sister, her hubby and baby. BUT we snagged her two oldest boys to hang with the cousins for the week too.

This is what we have done to keep the kids busy and happy...

1 | pictures
Well... this might not have happened to keep them busy OR happy, but regardless we did lots of picture taking.
We even did a professional shoot, that I am anxiously waiting to see the results of.
We just had to document this sweet age.

2 | party
Brody was super excited to have an impromptu party with this cousins.
I whipped up some super hero cupcakes, dressed them all in the appropriate gear, got them all a superhero lego, and BOOM - superhero party complete.
Big win.

3 | snow
These kids never tire of the snow.
Especially the Hawaii cousins.
They obviously don't see much snow there.
So they have all been loving it!
Snow piles, sledding, etc... for hours!!

4 | hot springs
You can never go wrong with a quick trip to the hot springs.
With the whole slew of kids we went to an indoor one that is geared much more towards kids, and they had a blast!
Especially with the slides and this fun log...

5 | food/toys/baths/sleepovers
All of the other miscellaneous activities that have been a favorite amongst the group.
The cousins sleepovers are probably my favorite.
Seeing 7 kids crammed into a small room is pretty precious... and hearing their giggles for an hour before falling asleep is pretty cute too.

My boys aren't going to know what to do with themselves once all of their cousins go home.
I have a feeling they will be very lonely.

What have you all been up to!?
Any big plans for the Super Bowl?
Valentines Day?
Give me all the details!

And then... link up!
Grab the html from the fancy new button, put it on your post, and link up below!