Road Trip to the River

Over the weekend my parents, little brother, and I went to the grand Ole Mississippi River. There have been a bunch of storms north of us in Minnesota so the river was full of tree logs, rocks and cement (yes, cement. Apparently it floats...). We stayed with my aunt and uncle. They have a lodge on the bluffs. My dad got us lost (We're going to Kansas for vacation next week. Lets see ho much he gets us lost then...). To his defense, there's a lot of forks in the road. 
We went for a boat ride Saturday night. Noah did not enjoy this because we couldn't go fast and we couldn't tube. Those were the only reasons he even wanted to go! 

There were at bunch of eagles swooping across the water. We were all excited. Whenever we see an eagle we say "Hi Grandpa." That may seem silly but when he died there was an eagle flying over the cemetery and someone made the comment that it was Grandpa and it stuck. 

 Can you guess this store? If you guessed Cabela's then you are the winner! We love Cabela's. There is so much to look at when we're there. Mom and I bought some Under Armour 4D Foam  flip flops. They are the most comfortable flip flops ever! You should get some :) 

Have a Happy Fourth of July!

Popsicle Cupcakes

Aren't these super cute?! I saw a picture of them on Pintrest and decided that I was going to make them tonight. They're super easy too. All you have to do is cut a bunch of toothpicks and stick them into Mike and Ike's. It's just that easy! :)

Look at all of those pretty little Popsicle. I put Josh to work to make the sticks. We started out using flat toothpicks but then I would have to poke the candy with a normal toothpick to make a hole so the flat toothpick wouldn't break when I was trying to put it in the candy. That got really frustrating so I just started using normal toothpicks. 

He really enjoyed being my helper :P He got a new game in his phone and he was super enthralled with it. 

Hope these cool you off on a hot Summer day :)

Ranch Potato Bites

I really like homemade ranch fries an this recipe was branched off from them. We make them when we're camping because they are so super easy! 

Ingredients:
Mini Potatoes (I used 3 pounds for 7 people and there were some left over.)
1.5 Ranch Seasoning Dip/Dressing packets
1/2c Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 stick of Salted Butter - Cubed  (Margarine doesn't work the same) 
1.5 Tbsp Olive or Veggie Oil


*Please Note: We use Dutch Ovens around here but you could easily but them in a foil packet and put them on the grill or in a baking dish and put them into the oven.


First slice all of your baby potatoes to a similar size. I cut most of them in half but if they were bigger I cut them into thirds. Place them into the Dutch Oven. As for potatoes I used Gemstone potatoes which we get at our Hyvee. They come in bags like this and they are baby reds, yellows, and purples (Who knew?! Purple potatoes, they're delish!) 

This is the package that the potatoes came in. I used 2 bags.

Next drizzle olive oil over the potatoes. You don't need a whole lot, just enough to coat the potatoes. I used about 1.5 Tbsp.  Stir oil around so oil coats potatoes. (This is to ensure that the ranch seasoning sticks to the potatoes. 

Now add the Ranch seasoning packets. This can be adjusted to your taste. I like mine ranchy (if that's a word) so I used 1.5 large size packets. Stir Ranch seasoning around so it coats potatoes. Then sprinkle the butter cubes around the pot. (You can sprinkle a little bit of the cheese on now if you'd like)

*If using a Dutch Oven use top and bottom heat for about 20-25 minutes and then remove from bottom heat (but keeping top heat) for about 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are done. 

*If using a foil packet on the grill put on indirect heat for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are done.

*If making in the oven: Set oven to 375 degrees and place covered baking dish in oven for about 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are done. 

When potatoes are 5 minutes from being done sprinkle cheese on top and let cheese melt and get golden. 

Enjoy and Happy Father's Day!

Adventuring With Mom and Noah

Mom, Noah, and I went shopping on Saturday. We needed to get Father's Day stuff and supplies for crafts next week. We got most of what we needed at the Dollar Tree. I happen to love the Dollar Tree, because well every things a dollar... Anyways, I was able to get enough supplies for 5 new crafts for twenty-five dollars! And Mom and I got to mess around. :)

Dino Hats!

Noah and his super cheesy grin. We were playing hide and seek in Penny's.

I love these cinnamon mini doughnuts. But I only like them from one vendor.
His cart is older than I am, but it makes all the difference. They are the best ever!  

Today is Father's Day and we are making home made ice cream! Mom bought this one on sale at Target last week. It's a Sunbeam and it works great! When the ice cream is all done the machine will shut off all by it's self which is pretty nifty. 

Happy Father's Day! I'll be posting a yummy recipe in just a bit! 

Fireworks Season Has Begun!

This weekend is Festival of Trails. If you enjoy slushies, pitas, mini doughnuts, or crab ragoons you should make an appearance. Oh and add shifty carnival rides to that list! I would really only go for the food if I were you. The rain managed to hold off until the very last fireworks. I love fireworks! But here in Iowa they are against the law unless if you have a licence. So we can't really shoot them off on our own (although I do go to school in Wisconsin and will be living there in due time sooo maybe firework pyrotechnics are in my future. Ha! Who am I kidding? I get nervous lighting a candle.). Any who I took some pictures for you. 

Ooooooo

Ahhh

So Pretty

The Big Finale 

I wanted to get a picture of Josh and I before it started raining but that
didn't happen what so ever. So please do enjoy my lovely rain hair!

But at least it didn't look like this lovely hair style that I had this morning. My family has crazy hair in the morning no matter how much I straighten it the night before. It's pretty bad I took a picture for you all to see. I think that we should take a picture and use it for our family picture. It'd be cute. Usually it's crazier than this but I kind of smoshed it down before I took a picture. 

Joe Klampit

As a last ditch effort to get rid of any tan lines for my cousin's wedding, my mom and I laid out in the morning. It didn't do much. As we were laying in the protection of our backyard, my mom decided my brother's truck reminded her of the one off of Beverly Hill Billies. My brother is extremely talented with cars, building, fixing, and making things work. The bed of his truck "broke"  and he had to build a new one. If you ask me it kinda looks like a picnic table. He also made the metal parts above the wheels and such. Either way it's way better then I could ever do! 

 After we told my dad about what we thought about Joe's truck, my dad carried out a rocking chair and made a sign. He in return gave my car racing stripes with painters tape which was a pain to take off. (I don't have a picture. I took one with my phone and it got messed up :()

By the way I forgot to show you my nails that i did for my cousin's wedding. I only say this because it took me forever to find the perfect color polish!

I'm Back... Again...

I have been meaning to write since Thursday, but clearly this hasn't happened yet. I've just been very busy and the boys have been crazy. I try to wear them out at the pool. This is how Oliver spends his time at the pool. 

He builds tents out of the towels and then hides in them. This one just happens to be on the ground but he usually makes them when he's sitting on my lap and then he falls asleep. I then get a lovely tan line. But he's cute so I can't be mad at him. :)

Nextly (that's right, I just made a new word), I haven't crafted this weekend. It's been a whirlwind. My cousin got married and mom and I were still trying to get clothes and jewelry as of Friday night. We matched somewhat again. I think I'm going to start taking photos every time we match so you don't think I'm just making this up! 

I just realized that you can't see the bottom of her dress in this picture but it has coral, orange, and red poppies on it. We kinda matched! If you look closely she's not even looking at the camera, she's looking at my aunt behind the camera. 

Josh wasn't able to come because he had to work. He sure was asked about by every aunt and cousin. Especially this one. This is Taylor, isn't she cute? We danced, and danced, and danced some more! It was a lot of fun! 

This week I will attempt to get some crafting done. I also have to make Josh's birthday cake and get his birthday present... Maybe I'll write a post on how to make my mom's ice cream cake. It's to die for!