Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday I was driving with Talmage and Jonah and one of Talmage's friends.

We could see black smoke in the sky.

It was in the direction that we were going.
So we stopped and looked.

How horrible huh?!

Those poor people!
I could not stop thinking of them the rest of the day.

Talmage asked if maybe they burned their lasagna?

Ha! That is very fitting for a son whose mother is not an awesome cook.

Speaking of cooking (cooking)

We LOVE cookies here at our house.

I can pull them off most of the time!

Here is our favorite (Jared's) 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1910,156180-241193,00.html

So much to post...so little time.

Jared had to STOP me last night.  Do you ever get in a rutt of perfection?  

I  get to where I set a goal in my mind. It always seems much easier to accomplish in my head than it really ever is in reality. 

 I am great at starting a lot of projects!  I manage to juggle four or five projects at one time till they or I fall apart.

So, I dedicated this last week to finishing many of them all at once. 

 From 7:30 yesterday morning until 7:30 last night I was frantically painting.  

I took four cans of paint to my local Sherwinn Willams where Jeremy put all of my cans on the shakers to get them all ready for using.  Time was ticking and last night was my deadline.  

That was until I was in tears and Jared brought me back to reality!  He pointed out that I could work twelve hours a day, every day trying to achieve a "perfect" house in my mind and never be satisfied.  

I fall into these traps a lot!  I am too embarrassed to let others see my imperfections, so I shut others out.  

Frantically trying to perfect whatever I see that needs perfecting.  

While I am fixing one thing,  another thing pops up or falls apart.  Hmm, it is too daunting! 

I am missing the boat.  I am missing out!  Jared pointed out if there is someone who wants to pick apart my scuffed base boards, or my decorating or too many cake stands, then I don't need them.  

The truth is I care too deeply!  

Here's to enjoying, trying my best, but setting limits.  

Okay friends, come visit, sit in my little tumbleweed town with me and I'll pour ya a nice glass of lemonade, my glasses might have water spots, hope ya don't mind!

Here is the best thing that happened this week! 
 Our cute Talmage learned to ride his bike.  Jared took him to the park by our house every night to ride on the grass while he learned.  
As you watch this video, imagine the theme music from Jaws playing in your head.(BTW we don't know who the little tricycler is.)

No children were seriously harmed in the making of this film

From the Charm of Salt Lake... to the Scorpion's of Kingman!

All my guys after a jeep ride going from one set of Grandparents to the other set of Grandparents!
(Salt Lake)

We have actually been back in Kingman for four days.


I am  still wading through laundry and suit cases! 
We had such a good time Salt Lake.


We even got to meet our precious new Niece born while we were there!
~Danica Rose~
Born to my Brother Ryan and his adorable wife Leanna!

Pictures of her, and all the fun from our trip still to come.
Once I get my laundry put away,
 and all of my weeds picked that grew through our rock landscape while we were away.

Look at the scorpion I ran into the first day back while weeding! He curled his tail up at me, and I killed it with a brick. My first instinct was to run screaming.  Then, I thought if I let him live, he might end up LIVING in our house with us!  Yikes!

He is dead in this picture!

Anyone want to come help me weed????

Really good cookies from Pinterest

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/fudgy-brownie-cookies/

All I have been pinning lately is food! 
 I think you can tell a "dieter" by how many food pins she pins a day.

Every thing looks so delicious. 

I made these cookies yesterday.  

Super good!  I think they are even better the next day.  

*Note: You have to put this dough in the fridge for two hours before cooking.  

My boys were not thrilled about the wait.

One year ago our lives changed! Here is how we are now!!

Our dinner date tonight with the boys.  Jake was at his friend Derrick's house.

  

Today at the park by our house

Jonah swimming at his friend Jacob's house!

Typical afternoon 

Suddenly, the other day I realized Jared graduated from medical school one year ago! One year ago at this time was such a thrilling and emotional time. My (our little family's) world changed drastically, we experienced a lot of change with our move here to Kingman for Jared's Residency.  I am such a creature of habit. In my youth I held myself back often because of my fear of the unknown.

 A year later, I am happy to report that we  are in a good spot right now!  The unknown has not killed us...yet!    I think we have ALL grown and learned new things.  My heart does not have the unquenchable ache for our norm (Henderson) any more, which is HUGE!  I have realized that letting go can be a very difficult process.

My friends are still my dear friends and have not forgotten all about me.(a huge fear) 

Jacob has some good friends, one of his good friends from school just moved by us!  He is at another friend's tonight.  He has adjusted very well.

Talmage is a happy, hysterical seven year old who LOVES school and is going to have a tough time saying goodbye to his first grade teacher Mrs. Ford. She has been his daily sunshine in this desert! He leaps out of the car every morning and RUNS into the school building. (more than I could ask for!)

Jonah, my baby, ADORES his preschool teachers and his preschool friends.  He has learned leaps and bounds from his adorable teachers. He will be entering Kindergarten in the fall.  Kingman only offers ALL DAY kindergarten.  He seems excited...I am having a difficult time thinking of it!

Jared, what can I say other than he amazes me daily.  He is doing well! He devotes all his energy after long days to all of us. With fear of sounding like a wet blanket, none of us can ever get enough of him.  He is our favorite guy in the world.  He makes a good Doctor too.

Tonight, I felt like good old hardy Mexican food.  Jared took the younger boys and I out to dinner at a place called Oyster's on Route 66!  We rarely go to a sit down restaurant with our kids...Rarely.

It wasn't bad. In fact, they kept us quite entertained.  Talmage, our only decent eater of the three, looked over the kid's menu.  Then he spotted a picture of the steak and lobster, and asked us if that was on the kids menu?  That is what he really felt like he told us. He finally decided on a steak taco. The waiter brought Jared a refill and instead of it being his diet coke, it was ice tea.  Jared told the waiter that his drink was tea instead of his coke.  Talmage thought he said it was TEETH.  He asked "was it really teeth  in there dad?!"  

The other night when we were driving home from Talmage's baseball game, Talmage asked Jared a question. Jared was great at answering his question thoroughly!  In the middle of  the answer Talmage said  "Blah Blah Blah...skip some skip some!" ...??!!!!  We were both stunned, but supper amused!  We explained to him to never talk to an adult or any one like that. We laughed for days about it though. How often have we wanted to say that to some one? Kinda like you are now after reading this novel!

Sunday Morning Spring Glimpses

I love these Spring mornings so much!  I can open up the windows and doors.  I love the breeze coming through the house.

The beautiful sunlight. The birds chirping...

Hanging with Jonah....

Jonah has been balancing apples on his head!  He is good at it.

~This is documentation of the first flowers that Jonah has given a girl...
his Miss Holli had a birthday today!

We went over to our neighbor Fritz's blooming rose bushes.
Fritz happily cut the roses that Jonah thoughtfully chose for his
very special teacher.