Lucky, Lucky

Well I feel like I have been very lucky lately! Blessed with good friends, good times, and good baseball games!
First, I HAVE to mention how excited I am that the Giants are going on to the World Series. It has been so fun following them this season, and it almost feels like we have a connection with all the players even! We love watching the games on television, especially when they win! I keep trying to figure out how we could possibly incorporate Giants players names into future baby names. I think we will have to settle with naming a dog Buster, after Buster Posey .
My birthday was great! I seriously got spoiled with all my favorite things! We ate at Red Robins, which sports my favorite burgers and endless fries! I got some stuff from Forever 21 from Johnny, which is my absolute favorite clothing store. I have loved wearing all my new clothes. I got a $21 giftcard to Jamba Juice from my mom (how creative) and got a Giant’s Sandoval Panda hat from Nick. Oh yes, and of course the famous Omaha steaks from my dad and a wonderful little note from my favorite Ryann Brown.
Oh and did I mention we’ve been having the absolute best fall weather here?! It has been so great.


Last Saturday our family and Erin Olpin, one of my good friends from highschool, and her friend, went to the Teton Mountains. It was so beautiful we really got to experience the true beauty of fall. With golds, yellows, greens, purples, and reds we saw so much beautiful scenery. We went on a little hike and then drove to a few scenic outlooks. However, the drive was the most beautiful part anyways.

Deliciousness! On a Budget!

This month I wanted to have better planned meals as well as save on groceries. What a great thing this has been so far! I started the month off by writing down 25 possible meals. I decided I would supplement the other days with left overs, grabbing a pizza or eating out. I then wrote down every ingredient I would need that I didn't already have in the fridge. Buying all the ingredients at once has helped to avoid unneeeded grocery trips, which sometimes lead to extra purchases, like "Oh, we need a bag of chips!" or "Bagels sound good right now...so we also need to buy cream cheese". You get the point!

Not only have we been saving $$$, but I have been relaxed because I know exactly what we're having for dinner and I have so much fun deciding what to make. I have also been experimenting with different meals and found out we love chimichangas! I love that everything is so organized and I don't have to be scrambling to make quick spaghetti or hamburgers for the third time in a week! I look forward to cooking everyday now. I tell Johnny right after we finish dinner, what I am going to make the next day.
Only bad thing about this DELICIOUSNESS ON A BUDGET would be the fact that I am always thinking about food, which we all know what that leads to! Oh well, that extra pound or two is it worth it to me! I'll just be careful that it's not an extra pound or two a month!

Giants vs. Atlanta!

I am so excited that the Giants are in the playoffs! I have been able to watch all 3 games on tv so far, and it's been great! They have won 2 of the 3 games and have been playing so well, I definitely think they have a good shot at making it to the world series! I am looking forward to watching the games to come! Go Giants!

Also, it is Pat Burrell's birthday today (he is my favorite as of now, along with Posey & Lincecum) so I have to give a shout out for his birthday! Haha.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I MISS MY LONG LONG HAIR! PLEASE GROW FASTER!!

Cutest Boy Alive?!

So Niko is a whopping 16 months old now! Almost a year and a half, where has time gone?!?! Well he has been keeping me smiling and very busy these days with his new found skills and his developing personality!
Here's what's new!

-He loves loves loves string cheese. It is the first thing he has every morning. He walks to the fridge, opens it up and whines for his cheese.

-He almost sings his ABC's. He carries the tune, and you can pick out the "H I J" and "Q R S" part of the song! What a smartie.

-His 2 new words are "oww" and "uh oh", and sometimes the occassional angry sounding "NO!". He likes to bang things and say "oww" over and over again.

-He has definitely moved on from walking and is trying the running thing out. He falls all the time says a simple "ow" and gets up and tries again.

-Niko has gotten better on the piano keyboard. He knows which buttons make the beats and fusses if the keyboard mysteriously gets unplugged.

-He has become a cuddler, every morning for playhouse disney cartoons.

-He understands my "look" and will generally obey it.

-He is obsessed with the act of me folding blankets. Every morning when I fold blankets he gets excited and throws himself onto them.

-He has been looking through his books more and looking at the pictures. He has also been playing with his big lego blocks more and can actually build small things out of them!

He has become the best little boy possible! I just love the little guy more and more everyday. Niko makes me laugh and smile so much. It may seem like every post is about him, but come on, I am a mom and love that guy so stinkin' much!

A friend we will miss.....

This morning I found out that one of Niko's "elderly friends" passed away last night. Joel Young, 77, was one of Niko's favorite people! He always rode around town in his motor wheel chair and we would run into him everywhere! Whether it was friday night markets, Broulims grocery store or just seeing him on our daily walks. He adored Niko. He would get Niko's attention by saying "Hey small guy! Small guy, oh you wanna fight, you wanna fight?!" He was so funny. He never knew my name, but whenever he needed to talk to me he'd say "HEY LADY!" He made us smile and laugh all the time. Our favorite thing is the Shrek watch he gave to Niko. He rode his motor wheel chair all the way to McDonalds and got a happy meal just so he could get Niko a little toy. We will never forget our friend and will miss seeing him almost everyday.

Luckily, Niko has not lost the watch and we have this to remember him by.

Last Warm Day.....

I predict that today was the last day of summer. It was in the 80's today and I looked at the 10 day forecast and the weather is definitely getting cooler. I doubt it's going to get warm again so Charity and I took advantage of the weather. We biked around mainstreet and looked in some stores, and ended the ride with some shaved ice. Niko loves to ride on the back of my bike so he was our companion on the trip as well. Shaved Ice was the best!