Crystal, Jake and Kate- the cousins are four days and one year apart
Close up of the new Kaylie!
One of the projects on my list this week was to get my starts started, for my garden of course. I have not had a garden since we moved. In the Prov I had a lovely little garden where without a lot of work I managed to grow several varieties of tomatoes, squash, corn, onions, beans, peppers, and even carrots. With the ever rising price of produce, who can afford not to. But as you can see from the picture of where my garden patch should be, it is at the moment a blizzard outside. So my seedlings will have to wait patiently in the kitchen window for now.
I make a lot of treats with dipping chocoloate. People always ask me how I do my chocolate so well, and it is another one of my favorite things not because it tastes good- it is not the best tasting chocolate, but because your goodies come out gorgeous. I'm talking about Chocolate Coating (called Almond Bark at our house because most the packages don't say the product name but say in big lettering "Great for Making Almond Bark"). It comes in white, dark and regular in big bricks and sometimes can be hard to find at a normal grocery store. My favorite kind is Log House, they make a chocolate coating that is darker than most of the regular chocolate coating and it can be found at Super Target for about $2.50/ lb. To use it for dipping I like to put it over the stove on Med heat with a 1/2 teas or so of veg oil. It will melt smoothly, dip what you want, then set it on parchment paper to dry. Here is a dipping chocolate favorite- Portable S'mores. These were created when Jake had a campout with his boys scouts and they couldn't have a fire. You can't have a campout without smores. So I dipped marshmellows on toothpicks in dipping chocolate, then rolled in crushed graham crackers. Try making some today, I know you won't be able to stop with just one.
Kate is at a stage now where she is really into loving her stuffed animals. She hugs them and rocks them and pats them on the back. She loves them! It is so cute. She has a few in particular that she is becoming attached to. One is Pato the Duck. Kate and I were at the pharamcy once, and while we were waiting she saw this Penguin that made her squel. I practiced restraint and did not buy it for her, but when we got home I remembered this duck Amy had given her that was in a basket in her room. It looked a lot like the Penquin. It became her playtime pal ever since. The second in Puppers, (the Puppy) she is a really soft gift from her grandma Freeman for Christmas. Puppers has become her sleepy time buddy. She will fall asleep (by herself finally) cuddling with Puppers. The other day she was playing in the living room with her ever growing pile of toys. Jake told her to go get Pato and she did. Then he asked her to get Puppers and she did. We were a little suprised that she knew the names we had given them and could distinguish between the two. With my luck she will probably say Pato before she says Mama. She already does the "P" some times when we are talking about them. I use to always give her that Elephant in the car and she really liked it and would suck on its trunk, but not so much anymore, I just wanted a picture of all three for her baby book.
Kate turned nine months old last week. It is hard to believe that she has only been out of me as long as she was in me! So much has happened and I can't imagine my life with out her! This is our photo shoot. As you can see she was more interested in her tounge, the tie on her shirt and the camera than sitting. Still the cutest thing though
We did have a lot of fun there seeing so much of Jake's family. There were lots of cousins for Kate to play with, or watch rather. Unfortunatley all three of us came down with the flu, Jake on Christmas Eve and Kate and I on Christmas night. But we still had a nice trip.Keysha tagged me with this Husband Tag. I am happy to comply because I think my husband is great, and perhaps there are just not enough posts about him to date. Don't fret fellow bloggers, i will not pass this tag along. I tried to include a picture, but realized that I only take pictures of Kate, I resolute to make sure I am snapping shots of our entire family this year. The last picture I had of Jake by himself, was his law school graduation almost two years ago, oh well!
What is his name? Jacob Ray Freeman
How long have you been together? 4.5 years of marriage. Almost six years together.
How long did you date? One year and 3 months, with some bumps in the middle.. this feels like " All About Dating Jake" so far
How old is he? 28, 29 in March.
Who eats more? Jake- thank goodness, but not by a ton.
Who said I love you first? Jake did, both the first time we dated, and the second.
Who is taller? Jake has me by about 7"
Who can sing better? No question it is Jake...the perfect baratone
Who is smarter? Jake is no question there either. He is the smartest person I know... no this is feeling like "all about why my husband is better than me"
Who does the laundry? Finally a point in my corner. Me, but when we were both working we shared this duty equally.
Who pays the bills? I write the checks, but Jake is the one suppling the money
Who sleeps on the right side? I do, but this has changed several times, Jake is happy to conform when I choose a new side.
Who cooks dinner? I do now, but we shared this equally when we both worked too.
Who drives? Jake usually. I drove a whole 2 hours of our 26 hour California drive, mostly because I have car enduced narcolepsy, and I don't see as well will me eye that had surgery
Who is more stubborn? Jake would say it was me, but I think it depends on the situation. Jake can be stubborn too.
Who kissed who first? Jake kissed me first, on our fourth date, only he had to ask me to walk him to his door- so obviously- because I was driving and just going to drop him off at his house because it was late.
Who asked who out first? Jake did.... well funny you should ask, actually one of our friends asked me out for him, not that he is that shy it is just how it happened.
Who proposed? Jake did on April 11, 2003 on a mountain ledge, where he sang me a song he wrote about me, it was a total suprise, but not really because he had been acting strange and I could tell he had been lying to me about his whereabouts etc all week so I knew something was up. Although he proposed first, we had already been shopping for houses together, and I had scheduled the temple.
Who has more friends? Jake has more close friends, I have more casual friends, but I would also say Jake is a better friend.
Who is more sensitive? This is a no brainer. I used to joke that Jake had two ways, Jake and Jake slightly annoyed. Meaning he rarely gets angry, sad, or even really happy. He cried more when we were dating, but in 4.5 years of marriage I think I have seen him cry two times. So me, I tear up at commercials almost every day
Who has more siblings? Jake 7 to 5 plus several of his siblings are married so his family is much bigger.
Who wears the pants? We each have control over certain realms of our family life, I think this is how it should be. We make decisions together, but usually I decide most of the small things and let Jake decide more of the big things.
That was a fun little get to know Jake, if you don't. Although it just doesn't even come close to capturing his greatness, like where is the question about how he works hard everyday without much complaint while I get to sit at home and have fun with Kate, or how he can do anything without prior experience on his first attempt, like build anything, or be perfect at a new sport or hobby, it is almost a little irritating. Love you Jake!
Everyone loves the holidays, but here are the top reasons why I do.
