Summer Begins!

  Tim is officially finished with his third year of grad school! (Only two more!) He had a week off before heading to SLC for another round of research, so we tried to make the most of it. 

We went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and enjoyed the exhibits we didn't get to the previous visit including the one on space. The picture below is Ty and Tim on Mars.

 Thursday we went on a hike in the foothills.

 Ty was a good little stinker in the backpack, but also wanted to do some of the hiking himself.

 Thursday night we drove up to Longmont to visit Brad and Erica Holland and Megan and Phillip Coplen, friends from BYU and Virginia. We swam in their pool and grilled dinner, but I didn't take any pictures :(

Ty got a postcard from Aunt Aubrey on Friday. He, apparently, misses her:

 He's also had his share of happy moments, though:

 

 Blackberries are fun to eat, squish, and wear!

 Ty LOVES his stuffed animals, but his FAVORITE is his Blue Dog that sings the "ABC's." We give it to him every night as we put him into bed and he just loves it and snuggles his head up to it. A friend in Tim's Econ program gave it to Ty when he was born, and she wanted pictures of Ty with it so she could show her parents who are in China. I guess Ty has gone global!

 

Friday Find: Kitchen Counter Cooking School

This book has seriously changed the way I think about cooking. It is a novel (not just a reference or recipe book, so it is fun to read) about the author, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, teaching kitchen basics to regular people. Since I started this book, I have bought and cooked a whole chicken (a little more traumatic that I thought it would be-I'm not ready to de-bone it yet, but I am working on it), made my own vinaigrette, and started using real salt and pepper that I have to grind myself! This book taught me that it is okay to try to cook something even if I don't end up liking it, and especially to try recipes even if I have to make ingredient substitutions. As the subtitle insinuates, I have found myself more "fearless" in the kitchen. I believe I will re-read this book as well as refer back to it often.

Now That He's One...

 

 He's a big boy and likes to do big boy things!

 

 Thanks for this cute outfit Aunt Aubrey!

 And these batman jammies, Grandpa Tom!

 Apparently, he likes broccoli...

We have had a LOT of snow around here lately. One evening when Tim's parents were still here, we took advantage of free babysitting and went snow shoeing on a trail just down the street. You can tell how much it was snowing.

And this last picture was taken just this week. Yes. On MAY 1st! I'm done with winter.

Friday Find: Best. Cookie. Ever.

I decided I wanted to to Friday Finds to show things I love but I haven't done very many because something needs to up to my standards to post. This cookie has made the cut. It is DE-LISH-OUS!

This is Chick Fil A's new Chocolate Chunk Cookie.  I actually had it a few weeks ago when I flew to Utah and Tim picked me up from the airport in Salt Lake City. He had gone to Chick Fil A for lunch and they were selling these cookies to send proceeds to a good cause.  I was very skeptical at first because it looked generic and hard, but with my first bite, I was sold. It was perfect. The right amount of crunchy on the outside, but gooey and delicious on the inside. I was reminded of my wonderful cookie encounter today when I received an email from Chick Fil A for a FREE cookie on my birthday!!! Bless them.