swimming at the ochoa's pool for cousin aiden's birthday party. summer birthdays are so much fun!
baby sister in her new little swimsuit.
evan had a blast on the trampoline...
birthday boy on the trampoline.
happy 8th birthday aiden! we are excited to be there for your baptism day
baby lolo turned 8 months old on the 4th. it is pretty much impossible to get her to sit still for a photo now, since all she wants to do is crawl. she can now pull herself up to stand and takes little steps holding on to things. she also recently cut two bottom teeth and has another one coming in on the top.
yesterday was the last day of school, which means summer has officially begun! woo-hoo!!
i loved this book! it is such an amazing and inspirational story, and very well written. i highly recommend it! if you are unfamiliar with her blog and her story, check it out here.
a couple of weeks ago baby sister started crawling. she is nonstop, constantly getting into everything and finding every tiny little piece of paper and crumb to put in her mouth.
today kyla ran the 200 meter dash at the district track meet held at the high school stadium. she did a great job and came in 3rd place!
here she is in action (photo taken from the bleachers). first and second place are just outside of the frame on the inner track.
i am always on the hunt for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. i have tried a lot of recipes and this one is seriously the best! i will never use another recipe. the texture is perfect: crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. (i halved the recipe and it turned out great.)
Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups cake flour
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (i just used chocolate chips)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars for 3 min. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
some additional tips to having them turn out really good are to have all ingredients room temperature. also, you MUST use cake flour and bread flour. i'm pretty sure that's what makes this recipe so good! and this may sound weird, but if you refrigerate the dough for 4-24 hours it turns out even better!
baby sister in her easter bonnet with her stuffed bunny she got from the easter bunny.
i think she is about to cut a tooth. she is constantly drooling!
we attempted to make "tie-dye" easter eggs. they didn't quite turn out how i expected, but they were still pretty!
on saturday, we had our annual easter egg hunt with the cousins!
aiden found the most eggs and he found the prize egg filled with money!
sweet baby cousins lorelei and dahlia
look at all the missing teeth on these girls!
checking out their loot
and of course a group shot. pretty much impossible to get everyone to look in the same direction!
we had a wonderful easter weekend, but we sure did miss grammy and grandpa who are serving a mission in new york!
April 15th marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the titanic. this book is a fascinating account of the titanic's last hours. i highly recommend it.
there is a titanic exhibit at the museum of science right now. elayna's class will be going there for a field trip at the end of the month. i really wish i could go along!
lorelei turned 6 months old yesterday. how fast the past six months have gone by! we sure do enjoy this sweet baby girl. she brings so much happiness to our family!
last week mangos were on sale and looked especially delicious! i bought a few and decided to use one for a black bean and mango salad. i served it with cilantro lime vinaigrette and sliced grilled chicken. so yummy! salad ingredients are mango, red bell pepper, black beans, avacado, red onion and lettuce.
little lolo turned 5 months old at the beginning of the month. she can now sit up by herself for short amounts of time. i can't believe she is almost half a year old already!
silly baby is always sticking out her tongue!
i know it can be annoying when people brag about their husband on blogs/facebook, but i'm going to brag for just a second here. this past month our washer and dryer AND fridge all stopped working! with a little bit of research on the internets, my handyman husband fixed all of them. they are all working perfectly now. he is so smart and saved us a ton of money!
installing the new evaporator fan in the fridge
i am loving this series! it is about a huge estate in england in the early 1900s and the people who live in it. the costumes and estate are beautiful and it really takes you back in time. we just finished season 1 on netflix and are currently watching season 2 on pbs.org.
