Happy Birthday America! and an Update on Us

This 4th of July we spent the majority of the day house hunting. We did squeeze in a bar b q and fireworks at the end of the day. Fortunately there were tons of great firework shows by our house. Owen liked the fireworks but LOVED the sparklers we bought. Each time one would burn out he would sign and yell "MORE"! It was really cute and funny.
Finding a house to buy has been one of the reasons we have been so so busy lately. Our current landlord refuses to let us go on a month to month lease so we are getting booted at the end of July! and we don't want to rent anymore. So we just started packing and are hoping to be able to find a house really soon. I don't think we will be able to get into one soon enough to be able to prevent us from moving twice but we are sure trying.
Other things keeping us busy....
We celebrated our 4th anniversary on June 30th. Jared turned 30 on June 28th! Happy Birthday, we still love you even though your getting old! Jared has been super busy with work, he was out of town in Alabama with his boss getting new clients for his law firm. Being out of town did not help with our house hunting!!! He also had to prepare for his first jury trial which was last Thursday. Thank goodness its over now and YEAH! he won. We are so proud of his hard work. He did the whole trial alone and went against two attorneys that have been practicing for more than 20 years each.
Now lets get back to finding a place to live! I have stayed busy with the house hunt and have been really really sick. We just found out we are expecting a baby in February, that explains the sickness.
Owen has been a trooper looking at houses with us, he loves to run around all the empty places we have been looking at. He is growing like a weed and learning new words all the time. We think we have finally broken his habit of jamming food i.e. cheetos, raisins, apples or crayon tips up his nose and in his ear, time will tell. He pooped in the potty twice! Yeah! but has never wanted to do it again. He does pee in the potty about once a day so he is thinking about being potty trained. We are not going to get serious until we move and get settled. Owen has also acquired a new chore to help with penny. He feeds penny every day and now its his job to let her outside in the morning so she can do her business. I think he mostly just likes opening and closing the door.
Well thats enough typing for me, hopefully I can update on a more regular basis...as soon as the sickness goes away.

Busy Busy

We have been really busy lately so I have not been blogging much. I will try to post more soon but in the meantime there are some really cute pictures of Owen on Megans blog so... Grandma's and anyone else if you need so see some new pics check out the link "Chasing all our crazy dreams".

Not enough pictures!

During Debbie's visit we did not take enough pictures. I can not believe that we did not get one of the two of us together! Maybe next time.

Happy Fathers Day

Owen and I stayed up late Saturday night making yummy peanut butter chocolate candies for Jared while he was out with some of his friends who came to Vegas for a visit. Sunday was time for some father son bonding, No moms allowed or penny dogs.

A Vacation in my own back yard!

Debbie, my sister, came to town this past weekend for a work conference. She stayed with us for the first two nights and stayed at the Mirage to attend the conference the second two. During her stay Jared was a wonderful Dad and took care of Owen while Debbie and I vacationed in Vegas! Shopping, movies, dinners out, a show and relaxing by the pool made up our fun without Owen. Of Course we took him along for our morning jogs/walks with pit stops at the park and played in the baby pool in our yard. He also came along for the ride as I played chauffeur for Debbie while she was here, shuttling her from airport to our house to hotel and wherever else we wanted to go. All the Driving was tiring and a little stressful with all the crazy drivers near the strip but I feel a lot more at ease navigating my way around the city now.
While at the Mirage pool we saw a few interesting things. ( I am stealing this from Debs blog)

1. two girls totally getting it on the the pool, ICK! ( It was so bad the life guard made them stop)

2. Lifeguard playing with his junk, double ICK!

3. A man snoring a few lounge chairs down, funny
After lounging at the pool we went inside for some shopping and saw...

Ami James
and

Chris Nuñez



We both got free Tattoo's from them.




Just Kidding!


More about our adventures and pictures later. We were so busy we did not get as many pictures as I wanted of us together, but we will see what I can steal from Debs blog.

Jens Recipe File

I am going to try and Post at least one Recipe a month. I love to cook and try new recipes so please feel free to share your favorites with me. This one is for Alysia... hope you like it.
This is my Grandma's recipe, it its supposed to be a side dish but I have added chicken and made it a meal. This is not for those watching their weight, sodium or becoming vegan. (I don't add the extra salt and I use less butter.)

Cheesy Broccoli Bake

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 package (6 oz) herb stuffing mix
2 (10oz) Packages broccoli,
thawed drained
salt
2 TBS butter
2TBS flour
1 (3oz) pkg. softened cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 chicken bouillon cube, crushed
4 green onions
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Combine 1/4 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups boiling water and stuffing mix. Mix well and let stand 5 min. Stir. Line shallow 2 quart baking dish with stuffing mixture. Arrange broccoli spears on top of stuffing. Sprinkle with salt.
Melt the 2 TBS of butter in a sauce pan, stir in flour. Remove from heat. Add cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Add 3/4 cup of milk and bouillon cube. Return to low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in chopped green onions. Spoon sauce over broccoli and sprinkle with cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Memorial Day Weekend

The weekend was full of ....
Teething, teething and more teething,
At least four cuspids, possibly a molar,
Temper tantrums,
Fever,
Defiance and opposition,
Crying and more crying,
Refusing any medication,
Biting,
Smashing head first into the wall
and
Sneaking out the front door and closing it behind him...
All brought to us by our sweet baby Owen!