this is not another lemon orchard shoot

 this is a grapefruit orchard shoot.

  

have you ever wondered what a kathryn-brown-sam-robinson-baby would look like?  well i have.  i have wondered since high school (thats almost 10 years of wondering).  luckily these high school sweethearts got married and well, now i know.  oh and she is ridiculously adorable!  she is a smiley baby full of personality who has even nailed down the cookie monster growl.

these two guys moved to tempe for the summer so i have the privilege to spend time with my old friends. yay!  their little one is turning one this month so that called for some pictures.

baby ivy lu

 

a farewell

We live in a bike den of thieves.  Matt's bike was stolen and now I have to keep mine up on the third floor if I want to keep mine too.  His was one of many bikes stolen here.  

We will miss you old bike.  You were the best bike $10 could buy.  Hope your new owner believes in karma.  

Trader Joes Tuesday

 This can will make you the best oatmeal you'll ever taste.  My next experiment will be to substitute this stuff in to make some coconut chai tea.  mmmm i can already taste the results

is it normal to feel so safe in the city?

Lincoln Park in Chicago is the place. I had the opportunity to spend the week here with my nephews Andrew and Matt while my sister escaped to Spain for a bit.  I think i have found THE city of all cities.  one that i thought never existed.   

imagine a place where everything's in walking distance.  a place where you feel 100% SAFE walking through busy streets.  a place that has friendly, well groomed people.  a place that has parks full of children at all hours.  a place that has charm and homes that are all well kept.  imagine all of this IN the city.  i fell in love with this little slice of city heaven.

the boys gave me a tour of the neighborhood, we ate some hot dogs and pizza, played at the parks, made some movies, watched some movies, etc etc.  i cant wait to go back!

 these guys.  they crack me up

 interior brick walls?!  love.

 Metropolis

The neighborhood

 My dream house

 Oz Park

 These guys are famous!

Matt's soccer game.  I enjoyed the view.  Plus Lake Michigan was right behind us..perty cool!

 To top off the trip, I discovered this Urban Outfitters Surplus AKA OUTLET store which contained clothes all under $30.  Believe it.

Thank you April for letting me come!  Hopefully I will SEE you next time!

apartment hunters

This is what our kitchen table has looked like the past week looking for a new place to live.  It makes me a little sick to my stomach just thinking about it.  It was harder than I thought.  But we pinned a place down that'll put us a little closer to Phoenix that'll give us more room AND more windows than our current apartment.  Just about a month left here in this cave tower we call home

Hello Idaho

We were here a couple of weeks ago for Matt's brother Brent's wedding in Rexburg.  As always we had a great time with the family.  The wedding was perfect.  A little snow in the morning but clear skies by noon.  We ran around all day getting things ready and were even able to spend time with my brother Brett and his wife Ciara who came into town to take wedding pictures.  That was fun.  I forgot my camera half the trip (including the wedding), so here are some of our happenings after all the exciting stuff.

We attempted to drive up to Mesa Falls with Matt's Dad but hit snow covered roads every route we took.  That didn't stop Papa Cline though.  He drove over those snow covered roads like it was nothing.  I was a little relieved when we finally got stuck and had to turn around, though it was an adventure with just the drive itself. 

Papa Cline in mid sentence

 The Tetons

 Matt's niece with the BIGGEST potato I have ever laid eyes on!

 Little Marja

The fam minus one more little girl who wasnt around when we were there.  This is Matt's oldest brother.  They have so many horses!

 The girls!  Matt's sister Lisa and Mama.  They are a hoot

 Its always a good time with the Couch girls (and matt).  I can't tell you how much fun we had with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma!  This by far was a quiet night here.  Wedding night we were up til about 1 A.M. partying still.  Well as for Matt and I, we fell asleep before everyone else. 

Trader Joes Tuesday

they taste like falafels! mmmm.. and they're really good with hummus