Too Cute

Ummmmm She looks yummy
oh my gosh they are so dang cute together!
Proof that even the impossible can happen! it took quite a few shots but we were able to get all the Mills grandkids in together, good lookin group of kids, i think!

White Bean Salad

YUUUUMMM ok so this is pretty much what I want to eat all day every day right now! It is healthy and so dang good and not to hard to make. I'm not a huge bean salad person but I really like this, even John loves it.

3 cans white beans drained (not white kidney beans, small white beans)
1 cucumber finely chopped

1 c. red onion finely diced

1 can whole kernel corn drained

2 c. grape tomatoes quartered

1 c. cilantro leaves lightly chopped

Dressing

2 cloves garlic minced

1/3 - 1/2 c. olive oil

1/2-3/4 c. rice vinegar (unseasoned or seasoned, your call)

1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp black pepper

Salt to taste ( start with at least 1 1/2 tsp and add to taste)

Mix dressing and everything together, Chill and Serve, ENJOY

Mark and Chelsea

katee and joshua

So You Think You Can Dance?

Ummmm no, but I wish I could!!! ahhhhh i LOVE this show. I put on two of my favorites this season, hopefully they will keep working. Last time I put some on Fox made you tube take them off, copy write stuff. These are my two favorite couples this season. This show makes me happy! haha but really I LOVE Wednesdays and Thursdays because of it :)

OK so they keep taking them off you tube but I'll keep trying! the couples are Katee and Joshua, and Mark and Chelsea! Sorry if the video's say no longer available

Payten's new Bike

We got Payten a new bike today. (ok well used but new to her, i'm waaaay to )
cheap to buy and brand new bike she'll be out of in a year) Anyway, she was having a blast until i made her let me take her picture. She then biked up a little steep part, turned the wheel too much, leaned into the turn instead of the other way to balance and ate it.....lets just say the bike is no longer her friend for the day! I got on and rode it which she thought was entertaining but she wasn't about to hop back on yet! haha

Acorns

We hiked West wood Hills the other day with Tristan and Teagan. We had a lot of fun, we were up there almost 3 hours but we made it to the top and everything, I was shocked Payten did the whole thing by herself, i couldn't believe she went that far. Half the time was spent chasing lizards and collecting nuts off the ground. The boys were having fun chasing the lizards and Payten couldn't collect enough of these acorns, or whatever they are. She kept bringing me arm fulls. She was so excited, whenever I'd use a more forceful tone her little arms would move 100 miles a minute to pick up as many as she could really quick then run to me and say she had some more to put in her hat. we'd walk maybe 2 more feet, I'd look to my side to see that Payten wasn't there. I look back and she's hunched down picking up as many as she can, as fast as she can, AGAIN. This process repeated 50 times ( and truly i don't think that's an exaggeration!) haha but it was pretty cute. The funny thing is I was telling Kelly and she said that she used to love to do the same thing. just collect acorns :) no wonder she loves her aunt Kelly so much, kindred spirits

Lion King!

So Payten tells everyone we're going to the lion king or the jungle. If she ever tells you this it can be translated as Discovery Kingdom. The last two years we have gotten season passes from the 6 flags near us. we go all the time and she has a blast. She is still free so it's only one season pass we have to buy and John gets to come on days that we get free tickets. Once we have to start paying for all the kids? I might be to cheap to fork out the dough. ....and now i'm rambling, back to story. So last night was a free night so we took our FHE to the Park. We got to take our picture with Sir Topham Hatt....who in Paytens eyes is SO COOL! she couldn't stop staring at him long enough for a family picture... yeah and if you look close I wasn't thinking about that other daughter of mine either HAHA the one face planted right into Sir Topham Hatt's chest. But in all fairness I was working on a balancing act with the two of them.

Pretty much the whole time this is what payten was doing. RUNNING and smiling like the gitty little girl she is.

BEFORE:

AFTER:
I guess there is a little bit of me in her after all. everyone knows I'm a thrill ride junkie :)But not to much of me in her, everyone knows as well that she's about 98% John...that being said, there was not a happy face after her first Roller Coaster.

I think she was a little freaked out by the walrus's as well! but they were So cool they were making the funniest sounds, but i understand why it might be intimidating
HAPPY FACE! you can't go wrong with some balls and air guns that shoot the balls! :) Payten could have played in here all day!

What have I created?

I think I've created a little high maintenance girl. She ALWAYS has to have her polish on and reminds me every ten minutes to fix it if it's chipped at all. I put flowers on mine last time and now she also makes sure she gets her flowers as well. I think the Girl in her is starting to show

My little Artist

So Patyen always loves crafts, whether it's sock puppets, drawing, play dough, etc. Well her new found love is water color :) it will entertain her for hours. she gets all excited about how it looks when she mixes the colors. She's VERY focused and intense about it, and knows how much water to add and she just kind of talks out loud to herself, "OK I need more water," "OK this color and that color," etc. Pretty cute

Here are just a couple random pictures of the girls for the non local family. WE MISS YOU! :)

Tonight we were at the end of the bedtime routine of singing in bed, she looks at me and goes "your the best, mom" i cracked up the way she said it was like she knew exactly what to say to get me to stay longer. she chuckled and said "your great, your GORGEOUS!" she really emphasizes the gorgeous. haha she's learned that that one gets her lots of laughs. what a crack up.

And the winner is...

This one is for my MOM!

So my Mom, Sister and I would play this cheerios game, we'd be laughing the whole time for hours and It will always be a fond memory of mine. So of course it's a tradition that i felt strongly needed to be past down! Well it is one of Payten's favorite things to do now.

If you have no idea what we're doing....and I'm guessing you probably don't since I'm thinking not to many people are as weird as my Mom and I. You each have a pile of cheerios and using your tongue only you lick them up as quick as possible. first one done wins! :) I realize Payten is smaller so my pile starts out about 4 times bigger then hers, however she's getting pretty good! It's also a healthy snack right? Anyways I just thought I'd put this one on for my Mom and awesome Memories :)

Just a little bird watching!

Riley's Loving her fingers lately, they are taking the place of the passi a bit, which is so nice! However she comes up with some funny positions.

She has learned to roll to her stomach as well. For a day or two she would get to her stomach and get so mad because she was stuck. She's able to make it back and forth now. AND today was the first day she laughed, i mean really laughed, like we had a whole laugh session! so fun.

GO MONARCHS

So I know all the Mills were there but for everyone else, we all got to go to a Monarchs game (if your like me and had no idea who they are before this point, they are a WMBA team) We had so much fun, the kids all had a blast as well.


THE CANDY STASH!
(i guess i should say PAYTEN'S candy stash)

More Spagetti, I say!

More spaghetti, I say! Her favorite book and food!


Miss adult here thinks that the "child safe" caps don't apply for her!!!

Ummm side of drool please?
Now doesn't she just make your heart melt :) ahhh

Cherubs Graduation

Ok, I know it's been a while since I posted anything, I was spending all my computer time trying to figure out how to make my own awesome page on photoshop. Without the help of Becky and being able to call her every two seconds it wouldn't have happened, so THANKS for letting me bug you Becky!!! And now I'm totally stoked for being able to do digital scrapbooking for some projects.

Here are some pictures of Cherubs Graduation (Cherubs is a little singing and dancing group, the kids love it). We are out for the summer and the graduation was for the kids leaving and going into preschool next year. Payten had a blast, except the part about going up on the stage for a song...you can see she's not too thrilled. However, it was so fun and the dads and families all got to go and watch.

Miss Mischief

So since my daughter has fallen asleep which is rare, and i can't yell at her i will vent on my blog. I took pictures but it's hard to tell since dirt is dirt. I took the girls to the farmers market today to get some herbs, rosemary, basil, cilantro, chives, the ones i use a bit. so we get home and spend about a 1/2 hour planting them and watering them and cleaning up all the dirt. well i get on the computer for MAYBE 5 minutes, come out to the living room, she's passed out and the pot is surrounded by dirt and every plant has been pulled out! i swear she'd been waiting all afternoon for the second i was away to grab everyone and rip out the entire plant!!! AHHH she's lucky she's asleep :)

the bomb of all bombs

Ok so i realize a picture is probably more then most wanted to see however if felt quite strongly that a picture could do this amazing event better justice then i could explain! haha i was SOOO grateful that John was home for this one because it was a two man deal to get her out of the outfit, obviously she was coated head to toe by the time the shirt got off (requiring a LONG bath) but i thought this might make every parent laugh because i know you all know what it's like.

Also another funny event, we learned Payten doesn't like corn. Being the drama queen she truly is, i made her take one bite of corn before getting any bread, she did and instantly put her hands to her mouth. She was shaking her head and dry heaving as her eyes started to water. I rolled my eyes and figured if she's willing to put that much into the performance to prove she didn't like it then i wouldn't force any more on her. (i have to admit i do remember doing the exact same thing EVERY time i was "forced" to try corn) haha i guess if her looks aren't mine then there's a little something of me in her!

Payten's new crush

So I was telling Payten how we get to go to PB&J's tomorrow with Grandma and the Kapele boys, she was, of course, SOOO excited however she was VERY sad that Eric wasn't going to be there. I thought it was cute so I asked you really like Eric don't you? and she said (with a pout on her face) "yes, but he's not my age" I laughed and thought maybe I heard wrong so I asked what she said again , she said "i wish he were my age! " HAHA watch out Juli, Payten's got a crush haha

Proud to be Passi Free!

Ok well Not Riley, she's just cute and i assume she'll be using one for a while. However Payten is going on a week now with no pacifier and i couldn't be more excited. I must admit i always worry about the big things and how hard they will be (passi, big bed, potty training, airplanes, etc) however when the time comes she tends to be a rock star about the whole thing. I'm so excited that will save us like $20 a month! ok maybe an exaggeration but it is ridiculous how much $ is spent on those things, and the stress in the moment that you cant find any. We will probably find 100 of them when we move. wouldn't that be funny to sell a "lot" of them on eBay haha ok now I'm intrigued and wonder if people really do that, i guess that would be gross though, ok and now I'm just thinking by way of blog and you are all bored to death. that being said have an awesome afternoon! :)

Come back to us Papa!

We miss you Papa! Payten talks about you a lot...every time we go to Target she remembers her Shopping spree with papa (in true girl nature)