you will love me for this

This is one of my favorite meals ever. It's supposed to taste like Applebee's oriental chicken salad. We eat it at least twice a month, especially in the summer time when I will not turn on my oven.

Oriental Chicken Salad

Dressing:
3 Tbsp honey
1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar
¼ cup mayo
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Whisk together. Pour over:

Your favorite lettuce/spinach
mandarin oranges
sliced almonds
chow mien noodles or crushed ramen
chicken

 You can basically use any chicken but here is the best/easiest way I've found to do it. This method has taken me years to perfect. You will thank me.

Get this in the frozen section. It's not the cheapest but it takes two minutes to cook and you don't have to turn your oven on or dirty dishes. Worth it in my book. It's also probably not the healthiest chicken out there.. but we're putting it on salad right?! We actually usually get the fry's brand, they are both good.

Okay so microwave it for two minutes or so until it's just heated through. Here is the magic trick... wait for it... then put it in the toaster! It's gets the chicken crispy and delicious without the hassle of the oven. Use a skewer or something other than a fork to get it out I've learned.

Chop it up and put it on your delicious/easy/healthy/fast meal!

together again

The girls were back together again for one day when Beth came down from Hawaii for three days. 

So naturally we started early in the day. One AM to be exact, when we picked her up from the airport and  went out for breakfast at dennys. The next day we ate "breakfast" at costa vida, target, a quart of turtle custard with extra fudge, and caught up and played with Rhone on Hills couch. 

Good times. Now we just have to wait until Hawaii gives us Beth back for two weeks in December.

Vancy pants

 I am an auntie again! To this little precious, Vance Dieter. I love hospital visits. Hopefully this little dude will help cure my baby hungriness until I can finish school and it's our turn.

 Brenly Bell was the cutest big sister. She kept reaching her arms out to him whenever someone but her was holding him. Then when it was her turn she would just point at his face and say "oh!". Jessica seemed so happy even though she was in surgery just two hours prior. What a trooper.

 

This is us with two kids. Presh.

i.love.the.cabin!

We had a grand weekend hanging out in this...

 Flagstaff is beautiful in July. 70 degree and sunny in the morning time, and it always rains in the afternoon.

We did a lot of worm hunting. 

 

  The girls love worms like Lincoln loves Michael. He's not even sleeping here, just cuddling. If you know Lincoln then you know how rare his snuggles are.

Looking at the horses

 Sister Livy and her new bff

 Brother Clark

 This is a picture Rhett drew of the haboob and a ball that's flying at his head. 

 They love their uncle Michael 

 Me: Smile guys, smile! Rhett that's not a smile, smile for the camera!

Mike and Rhett:

 Matchy hats. 

 Me and Grandma Jean Crying because we must leave the cabin. We have this exact same picture when I was 12. 

 

Napoleon, it's pretty cool I guess...

Sunday

I love going to church with this dude and teaching nursery together. We have fun. 

reads

I have been reading these...

They are all so good! Years ago a read Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow and I really enjoyed them, but I  had no idea that they were a whole series.  Mike figured it out and read all of them and really loved them, so I took the plunge and started reading them again. 

Guys, Ender's Game is so freaking cool. I've read it twice and each time throughout the whole thing I think to myself, "this book is so cool". Then at the end I think, "this book is so freaking cool".

I highly recommend them. All three of the later ones are so different than the first one and not quite as exciting in my opinion but still really good. 

There is another series that is about one of the characters and goes off in a sort of different direction. Ender's Shadow is basically the same story as Ender's Game but from someone else's point of view. Sounds like it could be lame to read the same story again even though you already know the ending but it is actually awesome.

I'm only on the second one in this series but I'm loving it already. If you're looking for some reads, I recommend these. Let me know what you think if you do! 

cousin party

Last night me, Ben and Rachel threw a little cousin party for Rhett, Stella, Roxy, Lincoln, and Brenly. We went swimming, then watched the end of Monsters inc., then ate mac and cheese, then made funfetti cookies, then turned off all the lights and turned on Pandora Justin Bieber radio and had a dance party. It was good times. In case you haven't figured it out, I love being an auntie.