Photo of the Day

Today is the first day of school for many teachers and kiddos out there.  They are putting away school supplies, learning the rules, reading some back to school books and meeting and learning about the friends they will spend the next 9 months with.  I am not at school today enjoying all those firsts of the new school year.  I have been on the farm all day, thinking about those teachers and kiddos and missing the first day of school just the teensiest bit.  I feel blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with our little guy that is due to arrive in a little less than 12 weeks, but today I am a little sad that I don't get those 1st grade hugs.  Here is a picture of me sporting my old Franklin t-shirt, which is where I used to teach.

Life on the trail: from the mouths of babes

"Sessa, I like this place better than your other place in Ooomaha."  (I am Sessa.)  Oh yea, why is that, Landon?  "Well, it only takes us 5 minutes to get to the Quarry.  That's wayy shorter than last year.  Plus, we can swim in the hot tub when we get back."  Really, well, I'm glad you like it.
I think it's safe to say that the kiddos like the farm.  They came for their annual summer vacation last week and they got to experience Life on the Trail for almost 3 days.  We spent most of our time swimming at the Quarry, 'swimming' in the hot tub, and exploring the farm with Abel.  The kids didn't have any screen time (i.e. t.v., computer, video games, etc.) during their little vacation and although it was hard at times, they were quite proud of their accomplishment and we were, too.
These three little munchkins made me smile and laugh countless times and reminded me of what we have to look forward to on a daily basis with Baby Forristall making his arrival in about 12 weeks.  Some of my favorite quotes from the kiddos:
"I've got my eyes on you." -Xavier as he is pointing two fingers from his eyes to Kevin
"Sessa, I want Mitt Romney to be our President." -Landon saying this randomly while eating pancake people on Saturday morning.
"Here is a penny for your baby." -Xavier giving me a penny to put in Baby Forristall's piggy bank as soon as they got to the farm.  (Seriously, how sweet!)
"Is your baby sleeping?" -This was asked constantly by Mae, Xavier, and Landon because if he wasn't asleep that meant they got to feel him kick.
"Sessa, I'm starrrvving.  This book is making me hungry." -After reading Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Landon and Xavier insisted they needed to eat even though we just had dinner and ice cream.
"Ewww...that's sick." -Xavier said this as he came into the living room and Kevin was touching my belly and giving me a kiss.  "No it's not, it's romantic." -Landon coming in behind him with a big smile on his face.
"Sessa, you make the best eggs and bacon ever." -This is probably my favorite because Kevin is the 'egg maker' in our house and he is pretty darn good at it.  Landon, Mae, and Xavier made my day by declaring that I make the best eggs.  Also, the bacon was microwavable...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from their vacation:

landon, mae, and xavier making a fort in the basement

landon

how sweet are they?!

mae

xavier and landon having cousin talk

the three munchkins

Photo of the Day

This week we have our niece and nephews for a few days and I wanted to share a pic that I took tonight.  We are trying to see if it can be a t.v. free vacation.  So far we have logged 0 hours of cartoons; we'll see how tomorrow goes.  Our entertainment tonight after quarry swimming and hot tubbing was...you guessed it, picking weeds.  They were actually loving it (for the first half hour) and it was quite funny to watch them use their little muscles to get those BIG weeds.  Their efforts are seen below.

Raspberry Lemon Cake

Kevin saw this recipe in a Sunset magazine and insisted I try it.  Kevin isn't really a 'dessert eater', so when he wanted me to make a cake, I jumped at the chance.  Usually me making a dessert results in me eating ALL the dessert.  Not in this case, thank goodness.  I think Baby Boy Forristall would have had a sugar overload.  I split the recipe into two pans, so Kevin was able to share it with some co-workers.  The recipe is below:

Raspberry Lemon Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup lemon curd (can be found by the jams and jellies)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
18 oz. raspberries (gently rinse right before starting this recipe)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan.  (I used a 5x9 inch loaf pan and a 8x8 inch cake pan.)  Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs, salt, vanilla, yogurt, milk, and lemon curd until blended.

Add in flour, baking soda, and baking powder to mixture and beat until smooth.  
Pour half the batter in the greased pan.  Place raspberries randomly on batter.  Gently pour the rest of the batter on top.  Scatter the remaining raspberries on top of the batter.

Bake about 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for an hour and then dust with powdered sugar.  

This cake was so moist and tasty...and easy.  I love easy.  I will definitely be making it again!  Enjoy!

Doing nothing

Kevin and I just returned home from an amazing week of doing nothing.  We spent a week in Cozumel, Mexico trying to perfect the art of doing nothing, well as close to doing nothing as we possibly could.  Kevin's family accompanied us for the first four days of the vacation.  They were a little more ambitious than us and went scuba diving almost everyday and saw some beautiful fish and coral.  Kevin and I aren't certified, so we stuck to the beach and a little snorkeling here and there.

This trip was our second time to Cozumel and instead of staying at a resort, we opted for Hippie Bob's condo, which Hillary brilliantly found.  It fit our needs perfectly; we especially loved the view from our balcony and the beach.  

Our typical day looked something like this: Whenever we woke up (not ever before 7) we would crawl out of bed and eat breakfast while gazing at the ocean.  After being sufficiently gazed out, we would spray on some sunscreen, put on our suits, and head down to the pool or beach to gaze some more, this time on the ground level.  We read and lounged in the pool most of the day under the shade of a palm tree or umbrella and some days we would head out for a snorkeling adventure.  

My favorite snorkeling adventure was swimming right up to two dolphins that were in a park next door to our condo.  They were breathtaking and so...huge.  There were also some pretty large fish around the dolphins and Kevin had to coax me into swimming closer to get a better look.  After being exhausted from doing nothing all day, we would head up to the condo to lay on the hammock to gaze, read, or nap.  This was, without a doubt, my favorite part of the day.  I loved the hammock.  I want a hammock.  Everyone should have a hammock.  They are perfect for doing nothing.  

Moving on...When the sun would start to set, we would peel ourselves out of the hammock and get ready for dinner.

We were able to get our fill of seafood and Mexican dishes and enjoyed some pretty tasty meals.

When Kevin's family was there, we would end the night with cards, drinks (for the others) and VH1 classic.  

We thoroughly enjoyed doing nothing on our vacation, but it feels so good to be back and to be productive again.  It was exactly what we needed before our life gets a little more exciting and a little more hectic with our family of two turning into a family of three in just a few short months.

Nursery: Part 2

The crib is assembled, the changing table is up, and there are clothes in the closet...our nursery is almost ready for Baby Boy Forristall!  We decided to keep everything neutral, as we will want to use it again for another baby in either 2 years or 10, depending on how life with our first little guy goes.  We don't really have a 'theme' because, well, I'm just not a 'theme' person.  We are using blues and greens and putting up items we love.  Along with the DIY projects, we also hung a map and a Star Wars quote.  Both were Kevin's ideas and I have to say I really love one of them and the other, well, I don't love it as much, but I am living with it because I really love Kevin.  Kevin's idea to hang a map I LOVE.  We hung it without glass and are planning on putting push pins up on the places that Baby Boy Forristall visits.  For awhile, push pins will only adorn Ottumwa and Macedonia (which isn't on the map) and possibly some other Iowa stops, but as he grows so will the amount of push pins.
The other Kevin idea is a Star Wars' quote, something about a Jedi.  This item is partly my fault because I showed it to Kevin on Etsy as a (haha) joke.  I guess I should feel lucky we're having a boy, because Kevin wanted to hang it without taking gender into consideration.  Kevin loved Star Wars as a kid and I think he wants to relive some of those childhood memories with his son, starting with this quote on the wall.  Although I may not have picked it for the nursery, it makes Kevin happy and that's pretty worth it.
We still have some things to do including curtains and finding a little side table to put beside the chair, along with organizing day to day baby items.  We have a few months yet and I'm sure it will all get done as November nears.  The excitement is building and as I am definitely enjoying being pregnant and feeling our little guy move all the time, I am surely ready to meet him, hold him, and give him lots of hugs and kisses.

And they scream.....

I adore Rascal Flatts.  In college, Rascal was what my friends and I listened to all. the. time.  They adore them, too.  We all adore them so much, in college, we 'camped out all night on the sidewalk just to get tickets'...TWICE.  Once, it was in a storm: a big, scary, windy, rainy storm.   

Now that we're grown ups and do mind sleeping on pavement, we acquired tickets the responsible way, ordering them through Ticketmaster.  I know, definitely not as much fun, but definitely not as crazy as your blankets and coolers flying away in a storm...

The concert was this past week and some of my college girlfriends made the trip to the Trail to go see them perform for the ? time.  We had an incredible time together.  There is never a dull moment with this group and I think I laughed three-fourths of the time.  It was also Baby Boy Forristall's first concert, which Betsy pointed out, and we all thought that was fitting.  He seemed to enjoy the show; he was moving around like crazy during the entire thing.  I think he was dancing and singing (every single word) with the rest of us.  We definitely missed some of our friends that have gone with us in the past, but we thought of them and sang/screamed extra, extra loud for them.  Next year ladies?

bi, paula, br, me, kayla