Her is my friend

These are my girls.  A lot of people think I'm crazy for having my children so close, but this is why.  They are best friends and they enjoy each other every day.  And I enjoy them!  They are so fun to watch or listen to.  The other day we were driving down the road and Aubrie's really into me telling her about how she was once a baby in mommy's belly and then how Emilie was a baby, and now mommy has a new baby and we have to wait to see if it is a boy or a girl!  Then Aubrie said, "I like my baby sister.  Her is my friend." 

Now, about people thinking I'm crazy for having them close.  Who cares!  Don't tell me about how you feel.  Can I go back and change it?  Nooo.  I'm all in and I love it. A young hostess a couple of weeks ago saw Aubrie and I walk in and she said, "Wow!  You're going to have another one!?"  I said, "Yep!"  Then Adam walked in with Emilie and she said, "OH MY GOD!  You have another one???!!!!"  (Really loudly) 

What do you say to these people?  One day it will be her turn.  She'll be the flustered mom whose kid is not cooperating in public and some random stranger will come up to her and give her unwanted comments or advice on how she can do different.  Hahaha.  I think that might be the hardest part about becoming a new mom.  It was looks and comments from strangers.  But don't worry new moms.  You learn how to roll those comments off your shoulder and smile at the glares. 

We had a wonderful weekend.  We got to celebrate Reese's birthday at the zoo (even though the weather was not cooperating) and we got to go on a date last night while Adam's sister, Amanda, watched the girls.  Today Adam worked really hard around the house.  He mopped the floors for me because it is really hard on my back.  He also mowed the lawn.  As a reward, I made a bland chicken and noodle casserole for him.  hahaha.  He and Aubrie are game for a chicken and noodle casserole.  Aubrie especially loves her Grandma's casserole (which I enjoy as well, especially when I've been sick!).  Emilie and I like a little spice.  We tried a new recipe, but it didn't do it for us.  But Adam and Aubrie liked it, so they get to enjoy it for leftovers.  :) 

I also gave him a haircut.  He hates going to go get his haircut.  He doesn't like a stranger that close to his personal space.  So ever since he found out that I used to cut my cow's hair when I showed cattle (and after a little convincing that he was no different than a hot blooded brangus), I gave him his first haircut in June of 2009, right after we got married.  He remembers we used a wedding gift card to go buy the clippers.  I enjoy cutting his hair and I also enjoy that it saves us about 13 bucks a cut!  I also like to mess with him.  He likes to sit in front of the mirror and watch what I do.  So I'll all the sudden make "big eyes" when I'm working on the back of his head or behind his ears to make him think I made a mistake.  It works every time.  :)

I mentioned this recipe the other day.  I found it on Pinterest.  Since shrimp was on sale, I went ahead and made cilantro lime shrimp even though I made cilantro lime chicken a couple nights ago.  It turned out great and I hope you give it a try.  I paired it with a good ol fashioned tostada.  A tostada is a hard (fried) corn shell with refried beans on top and taco toppings.  I also made some guacamole to go on the side or on top.  It made a wonderful meal!

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

from www.skinnytaste.com

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 lb shrimp, shelled and deviened
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper 

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, when hot add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. Remove from heat. Squeeze lime all over shrimp and toss with cilantro. Serve hot.  Enjoy!

I hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend!  Love to all! Pin It Now!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

I guess I've been in a cilantro lime kind of mood lately.  Tonight we had cilantro lime shrimp with tostadas (which I'll share later) and a couple nights ago we had cilantro lime chicken.  It's my favorite way to BBQ chicken.  Although, the Huhnkes always grill BBQ chicken when we are at the lake and it is pretty good as well.  I just love cooking on the grill.  It makes a mess outside and then I get to hang out outside and watch the girls play while everything cooks. For Adam's birthday, he wanted a garden and apple trees.  While his parents were here, they helped us work in the yard and spruce it up for spring/summer.   

 Our front yard has a lot of bushes and it looks like I have gerbera daisies that are perennials??  I don't know.  Either that, or our winter wasn't harsh enough to kill them and they came back.  It also looks like I have hostas coming up in the lower right of the corner.  The large purple flower is dianthis and it is pretty fragrant. 

Our backyard beds are starting to look good.  Everything is coming up nicely.

Here are the raised garden beds that Adam and his dad built.  Aren't they great?  We planted lots of peppers, sweet and hot, zucchini, corn, cilantro, basil, romaine, tomatoes, and corn of course. 

Cilantro Lime Chicken for Grill

from my mom

mash 1 Tbsp of chopped garlic with
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp of grated lime (about 2 limes)

You'll need 24 pieces of chicken and 24 sprigs of cilantro leaves.  Take a pinch of your mashed garlic and lime and spread it under the skin of the chicken.  Then stick 1 cilantro leaf under the skin and set aside.  After you have done each piece, you'll need to make the sauce/marinade.

3/4 cup melted margarine
6 Tbsp olive oil
6 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Brush the chicken with sauce and place on grill.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Keep brushing the chicken with sauce as you grill.  Enjoy!

****You also might see in the picture above some jalapeno poppers.  I LOVE jalapeno poppers and I probably ate all but 2.  All you do is cut them in half, take out the seeds, spread some cream cheese in the middle, wrap it with half a piece of bacon, and stick it with a toothpick.  Throw those babies on the grill until the bacon is fried.  SO DELICIOUS!!

We enjoyed sweet potato fries with our chicken.  I think they are good if you chop the potatoes yourself and then I pour some coconut oil on them before baking.  They taste SO good with the coconut oil. (Candice Burtner taught me that)

The yard crew with one of our new apple trees.  I can't wait to take their picture with this tree as both the girls and tree get bigger. 

We had a lot of fights over the rake.  We need another mini rake to prevent someone from getting a black eye.

This picture is a blur, but she was busy moving dirt from the apple trees to another corner in the yard.  My daughters really like dirt. 

We had a wonderful Sunday at church today.  I played in the bell choir and the girls wore their Easter dresses since we weren't here for Easter.  They are so fun to dress up.  It looked like their dad fluffed them extra poofy.  :)  I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday as well.  Oh!  We also had a special treat on Saturday!  We got to meet Miss Anna-Sophia (Andrew and Ashleigh's daughter).  She was just precious and acted like a sweet angel.  I enjoyed holding her and look forward to watching her grow up.  :)  I better get going, we just baked some chocolate chip cookies (for the Sundstroms) and I now have to go beat Adam at a game of Canasta. 

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Home Again

We made it back to Nashville safely.  I wish I could say sanely, but traveling with two little ones (and being pregnant) is not comfortable.  Our returning trip was much easier, though.  We had to stop in Houston this time and had to get off the plane.  So we had lunch, let the girls run CRAZY and then got on our last flight.  Neither one would settle for a nap.  On our final descent, Emilie finally rested her head on my chest and passed out.  She only got to sleep for about ten minutes while we taxied, but it seemed to be enough.  When she woke up, she started to clap and said, "Yay!  I did it!"  I thought, "me too!"

Luckily we had great flight crews who were patient and sweet.  We also had friendly passengers that didn't seem to mind our kids.  Aubrie could be occupied with Dora on the IPhone but Emilie just had to be moving around, doing something.  Mostly doing the Mexican Hat Dance on my belly.  At one point she grabbed my shirt to pull herself up and my whole right side was exposed.  Luckily, I was sitting by the window and nobody saw it.  It wasn't one of my best moments.  Like I said, traveling with two little ones is tough.

Overall, we were so happy to be in Texas to visit family.  I enjoyed spending time with everyone and the visit was just right.  Here are a few pictures to share.

Aubrie, Lindsey, and Emilie all helping Poppy feed the horses.  I cannot get enough pictures of the cousins together.  They were so much fun to watch.  If Aubrie was slacking at a meal, we would just tell her she better hurry so she can go help feed Duke and she would finish eating.

The girls hanging out in the trailer, waiting for their turn to ride the horses.



Gram and Robbie.



Dad had two arena events for us (except me).  One was barrel racing, but you could not go faster than a trot.  Dillon won that event.  The second was ribbon roping.  You had to go untie a ribbon off of Pedro (the donkey) and run back to the starting line.  Mom and dad were the winners of that event. 

Last we had a foot race for the younger kids.  One would ask, "Kellie?  Is your mom really taking off in a full sprint and going to beat all her grandchildren instead of letting them win?"  The answer is yes.  She smoked them and didn't seem to care.  :)

Here are all the cousins.  The older boys, Dillon (left) and Dalton (right), were so good about playing with the girls.  They were so patient and sweet.

There was a lot of love being passed around.

LOTS of love.  :)

Here are the girls on Easter morning.  They were ready to hunt eggs!

Here is the family.  We have Gigi in the front row with the girls.  Robbie and Kasey in the back left.  Dad and mom in the center.  Troy, Tammy, Dillon, and Dalton in the center.  And me and the big guy on the right.

Cousins. Aubrie wouldn't smile. 

Here are my two handsome brothers.

On our last night, some huge Thunder heads rolled in and I loved watching them come in and the smell of rain.  I miss the mountains and the sunsets.  And after being here, I miss being able to watch a storm coming towards you.  :)  But it is good to be back in Nashville.  We came back to green grass, leafy trees, beautiful flowers, a spoiled dog, and some great friends.

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Happy 30th Adam!!

Today my dear husband turns 30!  It doesn't seem to bother him any because I'm 8 months older and he finds great joy in that.  We've celebrated his birthday in Nashville with his parents.  They were in town for their spring break.  His mom made his favorite cake and for his present he wanted a garden (two raised beds) and two apple trees.  I haven't gotten around to taking any pictures, but I intend to when we get back to Nashville and I will share it with you.  

Now we are in Texas visiting my parents.  Before children, we rotated Christmas and Thanksgiving with our parents.  Now that we have children it's too difficult to spend that much money on tickets and travel back to back, so now we rotate Thanksgiving and Easter.  This is our first Easter at the Walker house since we have been married.  My brothers are on their way here right now and I can't wait to see them, their sweet wives, and my niece and nephews.  Also, my Grandma (Gigi) came for this get together, so I'm in heaven!

Our flight here went smoothly.  We were on the plane for 4.5 hours.  We had to make one stop in San Antonio and Aubrie got mad when we didn't get off the plane.  Emilie started getting fussy as we got closer because it was her nap time.  Adam was fussy as well because his meal times were off and he had only slept 5 hours the night before because he was up late doing work and got up early to do work and meet deadlines.  He slept for 10 hours his first night here.  I'm glad he's getting his rest and I hope he's enjoyed all the birthday festivities.  We had his favorite food, Chimichangas and guacamole, for dinner last night.  He also had an apple pie for his birthday cake.  Then we had a pinata for him and it was the girls' first time seeing a pinata being hit. 

Apple pie birthday cake.  Adam blew out one candle and let the girls blow out the rest.

My brother Troy and his wife Tammy gave the girls Christmas presents and they've been here at the house since Christmas so they opened them yesterday.  They got baby dolls and it has been a HUGE hit!  Emilie's is baby Betty and Aubrie's is Alice.

Here is Aubrie riding Duke.



Gigi and Emilie are riding Duke and Poppy and Aubrie are riding Slick.



Adam and his pinata.  Dad had a blast pulling the pinata out of the way for the big guy.

Emilie fussed the entire time we did the pinata.  She didn't care and wanted to be doing something else and I had to hold her the whole time.  But as soon as she saw candy come spilling out, she yelled "CANDY!" and jumped out of my arms to go get some. 

Poppy got the grandkids a red wagon and they were pretty excited to see it.  It gets rode in a lot.  Even the dog, Lady, jumps in.  In the background is mom's truck when she was a teenager.  It's name is Greener.  It's a 1958 Chevrolet.  One time dad asked me to move it from the house down to the barn.  I asked Adam to ride with me and he said he'd rather walk.  So I started it up and the brakes stopped working.  I wasn't going fast at the time, so I just opened the door, and yelled out to my dad, "The brakes aren't working!!"  He just yelled, "Well, hold on Sis!"  So I shut the door right when it started heading down a short hill and was picking up speed.  I was headed for the barn, a gate, and a fence with no seat belt.  So I gripped the wheel and hit the gate which snapped open and then I was in the pasture headed down a bigger hill but luckily, if you head downhill, you've got to go back up!  So as soon as it was time to go back up, I cranked the wheel and turned it as I headed up and luckily that slowed us down and stopped us.  I don't think I've EVER seen Adam's eyes that big! 

Watching the horses eat their grain.

Aubrie feeding Alice a bottle.  She's a good little mama.

Tickling Poppy.

Coloring Easter eggs using Aunt Jackie's cups.  Aunt Jackie made these cups for mom and dad when they got married. 

Of course, we've had french toast.  And of course, Aubrie has to help stir.

Emilie carrying the grain out to the horses.  Look at the skinned up knees.

Aubrie handing the grain to Poppy, but not without tasting some first.  :)

I hope everyone else is enjoying their Easter.  I hope I get around to posting more, but if not, when I get back to Nashville, I'll catch you up!  Love to all!

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