Zucchini Gone Wild : /

Some of Dustin's clients always bless us with some zucchini in the summer time! However, they recently went on a 9 day vacation and came back to this zucchini gone wild and gave it to us! Ember enjoyed her "new friend" for a few days before we started eating it and gave some to Grandma and Grandpa Flin! :) 

Reminds me of a picture of me as a wee baby next to a big zucchini! Not this big... but I was littler too!

My Birthday! :)

Well, even though I am not excited about getting dangerously close to the age of 30 (eek!)... Birthdays are always fun when you have family and friends in your life that make you feel extra special and loved on your big day! 

On Tuesday, we didn't do anything too out of the ordinary except Dustin met me at Starbucks for a delicious Pumpkin Chai Latte and some time with him! That night we had our first Life Group Bible Study through church that just so happens to be at Jeff and Aleecia's house and of course Aleecia was a sweet friend and made me delicious cupcakes and everyone sang to me. I got to open some nice cards from family and friends and got some generous gifts and gift cards! I also got some pictures with my little family! :) (What a great birthday present having this little cutie to celebrate with this year!!)

Even Maci got a pic with the birthday girl! :)

To actually celebrate my birthday we thought it would be fun to do some sort of wine tasting.... but that is a little complicated with a breastfeeding baby who doesn't drink out of bottle anymore so we decided to buy the stuff to do a Wine Tasting at home! 

Here are all the supplies! We had 3 bottles of wine - a Riesling, a Pinot Noir, and a Merlot Chardonay.

During Ember's afternoon nap, we started with a wine and cheese pairing/tasting! We had 5 cheese choices: sharp Cheddar, Gouda, blue cheese, Swiss, and Brie. We tried different cheeses with little bits of each of the wines and had some oat crackers to use too! It was fun and delicious!

Then, after Ember was asleep for the night we pulled out the chocolate bars for a wine and chocolate tasting/pairing! This was so good! We had 4 different chocolates: white chocolate with coconut (my favorite), milk chocolate with hazelnuts, dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt, and dark chocolate with black currents (Dustin's favorite). 

This was so much fun! Plus we had wine, chocolate, and cheese to enjoy during the rest of my birthday week! I couldn't have thought of something better to do at home since cheese and chocolate are two of my favorite things! Then add in some elegant wine and my dashing husband and my birthday was so enjoyable! 

Thank you to everyone who helped make turning 28 a not so scary thing and making me feel special and loved! I am very blessed by ALL of you!! :) 

10 Months Old

Our big 10 month old is growing up! She went to the doctor this month and was 26.5 inches long and weighed 15 lbs and 3 oz. She is in the 7th percentile for her age.... just a petite little thing! But her size does not stop her from doing anything! She is standing for longer and longer on her own - up to about 7 seconds. She is walking all over the place while holding on to things and crawling so fast all over the place! One of her favorite things is to be up on the couch or the bed and be able to crawl, climb, and fall on the soft couch/bed. She giggles and squeals with delight when we let her do this! She continues to dance more and more to music. She will move side to side while sitting, stand and bob up and down, and of course still rock back and forth on all fours. She has decided that music is not the only thing that she should dance to but also the garbage disposal, blender, and any other loud noise she hears. Such a silly goose! Ember added sweet potato puffs, green beans, plums, and squash to her foods this month and likes all of them! We let her try a sippy cup and she is getting the hang of how to hold on to it but is still not able to suck and get the water out of it. She thinks it is fun non-the-less. Ember has learned how to wave at people and clap her hands and does one or the other pretty much all the time. She has also started sometimes doing the signs for "more" and "all done" when eating. You can tell her growing brain is trying so hard to understand this big world around her. Another big milestone - the first tooth has arrived. After a few nights of waking up more during the night, Ember's bottom left tooth poked through. Probably the biggest new thing this month for Ember was her first plane ride and her first time visiting a different state. Ember and mommy flew to Fargo, North Dakota to visit the Brucks! She did a GREAT job on the airplane, sleeping 1-1.5 hours both on the trip there and the trip back. She got to go to her first zoo while there and ride on a carousel for the first time. She loved both of those but her favorite part about the trip was playing and trying to keep up with her cousin Ryken! They spend their days playing on the air mattress, standing at the porch window, crawling after each other, and "sharing" toys. It was sad to leave the Brucks but Ember was so happy to see her daddy again - she following him around and kept staring at him as if trying to make up for lost time. Ember has also adopted a toy as her security object. She loves her silkie bear and grabs it immediately when we put her in her crib for a nap or for bedtime. I gave Ember her silkie bear on the airplane and she immediately put her two fingers in her mouth and calmed down. So precious! It was another big month in the life of Ember Renee Evans and we look forward to seeing her grow and learn more and more each day! We just wish time would slow down a little bit because our sweet little girl is growing up way too fast.

Labor Day Weekend

We were blessed this Labor Day weekend to spend time with friends in a beautiful place for Labor Day weekend. We rented a 3.5 bedroom house with Joey and Rachael and Ryan and Kristin with our own private pool, a BBQ grill, and a nice updated kitchen for cooking! It was a great time of relaxing, hanging out, amazing food and fun with friends! We want to do a yearly trip together from now on because it is cost effective and so fun!

The Living Room

The Kitchen

BBQ Grill and Outdoor Eating Area

Pool Lounging Area

Gorgeous View & Pool

The boys spent a lot of time playing old video games while the girls chatted it up and sat by the pool!

Found a little snail friend

Ryan was the coffee master! He brought down their espresso machine, syrups, and coffee. He offered to make coffee whenever we wanted it.... but didn't know what he was getting himself into because we probably EACH had 6-7 cups of coffee throughout the weekend! Here is one of my masterpieces that DOES taste as good as it looks :)

The pool was pretty small (and quite COLD) but it was the perfect size for a net so we played alot of pool badminton and volleyball! We spent time just hanging out as well!

Ember ready for a nap after the sun and cold water! She slept for about 3 hours after this!! :) 

GREAT WAY TO SPEND A 3 DAY WEEKEND! We can't wait till our next trip with this group! :)