crock pot initiation

i am sitting here smelling the yumminess of dinner, waiting for zach to get home so we can EAT! It is the first time i have EVER used my crock pot (after two years of it taking up space in my kitchen cabinets).

to walk into the house after a long day of work with dinner all ready to go is fabulous. (haven't tasted it yet, though, so hopefully it tastes as good as it smells!)

but, i need your help!
what is the best thing you have ever concocted in your crock pot??
does anyone else feel like all the recipes you find for crock pots are enough to feed an army?
leftovers aren't so fun sometimes. how can i cook for two in a crockpot?

so..help me.
i need great, simple recipes that you have tried and tested!
please :)

she'll be comin' around the mountain

you'll see me comin' from a mile away in my bright new blue VUE! (that sounded cool)
ok, so it's not really new..but it is to me! i love my new ride!
the bold color is growin' on me. i guess i just have to be sassy now to match my car.

mo-tab in OKC

the mormon tabernacle choir made a stop in Oklahoma City. that choir includes my mom!

that's only three hours from Siloam Springs! yay!
that's a lot closer than 24 hours.
mom even got us FREE tickets the concert. woop woop!


just the perfect cure for my homesickness.
i love you mom.

into the wild

we journeyed to southern arkansas to see aunt jan and uncle billy and explore their endless acres of wilderness.

preparing to talk a walk/hike, jan pulled out these homemade fly nets for us to weari thought it was a joke, so i took mine off after the laughter and the photo opp.
and we walked.

zach was on the lookout for wild pigs

gracie caught tons of these tiny frogs along the path
and about a half mile into the walk... it was attack of the horse flies. the nets were not a joke anymore. glad mine was in my pocket :)

hannah fit all the way inside hers.
i was wishing for a full body net. or at least long pants. oops.

gross (continued)

a few weeks ago when I posted the unfortunate killing of the copperhead snake in the yard, i received a chastising comment from an anonymous reader. whoever you are...this is for you. THIS is why we had to kill the snake instead of just move it...
duke (cache's daddy) looked like this this morning when he came in. his leg is swollen and he has a distinct snake bite. gross. and sad. look at his face.

now wouldn't anyone have done the same thing to a snake they saw that close to their house?

float trip

last month we took a float trip down the buffalo river with the bond family. so fun!

we got to stay here (in the tents)

...through two storms

watched ninja nate do some of this

and this
listened to uncle zeke tell crazy stories
and he even let the boys shoot this

we all enjoyed a long day on the river doing this

and i tried to work on my tan, but by the end of the day, i looked like this!

thanks, tressa and zeke for a fun weekend at your place!

cache

cache is getting lots bigger! here's some photos of him at six weeks old. aren't those floppy ears so cute?

sorry these photos aren't the best, but he is a quick little guy and i had to snap fast!

hannah and gracie each got a little kitty last week - cache thinks they are pretty fun to mess with and can fit their whole head in his mouth!