Autumn Archives – Page 2 of 2

Special Olympics Montana State Games 2015

November 16, 2015 Leave a Comment

This past Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon was the annual Special Olympics Montana state games. I haven’t been to the games since November of 2014 when I was still pregnant with Jordyn, and oh man did it feel great to be back with the kiddos in that crazy, fun atmosphere. I took last year off to adjust to new mommyhood a.k.a. I was a walking zombie who still learning how to walk around and not fall asleep in the process.

This year my team, the Great Falls Lions (team B) took 4th place in our bracket level and I couldn’t be more proud. Three of my only seven players played every single minute of all FIVE games played on Friday and Saturday. Talk about determination and toughness!

They were so tired and worn out by the end of the tournament on Saturday afternoon, but there were so happy to receive their 4th place green ribbons. My kiddos were the definition of the Special Olympics athletes oath:

In addition to the opening ceremonies for the games the kids got to have multiple team and family dinners, a carnival and dance to keep them going and having fun when they weren’t playing basketball games. They even made some awesome posters during their downtime to cheer each other on. If that’s not teamwork I don’t know what is!

Jordyn even did some “cheering” and made many attempts to run out on the court and “help” the team play basketball LOL. She was also a huge fan of Billy the mascot at the opening ceremonies. She wanted him to pick her up and she followed him everywhere she could. haha. It was adorable. My husband was a major help by taking care of her while I was crazy busy “Coach Brie” for 3 days.

I can’t wait to see their faces again for the spring practices and games next year. Until then, go lions go! #LionPride

Brie <3

[11.15.15]

Farewell, Miller Family!

November 1, 2015 Leave a Comment

Today, our awesome and close friends, the Millers, started on their journey to start their new chapter at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Talk about a bittersweet (definitely more bitter than sweet) feeling. They have been ~~stuck~~ here at this base for a very long time so this new journey of positive changes and more opportunities is much deserved. But to start a new journey it requires leaving your current one, and that is where the sadness comes in.

Krissy and I have become extremely close since I moved here in January of 2012. She’s for sure my best friend here, and we’re so close we even call each other “Sister Wife.” Let me explain…(LOL) when either of our husbands were gone for long periods of time doing Air Force stuff, the other’s husband stepped in and helped out where the other couldn’t. For example, when I was in my first trimester of pregnancy Kris was gone for six weeks doing work in California. This means Krissy’s husband, Isaiah, would come take my trash out, lift heavy stuff around the house if needed, invited me over for dinner etc. We joked that each other husbands was our second husband and started calling each other Sister Wife.

When I found out I was pregnant Krissy was the second person in the world who knew. When she found out she was pregnant six months later I believe I was the second person to know about it as well. And when I say we shared this news with each other, in both instances it was an actual picture of the positive pregnancy test right after getting the results hahaha. If we ever needed anything or someone to rely on for any reason, we always knew (and still know) we could count on the Millers. They’re the type of friends who become family and a part of your life forever. In this crazy world, military life world to be even more specific, it is hard to find people you genuinely can call lifelong friends. It’s part of the life we live to meet people, become friends, and start over again once getting orders to a new base. Thankfully, we had a pretty great group of friends here in Montana who have all left by now, but are still some of the closest people to us.

It’s going to be a huge adjustment for my family and I to not be able to call you guys and hang out whenever we want or watch our baby girls play together. Jordyn and I will actually have to start attending playgroups without our BFFs :-(. I think I’m even more emotional than usual because of the holiday season. We always spent Halloween at you guys house eating delicious soup of some sort and passing out candy to the kids while looking at their awesome costumes. Isaiah always deep-fried the Thanksgiving turkey (which I refuse to eat any other way now lol) for our big f(r)amily dinner and the same goes for Christmas.

Although we will miss you guys for the small activities and huge holidays, I am so happy you all get to finally be near an ocean again! (The Pacific will just have to do for now 😉 ) Have tons of fun for us, and prayerfully we will meet you guys there in Vandenberg one day soon. Safe travels, we love you guys tons, and miss you so much already. But of course we miss Norah a.k.a Chunky Cheeks the most ;-). Thank you for being great people and even more amazing friends. We are thankful for all of the memories we have created over the years.

It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t take one last group picture filled with hilarious-ness and attitude from our little divas LOL.

Farewell, Miller family!

Brie <3

[11.01.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary, DIY, Holiday, Toddler Activities

DIY Salt Dough Pumpkin Prints

October 24, 2015 Leave a Comment

I have had quite a few people ask me how I made the salt dough hand print/footprint pumpkin craft for my little one, and I wanted to share the very easy process with all of you. I got the idea from @jessiebroad’s Instagram page who made almost the exact same craft with her children. The only thing I did different was a few extra colors and details. Here is the step by step process for making the little print pumpkins.

You will need:

1 cup salt

1 cup flour

1/2 cup water

2 oz. orange paint

2 oz. black paint

2. oz brown paint

Parchment paper

Rolling pin

*optional* liquid glitter glue

Combine your salt, flour and water in a bowl. Knead together until combined as a smooth dough.
Place your salt dough in between two pieces of parchment paper on the counter. Using your rolling-pin flatten you dough until it is about 1/2 an inch thick.
Take your little ones foot and with a little force press down on the left side of the flattened dough to make a distinct enough imprint. You will do the same with their hand on the right side of the dough. However, aim for the middle part of the dough for each side so you have enough room to cut around the foot and hand print.
Using a sharp tip knife, cut around the foot and hand print in the shape of a pumpkin. Make sure to include the stem in the cut out. Once the pumpkin has been cut out place it on a cookie sheet.
Heat your oven to 200 F and place your salt dough in there for an hour. Allow about 30-minutes to an hour of cooling off after it has baked for the hour before moving on to the next step.
Paint your pumpkin orange using multiple layers if necessary to coat the entire pumpkin properly. Give the orange layer(s) a few minutes to dry.
Using a smaller paint brush, using the black paint, outline the foot and hand print. Once you have outlined the prints, fill them in with the black paint using a slighly larger paintbrush to save some time. Using multiple layers if need be to completely cover the prints.
Lastly use your brown paint to fill in the stem of the pumpkin. Once the brown paint has dried if you decided to buy/use the optional glitter glue apply as much as you want to the stem. Let the pumpkin completely dry for an hour and you have a lovely Halloween keepsake for your little one!

She your pictures of your little ones masterpieces below 🙂

Brie <3

[10.24.15]

All Posts, Crock-Pot Recipes, Dear Diary, Recipes

Crock-pot Beef Stew

October 21, 2015 Comment : 1

It is that time of year for deliciously warm comfort foods to stick to our bones and keep us warm. This is one of the many reasons why I love this season. Today I am sharing my own yummy crock pot beef stew recipe with all of you. It takes a little bit of preparation, but I promise it is worth it!

You will need:

2 lbs. beef stew meat

6-7 red potatoes

1 whole onion

1/2 lbs. baby carrots

2 packs beef stock flavor

2 beef bouillon cubes

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 Worcestershire sauce

6 cups water

2 bay leaves

Stew Beef Flour seasoning:

1 cup flour

2 Tbsp. seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. Adobo

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1) Combine all of your stew beef flour seasoning in a large Ziploc bag and shake to mix together. Add your two pounds of stew beef to the bag and shake until the beef stew pieces are generously coated. Heat your first tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and wait for the oil to get hot. Add half of your beef stew meat to the pan (or however much will NOT overcrowd the pan) and brown on all sides. Repeat until all of the beef is browned and place your browned stew beef at the bottom of the crock pot.

2) In the same pot, saute your onions and place them on top of the browned beef stew meat.

3) Cut your potatoes into quarters and place them on top of the beef and onions in the crock pot. Layer your carrots on top of the potatoes

4) In the same pot you used to brown you meat and saute your onions; on medium high heat combine the: water, Worcestershire sauce, beef flavored packs, and beef bouillon cubes until it all melts together. Once it has all melted pour it over all of the ingredients in the crock pot.

5) Add your bay leaves to the top and set your crock pot on high. Let your stew cook for at least 8 hours.

Enjoy your meal! 🙂

Brie <3

[10.21.15]

All Posts, Family Love

Jordyn Denise : 1 year 4 months

October 19, 2015 Comments : 2

Miss Jordyn Denise is growing up and becoming such a little lady, or “little person” as my husband and I like to call her. It’s amazing how much she seems to learn in only one day. While we were home in September, her Auntie Andye taught her a dance/ballet move, as well as getting her to say “auntie” a few times.

I taught her to say “up” a little while back when she wanted to be picked up instead of yelling and whining. That lasted for a while until we taught her how to say “please” or “tease” in Jordyn language, when asking for anything in general. We have recently added the word “thank you” to her vocabulary with the last week or two. Now, whenever you hand her something (or she hands you something) she always says “taint tou” and it’s the cutest and sweetest “thank you” I’ve ever heard in my life :-). I also can’t wait for her to be old enough to sign up for gymnastics because she’s always balancing on her head trying to flip herself over.

Jordyn has also recently learned how to open the doors… yeah we weren’t too excited about that, but she sure was haha. She loves giving sweet kisses, dancing her little heart out, eating like a big girl in her high chair, playing/taking walks outside, wrestling with Ares, and playing “where is Jordyn?” with Daddy and Mommy. Did I mention she likes to mimic Ares and crawls around on all fours trying to lick us? LOL. Here is a picture of her following him around on all fours..

She is such a happy baby and so much fun to be around. She is hands down one of the funniest little kids I’ve ever met in my entire life. She has plenty of her Daddy and I’s (more so her Daddy haha) silliness. Jordyn is such a ham and has even developed a “fake” laugh to mock those around her when they laugh. I couldn’t be more thankful to hang out with such a cool little person every single day. She continues to teach us how to love unconditionally and be thankful for the little things that in turn are the big things in life. I’ll be back in a few months for another update on this smart little munchkin. Until then, here is a picture of her chasing me around the Halloween store the other night with a sword LOL. And yes, it’s blurry because I was running backwards from her hahaha..

Brie <3

[10.18.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary, DIY, Healthy, Holiday, Recipes

Healthy Halloween Snacks

October 10, 2015 Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again where we use all of the motivational speeches in the world to convince ourselves why we NEED to eat healthy and avoid the delicious Halloween candy that will be thrown our way. The only problem with this logic is…it hardly ever works because we don’t think of alternatives. Sure we may eat healthy for a little while, but we eventually give in to the copious amounts of snickers being shoved in our faces, and pretend like we have no clue what the word “calories” means. I was inspired by the company, Nuts.com to share some healthier alternatives to the usual Halloween candy and treats.”

I’m a realistic person who loves the yummy not so healthy foods just as much as the next person. It is because of this realism that I like to find the happy medium in situations such as this one. Having NO fun when eating healthier pushes most of us over the edge to binge eat, and having too much fun reverses months of hard work in just minutes.

With that being said, here are three healthy and easy snack alternatives to turn to this Halloween.

Jack-O-Lantern Oranges:

Yes, this is exactly what it looks like, oranges with faces drawn on them. Not only are oranges an awesome alternative for sweets because of how naturally sweet they are, but you get to be a child and draw/play with your food before eating it. Your Mom would be proud.

Apple Butter Teeth:

I love almond butter because it’s sweet, and is a great energy booster. For this snack you will cut an apple into slices and cut little “teeth” patterns into the slices. To make this look a little more “Halloweenish” I decided to add red dye to the almond butter to give a blood dripping effect. Not only does your food look creepy, but it tastes amazing.

*For some extra sweetness add a few dark chocolate chips on top, or melt it and dip half of your apple in it*

Banana Energy Pumpkin:

I call this little gem the energy pumpkin because it consists of whole wheat bread, almond butter, (I told you I love that stuff) and bananas. As you can see I dyed the almond butter black and the bananas orange for this particular Halloween snack. They are an amazing combo and when put together it serves as a natural energy boost. It is one of my favorite snacks to eat before heading to the gym.

These three healthy Halloween snack alternatives are great for everyone in the family to enjoy. What are some of your favorite healthy Halloween go to snacks? Share with me in the comments section! In the mean time, enjoy these guilt free Halloween snacks for the time being :-).

All Posts, Dear Diary

Baker Orchard

September 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

Earlier this month my husband, daughter and I, went to visit the Baker Orchard in Centuria, WI. My (pretty much) brother-in-law, Ryan, his family owns the orchard. Ryan’s family lives in Minnesota, and since we were going to pass through Minnesota on our drive back to Montana from Illinois, we made plans to stop in Minnesota, and spend time with Ryan and his family. During our brief, yet fun stay with his family, we decided to go to their apple orchard and spend the day there. I happen to LOVE apple orchards, and knew it would be the perfect fall activity to wind down from a pretty hectic two weeks at home, in Illinois.

It was the perfect day to spend at the apple orchard. Seventy degrees, sunny, and not too crowded. We were able to check out the gallery filled with so many beautiful hand-made arts and crafts. In addition to the arts and crafts, there were yummy non perishable food items for sale as well, in the gallery. We bought a bottle of pure maple syrup, and Mexican hot chocolate to bring home with us. After we finished our shopping and tour of the gallery, we wandered out to the field and ate some extremely deliciously juicy apples. Jordyn had her first fresh picked apple that day, as well as, fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden that Uncle Ryan shared with her :-).

Here’s another picture of Jordyn thoroughly enjoying herself, running around the orchard, soaking up the fresh air.

By the end of the day we took a ride out to the “peace garden” and completely understood why it was called the peace garden. It was too beautiful to be able to describe in words, but it is truly a snap shot of how perfect God’s green earth can be. Kris, Ryan, Jordyn and I walked around the “peace garden”, took some beautiful and a few not so beautiful pictures while we were there LOL.

We ended the amazing trip to the Baker Orchard having drinks, eating food, and plenty of laughs with Ryan and his family. There were even a few games that took place. This was Kris’ first time at an apple orchard and it’s pretty safe to say enjoyed himself as much as I did. We ended the trip the only way you should end a trip as fun-filled as this one – with an awesome group selfie..

Thank you for the amazing hospitality you all showed us while we were in Minnesota. We had such a great time, and look forward to going back and spending more time with all of you. It’s very rare you meet people in person for the first time and feel like you’ve known them for years. Thanks for being amazing! We love and miss you all.

Brie <3

[09.30.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

A Huge Birthday Thank You

September 28, 2015 Leave a Comment

Yesterday was my 27th golden birthday. Not only have I been blessed to see another year, but I had such an amazing day of being spoiled by my husband and baby girl. I received a massage, brunch in bed, a family walk, alone time to blog, and a delicious shrimp scampi alfredo made by my chef-boyardee husband. Here’s a picture of my oh so yummy breakfast plate 🙂

In addition to all of this spoiling; my Mom sent me my annual beautiful birthday flowers, I shared food and laughter with my Montana friends on Saturday evening, many loved ones posted special pictures/messages on social media for me, and I received so many text messages, phone calls, face time calls, and social media birthday wishes filled with nothing but love and happiness. Receiving love for my birthday on these platforms isn’t anything new, but as each year passes I learn to appreciate and be so thankful for those of you who take the time out of your day to send so much love my way. We grow up to learn exactly how precious time is in our lives, and for people to chose to spend their time on me means the world.

Twenty-six was a beautiful year filled with more ups than downs, and I can only imagine what golden year twenty-seven has in store for me. In the mean time, I pray and speak into existence this year brings blessings, grace, joy, love, prosperity, and wisdom. Not only for me, but for my loved ones as well.

Thank you again for all of the birthday love. You are all amazing and I love you all!

Brie <3

[09.28.15]

All Posts, Dear Diary

5 Reasons Fall Is Perfection

September 23, 2015 Leave a Comment

Happy first day of Fall, everyone! Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year. Despite it being the season my birthday is celebrated in, there are so many great activities and everyday life routines that improve due to it being fall. Today, I will put up my fall decor around and outside of my home, with a huge smile on my face, from pure happiness and satisfaction. If you are one of those people who don’t understand the “hype” about fall, here are five reasons Fall is perfection:

There are so many awesome, strictly fall activities, to partake in from September to mid-November. Bonfires are one of my all time favorite fall activities. Many people enjoy bonfires in the summer as well, but sitting around a nicely lit bonfire to keep warm in the crisp fall air, while making s’mores, and having a great time with family and/or friends is second to none. Two more of my favorite fall activities is going apple picking at orchards, and picking out pumpkins in addition to all of the other fun activities at pumpkin patches.

Pumpkin, apple, and sweet potato everything! Fall is not complete without the deliciousness of these seasonal favorites. You know how most people either like pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie? Well, I happen to love both, and look forward to eating a few slices of both pies on Thanksgiving day, and weekend. If you’re a fan of apples, fall is the primetime to hit up an orchard and pick some yummy apples right from the tree, and take some home to make a homemade apple pie or even apple cider. I think I am going to attempt to make an apple crisp of some sort with my apples this year. Stay tuned for more details.

Is it even possible to argue about any other season’s fashion that is better than fall fashion? Even people who don’t like fall (yes those crazy people exist) love fall fashion. From the rider boots, to the long sweaters, hoodies and leggings, fall has the BEST fashion. Not only does the fashion make you look and feel great, it is SO comfortable. How can you possibly beat beauty and comfort, all wrapped up in one? Exactly, you can’t.

Although I consider September 27th (my birthday) to be a heavily disputed national holiday, we can all agree Halloween and Thanksgiving are undeniably awesome holidays. On Halloween we get to play dress up, get free candy from our neighbors, attend awesome Halloween themed parties, go to haunted houses, and even make fun DIY (do-it-yourself) decorations (like the minions pictured above that I made two years ago). On Thanksgiving we get to eat seasonal, oh so yummy recipes, mingle with family and friends, watch some Thanksgiving football, and if you’re one of the crazies, go shopping at 2am the following morning on, Black Friday. Oh, and did I mention the fall scents for candles and hand soaps are the best? Your company will compliment the smells every single time.

*However, Christmas is the greatest holiday of all time. It’s in its own league because it’s so amazing*

The natural beauty of fall is what really sets fall apart from all other seasons. Have you ever stood in an area full of trees and bushes turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red, and just took in the beauty happening around you? The realization of how astonishingly wonderful God’s creations are around us is a feeling that can’t be matched. To match the beautiful trees and bushes, the crisp air brings a cozy and clean feeling with it. The crisp air makes me want to cuddle up with my husband, and watch movies together while eating a yummy crock pot soup of some sort. The crisp air also tends to make the air smell much cleaner and not so polluted. Who doesn’t love pretty scenery, cuddling and clean smelling air?

If you have never really taken the time to admire the beauty of fall, I hope this post encourages you to appreciate it a little more. Although some of these things may not seem to be a big deal, always remember it’s the little things that add up and become the big things we remember in life. 🙂

Brie <3

[09.23.15]

All Posts, Music Favorites

“Autumn in New York”

October 24, 2014 Leave a Comment

Today was the perfect Fall day here in Montana. I listened to this song on my way home from work and needed to share it.

Happy Thursday!

Brie <3
[10.23.14]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50zL8TnMBN8