One more tagger

I tag Nancy too since she's "bored" at home with a new baby!

A couple of tags

A couple of people tagged me so we'll go ahead and take care of both in one post!
Here's one about Doug and I.
1. What is his name? Douglas Warren Wilkins
2. How long have you been married? It will be 5 years in November!
3. How long did you date? We met our freshman year and dated for about 5 months before his mission. Then we dated for about a year after he got home and before we got married.
4. Who eats more sweets? Definitely me! Although he does need a bowl of peanut butter ice cream every night.
5. Who said I love you first? I think he did. Right before he left on his mission...how sweet. I quickly responded with the same sentiment.
6. Who is taller? He is
7. Who can sing better? I think I can although we're both not too great at it.
8. Who is smarter? He is for sure - especially since he's in the MAcc program. Those guys are so much smarter than those darn MBA students (this is a bit of a joke - he's always telling me how he's so sick of hearing accounting students talk about how smart they are and how they're so much better, smarter, and "holier than thou" than the MBA students).
9. Who does the laundry? Me but he does help out every once in awhile.
10. Who pays the bills? Me - with his money!
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're looking at the bed, I do.
12. Who cooks dinner? Me because I love to cook! He also helps out once in awhile and has been known to make a pretty mean Valentine meal.
13. Who drives? He usually does - only because he thinks I'm a horrible driver (which I kind of am - I like to go fast) and is scared for his life when he's in the car with me - ask him about our first date and me driving down the canyon sometime.
14. Who is more stubborn? I think it's pretty much sixes there. I wish we were both better though!
15. Who kissed who first? He did - after he asked first. It was cute.
16. Who asked who out first? I asked him out to a Peter Breinholt concert.
17. Who proposed? He did - way later than he wanted too. It took me a little while to get my act together. Thanks for being patient honey!
18. Who wears the pants? It depends on the situation.
19. One final thing about Doug that just makes me laugh - he says that his favorite "scripture" is the one that says, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it." - What a goof!

And for the second tag...
Find the book closest to you with at least 123 pages.
Turn to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.
Also make a plug about a book you are reading

The nearest book was my triple combination. The 123rd pg, 6-8 sentences of the bible read: "And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides if the ephod underneath, toward the forepart therof, over agains the other coupling therof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall beat the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate if judgement upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually." (Exodus 28:27-29).

So there you go. A book I'm reading right now is "Dicey's Song". I read it in high school and wanted to re-read it. It's by Cynthia Voight and it's actually part of a series about the Tillerman family. I've started reading the entire series and am loving it. It's an easy, charming, and delightful read. I've also started reading this book for a bookclub I recently joined. It's called "It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village". I'm really looking forward to reading it and I'll let you know more about it as I go along.

I now tag...Erin (since she just finished taking the Bar exam - way to go!), Jenn, Emily, Lauren, and Ricki.

Bow much fun!

So after getting the girls' Easter dresses I couldn't find any cute matching bows so I decided to make my own. My friend Lauren gave me some good info about how to do them. I also found this cute bow making website that had more good tips. Needless to say, a little bit of a bow making fetish has since developed. Here's what I've done so far. Sorry, Liza, I'm spoiling Jane's birthday surprise. The same goes for all other family members with little girls. This is what they'll be getting for the next little while I thought the bug bows were the cutest. I couldn't quite find the right ribbon for the lady bug bows so I'll keep looking. The purple bows (the one on the headband) are the ones I made to match the Easter dresses.






Here's a few of what the Sophs has been up to. We were getting ready to go for a walk the other day and so she gathered all this stuff and announced that she was ready to go. I took one look at her and started laughing. She then said, "Are you going to take a picture of me?" Thank goodness she knows when she's funny and that I love to capture it on camera!

Here's one of her in her cute new raincoat! I love it!

Finally, here's what happens while mom is gone, dad's in the shower and a little girl finds a bag of jelly beans.

What would you be?

Doug was candy cigarettes but I didn't think that would be too appropriate to post here. I on the other hand am...

Gummy Bears

You may be smooshie and taste unnatural, but you're so darn cute.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

Hooray for Spring!

I thought I'd post of couple pics of my latest and greatest. Once again, as far as the projects go, just call me Martha! JUST KIDDING! This is a picture of a St. Patrick's game I made. My friend Nancy (who I hope has had her baby by now!) gave me the idea and pattern last year so it only took me a year to put together!

This is a picture of a little embroidery thing I found at one of our local cute quilt shops. They have one for each season so I'm pretty sure I'm going to do all of them and switch them out when the time comes.

For my final Martha project, this is a little wreath I put together because I couldn't find a pre-made egg wreath at Robert's. I think it turned out okay. My only debate is when to put it up. Since Easter is the Sunday after St. Patrick's day I don't know if I should replace the current St. Patrick's thing I have hanging before St. Patrick's day. What a dilemna.

Here's a couple of the latest from the kiddos. They both fell asleep in our bed the other morning around 6:00 am. Doug and I got up around 7 but they kept snoozing away. It was cute!

Do you think Lilly is ready for this chair yet? She's not so sure.

Finally, here's a little Easter preview. I got these matching dresses last weekend and I love them! Hooray for matching girls in matching dresses! I'm going to get their pictures taken in them next week. The smallest size they had was a 12M and so my wonderful mom adjusted it. I think it looks fabulous on Lilly

Enjoy the pics and have a fabulous day!

Recipes and such

70%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Whew! At least I'm not 100% addicted!

For those of you who've asked, I thought I'd post a few of the recipes that Doug made the other night.

Chicken Bryan
Serves: 6
Prep. Time: 0:55

1 Tbls. minced garlic
1 Tbls. minced yellow onion
2 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup white grape juice (or diluted white wine vinegar)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup cold butter - sliced
1 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
6 boned, skinned chicken breast halves
extra virgin olive oil - for brushing
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
8 oz. caprino OR other goat cheese - room temperature

1. Sauté garlic and onion in 2 Tbls. butter in a large skillet over medium heat until tender.
2. Stir white grape juice and lemon juice into skillet, increase heat to medium high, and simmer to reduce by half.
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in cold butter, one slice at a time.
4.Stir in tomatoes, basil, kosher salt, and white pepper; remove from heat; set aside.
5. Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
6. Grill chicken over hot coals 15 - 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
7. A couple of minutes before chicken is done, place equal amounts of cheese on each breast
8.Spoon prepared sun-dried tomato sauce over chicken.

Pesto Sauce

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Makes 1 cup.

The Oreo Madness was basically Homemade Oreos (that you do with a devil's food cake mix) with ice cream in the middle and caramel and hot fudge drizzled on top. It was delicious!

Happy Eating!

What a perfect day!

I (we) had such a fun and perfect Valentines Day yesterday so I had to share. We woke up to about 8 new inches of snow and since Doug only had one class he thought it would be okay to stay home and spend the day with us. Here's a picture of the amount of snow we have in our back yard. It's about 16". Notice the little bit of grass sticking out at the bottom.
After getting ready for the day we went out to play in the new snow. Sophia helped him build this awesome snow fort complete with a snow bench and slide.


Sophia loved it so much! She would have stayed outside and played all day if we would have let her. It was a lot of fun for her.

After coming back inside and having lunch I stayed with the girls while Doug went shopping for a surprise dinner he had planned for that night. When he got home he sent me and the girls downstairs for a few hours so that he could get dinner ready. While we were down there Sophia proceeded to take about 50 pictures with the camera. These were a few of the best ones.


After he was ready I came upstairs to this.

He's so sweet! I love that he even decorated the table so cute! He gave me the crystal with the heart on it for Valentine's Day when he was on his mission. So sweet, I know.
The dinner he made was so yummy! He made Carrabba's Chicken Bryan (our favorite!) complete with sundried tomatoes and real goat cheese. It was soooooo yummy! He also steamed vegetables using this cool method of using aluminum foil balls that he saw online.

He also made yummy pasta with a pesto sauce that he made from scratch! I was truly impressed and it tasted absolutely delightful!

For dessert he made homemade Oreo Madness. Last weekend we went to TGIFriday's with the sole purpose of having yummy Oreo Madness. Much to my dismay they don't serve it anymore! I was totally bummed! If you feel the same way I do, apparently there's some petition online you can sign to bring it back. Anyway, apparently I complained too much about it because he remembered my dissapointment and made it for me. He really is the sweetest husband!

After dinner I put the kids to bed while he cleaned up and then he gave me this video that he had made. It was so neat! It was a little "video diary" he had made where he shared his side of the story of how we met, fell in love, got married, etc. and how he felt about the births of each of our girls. It was really so neat and I'm so glad to have something like this. I can't believe he took the time to make this. It was almost 30 minutes long so it must have taken forever! He even got Sophia and Lilly to say a few words. It was so cute! It truly is a treasure and something that I will definitely keep for posterity's sake (and maybe something we should watch every Valentine's Day:)). Then he pulled out an air matress he bought me (he was just pulling out surprises all night!) because I've always wanted one and I fell asleep watching "Sleepless in Seattle" - such a classic Valentine movie.

Anyway, it truly was the perfect day and I love my husband so much for making it so! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's as well!

L is for the way you look at me....

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I thought I'd take a few minutes and write down a few things I love!

1. Douglas - of course! I'm so grateful for the way he loves me and our girls! He works so hard to provide for us and make us happy!
2. Sophia's sweet little voice.
3. The way her sweet little voice says funny things. Like how she calls Oscar the Grouch "Groucher".
4. Sweet random moments when the sweet little thing with her sweet littel voice tells me "I love you mom" .
5. Lilly's smiles and curious big blue eyes (are they ever going to change?)
6. My family and all they do for me.
7. Chocolate! and bread - I really do love bread.
8. How my couches look right after I've washed the slipcovers.
9. A hot bath and reading a book at the same time.
10. How it feels climbing into a bed with freshly washed sheets.
11. This beautiful world!

Hope you all have a fun day and remember everything that you love!

Will you be my valentine?

Here's one of the Lillers lookin' so cute today. Here's another one of her checking herself out in the mirror the other day.

My salvation arrived today. I ordered this stroller last week and was so happy that it came today! The minute it got here I hurried and assembled it while Sophia was still napping. When she woke up and saw it she immediately climbed on the bench seat and asked to go for a walk. Thank goodness it was a nice day. I wasn't sure if I'd like this kind of "sit and stand" stroller and it is a little bit more of a bus than I thought. It's not as bad without the car seat so it will be perfect when Lilly's a little bigger (and when the weather's a little warmer).

Hawaii Chair

My friend Miki had this posted on her blog. It really is a good laugh! http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/01/hawaii_chair.php

Like anyone could possibly know that.

I don't know if any of you have seen this but I'm not so convinced. It seems like there would be more Joanna Wilkins' in the world. There were 134 with Douglas' name, 12 with Sophia's and only 5 with Lilly's. I'm not sure I'm buyin' it.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 20 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Fun, Fun, and More Fun!

Things have been good in our house lately. Both of the girls are currently napping (miracle of miracles) and so I'm taking advantage and doing a quick post. Here's a picture of Sophia with her animals yesterday. She got this all set up and then said, "Look! Me and the animals are taking a nap!".

Then one minute later she'd managed to get this thing (we hang a laundry bag around it) around herself and was dancing around.

Lilly's been doing well lately. She went in for her 2 month pokes today and it was so sad! They did one orally and the other four in her legs. I didn't think it was the best idea to shove a bunch of liquid into 2 month old's mouth and then stab her legs so that she screams and chokes at the same time but what do I know? It wasn't the best experience but she made it through (with a lot of gagging, choking, gasping for air, and screaming).

Last Sunday we got together with Doug's family to celebrate Gracelyn's birthday (Happy Birthday today Gracie!). It was fun and we also exchanged a few valentines. My cute sister-in-law Katie always does the most adorable things. If I had the tiniest bit of her creative magic I may be getting somewhere. Anyway, she made these cute "sour cream container" valentines filled with candy
and these adorable "nugget tins" for the big kids.
They turned out so cute! Here's a link for how to make the cute sour cream containers. The pictures just do not do them justice.

Bumps and Bruises

My poor girl took a tumble face first out of her booster seat yesterday when I was making her lunch. It was so sad because she caught herself with her face. I thought she'd cut through her lip becuase she was bleeding everywhere but somehow she had just scraped the skin off of her lip (gross I know). Anyway her lip totally swelled and needless to say, she did not eat the lunch I had just made for her. Instead she spent the afternoon watching American Tale...twice.

After a little nap she was doing much better and I was so thankful she didn't need stiches. By the end of the night she was bouncing around like her normal self again. (I just can't get enough of the sparkly jammies!)


I don't know how many of you got to see President Hinckley's funeral today but I thought it was fabulous. It was so neat to hear the things that were shared about him and to reflect on his life. I did fine during the whole thing and then balled through the last hymn (My Shepherd Will Supply My Need-in case you missed it). First of all, I love that song and I don't think anything else would have been more fitting, and second the little video sequence they showed during the hymn really got me going. Seeing him walking with his wife was just a little too much for me to handle. Anyway, if you missed it, be sure to catch a rebroadcast (if they're doing one).