Liebster Blog Award

I am so cool. Seriously, a true blown baller. I won an award. Ok...maybe it's not that cool to you and it's definitely not Grammy status or anything, but I am very flattered that my friend Valeri awarded me with the Liebster Blog Award! She said some very nice things about me. Thanks Val!

So now you are all thinking the same thing I was. What the heck does "Liebster" mean? Wellp here is the answer:

In German, Liebster means {Beloved, Dearest, or Favorite.}

Since Valeri was so kind to call me one of her favorites, I now get to "pass it forward" and tell you about 5 of my own favorite bloggers!

I have award the following bloggers this award: 

1. Teagan from Alex Family not just because she is my sister in law but she is crazy creative! She has some cute printables on her blog and funny little stories about family. Plus, she is a photographer so she has a wonderful eye for what looks good and what doesn't. 
2. Chelsie from The Troxel Family because she and I have some very odd, yet hilarious memories together. China, Chels? She also has the cutest little boy and has some realllly good baby tips (Not that I am pregnant or that we are having children yet).
3. Becca from Becca and Devin because I love seeing her adventures and ideas. Plus, she posts lots of yummy recipes and is one of those super cute pregnant girls.
4. Karina from Mr. and Mrs. Powell because she goes on some fun adventures and is also another super cute pregnant girl. Ladies, she is like 7+ months pregnant and still running. STILL RUNNING. I've always been afraid of pregnancy because I have a fear of becoming unhealthy and I see pregnant woman all the time that just don't exercise and eat good. In my dreams, I wanna be like Katrina when I am pregnant (in a couple years...). I am dead serious though, I wanna be like her. 
5. Amber from Barefoot Blonde. I do not even know Amber personally but look forward to reading her posts each day! She is so stylish and beautiful. I love her take on fashion. I have seriously taken so many ideas from her. Like which one piece swimsuits are the best or how to get her gorgeous curls or just her great outfit posts that inspire some outfits of my own.

In order to accept the award: 

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

You Can Call Us Hikers

So a couple weeks ago we were feeling a good adventure so went with my brother and sis in law and our friend M* on a bike ride up to the Y. We biked the 4-5 miles to the trailhead of the Y. Then we hiked the Y, enjoyed the view, and then jogged down the Y. Biking there then hiking it about killed me...and I swear I am not in that bad of shape (we only go to the gym like everyday...I married a freaking gym rat).

The only thing motivating us (more like the only thing motivating the guys) was knowing that we would get a Hokulia shaved ice afterward. I had never had it and BOY oh BOY was that shaved ice the best I have ever had here in Utah. If you live in Provo/Orem area, actually no I would totally drive from Spanish Fork or even Sandy to come get Hokulia Shaved Ice, you need to try it. They have like a hundred flavors.


Warning: They are huge. Matson (who is a big eater) was mad that he got the medium size one. I would just get the small (I think it is called a short board or something) if I were you, unless you're a beast of an eater of course.

Last Saturday we hiked Stewart Falls. It was beautiful. It was so much fun to hike with my brother and sis in law again. And also our friends H* and K* too! It was so green and wow Utah is a pretty state!

We need some more good hikes to go on here in Utah! Anyone know any?
Where have you been hiking?

First Time Aunt and Uncle

We have a new title. Uncle Matson and Aunt Erica!!

June 16th our first and only nephew was born! He was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long. It was an exciting time for Matson's little sister and husband, but I think the rest of the family was just as excited! Matson and I were really touched and amazed at how beautiful the little newborn straight from Heavenly Father was.

The crazy uncles.

It may have also made Matson baby hungry...but until our own child, we are fully ready to spoil our new little nephew, B*! We gave him this green little shirt to welcome him to the family, and Matson and him were twins in bright neon green!

Twins! One in XL while the other is in Newborn.

Dads as Good as Our Dads

Happy Father's Day to you all! We just wanted to show you just how cool our two pops are.

To my dad. I have always been his "little e-girl" and I love him so much. He spends so much time with us and is all about family, which I love! He really does so much for us.

All the Richards kids and Dad. 1992.

Dad and I at a Mariner's game.

Matson and my Dad in Cancun 2011

To Matson's dad. He is very hard working, giving, and sets a wonderful example for Matson and has made Matson the man that he is.

Matson has always wanted to be just like his pops!

Matson and his dad at our Wedding. August 2010.

4th of July Gift

As many of you may know, I love holidays. So I like to just make things for each holiday for our family and friends. 4th of July is definitely our combined favorite holiday over at our home, even though Christmas may be my favorite. I think the 4th is both of our favorites! So I started by making these cute little 4th of July gifts for my mom, sis in law, and newly engaged sis sorry A*, just gotta throw that "engaged" part in whenever possible to kick off the 4th of July season. Super easy and fairly cheap.

I have the worst camera ever. Sorry horrid quality.

• Jello Popcorn, which I had never made before but was super easy and much more colorful and fun than caramel corn! I used this recipe from Our Best Bites. Super easy to make and I had all the ingredients already! TIP: I used Raspberry Jello because Strawberry tends to be lighter and more pink. But I am sure Cherry would be a good red too! Or even a Blueberry would be fun!
• Little Bowls or Container. I got mine in the $1 section at Target recently.
• Cellophane Bag
• Ribbon
• This Tag. It's suppose to be a holder for sparklers but I just hole punched where the cut outs for the sparklers are suppose to be. I put ribbon through the holes and then taped/glued the tag to card stock paper.

Dinner in Tinfoil. Yum.

Last night we went with Matson's family up the canyon to have a picnic, fire, and yummy tinfoil dinners!

Matson's hates my car, VW bug, but loves driving it in the summer.
I guess everybody loves a convertible.

Matson and his Dad.

Matson's older sister, her husband, and their pup.

We put what we wanted to eat inside the tinfoil. I put in lots of carrots along with some onions, chicken, some potatoes, a little cream of chicken soup, onion powder, and pepper. Matson chose beef and loads of onions. We we made them up and folded the tinfoil like a burrito.

Matson making his masterpiece tinfoil dinner.

You can see our "M" (the bigger one) and "E"

Next, it was cook and wait time. During this time we threw the football and then went "exploring" like boys do.

Matson loves testing out my athletic skills.
You can see my football spiraling quite well above me.

Adventure boy with his frisbee in hand?

Me with my nasty convertible hair and our dinners.

Perfectly cooked!

And yum...they were so good! After dinner we enjoyed roasted Starbursts and S'mores. Matson's family introduced me to the smartest thing ever for S'mores (tip below)!

Now you can really see my convertible hair.
Straight/curly because it is blown all around!
But man, those dinners were seriously delicious!

S'mores Tip: Create a little cave-like structure out of tinfoil for your chocolate piece and bottom graham to sit in while you roast your marshmallow with the chocolate piece sitting on top of the graham. The chocolate melts perfectly during this time so that once your marshmallow is ready then you just slide the mallow onto the chocolate and bottom graham, then place your top graham on top. Then BAM! You have the perfect S'more where the chocolate isn't super hard and is perfectly melted!

Seriously enjoying my s'more. Mallow all over my face.

Thanks to Matson's family for a very fun, summer evening!

My Sister is Engaged!

Last night my little sister got engaged! So fun and exited for all that is to come. And we love N*, her fiance! He is such a kind, hard working, and fun gentleman. We are so happy that she found her Prince Charming.

The happy couple at the "Y" here in Provo, where they got engaged.

 She leaves on a study abroad in a week or two so we got lots to help her out with while she is gone and lots to do while she is here before she leaves for a month! I love weddings so I am all ready to help in anyway I can.

She already knows the style she wants and her colors...kind of earthy and natural. Our wedding planner that all of my siblings and I have used for our weddings describes the wedding as "rustic elegance" and I love that! SO excited.

She was smilin' like this all night!

Oh and here is her ring close up! Love it. So her.

A Bottle of Spray Paint

Two days ago my mom, sister, and I were at Wal Mart. We picked up some spray paint for a project my sister was doing. I instantly thought of a very plain basket I had at home that we keep our blankets and quilts in.

The Plain Basket

So I bought some spray paint. And bam! The basket looks so much better especially up against our plain white apartment walls.

The Painted Basket

It's crazy what just 5 minutes of spraying spray paint can do! If you have any ideas about how to make this basket any cuter, I'd love to hear! I thought a bow but it made it look like an Easter basket wannabe.

Birthday Parties for 2 Fun Friends!

Some of our best friends had some fun birthday parties this week. Both these friends are moving away for medical school so we really have been and are going to continue to take advantage of all the time we have left with them!

Our friend B* had a baseball birthday party at the park. His wife knew the only way she was going to be able to give him a party for his 25th was if we played baseball. SO, we ate some good food then played a ball game. I was kind of nervous that I would stink at baseball, but I wasn't horrible and I had so much fun! I hit after Matson and he struck out, then I went up thinking I was definitely not going to hit a ball if he couldn't even do it. Then I totally did! I got to the base too. I seriously wanna play again! It was loads of fun!

My sis in law N*, me, and Brittany.

Matson snapped some random shot? I think it is funny.

It was a little chilly so C* got to cuddle up with his mommy.

Our other best friends little boy turned 1! It is crazy, that he is already 1. It seriously seems like yesterday that we went to the hospital on the day he was born and the day after and brought his wonderful mom, H*, a Kneader's sandwich because she wasn't feeling the hospital food. A year really can zoom by. C* is the best little baby and always so happy. He seriously is my favorite baby ever! His laugh is my favorite thing and you can just look at him and say something like, "I'm gonna get you!" and it makes him smile his big smile and laugh his adorable laugh!

There might be a little photo overload and I know he isn't my own child, but I can't resist. This just shows you a little bit of what our blog will be like when we have our own kiddos: a photo bomb.

H* (C*'s mom) had the cutest decorations.
These pictures are more for my memory of how cute it was.

His high chair, tassels, and banner were adorable
that H* made!

I thought I'd share how I made this little "cake banner"
that I stuck in my brownies.
Even though you can't tell it says "Happy Birthday"

 I just printed off the diamond letters here (there are so many colors). Then I cute out the diamonds. Next, I folded the diamonds into the triangles. Then I double sided taped the two sides together with the string/ribbon in the middle. Lastly, I tied them between two skewers. So easy. 5-10 minutes.

Ignore my hair that looks poofy. But he is so adorable in this shot!

He almost walking. I love practicing with him.
He looks like such a big boy!

Notice Matson's hand tickling his feet to get him to smile!

I am so happy that he liked our suitcase for him to use when they move away next month :(
Just means he and his parents will have to come back and visit lots!

Cake Time. He started out happy and taking some nibbles.
But as you can see..he had some tears. 

It was just too messy.
"It's my party I can cry if I want to."

 I can't leave you with just a sad picture of him...he ended the night still happy!

But bath time made it all better!
He even got to play with his new toys already!

And I gotta include a lovely picture of his mama who hosted
the cutest 1st birthday party ever! Don't they both look so happy?!
Love it!

Birthdays are so much fun!