I think I'll go to Boston

The Parish family recently went on vacation in Massachusetts! Hatley and Patrick had never been there. My family goes every summer. We rent a beach house and just relax for the entire week. It was fabulous! I wake up every morning wishing we were still on vacation! Only to realize that I am in Oklahoma and at 9 AM it is already 99 degrees. MISERABLE!

Hatley had never been on an airplane so I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about boarding our first flight. To Baltimore. 3 hours!!! She blew my mind! She was fantastic. Not a peep. She loved looking out the window and making the airplane sound as she flapped her arms :) After that we had a short flight from Baltimore to Boston which went great, as well. My dad and brother picked us up and we were on our way to the house!

We got to the house and Hatley was so so so happy to see all of her aunts and uncles and gramma! We took Hatley out to the beach for her first time and she couldn't get enough of the water. (even though it was so cold)

The entire week was extremely relaxing. We just hung out on the beach all day and cooked all the meals at the house. I would get up each morning, go for a run (well, 3 of the days anyway) and then have my iced coffee out on the porch watching the waves crash the rocks. Hatley also was a champ in her pack n play. She slept great but woke up every morning at 5:30. It was so bright out, she thought it was time to get up and play. Patrick and I quickly learned to "pretend" we were still sleeping and she eventually got bored and went back to sleep.

On Tuesday the whole family (minus my dad and joe) went to Boston to "get our shop on." They have an H&M. So amazing! We took the ferry there and back which was a fun experience for Hatley. We also went shopping downtown Scituate, that was fun. It's such a fun little beach town. It reminds me of something out of a movie or something.

Lobster diving was probably the highlight of Patricks vacation! My dad, joe and patrick all went scuba diving and would get lobster for us to cook for dinner. We had lobster pretty much every night, along with whatever my mom chose to cook. Fresh lobster was def. an experience. If you have ever cracked open a fresh lobster after steaming it, you know what I am talking about. It could ruin your appetite and make you not want to eat the lobster (if you have a weak stomach) Susannah's boyfriend Michael went with us. Joe, Ben and Michael went fishing one night and Ben (the youngest) caught the biggest fish. We had that for dinner the next night. We learned Hatley LOVES seafood. She ate lobster, crab, and fish pretty much every night for dinner.

The weather there was wonderful! Every day was pretty close to 80 degrees. If Patrick could find a job up in Scituate, we would move there in a heart beat! We will def. be going back for future vacations! I cannot wait until the next time!

Hatley found out real fast that the water is COLD!

Patrick and Hatley enjoying the water

Joe and Patrick getting ready to go get some lobster!

Our ferry to Boston!

birthday pics

hatley jane turns 1

Back in April, seems like forever, we had Hatley's 1st birthday party!! It was a huge success! My sister Bekah took pictures and did a fabulous job. I will do a couple of posts of pictures because I would love to put them all up but its just not possible so, Ill do what I can.

well....

It has been forever since we have blogged. To be honest, I sort of forgot about blogging world. Everything has changed sooo much! We had Hatley's FIRST BIRTHDAY on April 27th. WOW! that went fast. We had a milk and cookies party. (pictures to come) Hatley had a blast and couldn't wait to open her presents. She wasn't too fond of the cake though. Not too much else has gone on. We are going with my family to Massachusetts this July. Patrick has never been and I have not been in 4 years!!! We are so excited to be able to take Hatley on this trip with us. We think she will have so much fun in the sand and the rocks and the water. We will try to remember to update the blog after that trip. I am sure we will have TONS of pictures :)

we have a walker

well, Hatley took her first step on Christmas. (Merry Christmas to me) and has only taken a few since then except....on her 9 MONTH BIRTHDAY....Hatley woke up and decided she was going to walk!! Not just take steps but WALK! we now have a full on walker and she can not get enough of it. she loves walking everywhere she goes. I think she is actually working on running. haha. Sometimes she takes steps so quickly it does look like she is running. I will post pictures later. I will also try and figure out how to add a video. Until then....Good morning, good day or good night

lately....

This is how she sleeps and it cracks me up!!

This is one of the pictures we took on Thanksgiving.

Hatley finally got to meet her friend Hayden (she is in the background)

Hatley just doing her thing :)

This was Hatley in her Christmas dress on sunday.

Look at that sweet face :)

Hope you guys have a great New Year!! My resolution should be...keeping up with blog world :)

busy or lazy

Well, it has been since Halloween that I last blogged. A LOT has happened and I will do my best to to put it all in this post. So all my peeps out there reading, hahaha, this is it....

Hatley has learned all sorts of new tricks!!! She was crawling all over the place @ 6 months, pulling up on anything and everything she could get her hands on and was "cruising" not too long after that. We were thinking she would be walking by 8 months but since today is her 8 month birthday....that didn't happen. She did surprise me on Christmas day with a nice little present of "taking her first step unassisted"!!!

We were @ my moms up in Edmond on Thanksgiving day. We invited Patricks family along with us. I ran the Turkey trot that morning with my friend Laneale. It was a killer. I was so sore after that. Although I could hardly move, we did manage to take our holiday picture. They turned out really well.

On Christmas Eve we were with my family. It was a pretty uneventful evening :) On Christmas day we were with Patricks family. As noted earlier, Hatley took her first step!!! That would have to be the highlight of our day :)

Other than all this glorious info, not much else has happened. i will post pics in my next post.

halloween

Well, Halloween was a success at the Parish household this year. Friday night Patrick and I went to a "grown-up" costume party. It was a lot of fun seeing all the adults dressed like silly characters.

Saturday evening we handed out candy. We were going to dress Hatley up but then she needed a nap and it never happened. At the start of the evening we didn't think we were going to have many trick-or-treaters but then we had a huge amount show up. We handed out 5 bags of candy and some extra Christmas candy we had left from stockings :) i doubt the kids cared.

Sunday evening we headed over to Shari's for the Annual family Halloween Party!! Everyone was dressed up. We had a lot of little bugs running/crawling around. Bugs were the popular costume for babies this year.

Here are some pics of the the Halloween festivities.....

i think i want to be a gymnast...

I am just practicing a little early!!

Pioneer womans "Good Morning Muffins"

Ingredients

Muffin batter

• 4 cups Flour
• ½ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• ½ cups Shortening (can Use 1/4 Cup Shortening With 1/4 Cup Butter)
• 2 cups Orange Marmalade
• 1 cup Orange Juice
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs Beaten

Topping Ingredients

• ¾ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon (plus 1 Teaspoon) Melted Butter
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Place in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter to mix in shortening (or butter/shortening if desired). Mix marmalade, orange juice, and vanilla in a small bowl. Pour into dry ingredients. Beat eggs and pour into the bowl. Mix all ingredients together gently, using fewer than 10 large strokes.

In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients.

Fill muffin pans with batter. Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon of topping ingredients over each muffin.

Sprinkle wheat germ over the top for extra crunch.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until done. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.

meatloaf

In the Parish household, we LOVE meatloaf but I decided to try a new recipe. Honestly, when I read that it was wrapped in bacon I didn't want to make it anymore but I ended up trying it. IT WAS AWESOME!! served with mashed potatoes and salad....delish!!

Ingredients:

• Meatloaf:
• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 6 slices White Bread
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
• ¾ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
• 4 whole Eggs Beaten
• 10 slices Thin/regular Bacon
• Sauce:
• 1-½ cup Ketchup
• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• Tabasco To Taste

Preparation instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

lately....

Looking back at pictures from just 2 months ago and realized she has gotten so big so fast!! sitting up on her own and attempting to crawl @ 5 months!!

Boomer SOONER!!!!

Ready for game time....

Worn out from such a close game

Hatley's very first OU watch party experience. OU v Utah State.

Green Peas

Daddy's time to feed Hatley

Looks like she likes them.....

Not really :)

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have recently started enjoying baking & cooking so I have decided to post my favorite recipes on here. These are not MY recipes, they are recipes I have found, tried and enjoyed :)

If you like chocolate chip muffins, you will LOVE these.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour (white or unbleached)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
½ cup butter (melted and cooled)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (11 ½ ounce) package milk chocolate chips (or less)
½ cup walnuts (chopped) optional

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffins cups (or muffin tins). In a large bowl mix together flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
Step 2: In another bowl stir together eggs, milk, butter and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the milk mixture into the well and stir until well combined. Lightly stir in chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

Step 3: Spoon batter into muffins cups or tins. Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

the coolest baby on the block

Told ya she was cool!!!!