Mustache March, FAKE 60 degree weather, and a NEW muffin recipe

Happy MUSTACHE MARCH!

It was a beautiful day in Idaho yesterday- Sunny with a slight breeze.  I SWEAR it was 60 degrees.
Then I checked my weather app- 39 degrees.

No, that can't be right, this app is always a little off, Weather.com will be MUCH more accurate.
Weather.com- 42 degrees, feels like 39 degrees.

Y'all, I'm from Texas.  In Texas freezing is not 32 degrees. It is 50 degrees.  I patted myself on the shoulder thinking how awesome I was for adapting to my surroundings.

I may survive Idaho after all!


Top 5 from past few weeks:

5. Kaleb's meals lately-

A giant pretzel.

"The Luther" - Bacon cheeseburger on a glazed doughnut with syrup drizzle. 

4. I scored 135 points with ONE word on Words with Friends

3. Realized we live in a VERY beautiful part of the country

On our drive home from skiing...

2. Found a yummy muffin recipe (recipe)

cocoa center

Looked so tasty in the oven!

1. We had the BEST time with our company last week!!

Boys playing HALO

More pics of our visit with family from Seattle!

We went Skiing!

We Reunited with Grandpa Ron the (could be female but we don't know) Tortoise!








Lots of Love!
Kaleb, Ashley, Lizzie, & Luna

we are ALIVE and WELL!

It has been a while.

It has been 11 months.

So much and so little has happened, my postponement is due to writer's block, not to a busy schedule.

First, we had to say goodbye to Grandpa Ron. 

However, as you can see from the picture above, he has found a lovely new home with our nephew in Seattle.  Grandpa Ron was always intended as a gift to our AWESOME nephew Cole.

With an empty nest and heavy hearts in the absence of our first pet we decided to get, not one, but TWO of the best pups you will ever meet.

They are much bigger now, however I can't get over their puppy pics. 

I've learned some new things in the kitchen.  We have been experimenting with soups and have been three for three so far, including a potato green chile chowder, beef stew, and enchilada soup.  More posts to come with recipes and pics... (if i remembered to take any).

A top ten of other happenings while we have been away-

10.  I won Bowl Mania against Kaleb and my bro-in-law Colton

9. We met the stars of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot

8. Kaleb grew a disgusting beard and met Benny the Bengal

7. It got REALLY cold here

6. We ALL had to dress accordingly...

5. Lizzie drove us all to the vet

 

4. I competed in my very first Heinrich Open (and lost to Grandpa first round)... however I did get third in the pool shark competition.

3. I won my very first game of online Catan against Zak, Kaleb, & Ethan

2. We celebrated our very first anniversary and made paper stars out of strips of paper.  Each strip has something we are looking forward to in our marriage (& family)... 1st anniversary gift = paper.

1. We were blessed to celebrate the holidays with both sides of our family, Millers at Thanksgiving & Heinrichs at Christmas.  While in Iowa, all of us were inducted into Heinrich University.  Pictured below are the (Mark) Heinrich kids with Great Grandma Leota- she has the best laugh

 

Kaleb is well into his research and classes, with a long To Do list ahead of him.  He tackles each day with ease and little stress (some of the many qualities I look up to him for...).  He is a wonderful example of love and support for our present and future family.  As you can imagine all that goodness is VERY tiring- so I bid you well with this snuggly little pic of lizzie and her dad.

Until next time,

Kaleb, Ash, Lizzie, & Luna

Ellen is my hero

Well hello everyone!

I realize we have become strangers to the blogging world... but perhaps only because we have had the opportunity to enjoy the great weather southeast Idaho has been experiencing lately.

First, and foremost, I would like to say Happy Mustache March to everyone!

and i just tried to upload Kaleb's photo, but apparently I don't know how to format instagram to blogger... or something. I've been told his is 'sick' (not in the cool way)... so, fellow blog readers, you are welcome for the omission! but really, it's not all that bad!




So, Kaleb has been getting pretty busy with his research. He even let me be his field assistant for a day! We went to a local stream and caught some Hesperloperla... WHAT? aka "Golden Stone Fly"
To me, they look like cockroaches of the stream... but to Kaleb they are something much more.

Let me preface this next story with how sweet my husband is. Everyday he tells me how happy he is, how lucky he thinks he is, and how beautiful I am. This is all true, and sweet. Stay with me, this isn't one of those blogs where I oosh and goosh over my better half... it has comedy, satire, or perhaps a pity laugh?

Here is a sample dialogue of us at the stream, stonefly hunting:

• Kaleb: Why don't you go pick up that rock and see what you find
• Ashley: Good idea! (pick up random rock, SCREAM, and throw it)
• K: What happened?
• A: BUGS. WERE. CRAWLING. ALL OVER THAT!
• K: ummmm... yes?
• A: Well, I don't think they were what we were looking for anyway...
• K: (picks up same rock) Aw, these are my favorite! (tells me some scientific name that I don't understand) Aren't they beautiful?

does anyone see that same word correlation??? I'm beautiful, the scary crawly bug is beautiful...

Anyway, I've been on an "Ellen Show" kick lately... It comes on right after I get off work, and I find her show rather hilarious. While Kaleb and I were watching he asked if I had her app. WHAT?! Ellen has an APP??! Hence, the most recent favorite addition to my iPhone.

What's cookin'? (or, in this case, baking)

Kaleb's department has been hosting a lot of potlucks as they interview for new staff positions. As a new wifey, this can be a huge stressor for me. WHAT AM I GOING TO BRING? We are students, but we are married... I must impress.

So I start googling, and I find GOLD. Well, not gold, but edible goodness.

It involved melted caramel... chocolate chips... walnuts (optional)... oatmeal... I probably could have stopped at melted caramel huh?

Caramel Bars

They got ALL THE RAVE! Try them! Or come visit Idaho and I will make them for you!!! :)

Next I'm going to try some upside down toffee apple cake, courtesy of my good friend and great little kitchen master Kathleen.

Well this was a rather wordy post. How about some funny pics (thanks to the Ellen App!)

<--- Planking

Horsemaning-->








Love,
Kaleb, Ashley, & Grandpa Ron (the tort)

Yurt Trip

Newlywed News:

Adventure Weekend:
who- Kaleb, Ashley, & Kaleb's lab buddies
what- 2.25mi snowy hike to a yurt
when- last weekend
where- Idaho
why- WHY NOT!

<--Here is a pic of our hike up there. Hannah was a champ and (with some team work from the others) hauled the heavy ice chest most of the way up!

Our instructions were to:
--hike to the orange gate
--turn right and hike through the conifers
--yurt will be on left

SO... what in the WORLD is a YURT? (you can read about them here)


<- exhibit A-- Kaleb with Yurt




exhibit B-- Ashley with Yurt ->




The black pole sticking up through the right side of the 'roof' is part of the wood burning stove that, not only kept us nice and toasty all night long (thanks to Ryan & Matt-- our fire tenders), but also boiled snow so that Hannah and Ryan could make a very tasty dinner!

What was on the menu?
Cheese and Crackers (appetizer)
Salad with Vinaigrette dressing (and tons of veggies)
Goat Cheese Pasta with olives and garlic
Grilled Chicken
Buttered Baguettes


Angela made some AWESOME "Brookies" for dessert
(which we actually ate before our cheese and crackers).

which leads me into my next segment:

Kitchen Adventures:
Last night's food coma, along with the delay of this blog entry, was due to a ton of leftovers from previous successful dinners... and these delectable, and very rich, Brownie+Cookies! They are delicious and easy... however I still desire to make them healthier... Anyone have experience with oil in place of butter/shortening... coconut oil perhaps?

Other successful dinners you ask? AH you must be shocked after reading my last blog of unsuccessful baking-- however my m&m cookies at 375 actually were a HIT!

Our two favs right now are both crock-pot chicken dishes:

We like to call them "Salsa Chicken":
--thawed chicken breasts
--1 jar salsa
--cilantro
--lime juice
after 4 hrs on low, shred the chicken. add 1 can drained/rinsed black beans & 1 bag frz corn

& "Buffalo Chicken" (creative huh?)


Both super easy, but in a crock pot, in order to maintain a safe temperature on your poultry use thawed chicken!

Jukebox Jams:
This little band they like to call The Civil Wars are pretty sweet. Even cooler, Joy Williams is a believer and has won a ton of awards in the Christian music industry. What's even COOLER is they won, not one, but TWO GRAMMY'S!

If y'all have never checked out NPR's tiny desk concerts, then you should. Start with Joy & John Paul, and then try out Ivan & Alyosha.

Oh by the way, did i mention this was our potty??


until next time, with love - Kaleb, Ashley, & Grandpa Ron