Going Private

As seems to be the safety trend, we will be going private with our blog. Which simply means, you just have to be invited to view the new posts. It is a one time process where you log on and then you are good to go each time. So, send me your email if you want to continue to follow. If you don't, and I want you to cont to follow, I will add you anyways! Haha

We have had super beautiful weather. Oh,I can't tell you how nice it has been. So we went sledding this weekend and here are some pics. There are hills and trees in our town. You can see how deep the snow is on Brian. Also you can see how brave Beau is. He would go over and over and over, all by himself. They loved it! Also, you can see my new sunglasses. Not too much personality, but they are growing on me.

Love you guys!

My email is rebeccayoung1@gmail.com

Birthday Party

I know Baker's grandparents are thirsty for some birthday party pics so I thought I would supply them. The party was great! Baker had a blast with all his friends. Our neighbor, who is 4 said "this is the best swimming day ever!". The cake was mediocre, but other than that we just had a happy day celebrating!
I had a girlfriend come out to be my right hand man (b/c it is very hard to get things done by yourself and try to enjoy the party) so I was so grateful! The Lord has been very good to us lately and we are just pleased to have a 3yr old. I can already tell that age 3 is better than age 2! So, we are going to live up these next 4 months in peace, before we have a 2 yr old again. I added the pic of Beau b/c he is just so darn cute. Baker got those boots for his bday and Beau just loves them, even though they come up to his knees.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery... right?

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Sometimes. Not in this case. It is not flattering to my personality that Baker takes my flaws and exaggerates them. Yesterday he started something new, a loud, deep, annoyed sigh. You know, when things don't go your way you might let out an "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh". I do, a lot apparently. For instance, when I realized that I had washed my new red table cloth with my new Williams Sonoma white towels and my cloth napkins- I let out a loud "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhh". When I back out of the garage and drive over a huge clump of snow, I go "uuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggghhhhhh". Well, it didn't take long for Baker to pick up on this. He used to say "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggghhhhhh WHAT???" Which would make me laugh and I would feel stupid for making such a big deal out of something petty. So now, when he says I want that toy that Beau has and I say no.... he says 'uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggggggghh'. I obviously laughed the first time or two, but it certainly isn't a habit you want your child picking up on.

He also flatters Brian. We were at Subway last night and I looked up and there was spit all over Baker's eye. I asked what happened and he said, " I can't see, I put my contact in." He did it again and this time I saw him. He spit in his hand and rubbed it over his eye. Of course Brian doesn't spit in his eye, but still. He is watching. Its like my sister-in-law said, we teach them so many things un-intentionally.


Beau on the hand, imitates nothing. We wonder whose genes he has. He is something of a different breed. He is ornerier and sweeter than Baker ever thought about being. He is very territorial and he wants his way! He threw a very large fit at the table tonight b/c we wouldn't let him have anymore guacamole without eating some meat first. He never gave in. Brian tried to put a spoon to his mouth and he covered it with both hands. No kidding.

He was sitting by me while I was making dinner when he grabbed the sucker dish. I looked over and he had a large gleam in his eye and a smirk on his face as he stuck his hand in AND watched to see what I said. It wouldn't have been fun if I wasn't watching.


We have a lot of days that Brian and I look at each other and wonder how did we get to this point with two seemingly smart boys trying to run our lives? They are so crazy. I wish you all could see them.

What's for Dinner?

Tonight we are having Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad. Wow, that is a mouthful. Not to mention I had never heard of the word quinoa "keen-woa" before. Apparently it is a whole grain that you can find at your health food store, and apparently my little town has a health food store. Nothing of course compared to Whole Foods, but it will do, especially since... we don't eat anything organic.

So, Julie Beam introduced me to the Pioneer Woman blog and I have been trying her recipes ever since. She is awesome! She has a great chicken spaghetti that Brian loves, we have used her salsa recipe and the best of all was her spicy shredded pork shoulder. It is so good (as my dad would put it) "I would order it at a restaurant". Tonight we are trying something on her website from "The Church Cook", whom I have never heard of. I should have guessed that it was not her recipe since it looks super healthy and not so comforting. I thought it looked beautiful though and so I had to write about it. You can see in the pictures how the quinoa goes from small brown balls to something that almost looks like an eye. We will see what Brian says. I tasted it before the dressing and it was delicious, but then the dressing was pretty strong. Hopefully its nothing a little Ranch, sour cream, or avacado can't fix.

Hope everyone is doing well! What are you having for dinner??? Mother???

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/salads/red-quinoa-and-black-bean-salad/?review_page=2#cr

What it looks like

Winter is in full blast right now. You can see the pics of Brian and Baker shoveling snow. I wish the pics had romanticized the snow a bit, but it looks awful outside and that day it was. Today the sun is shining, something I will never take for granted again, but it is like -15 degrees outside. And that is COLD! I put a pic on the bottom too of what happens to Brian's face if he doesn't cover it up when he shovels- it freezes, literally.


I wanted to show you some pics of our community group up north. Brian and I started the group last semester and it took off. I was very nervous but it was the Lord's plan so really, there should have been no pressure on me. Anyways, these are most of our friends and I thought you might want to see what they look like. The pic is from our ugly sweater Christmas party, which was a blast. I love parties!

Book Club

Like I said, book club deserves its very own post. I wish I had a picture to add, but I would feel a bit odd if I asked to take a pic of everyone at our little get togethers. So, my friend Courtney started this and there are about 10-12 women in it and it is my FAVORITE thing right now. I mean, I totally didn't like reading when I was in school, probably b/c I always had better things to do and now I don't. Also b/c I am convinced of several quotes that I know from Dave Ramsey "10 years from now you will be the same exact person you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet". Dang isn't that true! Especially for Brian and I. He loves to read too and we need it to continue to prune ourselves, at least in a spiritual manner. Dave also says "leaders are readers" and I won't disagree with that. So... each month book club is at a different home and when it is at your home then you pick the book. So far we have read

1. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I would totally recommend it. It is historical fiction based in the 1960's in Mississippi. "The Help" refers to the African American maids in white womens' homes. I loved it!!!! They are also making it into a movie in April so you better hurry.

2. "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen. Don't read it. Seriously, I mean, my friends loved it but I did not. They are also making it into a movie starring EDWARD CULLEN... I mean Robert Pattison and Reese Witherspoon. It will also be out in April, just see the movie. The book is extremely..... descriptive.

3. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larson. It is very dark and different. I enjoyed it but it is a slow read and certainly will not make you a better person. I have heard the sequel is even worse and I am not going to read it. They are making it into a movie also but DON'T GO SEE IT. Very brutal

4. This month it is my turn and I am going off recommendation from Kay Ammons and we are reading "Same kind of different as me". Can't say anything about it b/c I have not read it yet but I am sure I will like it and it might even make me a better person.

So, we have snacks and drinks of the hostess' choice and we talk about the book. I don't really know why it is so much fun. Perhaps b/c every other time I see these women most of us have our children with us which makes it almost impossible to have a uninterrupted conversation. It might just be something about other people reading the same book you read and yet can have such different opinions on the matter. I suppose it can be similar in Bible study- the Lord can speak to people in different ways, but people are much quieter in Bible study.

Anyways... since I put it in the letter as "one of my most favorite activities ever" then I figure I should try to defend it. I wish I had started this a long time ago, although I did my senior year for AP English, but we didn't read the books of course, so there was no discussion. LOL. Oh how times have changed. So, if you have some free time or if you can make some- start one of your own!

Dear Kendall

I am sorry I have taken so long to write again. Its just that if I don't have anything to say, well... I don't say anything. I will try to piece together this uneventful blog though, just so you can have some entertainment at "work".

Lets see.... there is snow on the ground. I missed it. I am not going to lie. It is sort of comforting you know. We experience winter up here, full blown and I am okay with that. Today is very nice. I even hung Christmas lights on our roof. My homemaking skills are amazing me, I am not going to lie. I never imagined I would do some of the things I have done! I am taking on man jobs so Brian doesn't have to. I think the temp is 35 and the sun came out, which is so rare here and brings me to my next point. I am not sure if you have heard or not but I lost my leopard Oakleys. It is probably the worst thing that has happened to me all year (which speaks to my quality of life). It is terrible, I mean, I am pretty sure I am in the 5 stages of grief. I have passed denial, but I can't even shop for new sunglasses yet. I can't possibly replace them with something as equally great. I have attached the last known photo of the glasses at Disneyland. I bought my first pair in 2001 and then bought an exact replica in 2006. So as you have all heard "only the rich can afford to live poorly" and my sunglasses are proof. $85x2 over 10 years is nothing. That equals out to $17 a year spent on sunglasses and who doesn't spend that????? Not to mention I had a very high quality product. Sadly, inflation really does exist and dang- prices have gone up!! Not to mention that they don't have the same style glasses that they made back then. UGGGGHHHHH. It's terrible I tell you terrible. It's as if part of me has died. My friend Jessica called them a member of the Young family, and the Barton family for that matter. Anyways, its terrible.

I have also posted a pic of our new Christmas tree that we bought last year on closeout. It is HUGE. I was shocked. Our old hand me down tree was about 3ft tall and very pathetic. We had to go buy more ornaments b/c the 10 we own couldn't fill it. I have also embraced decorating the house more this year. Baker loves Christmas decorations. We helped put up the tree at my parents house this year and now he is obsessed with Christmas ornaments. Its great.

Lets see...you should be receiving your Christmas card soon (except I need Tom and Sharon's address, thank you for the buck eyes). It again was an uneventful letter this year, but I think that is a good thing. I almost left it out b/c well... you will see if you read it that if you write about 3 people in the family well you can't leave yourself out. So I had Brian write about me b/c when I did it I made myself sound so lame. Seriously, and then what he wrote couldn't possibly be sent out in a letter so you will see. It may sound lame, but... it's who I am. I love book club (it actually deserves its own blog) and I love my friends and church and that is about all that can be said. It just doesn't sound so awesome on paper. We had a good laugh about it though. I am sure it will detract some of my friends from carrying out with motherhood.

Anyways, hope I provided you with a short escape from work and we will see you soon!