Downtown Trick or Treating

This year for Halloween we discovered the fun of downtown trick or treating.  

Maddie dressed up as a ladybug and Ella Bea was a…Bee. :-)

They were so cute and SO excited.  

I loved that Ella was just as excited and into the whole thing as Maddie was.

Mike definitely earned his dad stripes,

 holding both their hands and taking them up to each vendor.

We learned that we need to work on saying "Trick or Treat" BEFORE they get the candy, 

but both girls were champs at saying thank you…so…small victory?

This was the second time we have been downtown in our new town, and I gotta say I love it.

Loveland really has the benefit of feeling like a small town, 

but has the amenities and benefits of a bigger town. 

These costumes were too cute on the girls.

My mom and I found them at Ross a month or so ago, and I scored them for a bargain!

I also love that I was sort of able to "theme" their costumes.  

A theme that I didn't plan, but that worked out very well for us!

                 

All in all 

we had a great time!

Can't wait for next year!

She Sleeps and I Edit!!

I love it when this girl sleeps.

It happens so rarely that I HAVE to record it. :-) 

Plus she's so delicious when she sleeps.  

and then she wakes….

And is pretty much the most hilarious toddler ever 

I was trying to do a "Fall" photo shoot and Ella was acting so crazy.  

It was frustrating and amusing all at the same time. 

Maddie, however, was not amused by her little sister's shenanigans.

It was still fun to try and set up an actual shoot. 

I've realized that our apartment has excellent natural light.  

I'll miss that aspect of it.  That and only that. ;-)

So…I have a question regarding photographing kids…

more frustrating when they are your own?

A Day in the Park

An Afternoon of Reading

 The more that you read,

 the more things you will know.

 The more that you learn,

 the more places you'll go.

Dr. Seuss

Princess Flowers

When small people wake up before 6 am and the whole day is in danger of falling apart, 

one must don the prettiest clothes you own and go pick flowers.  

My humble opinion of course...

Both girls were enthusiastically in favor of this activity…

Wearing princess crowns and carrying wands is optional….

but highly recommended

And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a nap.

Cumin Lime Chickpea Salad

This is my favorite bean salad ever, and it's the only way I can get Mike to eat chickpeas.  

So GOOD!

Photo steps below, and full recipe is at the bottom of post!

Gather ingredients

Wash garbanzo (chickpea) beans and place in bowl

Add diced onion and cilantro

Mix dressing 

Stir all ingredients together and enjoy!

So good!  It gets better as it sits, but it's hard to keep it around that long!

Cumin Lime Chickpea Salad

• 2 cans garbanzo beans
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro (or more, I add more because, well, duh, it's delicious)

     Dressing for Salad

• 1 lime - juiced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves of minced garlic

First step is to prep your ingredients.  

     Open garbanzo bean cans and rinse in a colander.  

     Dice your red onion

     Wash and seperate your cilantro leaves from stems and then chop.  

          (I like to keep my cilantro pieces fairly big, but this is a personal preference.)

In a small bowl combine the following:

lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, and minced garlic.  

Stir together with fork.  

In large bowl mix garbanzo beans, onion, cilantro, and dressing.  

Try and restrain yourself from eating whole bowl, forkful by forkful, and place in fridge. 

The longer it sits, the more delicious it gets.  

Quick, simple, and flavorful!  My favorite kind of recipe! 

Recipe is adapted from Budgetbytes Cumin Lime Chickpeas recipe.  

Three of my favorite things

Buddha bellies,

little ears,

and baby mullets.

"These are a few of my favorite things"