Corrie came to town!

My awesome sister Corrie drove from Washington with her friend Nate to come for a quick weekend in Utah to visit family and friends. We first met them at Nielsen's Frozen Custard Thursday evening...and enjoyed some sweet, frozen, deliciousness.

While enjoying our frozen custard in the old school diner, Nate and Adam talked about cars and Corrie and I talked and laughed about all things random.

Goodness that girl can make me laugh like no other.

In the morning we enjoyed some yummy stuffed french toast...I shared how I made them in my last post here :)

Brooks LOVES his Aunt Corrie, and his new friend Nate. They were both so sweet with him. In the picture below, we were all laughing at how Brooks was sipping/biting/heavy breathing as she tried to give him a drink of yummy pineapple orange juice.

And later that afternoon we met Adam for lunch. Such a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for a picnic at the park.

Brooks slept in his car seat while we played a rousing game of Rummikub.

Favorite game of the Stum fam :)

It was Nate's first time playing...and he WON!! :)

Adam had to go back to work, but we stayed a bit longer...Corrie and Nate had a lot fun climbing a couple trees...they are so cute :)

Brooks looking WAY UP HIGH...in the picture below, can you see Nate at the very top!! I was only having a slight panic attack. haha

Then we went to play on the swings...

This was Brooks' first time on the swings, and he was SO SO CUTE laughing and kicking his legs like crazy :)

Corrie got this fun video...I love Brooks' sweet giggles when he swings up, close to the camera, er phone ;)

I can't get enough of my Corrie! We sure love her :)

Thanks so much for coming for the short but SWEET visit sister!

Stuffed French Toast...oui!

Last night we had my sister & her friend stay with us...so I wanted to be sure to have an extra scrumdidiliumptious (yes, I did just write that) breakfast this morning. Stuffed French Toast popped into my head...I've never made any, but I thought I'd go ahead and try it! I didn't even use a recipe and they turned out fabulous. Yeessssss!...that does not happen very often folks.

Here's what I used to make 4 servings of DELICIOUS stuffed french toast:

- 8 bread slices -

- 8 oz. softened cream cheese -

- 1/3 to 1/2 C. powdered sugar -

- sliced strawberries (or bananas, blueberries, etc.) -

- jam (we used apricot) -

- 5 eggs -

- 3 T. cinnamon sugar -

- 2 t. vanilla -

Here's how I made them:

1 - Mix softened cream cheese with powdered sugar

2 - Slice strawberries...toss with a bit of sugar :)

3 - Beat eggs with cinnamon sugar and vanilla in a big bowl/container (so the mixture is shallow)

4 - Spread cream cheese mixture over all 8 pieces of bread (Dave's Killer Bread is nutty, and hearty, and delicious...I get mine at Costco)

5 - Put sliced fruit and/or jam on 4 of the pieces of bread

6 - Using a spatula (with holes/slits) set a piece of bread in the egg mixture and let the one side soak for 5-10 seconds (longer the more dense your bread is).

7 - Place on warm griddle, and quickly soak another piece (for the other side) in egg mixture then place on top.

8 - Let cook until light golden brown on each side (being careful when flipping)

Bon appetite!

I loved mine just off the griddle, and Corrie & Nate enjoyed theirs with a little maple syrup.

Nate said, "This reminds me of the french toast over at Rays."

"Is that a restaurant??" I asked.

"Yep."

How cool is that!? Something I whipped up tastes like something others would pay for!

Big compliment in my book :)

I'm linking up to Whipperberry to share this fun breakfast :)

Go here and check out other fabulous recipes, decor ideas, crafts, and amazing event planning!

Sunshine Promises

Back in January I shared our experience of losing our sweet, ever-smiling nephew Bennett (he passed away unexpectedly in his sleep at just 20 months old). I've talked with Mandy, his tender, yet ever-strong mother, about her feelings and experiences since...and I have been so uplifted by her! I, along with so many others, have had a broken heart with Bennett gone...and while Mandy and Dave still have huge holes in their hearts, they have been amazing examples to us of depending on the Lord when the storms of life hit us where it hurts the most. They not only have hope, they know God has a plan for them & their family, and they will be with their son again.

Mandy (who just so happens to be a woman who is fantastic with words) has decided to create a blog called Sunshine Promises...here's the description under her adorable header/title:

"I am a Sweetheart to One and a Mommy to Four Loveable Babes, one of which is smiling down on us from Heaven. I am learning to dance in the rain. Come with me on my journey as I make the most out of Life's mud puddles.

Put on your rain boots. Great adventure lies ahead."

If you want to feel uplifted, receive comfort, and enjoy some beautiful writing, go pay a visit to her blog. And while she is a Super Woman in my eyes, she can use all the love, encouragement, and prayers she can get...if you feel moved to, please leave her some comment love and keep her and their family in your hearts.

cousin sleepover!

My cousin Kirstey came over to our house for a sleepover :) She doesn't live very far away, yet we do NOT see her or their awesome fam enough...it was so fun having her here!!

She was so So SO cute with Brooks and I could tell Brooks was loving play time with his pretty "Aunt" Kirstey :) And he even got to show off his new walking skills in the nude...remember?

For dinner we devoured homemade barbeque chicken pizza and caesar salads...we were full & happy.

We had some much needed girl talk...i sure love my Kirst :) And then all 4 of us laughed 'til our stomachs hurt (okay, Brooks just smiled) while watching/sharing some hilarious youtube videos...like this one:

kills me e.v.e.r.y.t.i.m.e.

After Brooks was in bed, we busted out the ice cream and chocolate chips...and put on some ridiculously yummy smelling chocolate masks (or masques, which one is it?)...we may or may not have put the masks on over our make-up. oops. lol

And we had a little fun with photobooth...

1 bottle orange soda + 1 tub vanilla ice cream + 2 spoons = yummy soda float

{in the ice cream tub, oh yes}

I held up my phone to show that we were chatting with my sister Corrie...who's coming into town tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! can't wait!

Adam was so great to help me enjoy some girl time with my sweet cousin. He went to bed early, and Kirst and I fell asleep on the couch...with our heads on each other's shoulders...while watching "Dispicable Me" :) We woke up in the wee hours of the night and headed to our beds...

We had Life & greek yogurt for breakfast (and one piece of frenchtoast;) before Kirstey headed to work. Brooks gave her a couple sweet kisses and I gave her about 5 hugs on her way out the door...can't wait for next time!! We love you Kirstey!

happy feet

...no, I'm not talking about the movie (even though it was a cute flick)

I'm talking about how Brooks has had quite the pair of happy feet lately...now that

HE'S WALKING!!!!!

The last week or so he's taken a couple baby steps every day...but Monday night we got the first video of him taking lots of, what feels like to me, big-boy steps!

Here's the footage:

And then last night we got this video...oh that little bum...

Over night he went from a few baby steps to getting up all by himself and walking to where he wants to go. When Brooks has his mind set on something there's nothing stopping him :) He still crawls like a little speed demon, but he's walking a ton!

We're so proud of our big boy.

And our typical Tuesdays are going to be a whole lot different from here on out ;)

PS - Thank you so much to those of you who stopped by Rachel's blog to see my guest post!! :)