Calli & Ian's Wedding

 Calli and Ian got married in Boise, which we were thrilled about. Any reason we have to go to Boise and see Nora and Charlie, we'll take it! The wedding was so fun! A beautiful ceremony and a super fun reception.

Nora was a flower girl, and knocked it out of the park. She took her job very seriously, and nailed it!

The most beautiful flower girl I've ever seen! She had so much fun!

I love this girl with my whole heart!

Pops with his favorite girl!

Squiggy-NooNoo-Nora

Calli and Ian making their entrance as husband and wife.

Nora loved the whole day, and she was so zeroed in while Calli and Ian cut the cake. 

Nora and Adler were so dang cute at the dance. They shut the place down! 😆

Before Mark and I headed home, I got my Mother's Day gift. Nora and Charlie made me the cutest flower book mark. 😃

Cooking Through the States: Ohio

 For Ohio's main dish, we made Cincinnati chili. I was really excited to try this because it seemed so odd. Cincinnati chili is a Mediterranean spiced meat sauce created in 1922 by two immigrant brothers. They adapted the dish into a hot dog topping, and later added it on top of spaghetti noodles to give it a more American feel. To speed up and simplify orders, the brothers developed the 'ways' system, which is still in place today. 

2-Way: Spaghetti noodles and chili

3-Way: Spaghetti noodles, chili, and shredded cheddar cheese

4-Way: Spaghetti noodles, chili, cheese, and diced onions

5-Way: Spaghetti noodles, chili, cheese, diced onions, and kidney beans

We went with the 5 way version. Go big or go home! We all thought it was interesting. Mark and I actually liked it better left over. It was good, but probably not something I'd go to a restaurant and order. We did pierogies for our side. They are tied to Ohio because of the state's rich Eastern European heritage. We finished off our meal with buckeyes for dessert. It was Amanda's first time making them, and they were quite yummy!

Ohio dinner

Pierogies

Buckeyes

Alex & Michelle's Wedding

 I'm going to brag about myself for a minute.....I pick great friends! I truly do! I feel like I've always relied a lot on good friends, because Mark and I have never lived by a lot of family during our married life. In every stage of our married life I have had just the right people in my life at just the right time. I feel like I gravitate towards people who have big hearts. Michelle is one of those friends. I met her shortly after she moved to Idaho Falls, and knew instantly what a stellar person she was. I always describe her as someone who has life going on! She knows what she wants, and she goes after it! She lives life to the fullest, and I'm glad I get to watch a lot of it happen. We've been on so many great adventures together! We're old enough to be her parents, but that has never bothered her. When she decided that Alex was her person, we knew he must be amazing too, because she wouldn't settle for anything less. We were so happy to celebrate their wedding with them. Such a perfect day! Congratulations Michelle and Alex! There is so much fun in store for you two! 

She was such a beautiful bride!

Alex-Tricia-Michelle-Mark

Happy Birthday Sawyer!

 We celebrated Sawyer's 31st birthday with dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and a trip to Teton Running for some much needed new shoes. After that we went to their house for a yummy cake that Amanda made him. Happy birthday Sawyer! We hope you enjoyed your day!