Celebrating my Parent's 30th Anniversary

My parent's celebrated their 30th Anniversary on September 11th this year. Taylor and I always have these big plans... aka Dreams... to throw an over-the-top party with filet mignon, a champagne and chocolate fountain and free cars in their goody bags. Then we realize we're not Oprah. Instead, Taylor and I planned an Anniversary dinner for them. We decorated the table with flowers in their wedding colors: silver and lavender. We attempted to cook them a nice dinner and about half of it turned out yummy. The rest was edible, which is more than I can say for my meatloaf... but it wasn't worth bragging about.

Menu: Cheddar Bacon pull-apart Bread *Pictured and recipe is below Peppercorn Steak with Mushrooms Slivered Potatoes *Not pictured because they weren't that great Wild Rice (not going to lie, it was an Uncle Ben's packet) Cookie, Brownie, Reese's bars *Not pictured but AMAZING

We also posed for some pictures...however, please don't judge the image quality. For one, the lighting was terrible, it was late. I was sweating from all of the cooking... and Tyler was the photographer for a few of these pictures and photography isn't his forte. :) But we still love him.

See? E for Effort, Tyler. ;)

There were some other pictures that we took...which may or may not have included crossed-eyes and the "Freeland Chin" (which is an entire post for another day) but my Mother made me swear to secrecy that I wouldn't post them ANYWHERE. However, she never said I couldn't print those images on a T-shirt for her to open on Christmas morning. ;) Hope you both enjoyed the dinner, Mom and Dad. If we ever win the lottery, you will get a car in your goody bag. Until then, I promise to use less peppercorn on the steak. Love you! Cheddar Bacon pull-apart Bread 1 unsliced loaf of (round is preferable) sourdough bread 8-12 oz cheddar cheese, thinly sliced 3 oz bag Oscar Mayer Real Bacon bits 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix Using a sharp bread knife cut the bread going both directions. Do not cut through the bottom crust. Place slices of cheese in between cuts. Sprinkle bacon bits on bread, making sure to get in between cuts. Mix together butter and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over bread. Wrap in foil the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Cookie, Brownie, Reese's bars Preheat oven to 350; smoosh 1.5 squares of break-apart refrigerated cookie dough into the bottom of each well. Place Reese cup upside down on top of cookie dough (or an Oreo!). Top with prepared box brownie mix, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 18 minutes!

Happy Labor Day!

We spent a few days at my parent's cabin in Showlow, AZ. It's so nice to get away from the heat. Ever since I had Cruz, I am a sweaty hot mess. So. I'm up for any excuse to get out of Phoenix. Tyler did manly things like riding a four-wheeler, shooting his gun, and drinking beer with my Dad. I did less manly things like cooking, reading old lady magazines, and chasing around my fat kid. Yes, he is fat. It's AWESOME! Let's face it, no one likes skinny babies, right??! Cruz was such an entertainer! He was only a few hot dogs away from beating Kobayashi's record. Do me a favor, refer to my previous post about Cruz's appetite... and then times that by ten. He ate, and walked, and ate, then slept, pooped, and then ate. Repeat. His two front teeth grew in...and aparently they're mad at eachother. Tyler says "don't know whether I should smile at ya' or kick a field goal." This is also AWESOME! So, when he was eating a WHOLE turkey and cheese sandwich he would squint his eyes and show us his big ol' teeth. My Mom and I couldn't stop laughing!! He is learning so much and has such a personality. Here are some pictures from this weekend: Check out those toofers!!

Playing with bubbles on the front deck

Happy Labor Day! -The Kasowski Family

Cruz's Appetite

This is how the story goes: Cruz turned one. Decided he was too cool for baby food. Eats 'adult' food now. Has a muffin top. The end. The kid is a freaking heffer! (Sorry Grandma for saying "Freaking") He eats ev-er-y-thing!!!! Last night he ate an entire Jr. Roast Beef sandwich from Arby's. Please don't judge me for feeding him fast food - it was a rough day. Tonight, he had a turkey and cheese sandwich, goldfish and corn. THEN, he had a sippy cup of whole mile before bed. He wouldn't stop eating. I finally had to stop him because he was starting to look like Augustus Gloop from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Yesterday, his daycare teacher said he was stealing another kid's Chex Mix. We might have a problem here. ;)

Cruz's FIRST Birthday!!!

Cruz celebrated his first birthday last weekend. We threw a big retro-surfer-summer/beachy-fun birthday bash at our house!! (How's that for a theme??) Admittedly, I've been planning this party since the day he was born... and it turned out as cute as I had imagined. Complete with summer food on a stick, because of course everything is more fun on a stick, red and aqua decor and lots and lots of beach-y details. Tyler now knows I am officially crazy when he found me hand stamping each napkin with a red sail boat. I couldn't find red sail boat napkins, so I made them myself. Duh, his invitation outfit matched the theme. Do you know ME??

Sliders, fruit kabobs, fish and chips, mini corndogs on a stick and fruit punch and pink lemonade flavored cupcakes completed the menu. A special shout out to my cousin Amanda, for making these cupcakes super duper cute and yummy!

My other talented cousin Megan made his smash cake. It was perfection!

I made a 12 flag banner with pictures of him from month zero to eleven. :)

Pictures with Momma and Daddy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY!!!

Cruz is TEN months old!!

Which means we get to "officially" start planning his one year old birthday party without seeming crazy...because, yes, I started planning it months ago. :) This month he has grown up so much. He finally learned how to crawl. He says Dadda, Momma (usually when he is crying), uh-oh - after dropping his pacifier on the floor, he waves goodbye and says da da (buh bye). He also learned to clap when we sing patty cake.

He's eating big boy bananas, scrambled eggs and cheerios. Loving all of the food that daycare gives him, including organic beets and squash grown in their backyard. He is learning how to stand while holding on to furniture, and even stood at an easel and painted a picture all by himself!

Bing, Bang, PoW! Our house is Snazzy!

Let me preface this story for you: The exterior (front) of our house was U-G-L-Y. Like, to the point I refused to even go look at it when we were house hunting. Tyler had to convince me, a.k.a. butter me up by raving about the quartz countertops that were recently installed. The quickest way to my heart is via stone countertops or Mexican food. Tomato/TomAto. So... flash forward to a year later and we live here with a 9 month old. The interior of our home is nice and pretty :) but the exterior still looks like a vacant-but-sadly-it's-not-vacant-ugly-duckling house. Well, we and by we, I mean 60% Tyler, 30% my Dad, and 10% me, tore out SEVENTEEN TONS of the ugly gravel, added SEVEN TONS of dirt to build mounds and create some depth, then SEVENTEEN new TONS of new rock in a *prettier* color. Thank you Tyler and Travis. Then we installed a flag-stone walkway so we look more inviting and less like the people that live in the vacant-ugly-duckling house, pretty plants, a tree and some solar lights. And, since Tyler has a pipe-dream that someday we will be boat owners, we added a drive path of 1/4 minus gravel in a contrasting color flanked by natural stone pavers leading up to our RV gate. To top it all off, we saved $2500 by doing it ourselves. And that's what I call BING, BANG, POW! :) ***Thank you SO SO SO much to our family and friends for helping us. My Dad and Travis shoveled their hearts out, Josh helped us lay the stone walkway, my Mom can install plants like nobodies business and Monica and Barry watched Cruz so we could actually get this accomplished! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! Here is the BEFORE/LAME/UGH! picture:

....drumroll, please....

Easter

Yes, I am posting about Easter and that was abooouuuuuuut 2 months ago. Sorry. It has been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY! We spent Easter at my parent's house along with about 30+ other family members. I grew up celebrating major holidays with our big family and I absolutely LOVE it. Everyone is loud and opinionated talkative and it's chaotic and enough crumbs on the hardwood floors to feed an army by the time everyone is gone...but it's us and it's perfect!!! Cruz had fun playing in his new exersaucer. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Wagner/Karen...? I still need to figure out a "grandma" name for my mom. :) I'm really excited for next year because Cruz will get to hunt for Easter eggs, and eggs mean more chocolate for Momma! Here are some pictures from Cruz's first Easter!

Guilty!!!

I can't believe I haven't made a post in over three months! Yikes. I told Tyler he needed to step it up and help me blog, but he's busy... watching basketball. Yep.

Okay, where do I begin?
Cruz is 8 1/2 months old. He is a cHuNk! He eats ever-y-thiiinnnng! He loves all fruits and veggies. Thank G because I don't eat anything that grows in the ground. Just kidding! Kind of. He isn't crawling yet, although last night he was scooting backwards. I don't think he's lazy, I think he's comfy. ;)
He's had six haircuts now?? More than me, that's for sure.
He laughs and grunts and sqweels all day/night long!!!

Tyler and I just celebrated our three year wedding anniversary and our nine year "dating" anniversary - yes, I'm a girl and every anniversary counts! ;)
We spent this past weekend at Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs resort in North Phoenix and I am their new spokeswomen. It's a resort built into what used to be a rock quary... the rooms are nice, there are multiple pools and waterfalls, bars, amazing food and views for a very reasonable price. We didn't take a single picture. But, just picture us poolside with a couple cocktails and a barely-there tan. :) I am hoping Tyler got my not-so-discrete hint today when I said "I want another weekend at Tapatio Cliffs for my birthday."

Twenty bucks says two days before my bday, he asks me what I want.
Ha! I always tease the guy, but he is an amazing father to C and a great partner to me. We have fun!
I promise to take some pictures this Easter weekend and I will post for you all soon.