So I copied Prudent Baby this morning and made Emery a "cupcake waffle".  She LOVED it!  PB made hers w/a pancake and chocolate chips....I went with a waffle and blueberries instead.  So simple sometimes to make a tot feel happy and special!

Okay Emery, pose w/your breakfast!  And your beautiful morning mullet!

And now you can go for it!

Speaking of cupcakes....I have to share my very cute new jewelry holder I found at Joanns for only 8 dollars. It reminds me of a cupcake stand, I think thats why it makes me so happy!

Now all my very valuable forever 21 jewelry can be on display instead of spread throughout messy drawers of qtips and toothpaste If only I knew somebody who sold stella and dot!  Oh wait...I do, would you care for her business card?  :)

I had grand plans to make something like this, but since I have no tools, and this was so cheap/cute I think rolled flower headbands for Emery will be my next project!

Anyone remember doing this when they were little?  I don't know what suddenly inspired me, but Holly and I introduced Emery to the upside down faces.  She was a little in awe and slightly disturbed.

hahaha

These make me happy!

Leeland is 3 months!

My little guy is already 3 months, I can't believe it.  It has gone by WAY too fast!  I don't know if it's because he's so easy, or the fact that I have a 2 1/2 year old keeping us busy this time around. I feel like this newborn stage has gone by in fast forward!

Leeland's usually such a smiley guy, I guess he just wasn't in the mood to pose.  He wasn't really a fan of the boppy. He just wanted to sit up, resulting in a bunch of pictures like these....

hahaha...and there's plenty more of these.

Of course he was all smiles once I took away the boppy and sign...

I guess he wanted to be just like Emery who always did the serious pose for her monthlys.

Do you think they look the same at 3 months?

To me they don't look alike at all at this stage...but I think they're really starting to look like brother and sister now...

Leeland looks extra chubby in that one!  Who do you think he looks like?

or

????

On a sidenote....tropical jelly bellys from Top Foods?  Yes please!

Look what I made!

My friend Janay recently posted some cute pics of barrette boards she made on facebook.  I'd never heard of these, but the combination of Emery having way too many clips spread throughout our drawers/cupboards/diaper bag and my new attempts at being crafty encouraged me to make my own.  I just googled some ideas, found a hideous (cutely framed) picture of geese at value village, and stole some of sister Holly's material/ribbon.  

And here it is...

I kind of wanted to keep it bow free it's so cute...but enter the craziness of a million bows...

Good thing Leeland's a boy, I couldn't even fit all of Emery's bows on here.  That's what happens when your 2 1/2 year old has a beautiful mullet...you invest in hair decor to cover it up!

I won't show what the back of my barrete holder looks like (I will tell you it involves duct tape :))...but aren't you impressed Holly and the 3 other people that read my blog?  (Mom, Dad and John)

Some other things I can't stop making...

Best "salad" ever

Saute chicken pieces w/oil and half an italian seasoning packet

mix w/avocado, black beans, corn, cilantro, mango, red onion.

Squeeze a lime over and mix w/the other half of italian seasoning.

Eat w/hint of lime chips...I like to crumble and mix...Holly likes to scoop.  (haha...scoops(that's for Christoffer)).

There you go sister Holly, there's your recipe...and now I officially feel like a blogger since I put up a recipe.  Even though John is the real chef in our home, this is easy, and addicting!

I also can't stop making Tzaziki sauce...so fresh so good!!!

..recipe from my friend Lissa who brought this to our Missional Community...yummiest w/cut up rotisserie chicken on fresh pitas, w/tomato, lettuce and onion.

1 cup (8oz) plain greek yogurt ( regular will work, but it will be runnier)

1 Medium Cucumber peeled, seeded, and chopped

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Garlic cloves minced

1/2 Teaspoon dried dill or 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper.

Combine all of the ingredients and put in the fridge until serving ( it gets more flavorful if you let it sit in the fridge awhile before serving)

Can you tell Emery's taking a good nap today?

PS...I also made these...

Sunshine!

I had such a fun weekend, so happy that my sister lives a few hours away so she could come and entertain us while John works so hard to get the store finished.  

We (I) had big plans to fulfill all the crafty ideas my new blog reading has inspired in me...instead we took a lot of trips to see John and Elements in Puyallup, and enjoyed the sunshine!

My new favorite sunny day activity is the Puyallup wading pool.  I love our new sprayground at Wright Park, especially since it's only minute walk away, but Emery is less overwhelmed with this....maybe because there aren't 100 kids there at a time.

oops..Asher didn't quite make it into this one...

Maybe I should find my sunglasses.

Auntie Holly before she changed into her string bikini and did some laps...(true or false?)

So cute...these poses are all her own!

Hug?  A little bit of an akward one...

I love Jaxon's expressions and poses!

The fancy bloomers Grandma sent are getting some good use!

This next one's my favorite....looks like she's trying to be a baywatch model.

So happy we ran into Sadie too!

Hoping this rain doesn't last long so we can enjoy more days like this!  And thank you Willa for forgetting your swimsuit at our house so Emery could look this cute!

Sweet Sunday!

Aren't these the cutest?

I'm really loving mine and Emery's new tradition of Sweet Saturday or Sweet Sunday.  This is week 3 of sweetness...

The first week was rice kripy treats

Week 2 was mini lemon cupcakes

Isn't Emery's mini tea set the cutest?  My mom sent it to her for Valentines Day and she loves to bring me and John pretend tea and coffee...she always tells me that mine has coconut creamer in it, she knows me well!

Anywho...back to these....

I was inspired by my favorite blogger who made these for her "treat tuesdays".  Yes, she also inspired me for our sweet saturdays/sundays!   She put hers on a stick, but the ones I got were too thick and broke the oreos. All we did was microwave some pink candy melts, dip some double stuff oreos, and sprinkle away!  Emery's a LOT of "help"...

She LOVES the sprinkles...in the top photo she's shoveling them into her mouth as quickly as she can.  The bottom one is after she promised not to eat anymore so she wouldn't be banned from helping!  :)  

Mmmmm...Leeland can't wait till he's big enough to join in on sweet day!

Elements is Coming Soon!!!!

For those of you who haven't heard, John recently resigned from his job as regional director for Samaritan's purse to join up w/his longtime friend Bryan Reynolds in starting their own business(es).   Elements (frozen yogurt) is their first project in downtown Puyallup....and they're already planning on opening more in the future.  We're so excited that John won't have to travel so much, and I've heard Emery telling her little friends "My daddy makes ice cream, you want to go eat my daddy's  ice cream?".  Pretty cute... we are all very proud.  

John and Bryan have been friends for a long time, and I love their family.  They have 2 boys (Jaxon and Asher) and one on the way (secret name, but I'm going to steal it if they don't use it).  Emery has 3 future husbands to choose from.  I'd met Bryan's wife Alicia once or twice through the years and about a month after we moved here her friend had to back out of a  road trip to Cali last second.  John was at a basketball game w/Bryan when it happened, and John told Alicia to ask me to go.  Thinking I would think she was crazy, she called and I decided why not.  So instead of having a park playdate be our first hangout, we took a full day roadtrip to Cali, spent a week together at her aunts, and then another full day car drive back to WA. What could have turned out really awkward made us instant great friends, and provided us w/great memories (and great tans)!

Emery feeding her foot to Jaxon during the drive.

Me and Alicia at a fantastic winery...drinking some liquid sunshine.  (Pre-pregnancy for both of us I have to add).

And now a year later....

Emery and Jaxon prancing around the almost finished store...most likely to some Bieber tunes.

Emery partaking of her first Elements froyo.  She only had about 4 more of these today. They're yogurt so they're healthy right?  Although the store's not open yet, they passed out free samples today and there was a constant line out front.  I tried some of the red bull froyo...it was amazing! 

  

They've also made it into the paper!

Frozen yogurt comes ‘full circle’

New business opening in city hall building along North Meridian has garnered a following of loyal fans, all excited to support two local Rogers High School graduates with a dream

TOP PHOTO

Andrew Fickes/Herald photo   

John Quick, left, and Bryan Reynolds are excited for the opening day of their new frozen yogurt store, which they hope to expand to a national market.

MORE PHOTOS

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BY COURTNEY DONLIN ; THE HERALD

Published: 07/07/1110:20 am | Updated: 07/07/1110:20 am

2 Comments

Success has never tasted so sweet for two local Puyallup business owners, Bryan Reynolds and John Quick.

On Saturday, July 9, the two entrepreneurs will open their new business, Elements Frozen Yogurt — a decade after their desire to open a coffee shop in downtown Puyallup fizzled. The business will be the newest tenant on the ground floor level of Puyallup City Hall.

“We’ve come full circle,” Reynolds said.

While seniors at Rogers High School in 2001, Reynolds and Quick aspired to open up a coffee shop in Puyallup. Although both men worked hard, their lack of experience left the project unfinished.

In 2007, Reynolds and his parents tried again — buying into the Forza Coffee Company chain. Their store is located along Pioneer Avenue.

“It’s been the school of hard knocks,” Reynolds said. “You don’t clock out at the end of the day.”

Reynolds referred to his experience with Forza as “a great platform to learn business.”

His vision for Elements took shape when he made a trip to California in 2010. At a frozen yogurt shop, he discovered he could pick and choose different “elements” to top the yogurt and create his own delicious treat.

“Literally, five minutes later I went back and did it again,” Reynolds said of his “fro-yo” visit. “I was hooked.”

Encouraged by Forza’s success, Elements Frozen Yogurt was put into motion. Elements is the first store in what Reynolds and Quick plan to turn into a franchise. Reynolds is the chief executive officer and Quick is the chief operations officer. Quick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and is pursuing a Masters of Business Administration.

The two business partners plan to open their store on or near every college campus in the country. But first, they wanted to open their first shop in their hometown.

“We’d love to see 100 stores in 20 years,” Quick said.

“We wanted a brand that anybody can identify with,” Reynolds said. “We try to be current. We like to bring excitement and fun.”

Quick added that Elements brings a “new vibe” to downtown Puyallup.

“(Elements will) bring excellence to the frozen yogurt world,” Quick said.

Reynolds hopes Elements will become a clean, sleek hangout for Puyallup residents. It will include everything from brownies to strawberries as element options — not toppings, which Reynolds said is for pizza.

According to Reynolds and Quick, Elements is the only shop offering Red Bull frozen yogurt. Along with its array of fro-yo elements, the store will also sell frozen bananas, oatmeal and Red Bull energy drinks.

Reynolds expects to turn a profit “immediately,” most especially because Elements is the only frozen yogurt shop in the area.

“Is that too much to expect?” Reynolds jokingly asked.

Puyallup’s potential frozen yogurt customers have already made an appearance through social media.

“We have close to 400 people who ‘liked’ us on Facebook,” Quick said.

One part of a marketing campaign is “Hide and Seek Week,” which is being pushed leading up to the store’s debut. Social media intern, Jimmy Bailey, placed coupons for free frozen yogurt around Puyallup and took photos of where they could be found. The photos were posted on Elements’ Facebook page for residents to find and present on opening day. The person who collects the most coupons will win a prize, in addition to free frozen yogurt. Bailey refuses to divulge what the winner of the contest will receive, describing  it only as “a most legit prize.”

According to Quick, parents have called him and Reynolds, asking if their kids could camp outside the store to be first in line.

“People are believing in this product already,” Reynolds said.