Moves Like Jagger

Sophie certainly has the Moves Like Jagger and she'd like to share a few of these moves with you.

First, we will start off with the sway. Its an easy move to get yourself comfortable and feeling the music. Just a little back and forth, Sophie likes to think of it as her swagger.


Sway from Sarah Kemps on Vimeo.

Next, we have the circles. Feel free to go clockwise or counter clockwise, either way works just as well.


Circles from Sarah Kemps on Vimeo.

Finally, when you are feeling confident, go ahead and combine the two moves for an all around awesome dance party.


Combo from Sarah Kemps on Vimeo.

Roasted Corn and Blueberry Salad

I made this recipe a few years ago after finding it on Tastespotting. It sounds a little strange but its very fresh and summery and makes a great side dish. Sophie loves both corn and blueberries so I figured this would be right up her alley, plus it was basically just throwing the ingredients in a bowl together and stirring so she'd be able to help. It took me a while to find the recipe again. I kept googling corn and blueberry salad and finding more complicated recipes like this one and this one. Finally I remembered it came from a blog called House Boats Eats. Give it a try!

This is how we wash blueberries in our household

Is that not how you do it?

Sampling the corn

The finished product

Roasted Corn and Blueberry Salad 

(From House Boat Eats)

2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups roasted corn
small handful of basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

First soak your corn with the husk on for about 10-15 minutes. Next roast the corn in its husk. I just put mine under the broiler for five minutes, then turned it and broiled for another five minutes. You could also do this on the grill. Remove the corn from the heat and let it in cool in its husk. While its cooling, chop the basil into thin strips and toss in a bowl with the blueberries. Cut your corn off the cob and add it to the berries. Add the oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Toss to coat. That's it! Super easy!

One little duck went out to play..

The Petting Zoo

The Petting Zoo at our local zoo has become one of our favorite spots. As Sophie has gotten braver, she loves going in and getting some hands on time with the goats and sheep. We steer clear of the llamas though, they kind of freak us both out. Today we found a calf who was surprisingly calm and friendly and actually very soft to pet!

This carved monkey is still her favorite thing at the zoo and she now asks me to take her picture by him!

Pine Mountain Lake

This past weekend, we spent a few days with our friends the Pedersens up at Pine Mountain Lake. We hope this is the start of a new tradition of visiting the cabin every summer with our girls. The weather was a little chilly by the lake but our girls had a great time together.

Trying to get a shot of the girls in their matching suits. Can you tell they are cold?

Sophie and Kendall running to the water

Another attempt at a photo of Sophie, Katelyn and Kendall

Lounging in the cabin

Swimming at the clubhouse pool

Swirl cone at the Marina Beach

Lulu tried to photo bomb our group shot

We hope to take this group shot every year!
(Chase, Lulu, Sophie, Sarah, Kendall, Sarah, Katelyn and Doug)

This seriously happened the other night

After an especially rough night last week, this is how Chase found Sophie and I in the morning. For some reason she was ready to party from 12-2am so after many failed attempts at getting her back in her crib, I finally caved and brought her into our bed.  I guess sometimes a girl just needs to sleep with her head under the covers and her feet on the pillow? I was pretty much dangling off the edge on my side of the bed.

Chalk It Up

Sidewalk chalk always equals a good time. Sophie decorated our front sidewalk for us and then had a good time washing it away again.

Father's Day Camping

This weekend, we tagged along with a couple of families who have made it a tradition to go camping every Father's Day weekend. We decided we'd just go for one night since this would be our first time trying it together and with Sophie! We didn't get a ton of sleep but Sophie loved being around all the other kids. We enjoyed the wonderful weather up at Shaver Lake since it was 108 degrees back in Fresno. We swam, we boated, we ate a lot, we sat around a campfire, roasted marshmallows and Sophie was the dirtiest she's ever been in her whole life.

Poop. Wash. (Sophie at 20 Months)

Somehow the 19 month milestone slipped right by me and I never even acknowledged it here on the blog. The fact that Sophie is growing leaps and bounds before my very eyes has not gotten past me, just the ability to take a few minutes to write about. I was not going to let the same thing happen to this month's milestone!

Sophie, at 20 months, is possibly the funniest, smartest, sweetest little thing I've ever met. I am biased of course, but this girl seriously has me laughing every single day. These days new words pop out of her mouth every day. She has definitely turned into a parrot so we have to watch what we say. We now have full conversations that go a little something like this:

Sophie: Poop! (pointing at the windshield while we are in the car)
Me: Yup, there's poop on the windshield.
Sophie: Caa. Poop.
Me: Yup, a bird pooped on our windshield. Gross huh?
Sophie: Poop. Wash!
Me: Should we get the car washed?
Sophie: Yesh. Wash.
Me: Ok, maybe we can go tomorrow.
Sophie: Bubbles?
Me: Yup, we'll get some bubbles on the car.
Sophie: Wet?
Me: Yup, then the water comes down and washes the bubbles off.
Sophie: Hi friends!
Me: Yup, then our friends at the car wash will help wipe the car and dry it.
Sophie: Thank you!

This goes on all day long. She's a little chatter box and I love every minute of it! She is still a dancing machine. We dance in the car, we dance in the kitchen, she danced until 10pm at Madi's wedding. She loves it and I love seeing her do it. The music just gets to her. Her current favorite songs are Nikki Minaj's Starships or Jungle Book's I Wanna Be Like You

Sophie hands out her love freely and announces "hug" every time she gives you one. She also loves a good group hug, especially from her two aunties. I don't know how its possible but I love my little monkey more every single day.

We've been so busy lately that I haven't been taking pictures with my big Nikon lately, but I've still captured what we've been up to on Instagram so here is a taste of our life lately:

She Did It!

We just spent a wonderful weekend celebrating Madi and Vince. The wedding was beautiful and we are so happy for the new Mr & Mrs! Sophie surprised me by marching all the way down that long aisle holding hands with Anthony and Gia. This video is a little fuzzy but its just a sneak peak.



Flower Girl from Sarah Kemps on Vimeo.

Piggies

Sophie has started requesting pigtails in her hair. I think they make her look like a big girl.

Strawberry Cream Pie

Last week, Sophie and I ended up doing a lot of baking. We made a fresh cherry pie, a strawberry cream pie and banana bread. She's starting to really like being a part of things in the kitchen and loves to help me when she can. We had a ton of fresh strawberries and I was looking for a new dessert recipe. This strawberry cream pie was amazing! It has a graham cracker crust and a cream cheese style layer like a strawberry pizza but then its topped with both whole strawberries and an amazing glaze that's super easy to make.

Strawberry Cream Pie
(Adapted from Your Home Based Mom)

Step #1 - Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs.
(I crushed up one package of graham crackers in my food processor and it was just the right amount)
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tbs butter, melted

Combine these three ingredients and press firmly into a 9 inch pie dish. Bake at 7-8 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool.

Step #2 - Strawberry Glaze

1 cup strawberries, stems cut off
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Puree strawberries in a food processor. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add the water and strawberry puree. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and strain if you want, but you don't have to. Pop this into the refrigerator to cool.

Step #3 - Creamy Filling

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 cups whole strawberries

First whip your heavy cream until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, blend the cream cheese and sugar. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the whipped cream. Spread this mixture in your cooled crust. (I only wanted a thin layer of this filling so I used about two thirds of the mixture) Place your whole strawberries on top of the creamy filling with their cut sides down. Spoon your strawberry glaze over the top. Chill for at least 3 hours.