Zupas Copycat BBQ Chicken Salad

I decided to try and copy Zupas BBQ Chicken Salad...It is my favorite place to get soup/salad/sandwiches. Seriously, i could eat there every day. I made some changes, since i still can't really eat any kind of chicken, i made this without. Also, i didn't have any tortilla strips, so that was greatly missed too. Instead i added chopped avocado's. It was DELISH! Maybe not quite as good as Zupas, but still :) So here it is:

Copycat Zupas BBQ Chicken Salad

1 bag mixed greens or cut up some romaine lettuce (whatever you like!)
1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed
1/8 finely diced red onion
1/2 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 diced tomato
sliced olives
1 cooked chicken breast, diced (again - i didn't use it, but i usually love the chicken :( )
tortilla strips

Dressing:
Ranch Dressing
BBQ Sauce
(I just try and use equal parts of both)

Toss salad ingredients together, and drizzle ranch and bbq sauce. Top with tortilla strips, and enjoy!! :-)

Exciting News....

So this past April, Jeff and I found out that we are expecting our first baby!! We couldn't be happier! Maybe slightly terrified...but very happy :-) The first couple weeks were a breeze, i didn't notice a difference, and sometimes wondered if i really was pregnant. About the middle of May I started getting really sick. Let me just say, that i had NO idea how much the first trimester SUCKS! Holy cow. Anytime a fast food commercial came on the TV i wanted to vomit. Anytime i smelled food, i wanted to vomit. Anytime i saw meat...i wanted to vomit!!! Also anytime my stomach was empty, or taking my prenatal pills, i would throw up. I know this isn't what anyone wants to read, so to sum it all up, it was AWFUL! Enough said, i am at 17 1/2 weeks, and feeling MUCH better, although, i still can't eat or smell chicken...

Last week Jeff and I went to my 16 week appointment. They did an ultrasound and a gender check to reveal that we are having a baby boy! We are so excited! I always wanted a boy first, and cannot wait to meet him and see what he looks like! Ah!!! I am so curious. He was so cute during the ultrasound, he did NOT want to cooperate with the technician. He started out facing my spine, so we weren't able to see his profile, so the technician kept pushing on my stomach trying to get him to flip around, and he didn't like that very much :-) At one point, he stretched all the way out, showing us just how tall he is (his legs are so long! he'll be tall like his dad :-)) and then curled right back up almost doing a sommersalt. He definitly won't be getting his flexibility from me, that's for sure!! Seeing him on the ultrasound made up for everything i went through the first trimester, it made me so happy! Totally made up for everything i went through in the beginning.

As for our future plans, everything is still up in the air...i plan on working right up until i can't stand to move my large body around ;) Jeff has accepted an internship teaching math at Mountain View High School in Orem, and will start next month. Our lease here at Willow Cove it up on Halloween, so we're trying to figure out what to do after that! We have a few ideas, but nothing set in stone yet. So much to think about, and while all this is going on, i'm trying not to go crazy buying baby clothes! I guess we'll see how that goes ;) Ultrasound pictures coming soon!! :-)

Weddings, weddings...and more weddings!!!

3 weddings for 3 different siblings in the last 5 months was....well, CRAZY!!!! My little brother Jordan was married in March, my sister-in-law Ashley was married in May, and my baby sister Ashley was just married earlier this month. As much fun as they are to help and plan for, I am really grateful for no more weddings....hopefully for awhile! :-) I already posted pictures from Jordan's weddings, but here are a few from the Ashley's :

Jordan's Wedding

They're married!

 My little brother Jordan was married on March 9th 2012 in the Salt Lake Temple. I couldn't be happier for him and his beautiful new wife. Jordan and i have always been very close. Playing as little kids, it was always Jordan and I. We would build forts out of blankets in the living room, watch our favorite movies, dance on our beds to the safety kids, make hats out of buckets and parade around the house, make musical instruments out of paper plates and buckets, and write songs (and believe me, they would have topped the charts :-)) When we were REALLY little we shared a room and liked to sneak out of our beds to watch TV with our parents from the hall so they couldn't see us. We have lots of pictures of Jordan and i fast asleep on the floor in the hall.

 Jordan has always been my best friend. Even as we got older and changed, and maybe didn't do everything together anymore, we have always had a connection. Jordan has always been able to read me like a book. He always knew when i was sad, or upset. Usually if that was the case, he wouldn't even say anything to me, just sit by me and put his arm around me, or rub my feet. Side note - Jordan gives awesome foot rubs :-) Another thing i love about Jordan is that he makes me laugh! And not just me, he has a talent. He is a very happy person and i will always be grateful that he was chosen to be my brother here. He has been a huge blessing to me, and i can't help but wonder at how different i would be now had he not been in my life.

One of the great things about Jordan is, that while i think he and i were best friends growing up, all of my siblings would probably tell you the same thing. He wasn't just a friend to everyone, he made everyone feel like they were his favorite. As we got older Jordan and I became even better friends with our roadtrip to Disneyland. I'll spare the dozens of hilarious stories and memories for now, but we had an amazing time. Its hard to describe what i'm feeling, being so sad and so happy at the same time, but i just wanted to share how awesome my brother is! And share some fun pictures of his wedding day..

Love this picture!

Our family

So happy to have another sister!

I love my Jordy!

His favorite sisters :-)

Isn't she beautiful!?

 Okay, i can't go without mentioning Chelsey :-) My favorite memory of Chelsey was the first time she came over and spent some time with our family. This was either right before or right after she and Jordan graduated. We were playing rock band, and the window just next to her was open. A huge moth just happened to fly in, and when she saw it, jumped up, screaming waving her hands around in the air. Haha! None of us knew how terrified she was of bugs until thent. It was hilarious! When Jordan tells this story, he says he saw it all in slow motion...the moth flying in, him thinking - NOOOOOOO! :-) I love my new sister in law!!!! I can't wait to go camping with her ;)

Gorgeous!

My sister and I

Jeffy and I

It took them 10 minutes to convince Chelsey to do this pose....