A Wild Saturday Night

Well, not really...Ty is off at a guy's night. He should get his fill of testosterone and hamburgers. So the kids and I are having an ice cream party! We have Blue Bell Rocky Road ice cream. Rocky road is my favorite and I do think Blue Bell is the best. It is one of the great things about living in the south. I hope everyone is having a fabulous evening!

Babies!

(Mia)
Ty and I were looking through old pictures today. I cannot believe how grown up Max and Mia are. It is hard to believe they were once such sleepy little babies!
(Max)

Families are Forever!

We have had such an awesome Friday! This morning we drove down to Franklin and to the temple! It is stake temple day and as an added bonus the stake had organized child care at the stake center next to the temple. We were so excited to have someone to watch our kids while we did a sealing session. It was wonderful to be at the temple with Ty. It was such a happy experience. We are so glad we had the chance to participate! After the temple we picked up the kids and had a delicious lunch at Baja Fresh. I am happy to say they have some of the best fish tacos I have tried! After lunch we picked up our latest family pictures. I think Max and Mia are adorable, and Ty is pretty cute too. I am hoping that the next family picture will include a thinner, less humidified me. :) We are enjoying our air conditioning and I am making granola. I love Fridays!

Poolside Summer

Wow! It is already July 8th. We are having a wonderful summer. Today we had playgroup at the pool. Max and Mia are getting much more independent in the water. It makes the time so enjoyable!

After swimming there must be snacks. I always pack a ton. Today we had some of the leftover burritos from dinner last night.

We are enjoying our hot summer days and our lazy evenings. We have learned that before we play outside we spray any exposed arms and legs with insect repellent. The bugs in the south are many and huge! You can feel yourself being eaten alive! The days are flying by. Tomorrow I will be 29 weeks pregnant. I am getting really excited for our little guy.
I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Delish

I made these awesome burritos for dinner tonight. They were perfect for a hot summer evening. Mia thought they were great. I found this yummy recipe on foodbuzz.com. It is a new favorite site!

Montecito Burrito

Ingredients:
1 large firm head of iceberg lettuce or 2 small
I pkg. Cream cheese at room temp.
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 cup black olives pitted & chopped
1/4 cup chopped chives
(I also added some sun-dried tomatoes)
3-4 tomatoes seeded and sliced thin
1/4 cup Cilantro leaves (no stems)
S & P to taste
4 large flour tortillas

Method:
Slice lettuce heads in half and slice thin.
In a bowl combine the cream cheese, grated orange, chopped black olives, and chopped chives. Blend well. Now take the tortillas one at a time and place on a large piece of waxed or parchment paper. Spread the cream cheese mixture over all. Make a row of sliced tomatoes and a row of cilantro leaves. Now add a healthy amount of sliced lettuce (the secret to this dish is to really pack in the lettuce). Roll the filled tortilla firmly to create a big, fat ,crunchy lettuce filled Burrito. Now roll firmly in the paper and place in the refrigerator for an hour or more.
( I made these early in the day. It made dinner time super easy!)

Homeade Salsa Dip

1 medium yellow onion chopped

1 large clove of garlic chopped

4 or 5 tomatillos chopped

1 jalapeño seeded & chopped
1 or 2 dried chipotle peppers or dried 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1 teaspoon smokey paprika
S & P to taste
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes with liquid.
1 14 oz. can cannilni beans
1 teaspoon orange juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Put all ingredients except orange juice & cilantro into a large deep skillet and cook covered

on medium low heat for 45 minutes. Stir often to avoid sticking.

Cool down. Place in blender in batches, adding the orange juice and cilantro. check for salt & pepper.

All American Slip and Slide

We spent the afternoon at a fabulous 4th of July party put on by our friends, Asher and Amy. They have a big hill in their backyard. Asher had set up a huge piece of plastic and used a hose to create a gigantic slip and slide. Max was hesitant to try at first, but after his first ride he couldn't get enough!

It was so much fun to watch him slide down.

and then to run back up again! I think he ran up the hill about 30 times! It must have worn him out because it is 7:30 now and he is sound asleep.

Mia had very little interest in the slip and slide and instead preferred to swing. She is such a little girl! (And we love her that way!) After all the slipping and sliding we went inside for a great meal! Asher made some delicious pulled pork for sandwiches and everyone else had brought sides and dessert. It was quite the event! When we got home we let the kids do some party poppers and sparklers. It was a wonderful 4th of July.

A Blackberry Morning

We are having some beautiful weather for our fourth of July! This morning we drove out to "The Orchard" in Cross Plains. We filled baskets full of great big, juicy blackberries!

As usual Mia was a great helper. Ty says that children make the best berry pickers because their little fingers don't squish the berries.

It was nice and breezy while we were there. It was a perfect outside kind of morning.

I ended up buying some fresh peaches from the farm as well. Now we are thoroughly stocked and I can make pies and smoothies, and toppings for waffles! Before leaving Cross Plains we stopped at a fireworks outlet store and bought some sparklers and little things for the kids. We are looking forward to sundown!

Brisket

Last night our friends, Rob and Lisa, hosted a fabulous barbecue. Rob made some of the best brisket I have ever eaten. Ty and I have become huge BBQ fans. We ate out on the deck and after it got dark the yard was filled with fireflies. It was the perfect kickoff to the holiday weekend!

Soccer!

I just finished signing Max up for the fall soccer season! I am so excited! I hope he is just as excited! Practice starts on August 24th. We will see if we have a little Beckham or if we don't :)

July!

Can you believe it is the 1st of July! What a festive month. I am so looking forward to the 4th. I think it is going to be such fun to introduce the kids to fireworks. Our Family Home Evening this week was all about our country and our freedoms. I don't know if much soaked in, but Max now recognizes the American flag when he sees one! Today was a great kick off to the month. The humidity has gone away for a few days and we are so happy! Ty was home today so we all went together to the free movie at Indian Lakes. After the movie we made a quick stop at the fountains and then headed home to play in the pool. After some swimming I got out of the pool to sit in the sun on a lounge chair. Max and Mia soon joined me on lounge chairs of their own. It was so cute.

When Ty left for school this afternoon the kids went outside to play while I did some cleaning inside. After a few minutes I heard them shouting and turned around to see their little faces smashed up against the window. This evening Ty is off playing raquetball and the little people are playing with play-doh. I finished off the meatloaf by making a delicious meatloaf sandwich. It was a great day!