Meme and Tate Visit

As I am writing this post my children are in Birmingham with Meme. It is currently 11:26 am and I am still in my pajamas. I miss the kids tremendously, but I have to say, this is nice.

Last Thursday was Avery's final day of swim lessons. We weren't allowed to watch except for the first and last days, and I wasn't sure they were going to be able to teach Avery in such a short time. Even at the last lesson they didn't let her swim by herself. I was still so very proud of my sweet girl. We went to the pool on Friday to test out her skills (more on that later). After her lesson we went across the street to the donut/Vietnamese food shop (those things go together, right??). We got some yummy donuts to celebrate our big girl. We got to the shop just in time...it started pouring the second we ordered.

Avery's certificate. I wish we had enough time this summer to do the next level. I'm so excited for her to learn to swim, and I can't wait for her to get enough confidence to jump off the diving board!

 



It quit raining enough for us to leave the donut shop, but it started up again as we were getting home. We promptly put on our boots and jumped up and down in muddy puddles.

 

On Friday Meme and Tate came up to visit. We met at Aunt B's pool, and Avery showed us what she learned.

 



 She was a little fish all morning. Now if we could just teach her to keep her mouth closed in the water. She probably drank a gallon.

 

And once again this little munchkin stayed by the stairs and refused to put on a puddle jumper. I'm just glad he's cautious and doesn't just jump in by himself.

 

Tate had so much fun jumping off the diving board and is such a good swimmer.

 

We were cracking up at Avery jumping off the side. She just flew through the air without a care. I bet she did it fifty times. Good arm workout for Meme.

 

While Daniel and I were at the beach a little "bird" put a hole in the top part of our beloved swimming pool. Daniel was able to get the bottom part aired up, and Tate had fun running and jumping into it. Daniel also got them this new pool with a slide and other things to do. Daniel played with them outside while my mom and I went shopping. He said they had a blast running and jumping in. I'll post more pictures when I get them off his phone. Tate and Avery have so much fun together, and I'm glad we live close enough for frequent visits.

 

We've been pretty busy these past couple of weeks, but we will be slowing down soon. Avery starts a staggered schedule for PreK next week, then officially starts on August 13. I can't believe how time has flown!

 

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Destin

Our 7th anniversary was back in June, but this past weekend Daniel and I took a little trip by ourselves to the beach. I'm a planner, but Daniel is teaching me to be more fly by the seat of your pants. We went down there without a room or any plans. All we knew was we wanted to go to the beach and eat good seafood. We did all that and more without a fancy condo on the beach. Who woulda thought? We stayed in a nice hotel right at 2 miles from the Back Porch...our favorite.

Our first morning there I ran down to the beach and then picked up some yummy donuts on my run back. This was my view when I got to the beach. I'd run a lot more if I could dip my feet in the ocean halfway through. 

 

This was one of our first stops when we got there. This is really the only reason Daniel wanted to go to the beach. We ate some delicious seafood at our table right by the ocean. What a fun night. They had to roll us out, and we went back to the room and promptly fell asleep.

 

I have never seen the water so clear! Even though there was a heat advisory, the water was freezing!! Each time we got in we had to get used to it again. It was the perfect beach time, and we had a blast swimming and people watching.

 

This was at the Back Porch...again. We went after an afternoon of outlet shopping and had us some fried pickles and frozen drinks. Apparently this is taking a selfie old style...selfie sticks are so hot right now.

 

Coming into Destin on the MidBay Bridge, I could see something on the shoreline, and as we got closer my hopes were confirmed...Lulu's!! Anyone who knows me knows I am a major Parrothead, and I was so excited to see this! We went for a late lunch one day. There's a little cart shuttle to the restaurant, and Daniel and I hopped on the very back facing backwards. As we were getting in from each side we slammed our heads together. It was a painful start to a delicious meal. Our driver said Lulu's hadn't been open quite a month, and the first night they ran out of food! The atmosphere and view were amazing, as was the food! There is a little beach area with a fountain and sand toys. We will definitely come back with the kids!

 

A little night stroll on the beach before we left the next day.

 

We are taking the kids to the beach for the first time in October, so we got them boogie boards to practice with before we go. Avery is teaching her bear how to swim, and Colty is mastering surfing while eating a popsicle.

 

It was a quick trip, but we are so looking forward to our family beach trip in October. We can't wait to see Avery and Colt's faces when they see more of God's creation and their reactions being in the ocean. It won't be as relaxing, but we will be making fun memories.



Pickles, Swim Lessons, & Dancing Fools

It's getting close to the start of school (yikes!), and we've been squeezing in some fun things this month. I wished for this hot weather, and my wish came true. Now, I'm not going to complain because I asked for it, but we have spent a little more time inside the past few weeks.

Meme came to visit last week, and we made some bread and butter pickles with a few of the million (almost accurate) cucumbers I have picked from the garden. I found a recipe on Pinterest for pickles made from scratch, but my mom found this handy little pouch that has all the spices already mixed. Yay for Meme! I cut the cucumbers the night before to let them dry out a bit. Then we got busy mixing and boiling and stuffing cucumbers into jars. We had so much fun, and the pickles turned out pretty good! P.S. Sorry if these pictures look ginormous...my computer is playing tricks on me...

We stuffed the jars pretty full, but once we got the liquid in it looked like there were no cucumbers in there.

 

 

I think the pickles would taste much better to me if I didn't have the smell of this concoction stuck in my nose. Strong stuff...

 

 

This supposedly helps seal the jars so you can keep them fresh forever (or a long time).

 

And this is the finished product. A few hours in the fridge and you've got yummy, crunchy bread and butter pickles.

 

I cooked a recipe I found on Pinterest for lunch. You put chicken breasts, salsa, and a taco seasoning packet in the crockpot for a few hours. Delicious chicken tacos! I also made these yummy key lime cupcakes from a recipe I found on Betty Crocker's website. I had my little helper ice them for me. They were a great summer dessert!

 

These little munchkins ate the icing then asked for another cupcake.

 

The day Meme came happened to be half priced cones at Sonic. As if we hadn't eaten enough, we loaded up and ate some yummy ice cream.

 

I was starting to see zucchini and squash in my sleep, so it was time to start freezing it for the winter. I have to say, it is nice to cook with food you grew yourself and didn't have to buy at the store. I just wish everything we planted did as well as these suckers. I learned that you have to blanche the vegetables before you store them. That's just a fancy word for heating them up. Today I ran out of ziplock bags which means I have 35 bags of zucchini and squash in the freezer.

 

This little fish started swim lessons this week! Luckily I found a place in Fayetteville that offered them. The only downside is that the parents are only allowed to watch on the first and last day of lessons. She seems to be having fun; just not sure how much she is learning.

 

This was at the end of the first day. They end each lesson in the "hot pool", aka hot tub.

 

Colt man has learned how to play Avery's Leap Pad, and this is what he did while I watched Avery's lesson. Thank goodness for technology.

 

One afternoon when it was about 200 degrees outside I was watching a rerun of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I was trying to get Avery interested, but she said she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up. We brought out the tutus, and someone else wanted to be a ballerina too...

 

He's going to kill me for this in a few years.

 

My little ballerinas. Avery said she looked "ballericious". I thought that was a pretty good word for a 4 year old!

 

We've got a busy few weeks before Avery starts school, and I am looking forward to spending time with her before she becomes a big PreK girl. Where has the time gone?

In the summertime when the weather is hot

We love summertime around here, especially after the nasty winter we had. I don't care that I sweat like a pig all day, as long as I'm outside playing in the water with the kiddos. Part of this Project Simplify is learning to be content. We don't always have to be running around doing this and that just to say we did it. We are content staying at home playing in our beautiful yard with what we have at home. And one of those things is a blow up pool we got for $15 at Wal-Mart. What a good investment we made. It has kept us entertained many a day....and will continue until the weather boots us.

 

Avery is such a little fish and spends countless hours in the pool. When we came back out this afternoon she had changed into clothes but went swimming anyway. Colty usually just likes to dip his feet.

 

A couple months ago I took Avery to see her first movie in the theatre, Home. We have a very small, very old, theatre in Fayetteville. They only show two movies and everything is really cheap. Luckily we were the only ones it the theatre because Avery talked and played the entire time. Last night I was brave and took her to see Inside Out. I absolutely recommend it, by the way.

 

 

The theatre was a bit more crowded. Avery still talked and stood up for most of the movie. But we got a small popcorn and a medium drink for $6. Score. I told Daniel he's on movie duty from now on. Those 3D movies do a number on my vertigo.

 

A farmer pays my father in law to let him use his land for his crops. Last year he did peas (yuck) but this year he did corn, and we are waiting patiently to pick some.

 

I'd hate to get lost in there.

 

Colty learned how to climb the rock wall of the playhouse yesterday. I can't believe how big he's getting! He still won't really go down the slide, though.

 

Now that I've lured you in with cute pics of the kids, I'll bore you with garden stuff now. This was our first real garden and we are calling it our learning year. We planted stuff too close together and way too much of some stuff. Did you know that if you buy a plastic container of tomato plants, there are 6 plants in it? Well, I didn't. So we ended up with 36 tomato plants. We gave a ton to the neighbor and planted about 12. I don't even like tomatoes.

 

We are up to our ears in zucchini, squash, and cucumbers. I don't know what to do with all of it. My mom is coming this week, and we are attempting bread and butter pickles. I'll let you know how that turns out. The corn is looking good as is the okra. The strawberry plants are alive but not producing. Will have to research that for next year. Today I spotted the tiniest little watermelon you've ever seen! I did a little happy dance. We also have cantaloupe.

 

I put two strawberry plants in pots, and they seem to be doing ok. Nothing special though. Those forks are to keep the cute little bunnies away. Props to Pinterest for that tip. We also have peach, apple, and pear trees. I did another happy dance as I picked this pretty peach. I'm going to let it ripen a bit more then see how it tastes.

 

Hopefully I will learn to cook a bit more with all these vegetables. We haven't made the kids try any yet, but we are hopeful for a little healthier fare at the Baccus abode.

 

 

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' "

Hebrews 13:5



Happy Birthday, America!

We haven't had the best of luck with weather the past couple 4th of Julys. Last year we were wearing jackets, and this year it rained. Luckily, we know just what to do when it rains...jump up and down in muddy puddles!

We had so many puddles to choose from, and I don't think the kids have had so much fun getting wet in their clothes! I stood there with my umbrella and watched them for a good 30 minutes. Then we stripped down and got straight in a warm bath!

 

After our adventurous morning in the puddles I decided to do some 4th of July crafts with the kids. Nothing fancy, just some red, white, and blue paint and some white paper.

 

Avery made some fireworks with plastic forks. Colt acted like I was a crazy person when I gave him the forks. He's old fashioned and prefers to use a good ol' paintbrush. His actually turned out really cute.

 

Daddy grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs, and the kids promptly turned their noses up at it. I fried some zucchini and squash, and we had a yummy dinner. We waited until dark, and Daniel gave us a little fireworks show.

 

The kids and I sat in the van since it was still pretty wet outside. Unfortunately they were more interested in all the buttons in the van than in watching the fireworks.

 

I made the kids listen to Lee Greenwood's God Bless the U.S.A. at least two times during the show. Daniel did a good job with the fireworks this year.

 

Avery and Colt got to do a couple of huge sparklers that took forever to burn out.

 

I tried to teach Avery a little about the U.S.A. and why America is the best country. I hope she and Colt learn to love and have pride for America as much and Daniel and I do. And I thank all the men and women who love their country more than themselves and work hard everyday to ensure our freedom.

 

Happy 239th Birthday, America!