Talk To You Later

We are leaving today for Massanutten Virginia.  We've never been there before. You can check out the resort here if you want. There's NOT a beach there....I looked and looked but I don't see an ocean anywhere!   We're going with my husband's family.  We've never vacationed (for a week) with all twelve of us before....so it should be interesting!  I think when you vacation with other people, it's not always as relaxing as when you're with your everyday family...you have to compromise and go with the flow.   So, we will see how it goes....you can probably tell I'm a tad nervous.  I love my husband's family...but there's probably a reason we have never went away together before!    Brady is super excited to spend time with his three cousins who live ten hours away...and we are excited for him! 


See you in a week!
(Unless I can sneak my son's laptop (that's right, he has one and we don't!) with us on vacation!

Happy Campers!

Eric and Brady always have a campout in our backyard once or twice a summer.

This time, they invited friends!  Brady was so excited!  It was a super hot

evening...not sure why anyone would want to have a campfire...but they did.

They had hot dogs on the fire for dinner and later made s'mores.  I only went outside

long enough to snap a few pictures!  I like that camping is their thing and not mine!

What I do enjoy is getting the snacks together for the campout!

It was nice for the kids to each have their own little something...at least they seemed

excited about them.  I just mod podged the paper onto my (Smirnoff Ice!) card board

carriers.  Inside the boxes I put:

* popcorn

*candy

*flashlight

*hand sanitizer

*Stewarts Root Beer

*bubbles

*donuts for morning

Little mini camping journal notebooks would be fun too

for the kids...maybe if you are camping

for more than one evening!

Fun Finds!

I found this website and just wanted to share!  I'm not sure why

 I found it so funny.   Some of their things would make really FUN gifts! 

Isn't this a FUN cake mold?!

Yum!

Hot dog gum?

My husband would love these!

Hmmmmm????

Popcorn lip balm!

Donut soap!

App magnets for the fridge!

Brady would like these!

Pickle band aids?

Play-doh cologne...not sure why anyone would want this!

Have a FUN day!

Finally Figured It Out!

Wooohoooo!

It's 12:30am....and I finally have a NEW HEADER!  My friend Toni

and I have been working on this for the last 4 hours!  We tried and tried and were

about to give up and then.......all of a sudden,

we were jumping up and down and hugging....we did it!

Thank you Toni for all your help and for being just as excited

as I was when my new header magically appeared on the computer screen!

Much To Say About Nothing

I bought a huge container of blackberries yesterday for $2.50 at at roadside stand.
Pretty good deal, huh?!

So, this morning I made this:

I added a small container of vanilla yogurt,

blackberries, a banana, 1/4c of orange juice and

lots of ice.  It was really good...and Brady didn't like

it, so it was all mine.  I'm not a huge fan of breakast, but I can

get excited about smoothies...so most mornings that's what I have.

  My favorite is peanut butter and banana, a little skim milk,

 yogurt and ice.  It feels like I'm having something really special!

This week has flown by...not sure why...we didn't really have a busy week.

We never even made it to the pool once!

We did play many games of crazy 8's.

We graduated to a regular deck of cards instead of the crazy 8 cards

with the kiddy pictures on them that we've always played with.  Brady thought it was so cool

to play with the regular deck....which means...we played even more games!

 I've always played with Brady (even though he is really good at entertaining himself).

But, I have to say, I kind of enjoy this kind of playing rather than pushing the little cars on

the make believe town carpet kind of playing.  Don't get me wrong...I'd still go back to

that stage in a heartbeat if I could!

We've also been playing Sequence a lot.  We seem to kind of stick with

a couple of games for awhile and then we switch it up.  One of my favorite

games is Trouble.  Not that it's all that exciting...but I like that everything is all

nice and contained.  The dice never rolls off the table, there's not a stack of cards

that fall over and the pieces fit so nicely into their own spot.  So I have a touch of that

OCD thing....big deal.

I've kind of felt a lot  little sluggish this week.  I haven't made it to the gym once.

And, I've been eating like crap.  So, it's not wonder I feel like I do.  It just

feels more important to me to enjoy the summer with my family and not worry

about getting my workouts in.  The end of August will come soon enough...I don't even

want to think about it yet...and I will have plenty of time to get to the gym.  In the meantime,

I need to find a little better balance.  Ice Cream and Smirnoff's in the evening on the deck need

to happen a little less frequently!  It's not rocket science...eating better and getting exercise

gives you more energy and makes you feel better, duh.  I just need to eat a little less

since I'm not working out as hard.  Easier said then done!

Speaking of the gym...if anyone is still reading...Brady was chosen to be the

"member spotlight" for the month of July at the rec center we belong to.  He was

so excited....they've alway had an adult in the spotlight but not this month!  He really

thinks he's a STAR.  He was interviewed (without me around) and you can read his

answers HERE if you want.  ( Mom, this is for YOU! )

   The picture they took (w/ a cell phone) doesn't really look like him though!

It is Brady...I promise!

Have a super weekend!

 

A Sticky Craft

Brady and I did a little painting on Sunday.  We used

corn syrup, food coloring and shiny poster board.

I found this idea here.

Just add a few drops of food coloring into the corn

syrup and you are ready to go!

First we drew our design with a black marker.

Then, we got painting!

Look at that concentration!

Brady's finished artwork!

Mine.

Our paintings took a couple of hours to dry because

the paint is really thick...and sticky!  That's why

we painted outside!  It's hard to tell from the pictures,

but the paintings turned out really glassy.  Just be sure

to use glossy paper.

Our Favorite Summer Pizza

 

 

I usually buy this crust...but the store was out.  Any pizza crust you like will do.  The only thing I wouldn't compromise on is the Ken's Lite Caesar dressing..it's really good.

Spoon just enough dressing onto the crust to coat it.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Add chopped chicken.  I dice it small to get two

pizzas worth out of one box ( yes, I'm cheap!)  The Italian

style chicken gives this pizza a great taste too.  You can

pop this pizza in the oven at 400 degrees until the crust is cooked

and cheese has melted....or cook it right on the grill.

When the pizza comes off the grill, we top it with

shredded lettuce, tomotoes, and spring onions.

To finish it off, I like to drizzle more dressing

over the top and sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese.

We had this pizza and corn on the cob the other evening for dinner!

The warm crust mixed with the fresh veggies on top is really

a perfect summer meal.  We love it!

I hope you try it!

Foto Friday- A Little Frisbee And A Ham

Not A Place But A State Of Mind

One of my favorite things about the quaint town of Mt. Gretna are the houses and cottages on the hill overlooking the lake.  They all have beautiful front porches.   After we left the lake on Sunday, we drove around admiring all the charming homes.  The front porches definately get used in this town!   Almost all the porches have ceiling fans and nice furniture, lights, plants and people visiting with one another.  I'm sure for some of the residents, this is their summer home.  I was only able to get a handful of pictures because it was a gorgeous evening...and most people were hanging out on their PORCH!    As we drove up and down the streets,  people smiled and waved to us like we lived their too!

 I think what I like most about the porches is what they represent. 

 To me, they symbolize a more relaxed and slower time.

A time when people visited and enjoyed each other's company.

Most of the houses in our neighborhood don't even have front porches.

Do you have a front porch?