. . .and other such things. . .part III

Garden harvest minestrone- in the summer? I was skeptical as well, but Prudy does it again with this simple, yummy recipe with ingredients that are at their best during this time of year! Find it here.

. . .and other such things. . .part II

I've tried yet another EXCELLENT recipe from Prudy's blog- zucchini pineapple bread! Check it out here. Our lovely neighbors were so kind in giving us some zucchini from their garden, so I needed to find some recipes to put them to good use.
So simple- mix up the dry ingredients
Shred the zucchini in the handy dandy food processorMmmmmmmmm. . . so tasty!Ewan is a very big fan!!!

Whew!!!!! What a day!!

What a GREAT day we had today!!! It started out as usual- breakfast for the little guy followed by some play time then a morning nap. After naptime, Ewan had lunch and THEN. . . we went to ANOTHER carousel!!!!! We met up with Susan, Eden, Mia and Susan's sister, Celeste and had such a nice time!!! After that, we headed to Grampy's for a snack and then an afternoon nap followed by a trip to the Osh Gosh outlet, then back to Grampy's for dinner and to hang with Grampy, Aunt Katie, Uncle Stephen and Blake, as well as Andrea and Jesse and their 4 kids, Patrick, Kaitlyn, Natalie and little Leah!!! WHEW!!!! It was so much fun- Ewan and I both had so much fun!!!

Eden, Ewan and Mia at the village after getting ice cream!!

Ewan excitedly waiting for another bite of chocolate ice cream!!!!! (He seems to take after his mama!) His new thing is the scrunched up nose smile- so funny!! Riding the carousel! (Poor, sweet Eden in the background was terrified!)
Blake and Ewan hanging out with Grampy!
Sweet Kaitlyn playing with Ewan.

Blueberry pancakes!!!

Mmmmmmm Mmmmmmmm Goooooooood!!!!!! Denny made blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning and they were EXCELLENT!!! Ewan thoroughly enjoyed himself- he has taken to saying "Mmmmmmmm" whenever he is eating something that he finds to be especially tasty!


Loving his pancakes!!
Shoveling it in- he can't seem to get enough!!!All done- and happy as can be!!
To find the recipe for these yummy buttermilk pancakes go here.

This is the BEST invention!! Thank you Aunt Liz!!!! Ewan's little shoulders and neck kept getting all red, irritated and rashy from his car seat straps . . . until we saw Ewan's cousin Anna with the pink version of these strap covers!!! They are great- a must for any of us who are confined to car seats!!!!!

On a walk. . .

Not the best pics, as they were taken with my cell phone, but Ewan decided he wanted to "walk" on our walk!! He is still obsessed with pushing anything he can find with or without wheels so he can walk- soon, he is going to figure out that he can walk without these "assistive devices" (I can't resist calling them this, as I am a PT!!).

Teething. . .

Ahhh. . .teething. . . not so much fun! Poor Ewan- he has been having a rough time lately as his molars are coming in- I cannot even imagine how painful this must be- so glad he won't remember it. Ewan's Aunt Liz, Uncle Tim and cousins, Anna and Henry gave him the cutest little outfit for his birthday that just couldn't be more appropriate right now. . .

More pics from our weekend in the mountains. . .

P.S. Can you see that tiny white dot in the middle of the barn? That's Denny standing on the second level!!!

Mountain Retreat

After the family reunion (see previous post), Denny, Ewan and I spent the rest of the weekend in a friends wonderful mountain home (THANK YOU "J" family!!!!!). It was an incredibly relaxing weekend filled with the beauty of God's creation. I was able to fish for the first time since Ewan's birth- and caught a bunch of bass!!!! We were able to slow down as a family and simply enjoy the quiet. Denny and I now look forward to someday (hopefully!) finding our own little getaway in the mountains!
My handsome mountain man!Ewan pointing out the birds

Family Reunion

We went to a family reunion this weekend and then spent the night in a friends mountain home (more on this in the next post!)! The reunion was lots of fun- we were able to catch up with family and see how big all the kids are getting (it's hard to believe that I used to be one of the little kids in the family picture. . . ). Ewan got to hang out with his cousin, Gavin, who is just 1 month younger and is SOOOO cute!!!! I did not get enough pics, but, thankfully, my wonderful cousin, Tami, sent the family photo! The site of the reunion is so beautiful and I hope it is ALWAYS here (forever a topic of discussion during the "family meeting"!!!). Going to S.F. pond brings back fond memories of my childhood and the yearly trip my family took to the reunion. I recall playing with cousins I saw too little of, paddle-boating, swimming and just running around amongst the beauty of God's great creation!!!! I know some in my wonderful family wish for the reunion to be elsewhere, bu I cannot imagine a better place- because S.F. pond is where all my wonderful memories of family reunions began . . . and I hope for Ewan to create wonderful fond memories at S.F. pond too!!!

Ewan and Gavin (with dad grilling in the background- great job dad!!!)

Ewan attempting to steal Gavin's lunch (of course, Ewan would have NOTHING to do with his own lunch!!)The Family photo- what a good looking bunch!!!!

. . .and other such things. . .

Many of my family and friends know that I greatly enjoy cooking and baking. I have been religiously following a "foodie" blog I stumbled upon a few weeks ago here. I have also been making a few of the recipes that are posted on this blog and have been quite impressed with the result. So, today, I decided to try my hand at cran-blueberry scones with a lemon glaze that Prudy posted for her Fourth of July menu. I have to say- "well done, Prudy"- these scones are YUMMY! To get the recipe go here. It is VERY easy to make (it literally took less than 15 minutes to whip it all together and then only a 15-20 minute bake time!)

Somewhat misshapen, but, they are homemade!




Unfortunately, 1 of the six already disappeared. . .hmmmm. . .I wonder where? This is definitely a recipe I will make again- except I will definitely double it!!!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!!!

Tomatoes (strangely enough!) bring back fond memories of our first few weeks with Ewan as we had an ABUNDANCE and gave them away to everyone we could!!! This year, as the tomatoes are ripening again, I have to smile as I look at our little guy enjoying his world!!! What amazing changes occur in the first year of life!

Hanging out with Aunt Katie and cousin Blake!

Katie and Blake came over to watch Ewan for a short while and then we all got to PLAY!!! It was sooo much fun just chatting away (as Katie and I can do for hours. . .!). Blake is probably one of the sweetest babies in town- all smiles, all the time- he is just irresistible!! Watch out ladies!!! Ewan was VERY interested in Blake- I would have gotten some pics, however I was too busy teaching my little guy that "gentle" does NOT mean poking baby Blake in the eye!!!

Baby pool Part II

Yay!!! Ewan likes this baby pool! It was lots of fun just hanging out in the back yard while Ewan played for quite some time in his new pool. . .and I am LOVING the built in shade part of the pool as it really does a GREAT job of protecting his sweet baby skin from the sun! I'm thinking I am going to trek this pool over to Grampy's sometime as Ewan seems to have much more fun when he can move around, rather than being held in Grampy's big pool!