smile

Today is the day Allison has been waiting for, for almost 3 years!

Today she got her braces off. Definitely something to smile about!!

cool website!

I’ve recently discovered the greatest website! It’s actually my new web addiction. Pinterest. Click on the link and request an invite and then you can have all sorts of online fun!

Basically it’s a place to organize and store all the great ideas you find online. Before pinterest, my favorites menu was loaded with websites I’d seen and liked. But then they were quickly forgotten and it became nearly impossible to remember what each of those “favorite” websites contained. Now I can save them to my very own bulletin boards and then easily access the website at a later time.

Not only can you set up your own bulletin boards, you can follow friends and repin from their boards. It’s quite a little online community!

My pin boards look something like this:

So if you’re already on pinterest, look me up and follow me (and of course I’ll follow you back). If you’re not on yet, go request an invite. And then look me up. Happy pinning!!

vacay

We just got home from a quick getaway with the girls. We spent a couple of nights with my grandparents in Springfield, MO, ate at some of our favorite eateries (Fuddrucker’s, Springfield Cashew Chicken, Chick-fil-A), and spent a couple of days in Branson.

While in Branson, we went to Silver Dollar City. Delaney loved the rides! She is quite the thrill seeker. She rode roller coasters, water rides and especially loved riding the horses on the carousel!

After 4 hours in the hot, steamy park, Delaney was ready to call it a day. We left Silver Dollar City, checked into our hotel, swam, showered, ate dinner and went to the Titanic Museum. No pictures allowed, but a neat place.

After Titanic, Jeremy, Bri and Delaney rode go-carts. Delaney loved it and if it looks like she was pouting, it’s because she doesn’t want the ride to be over!

We headed back to SDC the next day and spent a full day riding rides. It was another scorcher!

Before leaving the park, we went on a tour of Marvel Cave. It’s the deepest cave in Missouri and they gave plenty of warning prior to the tour about the strenuous walk involved. I had been in the cave before as a kid, but you get a new perspective as a mom of a toddler. It was the most nerve-wracking experience! Jeremy carried Delaney and she eventually fell asleep, so he was carrying her limp body down steep, wet steps. I was so nervous that her little body would just fall out of his arms and over the low rails. My stomach still hurts when I think about it.

I didn’t take my camera and my phone didn’t take great pictures. But trust me, the cave was deep. But it did give us some relief from the 100 + temps outside. It is 60 degrees in the cave year-round. A real bonus in the heat of the summer.

It was great to get away, even if only for 3 nights. We left Nate at home in the care of his nurses and grandmas, which provided us with some much needed respite!

bridge under water

You’re probably sick of hearing about the heat, water restrictions, lack of rainfall, etc. But that’s all the talk where we live. The lake has gotten so low that an old bridge that used to cross a creek was revealed.

The lake was built in the early 1930’s. Before that, Elm Creek was the water source for swimming holes and fishing. Elm Creek ran right through the man-made lake.

This is the creek bed. Now littered with dead fish.

All the weeds, which are about as tall as me, stand where there used to be water.

We drove on around the lake to what used to be deep waters. Walked through a narrow path with chest high weeds on both sides of us. Think snakes. Yikes!!

And this is what we found:

 

A little bit of history was revealed!

no water rationing here

Because of the lack of rain and excessive heat, our town has started water rationing. So poor Delaney can only get her inflatable pool filled up on Mondays or Thursdays between the hours of 6 am and 9 am or 7 pm and 10 pm (if she actually had an inflatable pool). And our poor plants can only get water during those same hours. No backyard swimming at our house this summer!

But our friends who live in another town, where apparently there is an abundance of water, invited us over for the afternoon. So Delaney got to experience the excitement of a backyard inflatable pool (with cup holders even…fancy!)

 

Delaney was very interested in the cool swing set!

I can guarantee that if this slide went into the pool, she would have nothing to do with it. But landing in the grass was fine with her.

Delaney was definitely the winner here.

Nate’s nurse who has been with “us” for almost 7 years has become an extension of our family. And when someone spends as much time in our house as she does, you can’t help but form a bond. Not only is she a great nurse, but has become a great friend! She and her husband invited us over to watch the USA women’s soccer match against Japan. The kids played (inside and out) and we cheered for our team. We were disappointed in the game results, but at least we had good company to watch with!

toddler craft ~ tape painting

This craft was so easy.

I started with a piece of tagboard and used painter’s tape to mark off sections. I ran out of blue, but as it turned out, the other tape peeled off the paper easier. I’ve also seen people use the same concept on an artist’s canvas. We weren’t that fancy this time.

We used Crayola washable paints. You could use watercolors or whatever you have on hand. I had Delaney choose the color and choose the area to paint.

When she was finished painting, we let the paint dry and then pulled off the tape.

We gave the finished product to Delaney’s great-grandma who is in a long-term acute care facility. It brightened her day and will brighten her room during her stay.

yummy lunch

Yep, that’s it. Self serve frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf. Jeremy and I were in Wichita visiting his grandma and decided we would have frozen yogurt for lunch. It was delightful!! And the fresh fruit toppings and non-fat strawberry yogurt helped me justify our lunch choice. Plus I really deserved a treat after torturing myself at spin class last night. If anyone tells you they love spin (cycling), they must love pain!!

2 new recipes

On my summer list I said I wanted to try a new recipe every week. Here are 2 of the recipes I’ve made so far.

Watermelon popsicles

Put 1/2 cup watermelon, 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup water in a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze.

Enjoy!

I liked this recipe because it’s healthy and easy. Our biggest problem is getting the pops out of the molds with the handles intact. Any tips?

Recipe #2: Pizza Stromboli

Start with a loaf of frozen bread (Rhode’s or generic). Thaw in the fridge for several hours. I sprayed my pan and sprayed some plastic wrap to put over the loaf and set it out at room temperature for about an hour (you don’t want it to set out at room temp for too long, or it will begin to rise), then in the fridge for about 4-5 hours.

Roll out the thawed dough, stretching it as big as it will go. Please ignore the hole in my dough.

Top with filling of your choice. I did turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, fresh basil (from our garden) and mozzarella cheese.

Roll one side over and tuck under to close the seams. I brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with parm cheese and garlic powder.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Serve with marinara. Yum!!

I got this recipe from my friend Melissa. It’s a definite keeper!

trying to beat the heat

We’re having record high temps here in Kansas. Yesterday it was 111. The hottest day we’ve had in 31 years! I was just out of kindergarten the last time it was this hot. I even saw some people trying to fry an egg on the sidewalk yesterday!

This crazy, hot summer hasn’t deterred Jeremy from his golf game. But the rest of us are trying to stay cool. Thank goodness for a/c. And a membership to the YMCA waterpark!

rainy day

We’ve been in a drought here in Kansas. It has been hot and dry (dry as in no rain, but it’s still plenty humid!) for many, many days with no rain in the forecast. Then out of nowhere, while Bri and I were selling fireworks out of a tent for a band trip fundraiser (yes, my life is filled with a never-ending string of fundraisers) it started pouring. And it rained for at least a couple of hours. Much needed and very much welcomed!

This was July 3, the first day to legally shoot off fireworks for the holiday weekend. And the rain didn’t keep the neighbors in. So when Delaney heard their fireworks, and saw them outside, she was determined to see what was going on.

It wasn’t even raining at this point, but she was excited to put on her rain gear.

The twins came over to say hi, which really made her day. Rain and a visit from friends! What more could a 3 year old ask for?

No one leaves our property without a kiss and hug!

july 4

We had a great time celebrating our country’s birthday with family. We were back and forth between our house (to shoot  fireworks) and my parents’ house (to eat and watch the city’s fireworks display).

Even Delaney wanted in on the fireworks action! She was not one bit scared, which isn’t necessarily a good thing when we’re talking about fire, flames and explosives! Mostly she ran around with an unlit punk and “helped” light smoke bombs.

 

Someone was not so excited about the fireworks.

 

Thumbs up to another great holiday spent with family!!