Party Beans

T- What are we having for dinner?
Me- Quesadillas and beans.
T- The party beans?
Me- Party beans?
T- Yeah, beans for parties.
Me- Do you mean farties?
T- No!! PARTY BEANS, LAURA!
Me- ..I dunno kiddo, I don't know about eating beans at parties
T- But on the front it has a BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Seriously, 4 year olds can be so confusing sometimes.

Party on!

One Last Summer Excusion

The kids started school this week so I guess the fall schedule is officially underway, even though it's early August and still swelteringly hot (except the past two days which have been magnificent...our temperatures started with 8's!)

Last weekend we had one last big summer outing up to the lake. Mom and Dad were going there anyway, so the kids and I made the 3.5 hour drive to crash their party....while Jeremy stayed home and shot guns with my brother, did yard work and watched episodes of Deadliest Catch. Super manly stuff.

My pictures are almost exactly like the ones I posted in July, because going to the lake means doing exactly the same thing...swimming, boating, eating soft pretzels, playing on the deck and resting. That's about it!

First Day of Preschool 2011

Big Bertha

I really wish more Amish people lived in central IN. I was up in Northern IN this weeekend and of course that's big Amish country.

If they were closer I would shop at their markets, buy their well made products, eat their food, enjoy their good natured attitude and make way for their buggies. But alas, they are a good 3-4 hour drive from us. And that's like two weeks in buggy riding time.

While up in Amish country I snagged a handmade wooden drying rack that is HUGE. I've named her Big Bertha. So so so much better than the stupid one I bought at Target that broke after a month.

This baby is like 6 ft tall, and only on the short setting...it gets taller!

Our homeowner's association says no clothes lines at all. Take that HOA...just cause I can't have a clothes line doesn't mean I can't whip out Big Bertha and hang hangers from my awning. Try and get me.

To Good Genes...

...and newly discovered talents.

My Cookie Project, recipe 19- This One is for Zacky

Since we drove to the Outer Banks, and everyone else in the family flew...we got to bring home all the leftover groceries. We've been slowing chipping away at all the leftovers...brussel sprouts eaten, limes made into popsicles, s'mores shared with small group, Grammie's super special taco seasoning already utilized, and plans for crashed potatoes this weekend.

I also came home a with alot of this...


Our nephew Zack is a little obsessed with crunchy peanut butter, and there was some leftover. Since we already have our own well stocked share of peanut butter, I did what any rational person would do...made CRUNCHY peanut butter cookies!

Rachel was my helper while everyone else was too busy playing pirates, until they figured out there might be beaters and spoons to lick. Like moths to the flame.

I scooped them out portions and they rolled them into ball. Perfect kid job.

But apparently the balls need to be smaller if you want the cookies not to all grow into a giant blog. Oh well, still tasty. I actually like PB cookies better with the crunchy...who knew.

Zack, if you lived a little closer buddy, these would be yours. For now, Tessa and Charley will eat one in your honor.

Life as Art- post vacation

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I'm NOT artsy. I just like gluing stuff together. Although, my recent ventures into painting might say otherwise (if drinking wine and painting trees counts as artistry). My bar for art is pretty high...you've met my Mamaw right?

But I picked up a bunch of these letters before the trip, a last initial for each family plus first initials for the kids. That plus three tubes of tacky glue and an infinite resource of shells. Voila!

I also framed some of our favorite vaca pictures for the wall of fame. The wall is getting full enough that I can no longer reach and Jeremy has to do the hanging. I think we're gonna need a bigger boat...wall.

I don't really like hanging pictures of us. I mean unless it's something really good of the kids. We see ourselves all the time you know? I don't want to look at my own ugly mug in the morning...I want to look at all of YOU....look closely family, and you'll probably see yourself somewhere.

Vacation Pictures

A big THANK YOU to my friend Amanda who informed me that I could link blogger to a Picasa album and upload a bunch of pictures at once. This one piece of information saved me hours and hours of uploading.

So without further ado...our vacation! (click to open, then click slideshow to see full captions)

Outer Banks, NC- July 2011

Undeniable Truths

Yes I've been away more than a few days...to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Still in a post-vacation fog, and still sorting through pictures, I can at least report a couple of facts for the moment.

--I liked the beach much more than I ever imagined. I've only ever been on a warm beach (as in the beaches of Nor Cal are NOT generally warm) like 3 times in my life, and never for an extended amount of time. Day after day we swam, jumped waves, dug in the sand and collected shells...and I never got tired of it.

--When doing the before mentioned activities, I WILL get sunburnt, even when wearing 70 spf. My kids, however, will tan themselves into cute little brown butterballs.

--I've sorted through my pictures and designated 79 of them to the best. Given the fact that blogger only lets you upload 5 at a time, I should have them ready to post sometime next year. In the meantime, refer to facebook.

--When doing a 14 hour drive (not including many many stops) with a 2 and 4 year old, a portable DVD player is a must. Thanks to our friend at church who lent us hers. We'd be dead without it. Movies and snacks, and more movies and more snacks.

--My allergies haven't really been acting up at all this summer, and weren't at the beach either. One day back in the hot and dry dust bowl that is our state, and I'm a snot monster.

--It's a sad statement when the local forecaster says today's high is 95 and you say...oh that's not too bad! This applies to both NC and IN, by the way.

--Because of the heat and excessive wetness back in the early summer, our poor zucchinis got infested with a squash worm and are no longer with us. Luckily the cucumber, herbs, tomato and grapes are hanging on for dear life.

--My friend Ronda dog, garden and house sat for us last week and her kids spoiled them rotten and loved them to death. Now they sit and stare at me in disappointment. Because Rosie begged, Tessa let her sleep with her at naptime for the first time ever today...and I think everyone came out satisfied by the cuddling.

--Tessa and Charley start preschool for the fall in less than a week. Charley will be going two (four hour) days a week, and Tessa will be going three.

--Our last trip of the summer will be a short run up to the lake with Mom and Dad this weekend. Just the kids and I, while Jeremy stays behind to shoot guns and do yard work, in that order.

--Given our crazy month of July, we've been disconnected from our church and small group and really miss them. Luckily we were able to reunite last night and get updated. The next thing we will be studying is 1 Corinthians. Here's hoping I can make bible reading a part of daily life, instead of just saying that I will.

I'm sure there's more, but that's about all I got for now. Off to go blow my nose...

Jessica's Birthday Movie

Can we all agree that Jeremy is getting really good with his movie editing skills? This may be his best work so far, and definitely the most time consuming.

Jeremy's sister Jessie turned 40, and we had a big family reunion type vacation to the outer banks last week to celebrate. Pictures to come soon....unlike Facebook, it's hard to load 150 pictures onto blogger.

Anyway, Jeremy made a 'this is your life' type movie. With Jessie's permission, I am posting it for family (and anybody!) to enjoy.

It's 27 min long so grab a beverage and make sure your sound is ON! (also click the little star-type thingy in the lower right hand corner to make it bigger on the screen)

Too Hot to Fry an Egg?

Since it reached 100* today, we thought it was time for a science experiment. We used our last two eggs and waited for a long time. Nothing really happened.

Finally after several hours we had a fried egg over medium. Now to figure out the best way to scrape it off the street.

Getting Artsy Again

I did "Wine and Canvas" for the third time. I'm really starting to see a trend here. Although I've only ever had one glass of wine...it's usually 'diet coke and canvas' because I have to drive home. Check out my art from January and March.

My friend Stephanie from CA stopped into town for a brief visit. I didn't have any great ideas on how to entertain her, but this was her idea. Perfect for an out of town guest! (except I have to mail her her masterpiece, but that's no big deal).

Stephanie doesn't believe in Facebook or posting her picture online. I'm pretty sure she's wanted by the FBI. But I hope you all understand that if you are my friend, you are blog fodder.

I'm a photo journalist capturing every minute detail of our lives to share with the masses. It's my JOB. Plus I wanna show off my trees.

Blank canvases

Making the trunks wasn't too hard, but adding the foliage scared me a bit. I had to make this face for a while. But then I got in the zone and let it fly. That seems to work best for me.

Halfway done. Yes these are supposed to be CA redwoods, although the artist said she had never been to CA so she wasn't sure what they actually looked like. Steph and I agreed they were good, but the fact that they are right next to a beach is questionable.

I work in a messy style. If you don't believe me, come watch me bake sometime.

My finished trees!

Steph and I with our finished masterpieces. Cool huh? I realize that I've now painted three completely different styles of trees. Next time I should shoot for flowers or a still life. Check out their calender, what looks like fun?

Baking Day

My friend Stephanie from California is coming to visit tomorrow. We used to work together many moons ago and I haven't seen her in about two year. We are going to do wine and canvas, take the kids to see Cars 2 and then just.... ya know, visit!

I asked Stephanie was her favorite cookie was and she said sugar cookies cause they taste like Christmas. Geez, that's easy. So here are some sugar cookies for Steph, ready for the oven...

Yes if you come from out of town to visit, I might make you cookies. That's how I roll.

Here's the simple sugar cookie recipe I followed. I was too lazy to ice them so I rolled them in sugar for good measure.

And then I moved on to this bounty. 4 zucchinis freshly picked from the garden and grated.

Half of it went into making 4 loaves of bread. Half of those loaves will go into the freezer. The other half of the pulp was tightly wrapped in cling wrap and Ziploced for future usage.

(I learned the hard way that it must be tightly wrapped....freezer burnt zuc pulp is a sad sight).