Picnic-ing

After picking those berries, we brought our lunches to the Snyders' home for a big 'ol picnic.


Clara and Thaddeus:

Maggie & Izzy wishing they were big enough to go on the tire swing:

Happy as can be with their lollipops and each other:

We LOVE spending time with our friends!

More berries

We drove in the opposite direction from our last fruit expedition to meet a bunch of friends out past Monroe for more Strawberry picking. This time the berries were smaller since it was the end of the season, but we still had a wonderful time with our friends. I didn't even have to drive since the Willinghams picked the three of us up for the day!

Ashley and Izzy:

Knox in a predicament:

The Posvars:

My Strawberry:

Clara's friends

Clara and Thaddeus

Shopping at Target with Ella Gracie

Aren't they all just too cute?!

My Little Fish!

Our neighborhood swimming pools are not open during the weekdays yet, so we have been enduring the ice-cold hose water in our inflatable pool. ;)

Who needs a swim suit when you have Elmo panties?

Izzy enjoying the WARM hot tub (located above the swimming pool) at the Fabers' home with Katie in the RAIN:
We are going to miss our dear friends, the Fabers, when they move back to Michigan at the end of the month.

Bows!

My friends, Angie and Naphtali, and I have been having a bow making evening once a month. We switch who hosts each month. Next time, it'll be my turn. With glue guns and scissors and lighters (for sealing the ends of the ribbons), we have been learning how to make different bows. There are sooooo many kinds to learn! Angie has taught herself how to make certain bows, and she's been a great teacher. We're all finding out there are many ways to make them. It's definitely fun the next morning to show Izzy her new bows.

Garden Update

We are enjoying seeing our garden grow! It's the perfect size for our family. In fact, you might not believe it, but I will have TONS of (bush) green beans to freeze with this crop. Justin is our awesome garden water-er. :) I need to hoe around each of the plants this week... another thing for my To-Do List before going to PA next week.


Tomatoes:

Mahi Mahi

Justin & Izzy packaging the Mahi Mahi in baking soda, lemon juice, and water (to be frozen).

Trying out his fish frying skills...

Very tasty!

Gone fishin'!

Justin went deep sea fishing with his bosses and some customers of theirs on the company boat this past week. (I have to admit, I like the fishing trips during the week, cause we don't lose our family weekend time!) They caught 25 dolphin (not Flipper, it's Mahi Mahi), and we already have enjoyed some of it. I couldn't believe it didn't smell "fishy" AT ALL. Izzy and Clara even ate some for breakfast yesterday morning. :) So glad to have a bunch in our deep freezer!

Justin's catch is about half way or more through the video if you don't want to watch him reeling for a couple minutes.

Black flowers?

Growing up, I worked for our neighbors in their flower gardens. Mrs. Sponaugle always had Hollyhocks, which were not my favorite flower. Each week, I had to make sure the dead leaves were removed, and it was just one of those aspects of the job that I did not enjoy. The funny thing... I ordered Hollyhocks for my gardens last year. :) I thought I ordered RED Hollyhocks, but look at these pics. BLACK?!

Pretty but totally not expecting this color...

There's a slight hint of color, but not much. In person, these flowers look almost the same color of eggplants, and they're taller than me.

Soaked.

Yesterday, it rained all morning. (Finally!) I'm pretty determined to make sure I get 5 days of running in each week, so when the sun broke out for a while, I gathered the girls up to go. About a half mile into the run, I started to feel a few drops of rain... uh oh. No turning back now. The girls were giggling and kicking, but they were soaked when the clouds let loose. Fortunately for them, Justin drove by on his way home from work and turned around. He took the girls home and got them into towels. Here I am (in the garage) just arrived...

More 'cream?

Our neighbor across the street was selling coupons to Bruster's for his high school football fundraiser. Of course, we helped him out, but we were in for a real treat tonight! Izzy's baby cone was free! Not only did we have a B1G1 (buy one, get one) coupon, but Bruster's gives the baby cones, even with sprinkles, for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Here's a picture of her very first ice cream cone:

Izzy loved watching the 3 motorcycles drive up, and on the way back to the car she asked, "More 'cream?"

Yum!

Listen to this SLAP HAPPY baby!

We had a terrific Sunday. After morning church, we had the Sanchez family over for lunch, and we enjoyed getting to know them better. Then back for evening church, and when we returned home, listen to what I heard as I was washing dishes...

Isn't it fun being 2?

The Posvars had us over for lunch on Thursday after MOPS, and Georgiana and Izzy got to play... and snuggle! ;)

First time for everything...

First time for both girls in a sprinkler!

Justin's been a watering the grass fiend since it's been so hot already. Thankfully, we are getting rain TODAY!

Soaked:

Another concoction

What do you think of this smoothie? ;)
I've decided I'm not a fan of the pineapple in the smoothie.
I prefer the oranges instead!

In this one: pineapple, spinach, frozen strawberries (that we picked), strawberry yogurt, applesauces, milled flax seeds, and wheat germ.

Guess who loved it? She kept grabbing my hand for more!

Time to grill!

Stuffed Border Burgers
We thoroughly enjoyed these turkey burgers, and if you try them, you just might like them, too!
Adapted from Southern Living Cookbook

1.5 lbs lean ground beef (I used ground turkey, and they were delicious)
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1 (4.25 oz) can chopped ripe olives (I omitted for Justin's sake)
2 T ketchup
1 t. chili powder
1 t. fajita seasoning
1/2 t. salt
6 slices Pepper Jack cheese
6 onion rolls
Tex-Mex Sauce
Optional Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole

Combine first 7 ingredients. Shape into 12 (4") patties. Break cheese slices to fit onto 6 of the patties. Top with remaining 6 patties, pressing to seal edges. Grill, covered with grill lid, over med-high heat 4-6 min on each side or until done. Serve on onion rolls with Tex-Mex Sauce and toppings.

Tex-Mex Sauce
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. ketchup
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles
1 T. minced fresh cilantro