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Summer Re-cap #2

I posted back in June about Wes' Spring baseball season and mentioned he was selected to play All Stars. Kris and I have talked for years about the pros and cons of continuing the season at this age.  We have been pretty set with our convictions, but decided to let him play this summer.  He had a great time and learned a lot by being on a team with lots of good players.  Being on an All Start team brought a few decisions to my attention that I had not foreseen me making! 

First up was whether or not to follow the team and sport a mohawk.  As the collage proves, I said yes, and Wes couldn't have been more proud!

Second up was wether or not to paint the van in support of our team.  Once again, as the collage proves, I said yes, and Wes was very pleased!

Seeing him sport his All Star uniform definitely brought it's excitement!  This was also our first team to play with that had t-shirts made for the families.  Not only was it fun for us to support Wes in this way, but it kept the game night wardrobe simple for this mama!  (When we were unloading at the first tournament, I got so tickled at Bankston Hays - he had tucked his batting glove in his pants...just like the big boys!)

The season ended sooner than we had hoped, but not short on memories.  Wes made new friends, learned a new position and several dugout cheers, and how much fun it is to WIN!  (And I learned that when I let go of what I want, it can MAKE a little boy's day!)

Summer Re-cap #1

Before we get too far in the school year and I look up and it's Christmas holidays, I wanted to re-cap some of our fun memories from the summer.

One morning we got up and at 'em EARLY!  We planned to spend some time at a local park and knew we had to get there first thing or we wouldn't be able to bear the heat.  We like this park a lot because it is rarely crowded and has something for all age

Favorites at the park:  Wes - rock wall, Ann Elise - swings and zip line, and Bankston Hays - tall slides

For several years I have wanted to take the kids to a water park.  I figured they would have a good time, but I wanted to make sure I could handle all three on my own.  This summer proved to be the one when all three were swimming proficiently and Wes could manage the slides without me.  We went to celebrate the first day of summer and were having a good time when it thundered.  We were disappointed we had to get out, but when they made the decision to close for the day they gave everyone free passes to return!  YAHOO!  We used our free passes to celebrate the end of summer - going a few days before school started back :)

Favorites at the water park:  Me - lazy river, Wes - potato sack slide (don't know what else to call it but it is like the sack slide at a fair - you just ride down head first on a mat), Ann Elise - tunnel slide, and Bankston Hays - slide under the dumping bucket

My sister and her family live in my hometown (about 3 1/2 hours north of us).  We get together every chance we get and our kids L.O.V.E. being together!  When we found out my brother-in-law had a conference on the coast we started making plans!  The one hour drive was worth it!  The kids had a blast at the hotel pool and us sisters enjoyed our catch up time :)

Every summer we participate in our public library's summer reading program.  It keeps the kids reading and provides us with an air conditioned activity!   This year we settled into the routine of "stories and snow cones".  After we finished perusing the shelves and filling our bag with new books for the week, we'd head down the street to our friends' snow cone stand.

Favorite flavors:  Wes-rainbow, Ann Elise - wedding cake, and Bankston Hays-rainbow

Back to the grind

The big kids have started school (3rd and 1st grades) and Bankston Hays (3 yr old Preschool) starts tomorrow. We are excited about the new year - new teachers, new friends, new things to learn! To celebrate the first day of school we had a special treat as an afternoon snack.

I am kinda on a recipe kick, so I'll share one that caught my attention :) I first saw this recipe on a blog I can no longer find, but great old Google read between my search words and lead me right to an almost identical dessert (if not the same recipe)!

Frozen Caramel Toffee Ice Cream Dessert

1 box Ice Cream Sandwiches

1 jar Hot Fudge

1 jar Caramel

12 oz. Cool Whip

Toffee Bits

Unwrap ice cream sandwiches and layer bottom of casserole dish (1 sandwich thick). Top ice cream sandwiches with Cool Whip. Heat hot fudge in microwave until runny and drizzle on top of Cool Whip. Drizzle caramel on top of Cool Whip. Sprinkle Cool Whip with toffee bits. Then layer with ice cream sandwiches, Cool Whip, hot fudge and caramel. Top with toffee bits. Freeze until ready to serve.

This dessert was super easy and super yummy! Throwing in different nuts - peanuts, pecans, almonds - would be good, too :)

Celebrating Kris!

Yesterday was Kris' birthday! The kids and I were excited to celebrate such a great husband/daddy. Kris and I went to see Harry Potter the night before (for our anniversary), so his big day did not entail too many great or exciting plans. However, we kept with our tradition and celebrated lunch with a few friends at our our house. The tradition includes Kris choosing the lunch menu - I'll make whatever he wants ;) The kids love this - always putting in their suggestions.

Birthday Lunch Menu

Shrimp Lasagna (A dish my mom makes that we LOVE - rumors hace it that my brother requested the same meal for his birthday a few weeks ago! The link takes you to a similar recipe I found online.)

Spinach Salad

Sister Schubert Rolls

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

I did not take any pictures of his special day, but I thought I'd share two of the recipes with you. Both are DEE-LISH!

(photo credits)

Shrimp Lasagna

12 oz. Angel Hair Pasta

15 oz. jar Chunky Salsa

1 lb. bag Shrimp (frozen, tiny)

8 oz. Mozzarella

Mix:

2 large Eggs

1 cup Evaporated Milk

1 cup Yogurt (plain)

8 oz. Feta Cheese (crumbled)

8 oz. Swiss Cheese

1 tsp. Parsley

1 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Oregano

2 tsp. Garlic (minced)

Spray 9x13 pan with Pam.

Layer from bottom to top:

1/2 of Pasta

Salsa

1/2 of Shrimp

Remaining Pasta

Yogurt Mixture

Remaining Shrimp

Mozzarella

(photo from Flickr)

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

2 bags Pepperidge Farms Chessman Cookies

6 to 8 Bananas (sliced)

2 cups Milk

5 oz. box Instant French Vanilla Pudding

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk

12 oz. Cool Whip

Line the bottom of a 9x13 dish with Chessman Cookies. Layer bananas on top. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

13 Years

(these young faces were headed out to begin the journey of life together)

HAPPY 13th ANNIVERSARY, Kris!

So glad to be doing life with my best friend! It's been wonderful - marriage is a JOY :)

S-L-O-W-L-Y

We are s-l-o-w-l-y getting things back in order after returning from nearly two weeks in China. Kris and I are both dealing with jetlag, but our family routine still calls :) The big kids register/meet their teacher for 3rd and 1st grades tomorrow morning. All the school supplies are purchased and labeled. Their uniforms are washed, ironed, and hanging in the closet. I have been making notes on afternoon snack ideas. And I have a new routine/chore chart brewing in my head. Guess those last four sentences mean a new school year is upon us!

Once this week gets going I'll blog about our amazing trip and the experiences God granted. But before I get busy with that I'll be blogging about TWO very important days!