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

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.

Earth Day Goodness

I have a friend who has been thinning out the flower beds at her grandparent's house. Over the past few weeks she has given us many day lilies, irises, cannas, nandina, etc. It kinda forced us into "straighten up the yard" mode - for which we are grateful :) The new plants have brought such life and energy to our yard.

With the new attitude, we decided to add two more trees to our lawn. On Good Friday we planted a magnolia and a red oak. We can't wait (really, we're just hoping) for these trees to grow and provide even more privacy and shade for our house!

I mention Good Friday because turns out, Good Friday was also Earth Day! Kris remarked we were being hippies by planting trees on Earth Day...but it turned out the earthy goodness didn't stop with new trees! HA!

We also managed to see this snake


and this turtle in our yard!


The Easter Bunny found these cute Mini Greenhouses by Miracle-Gro.


So the kids got in on the earthy goodness! Wes planted sunflowers, Ann Elise planted zinnias, and Bankston Hays planted marigolds.


They have now sprouted and hopefully we'll even see a beautiful bloom!


And last but not least of all the earthy goodness...Ann Elise is carefully attending her caterpillars (also from the Easter Bunny).


We are anxiously awaiting them turning into butterfiles! They have all formed their chrysalis so we are making progress :)

Wordless Wednesday

Ann Elise (3), Wes (5), Presley, Bankston Hays (7 months), and Kris

Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans - May 2008

Wordless Wednesday

(Ann Elise, Bankston Hays, Wes, Kris - Lewis Lights, December 2010)

FLASHBACK: Wrapping up the Holidays, Vol. 2

The third objective of our "Day of Fun" was to visit the McWane Science Center. I had never heard of the museum, but determined it had a lot to offer after a google search! From the written word it seemed to be a good mix of children's museum meets aquarium meets natural history museum. And after our visit, I would say that was accurate :)

With complete dependence on the Garmin, we successfully arrived at the center in downtown Birmingham, put our quarters in the parking meter, and crossed the street to the McWane Science Center. After an obligatory group picture at the entrance

The kids were enthralled with this life size marble coaster while we purchased our tickets.

The Center is massive! The interactive exhibits are spread throughout 4 floors. They were promoting their Winter Wonderland exhibit on the top floor so we decided to start there and make our way down. They did a terrific job of putting together winter activities for the kids to enjoy! They turned this escalator into an ice cave/slide...

And had simulated a gondola for picture taking...

They also had a snow room. The floor was filled with a polymer substance that felt and acted like snow (without the cold or melting). The kids were asked to wear booties over their shoes to keep the snow from getting dirty. But other than that they were free to play and build.

This cute snowman was part of the decoration.


The next room simulated an ice skating rink. The kids wore attached a slick bottom skate with velcro around their feet. It allowed them to "ice skate" on the carpet.

There was also an ice fishing station. Once the fish were hooked, they could measure their catch on a nearby scale.

After enjoying the Winter Wonderland, we made our way down each floor trying to take in all the science experiments and wonder. This station had several life size pin thingys. My kids always eye these on the toy aisle. They love the way the pins feel and what impressions they can make.


On yet another level they had a very impressive dinosaur exhibit. It contained numerous skeletons and facts!



They also had a petting tank in the aquarium section. The tank was full of baby bull nose shark and sting ray.


These smiles say it all! A day trip to Birmingham is every second worth it. You could spend an entire day at the McWane Science Center - very well done!

And it might just exhaust a few little ones...

Christmas Break = Blog break

I didn't mean to take a blog break, it just kinda happened. So, to get back into the swing I'm gonna recap our break. We spent the first part doing as much as possible as a family in preparation for Kris to travel the world.

• Kris and the kids took a walk around our neighborhood. He took this fun picture of the kids playing in a pile of leaves.

• We also went bowling.

• The boys increased their proficiency in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Madden NFL 2011 on the Wii.

• We made edible Christmas trees. I had seen Kelly's blog post when she did these with her class and thought they would be a great substitution to the traditional ginger bread house. They were a hit!

• Kris and I went on a date to Olive Garden, YUM-O! It was a night of great, uninterrupted conversation.
  

• We watched The Nativity Story as a family and really enjoyed it.

I'll be posting about our Christmas soon :)

FLASHBACK: Summer at the Splash Pad

Just as the five dubs have a birthday marathon beginning in October, our cousins have one beginning in May! We usually make two or three trips to my hometown during the summer squeezing in family time with the birthday celebrations.

This was our attempt at a cousin portrait in July 2010:

(Mac [5 1/2], South [4], Ann Elise [5], Carter Cater [2 mo], Bankston Hays [2], and Wes [7])

My hometwon has always done Parks & Recreation well. There is an abundance of parks, ball fields, lakes, pavilions, trails, and pools. They do an awesome job with landscaping, safety, and planning events at these locations such as movie nights in the park, concerts, tournaments, city wide tailgating, egg hunts, etc.

A few years ago they installed a Splash Pad and it has been a huge hit. While home we have been able to have a great time there! This summer the kids really enjoyed it.

(Mac and Ann Elise)

(Wes and South)

(Bankston Hays)

(Mac, Bankston Hays, and Ann Elise)

(Mac, Ann Elise, Wes, South, and Bankston Hays)