Why so close?

A lot of people ask me why I have my children so close together.  I have two reasons.  One is that it is so hard...the diapers, the loss of sleep, the teething, the stages, the tantrums.  You might as well do it all at once and get through this stage as quickly as possible.  But don't get me wrong.  I do enjoy these stages.  I've already decided I'm going to carry this last baby around on my hip until they are five and walking in the front doors of school to go to Kindergarten.  Sure there are hard days, but like I've said before.  The good days out-number the bad days BY FAR!!!

My second reason is because of this guy...

That's my brother Robbie (And a tree that was dying in the hot Phoenix sun).  He's 25 months older than I am. 

He's my best friend.

We did everything together and he was my biggest fan.

I thought he hung the moon.  (And my mom dressed him like a clown. haha)

Our age difference was perfect and sure, we fought a lot.  Teen years weren't that fun. 

But when he left for college, I missed my best friend and we became closer.

So there!  THAT is why I want my babies so close.  I have fond memories from my brother and I want my children to experience the same thing.  It has worked so far!  :)

My mom went to visit her mom, my grandma.  The girls call her Gigi, but growing up, we called her Grandma Nevada because she lived in Nevada.  Easy enough!  My mom actually went to go visit both of her parents.  She got to spend Father's Day with Grandpa Jack and then her and dad stayed at Gigi's house and helped do projects around the house and enjoyed her company.  While mom was in town, she ran in a 5k and won her age division. 

On the winner's podium!

I'm so proud of her and all her running.  She started running while we were in High School.  Dad used to run all the time.  We had a pecan orchard behind the house and dad would disk a path back there.  Robbie and I used to ride our bikes around it like we were racing.  Dad would run in tennis shoes and his wrangler jeans.  :)  Once my parents moved to Snyder, Texas, my mom started entering races in 2006.  My dad was all about it.  He would help her train and encourage her.  She was pretty good because she won several races.  Robbie and I were so proud.  When we were home one Christmas, we told her that Adam's friend Andrew wanted to race her.  Robbie told her to take a picture of her game face and show him that the race was ON!  So this is the picture we got to show Andrew.

Robbie loved it so much, I blew it up poster size for him. 

She and Andrew ended up racing and she lost.  He showed up early for the race and was a little nervous.  In mom's defense, she's not used to running in hilly terrain.  But he beat her.  It was fun to watch. 

Starting line.

Adam just had knee surgery so dad hauled him to the finish line in the back of the truck. 

Boy this post has been fun to write.  Lots of old memories and fun pictures to look at!  I'm probably the only one enjoying it. 

On to the recipe!  My mom used to make this for us when we were little.  We called it "Boings".  We would ask her if she was making boings tonight.  It's because you use Rotini and they look like little boingy springs.  It is pretty kid friendly and an easy casserole to stick in the oven.  It only bakes for 35 minutes so it gives you plenty of time to clean up your mess, make a side or two, and set the table.  You'll have to give it a try!

Baked Rotini

from dear ol' mom

8 oz Rotini
1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 - 28 oz can tomatoes, cut up (I bought petite diced to avoid chopping)
1 - 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 - 4 oz can of sliced mushrooms, undrained
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil leaves
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cups grated mozarella

Prepare rotini according to package directions.  Drain.  In large skilled, cook ground beef, onions, and green pepper.  Drain excess fat.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms, and seasonings.  Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.  Combine cooked rotini and sauced.  Layer into a 13 x 9 like this.  Half noodles and meat mix, half mozarella, other half of noodles and meat, rest of mozarella.  Bake in oven at 350 for 35 minutes.  Enjoy!

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Countdown

No, this isn't a baby countdown (7 weeks if you want to count that down, though).  This is a countdown to going to the lake.  Or as Aubrie calls it, Granny and Gaga's lake.  Every 4th of July we go up to Northern Indiana to spend a week at the lake.  I look forward to it every time.  You never know if the weather is going to be cold, if it will rain the whole time, or if it will be blazing hot.  I can tell you right now it won't be raining and cold.  I might be spending some time inside with Grandpa Huhnke and sit next to the air conditioner.  I look forward to seeing Adam's side of the family at the annual BBQ and watching fireworks at the lake.  But my most favorite part about going to the lake is watching Petey run straight to the edge of the pier when we get there and jumping right in.  That puppy LOVES the lake.  Maybe even LIVES for the lake.  That and my affection.  :)

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  It's been crazy having the girls home all day, every day.  I sure do miss Mother's Day Out.  Luckily Adam's parents are here and watching the girls while I run around like a crazy person, getting ready to leave town, and oh yeah, getting ready for the baby.  They all went to Sesame Street Live last Saturday.  The girls had a blast and are still talking about it.  Aubrie watched with her mouth open and sat still while Emilie was dancing and all over the place.  Emilie has still been a fire breathing dragon lately.  She's got 4 teeth coming in, so you can't really blame her.  She's spent a fair amount of time in timeout due to poor dinner behavior and other issues.  She's still cute and makes us laugh every day. 

We were actually just laughing the other night because we read Aubrie's journal when she was 18 months, just to compare their behavior (even though Emilie is now 20 months).  We wrote in Aubrie's journal about how much she was talking.  She touched something and said, "Oh, that's hot."  We were so impressed because we don't remember teaching her that.  It was funny because if Emilie were to touch a hot plate, she would say, "Ouch!  Hot!  Blow on it!" and then shove it away and say, "Don't want it."  Hahaha.  To Aubrie's credit, Emilie is such a good talker so early because Aubrie talks to her all the time and she is just trying to keep up with her big sister.  

Innocently playing in the playroom

 Aubrie had a swim lesson on Monday at the Y.  It was her first one.  We have her wear a life jacket and she does pretty good getting around the pool by herself, but we wanted her to take a couple of lessons and learn what to do in the water without a life jacket.  She did a pretty good job and didn't mind when her head would go under.  We'll see how she does tomorrow at lesson number 2. 

Waiting for her swim teacher

Petey finally got his summer haircut!  He's sleek and ready to swim.  We always need to cut him short because he doesn't dry off good enough and gets hot spots if we don't cut his hair.  We just had him at the vet and they talked about how heavy he was getting but without all his hair, he's pretty tall and lanky and doesn't look over-weight at all!  Just wait till those ducks see him coming!

I get to do a lot of the cooking this year at the lake.  I will really enjoy it because I have a lot of people to play with my kids so I can peacefully cook in the kitchen without anyone swinging from my legs.  I've got a couple of new recipes to try out on the family, but nothing too wild.  I'll have to share if I have time.  In the meantime, I made dinner the other night and tried two new recipes.  One was for cheesecake shots.  I don't own shot glasses, so I put mine in martini glasses.  I like to use these glasses for deserts for parties or showers.  You're supposed to use puff pastry and make little stars to put on the top, but I didn't want to go to the trouble AND I didn't want to deal with the puff pastry!  I thought about doing some pie dough stars with sugar sprinkled on top, but I got lazy.  So when you look at the picture, imagine a star on them, will ya?

Stars and Stripes Cheesecake

by Carrie of Half Baked

Ingredients

– 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

– 1/3 cup + 1T  sugar
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla
– 1 tub  (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
– 8 – 10 graham crackers
– Fresh Berries
– Finely crush graham crackers
Directions:
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until smooth. Gently stir in cool whip until well blended.
Fill individual glasses half way with cream cheese mixture, either using a spoon or a piping bag fitted with a large round tip for a more polished presentation.  Top with 1 tsp graham cracker crumbs.  Shake glass to level crumbs.  Fill to the top with more of the cream cheese mixture.  Lightly sprinkle with additional graham cracker crumbs and top with berries.  Add a star pastry for an extra fun little touch.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.  Serve chilled.  Makes roughly 16 mini servings, depending on the size of your shot glass.
Tips:
– Use a Ziploc bag to fill glasses if you don’t have a piping bag.  Just fill it partially, seal and snip off one corner.  Squeeze out!
– Set out cream cheese ahead of time so that it is room temperature.  This will help everything blend together and create a smooth consistency.
– Serve with a bowl of berries and additional Star Pastries for a patriotic display. 

I also made my mom's Baked Rotini and I'll share that with you tomorrow.  To pair with the pasta, I looked on Pinterest for an easy breadstick recipe and found this one posted several times on several different blogs.  It looked easy enough, so I gave it a try.  They were FABULOUS!  Definitely getting written on a recipe card and being tucked into my recipe box.  They are fast and easy so I highly recommend them!  Just a quick side note, make sure they rise and get puffy.  I always stick my dough outside to let it rise.  The heat from the sun helps it.  If you don't have a safe place (from children and dogs) outside, then stick them on the warm stove while it's heating up for baking.  That should help, too.

Easy Breadsticks

from fabulesslyfrugal.com

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 1/2 c warm water
• 3 1/2 c flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c butter
• Parmesan cheese
• garlic salt

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir together.
Knead for 3 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes.
Melt one cube of butter and pour onto a baking sheet.  Roll the dough out into a rectangle about the size of the baking sheet. Then use a pizza cutter to cut it into one-inch-wide strips. Double the long pieces of dough in half, and twist to form the bread stick. Roll each bread stick around in the pan of butter until completely covered and arrange the breadsticks on the pan.
Sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Don’t be skimpy with the Parmesan. I often like to add some Italian seasoning and onion powder or onion salt too. (There are lots of seasoning combinations that would be great!)

Let rise for 10 minutes. (I did a little longer.  And I let them rise outside in the heat!)
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Watch closely, remove when they start to brown.
These can be made earlier in the day: After seasoning them, cover with foil and refrigerate until about 1 hour before serving. Let come to room temperature and rise for 10 minutes, then bake.


I hope everybody is doing well!  I have more to share in my next post.  I just have to find the time to sit down and write.  The girls are napping and I should be ironing, but I thought I would rest my feet (my toes swell up like sausage links) and share with you all. 

Happy Belated Birthday to my Grandma! (Gigi)  My parents just left from visiting her in Nevada.  I'll share a little about their trip next time.  Love to all!!

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Fruit Salsa

There is this phenomenon called Fruit Salsa going on in our house.  I first had it at my friend Meghan's house for a lunch.  Fell in love, didn't tell my husband out of self-defense.  Then we went to our friend Colleen's party for her sweet daughter and Adam was with us.  He ate just the sugary tortilla chips but not the fruit dip.  So I was still safe.  He mentioned the sugary chips, but I ignored him and didn't bother to tell him that next to the chips was a bowl of fruit salsa that he would LOVE.  So, I finally had a reason to serve it for a party for my former volleyball girls and he stood and watched with uncertainty as I started dicing up all the fruit in small pieces.  Since he was being weary, I assigned him to make his precious sugary chips and went on with my business.  Sure enough when he put the two together, the heavens opened up and angels sang.  It's now his favorite and he can't stop talking about it.  And I wasn't surprised that when the girls arrived, it was a big hit and the bowl took a hit.  I quick snapped the below picture before it was gone.  Aubrie kept running through the kitchen and you would see her little hand reach up to the counter and steal two chips.  She would hand one to sister and they would run off and eat it somewhere else in the house.  They took advantage of us being distracted with company.  You have to give it a try.  You'll love it!

Fruit Salsa

from funcheaporfree.com

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 (16 oz) carton of strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons white sugar (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (more or less to taste)
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas (we could've made more)
melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3.Coat one side of each flour tortilla with melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray again with cooking spray (not necessary if using melted butter).

4.Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. Best when made and eaten the same day otherwise the fruit gives off so too much juice and it gets runny.

**Note: I didn't use any fruit preserves.  I also diced up the raspberries so they were small just like the other fruit. Soooo good!

We really enjoyed having our former players over.  I can't believe that these girls that I coached when they were 16 (two of them I coached at 14!) are graduated and headed off to college!  We got them all towel wraps with their names on the bottom and they looked so cute!  I have more about the girls for a later time, but aren't they cute?!

Last week Adam's parents were here to visit.  We celebrated Adrian's birthday and enjoyed hanging out and playing together.  They are coming back to visit on Friday and are staying for a week.  I've got a million errands and appointments to get to and we will be packing up for a week at the lake, so I'll be happy to have the extra help hanging around!

Lana always says, "That's ok, Grandma is washable." Good thing that was her attitude because Emilie got cupcake EVERYWHERE!

This week Aubrie is going to Vacation Bible School at church.  She is having a blast!  Emilie goes too but stays in the nursery all day.  She still gets to have fun.  Today she made two beaded necklaces just like the one Aubrie got to make today.  I am working at VBS this week.  I am in charge of 18 seven and eight year olds and take them around to each station.  I'm hanging in there, but Monday I came home and crashed.  I'm talking about an 1.5 hour nap and waking up disoriented.  Tuesday I just propped my feet up during the girls' nap.  And today, it was a 2 hour solid nap and waking up needing water and chocolate (STAT) and nobody was around to give me those things.  I had to peel myself out of bed and make it to the kitchen all by myself.  Whoa is me.  :)  I'm having a blast working with the kids and making new relationships, so it is worth it.

The other day Aubrie wanted her hair in pigtails and I haven't put her hair up in a LONG time.  I couldn't believe how full and puffy her little pigtails were! 

Look how far she has come!  :) 

I hope everyone else is having a good summer and staying cool!  Love to all!

ps.  Make that fruit salsa.

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Yay for Dads!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!  Especially the two dads that keep me going every day.  I grew up with a dad who loved to spend quality time with us.  At an early age, he taught us values of hard work and discipline by teaching us how to ride horses and rope.  It later paid off as I took on other things like playing the piano and playing volleyball and basketball.  Most importantly, he was a family man who always had his family in a church pew and led by a good example.  Everyone loved my dad and liked to hang out with him when I was a kid.  I think one of the most important things he did for me, was show me what kind of man I needed to have in my life.  Which leads us to our very own Super Dad!

Adam is quite the super dad.  He is definitely a family man.  When we first met, he told me that his priorities were school, basketball, and then me.  OUCH!  But for some reason, I found it refreshingly honest and honorable.  He knew what he wanted and didn't want anything in his way.  But I also knew I could easily top those two priorities in a matter of weeks.  And I did.  :)  At the same time, he kept all his major priorities in check as he was an Academic All-American, graduated with honors, and was a

 pretty good basketball player.  He's a hard worker and provider for our family.  He quickly hung up those basketball shoes, turned away offers to continue his career overseas, and worked on getting his MAC (Masters in Accountancy).  Shortly after, I had a shiny ring on my finger, he was ready to be a family man, and he began his career with Deloitte.  Which brings us to...

Happy Eight Years with Deloitte! 

When we were talking about it, I thought I would put it in a good perspective for him and I told him it's like making it to 8th grade graduation!  Later he told me that putting it like that REALLY made him feel old.  It seems like during your childhood it takes forever and you grow so much from 1st grade to 8th grade.  But he was a sport and went with it and I got to take pictures of him going to work like it was his last day of 8th grade.  :)

Super Dad with his backpack

What keeps him going, you ask?  A bowl of oatmeal (which can easily be eaten at home but he insists on driving and eating it), a cup of coffee, a cup of water, and a grocery sack with his packed lunch and maybe a few snacks.

Here is where they safely lie.  I've recently had to steam vac the seats in this car because he's spilled coffee in the passenger seat.  One day I can see that bowl of oatmeal flying off of there.

Uh oh.  Super dad is getting sick of the pictures!  That's right folks.  He even takes the time to put our trash on the curb!

Since I had the camera and the girls were up after dad went to work, I thought I would capture them in all of their morning glory. 

She usually looks in the mirrors, pushes her hair back and says, "My hairs are wild."  A very true statement most mornings.

Here's my little big girl just sitting in her bed, playing with her stuffed animals.  That paci will be leaving us soon...

Adam got one gift really early.  I ordered it online and it got here really fast.  So we wrapped it and let him open it early.  It was an alarm clock that is also a docking station for his phone.  It charges his phone at night.  His old alarm clock was always 17 minutes slow because he spilled water on it one night.

I had Aubrie answer a questionnaire for Father's Day.  Here is how it went.

My dad's name is:  Adam

He is 3 and 6 years old.

He is __ feet and ___ inches tall.  Her answer is A BIG BOY!

He weighs 200 pounds

His favorite tv show is football.

His favorite food is peanut butter toast

His favorite thing to drink is Juice or water.

His favorite thing to do is play monsters.

He likes to wear a dress.  (I went back to this question several times and kept asking her if she was sure on that answer.)

My dad is REALLY good at muscles.

I like it best when my dad swims.

My favorite thing to do with dad is swimming.

When my dad goes to work he throws the football in the basket. 

Aubrie wanted to wrap 10 presents for him, so I bought a 10 pack of socks and she wrapped each sock.  They loved helping him open all of them.

Even Petey got to open one!

Hugs for dad.

Here's the other super dads in my family.  The one who started it all, the patriarch, my dad.  My brother Troy is the father to 3 wonderful boys who are getting way too tall.  He's such a good dad and has always taken good care of his boys.  And then you have Robbie who is a wonderful dad to his little girl Lindsey (the girls call her Lindsey Lou).  He's always working hard to provide for his family and has taught her how to wink without moving any other muscle.  It's amazing and hillarious at the same time.

I hope all you other dads out there have a wonderful Father's Day.  I'm especially excited for all our friends who have babies on the way and will be dads soon.  Adam has several former teammates who are expecting with their firsts.  Adam says Father's day isn't a big deal compared to Mother's Day, but in our house, we are going big!  You're celebrated here!  Happy Father's Day!

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Tacos Al Pastor

I came across this taco recipe several years ago and we love it.  It calls for a pork shoulder, but my grocery stores never have it.  So I buy a pork tenderloin and cut it into long, thick, strips before marinating it and grilling it.  It also calls for dried chiles.  If you live in the West, you know what to do.  But if you are here in TN, ask a produce guy at the store.  At Kroger, they sell tiny packs of them and they hang above the jalapeno and bell pepper section.  They are red chiles that are dried out.  If you love grilled pineapple, guacamole, and the taste of lime and cilantro, then you'll really love these tacos.  They are so flavorful!

Tacos Al Pastor

from Better Homes and Gardens

1 1/2 lb pork shoulder

2/3 cup zesty Italian Dressing

8 dried chilis

1/4 tsp cumin

1 cup pineapple chunks

1 avocado

2 Tbsp mayo

1 serrano chile

corn tortillas

chopped onion

cilantro

lime

Rip the stems off the chilis and wash out the seeds.  Put the chilis and Italian Dressing into the blender and blend until it is a saucy.  (I have a cheap blender, so sometimes it requires me to add a little water to get it going.)  Add the cumin and pour this marinade over your pork and marinate for 2 hours or more. 

Heat your grill.  Slice pineapple into rings or large chunks.  Grill the pork and pineapple. 

Meanwhile, mash 1 avocado with the mayo and diced serrano chile. 

Cut your pineapple and pork into bite size pieces and serve these tacos on corn tortillas.  I like to fry mine in a little bit of oil so they don't break and they heat up.  Top with avocado mix, chopped onion, cilantro, and squeeze some lime.  Enjoy!

The girls have been keeping us busy lately.  Emilie is still having table tantrums every once in awhile.  She hasn't completely opted out of dinner lately, but she still gives us a hard time.  Aubrie is also getting slower and slower at the dinner table.  It takes her forever to eat a meal, but she is a really good eater and will eat what you give her.  We just hope that Emilie becomes more cooperative these next couple of weeks before the baby comes.  She doesn't know this yet, but we plan on talking her into throwing her pacifiers away soon.  Poor Emi. 

One fun thing the girls have been doing is taking turns praying.  Aubrie has learned to sing her prayer at our bible study.  Emilie has quickly picked up on it.  A couple of weeks ago, Adam or I would say we would pray and Aubrie would hold up her hand and say, "No, I got it." and she would pray for our food and random people.  But now, Emilie has taken over the "I got it!" and won't let ANYBODY pray.  You'll start a prayer and she holds both her hands up and yells, "I GOT IT!" and then she prays.  And if you listen closely, she actually does pray for the food in front of her (rice, waffles, juice) but then she mumbles and you have to help her wrap it up.  Now when you try and sing a song, she no longer sings with you.  She'll come up to you and hold her hand up and say, "I got it." and start the whole song over.  And if anybody tries to chime in, the song stops immediately, you get told I got it, and she starts over again.  What a mess that girl is.

I made brownies the other day.  Here is my turtle eater.

Emilie is enjoying drinking her milk out of a glass.

According to Aubrie, brownies and milk give you muscles.

Here is Emilie enjoying yogurt.  She doesn't look like a problem, does she?

I made a new recipe I found on Pinterest the other day for Buckeye Brownies.  It is supposed to taste like Buckeye balls that we usually make at Christmas time, but it really didn't.  Don't be disappointed though.  They were delicious brownies with peanut butter in them!  You'll like them if you are a chocolate and peanut butter fan.  You'll also like them because they are super easy and the recipe calls for a boxed brownie mix!  So there's not much preparation.  Just a lot of eating!! 

Buckeye Brownies

from cookiesandcups.com

• 1 box (18-19 oz) Brownie Mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Lightly grease 9x13 pan
3. With your mixer combine brownie mix, oil and eggs until incorporated and smooth.
4. Stir in chopped peanuts
5. Divide batter in half.
6. Press half batter into bottom of prepared pan (it will be a thin layer) and set the other half to the side.
7. In a large bowl combine peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk with whisk.
8. Pour mixture over the bottom layer of brownie.
9. Drop the remaining brownie mix on top of peanut butter mixture, pressing each spoonful lightly into peanut butter.
10. Bake for 25 minutes until just set.
11. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

I will say this, I use the Ghiradelli chocolate brownie mix and it required me to add some water to this, so if your brownie mix is pretty thick, make adjustments until it looks like a normal brownie mix.  Also, mine required me to cook for about 35 minutes.  Just test yours with a toothpick.  You know they are ready when the toothpick comes out clean.  Enjoy!!

I hope everyone is having a super week!  Love to all!

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10 weeks to go

EVERYBODY PANIC!

That's what is going on in my mind.  I don't feel ready at all.  And I know what you all are thinking.  You have 10 weeks...get ready.  But you don't understand.  I'm so slow.  I'm not moving like I was during the good ol' days.  On top of that, my water aerobics class hasn't met in the past 3 weeks because the water has been too cold.  My back hurts, my feet hurt, and thankfully Aubrie is the world's best helper and will come into any room I'm in and pick something up if I ask her to.  She's such a great girl. 

But I'll get ready.  The nursery is a disaster.  Emilie's stuff isn't all out and we haven't unpacked any newborn clothing yet.  The mattress is turned on it's head and I need to wash all the bedding.  On top of things like that, I have a small list of honey-do chores for Adam.  Most are simple little things that I would like completed before the baby comes.  His two hardest projects are to finish changing the faucet to the master bath tub and to paint the half bath.   And it's mostly because we all know that once we add one more to the mix, our time will be limited for projects.  It doesn't help that the water heater was making bad noises and required a costly repair today and Petey likes to walk up to me and pant in my face as a reminder that it's time for his summer haircut.  It's always something whether you're expecting or not, have kids or not...it's always something.  I hope that if your weeks have been crazy, you're getting through it and you're able to see the good.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our two sweethearts.  We went to the zoo a couple of weekends ago.  The weather was gorgeous but we had no idea it would be so crowded.  Luckily we got there early because when we left, the line to get in winded through the parking lot.  It was crazy.  The girls had a blast.  We walked through some of the exhibits and the girls got to ride the train with dad.

Emilie was REALLY into the train.  She hung out of the window and her eyes were huge.

This past week, Aubrie went to Princess dance camp at Nashville Dance Center.  I wanted to see if she enjoyed it and would be interested in her doing it in the Fall.  We all know she's going to be tall and go through some tough growth spurts, so we would like to help her out.  This was a great camp for her.  Everyday a different Disney Princess was there and the girls learned how to dance, did a craft, had a snack, learned about ettiquette and played. 

Emilie enjoyed dance camp, too.  It meant that she got five half days of some alone mommy time.  We did things like went shopping, worked out at the Y, and went to the library for story time.  (above)

Each day I took pictures of Aubrie.  This was day 1.  She's getting so big, it's breaking my heart!

After camp shot with her door marker and crown that she made.

Getting ready to leave for camp in the morning.  Somebody was a character.

Here she is with baby sister.  She's got a magic wand that she made in her mouth.  Legs are crossed because that is what princesses do.

Last day of camp with all the princesses except Snow White.  She was registering for college.  Good for her...not just a pretty face.  :)

I'm glad she enjoyed camp.  I enjoyed watching her dance and getting into character.  After a couple of days, she started bowing down to me when she would walk into the room.  I could get used to that.  :)  Unfortunately that wore off.  But she still goes on and on about the princesses and everything she did.  She's at a fun age because her imagination is running wild and she can tell us all the crazy things she is thinking.  Her stories are pretty wild and entertaining. 

I made these tiny taco cups the other night because I knew the girls would enjoy them.  There's no recipe, it's just stuff thrown together.  I put 4 fajita size flour tortillas in ramekins and put them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  I then took them out and put some seasoned taco meat, Mexican rice, pinto beans, and shredded cheese inside and put them back in the oven for 5 more minutes.  Everything was already hot because I just made the meat and rice, so if you put cold stuff in your shells, you may have to do more than 5 minutes.  The girls really liked having their own little cup.  You can always add a dollup of sour cream and some salsa and avocados when they come out.  I even thought about putting some corn in there. 

I hope everyone is doing well and that you all excuse my long absence.  Like I said, I was panicking.  :)  Hopefully I'll get a lot done the next couple of weeks so I can enjoy the home stretch and take it easy.

OH!  And my friend Katie had her little boy last week.  I hope to share some pictures of him soon.  He's precious and I had a hard time handing him back over when I went to visit them in the hospital the other night!

Love to all!

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