Our summer

This has been a very busy summer. It's been a very fun summer, too. It started with us taking a vacation to the northeast. My youngest son and his baseball team went to Cooperstown, NY to play in the Little League Baseball Hall of Fame. We didn't want to rush to NY for the baseball tournament, so we took our time and enjoyed getting there. We drove about 4 or 5 hours and would stop to see different attractions. I really like doing that. Who wants to be in the car with 3 kids for hours on end with no ending in sight? Not me. And not the kids.

We left a week prior to the tournament to take in a Reds game and to go to Canada to see Niagra Falls for a few days. I LOVED the Falls. What a beautiful area. Canada was much different than our expectations, in a wonderful way. We've talked about going back to visit for longer.

On the Canadian side, looking to the American Falls.

My husband and I have a goal of seeing a game in every baseball stadium. We wanted to check a few off of our list with this trip. On our way to Canada we went through Ohio and saw the Reds play. THAT is one gorgeous stadium. Most definitely in my top 5 faves.

The Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH.

After a week of taking a baseball game and enjoying Canada (night time is even more beautiful), we drove on to NY for the baseball tournament.

Cooperstown is a whole post in itself. I could write for hours about the week. I'm thankful for the opportunity to spend a week with these kids & coaches and their families.

After a very hard, tiring week at Cooperstown we went up to New Jersey to have some sweets!! What better place than the Cake Boss' bakery!!!! I can still taste the fruit tart. Mmmmmm!!!!

They don't look thrilled do they? They were. Really. They just hate mom taking a hundred pictures for everything we do.



The infamous Chocolate Chip Cannolis. They were AMAZING!

 Everyone needs a cupcake to try, of course! Kaitlyn tried a pretty yellow cake with a purple flower. Braylin tried the Chocolate cake with Chocolate Sprinkles, Ethan tried the Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese icing, Adam and I tried the Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese icing. When I saw the fruit tart, I had to try it. It was the best I have ever tasted. Seriously amazing.

Next up- NYC!!!!!!!!! What a busy place! Holy cow. Whatever you have heard, or seen on TV does not do the city justice. That place is PACKED! We loved it. Not the busyness of it, but the uniquiness, the charm, the people, the culture. It works so well together and it's a place everyone needs to visit. And night time is a whole other story. NYC at night is simply cool. The lights, the stores, the food, the party is non stop. I could see us all going back and staying there for a while. With all that said, it is nice to get back to the quiet country. It makes you appreciate the beauty of where we live all that more.

Look at all the people!

We were able to do so much in New York: Times Square at night, The M&M Factory, The 9/11 Memorial (such a solem, yet beautiful memorial), The Statue of Liberty, The Hudson River, Yankee Stadium (THE coliseum of baseball stadiums!!!!), The Mets Stadium (Citi Field- check that baseball field off the list!), ate REAL NYC pizza...I had a Chicken Parmigiana Pizza. No, I did not eat it all...not even half.

I have so many pictures of our vacation...a few of my favorites....

Ending ceremonies.

At The Hudson River with NY in the background...on the Jersey side. Stretching is important.

Watching the ships pass in The Hudson River.

Me...ready for the Mets game.

I swear I can never get a serious picture of these two. Braylin is ecstatic that he's almost as tall as his bigger brother, Ethan. Ethan just thinks he's goofy.

Daddy & Kaitlyn at the Mets game.

Us *love*

Dancing with the Statue of Liberty.

The North Side 9/11 Memorial

Lego land!!!

NYC at night!!! Times Square.

Adam successfully navigated his way through the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel & NYC traffic. That IS an accomplishment!!  

 
Citi Field (Mets)


After NY we headed to PA. We saw were those dreaded Phillies play. The Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's grave, and we ate at the legendary Geno's Steaks...




Then on to Washington DC. We toured The White House, The Lincoln Memorial, The Capitol, Smithsonian Historical, Space & Flight and Science Museums..

And then we headed to Myrtle Beach for a few days in the sun before heading home.

It was an amazing, unforgettable vacation. These pictures are just the tip of the iceberg. I need to get on to scrapbooking them all!

Fun family times.

Just this last 2 weeks we have had the pleasure of having family visit us. Adam's step mom and step sister visited for a few days. Of course they have to see the World's Largest Aquarium!!!

And of course, you have to have a smores night during the summer!!

You have to have Apple Pie when you're coming from Mexico to the USA, right??

And then a day after they left we had Adam's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew visit. This kid is absolutely adorable. And such a sweet boy!!!! I am in love with him.

So, needless to say, it has been a packed summer....we finished up baseball with districts, we have officially started football & cheerleading season, we got in a few White Water trips, finally finished the painting, and Adam has walls up in his warehouse! I would say this has been a very productive summer. Now for some rest....school starts August 20th, but maybe September!!!!!!!

Until next time,
Reb





My Love!!

I just adore my husband. I am so very thankful for him and the man he is. I feel like I say this all the time, but it's so true. He is always doing stuff like this, so how can I not talk of his praise constantly?

I opened my Household Planner. I see this. "Your my favorite person" and on the far side, "I love you!" How can one not get to cleaning with a smile on their face after this?? The orange post-it note was from months back. I keep his notes. They make me smile. He makes me smile. I love you, Adam!!!!!

Until next time,
Reb

Lemon Tartlets

I'll be brief today. Go here: With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart and make these Lemon Tartlets. They're only 90 calories. Easy recipe and perfect lemon flavor.

Until next time,

Reb

Herbed Tomato-Chive Tarts

I have never made a tart. I am scared of them. I don't really know why. I think it's the dough. But thanks to some of my cooking buddies, I am feeling a little braver than a few months ago. So, I am challenging myself and diving deep into tart land. The first one up is from the Back In The Day Bakery cookbook. You need to get this book. It's got some of the best recipes I've ever made and it's adorable.

When most think of a tart they think sweet. Or at least I do. So, I wanted to really do something that was different from my thinking. As I looked through my cookbooks this recipe was the first one that caught my eye. It sounds delicious and super easy.

So far, it's been a breeze. It's in the oven baking now so I'll update you on the delicious part later.

It's a cornmeal crust. I have never made anything with cornmeal. Ever. Is that weird?

Now, I know that the crust is ugly. I could have rolled it out and made it prettier, but it's going to covered up soon so why?

I thought this was so pretty. For the filling; tomatoes and chives.

Heavy cream with egg yolks, fresh thyme and pepper. Again, part of the filling.

While the dough is baking I'm waiting to fill the dough with the rest of the yummy-ness....

Ready for the oven. Bake at 325* for 40 minutes. It's topped with fresh nutmeg.

I am sooooo hungry!

Ok, so drizzle with oil & vinegar. Wait 5-10 minutes for it to cool....

So pretty and it smells amazing!!!

Delicious!! Seriously scrumptious!! 

Scared of tarts? Who me? Never!

This will be made again and again. Next up is a Rustic Peach-Blueberry Tart from this same book.

Until next time,

Reb

Glitter Germs

That very loud scream you heard this morning was me. I am so sorry.

Imagine this: Kaitlyn and I are doing our morning routines together...we're getting dressed, brushing our teeth & hair, making our beds, she goes to put her laundry in the washer and I swished & swiped. I leave the bathroom and return a minute later to witness Kait elbow deep in the toilet. Yup- ELBOW DEEP! Her head and hair just about to follow suit. I panicked. All I could get out before I even knew it was an extremely loud, "KAIT!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" I terrified her. She started crying. No sobbing, "Why did you do that? You scared me." Now granted, I just cleaned it, but it's the dern toilet for cryin' out loud!!! I immediately sprung into action, well, more like panic mode. I took her clothes off, wiped the water off her hands and started to wash her hands. I told her to never touch the toilet again. I don't know why I didn't think to tell her before. Must have slipped my mind that yes, a 3 year old will play with the toilet at least a few times before they realize how gross it is.

So, after me freaking out and telling her we don't touch the inside of the toilet, how nasty that is, and making sure she did NOT drink any of the water .... gag....blua....I calmed down and we finished our morning routine.

A few minutes after being downstairs and eating breakfast, I realized I didn't explain WHY we don't touch the inside of the toilet and toilet water. It made me think that all I did was probably confuse her. So, I asked her if she knew why mommy yelled at her this morning about not touching the toilet. She said, "Yes, b/c I'll get into trouble." Aw. My baby girl. That made me feel horrible. I explained to her that that was not why. I explained I wanted her to be healthy and clean. I went on to explain that the water is not safe to play with (although isn't it clean water after each flush. Does that even matter?) You get the point. She looked at me and said she was sorry. Felt even worse. Then I had an idea!!

You know about Glitter Germs right? It was how I taught the boys about why it's important to not just rinse your hands while washing but to use soap and water. And secretly, I hope that doing this activity would help erase any scarring I had just built into her about the toilet. Sigh....

So here's what you need to teach Glitter Germs:

Glitter. Kait chose purple. Her favorite color.

Lotion of your choice. (This is my favorite lotion!!!)

I sat Kait down and told her I wanted to show her WHY she should leave the commode alone. I gave her a tiny bit of lotion.

Look at that sweet face.

We poured some glitter aka "germs" on her hands. She wiped her hands on a paper towel. The germs didn't come off. I told her to shake her hands. Nope. Still full of germs. Then I had her rince her hands with water only.

The germs didn't come off with the water either!!!!!!!!

We tried to wash the germs off again, but added soap. We sung A-B-C-D-E-F-G....the whole alphabet. Then wiped off her hands with a paper towel.

Ta-da!!! Germs are gone!!! 

She loved this. Thank goodness. I hope this will replace the memory of my face this morning....

Sigh....

Until next time,
Reb