Coconut Drinks

I have no idea where it came from, but for WEEKS now, Olivia and Tyler (mostly Tyler), have been begging to get a coconut and make a coconut drink.  I put them off 'til summer, then I put them off from week to week until finally, we had to do it!!

So, on "Iron Chef" on Food Network, the chefs just take a knife and whack the coconute in half..... So here we go....

Oops!!! Not so fast!!! Let me be the first to tell you that that doesn't happen in real life, you can't just whack the coconut and have it split beautifully and easily. I finally had to google "How to open a coconut" You have to poke holes in one side to drain the coconut milk, then you whack it with a hammer to open it.

After we FINALLY got to the coconut meat, we cut it out and put it in the magic bullet with some ice, the coconut milk, and a little sugar.

AND................................Survey Says:...................................................YUMMMMM!

Slip, Slide, and Sleepover!

Our friend Anslee has been over to play several times, and we finally decided that while its summer and while we're still young, we should have her stay for a sleepover!

Evening festivities included Slip-n-sliding

 And of course you can't have a sleepover without a bedtime snack of Ice Cream!

The next morning, the girls made pigs in blankets for breakfast :)

Then we got an invitation from our friend Mrs. Jennifer to come swim with her and baby Taylor at their neighborhood pool! Yippee! So we packed up our lunch and headed that way!!

I sure had fun with the precious little kiddos!!!!

Fun with Cousin Chase!

This week is VBS, and we invited Chase to come along with us for the whole day, and not just for VBS.

We spent part of our day at Mrs. Teresa's pool.  Even though it wasn't necessarily the sunniest of days, you know these kiddos had a blast :)

For dinner: PIZZA, prepared by the boys! Step 1: the crust

 Step 2: prepare the toppings

 Step 3: apply the toppings you like to your half!

Then on to VBS, of which I have no pictures.

And on the way to take Chase home, a surprise! A ginormous tree in the road! I'm so thankful that it fell in front of us and not on us, and equally as thankful that I was able to stop in time when I saw it!

Well, that's one way to look at it...

We went swimming over at Mrs. Teresa and Mr. Marks for some pool party fun, and as we were leaving, their son, Jordan, was leaving for work.  He spoke, and both of the kids told him bye, then Tyler asked me where Jordan was going (even though he JUST told us he was going to work).  Here's how that went:

Tyler: Where's Mr. Mark's son going?
Me: Work
Tyler: Well why he's dressed cool then?
Me: I guess he just likes to look cool.
Tyler: He probably wants to try to kiss a girl or something.
Me: (Laughing on the inside) You might be right babe. Is that why you always dress cool, because you want to kiss some girls?
Tyler: No, I just like to look handsome for church.


And there you have it!

But what about my arms?!?!

We celebrated the 4th with my dad's side of the family Saturday, since everyone is so busy during the week. I was in charge of bringing the baked beans. I wanted to make them really good since it was a special occasion, so I put lots of extra delicious ingredients in them, including a pound of bacon! While I was getting everything ready, Tyler asked if he could help.  Well, he didn't have a shirt on and I told him that the grease hurts when it pops on your belly so either put on a shirt, or he could wear Olivia's apron. He put on the apron and pulled the chair over to get ready to help, then I guess it dawned on him that if the grease would hurt popping on his belly, it would probably hurt popping on him anywhere else as well because all of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks, looked up at me, and said in a very concerned yet lively tone: "Hey, what about my hands and arms?" As you can see, problem solved!

Land of the free!

You know, I wouldn't necessarily call myself "patriotic" but I do love being American and living in America, especially in the SOUTH! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and got to enjoy friends, family, and freedom!! We had a particularly fun and funny week this week :)

Tuesday = Sword fight day! Who needs fencing equipment when you have four wheeler helmets and pool noodles?!?!?! (did I mention I love being a southerner?)

Wednesday, the Fourth of July, we went over to Mark and Teresa's for a Pool Party :)

Thursday, we enjoyed a quiet morning at home playing Mickey Memory game. When Tyler refused to get off my lap after both legs falling asleep and me asking him several times to do so, I asked him why he wouldn't leave me alone. His response? Because you're cozy... the closest suitable cozy substitute was Olivia's robe, hence the 6 year old boy playing Memory in a pink heart robe.

After I picked them up from daycare Friday, we had to swing by the grocery store.  They'd been asking for fireworks all week, but I (being the clearance shopper I am) told them to wait until after the 4th and I'd buy them some on sale. Well, guess what! They don't put them on sale, they just send them back if they don't sell them! Fortunately they hadn't sent them back yet, unfortunately, I had to buy them anyway since I'd already promised them to the kids. It was worth it though! We had a blast, and Tyler got really good at lighting his own :).

 

After Daddy got home, we enjoyed a little family time at the lake :) The kids enjoyed the water...

 

Daddy enjoyed chasing them around in the water with Tyler's remote control boat :)

 

 

I'm so thankful for all the blessings that come along with being in America! My heart is full of joy!



Tag-Along/Chaperone

The kids love staying home with me in the summer, but they love their day care field trips too! This week, their trip was just down the street from the house, so I went to surprise them and spend a little time with them.  Well, turns out, the surprise was for me because I ended up chaperoning a group! I didn't mind, though, you know I love kids, but I did get in trouble once for making a kid to push ups for not listening...lol. But I still got to spend a little time with each of the kids and buy them a treat :).

Happy Birthday after day after day...

You know, as much as I hate to admit it, Tyler's birthday is sometimes an after thought after Olivia's.  Hers is usually right after school's out, so I'm excited about being home with the kids, and I spend a little time planning for her birthday celebration.  By the time Tyler's birthday rolls around, we're in the full swing of summer, and with them going to their mom's every other weekend, we only have them one weekend in between their birthdays, so I don't realize its his birthday until its almost too late!
Well, this year was a different story! Tyler's first birthday celebration, LEGO LAND!!!

His favorite part was where you could build cars with legos and test race them down several different ramps... I think Daddy enjoyed this one as much as Tyler!

On the way home, we let Tyler choose where he wanted to eat.... I was really enjoying the days of McDonalds being his most favorite restaurant, but I have a feeling those days are fading fast.... his choice this year? The Ninja! Expensive as it may be, we love it, and Tyler really enjoyed the special treatment :).

And for his "real" birthday, cupcakes with his daycare friends at the Laurel Park Sprayground!

He doesn't look very happy in this picture, but he did have fun. The cupcakes are supposed to look like legos, but my icing was too runny and the M&M's slid around...

And for his family and friends.... a POOL PARTY!!!

 

Now I feel the need to explain this cake. Tyler has been totally loving legos lately, so I got some lego candles for his birthday cake, thinking he'd love them! Well... little did I know, Tyler is also starting to love Beyblades (which I'd never seen until he picked some out for his birthday), and decided that he wanted a Beyblade cake! So, I did my best with the Beyblade brownie cake....  (yeah, I used the same runny icing from the lego cupcakes to decorate)

Lights, Camera, Action!

The lights come on, and out walks this beauty! She's dressed in a green shirt and green socks, with black sparkly leggings and a black tutu skirt, then she begins her dance recital!!

Totally made my morning :)

She Listens?!?!?!!

Olivia and I were watching Joyful Noise with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah. Latifah was singing a song, and Olivia asks me "What's her name?" I tell her "Queen Latifah" and she says "Do you want to name our baby that?" I laugh and say "Uh, No!" Her response: "Why? Is that inappropriate?"

HA.... well, sort of, I guess??? Good vocabulary Girlfriend!!!

Strike a Pose!

For several mornings, now, Olivia has wanted to dress up in my clothes and show off her creations. She is TOO funny!  Here are some samples of her designs ;-)

 A zebra print tunic top (worn as  a dress), a purple scarf as a belt, and 4 inch patton strappy heels. With this look, she has chosen a loose, low, bun for her hair.

 A purple sequin trimmed tank, matching glitter flip flops, chunky bracelet, double necklace, and large beaded earrings. With this look, she has chosen a sleek twisted up-do.

And for her finest creation, an oversized cap sleve tee with one of the sleeves tucked in the back to go for that one shoulder look, polka dot wedges, and a matching scarf as a belt. With this look, she has gone with a wild, unbrushed hair-do.

She is SO much FUN!!!!!!

Another great check up!

I'm so proud of my pretty little sweety!! She has to check in with her neurologist every 4 months, and at this check up, as usual, she is doing just great. She did well in second grade, and is looking forward to 3rd. She makes friends easily and works hard to do a good job.  She also goes to every doctor and is the best, most cooperative patient you've ever seen! She's an amazing little girl :).

And for an added treat, while we were in Atlanta for the appointment, we met one of my best friends from college, Lindsey B, and went to Yeah Burger for a delicious organic bison burger and some out of this world sweet potatoes.  Tyler had his burger with regular fries, and Olivia chose a beautiful salad that looked amazing!!

Great day all around!

Fun no matter where we are :)

Taking full advantage of living so close to the lake :)

 

At home in PJ's working on model cars with Daddy :)\

 

Morning Movies :)

The movie theater in Gainesville has a summer program where they show kids'  movies twice a week for a dollar admission. We've gone twice so far and taken my sister-in-law's kids with us and had a blast :).

http://georgiatheatrecompany.com/gtc-promotions.asp

Field Trip

Olivia and Tyler's daycare takes several field trips during the summer. Usually, they prefer to spend the days with me over the daycare field trips, but on this day, it was rainy, and our plans fell through, so we met them at Stevie B's Pizza for a tour and to make their own pizzas.

They got to walk through the freezer and the kitchen...

Played with some dough balls...lol

And surprise, surprise, guess whose daughter ran straight to the racing game while they were waiting for their pizzas to cook?!?!?!?!

And now for the fun part.... putting as much parmasean cheese as you want because there are 2 daycare workers to supervise about 25 children, and your mama's not right beside you at your table telling you "that's enough." Okay, so maybe I was at the table, but I wasn't going to make her stop when everyone else got to put as much as they wanted!

Watermelon Party Continued...

We had quite a bit of leftover watermelon from Olivia's Watermelon Birthday party, so we brought some to the pool with us for a snack.

This boy sure does LOVE some watermelon! And he's so very cute ;-)