Dream Team Dinner

I know I just updated a few days ago, but I wanted to get on the regular schedule again because I like order.

Friday, after we got back from Florida, we went to pick up Kirby, and he and Adam played and played. Kirby enjoyed his time alone with Julie (and no babies to poke and prod him), but he was VERY happy to see us.

Oh! I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Julie has officially moved in! She actually moved in the weekend before we left for vacation, but my last post was all about Florida, so I didn't mention it. She'll be living with us, probably until the end of the year, depending on when she gets a job. Her job now is all about finding the perfect job - or at least some sort of job!

Anyways, you would think I would lay low, but no. Our Dream Team (church volunteers') dinner was on Friday and I already told Meghan I would help her. Rusty and I had to go and help set up, but after all was said and done, it was great! PLUS, Meghan got this year's award for going over and beyond (and she absolutely deserved it)! You can find party pics - here!

Finally, I wanted to finish out the week by showing you a masterful piece of artwork created by my grandmother. She cross stitched this birth announcement and got it framed for us. Now I just have to decide where to put it!

Carnival Party

This year for our Dream Team (church volunteers) party, we decided to go with a CARNIVAL THEME! We decided it would be relaxed, fun, and upbeat! Here's some of the crafts and activities we put together for it.

We got most of the food catered in, but we did put together a popcorn bar. We popped the popcorn early and set it out with M&M's, peanuts, and Reese's Pieces. On the other side of this table (not pictured), we had a snow cone bar (which we rented from a local party rental place). Both bars were a huge hit!

For the tables, we used Mason jars filled with gumballs and pin wheels. We also scattered different colored tickets around instead of confetti.

As far as activities go, we had a "Kissing Booth", where people could guess how many Hershey's kisses were in the jar. The one closest got a prize.

The other games were just for fun and no prizes were given. We made the Ring Toss with painted glass Coke bottles, a piece of wood, and glow bracelets.

We used a Corn Hole set to allow people to toss the hacky sack in the hole.

We rented a mini golf run set from a local party rental place.This turned into a competition among many of the guys to see how far back they could win.

And of course, we always need some dancing!

I'm not a huge fan of party favors that aren't practical. Most people give useless gadgets, so we decided an edible favor wouldn't be put to waste. We put together small bags of cotton candy for people to take home.

Like I said, we wanted something that felt easy and relaxed so that everyone could just joke around and have fun together.

Cape Canaveral - Family Vacation!

Woooooo! We've done it again! Another successful trip to Florida and back! It was... fun, interesting, tiring... but definitely memory-filled!

In both the trip down and the trip back, poor Adam threw up. I think it was because he was woken up early and given milk immediately. He didn't have any other sick symptoms and was completely fine during the whole trip. It was pretty disgusting though because we ended up throwing away Adam's clothes both times. We didn't want to travel in a hot car for 8 hours with gross clothes.

Our first stop once we got to Florida was visiting my grandparents. They were a little out of the way, but very worth it. My grandmother made dinner and her neighbor came over to meet Adam. Adam got to stretch his legs and take a little break from riding in a car.

We finally got to the hotel in Cape Canaveral and went right to sleep for our next day's adventure.

We got up at a reasonable hour and headed to the Kennedy Space Center! It was pretty awesome! We got to tour the facility and learn about the different organizations, NASA, SpaceX, Orbital. We got to see replicas of all the different rockets. We also went to the museum on the campus to see space suits, moon rocks, etc.

The Space Center tour and activities basically took the entire day, so when we went back to the hotel we just relaxed for a while and went to the pool after dinner. We also stopped by the hotel's arcade to see what it was all about.

The next day was a beach day! I love the beach - unfortunately, this was one of the worst beaches I've been to. However, Adam still enjoyed the water and the sand; he and Rusty even dug a whole.

We went to an authentic German restaurant for lunch and it was fantastic! Plus, they used an vintage high chair, which made it feel even more authentic.

We again went to the pool in the evening and relaxed again. Being in the hot sun can wear you out. I gave Adam a couple of new toys for this trip, one of them being a toy cellphone. Now he can be just like Rusty!

Our final day, we decided to go into the next town over to go to the zoo! I heard that this was a good zoo to try out and I have only been to two zoos in my life. This zoo was amazing. It had a very open feel to it and flowed really well.

We walked onto a small platform and a giraffe greeted us!! That's my favorite animal! We paid two dollars to feed the giraffes and Adam did it with no hesitation.

We also paid a dollar to feed the birds - which our bird-loving baby loved.

That evening we got to watch a rocket launch! It had been delayed two days, so we were afraid that we wouldn't get to see it. We were told initially that we should watch it on the beach, but a staff member at the hotel told us that the actual best place is on a higher level of the hotel. They weren't kidding. We had a great view of the rocket and it was an incredible experience.

We had to wake up that poor baby again to get moving. Rusty woke up really early and we decided to get going as quickly as possible so we could get back home.

Five Molars!!

I feel the entire past few days are in preparation for the coming weekend and next week (EVO and vacation), BUT we'll focus a bit on Adam's current development since we had his 15 month check-up on Monday.

Last week, we found that two molars had popped through! Since that short time, another has come in and two more are right on the edge. That's going to be FIVE molars - how crazy! He's going to be able to start chopping on some harder food soon. How is he so big?!?

Like I previously said, we had his check-up on Monday. I have been given such a wonderful little boy. He has hit of his 15 month milestones and all but one of his 18 month ones. He's 30. 25" tall (18%), 22lb, 11oz (49%), and 18.25" in head circumference (37%). He had to get two shots, which he was incredibly upset over for about ten seconds. 

Adam has REALLY been in the "repeating" mood lately... and I LOVE IT! He is so cute as he tries to say what I'm asking of him. We've really been working on the people we know. Here's a short list of the funniest:

• Aunt Emma - "EeeeeMAH"
• Aunt Katie - "Daydee"
• Uncle James - "Amessssss"
• Aunt Julie - "Oooodee"
• Kirby - Herbeeee"

Today, Adam and I met up with my sister (Emma) and brother-in-law (John) at my parents' house while they're on vacation. We decided to go there to clean some of our old stuff from the basement and move some of the furniture to the rooms my mom wanted. We went out to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and unfortunately it made Adam have some super gross poo (ewwww!). 

One last thing - I finished my first ever quilt this week!!! I absolutely love it and am super proud of it! Rusty got me a sewing machine two Christmases ago and I hadn't really used it. I cut my squares before Adam was born because I wanted to make it for him and... it never got done. They've been sitting on my craft table for probably 18 months. BUT I've been feeling really crafty and I did it! Check out my process (and struggles) in a future post!

Cinnamon Apple Dessert Rings

We tried one DELICIOUS dessert this evening because Rusty and I were both a little peckish. Think of an onion ring, but dessert form and it's the basic idea. The ingredients and instructions are below with pictures. I adapted the recipe from Diethood because their recipe is for 8-10 servings and I only needed enough for the two of us.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp (pinch) baking powder
1/8 tsp (pinch) salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek because that's all I had in the fridge)
2/3 egg (estimated)
1 Granny Smith Apple
Oil for frying
1/4 sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together yogurt and egg until well combined.
3. Whisk yogurt mixture into flour mixture and set aside.
4. Slice apple and using a round small cookie cutter (or knife) cut "rings" out of the middle of the slices.
5. In a deep fryer or skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat to 375 degrees.
6. Ding the apple rings in the batter, then place in skillet (1-2 minutes per slice or until golden brown, turning once).
7. In a bowl or plate, combine sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
8. Sprinkle sugar mixture over apple rings while still hot.
9. Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Here's the directions in pictures:

Ingredients:

Take a Granny Smith apple and slice. Use a small, round cookie cutter to create rings.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and the yogurt and egg in another. Then whisk together. While the rings are frying, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Both mixtures can be seen below.

Dip the apple rings into the batter.

Place the rings in your deep fryer or skillet. Leave for 1-2 minutes on each side.

(I just had to do a slow-mo of the deep fryer)

Sprinkle the sugar mixture onto the rings while still hot and serve immediately!

Mine aren't too pretty, but they tasted delicious and quick. How did your's turn out? What did you do differently?

Fourth & Fireworks

What a better way to spend a three day/holiday weekend than with family and friends!

Last week was my mother-in-law's birthday! She was in Florida so we didn't get to celebrate that day, but we were able to FaceTime her instead!

I don't know how many of you have TimeHop, but I love it! I know Facebook has it's own thing now, but I love to check TimeHop each morning to see my past years on social media (about 8 years). This week, I got to see my sleeping baby a year ago - but what was funny was that I had just taken a sleeping picture of him. I can't help but snapping a picture of sweet Adam when he's sound asleep.

On to the weekend - it was a blast! Friday (because most everyone had the day off), we went to my parents' house for dinner. My dad spent the entire day smoking ribs on the grill. Umm... can you say tender and delicious! We also had corn on the cob, fruit, potato salad, and apple pie. Adam couldn't get enough corn on the cob, so he was occupied the entire time eating all of his corn.

Saturday, we went over to Rusty's friend from college's house and lots of his college friends were there. We did the same thing last year and it was Adam's first big outing at the time. We showed up a little later than everyone else so Adam could have a full nap and I'm glad we did because he had a wonderful (and happy) time! Everyone loved him and took turns playing with and talking with him. I love to sit back and see how this group has changed. Rusty and I were the first to get married and the first (and so far only) couple to have a kid. Within the past year though, another couple got married and another got engaged. People are buying houses and changing jobs. One is a full doctor and another is a college professor. I say it all the time, but time is flying by.

Also on Saturday, it was Adam's first experience with fireworks. I was concerned that the sound would scare him, but again, I was wrong. He loved them and his eyes lit up every time the lights exploded.

Sunday, we went to church and there was actually five other kids in Adam's nursery class. Normally there's only one or two, but not this week (which is strange since our pastor is in Haiti so we had a guest speaker). He had a great time and played well.

We went for lunch with The Sullivan's afterward at Mellow Mushroom and had a great time (like always). After that, even though Adam hadn't had a nap, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with Rusty's dad and step-mom (Grandpa and Grammy) since they live close to our church. Another great time was had by all. Grandpa even got out his guitar and Adam was in love. We gave him the little guitar to play along and he held it correctly just like Grandpa. That boy loves music. We didn't even get out of the neighborhood before Adam fell fast asleep.

Monday, because Rusty's mom (Memaw) had returned from her vacation, we invited her over for dinner. We ate tacos and she just got to spend some time playing and talking with Adam. We didn't have anywhere extra to be, so everyone was relaxed. She's in the process of redecorating her living room and I'm really excited about her thoughts about it because I think it will open up the room and make it feel bigger.

Yesterday, Adam and I spent most of the day helping my mom clean her basement. My sisters and I lived down there during middle and high school so we still have a lot of our old stuff in that room. My parents are trying to clean out, reorganize, and redecorate there house, so this is just another step in the process. I contributed to the mess, so I should help clean it. I'm really excited to help out when it's clean and we can paint and decorate the walls. I feel like a lot of people in my life (including myself) are redecorating - AND I LOVE IT! I'm super obsessed with a lot of HGTV shows now that they've been added to Netflix.

Today was a fun-filled day. Adam and I attended Toddler Time, and Rusty was home for the day. We hung out at home for the day after the library. After dinner, I was able to talk Rusty into going to the pool and he even said we should do it more. Adam loved every second from getting splashed to pretending to swim. He didn't even cry when his face (accidentally) went under.

That's it for this post. I have some projects I'm working on and some ideas for some others that I can't wait to share when they're completed!

Oh, and Happy Independence Day!