Thursday, July 31, 2008

Mamma Mia!

Yesterday morning Kiersten flew in to visit. We didn't really do anything yesterday, just hung around the house. The kids played some games and were just happy to see each other again.

Today we got up and went to the movies to see Mamma Mia. Dottie saw it the day it came out and just loved it so she wanted to take the girls to see it. I figured Landon would want to see something else, but once we got to the theater he wanted to stay with the girls and opted out of Kung Fu Panda at the last minute. He ended up liking it, but it was pretty over his head. Thankfully he didn't understand a lot of it! I, of course, really enjoyed it since I love musicals. The singing wasn't the best, but the character's were interesting and the story was great.

We had a nice dinner outside tonight, all though it was still a little hot and humid...we stuck it out any ways. I like eating outside, the season just doesn't last that long, so I just want to make the most of it. I wanted to do smore's tonight, but I think it is just going to be too hot...another night I guess.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Shine On!

We finally broke down and bought Zoe a cell phone. We chose the red LG Shine, and she couldn't be happier. We had been thinking about getting her a phone for quite a while and decided that straight A's and entering high-school were good reasons to get her a phone. We feel that if she is going to be staying after school for sports or other activities we want to be able to contact her and vice versa. 

We ended up letting Landon give her the phone. He went downstairs with it, talking to me, and when he got down where she was he handed her the phone and said "It's for you". She gave him a weird look (later saying she thought it was a toy phone) and took it and said "Hello?". When I answered she nearly crapped! She didn't know what was going on until Landon said "It's your new phone." and then she started to put it all together. It worked out well, and she is texting away at this very moment. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed when she hears the rules...which will include no texting at the dinner table, no text/talk after 10pm and no downloading! {Can you tell by the look in the picture that she isn't getting it? lol...}

 The new MP-3 player!

We didn't want Landon to feel too left out, so we gave him his own MP-3 player. He doesn't know that it was my old one (it's still in great condition!). He's only 7, but he loves music and is always begging to use Zoe's which of course doesn't happen. So, we thought instead of having it sitting around unused, he can have it with music he likes...it's a win-win situation!

Happy Birthday To You...

Yesterday we went to spend the day with my dad since his birthday is today. We didn't really have anything planned so we just kinda hung out at their house till 2, then we went to see the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was ok. Tony and I thought that the acting was a little on the bad side and the story line was a little lacking, but the kids enjoyed it and it is kind-of neat to see a movie in 3-D. It just makes it a little more interesting when it's in 3-D...a novelty I guess. Landon didn't wear his glasses for most of the movie, he just hates 3-D and 4-D movies; he says they're too scary.

After the movie, Mom, Tisha and I took the kids to the pool for an hour or so, then we went back and had a wonderful dinner that Lorenzo spent the day making. He worked really hard all day on the dinner but even went ahead and made dessert too! He made a birthday cake as well as cupcakes! Yum!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share because I forgot to put my memory card in my camera before we left home; hopefully Mom will send me some of the pic's she got. Hint, hint!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Friday, July 25, 2008

Vacation Album

Instead of doing regular 12x12 pages of our vacation to Myrtle, I decided I would try doing a different size. I got a nice 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 album by K&Company and have already completed my first 2 pages! I am missing the beach already...

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Chipotle Chicken Fajita's

We had this for dinner tonight and it was so good! Give it a try...you'll like it!

{Simple & Delicious (magazine) May/June 2008; page 33}

Ingredients:

1 bottle (12 oz) chili sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

4 medium green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

10 flour tortilla's

1-1/2 cups chopped tomato's

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Mexican cheese blend

  • Place the chili sauce, lime juice and chipotle peppers in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Transfer 1/2 cup to a resealable plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1-4 hours.
  • Pour remaining marinade into a small bowl; add the vinegar, brown sugar and molasses. Cover and refrigerate.
  • Drain and discard marinade from chicken.On six metal or soaked wooden skewers, alternately thread chicken, green peppers and onion. Brush with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 10-16 minutes or until chicken juices run clear, turning occasionally.
  • Unskewer chicken and vegetables into a large bowl; add 1/2 cup chipotle-molasses mixture and toss to coat. Keep warm.
  • Grill tortilla's, uncovered, over medium heat for 45-55 seconds on each side or until warmed. Top with chicken mixture, tomato's, cheese and remaining chipotle-molasses mixture. Yield: 5 servings

This is a super easy recipe and the chipotle-molasses mixture is awesome! We didn't do the last step, we just warmed the tortilla's in the microwave and then piled all the meat and cheese on. Yummy! 

Animal Crossing

10-1 Since we have been home from Myrtle Beach we have been playing Animal Crossing again. It's really Landon's first experience with it, but for Tony and I this is old hat. We have had this game for a long time and we all played it quite a bit a few years ago, but after awhile, as with anything, it lost it's appeal and was shelved. Landon pulled it off the shelf the other day and now we are all into again. All three of us have created our own towns so that we can visit one another...silly, I know, but true. We couldn't be happy just living in one town together, we all have to have our own! I think Zoe will be creating a town soon...we're wearing her down, slowly but surely.

Oh, and soon, a new, improved version will be out for the Wii!

This Is What Happens...

when you leave for a week without checking the vegetable garden. Zucchini anyone?

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Back Home Blues

Life sure seems boring compared to last week when we were on vacation! I haven't been able to think of a thing to write about all week...nothing interesting to report.

We ended up heading home from Myrtle a day early because of the tropical storm that was brewing off the coast. It just isn't any fun to be on vacation at the beach while it rains all day! We were all really tired of hearing the upstairs neighbors run around too, so we were happy to get away from that as well.

The day before we got home, our dog ate something that made her sick. My mother-in-law was keeping her at her house, so I have no idea what the dog got into, but she started throwing up, then quit eating all together. When I picked her up Sunday she was really lethargic and not herself at all. Sunday she pretty much just stayed under my bed all day and slept. Monday she came down and ate a little so I thought she was getting better...wrong. Later that day she had this red, nasty looking rash/hives all over her body. So, Tuesday we were back in the vets office. So, it seems that she either ate something she was allergic to, or something stung her...we'll probably never know. She is doing much better now that she is on med's. I think she is now officially the most expensive pet, in the world.

Other news: We got a new camera! Actually, we went out on Sunday (morning) and got a newer Canon digital. I am so happy about that, and excited to get to know how to use it. I am going to read the manual this time...at least I intend to! I really need to get a better idea of all of the camera's capabilities.

Pretty boring huh? I warned you....

Friday, July 18, 2008

Nascarish?!?

Last night I asked Zoe to put my memory card in my camera...and she broke one of the pins inside by trying to force the card in the wrong way. I don't know if we will be able to get it fixed or not, but I am not a happy camper. I use our camera on a near daily basis, so I feel a little "naked" without it. I am more upset about her attitude about it than I am the mistake she made. She insists that she didn't do it although she was the last person to touch the camera. Any ways...I guess we may be purchasing a new camera in the very near future.

We were super lazy about getting up again this morning. I think it was nearly 11 before we left the room for the beach. It was very overcast and windy today and we knew it was going to rain but decided to chance it any ways. We got about a good 2 1/2 hours in at the beach before it started to storm. (no camera=no photos) :(

DSC02336After lounging around the room we decided to head out to play some mini-golf. We went to Mt. Atlanticus and had a terrific time. Check out this pic:  Mt. Atlanticus. After golfing it was dinner time and we decided to try Nascar Sports Grille. The food was great, prices were reasonable and the decor was very Nascarish...but the noise level was almost unbearable. The restaurant was super busy (although we didn't have to wait for a table at all) and there are T.V.s at every table and on the walls, so the noise was just a bit extreme. All in all it was another good day...except for the camera thing. I did get some pics with Zoe's camera though, so here ya go!

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Where's the Beach?

Today we decided to take a break from the beach. (hard to believe I know...but a necessary break, believe me!) There are so many things to do down here and we are quickly running out of time. So, first we went to walk around Broadway at the Beach again, this time to check out the stores. We found this cool place called Ride Makerz where Landon was able to custom design and build a car. He chose a Dodge Viper body and went crazy from there adding monster wheels and even made it remote controlled. It was really fun to do, and he has had a lot of fun driving it today. IMG_1090 IMG_1089 After building the car, Zoe and I went to the Stupid Factory where she got a couple silly t-shirts. Check out their web-site, they have some really funny stuff! IMG_1092 IMG_1098When we were done there it was lunchtime so we headed over to Hard Rock Cafe where we scarfed down our food so that we would make it to Le Grande Cirque on time. The show started at 2pm and it was 2 hours long, but it was so awesome! The kids had never been to a Cirque du Soleil IMG_1108 show with us before, so this was something really new and fun for them. As if that wasn't enough we then went to use our passes for Ripley's Believe It or Not. We weren't too impressed with it, and Tony and I thought that the aquarium was better. IMG_1113 After all that we were pretty pooped, so we came back to the room, put on our suits and headed to the pool.

Oh yeah, mom and dad, here is that picture you told me to be sure to get!

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Floatin' Their Boat

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday and the day before with one exception...Kiersten! We were able to pick her up from her grandmother's house, about 15 minutes away and spend the day with her. The kids were so excited to see her and they had a terrific time hanging out at the beach,especially in the boat! They would go out get in, flip over, get back in, float, flip, try again...it was an all day thing!  Here are some pictures from our day: IMG_1040 IMG_1048 IMG_1042

We went to Broadway on the Beach after we dropped Kiersten off. There are so many things to do and see there, but we just walked around and got a slice of pizza then I had the kids get a caricature done...it turned out really cute! Here are a couple evening pics.CRW_1068_RJ CRW_1071_RJ

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Ripley's Aquarium

IMG_0950 Tonight, since the weather was still a little overcast and thunderstorms were rolling through, we decided to take the kids to Ripley's Aquarium. We had a really good time and there was a lot to see. The kids were able to pet sting rays and pick up horse shoe crabs.IMG_0957 IMG_0981We were all impressed with the huge tunnel that we traveled through on a conveyor belt type thing. We saw quite a few shark as well as a huge sea turtle among tons of smaller fish. After the aquarium we walked over to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville but quickly left when we found out it was a 2 1/2 hour wait!  IMG_1013We ended up eating at Cracker Barrel since that it something that we don't have near home. We all were very happy with our dinner and afterwards we stopped by the gift shop and bought tons of candy. Watermelon licorice, gummy worms, and pomegranate jelly belly's to name a few!  IMG_1020 Once we finally made it back to the room Landon thought it would be fun to go float around the lazy river, so we let the two kids do that before finally coming to our room for the night!  Who knows what we'll be doing tomorrow!

Seaside lunching

We got to the beach a little later this morning we were all pretty slow to get up! IMG_0945Since it was 11 we decided to check out one of the burger joints by the pier, and we were pleasantly surprised. The food was pretty decent, and the view was beautiful!  After lunch we headed out to the beach again and stayed for a few hours. Here is a picture of sand castle #2...a little more inventive than the first! Tony and Landon thought it might last a little longer if it was on a hill, but when we were leaving the waves were already beating it down. IMG_0948

Gamer

IMG_0896This is a page I got together the night before we left on vacation.  I have seen many layout's done using bubble wrap and paint and I was just dying to try it out...so here is my first attempt. It was really fun to do, and this page came together just like I planned it in my head!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Surfside

 IMG_0912 We are in Myrtle Beach, SC right now on vacation! The drive down yesterday went very smoothly and there was hardly any traffic. We stopped in Virginia to pick Zoe up and then continued on our way down here. We got here around 5pm, checked in and then drove over to the beach right away! We walked along the shore line and we were just amazed how much warmer the water is compared to Ocean City and Rehoboth. The water here must be close to 80 degrees! IMG_0914 The beach we went to is called Surfside and it is about 5 miles from Myrtle...and a lot less busy. We knew then that we would be going back to Surfside the next day.

This morning we got to the beach around 9:30 or so and were there until about 2:30. Tony was lovin' the boogie board and finally convinced the kids to give it a try. Once they got started they realized how much fun it was and were on it for quite a while. I got some of the boogie boarding on video and IMG_0926 when we get home I will attempt to put some of that on here for you all to see! As you can see we also spent a good while building this awesome sand castle...it washed away before we left though, the waves just kept getting bigger and bigger! After going to the beach all day you would think we would be tired of the water, but no, not us. Straight from the beach we headed to the resort's outdoor pool! It was so nice to be out of the sand! IMG_0940We stayed there for about and hour or so then we headed to the room to figure out where we were going to go to dinner. We thought it would be fun to go to Planet Hollywood, and the kids were up for it, so we ended up there. We had a good time trying to name all the celebrities and I was surprised at how many we knew! Can anyone tell me who this is in the white tank top? I can't think of his name!IMG_0944

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Silly

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This is a quick page I did today. The photos are from our stop in St. Thomas last year...we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be part of a carnival!

Rockin' & Rollin'

Since we got GH3 Aerosmith edition, I haven't been playing Mario Kart as much. I finally beat the easy level on GH and have moved to the medium level which has proven to be pretty tough (for me). I hate to get anything less that 5 stars (I'm just picky like that) so I have been playing some of the songs more than once on this level, namely Sweet Emotion and Personality Crisis. Argh!

So, after butchering those songs last night I decided to hop on Mario Kart worldwide to do a little racing. Low and behold Sue and B. Real were on too! They were KILLING me on the track which means I better start practicing more often! Once Tony realized they were on he jumped on and we were out to get them, but we didn't have much luck! The very last race we were in Tony was beating up Sue and I skated past them both and came in 3 or 4th...but I beat Sue and that's all that mattered! It took the two of us to win, but we pulled it off! And then they both logged off...wth?

Friday, July 11, 2008

Birthday Layout

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Dancin' on Stilts

Landon and I were watching  So You Think You Can Dance the other night and he noticed that the couple dancing weren't wearing shoes.

Landon "Mom, they are just dancing with regular feet!"

Me "What do you mean, regular feet?"

Landon "Well, usually the girls have stilts on!"

Me, laughing "You mean high-heels?"

Landon "Yeah those!"

Can you imagine dancing on stilts? Ouch!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Wall-E

We took Landon to see Wall-E today. It was great! I really appreciated the message it sent and was surprised at how much of it Landon understood. At first when I asked him what the movie was about he said "some robots can fly and others stay on the ground" but once I asked him what he thought of the people in the movie he started to talk and realize what the whole thing was about. You can always count on Disney to make a cute movie with a strong message! Another great thing about this movie was that there was very little talking, just the clanking/zapping of the robots and Landon thought Wall-E was hilarious...I just loved that this was a movie that kids and adults could appreciate together.

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Here's the cake Landon and I made this morning...and we all enjoyed this little birthday cake for dessert tonight!  Landon always says that he doesn't like cake, but he sure ate a big piece of this tonight! He even made sure to tell me that it was the best cake he had ever had...

Random thoughts of a 7 year old boy

On the drive to Chik-Fil-A this afternoon.

Landon "Mom, you know who I wish I could be?"

Me "No, who?"

Landon "Santa"

Me "Why?"

Landon "Because he's so magical."

I can't help but wish that he will always feel this way.

Super 7

IMG_0856Today my little guy turns 7. I am happy and sad at the same time. I love to watch my kids grow up, and experience things with them, but at the same time they are just getting older by the minute and that is some what heart breaking. Because we had a little party for him a couple weeks ago we aren't doing that today, but we do have some fun in store. When he got up this morning he and I made a cake together (he cracked the eggs, the only part he cared about!) then he got to have lunch at one of his favorite places (Chik-Fil-A) then he went with Mema to swim at her pool for a couple hours. When he gets home we are going to have dinner, then eat some cake and ice cream and then Tony and I are going to take him to see Wall-E. He's not happy that Zoe isn't here to celebrate with us, but she was here for his party so that will just have to do. (Zoe is visiting her Oma this week.) I got a few cute pictures of him this morning, mostly he was just hamming for the camera and I snapped a few to remember what a sweet little 7 year old I have.  IMG_0857 IMG_0858  He sure thinks he's funny!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

I Think My Thumb Is Green!

Check out what I pulled out of my tiny little garden tonight! IMG_0853 It may be the only zucchini I get out of my garden this year but these are just huge! I had to take out 2 of my pepper plants they just weren't growing (zucchini was taking all the room) but I left one in there with hopes that they would produce something before the end of summer. My dad would be so proud! Winking

I'm Lovin' It!

I am (again) participating in a photo challenge and one of the pictures for this month had to be "A Fast Food Mascot". IMG00153That alone was worth 5 points but to get 10 points we needed to be in the shot...so, on our way to Virginia this past weekend we stopped by our local McD's and grabbed a soda and a pic with Ronald himself.  Needless to say, Zoe was mortified! She wouldn't even go in the play area with us to take the photo! She was standing outside of the area, hiding behind a sign. Tony said she would probably have crawled in the ice IMG00154machine to hide if she could have! And, as if it wasn't bad enough that I would do this to my poor girl in public Tony decided that he too would like a picture with Ronald... poor Zoe is going to need therapy when she gets older. She just can't stand when we do dumb stuff like this!

Hopefully one day she will realize that it is ok to be an adult and be silly because right now she just thinks we are crazy!

4th of July 2008

I woke up with a nasty sore throat on the one day in July when all the doctor's offices are closed. Go figure. So, I had to make an appointment at Nighttime and get it checked out. I was afraid it was strep and I didn't want to get anyone sick. A rapid strep test showed that it wasn't strep but just an annoying sore throat...nothing they could cure, so I just had to take some ibuprofen and deal with it. Three Amigo's So, after my doctors appointment we headed over to my parents house in Virginia for the rest of the day. We got over there around 3 or so, went to an early dinner and then out to the fireworks stand to pick up some explosives for the evening.Waiting in line...he sure doesn't look happy! We ended up staying the night at their house because in the morning we were all going to head up to Delaware and then go to Rehobeth beach for a day or two. It ended up being my parents, Jaron and us, and we had a pretty good time despite the frigid water and overcast skies.Yes, that is a dumpster behind us! LOL! Tony and I had to turn around and drive back home on Sunday afternoon because he had to get back to work on Monday, so it was a short stay and my parents drove back here on Monday with the kids (lucky us!). Once they got here on Monday we thought it would be fun to go to Six Flags for the day since I have season passes and we had bring a friend for free passes too. So, we all spent the day playing at the water park. Zoe really wanted to ride the roller coasters, but Jaron just isn't into that, so she (reluctantly) decided to just make the most of the water park and ended up having  a great time!

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...