Nashville, Tennessee

Our first "real" family vacation.  The only person not able to attend was my sister's husband who began a new job the week prior and so could not join us.  We have so, so many photos.  It was hard to narrow them down this much to capture the most of our trip.  The weather was perfect, still warm but a small break from the excruciating heat and humidy in Missouri.  We were able to fit in a lot of sightseeing and still had enough down time to play some Yatzee and visit.  And happy early birthday, Momma!

Here are some photos to summarize our trip...

 

 

Downtown Nashville and all the honkey tonks.  We never made it to Margaritaville...

Downtown and some of the business and music side of the city...

The Ryman Auditorium (the old location for the Grand Ole Opry)...

 

 

Hard Rock Cafe (1 of 150 in 53 countries)...

 

 

Putt-putting pretty much consisted of this, surviving the heat, and almost everyone getting a...

 

Hole - in - one!

The Country Music Hall of Fame, a lot of things to see in here.  This doesn't even begin to show everything there is to see...

 

 

And the Grand Ole Opry with James Otto, Little Jimmy Dickens, Mark Wills & Loretta Lynn...

 

 

Oh, and we found over 20 states license plates on the way there and back.  Keane found the most...and the furthest.  Winner gets...a "good job baby!"  It was a great time.  We plan to return sometime; there is a lot to see and do there!

Washers, anyone?

After our 4th of July activities, we decided to make our own set of washer boxes.  Keane looked up washer box dimensions and we got to it...or he got to it I should say.

 

 

Kaden helped work the screwdriver...

 

...while Kylie and I played with chalk.

We, too, put in a screw so that we all had a part in the making of our washer boxes.

We stopped here and there to answer phone calls and such.

We (he) spray painted black and gold.  MU Tigers stickers will be finishing touches, some day.

 

Happy washers!

Salsa & Pickles

We made our first homemade salsa from veggies out of our garden!  It is very tasteful and we are pleased with our first try.  There may be a few changes to perfect our next batch but rock on homemade salsa!

Onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, corn...and seasoning = our homemade salsa!

We attempted to make three batches...one mild for the kids, one medium for us in case we didn't like the third, hot with jalapenos, but in our attempt to turn down the back burner with the hot salsa, we turned down the front burner instead which led to the burning of our hot batch.  Other than that it went quite smoothly.  We are proud salsa makers!

I also made one of my favorites...pickles!  I planted pickling cucumbers and added the needed ingredients and viola...tasty pickles!  Love this gardening thing...

County Fair Parade

The MoCo Fair Parade...a time of candy, firetrucks, horses, and fun.  This year we didn't get as much candy thrown our way or very many items handed out to us but it was an excruciating hot day.  Candy to last a day or so, a coolie cup, and some popsicles were about it...oh, and flyers.  Mom and Keane were both out of town and Kaden had a ballgame so the parade was attended by my dad, myself, Kollin, and Kylie.  We sat in our yearly spot and I did go home with the MoCo Fair cup (blue this year).  I forgot to get a funnel cake and that was in my plans so this is back on my list for next summer along with a pickle for Kylie.  I took the kiddos to the fair to ride rides and to lose $20 out of my pocket...but hey, it was worth it.  Maybe someone needed that $20.  I like to think so.

Bye-Bye Mighty Mitis

Sad time in our family.  Our new precious kitten got sick and left us to go to heaven.  After almost two weeks of vet visits and hourly feedings of formula, he didn't have the strength to carry on any longer but man was he a fighter.  We had him long enough to get attached and we prayed for him to pull through it all so he could grow big and strong and "mighty."  He will always be remembered and as Kylie told me last night, "he will still grow big in heaven."  I held him in my arms as he left this earth and I was reassured by Keane that I did everything I could have done; I couldn't have changed the outcome because there's nothing I didn't do to help him.  I know he's playing in heaven now but I hope he knows we miss him!  We loved him and were invested in him and his well-being -- "love is love."



Mitis - 4/24/11-7/16/11

Gardening

This year we changed the direction of our rows in the garden and we spaced them out more than previous years to help with weeding and tilling.  Our corn is tasseling and our veggie plants are growing and beginning to produce.  We have enjoyed some cucumbers and broccoli in our salads and some amazing fried zucchini as well as delicious steamed zucchini and yellow squash.  I will be making my first attempt at dill pickles this weekend and we are also waiting to enjoy green beans, tomatoes, peppers, peppers, and more peppers (to make homemade salsa), cauliflower, and last but most definitely not least, sweet corn!  We would have had radishes if it wasn't for the abundance of rain and onions if they hadn't got tilled up.  Love veggies!

 

 

Meet Mitis

Bengal (cat) : a relatively new hybrid breed of cat, formed by the cross of a domestic feline and an Asian Leopard Cat -or- our new pet and newest addition to the family...Mitis.  Mitis is Latin for mild and gentle.

We love him.  He was born Easter Sunday, 4/24/11, and he was welcomed into our home on 7/3/11.  He is tiny right now but will grow big and strong soon.  He loves attention and loves to cuddle.  He will strictly be an inside cat except for going for walks with a harness and leash when he gets bigger but Daddy wanted him to check out the garden with us last night. 

 

4th of July

Happy Independence Day!

The kids and I decorated our front yard with a Pinterest-inspired idea!  I had to mow the yard first and we quickly made as many stars as we could before the heat brought us back inside the house.  It did rain the night after we did this but luckily it was still there the following morning!

 

 

 

 

I hope everyone enjoyed wonderful fireworks and great family time as we did!  The 4th of July has always been a big holiday with my family and I am glad to see us still carrying the tradition on this year, our first year without Grandma being there to enjoy it with us.  Delicious Italian food and great desserts, a baby shower for my sister with a pregnancy-related relay race, washers, carnival food, and fireworks completed our Independence Day this year!