Dinner with Daddy

Tonight we decided to go out to the station and have dinner with Daddy since he was working a 24 hour shift. After dinner we went out to play with the helicopters.

Please don't ask me to tell you the names of these helicopters because I have no idea!!! haha The boys enjoyed playing in the helicopters. Let me out of here!! Man these kiddos are handsome! The boys pretending to be pilots. Yes I got up in the helicopter... not for long though. I am not a fan of tiny spaces. Benjamin had fun pretending to be a helicopter.Afterwards we went and hung out with daddy in his office. Benjamin took his unfinished Lowe's project to finish it with daddy.

A visit from Nana

My grandmother came to stay with us for a night. We had a great time as always. We started the day with Benjamin teaching Nana how to play wii. He thought he was something else because he finally got to be the one to teach someone how to play the wii!

Afterwards we had lunch and nap time then we went to cool off in the pool. Benjamin wanted to show Nana his swimming skills. He has come a long way this summer in the swimming department. He calls himself "Super Diver". Joshua got a little fussy so Nana got out to snuggle with him while Benjamin and I went for a swim in the deep end. After a nice time at the pool we came back to the house to have dinner. I made a roast and my brother Josh came to join us. Josh wanted in on the action! After dinner grandma made us some of her yummy fried pear pies ( we actually baked them though). They were delicious! Jealous??? ha ha I topped my warm pie with some vanilla ice cream... mmmmmm yum! It was a great day, we always enjoy visits with Nana!

Fun at Lowe's

We attended another children's workshop at Lowe's and like always Ben had a blast. He loves working on projects with his daddy. Here are the guys hard at working making a school bus. Here is Joshua hard at work chewing on mommy's things.Taking a break to smile for momma! The final product! He was so proud of himself. My little man is growing up too fast! Here is a picture of all of Benjamin's Lowe's projects he has done. There is a bus, a bug box, and a picture frame.

Pear Butter

I have decided to become a little more domesticated by canning some pear butter. My grandparents gave me a few grocery bags full of Asian pears and I didn't want them to go to waste so I thought what better way to preserve them then to make them into a yummy pear butter.

The first thing I did was cook the pears until they were soft. Next step was to mush them into a pear sauce and add of of my ingredients to the sauce. I added some allspice, ground cloves, cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg. After that I let the concoction cook in the crock pot for about 10 hours. My house smelled delicious! After the butter was ready it was canning time! I started out small just to see how well I could do this so it only ended up making 6 half pints. I have more pears ready for more canning so I will be making more since it was so easy and so very yummy!

Sweet Summertime

Well I have been quite the lazy blogger so here I am posting a "catch-up" blog that way I can get back to blogging regularly.

We have had a pretty busy yet extremely fun summer so far. We started our summer by heading north to Maryland to visit family and friends for about a month. While we were home Joshua turned the big "ONE"! We went with a beach party theme since I know once he gets older I will never be able to do this again. HAHAHA

We were so excited that we were able to share this awesome milestone with all of our friends and family.

Also while we were in Maryland we were able to spend some quality time with Dewayne's oldest 3 children Daniel, Doug, and McKayla. We had a blast and didn't want our time with them to end. It was awesome having all of the kiddos together!

When we got back home to Alabama my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece all came to visit us before their big move to Hawaii. We had a blast with all the kids together again. We were able to attend the Freedom Festival where the kids enjoyed playing in the bounce houses...

Dancing to the music... and watching the fireworks. Benjamin held his ears through the whole fireworks show.

For the 4th of July we spent the day at my grandparents cooking out and watching the kids enjoy the pool. I'm pretty sure Joshua's favorite part was the watermelon. Afterwards we roasted marsh mellows for s'mores and watches our own little display of fireworks and sparklers.

After a fun filled 4th of July weekend, we only had a few more days to enjoy our visit with my sister and her family so we all kicked back and relaxed and just enjoyed spending time with each other.

The remainder of our summer we have spent at the boy and just trying to get through this summer heat Alabama likes to produce. Benjamin has learned how to hold his breath under water and now claims to be a "super diver". Joshua is just getting used to his water legs and likes to stay where he can step out of the water if he feels the need. He also likes to make a run for the entrance gate when he THINKS mommy or daddy aren't looking. I just adore my little sea monkeys! Another major milestone this summer was my BIG MAN Benjamin learning how to use the potty! He is officially potty trained and all it took was a homemade chart, treats, stickers, and a very dedicated week. I am so very proud of him and he is of himself as well.

Last but not least we have started attending a children's workshop at Lowe's every other Saturday. Benjamin loves building his projects and I love that it is all free and yet still fun! Joshua and I enjoy cuddling while Benjamin builds his projects! More so mommy than Joshua.
It has been an awesome summer but now I say "Bring on that fall weather please!!"