First Day of School for Bo and Sophie

We are 2 weeks in to school and I am just now getting my "Back to School" pictures up. Bo and Sophie both are enjoying school and they both have their Best Friends in their classes this year.

I am so lucky that my mom works at the school my kids go to. She called me just this morning and reminded me that Bo is supposed to stay after school today and I totally forgot. This was the first day of school and we stopped by her office to say hi. Sophie was so excited and Bo was just ready to get to his classroom.

Next stop, Sophie's 1st grade classroom; we love Mrs. Denton!



We finally made it to Bo's 4th grade class. I had to ask Mrs. Sanders to step outside so I wouldn't embarrass Bo too much when I took this picture.

World of Coke

As an end of the summer field trip, Mom and I took the kids to the World of Coke. The kids had so much fun walking around and seeing the different Coke items.

We had the biggest laugh when we were taking this picture! Reed wasn't quite sure of the Coke Polar Bear. He did sit down so not to seem too HUGE, but Reed was still nervous.

The 4-D movie was amazing. Sophie and Reed were a little scared of the bumpy seats and the water being sprayed in our faces, but when it was over they wanted to do it again.

While we were waiting on the movie to begin, Reed found an air vent. Little things amuse him.

The long awaited "Taste It" section was our last stop. We tasted so many different Coke products from around the world, good and bad. Our favorite turned out to be the American drinks, Cherry Coke, Mr Pibb and Coke. Reed just loved pouring the drinks for himself and then emptying them into the trashcan. He was a sticky mess when we left. Everyone else was pretty wound up from the caffeine overdose.

Our last stop was Johnny Rocket's for Milk Shakes and Burgers and Hot Dogs.

Reed's 3rd Birthday (Peach Cobbler)

He's so adorable. Sometimes I just can't stand it! This little boy melts my heart and he is 3 years old.
We are still learning about Reed's personality. He is definitely the comedian of the family. He loves to make people laugh. He is between the age of wanting to be a "big boy" and still wanting to be the baby. He just can't decide. Just last night at dinner, Michael and I were admiring a cute little baby at another table. A few minutes later, Reed said, "Mommy, I don't want to be a big boy anymore." Reed is also coming into the age of having friends. He has always loved to play with Bo and Sophie and their friends, but now he is learning how to have friends his own age. He was very well behaved in his preschool class and he was the only boy for most of the year. I think because I know that he is my last child, I am trying to postpone his aging. I don't mind that he wants to be the baby still, because I love to hold him and cuddle with him.

On the day of his birthday, June 30, Reed, Cooper and I met Michael at Chic Fil A for lunch. Reed got ice cream for dessert and Cooper got a milk shake.

We even got a visit from the Chic Fil A Cow.

Sometimes I just get a really good picture of my kids and I want to blow it up and put it in a frame. I think this is one of those pictures.

That night, we got some cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Reed. Here he is showing us he is "3 years old."

We had Reed's party on Sunday afternoon. I just served some appetizers and desserts. I made some cheese dip, grilled some smoked sausages, and had cheese and crackers. I purchased a Cookie Cake and a Micky Mouse CupCake Cake from Publix, bought some brownies from Sam's, and I MADE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PEACH COBBLER I HAVE EVER SEEN. You can see a close-up of the cobbler and the recipe below.

Showing their muscles, getting ready to eat cake

Blowing out the candles

All the grandparents

Parker, Reed, Cooper and Carson

Reed got a sandbox from Nana and Grandaddy.

He loved the Spiderman Bike from Nana and Papa!

And here's the Peach Cobbler!!!! I even did the lattice-work crust! After a long and careful deliberation, I decided we would actually eat the cobbler and it was as good as it looks (if I do say so myself).

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

10 - 12 peaches

2 cups sugar

2 sticks Butter

2 Pre-made Pie Crusts, cut into 1 1/2 inch strips (the kind that are rolled out in the refrigerator section of the grocery store)

Peel and slice all the peaches. You should have about 8 - 10 cups of peaches. Add sugar and melted butter. Mix well.

Pour half of the peach mixture into a greased casserole dish. Next, layer pie dough across the top of the peaches, it doesn't have to be pretty because it will be in the middle of the cobbler when you serve it. Sprinkle pie dough with sugar and place in a 350 oven until crust is brown and peaches are bubbly.

Next, pour the rest of the peaches onto the browned pie dough. Then layer the top of the cobbler with pie dough. To make the lattice appearance, I placed all the long pieces on first. Then I started in the middle of the cobbler with the shorter pieces, weaving them through the longer pieces. Very hard to explain, but not too hard to do. It helps if the pie dough is very cold.

Put little pieces of butter all over the pie crust and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 1 hour or until crust is brown.

This is my Aunt Thelma's recipe although she calls for a homemade pie crust. I think Pillsbury works just fine.

Baby Henry (Jimmy Carter Cheese Ball)

Daniel and Angela had their baby boy Henry on August 6. He was 5 weeks early and weighed 4lb 5 oz. He is amazing.

Unfortunately, Baby Henry was born before his own Baby Shower. Both he and Mommy were still in the hospital at the time of the shower, but we had it anyway.

Sherry opened a few of the presents so we could get a peek, but we saved most of them for Angela to open when she returned home from the hospital.

I just love shower food. Joannie ordered the cake and made the delicious punch (I've got to get the recipe for that). I made meatballs. Instead of making the meatballs from scratch, I just bought the frozen kind and made a yummy sauce to go with them. I accidentally bought HUGE meatballs and they ended up being kind of a mess, but they still tasted good. I also made a cheese ring. I'm not sure why we call it a "Jimmy Carter Cheese Ring." We just do. You can find the recipe below.

Henry is finally home now. I still can't get over how little he is.

Just look at those eyes. They melt my heart.

Jimmy Carter Cheese Ball

Ingredients:

1 lb Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup mayo

1 sm onion, finely grated or chopped

Strawberry Preserves

Crackers

Mix well all ingredients except preserves. Press into a 5-6 cup greased ring mold. I use my bundt cake pan. Refrigerate several hours. Unmold and set small bowl of preserves in center of ring. Serve with crackers.

The Beach (Fruit Salad)

Our Summer trip to the beach this year was AWESOME! The kids are at perfect ages for playing in the waves and just hanging out by the water all day. We had some great food and we stayed at a new Condominium Complex that we absolutely loved!

Sophie, age 6 / Reed, age 2 / Bo, age 9

Me and my grandmother, Meme

This is the whole group! It is so much fun being able to spend time with my cousins that I don't see very often and seeing our kids play together.

Tiffany's kids: Cooper, age 4 / Madi, age 11 / Russ, age 9

My handsome Bo

Superstar Sophie

Reed, the entertainer

Michael can't sit still at the beach. He tried to surf all week.

God's Promise

There is nothing more beautiful or peaceful than the sunrise over the ocean. Ahhhhhh...

Cute!

Every summer at the beach, Meme makes a huge hot dog lunch for our whole group. The hot dogs are delicious because Meme makes them in the oven and she toasts the buns in the electric frying pan. We always have chili, sour kraut, onions, and all the other traditional sides. The other thing we always serve at the beach is Fruit Salad. I got to help Meme with the fruit salad this summer and I also got to go to the grocery store with her to get the supplies. I learned how to pick a good peach. We probably bought 10 - 12 peaches and Meme inspected each one carefully.

Fruit Salad

10 - 12 ripe peaches

1 large bag cherries

1 pineapple

1 jar Marzetti's Original Cole Slaw Dressing

Chop everything up into bite size pieces and mix together. If the peaches are not too sweet, you may need to add some sugar. I just cut the cherries in half and take out the pit. Serve the dressing on the side. It is delicious!

Time with Family (Layered Salad)

My cousins Brooke and Paige have moved out to California and their brother, Brian now lives in New York. This summer we were lucky enough to get to visit with them at my Aunt Jackie's house. Her house is on a lake and we often get together there for family functions. It's perfect.

Sophie out by the lake


My cousin Brooke's oldest son, Leo

Brooke's middle son, Luke

Russ (I love this picture!)

Russ, Leo and Bo fishing off the dock

Brooke's youngest son, Lincoln and Reed

Bo, Grandmother and Russ

Sophie on the rope swing

Janie and Uncle Jim

My CA cousin Paige, me, my NY cousin Brian, Janie and Tiffany

Cooper playing in the sand

My dad, My beautiful Mom, My beautiful Aunt Jackie and My Uncle Jim

The 2 Reeds (My CA cousin Paige named her son Reed too. We didn't even know we did this.)

My Uncle Jim and the CA Reed, his grandson (look at Reed's tongue)

NY Brian, Grandmother and CA Paige

My sweet Grandmother

I can't exactly remember if we had this layered salad at my Aunt Jackie's house this summer, but it is definitely something we always have at our family get togethers. It's a good salad and most people really like it.

Layered Salad

Ingredients:

1 head lettuce, rinsed and chopped

1 small red onion

1-2 cups Swiss cheese, grated

1 can Baby Green Peas

2 cups Mayo

Sprinkles of Accent

Bacon (Fried and chopped into bits)

In a large Tupperware container, layer ingredients in order. Add bacon just before serving and mix the salad together.