E's First Vacation

On September 4th, we drove to Nashville and boarded a flight to Santa Anna, California to go visit E's Aunt S. Meow and Papaw joined us on our adventure. We spent 8 days on the West Coast visiting the San Diego Safari Park, San Diego Zoo, Hollywood, and of course, the beach.

Although he hadn't seen her since Christmas, E recognized his Aunt Sarah right away because he Skypes with her regularly. He was happy to finally meet Jasmine the cat and Dodger the dog, who he also visits with regularly on Skype. They played together all week.

E absolutely LOVED the zoo and safari park. He was delighted by all of the animals, and really enjoyed up close interactions with several of them. He got to help feed a giraffe and some lorakeets. Some ducks (definitely one of his absolute favorite animals) ate out of his hand. And he got to visit with some deer and goats in the petting zoo.

On the bus tour around the zoo, Aunt S would ask him what sound each animal made when we passed by. His answer was always the same: ROAR! He enjoyed watching the animals, but he also enjoyed watching the other boys and girls who had come to see the animals, too. He was also a fan of riding on Aunt S's shoulders and taking pictures with his very own camera.

The beach was an instant hit, too! Our first beach visit took us to Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City. He loved the sand, but once we reached the shore, he headed straight for the water. The Pacific might be colder than the Atlantic and the Gulf, but that didn't slow him down at all. In fact, Daddy had to hold him back to keep him from running right out into the surf. Daddy enjoyed watching the surfers, just waiting on one to bust. Mommy enjoyed looking for sea shells in the sand with E. We would make several more visits to the beach throughout the week, one of which was E's 18 month photo shoot with Aunt S's neighbor, M.

We took over 3,000 pictures during the week, a few too many to post here for sure. Especially since Blogger is not allowing me to upload them right now. But here's a link to an album that has some of the best ones from the week!

http://photos1.walmart.com/walmart/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3274197005/a=23886628_23886628/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walmart/

It all started at the youth silent auction at church...

That's right. Back in the spring, the youth at our church had their annual silent auction to raise funds for their summer mission trip. I had almost forgotten about the auction. Luckily, we attend The Road service at church which meets in the Fellowship Hall instead of the sanctuary. When we walked in for service, I saw all of the auction items displayed and decided to give it a quick glance to see if there was anything I was interested in. And there it was...sitting behind an empty sheet (that's right - no one was bidding on it!) was a sewing machine. I had always been intimidated by the thought of sewing. It seemed like something that would present a bit more of a challenge that I was ready for. But a few weeks earlier, I had found instructions for making my own wrap to use for wearing/carrying E. And I could make it for only $20! That's a huge savings when you consider that the cheapest ones sell for upwards of $80 and the really nice ones over $100! Thanks to E's Great-Grandmother, Mamaw as we call her, who shares his birthday, I was able to stitch a piece of fabric together to reinforce its strength and my beautiful orange wrap was born. And my curiosity for sewing was sparked. What I had always thought looked so intimidating was actually not that hard and kind of fun! I mean, how cool is it to take a plain ol' piece of fabric and transform it into something useful and beautiful!? After that day with Mamaw, I told J that I might like to have a sewing machine for Christmas. I knew it was something we would need to save for, so I didn't want to rush it...

But there she sat. No bids. I could set the price. Knowing it was a youth fundraiser, I didn't want to "steal" it, but I knew we didn't have much money to spare that month since we were saving for vacation. J and I talked it over and decided to bid $25. I know it doesn't seem like much. But it was a used machine. And getting $25 was better than getting $0, right? We left that afternoon knowing the auction had several hours to go and wondering if anyone else would take interest in this little gem. Oh how relieved I was to find out that no one else was interested in the machine. I immediately started searching for free patterns and sewing ideas online. Even though I got a great deal on the machine, I had to have some material and instructions to use it. But I knew my spending money was limited. E and I hopped in the car on Monday and headed to church to pick up my new toy. Then we went straight to Hobby Lobby to get some fabric remnants. I came home and started making bookmarks. Yes, you read that correctly. I made over a dozen bookmarks. And then I decided to experiment with some appliqués. My friend Sarai has a small business where she makes items for babies and children. Her stuff is sooo cute! One of the things that she makes is a cute onesie with a neck tie appliqué. She also makes adorable fabric embellished burp cloths as well as appliquéd bibs. My cousin D's baby shower was coming up and I needed a gift. So I went to Wal-Mart and found some cute fabric that had a butterfly paisley print. I picked up some coordinating ribbon and started experimenting. After a few hours of work, I had 2 burp cloths AND a cute bib with a "K," the first letter of her daughter's name. And I had a neck tie onesie for E. Then I decided to continue experimenting to see what other appliqués I could create. Fortunately I have two nephews and a niece which made excellent recipients for my early works.

After practicing on some gifts for them, I decided this was something I could do. And Sew You Needle Little Gift was born. My product selection is growing every week, and so far I have had 6 orders. And my "shop" has only been public for about 2 weeks! If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, you should take a moment to visit http://sewyouneedlelittlegift.blogspot.com/. I am excited about the possibilities it holds and praying that it will take off soon. It is a great way for me to continue to stay home with our precious little boy while still making a financial contribution to the family. And it is something that I am really enjoying, which is great! I created several cute fall items this week including some football, Halloween and Thanksgiving themed appliqués. I am hoping to work on some Christmas items soon as well, so check back often to see what's new. There are even some reusable sandwich bags in the works. Who knows what I will come up with next!

Blueberry Fun

Blueberries are one of E's favorite foods. Being outside is one of E's favorite places to be. So we decided that blueberry picking would be a wonderful activity for our family! So we headed just down the road to a local farm to see what he would do.

He wasted no time tasting these beautiful blue beauties.

We picked for about half of an hour. Mommy and Daddy picked just over a pound of berries. We will never know how many E picked because all of them ended up in his belly. He definitely enjoyed this activity, even though his bucket was empty at the end of the evening!

With a full belly, we headed up to the house to pay for our produce.

He enjoyed blueberry picking so much that we decided to go picking two more times at two other blueberry patches in the area. We have brought home about 6 pounds of berries, some of which we have eaten and some that we have put in the freezer to enjoy this winter.

We will definitely be making a visit to the berry patch an annual excursion! 

Tomatoes Everywhere!

Although the heat has all but killed all 2 1/2 rows of tomatoes we planted, we had a couple of weeks there where there were tomatoes running out of our ears. I made some fresh salsa which I inevitably got too hot for my taste buds each time but J rather enjoyed, then I decided to try turning those delicious red and yellow gems into spaghetti sauce. Since we also had zucchini running out of our ears, this seemed like the perfect use for this delicious garden gold.

Here are a few of our beauties.

I blanched and peeled the tomatoes. Blanching makes the skin peel right off and saves tons of time!

After you peel them, they look something like this.

Next I peeled and chopped an onion and a few cloves of garlic, then sautéed them in some oil until they were translucent.

Next I chopped the tomatoes and zucchini and added them to the pot, along with a variety of spices. You could add just about anything that you want, but I chose basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and oregano in addition to salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.

I let that cook for a while, then I added a can of traditional spaghetti sauce to thicken it up.

Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Probably because I was distracted by a certain little one-year-old! But I did take a picture of the yummy tomato pie that I made to go along with the spaghetti. This is yet another delicious way to eat those summer goodies!

I was first introduced to tomato pie by a dear friend at the church where I served before become a stay at home mommy. She made this wonderful dish for the birthday luncheon that she and a few of my other friends had for me last summer. It is super easy and tastes FANTASTIC! All you have to do it take an unbaked pie crust and fill it with cheese. Mozzarella works great,  but any Italian cheese blend would be fine. Then you slice 2-3 tomatoes and layer them on top. Next, sprinkle the tomatoes with salt, pepper and basil, then drizzle with olive oil. Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning and bake in 400* oven for 25-30 minutes. Let it set for a few minutes before serving.

This was a delicious, refreshing summer meal. I hope you will give it a try! Bon Appetite! 

On a side note, we had even more tomatoes come in after I made this sauce. We really enjoy zucchini sauce, but rarely have it in the winter, so I decided to make a huge pot and freeze it in batches for us to enjoy this winter. It will be a special treat. I can't wait!

A Berry Yummy Surprise

A few weeks ago we went out into the back yard to check on the apple tree that we discovered growing in our yard a couple of months ago. We were disappointed to find that the apples were very small and were not ready to pick and eat. But while we were checking the tree we discovered a berry yummy surprise: blackberries!

The previous owners of our home had a wonderful structure that they had built for growing muscadines. We had considered tearing down all of the dead vines and planting some Concord grapes and raspberries eariler in the year, but we decided to wait and see what we thought of the muscadines since they were already planted. Unfortunately, the muscadines did not come back this year, and once again we almost cut down all of the growth on the structure a couple of weeks before our discovery. How happy we are that we hadn't gotten around to it!

I was excited to harvest enough berries that first evening to make a blackberry cobbler. We only had two cups, but I was able to find a recipe in my go-to cookbook, Dining with Pioneers. It is the first cookbook my Grandmother ever purchased for me, and the one that she used more than any other. The cobbler turned out wonderfully. If only there had been some vanilla ice cream in our freezer that evening!

We just gathered another large bunch of berries this evening. I see blackberry dumplings, another delicious blackberry dish my Grandmother used to make, in their future and in mine! I will let you know how it turns out.

Backyard (and Front yard) Fun

While E and I love play dates and visiting parks, attending Mother Goose and seeing the animals at the zoo during the week while Daddy works, we also really enjoy our special one-on-one time right here at our own home! E's little pool, his awesome sandbox, his water table, his Smart Trike, John Deere tractor, weedeater and lawn mower, wagon, and sticks and rocks in the yard have provided countless hours of fun and laughter. This week, we added a new addition to our home playground: a swing! Thanks so much to cousins D and Z for passing along their toddler swing! On Sunday afternoon while E napped, Daddy hung the swing in the big tree in our front yard. It was an instant hit! E LOVED swinging. And it was made even better by another visit from the Ice Cream Man and the purchase of a Bomb Pop!

With the addition of the swing, I am pretty sure that now we have all that we need to have a day full of fun right here in our own yard for now. Here are some pics that show you just what I mean!

Gatlinburg/Great Smoky Mountains Fun

After talking to folks who had been in and around Destin and hearing from an acquaintance that rental companies were calling customers and offering full refunds for Destin vacations because of the oil spill, we decided that it would be best for our family not to attempt the 8 1/2 hour drive. There was no way to know for certain what awaited us on the Florida coast, and knowing that E isn't the greatest long distance car rider (by long distance I am referring to anything over an hour...haha!), we decided to just stay home. Daddy still took a few days off of work for us to do some fun things around East Tennessee. As you saw in the last post, we spent some time with family in northeast Tennessee and went to a cookout in the extreme eastern part of Tennessee. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed watching fire works in all directions while sitting in Meow and Papaw's front yard. It is a great place to spend July 4th every year!

On Monday, we traveled to Gatlinburg where we visited the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. E was fascinated by the sharks, rays, fish, penguins and other sea creatures. We are so glad that we purchased a membership so we can visit many more times this year! While he enjoyed the fish in the tanks at the beginning of the aquarium, he REALLY enjoyed the moving walkway through the underwater tunnel. He pointed at sharks and smiled most of the way through. The rest of the time, he was snacking on Goldfish and enjoying his juice. Here are a few photos of this first trip. We have been having camera issues, so there aren't as many pics as we would like, but these will provide a little glimpse of our day.

After visiting the aquarium, we returned to our house to prepare for a visit from Uncle A, Aunt B, and Cousins D and Z. We made a quick trip to the grocery store and picked up the house a little in anticipation of their arrival. They came on Tuesday afternoon, and we headed down to Sweetwater to explore the Lost Sea. With the help of our guide George, we wandered through the cave down to the world's largest underground lake. Once there we boarded glass bottom boats and enjoyed watching some rainbow trout feed. After our cave expedition, we enjoyed some delicious Mayfield ice cream before loading up and heading home. While the boys and their Daddies played outside then enjoyed bath time, the Mommies snuck away for a shopping trip.

Wednesday morning was full of playing before we packed a picnic and headed for the Great Smoky Mountains. We found the perfect spot to picnic and play in the stream at Metcalf Bottoms picnic area. The boys had tons of fun splashing in the creek, attempting to catch fish, throwing rocks, and actually catching a few crawdads. Here are a few videos of our fun together at Metcalf Bottoms.

Z "Fishing"

E and Z Enjoy Throwing Rocks Together

D Takes a Break from Exploring

Catching Crawdads

E and Mommy in the Creek

B and Z in the Creek

D and Z Explore the Creek

After our fun at Metcalf Bottoms, we made a stop by the aquarium before everyone headed back to their own homes. El had a blast with his cousins. He was completely worn out!

Although playing in the sand with everyone would have been tons of fun, as you can see, we made the most of the situation at hand and had a great time right here in East Tennessee. There is so much to do right here in our own back yard. We are hoping to take more advantage of that in the future...even when there is no oil spill to interfere with our original plans! This week just reminded me once again why East Tennessee is, in my opinion, the greatest place in America to call home!

Happy Birthday, USA!

We had a fun-filled day celebrating America's Birthday! Our day began in NE TN, where D and Z (and A and B of course) took us to an awesome city park that has a lovely creek that runs right through it! Our time at the creek started off with some unanticipated excitement as Aunt B spotted a baby copperhead sunning itself on a rock in the middle of the creek. Uncle A and one of the city employees chased it away (in an attempt to catch it I should mention) making the area safe for play once again. There was splashing, picture taking, fish watching, and of course watermelon. After all, can the 4th of July take place without watermelon? Not in my opinion!

Here are some pictures of us playing in the creek.

The Brown boys explore the waterfall.

Time for a photo

Aunt B and Z looking for fishies

Aunt B with Z and D

Mommy and E

Our Little Family

After the picnic we loaded up and headed down to Meow and Papaw's house so that we could go with them to some friends' house for a cookout. They have several dogs, a pond with frogs, and lots of rocks to play in! One of the dogs was hit by a car some time ago and lost one of her front legs. She gets around remarkably well. They became instant buddies. Here are some pics of our time at the cookout.

Playing with Shakiera, the 3-legged dog

Dog!

Playing in the rocks with his trucks

Corn on the cob! The perfect cookout food!

A Garden Update

It was only about 2 1/2 months ago when we began our gardening adventure. Back on Earth Day, we planted 2 1/2 rows of tomatoes, some bell peppers and tomatoes, and 2 rows of squash and zucchini. You may recall that this is what it looked like then.

It was hard to imagine then that we would ever actually get to the point of harvesting produce. Well, the plants have grown tremendously. We have been enjoying squash and zucchini for several weeks now. We have also been sharing them with family, friends, and neighbors. About a week or so ago, the tomatoes started coming in. We have harvested about a dozen yellow tomatoes, 8 or 10 Better Boy tomatoes, a couple of dozen Roma tomatoes, and hundreds and I mean HUNDREDS of cherry tomatoes.

Here are some pictures of the garden now.

E walking past his favorite plants, the cherry tomato plants.

This particular evening was the first night we had any of these yumm-o little tommy toes that were ripe. I picked one for him and let him taste it right there in the garden. The next thing we knew, he was helping himself to more. Unfortunately he chose some green ones which weren't quite as tasty. Here is a pic of E after his tommy toe tasting.

Here is E next to the zucchini plants. They are about the same height.

Here is a picture of one of the delicious zucchini that we enjoyed!

We have harvested a few bell peppers as well.

And tomatoes...Romas and Yellow tomatoes almost ready to enjoy!

Since these pictures were taken, the Roma tomatoes have really started to ripen. One of our favorite things to do with the Romas is to make margherita pizzas. Here is our recipe in case you want to give it a try.

Margherita Pizza

*One prebaked pizza crust

*7 oz. pizza sauce

*4-6 Roma tomatoes

*2 c. shredded mozarella or Italian cheese

*Several leaves of fresh basil

Brush the crust with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce over the crust. Thinly slice the Roma tomatoes and place them evenly over the crust. Top with cheese. Bake according to pizza crust directions, about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and tomatoes are warm. While pizza bakes, cut basil into strips. Remove pizza from oven, sprinkle with basil and enjoy!