Scramble Bread

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Ava lost another tooth.  We've been calling her toothless.  :)  P.S. Doesn't she have the greatest dimple!?!

My poor Sophia has been sick with an ear infection & influenza.  I think today she rounded the corner and seems to feel much better.  Luckily, Sophia's daddy is a great nurse!  He spoiled her rotten and had her set up in our room with her favorite movies, brought meals up on a tray . . .  and even had flowers by the bed! 

Just had to share this great new recipe from an old friend!  Graham helped me make it last night & it was a huge success!  Easy, delicious & versatile.

Scramble Bread

Take a ball of pizza dough (I used a just-add-water packet) cover with olive oil and let sit in the bottom of a bowl for a few minutes.

Cut dough into 1-2 inch pieces and mix with your favorite pizza toppings, shredded cheese, fresh chopped garlic and fresh chopped tomatoes.  We used pepperoni, black olives, green peppers, garlic, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Graham helped me dump in the ingredients and mix them up!

Transfer ingredients into casserole dish, stoneware dish or onto stone pizza pan.

I just kind of dumped it on there and spread it out a little bit.  Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes until dough is cooked and browning.

It was SO easy and SO yummy!  Next time I am going to try Hawaiian style (canadian bacon, pineapple, peppers) and I also think you could do half & half very easily!  I also heated up some pizza sauce for the kids and they enjoyed dipping the mouthfuls into the sauce!  Enjoy!

Island Paradise


Matt and I were able to take a "kidless" vacation last week to Sanibel Island, Florida.  It was the first one without kids since Ava was born almost 7 years ago!  What a relaxing, magical, beautiful vacation!  Matt and I were able to spend an incredible amount of time together while soaking up the sun and taking in the beautiful sights of Ft. Myers, Sanibel & Captiva.   I am thankful from the bottom of my heart that my parents agreed to take care of our kids and allow us this much needed time.  We enjoyed every single minute and we feel rejuvenated, refreshed and reconnected. 

This was the view from our room - looking out over the bay.

My favorite spot on the beach - in the hammock!

Walking on our little beach by the resort

Beachy feet - Sanibel Island

Found this quiet little beach while exploring Sanibel. 

Picnic on Lighthouse Beach, Sanibel.

Sanibel Beach Lighthouse

We found this sweet baby on the beach.  We threw him back.  :)

This poor guy had a hook stuck in his beak.  Matt & I and two old fisherman tried to catch him and remove it, but he was too quick.

Watching the sunset before dinner.

The Muckey Duck.  On the beach, live music, lots of beers on tap.  Right up our alley!

Another fabulous sunset

Captiva Beach @ The Muckey Duck.



One of our favorite adventures was a sunset/dolphin cruise. It was a beautiful night and we were able to see a ton of wildlife as well as a beautiful sunset.



This was our sweet ride!

 

An Osprey nest, look close . . . there's a baby!

 

White Pelicans

 

Enjoying the sea air

Dolphin sighting! Yay!


Happiness.

 Sunset at sea

We played "bags" on the beach, we sipped on drinks called "The Sanibel Sunburn" and "Miami Vice" & we saw dolphins, osprey, pelicans, storks, starfish and jellyfish. We got up early and ran together, we ate swordfish, shrimp, grouper and MORE grouper. We shopped for souveniers for our kids and we watched every sunset together. We had a really fantastic adventure and we promised to have many more adventures together in the future.



Cheers! To an incredible vacation and to the amazing life we've made together!







Snow fun, part 2 . . .

                          

We went back out and played in the snow this afternoon . . . had snowball fights, built a snowman and snowdog and went sledding.  Just had to add these adorable pics.  What fun!!

Snow much fun!!

Finally some SNOW!  Graham was so excited to wake up and see the world covered in white, he has been waiting for snow all winter.  He & Matt headed out to shovel the driveway first thing this morning. 



catching snowflakes with his tongue

Throwing snow!

 Helping Daddy shovel the driveway

Building a mini snowman

We had parent-teacher conferences with Ava's teacher this week.  Ms. Petrie says Ava is amazing and has "personality plus"!!  (We already knew that!) She says that Ava is a good friend and has great relationships with her peers.  She is reading on a late 2nd grade/early 3rd grade level,  She studies the alternative (more difficult) spelling lists and has gotten 100% on almost every one!  Ava was one of only 2 students in her class that was chosen to come out of the classroom for some extra learning time with the teacher that runs the gifted program.  Matt and I are so incredibly proud of our sweet, kind, funny, smart girl!  I treated Ava to a special day last Thursday and we had such a blast together!

 Ava got her first "real" pedicure

 matching pink sparkly toes

 We went to First Watch for lunch & Ava had a chocolate chip pancake & bacon.  She ate nearly EVERY bite!!  Can you sense her excitement?

Even thought it was cold, we hit the park for a few minutes.  Playground kisses rock!

Matt and I are really looking forward to our kidless vacation this week.  The beach, the warm weather, some fresh seafood . . .  and most importantly some quality time alone together!! 

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. ~

Robert Orben





Dancing with Dad & Feeding the birds

We have had an exciting week around here! Ava girl lost another tooth!

Also, we have spent a ton of time outside enjoying this beautiful weather! Swinging, playing, taking walks and riding bikes . . .

Sophia and Matt attended a Father/Daughter Dance at Lord of Life (Sophie's preschool) last weekend.  Jim & Maya Mellody came along with them.  Jim & Matt got their girls beautiful corsages, took them to Winsteads for dinner, and then danced the night away.  What a magical night!

 My mom gave me a recipe for homemade suet cakes many years ago.  I love making my own . . . it's easy and cheap.  This recipe holds up well, even in the hot temperatures. Sophia helped me whip up a batch this weekend.  She loves helping me in the kitchen! 

All you need is lard(manteca), peanut butter, corn meal, quick oats, flour and bird seed.  You can also add dried fruit.

Melt lard & peanut butter over medium-low heat and stir.

Stir in the rest of the ingredients

Pour into forms.  (I use old ones I have saved from store bought cakes)

Refrigerate until solid and then feed to the birds!!

NO MELT SUET

1 cup lard (manteca)

1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

2 cups corn meal (yellow or white)

2 cups quick oats

1/2 cup flour plus a little more

1 cup bird seed (or raisins or dried fruit)

Makes about 4 cakes.