#8 August date

For our August date, we took a mini road trip out to Watkins Glen for the day.  The weather was perfect, and we hiked all the way up from the bottom to the top, then took a side trail, and headed back down again.  It was really busy, but we were able to enjoy our picnic lunch and the view near the top in a quieter spot.  It was fun, and I'm thankful the weather was so beautiful!  I'm glad we could enjoy the last of summer on a good note and get in some fun exercise.

13th puzzle update!

Guess what?!  We are SO close to finishing our puzzle!  Only 13 pieces left! 
We would love to have it finished soon so that we can frame it and put it in the nursery. 
Each piece is $10, and we'd love to have 13 new people contribute!
 

 

Special thanks to:

Stephanie & James
Emily & Dogs at Play

freezer meal extravaganza!

My college roomie and I decided to try our hand at making crock pot freezer meals today.  We found a blog off Pinterest that we liked, picked out 5 recipes, and created our shopping lists.  We thought it would be easiest to go to Aldi's together and stock up on what we needed for each meal x2.  Back at her house, J went down for a nap and we chopped, cut, measured, and filled our freezer bags.  We made Slow Cooker Meatloaf, Honey Sesame Chicken, White Chicken Chili, Beer & Beef Stew, and Beef Stroganoff.

We did find that we weren't as organized as we could have been, because in a few instances we bought way too much of what we needed (the list that was on the blog did not have the amounts of everything), and in other instances we didn't have enough for both meals.  So we left ourselves notes of what was lacking for a couple of the meals and headed back out to Wegmans to finish up.  Part of it was our own fault because we had forgotten to double everything.  Next time, we agreed we need to make a more detailed list with amounts, but overall, we think it was a success!

Each meal seems so yummy, but we haven't tried them out yet.  It was a fun afternoon doing it together and went much faster than it would have alone.  Once we eat the meals, we'll see if it was a complete success!

This was the blog that we used with the five meals that we made: http://bakedinthesouth.com/2012/08/crockpot-freezer-meals-part-2/

from the mouth of babes

We went to the last "Movie Under the Stars" at the town hall last night, and this time my sis-in-law and oldest niece joined us.  We were chatting while waiting for the movie to start when someone stopped near us with an infant.  Kenzie said, "Look Ashley!" and I said something about the baby when she said, "That's going to be you!  Are you and Uncle Col going to be the Mommy and Daddy?"  Melt.my.heart. 

Kenz has always remembered more than we adults do, and while it's been a long time since Col and I have not talked about having Little L someday, she obviously remembers from everything our family has told her.  I just love how an almost-5-year-old can make your night with one simple statement.  Let's hope it rings true sooner than later because this waiting-mama feels like someday is forever away!

Sleepover!

When we got Mendon, we agreed that she wouldn't be allowed on the furniture or bed. However, sometimes her cute face is hard to resist so Col tries to convince me that it would be fun to cuddle in bed with her. After telling him he could cuddle with her all he wants on the floor in our room next to her bed (which wasn't received as well as I hoped), I came up with the compromise of having a sleepover in our living room on Friday night. This way we could all sleep together, and he could experience cuddling with her at night. We got settled, but Mendon wouldn't stop barking out the front windows or chewing her bones (on top of the sleeping bags, of course). I don't think she understood that we were trying to sleep out there! Our experiment only lasted an hour before Col said we could bail and we were back in our own bed, but at least I gave him the chance! And hey, it was fun to try :)

doggies

A few pics from dog sitting recently :)

 

poor Buster was exhausted!

 

cute Fitzy :)

 

8th annual weekend getaway!

This past weekend we had our 8th annual weekend trip to Katie's family's cottage on Lake Moraine in Hamilton, NY.  I love that we have kept this tradition up so long, and plan to continue it as long as possible!

Katie was practicing her photography skills, so we got tons of great pictures this year!  I've shared a few below.  We enjoyed swimming (well, mostly floating) in the lake, a bonfire and s'mores, great food, canoeing, and relaxation.

I did picture us having a little one with us this year, but we'll just hope that next year it will be true.  At least we were able to bring Mendon again, who enjoyed it lots!  We still didn't get her to swim, but she wanted to very badly!

the crew: Col, Mendon, and I, John, Christine, Jeremiah, and Buddy, and Katie and Aaron :)

last year's post/pictures & previous years' pictures

cruisin'

Gilmore Girls reading challenge - book 5

August 2014: The Diary of Anne Frank