NO KIDS ALLOWED!

I. spent. one. whole. glorious. day. without. my. children.

C'mon y'all! I LOVE my girlies, but it was SO nice to spend some time apart.  And let me just say, they ain't complaining either.  Their daddy let them jump on the bed, took them to the playground and out for ice cream, dinner at Mickey D's, and back home for a couple of episodes of Team Umizoomi.  They were glad to have a day with Daddy.

My mom and I made a quick trip to Dallas.  IKEA, Blue Mesa Grill, The Container Store, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, Brookstone, Neiman Marcus, Apple Store, and Starbucks equals one. good. day.

You know what made this day even better?

When I walked in the door, I got some big ole kisses from AG and lots of snuggles from Ro.  I was glad to be missed.

Time apart really does make the heart grow fonder and I didn't even think that was possible--I love them so much!

Fantastic Four-th

Our Fourth of July was spent with friends, enjoying good eats, and watching an incredible fireworks show.  It was a good day.

We headed over to our friends' house right after Edy woke up from her nap at around 2:30pm and didn't get home until 10:30pm.  Edy has never stayed up that late and she was a real trooper.  Both girls were out as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

The two Ava's:  Ava Grace and Ava Jo

SMILE!

We headed to the lake around 8:15 to get a spot for the fireworks show.  A bunch of people from church were already there.

AG was so mad at me for making her change out of her swim suit.  She really wanted to swim in the lake.

She was fine to wade in the water.  I'm singing.  Are you?

There are always plenty of girls ready to help me with Edy.  Love it!

When I was in high school, I watched  a Fourth of July firework show in Washington, D.C.  It's hard to beat that, but Jacksonville did a really good job.  I was impressed.

God bless America, My home sweet home.

The 4th of July

Happy Birthday, AMERICA!

Texas Caviar

A couple of months ago, I was at a baby shower and tasted something in-cred-i-ble.  When I asked what it was, someone replied, "Girl, that's Texas Caviar!!"  After going on and on about it, a lady from church took the hint brought me some.  She had it all dolled up in a mason jar wrapped in red and white gingham ribbon.  So cute (special touches go a long way with me).  Plus, she included the recipe.

If you are a dipper (you know what I mean) like me, you should try it.

Texas Caviar

ingredients:

2  medium tomatoes--chopped

1 can of Rotel 

2 cans of black-eye peas--drained

1/2 cup cilantro (LOVE)

1/2 jar of sliced green olives

1 jalapeno--chopped or 1/2 jar sliced jalapeno (I LIKE IT HOT!)

8 oz. Zesty Italian dressing

salt and pepper to taste

(It calls for onion, but I didn't put it in mine.)

directions:

Combine all of the ingredients

Mix well

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving

Serve with tortilla chips

Let me know what you think!

Little Bit of Lately

Here's a little bit of lately by way of iPhone pics...

 Ro is totally embracing dress-up although her style is just as questionable as her big sister's!

 Graham promised us girls a movie night.  He came home with some of our favorite goodies.

He did it up old-school style with a projector and screen.  Even though the screen was not much bigger than our TV, it was a lot of fun and AG thought it was the coolest thing ever!

 IT RAINED! (for about 10 minutes)

Edy and AG watched the rain fall.  

Cuteness!

Sleeping Beauties

No, they don't sleep together yet.  We just placed Edy by AG for the pic.