4th of July recap

we continued the tradition of having the fourth of july celebration at 'the meadow' or 'the country' aka dads childhood home.
it has been so stinkin' hot and dry that no one could do fireworks....
that was a bummer, but it was still so much fun.
we had a shrimp boil!  i was a little skeptical of the whole thing, but adam was so excited, we did it.
it was so good, and fun.  i can't stop thinking about it!

dusk.

full moon....

can't get by without a trip in the wagon!

country cruising...

beating the heat-washing the car

blackberry cobblers.

family picture

shrimp boil...insert potatoes

then corn.

i forgot to take the sausage picture...so next is sausage and then shrimp and crab claws

the table...

we ate off the table. the kids couldn't believe it!

so good.

our girls, and my brother in law and sister in laws children, hunter and devon.  so cute!

spillin' it....

so if you know me.  you know that i have type 1 diabetes. 
i have had it since i have been 7.
that is a long time...mom and i did the math last night, and i can't (or don't want to) remember the exact years.
it's a lot of years.
if you suffer from any sort of long term, chronic, life long diagnosis...you know it comes with, words, stereotypes, flat out stuff you don't really want, or need to hear.
and i'm okay with that.  i have these weird little ear plugs that go in when i hear stuff.... but sometimes the plugs don't work right, i forget to put them in, or frankly, maybe my life needs a kick in the pants....
last week i went to my endocrinologist. (~aka diabetic doc). i see a nurse practitioner.  she is from heaven.
her name is marykay.  we were going down memory lane thinking that i have been under her watchful eye since i was in college. (ugh, a long time.) she has gone through a marriage, two houses, two children, many a thing....she gets me (and my dad, he sees her too).  i can be very honest with her.
last week, i had to see her.
i hadn't seen her in almost a year. 
things got away from me, my insurance changed, it just wasn't easy.
i wasn't doing what i should.  i didn't want to be given the 'what for' (which she wouldn't) for it. (i give it to myself)
i went. i took the girls. i curled my hair, i wore a nice shirt....all hoping to deviate from the fact that i was NOT the poster diabetic child.
she took it all in stride of course.  said, she knew how it is to be a momma, but if momma doesn't take care of herself, what happens....
i said i needed to come back in 4 weeks, we would chat again, she would be pleased.
she ordered labs for me.
gulp.
i hate the workup of blood....
i had it done.
i waited.  it doesn't take long.
i didn't hear.
i worried.  i thought for sure they didn't want to ruin my weekend.
then they didn't want to ruin the 4th of july.
still nothing.
today, when i was putting the girls down for a nap....my phone was buzzing.
i couldn't answer it.  i knew I KNEW it was going to be when i heard....'you know, you are a diabetic for 25+ years....and this is a side effect....)
but guess what I DiDN'T!
my labs are fine.  my average blood sugar is a smudge higher then what is acceptable...but that's okay, my kidneys are thumping away, blood is good, liver is clean, cholesterol is obscenely good (as she put it).
adam came home and i told him i was good.
he looked at me kind of dumbfounded because i was teary about it....
he said 'you need to tell me when you worry....'
i talked to my momma until 12:15am this morning and we babbled about my worry and how she understood, and how it would be okay...but it doesn't matter.  you can't convince a crazy lady that everything is okay...
you just can't.
but is IS!  i'm good!  healthy as a horse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i thank GOD for that.  i try my best, but no matter how good your best is....the road is bumpy and hard.  He guides me down the path....and continues his watchful eye and guarding hand on me (even if it is 28 years....).
 ~chat soon!

Independance Day

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

new things...

so this summer, i have tried to do a lot of new recipes.
adam and the girls gave me pioneer woman's new cookbook (which i beg you to buy today, sooo good!)
and i have fallen head over heals for pintrest and the recipe aspect of it.  i have been very proud of myself that it has not been a major time suck, but more of a resource to find recipes...love it.
here is what i have found, everyone of them are a 2 thumbs up response from the crew here...
in no particular order...
spinach chips
 **these are amazing. if you have ever been to a restaurant and experienced fried spinach, this is an exact replica....soooo good.  i mean soooo good.  we recently had friends over and i made these along with the twice baked potatoes, adam made steaks, it was really pretty on the plate. try it. today**
baked chicken Parmesan
**so yummy, and low in calories.  a must try, the website this comes from is amazing.*
salisbury steak
**same website as above, these were so good, the gravy was just right, not heavy and thick...yum, yum, YUM!**
twice baked potatoes from pioneer woman
**oh dear me...that's all i have to say...simply to die for.  try them.  and the plus, you can make them THREE days ahead.  do it. 
brie stuffed mushrooms
**show stopper and super easy, and delicious!**
restaurant style salsa
**yummy, we had this also when we had company recently and it was sooo good, a little on the hot side depending on your thermometer but good all at the same time.**
peach whiskey barbcue chicken
**amazing.  i made this and was very, very guarded.  i couldn't fathom the combo. it was amazing, and the person who did the last minute shopping, who shall remain nameless, picked up apricot jelly instead of peach, and it was still perfect. a must try**

i, in no way, have any connection or endorsement type relationships with any of the above mentioned recipes. i just think it is nice sometimes to have new things to try, and that someone else says YES!  do it! 
~chat soon!

happy day....

so...memorial day weekend we came home from a lot of fun and some amazing memories caught on camera.  i came straight home and started uploading them.  something went horrifically wrong and i lost about 150 pictures into the heavens of digital photography...i was crushed.  sickened.  ticked off.  it was my own doing...haste makes waste and i sure proved it.

i put out an urgent plea on facebook for help.  i didn't find much.  so with my tail between my legs i went to the photography store and handed over my  memory card...they told me it was a 50/50 shot, i would only pay if they recovered something, and don't worry, i have a large memory card, so the whole thing was going to be pretty pricey.  figures.

today after the pool, the girls and i picked up the cd.  it had 1,950 pictures on it...(i didn't have that many on the card, just what was erased etc ...it picks up anything...) i came home and popped in the cd...it took forever to load...my heart sank.  i couldn't see any from memorial day...i searched and searched.  finally i found them.  1,950 pictures in no particular order.  eeks! 

here are some of the photos that have been found...i'm so happy.  i mean like squealing happy.

so now that we are looking the 4th of July in the eye...here are some of the things we did memorial day weekend...
we stopped in adams college town and visited a few of our favorite places....

don't pull your nose up until you try one...they are heaven.

once you get past the looks...

the girls loved them....

i love these people.

this girl right here is a crack up.

2 thumbs up!

strolling the states of small town missouri...

checking out the mighty mississippi...channeling huck finn.

anne took this. 

we also visited adam's long time friend glen.  he lives on a very large farm that was filled with all kinds of
 fun...
including new kittens and fishing!

needs to be on a canvas on our wall.

she's a country girl at heart.

look how cute this little guy is...melt my heart.

a huge mass of fur and sweetness...look at those eyes!

love babies. of all kinds.

kate wasn't too sure of the little kittens...

she kept it at a safe one finger rub for a bit....

and then realized it was the best thing ever....

happy summer.

fishing with daddy...nothing better.

reeling it in...every cast there was a catch.

proud of herself.

you can see her excitment in her shoulders. love it.

thumbs up.

best friends. usually.

fyi...kate refused to wear anything BUT that shirt...so excuse the 6 inches of midriff you see hanging out!

gonna have to frame this i think.

Many may think we are weird...and that is okay, but this is how we like to spend our time, as family, enjoying the simple things about life...i think it's great!
~chat soon!

whew.

it's hot.
hotter then i remember it being for a long time....but i bet i said that same thing last summer.
it's july 1.
ahhhh...
that sends a chill through my veins.
in about 5 weeks the cold sweats of the beginning of the new school year will start.
yuck.
we planned on not going on a long vacation, so i have signed the girls up for a couple half day camps for this month.
lots of running back and forth.
my sister announced (today) that she is coming home in the middle of july with her children for a week.
i had a very real dream last night that she was pregnant....i never dream about her, so it was crazy.
i asked her today, she said she is not. :(
so excited for her visit. can't wait. mentally, i have everyday planned. it never quite works out that way...but we have fun the time she is here.
it's only about two weeks, i can't stand myself.
i texted her last week and said....'i cried a little last night because i missed you".
i could hear her breath catch half way across the united states.
'what's wrong' she said.
'nothing, i just miss the fact that i could call and say-hey, i need you to come with me here, and she would say cool, and we would go.'
she wrote back....yep...and then something else i can't remember, but it doesn't matter.
i can't wait for her visit.
period.
~chat soon!