Cobb & Lucy

I took some REALLY cute pics of Cobb and Lucy the other day and just wanted to share...They are one adorable kid and a pretty okay pup!

Loving Some Summer Veggies!

So we do our best to grow a small garden every year...this year we have the usual - squash, cucumber, tomatoes, and a jalapeno plant. Everything is going good and i am of course on the rampage to not let the squash bugs get my plants....they try so hard every year and succeed sometimes :(

We have started getting some vegetables and they are delicious! I thought i'd share a new recipe i found to use up some of the squash we have gotten it is delicious:

Summer Squash Bread

This is the recipe to make either a 9x13 pan or i used it to make 2 loafs and 1-2 mini loaf pans

• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2-2 cups of sugar (amount depends on your idea of sweetness)
• 3/4 c. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 c. flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 3 tsp. cinnamon (or more if you like)
• 1 tsp. nutmeg (or more if you like)
• 2 cups shredded squash (i used my cheese grater)
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 and grease your pans.

Use Electric mixer to beat eggs. Beat in sugar, oil, and vanilla. Gradually mix in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold in squash. Mix well, then pour into pans.

Bake 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted.

Additional Sweet Topping

1 c. brown sugar, 3/4 c. flour, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 c. butter - Combine, crumble and place on top of bread :)

Next....Here is a look at some delicious pickles. This recipe comes from Matt's Grandmommy (one of the VERY best cooks i have ever eaten from!)...I won't be giving you the recipe just yet - but feel free to come over and try some. I am going to attemp to make some Spicy Dill Pickles next....we shall see how they turn out!

Garlic Pickled Cucumbers

Big Boy!

Well we have a Big Boy! Last night I went to watch "The Bachelorette" with the girls, and Matt decided he would attempt the "big boy bed" again. We have been working in his room making a few special additions...toys, lamps, rug, a big boy bathroom, etc...and Cobb loves it! Although we still weren't sure that would make the sleeping in the room thing okay. We still have to paint, but that will happen hopefully this week.
So Matt and Cobb played and had thier "boy time" and when bed time rolled around...I'm not sure what Matt said or did, but Cobb was sleeping sound in his big boy bed when i got home! I could not believe it! Matt says there was no secret...but today when i laid Cobb down for a nap (YES! in the new bed!) he kept saying, "Dada"....which tells me there may be more to the story! However it happened though is fine we are very excited!

And sweetly when asked if he gave Huck his baby bed - he replies, "Yes!" He's gonna be the best Big Brother!

Summer Appetizers

Here are two QUICK & EASY recipes that we enjoy...they can be made anytime, but i think they go best in the summer :)

Homemade Salsa

1 large can diced or petite diced tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons (or to your taste for spice) of Jalapenos
1/2-3/4 jar of Hot Banana Peppers
1 medium-large onion
Cilantro - if you like it (i don't so i skip it)

Pour tomatoes into bowl. Finely chop onions, jalapenos, & banana peppers (i use a chopper to get them very fine) then add to the tomatoes. Mix well and chill. You can also add a 1-2 cloves of garlic and some lemon juice. It is totally up to you~

This recipe makes a BUNCH so you can cut it all in half to make a smaller batch. Enjoy!

Guacamole with a Twist
4-5 guacamoles
1-2 lemons (squeeze to use the juice)
2-3 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1 cup salsa

Peel the Guacs and remove the seed - place in a bowl. Add in the salsa, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Mix well then refrigerate. All ingredients can be add or taken out depending on how you like it. Just taste test and make it your own!

HUCK STEVEN BELL

I guess it had been so long since updated this i forgot to mention (well i did kind of, but not fully) we have a name...Huck Steven :) We can't wait to meet him!!!

Summer Has Begun...

We have been very busy so far this summer...We headed to Savannah for our friend Matt & Sarah's wedding at the end of April. It was fun visiting and catching up with our college friends. Cobb stayed home and got spoiled as usual with his amazing Grandparents!

Then, we headed to Destin with the Davis'....what a fun trip! Matt and Zach got in some golf and us girls enjoyed the beach. I think the boys, Cobb & Thomas, had the most fun though! They were quite the "Beach Boys." Neither say each others name instead Cobb calls Thomas "Choo-Choo" (can you tell he is into Thomas the Train?!?!) and Thomas calls him "YaYa" (we have no idea why!). It was so much fun!

School came to a close, i have been sewing a lot lately...I'm going to start a blog for that so stay posted so you can check it out. (HOPEFULLY i will get better at updating these things!)

We went to Callaway camping for night to visit Stan, Sandi, thier kids, Betty, & Dana. It was a blast as usual and great to see them and catch up. Cobb enjoyed the ski show and especially playing with his cousins. He thinks Tel is something else :)

Mom, Cobb, & I flew up to Illinois to visit her family the first of June. It was an adventure!!! Cobb did great on the flight and was terrific the whole time we were there. He even got to ride a real train! Boy did he think that was something else! Now we are home and enjoying summer. No more trips until July so we are going to hang out with our friends and do a lot of swimming...by the way we have a Fish on our hands. Cobb really took to the water and is a wonderful swimmer!

I am trying to take advantage of this "slow" month to do lots of sewing, get Cobb's Big Boy room ready....Say some prayers he will start sleeping in his "new" bed, and preparing for Huck to arrive. I am still feeling great and am 6 months along now. The heat hasn't killed me yet, hopefully i will survive :) We shall see  as i continue to get bigger!! Our last checkup went great and Huck is growing right on schedule - I am feeling him move around lots now and Cobb seems excited about his brother. He calls him "Uck", hopefully he is as excited when Huck gets here and Cobb has to share the attention ;) I know he's going to be a great brother!

 Here are a few pics of Cobb and his buddy Hunter playing and admiring the beetle (dead) that Matt brought in for them to see...they were mesmerized!!!