Summer in Full Swing

This first month of summer has been filled with all sorts of fun!

We started out in Chicago which was a blast.  On the day we left, we learned that our newest niece, Linley, made her debut.  So we got home, did some laundry, and the next morning drove over to Birmingham to meet her and congratulate Josh and Amy on their healthy and beautiful little girl.  We love little girls in this family!

 While in Chicago, Mia spent her hard earned souvenir money on a neat science experiment set at the Museum of Science and Industry.  She couldn't wait to get home and try some of them out!  She made slime, an erupting volcano, and rock candy.  She's having lots of fun with this.

A few days after we returned from Chicago and Birmingham, we drove the girls up to Asheville for camp.  After dropping them off, Ryan and I stayed for another night.  We always enjoy this town.  We ate a delicious dinner at Tupelo Honey and then hit up Chocolate Fetish which has lots of things we love.  Then we visited Malaprop's Bookstore and stumbled upon this fun little adventure.  They offer a "blind date with a bookseller."  They have wrapped up lots of books and put a few descriptor phrases on the cover.  You buy the book based off those descriptions having no idea what book you're buying; how fun is that?!  Of course, if you happen to have already read what you select or you simply don't like it, they allow a full return.  I love this idea.

 I couldn't decide between these two, so I ended up with both.

 Can't wait to read my new buys!

 While the girls were at camp, I actually drove up to Charlotte, NC for a work conference on the new tax laws.  It was an all-day conference, so I drove up the evening before (where I found a fabulous Middle Eastern restaurant thanks to Yelp), spent all day in class, and then spent the night to drive back the next day.  I realized I was only about 3 miles from the Billy Graham Library, so I visited that for a few hours.  It was a beautiful day to walk the grounds and learn more about Mr. Graham's life and ministry.  They have a large bookstore to visit before leaving too where I bought "Nearing Home," a book Meme loved before her passing.

 I don't typically take pictures of the food I eat, but Ryan and I thoroughly enjoyed this French Pig Pizza that we made.  It's a Guy Fieri recipe, and it's delicious...pancetta, green apples, Brie cheese, and a balsamic reduction.  Num num num.

  We were finally able to hang out with the Smiths again after several weeks!  We are sad that they are moving to Kennesaw, but we're excited for the new opportunities for their family.  We'll miss having them just down the road though.  We went out to see their new home which they're currently fixing up.  It's so beautiful!  They will make lots of great memories there.  After our visit we all had dinner together at Freddy's which was a fun treat.

 We also spent an evening with them at the Mable House watching The Greatest Showman.  What a fun evening!

 We had Mom and Dad over for a double birthday celebration.  Ryan grilled pork tenderloins and peaches for us.  Mia made salad with a homemade goat cheese buttermilk dressing.  I had the easy job of roasting green beans with Parmesan cheese.  Lily made a three tier strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.  She put a 72 cutout on top and then covered the top of each layer with sprinkles.  It was super cute (and delicious!).

 I took a day off from work last week and took the girls to White Water to spend the day together.  We had a blast!  It was a beautiful day; it wasn't overly hot or overly crowded.  The girls were finally big enough to ride all the rides.  We rode all of them together except this little one, so it was the only one I could snap a picture of.

  Love being with these two!

It's summertime!