Images of Summer

Despite my lack of blogging, we've done quite a few things this summer:

Sam ranks as one of the cutest ring bearers ever, along with his adorable cousin Avery as the flower girl.  They are professionals at this point, and yes, they do hire out.

 We headed north on a visit to my cousin Linnea's lakehouse, here on an evening walk/impromptu photo shoot with her sister, my uber-talented, photographer-cousin Anita,

                                      Everyone enjoys their own drink at the cozy Lake Geneva Starbucks one cool Saturday morning

Sam "catches" his largest fish ever, managing not to touch the worm, hook, or fish.

The third annual, men-only camp out in the backyard...(Charlotte snuck in for some marshmallows)

A family adventure to Millennium Park, thankfully sans tornado's this time, listening to Beethoven's 5th on a perfect summer evening.

Sam begins to ride a bike without training wheels....

Scott and I sneak away to celebrate his birthday up in at Kohler, WI where Scott plays golf with some sheep...  

...for real. 

And Grandma Nancy snaps one of the only pictures of all four of us taken this summer with her iPhone.  Thank goodness for Grandmas!

Wild Rice Chicken Salad

So I just got this AWESOME recipe from one of my dearest friends and a great cook, Kathy Bushong.  She made this for my fabulous wedding shower...almost 10 years ago.  I've made it today for a potluck lunch for our ladies bible study tomorrow.  Here's my version with a few additions:

Kathy Bushong's Wild Rice Chicken Salad
1 box long grain and wild rice (Zatarain's is best for this, Jewel carries it); prepared and cooled
1 cup low fat Hellmen's mayo
2 cups champagne grapes (or red grapes, halved)
3 cups shredded and/or chopped rotisserie chicken with the juice from half a lemon squeezed over it
4 stalks celery, diced small
1 cup chopped toasted, salted pecans (Trader Joe's has good ones)
1/4 cup italian parsley, minced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine everything the day before you intend to serve, the salad should be nicely chilled.  One recipe feeds about seven people, you can put a serving in a little Boston lettuce leaf and throw a mini fresh croissant (also from Trader Joes) on the side for a lovely lunch!

Also, with this you can add or subtract more of anything...more celery to stretch it further, less or a different kind of nut, dried cranberries or currants instead of grapes....the possibilities are just about endless!

And So It Begins

We had our first visit to Kindergarten today.  My first born has started on his unstoppable journey of growing up, growing away from me and into his own, independent person.  I look at this picture and it takes my breath away at how fast it all will go, how packing him up to go to college is just around the corner.  Well, practically.  

Thankfully, he loved it.  His teacher is amazing; organized, warm and has four boys of her own.  We love her already.  And then Sam discovered a massive box of legos in the corner of the classroom and never wanted to leave.  I don't think we will have any problems when the REAL drop off comes tomorrow.  I will still wear sunglasses though, in case I'm crying out of nostalgia. 

We attempted to make signs like so many people did on Facebook this morning, but neither kid really knew how to hold them nicely.  That's ok, I'm sure you can figure out he's in Kindergarten and she is 2, wishing she was going as well...

We fought this morning over his outfit, he claimed I was dressing him in "church clothes."  If left to his own, see below for his personal taste in outfits:

Yes, those are my ballet flats.  Yes those are his jammies.  And yes, that is a two year old Pull Up on his head.  

Rebekah, thanks again for the blow up punching bag and mitts.  

You'll never know how grateful I am.  Ahem.  

Absurdly Excited about This

Now I just have to fight the urge to hoard the coupon for six months.  Thanks friends at Starbucks!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Sam turned five!  Surprise!  And guess what, it was months ago.  Sorry about the lack of posting this year, been a bit of a failure in the area of writing.  He was woken up with our traditional birthday breakfast tray, singing and his presents...

followed by a fun day at the pool with an Angry Birds themed cake.  I am super proud of myself on this one, those of you who know me are well aware of my aversion to decorating.  How it tastes is the most important thing in my book, all else falls far behind.  That philosophy does not lend itself well to children's birthday cakes, however.  

Classic Charlotte Face.  And Sam got to use the catapult to knock down the little tower after we sang.  Please note the Lego shaped candles as well.  It's another obsession of his at the moment.

My cost savvy table decorations. 

Happy Birthday Sam!  You are loved by many, hope it's a great year for you honey!

Disconnect

I think she was confused between an iPad and the desktop.  Rocking the big girl pony tail though!