A Second Clue for AMP

Clue Number Two

A movie under the stars?

With other CARS??,

Sounds like a date!  

Summer Weekend Five: The 4th

This weekend was especially long because of the July 4th Holiday.  And, no surprise, I loved it!  It started off on Friday with a half day off, so after working from home that morning, I got to join our BSB moms for a birthday lunch.  Normally it's just a mom thing, but Allison and Diane were in town from Houston and making a surprise appearance, so I got to come so I could visit and meet Miss Madeleine!  

Madeleine is 8 Months old, and she is just precious.  It was a bit surreal to see a lifelong friend as a mom.  Allison's such a natural and super laid back, and I loved catching up with her.  I got to spend some quality time with Little M and get my baby fix. :-)   I realized later that I had that sweet baby smell on my shoulder.  Love it.

{I recently explained to Adam that holding a baby does not make me want one.  In fact the best part is being able to give them back.  However, usually being around a dog makes me want one.  So maybe we can go with a dog first.  Ha.}

Friday night, SMoo and I went to In-N-Out Burgers up in Allen.  We went early because we figured the line would be so long, but we were in and out (ha) in less than an hour.  I'd never been before, and it was really yummy!  I was really surprised at how inexpensive everything was and how they only had three choices on the menu.  After a trip to HomeGoods, we looked up the "secret menu" options online that you just have to know to ask for.  Pretty cool.

Now, don't let this photo fool you.  We didn't just head to the lake on Saturday and hop right on the jet skis.  Nope!  In fact, this was the first time we'd gotten any toys out this summer.  Everyone's been so busy that we haven't really had a chance to visit GBC until now.  

We got one jet ski out after charging the battery (you have to do that after they've been up all winter...and summer), and promptly got stuck when we turned it off to look at something in the water.  A nice (local...you can only imagine the colorful personalities!) group of people on a pontoon boat were nearby, so they towed us back to the house.  It took a while, but we made it back, and we were so glad they were willing to help!  Lesson learned: when you take out a toy for the first time, it's best to have a phone and a rope with you!

Here's Adam winning major favorite (almost) son-in-law points: he played games with Sheri.  This is one of her absolute favorite things, and if it was a love language, I'm certain she would have it.  Mom generally beats me at most things, so I don't like to play.  {I'm a great sport/daughter/competitor.  Not.}  BUT I did play the next night with them.   

After that, we all went to see Larry Crowne, and it was really cute.  The guy working the counter repeated several times, "Well, I've already clocked out, but I guess I'll stay and help my co-workers."  Oh Gun Barrel City.  Your professionalism astounds me.  

Sunday, I got to see Lyndsy!  It's been April since we've been able to catch up, and it was such a treat.  I can't wait for her to be back in Dallas from Austin when her internship is up so we can hang out again.  

Here we are finally out on the jet-skis after Adam and Dad worked most of the afternoon on locating batteries (they had to go to three places), and then installing them.  Again with Adam earning some points here...

While they were working on that, I was able to help mom with some computer things.  She is super-savvy when it comes to the computer (she has a Mac, y'all...and she knows how to use it).  But she usually saves up about several questions that she has for me or Troy and catches us when we have time.  I always like helping her figure stuff out and showing her shortcuts and whatnot.  She's a good little student.  :-)

We watched Fireworks Sunday night, and it was quite a show all across the lake.  Dad took this photo of us with our feet hanging off into the lake.  I love it.  

I still had two more days off (for realz), and we did a lot of wedding errands.  More on that later...

A Clue for AMP

Clue Number One

Let’s go where NATURE and SCIENCE collide,

To see where DINOs roam and old bones hide.

In the Country

We went up to Celina for a wedding back in May.  Adam was a groomsman, and it was out at a vineyard up there.  It took about an hour to get there, but once we did, it felt like we were in another country.  The sun was setting as we made our way from the rehearsal to the rehearsal dinner Friday night.  Adam got out of the car and took these for me.  I love the light in them.

{In the vineyards with Mr. Handsome}

Summer Weekend Four: Penguins, Parties and Parents

Have you seen Mr. Popper's Penguins yet?  AMP and I went to see it last Friday, and we both really enjoyed it!  We're not usually go-to-the-theater kind of people (we've only been to three movies together!), but I really wanted to see this, and I'm so glad we went.  Next up on our list is Cars 2, and we also want to see Larry Crowne.  Maybe we can hit some of these up while we're at the lake and it doesn't cost $20 to go to the theater!  :-)

Saturday, Mary Ellen came back in town, and she brought Lindsey with her, too!  It was fun to catch up and see them.  They drove up for Jordan's wedding (another Tri Delt) here in Dallas and stayed with me.  I borrowed my parents' air mattress and set it up in our third room/office.  It was a great excuse for me to clean that out and get it organized.  I'm not looking forward to packing this place come September!  {I don't think AMP realizes how much stuff I actually have.  Oh well!}

{Mary Ellen, Me, Jordan (the bride) and Lindsey at Baylor Homecoming last year}

While they were at the wedding, I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend from church.  It was fun to see them!  I didn't know it was going to be on the patio of a restaurant & was SO HOT.  But next time I'll know not to wear jeans there. :-)

I was waiting for them to come home and was already in bed when Claire and SMoo walked in to the apartment.  They came in my room and crawled in bed with me for about 30 minutes.  We had a great mini-slumber party.  I told them that I will definitely still need my girls' nights after I get married!

Sunday night, AMP and I went to hear the 86:12 Home Concert.  The kids sang all their songs and we got to hear some great stories from their week in NYC.  My favorite part was watching the parents of the kids as they were speaking or singing solos.  You could just see how proud they were.  

At the end when they were recognizing the music minister and youth pastor and saying thank you, the kids also stopped to thank Mom for all her planning.  She does a great job of delegating, but she is pretty much the logistical master-mind behind the trip.  She got a standing ovation and all the kids started saying, "Sheri!  Sheri!  Sheri!" from the choir loft.  The sweetest part to me, though, was watching Papa, who came with Jonita and the Flaggs.  He had tears in his eyes at this moment.  You're never too old to be proud of your kids!

We ate at Houlihan's for dinner that night afterwards.  Everyone was in rare form that night (as you can see from Mom's glasses), and I laughed extra-hard.  One of my favorite things is spending time with my family, and I love how Adam just fits right in.  It always makes my little heart so happy.  :-)

Photoshop Fun

I've been accused of being a slacker in the blog department lately.  I don't mind being given a hard time about this...it's just nice to know somebody reads this thing!  Here are a few photos from our Florida Family getaway that I never posted.  I also had a bit of fun in Photoshop.  Enjoy...

Troy decided that we needed to order Room Service one morning for breakfast.  So we did.  {He gets away with a lot!}  We enjoyed it out on the balcony of our room and had good conversations.  I especially loved this part of our vacation.

The Fab Four.

This was the night our family all met up for dinner together.   

Love them.

Summer Weekend Three: Father's Day Weekend & some recipes

As I mentioned before, we celebrated Father's Day with my Dad earlier in the week.  He and my mom left for New York City to take 200 kids there for a mission trip.  (There were also 30 other adults, but still...  That's a lot of kids!)  This weekend, I made two recipes from a cook book my Aunt Laura put together for me as a graduation gift.  It has lots of recipes from family and friends all in one place.  I love it!  I thought I'd share the recipes, so they're mixed in with this post.

Friday night, I made Lemon Roasted Chicken for dinner for me & AMP.  This is the third time I've made it, and I finally figured out the secret: use a small cooking dish, not a 9 x 13 pan!  It's not hard, but it does require a bit of chopping and you just need to be near the oven since you keep adding things.  (It's not one of those things you can just pop in and walk away!)

Lemon Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes, cut in cubes

3 T butter, cut into small pieces

Salt & Pepper 

2 lbs.  chicken tenderloins

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 in. pieces

1 lemon (you can cut into wedges, or you can do thin round slices like I did, above)

6 sprigs of Thyme (I always forget to buy this at the store, and it tastes fine without it!)

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Place potatoes and half of butter in a casserole dish & season w/ salt and pepper.  Do not cover.  Roast in oven, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, 20-25 minutes.
• Place chicken on top of potatoes and season with salt & pepper.  Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 15 mins.
• Scatter asparagus, lemon, remaining butter and Thyme around chicken. 
• Continue roasting until asparagus is tender & chicken is opaque throughout, 5-15 mins.
• Serve chicken, veggies and lemon drizzled with pan juices.  
• Serves 4-6

Saturday, we hung out at my parents' pool with Mark, Laura and Anna a bit.  Their pool has gotten more use this summer than in the 10 years we've lived in that house, combined.  It's a popular place to be!  It was a fun day to relax and hang out.  We are appreciating the Flagg Family's donation of pool floats to the house, most definitely.  :-)

We went on a date to Carrabba's that night, too.  Yum!  I felt all gross from being outside, so I took my time getting ready.  Adam came and knocked on my door and asked what I was doing.  He said, "Um, are you ok in there?  What'cha doin...it's been 50 minutes?!"  I laughed and informed him that really that wasn't very long for a girl going on a date to get ready!  :-)  I needed to feel girly, ok??

Sunday I sang at church.  This is one of my absolute favorite things to do.  Mark, Laura, Anna, Papa and Jonita came, and it was a treat to get to have them there.

Then Laura hosted Father's Day lunch for us, grilling steak and chicken kabobs.  Anna made fruit salad and I made Nanny's peach cobbler (recipe below).  

{Mark and Papa get new clothes for Father's Day}

I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with them while they watched the PGA Tournament.  I just did some wedding-idea browsing on the computer.  It was so nice to be around family and just hang out.  Have I mentioned that we love having the Flaggs back in D-town?  We do.

Here's the peach cobbler recipe.  Nanny won first place with this recipe in the "Mrs. Lubbock" contest.  We are so proud.  :-)

Shirley's Peach Cobbler

1/4 lb. margarine

1 c flour

3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup sugar 

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 c milk

2 cans sliced peaches (29 oz size)

Cinnamon

• Melt margarine in 9 x 13 pan.  
• In a large bowl, mix 3/4 c sugar, flower, baking powder & milk.  Pour mixture over butter.  
• Spoon both cans of peaches over the mixture.  Save the peach juice.
• POur half to one can of juice over everything in the pan until mixture is covered.
• Sprinkle additional 1/2 cup sugar over mixture
• Sprinkle cinnamon over the top.
• Cook at 375 degrees uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Best served with Blue Bell Vanilla!