The First Week of Summer ~

This first week of summer has been busy. Why do we do this? Summer is supposed to be lazy, right? As a mom I think I'm actually a little scared that we (the kids and I) will find ourselves sitting around actually being lazy. So what do I do? The last part of May I start cramming as many camps on the calendar as I can. Usually by about the middle of July we're all so exhausted it's ok to sit around and do nothing until school starts...right? Wrong! Because once August rolls around we'll be heading to town every evening for football. Whew! I'm pooped and I haven't even started sharing with you what I initially sat down to share.

I'm so proud of R & K. They worked super hard and came home with awards for straight A's all year. R is on the brink of the "I really don't want to have my picture taken" stage. Notice the grin. I really dread this. I have had to use the: stop smiling, now think of something funny technique. We didn't use that technique on this photo.

This is what Big R has been doing for the last several weeks. This time of year is extremely stressful for farmers. Putting seed in the ground is like planting little nuggets of gold. There should be a vow farmers and their brides take on their wedding day. It could go a little something like this:

Farmer: I vow to always have a good attitude during planting and smile even if we're going through a drought.

Bride: I vow to always have a good attitude during planting and remind you that no matter what happens, everything is going to be ok.

The other evening I went to feed the animals and was met by a plague of frogs; big giant squishy bull frogs. At first, I was totally grossed out and completely terrified. Sam and Socks were lucky to get fed that night because in my head I envisioned these creatures morphing into giant frog monsters and eating me alive. That's it. Mom's a goner. I know, it's one of the things that makes me so weird. I have the same problem when it comes to mice. Anyway, R wanted me to take pictures of our new frog "friends" so I did, not knowing that a few days later I would come upon the coolest thing. I was hooking up a water hose by the dogs' water bowl when I could sense someone (or something) staring at me. No really, I don't know how I even saw the little fella, but there buried under a bunch of leaves was one of those frogs trying his best to ignore me and (I'm sure) hoping I hadn't seen him either. It was so cool. I even felt sorry for him and during the heat of the day poured a cup of cool water on his hiding place. Wasn't that nice of me? What's crazy is I actually look forward to seeing the frogs every evening. We're up to 6. As long as our bug light is working, they may never leave. And I guess our animals don't like the taste of frog because so far we've had no casualties. Now if Sam would just leave my baby Blue Jays alone...

Last Thursday my sister and her kiddos came and stayed with us for a few days. We had alot of fun. Took the kids to the Science Spectrum and scarred them for life by watching "Tornado Alley." K kept her eyes hidden for the first 10 minutes. And since returning home, my sister and her family have been in two tornado warnings...nice! I've decided that when all the cousins are together K takes on the roll of the middle child. This is not good. We're both hoping they all grow out of this stage and are great friends when they are older. Not that they are not great friends now, it's just...well, after the new wears off they fuss a little. I know ~ they're just kids.

K had a friend over to spend the night the other day. They had so much fun! I mean what can be more fun that a sprinkler and the trampoline really? I know, two 7 year olds convincing me they can drive the Gator. It was terrifying fun. No seriously, they did a good job aside from me having to grab the wheel a few times and yelling "Stop!" I love this age. They giggle alot, love to play school and sing Taylor Swift Karaoke. Man, I could have done some damage if they had made Karaoke machines when I was little...oh well.

I've decided when I get old I'm going to be a bird watcher. I love sitting and watching the birds in our yard, especially the Blue Jays. I've heard they're pretty mean birds, but I don't care; they're beautiful. This isn't a very good picture. As I sat trying to get the perfect shot I began to have an appreciation for those people who film for the "Planet Earth" movies. Those guys are awesome. Me? Not so much.

If you've stuck around this long and are actually still reading, you get the prize. That's right a recipe for this yummy breakfast casserole. I modified this one to fit my low-carb standards. All you need is a pound of cooked breakfast sausage, add one block of cream cheese (if you know me, you know I use full fat everything.) Spray bottom of casserole dish. I buy this awesome coconut oil spray. It's just like Pam only coconut oil. Brilliant. Spread the meat mixture on the bottom of the dish. In a bowl beat about 6-8 eggs and add a little heavy cream. Poor this on top of the meat. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and cook at 375 for about 25 minutes. This is so handy to have in the fridge for a quick breakfast. I know, I've been doing it all week.