Daddy

They sure do love him:)

Blueberries!

We got the blessing of picking blueberries yesterday at a church family's home. Thanks to the Pedigo's!

P.S. I got to eat this yesterday from our garden...YUM!

Garden Views

I really hope these turn into eggplants! The flea beetles got to the leaves, but not so bad, the plant has still been growing big. Crossing my fingers!

Green bell peppers, yay!
Straight neck squash!
Cute fuzzy honeydew melon
Striped Roma Heirloom Tomato

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I always use the recipe for choc. chip cookies on the back of whatever chocolate chips were on sale. They usually turn out fairly good and yummy. Well, I decided to go online and find another recipe and try it out. I will never go back! I love a big cookie, that is chewy on the inside, and just crisp enough to hold up to some milk. This one is awesome! Big bakery style cookies, I'm thinking good enough to mail away as gifts:) Try them!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour (I only had 1 3/4 cup all purpouse, and used the other 1/4 in whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. (I put the dough in the freezer for about 15 mins to make it firm). Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets (I used a large ice cream scoop). Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted (Mine were good after only 13-14 mins, set your timer for 12 and check). Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Kingsport Fun Fest

Well, for a local fun day, we decided to check out Kingsport's Family Fun Fest. People were talking about it around town, on the radio and in the newspaper, so we thought it'd be fun. Here are the medeival guys fighting for their lady:

But that's where the fun ended. I dunno if we just couldn't find the rest, or if it was just a little lame. So instead we went to Chuck E. Cheese, where there's always a Fun Fest goin' on!

Journey to the Center of The Earth

We went and saw Journey to the Center of the Earth today while Daddy was working. A fun flick, the kids enjoyed it, and even Jude was saying "Uh, Oh!" There will definately be a theme park ride SOMEWHERE after this film, you can just tell!

New Curtains

How I love this fabric! I had to have a lot of it, and decided the best way to enjoy it was to use it as drapes for the french doors. I'll probably use some of my leftovers for pillows on the couch. More on that later:)

Belated Happy 4th of July!

Celebrating our independence in Damascus! Great fireworks display, although the kids almost had a meltdown before it started! The loud noises and bright lights quieted them down though....go figure!

Hello! I'm a Big Boy!

Hooray! Jude is going pee pee in the potty! I know you are all very excited to hear this news:) Soon I won't have any diapers to change for the first time in 7.5 yrs. This actually makes me a little sad:( Yes, I am weird!