Dinner on the Patio

Dave and Sandra blessed us with the cutest little bistro set for our patio. It is the perfect fit! We ate dinner outside the other night and enjoyed the last days of summer. I made chicken parm and it was quite delicious!

 

Babysitting the Libby's

Tuesday night, Eric and I watched the Libby children for a few hours while Sandra and Dave were at a school event. We had a lot of fun! We spoiled them with breakfast for dinner, the Wii, and popcorn and a movie. We had a great time!

Josiah LOVES the camera!

Wakeboarding

He's in the zone.

She thinks she's playing!

Watching The Emperor's New Groove... one of Auntie Donna's favorites!

She preferred sitting on the floor.

We love quality time with our nieces and nephews!

America's Got Talent

Eric and I have sporadically watched America's Got Talent this season. It's a pretty unique show with many unique characters.

I'm partial to Prince Poppycock, who unfortunately got 4th place, and am really mad at Michael Grimm for coming in first because this girl deserved to win.

Check out 10 year old Jackie Evancho:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKhmFSV-XB0

My First Peach Pie!

We had so many delicious peaches that I decided to make a peach pie! It was my first peach pie, but I was optimistic! My wonderful husband got some pictures of me baking! It was a lot of fun, and I came to realize that I really enjoy baking!

I found both recipes for the crusts and pie on allrecipes.com

A little artistic food photography...

And the finished product....

Just Peachy

Today, Eric and I embraced the beautiful day by going to Smolak Farm in North Andover. We picked peaches and raspberries! It was a perfect date day! Nearby, cheap, and DELICIOUS!

The peaches were so sweet and juicy! Fresh picked is the only way to go for raspberries! They were the best I've ever tasted!

And we ended the afternoon with tasty Smolak Cider Donut ice cream! Mmmm mmmm!

Tomorow I am going to bake a peach pie! (My first one, but I'm optimistic about it!) I wanted to make some sort of fruit tart with the raspberries... but they're almost gone! We couldn't resist!

Quick Update

The first week of school was exhausting but went great! The advantage of only have seven children is that I get to know each one individually and on a personal level. I've already picked up on their personalities.  I've learned that one is very chatty, one is very quiet, one is a perfectionist and inquisitive, one has an active imagination and one is a diva. One is extremely well-mannered and one is habitually late! It is going to be a fun year!

Here is a cute story from my second day: We were in the sanctuary watching a movie with the whole school. The student sitting next to me keeps looking around. Then he turns to me, and says, "If we are in God's house, then how come I can't see Him?" Out the mouths of babes.

Eric had a busy and productive week in the parachute business! He may have found a fabric that could work. It passed all the tests! Now he has to present this information to the army people and then start testing a larger sample.

Busy, busy, busy!

I know it's been a while since the last post, but it sure has been busy around here! Today was the first day of school at Mount Hope. For the past week and a half, I (with the help of 2 moms and a husband) have been busy preparing my classroom for today. And it looks great! (Also, a shout-out to Court who helped cut some lamination. Thanks darling!) I will take pictures of my classroom and post them ASAP.
It was a very HOT first day of school. No lie, my classroom had to be 90 degrees. But we managed. The kids were uncomfortable but I think they had a great time. I have seven students. Of course we all hope enrollment increases, but I think I am going to love a small class. I have three boys and four girls and they are wonderful. I know two will be challenging academically and one behaviorally, but the more experience with this the better prepared I am for public school.

Eric and I have gone on an annual back-to-school date since the first year of college. We usually go out to eat and then spend time praying for our school years. It's a great tradition. I was sad though because I was the only one of us actually going back to school this year! But we're both thrilled that Eric is done with his classes and can now focus on his thesis.

We had a gift certificate to Maggiano's. We were first timers and we thought it was DELIZIOSO! I recommend the spinach and chicken stuffed manicotti!

The best part of the date... I got to wear a REAL shoe on my right foot! Matching shoes for the first time in 6 weeks! My doctor told me I can start weening my way out of my surgical boot. A couple hours in, a couple in real sneakers. Unfortunately, my foot is still very swollen, so a sandal (which I'm pretty sure is off limits) hurt like heck. But it was worth it! Beauty is pain.