The boys turn 3!!!!

The older the boys get, the more fun they are.  This birthday was so much fun.  Eric and I probably enjoyed the kids' toys as much as they did!.

Eating birthday donuts

Playing with their homeade water table despite the horrible heat.

Watching movies with Daddy

Opening up presents

Me with the birthday boys

Playing with presents

Eating birthday cake!

Sleeping Brandt

We found Brandt sleeping UNDER Carter's bed one night.  Crazy kid!

Mimi and Papa's Visit

My parents came in middle of May and we had so much fun!  It had been about a year and a half since the kids had seen them.  My dad is former military and growing up, we lived in a STRICT household.  I have no idea what happened to that person, though.  Dad has certainly mellowed in his ways.  The kids adored him and finally Dad has someone to watch airplane videos with:)

Mimi and Carter at Cracker Barrel

Mimi and Papa with Brandt

With Elina. 

Elina with her Papa.  She looooves her Papa!

Haha!  I think Elina was pretending to be sleeping here

Mimi playing with the boys.

Having "coppee" with Papa

Having "coppee" with Mimi. 

 My mom has the rest of her pictures on her camera....I need to get those!

Mother's Day Out Class Picture

The boys had such a great class for Mother's Day Out.  They really miss their teachers.

Yep, those are my boys...the non-smiling ones in the front row who were in dire need of a haircut.  They're still so cute, though!!

Easter 2012

I can't believe I'm just now posting about Easter.  How lame-o of me.  Oh well.  It was so much fun this year as the kids were really able to color eggs and have fun doing an egg hunt.

We went to an egg hunt at church.  Here the kids are listening to a story

And they made crafts

The boys' friends, Cole and Vera, were able to come too.  Cole's face cracks me up in this picture!

The hunt was so much fun!

On Easter the kids ate way too much candy before church

Me and my beloved before the service

Miss E in her pretty dress

A family pic!

Dad's Beans

If you've never had my Dad's red beans and rice, you are surely missing out.  So good. He really does make the best beans.  It must be the Texas in him.  Anyway, here is his recipe:

1 lb ham
0.5 lb bacon
2 onions
4 T garlic
Camellia red beans (soaked over night and rinsed well)
1 box chicken stock

Cook the bacon in a big pot.  I use my enameled cast iron dutch oven. Add onion and saute and then add garlic. Add beans and then 1 box of chicken stock or enough to cover 1-2 inches over the beans.  If you run out of stock, add water to cover the beans.  That's it!  Cover the pot and let it cook for hours upon hours until the beans are soft.  Serve over rice.

Starbucks Passionfruit Lemonade

Whaaaaat? A Post?  Say it ain't so.  We really are alive, just deep in the throws of toddler activities.  We've come to really enjoy living in Augusta as there are a ton of activities here for the littles.

I've been going through mounds of paperwork and found a few recipes I've written down on scrap pieces of paper.  I don't want to loose them so I decided to blog the recipes.

My mom figured out a way to make a copycat verson of Starbuck's Passionfruit Lemonade.  Have you had it?  Oh, boy...you should!  It is so good.  I usually ask for 1/2 the amount of sweetener, though, when I do get it at the uber expensive Starbucks.

Here is Mom's recipe.  It is easy and makes a ton!

4 qts water
6 Tasso passionfruit teabags
1 cup lemon juice (I think it's about 5 or 6 lemons)
1 cup sugar

Bring the water to a boil.  Add tea bags and allow to steep.  Add the lemon juice and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Let cool and serve over ice.  Enjoy!!!