toothless...

I simply cannot believe that today was H's last day of Kindergarten.  ?? 
WTH.  Where on earth does the time go??

And to further cement the sense of loss... he's also lost his first tooth.
What a trooper!  Without even shedding a tear, he let Dad yank it out with a pair of plyers. so brave ♥ and super duper handsome.  am I right?!!

priceless !

We were so very lucky to have Patrick's Mom and Step-Dad out for visit last week. Gran'pa Jack (as coined by Flynn) is a fantastic musician and one night he showed Henry how to play a few chords on our guitar. Oh my word. Talk about amazing!! Sweet little Hen's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, he grinned from ear to ear and was beaming with absolute joy. Totally made my heart do a flip-flop. Such a magical moment to be shared with his Grandparents.  It made The P and I so very happy, we were practically giddy.  Of course... now he's all about wanting to take some guitar lessons... and we couldn't be more thrilled :]

Henry told me today...
"When I get awesome good with my guitar, Gran'pa Jack is gonna be so proud!"   Sweeeet :)  We had such a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa Jones ♥ We all cannot wait to see them again in the Fall!

sweet boy...

hot n' sweaty

stuffed potato skins

a new favorite at our house.

well, for The P & I (and all of our recent house guests) at least.

the boys are still warming up to them.

Stuffed Potato Skins

1 lb hamburger or diced/shredded chicken breast

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 clove garlic, minced    

2 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 - 1 cup sour cream

Pierce potato with a fork a few times all around. Place in microwave and cook on high about 5 minutes per potato. When finished, allow to cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes in half horizontally. Scoop out potatoes leaving about 1/4 inch thick wall.

In a large skillet brown the hamburger/chicken and season with salt & pepper. When the meat is browned, add garlic, black beans, diced tomatoes, corn, and cumin. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 15-20 minutes.

Heat oven to 450°. Lightly spray potato skins on both sides with oil and place a foil lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and bake skins for 10 minutes.

Remove skins from the oven, add sour cream to meat mixture and then fill each potato skin.  Top with shredded cheese and bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Top with additional sour cream.

Sooooo Good!

Baby G

too cool for words

my supah kewl dudes...

so hip it hurts ♥

ready to ride!

ya know the very best way to ensure an entire month of crappy weather?? 

buy a boat. 

then you'll be guaranteed to have at least of month of nothin' but rain.

rain. rain. and more rain.

so since we bought the boat...

there haven't been too many days worthy of a pleasure cruise. 

these were taken on the first decent day we'd had in nearly 3 weeks. 

the boys had such a great time and Henry told us several times while

were out cruisin' around : "This is the life!!"

and we totally have to agree with him ♥

We Three...

okay. so it is seriously difficult to get a photo of all three of these boys together. i'm pretty sure this is the FIRST sorta decent picture i've ever gotten that has of all them in it. how about that for epic Fail.   i only wish the lighting was better... but i suppose i better take what i can get :]