hot stuff...

finally getting these photos scrapped...

i think they're able to get 4-5 toastings on these megasized

mallows.  these boys are the KINGS of reroasting ♥

hugs & kisses

just got back from taking Dad to the airport :(

so very hard to let him go.

we will all miss him so much...

the boys woke up at 12:30 am this morning and insisted on waking

"Dantda" [Flynn's words] up so that they could give him

Three more bonus hugs and kisses goodbye ♥

phhbbt

whatta nut.

Folly with Gampa...

We're so glad that Gampa Wilson was able to change his vacation dates around so that he could join us in Folly.  We had such a wonderful time together and the boys truly loved sharing all of our favorite haunts with him ♥

fun at Folly...

we're just getting back from a week at our

favorite coastal getaway... Folly Beach.

had such a great time ♥

Happy Birthday Baby G!

I cannot believe that our little guy is a year old.

On one hand it's like - Already??!!

And on the other it's like - OMG. It feels like three!

 

 

lol.  Gareth, Gareth, Gareth.

So much trouble... yet so very sweet.

We loves him ♥

a little slice of heaven!

 

Apple Pancake Rings w/Apple Cider Syrup

1-½ cup Apple Cider

1 Tablespoon Dark Corn Syrup

1 stick Cinnamon

1 cup Bisquick*

1 whole Egg

½ cups Milk*

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Butter, For Frying

2 whole Apples, Cored, And Sliced Into 1/8" Thin Rings

To make the apple syrup, bring the apple cider, corn syrup, and cinnamon stick to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer until reduced by half, about thirty minutes.
Make the batter by mixing the Bisquick, egg, milk, and spices. Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat. Add a pat of butter to the pan.
Use a skewer to dip an apple ring into the batter and place it in the hot butter. Repeat. Cook as you would a regular pancake, about two minutes per side, until golden brown. Serve with the hot apple syrup.

* I used Gluten Free Bisquick and am not sure if it was due to that or not - but 1/2 milk left the mix incredibly thick... so I kept adding until I got to a consistancy that looked good... probably closer to 2/3 Cup of milk, in total.

Seriously... these were so good!!  Like ahhhmazing!  Everyone practically inhaled them so faaaasssssssssssst that I would consider shelling out the cash to buy a mandoline and an apple corer in order to make them on a regular basis.  As it was... slicing the apples so thin by hand was - a challenge, to say the least.  And since I don't own a corer, I just sliced them up and used a bottle cap to cut the core out afterwards.  It worked, but was time consuming.   This recipe was barely enough for all of my hungry boys (Dad included)... so next time around will most likely require a double batch :)

Disney World Woes

We're using this weekend to try and decompress after our disasterous vacation this past week. Tropical storm/hurricane Debby completely destroyed our Disney World vacay.  Torrential down pours, gail force winds and tornado watches all week long weren't any fun at all.  And to make matters worse, the weather conditions knocked out our wifi for the entire week at the condo we rented.  I've never watched so much TV... lol!    Talk about a major bummer.  Thankfully the condo had 3 really wonderful pools, so the boys got to go swimming everday and they loved every minute of that.  I'm so glad that at least our last day was beautiful... we tried to see as much of DW in one day as the kiddos were up for!  Henry said that Haunted Mansion and Goofy's Barnstormer were his favorite rides and Flynn really Loved the Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo rides.   We're all ready planning a do-over Disney trip in October!!

I think this is about the only decent photo I managed to get

during the whole week.  On our very last day :)

stepping out of the Jurassic

well. 
after years of fighting it, i finally upgraded my cell phone.  something i've been refusing to do for over 3 years now.  i'm not exactly sure why i've been so opposed to this in the past??  because cell phones are the root of all evil, perhaps??  i dunno.  but i'm pretty thrilled with most of the cool features available on the latest iPhone.  the on board camera is actually quite good - especially by cell phone standards... and am hoping it will provide a great bridge for photo opps when lugging the big camera around isn't an option.  like with our upcoming Disney trip! 

lucky. lucky. lucky.

everyday i look around and still cannot believe that we live here. 

that this IS our backyard. 

it truly is like being on vacation every single day.

i am so eternally grateful for this wonderful life.

and for all the extraordinary experiences our beautiful boys

will be so lucky to have while they are growing up. 

 such amazing memories of family and fun ♥

here's the link for a larger screen version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_DRYO9lso

Disney World or Bust!

Ghads... things so far this summer have been super busy for us.  We're having a really great time thus far, despite all the whining.  LOL!  I do feel like we've been dropping loads of cash lately though.  After two years of buying almost nothing, it's a bit of a shock to actually make some bigger purchases again.  Talk about sticker shock!  The worst culprit of all is our upcoming trip to Disney World.  Geesho!!  The cost of just the admission tickets alone warranted a detailed read of the fine print, to ensure that we weren't, in fact, purchasing a black market kidney, instead of a family vacation.  The boys are CRAZY excited about the trip and have been finding "Mickey Ears" in absolutely everything.  It's so fun.  I was thrilled when I found out just this past week, that the place where we're renting our condo actually allows pets (previously I had thought they didn't) and was so glad that we'll be able to take Evai with us and not have to put her in a kennel.  The boys were VERY happy about her getting to come with us as well ♥

Henry's Mickey Mouse Marshmallow :)

We recently added a 15' square trampoline to our backyard fun emporium and the boys have been in 7th heaven!  Our friend Dan came over and helped The P get it all  put together and they were able to knock it out in about 3 hours or so.  It's really fantastic and was absolutely worth the additional cost over a traditional round version.  The amount of bounce the square design provides is Amazing!  I also loooove that the enclosure has a zippered entrance and that the trampoline and enclosure are actually attached and act as one complete piece, so there aren't any gaps or holes at the bottom and is extremely secure and safe.  A must have where Flynn is concerned.  And although it still needs to be leveled, the boys are loving it and spending oodles of time bouncing around.

We also finally got the last of misc. moving crap out of the Den... but were then at a loss at what exactly to do with that room. We had originally thought it would be an "adult" sort of oasis... nice and relaxing with beautiful furniture. Hahahahaha!!! Yeah. That's what I ended up thinking too - like that is EVER gonna happen :) Our boys are just too busy and when we finally get half a second to relax and wind down we're ready for bed! So instead I decided that we would turn the Den into a game room of sorts... say Hello to our beautiful new pool table! We also got a butterfly ping-pong table that can sit on top of the table and an ice hockey table that inserts just inside the table's bumpers. So three toys all in one. We're having loads of fun with it and The P and I have been able to play 3-4 times a week... after the boys are all tucked into bed.

 

With any luck we'll find some time before summer is over to

 paint over the truly horrific teal walls in this room!

*gag*

such sweetness...

this photo just makes my heart melt ♥