Watermelon

Frances enjoyed watermelon for the first time this Memorial Day weekend...

It reminded me of the first time these two enjoyed watermelon!

My how time flies!

Grilled Chicken Tacos

Southern Living, Grilled Chicken Tacos

Made these yummy grilled tacos tonight from the April 2011 Southern Living...

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 4 teaspoons Montreal chicken seasoning
* 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
* 1 (8-oz.) container refrigerated fresh salsa
* 1 large mango, peeled and chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 teaspoons chipotle hot sauce
* 6 (6-inch) fajita-size flour tortillas, warmed
* Toppings: crumbled queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese), and shredded romaine lettuce

Preparation

* 1. Preheat grill to 300° to 350° (medium) heat. Combine first 3 ingredients in a zip-top plastic freezer bag; add chicken, turning to coat. Seal and chill 10 minutes, turning once.
* 2. Meanwhile, combine salsa and next 3 ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
* 3. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, 6 minutes on each side or until done. Serve in flour tortillas with mango salsa and desired toppings.

Instead of making the salsa, I found this Mango Pico De Gallo at WalMart. I thought it would be easier (and maybe even cheaper) than making my own. It worked perfectly with these tacos. I think it would be safe to say this recipe would also work well with your favorite fish !

A Book Report

***Edited to include book review***

Here are books #4 and #5. You may recall my New Year's Resolutions that I listed here included to read at least one book a month, optimally alternating fiction and non-fiction. So here's my latest "book" report:

April's non-fiction selection....James Dobson's Bringing Up Boys


May's read (This is technically non-fiction too since it's the author's memoirs): Jeannette Wall's The Glass Castle


After reading your comments, I decided I better chime in too with a review in addition to my "report"!

To be quite honest both of these books were somewhat disturbing to me. I guess once you become a parent, you have a whole different way of looking at things. Topics and subjects that may have never bothered me before just about turn my stomach when reading them in light of knowing what a huge commitment it is to raise our children.

That being said, Dr. Dobson's book, Bringing Up Boys, was scary in terms of what us parents are up against to raise up our boys for the Lord in today's world. Feelings that I felt throughout this book ranged from fear to anger to thankfulness for a better understanding of the challenges that lie ahead as we raise our son.

If you have a boy, I would definitely recommend this read. I would say it's a good parenting book in general. Three good pieces of parenting wisdom I got from the book...

"Rules without relationship lead to rebellion."

"Love is giving somebody your undivided attention."

"The primary mechanism by which these goals are realized is the application of confident leadership and discipline at home, tempered with love and compassion. It is an unbeatable combination."

As for Walls' The Glass Castle, I was having horrible dreams two nights into reading this book, so if you wonder if it's disturbing, the answer is yes. Now, I did profess to having a "weak stomach" for these sorts of things, but still. Perhaps the reality of knowing the events taking place in the book were true and that the author lived to tell about them is what stung the most. That being said the book was a compelling read, and I would definitely recommend it.

So, now, I have two questions for you!

1) Has anyone read Jeannette Wall's Half Broke Horses? If so, would you recommend it?

2) Does anyone have a good "light hearted" read? I think I'm in need of one!!!

One More Look...

at our busy week (last week) and weekend!

Here are a few more pics of the "graduates"...


And in their complete graduation regalia...

The only graduate who would stand still long enough for a picture. Can you tell he was having a fun night!?!

After the last day of school/End of School Year Party on Friday, we headed east for the Grand Hotel. The big kids stayed in motion, and we were having too much "hands on" fun to take many pictures, but I did snag a few of this little one. It's "Beauty and the Beach, Part II"...


This is our first official day of summer vacation, and I'm happy to announce we've done absolutely nothing. Exactly, what I've been looking forward to!

Hooray for Tarjay!

Look at the latest "loot" I found at the Tarjay (or Target if you must!). I guess I'm into green this summer. I didn't intend to grab all things green, but I'm quite pleased with these fun summer shades!

I thought the hot pink monogram on Frances' new swimsuit was a cute nod to our summer friend, the watermelon.

The polo shirt and green striped suit are by Circo. Kathryn's swimsuit is by their new brand Calypso, and I love it. If you haven't checked these new goodies, that would be a great thing to add to your weekend to do list. You will love it!!!

The Graduates

You are looking at the Class of 2011, well, at least as far as 4K is concerned!

Last night, Kathryn and Walker celebrated 4K graduation. They sang, they even danced. It was very cute! They also wore caps and gowns!

(iphone pic, sorry for poor quality!)

HELLO, SUMMER!!!

Beauty and the Beach

We spent a fabulous Saturday afternoon at Dauphin Island with our friends the Penaskovics. Our "big" kids played so well together, and the babies did great too! Elizabeth and Frances even caught a quick nap on the beach. What could be better!


The weather was just fabulous--sunny with a cool breeze. I'm hoping we can get back to enjoy it again before the hot, hazy days of summer settle in!

Caught

Someone was caught playing in Mommy's craft supplies...

On a side note, this little gal stood up on her own for the first time yesterday. We may just be walking before the big number one! Of course, I would keep her my little baby forever if I could!

A Mother's Day to Remember

Yesterday was most certainly a Mother's Day to remember! Not only were we able to celebrate the mothers in our lives, but we were blessed to participate in baby dedication at our church. Here's Miss Frances with her Daddy...

Trying to get a family picture before going into church. The key word here is "trying!"

And again, after church. Still not much luck. Can you tell these four year olds are something else!?!

This one's not so hard to get a picture of...yet!

The tables all set up and ready for lunch! Because church let out right around lunch time, we decided to let the Olive Garden prepare lunch for us:) It was yummy!

Dessert? Well, you don't have to twist my arm to order a cake from the Pastry Shop! Yellow Cake with a lemon cream cheese filling. It was wonderful, and their detail always amazes me!

We decided to give Frances a crash course in cake eating. After all, she has less than two months until here next "big" day.

After lunch, Nana and Papa took the big kids to South Alabama to play on the Jaguar. Kathryn especially loved this perch on his tail.

It was a day filled with three of my most favorite things: Family, Fellowship and Food!