Take Me Out to the Ballgame

 The Saturday night of Labor Day weekend, we bought tickets with the Yanceys to go see the Potomac Nationals play a baseball game!!!  Jackson has enjoyed playing with his bat and ball and watching baseball on TV with Josh, so we thought this would be a fun outing :)  


The game was called for 6:35pm, and Jackson made it all the way until the fireworks were over after the game around 10:30--woo hoo!!!  I think he had a really good time!  He and Rachel definitely liked playing on the bleachers and watching all of the people around us!  We had dinner while we were there as well as some ice cream (the only option was Dippin' Dots, and that was a bit disappointing, but the kids definitely didn't care!).  There was a kid play area with about five or six moonbounces.  We tried that, and Rachel LOVED the jumping around, but Jackson wasn't so sure :(  It took him forever to get in one at a friend's birthday party a few weeks ago, but once he was in he had SUCH a god time--short memory I suppose...  Anyways, the P-Nats ended up winning and we got to see a pretty awesome fireworks display afterwards!  This was the first time Jackson had seen fireworks, and we actually planned this.  We weren't sure back on the 4th of July if it was worth changing his schedule and scoping out a fireworks spot since we didn't know if he'd like them or not. But, we figured we could find a baseball game with some fireworks and kill two birds with one stone.  It went well, and he liked them...once his ears were covered and he had a paci...  But, I'll take that success!!!  He was talking about how much he liked them afterwards, so that is good :)

 Loving hanging out with Susie :)

 Family shot :)

 Being silly--he LOVED that he got to bring his mitt to the game!

 Mommy and Jackson

 Right after the Yanceys left, probably around 9ish, Jackson got cuddly and tired--LOVED those free snuggles I got!

Catching bugs :)

In order to get Jackson more excited for our upcoming outing, I checked the following books out of the library:

Froggy Plays T-Ball by Jonathan London

Curious George at the Baseball Game by H.A. Rey

Take me Out to the Ballgame by Jack Norworth

Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lie

Roasted Peanuts by Tim Egan (this was the only one that was just okay--cute story, but a little over Jackson's head)

Just for fun, here are pictures of Jackson from his first few baseball games:

Memorial Day Weekend--7.5 months old

Father's Day--8 months old

Surprise Party for Meemaw!!!

This is quite a belated post, BUT we did indeed spend the weekend in Staunton a couple of weeks ago!  We were supposed to drive down on Thursday night and stay through Sunday, BUT that was when Hurricane Irene was headed our way (yes, this was the same week as the earthquake... and we have since had monsoon like rains and floods--FUN STUFF!!!).  Since we haven't lived in our house long enough to see how it stands up to extreme weather, we were nervous about things like the sump pump not keeping up with the predicted amounts of rain and trees from the woods in our backyard falling on the roof...  We waited until Friday morning so Josh could check the most recent forecasts, and at that point it seemed like we should be in the clear if we left.  


We drove Friday morning and got to Uncle Larry and Aunt Murph's house around lunchtime.  Jackson and I hung out there with lunch and a nap while Josh drove to Covington to pick up Meemaw.  Once everyone was home from work, we had pizza for dinner and just hung out.  


On Saturday we had big plans to hit up the farmer's market and the playground, but it started raining :(  We were able to get out a few times to walk with Pax, but otherwise we were inside watching everyone enjoy Jackson :)  Meemaw didn't know it, but there were a few more guests than she knew about attending the BBQ that afternoon: her sister, Lil, and Lil's two children and their significant others arrived which was really exciting!  Jackson took a lovely 3-hour nap so that got my night off to a good start ;)  We enjoyed YUMMY dinner and desserts before Meemaw opened her presents.  During the party we did get a good rainstorm, but nothing very hurricane-like!  


On Sunday we hung around the house before packing up the car at naptime to head home and assess any damage (there was none--phew!).  Meemaw's birthday isn't until this coming weekend, but we were all happy to have an excuse to celebrate early!

 DEEEEELICIOUS dinner!

 Danny showed Jackson some fun features on his phone--friends for life :)

 Checking out some of the great pictures Sherry was taking.

 Jackson LOVED bringing Meemaw her presents to open!  He kept wanting to "plier" them with his pliers...

 Silly boys!

 The party-goers: Uncle Wayne, Goldie, Robert, Sherry, Mike, Aunt Lil, Meemaw, Aunt Murph, Uncle Larry

Aunt Jeannie, Dana, Judy, Danny

Jackson

(Josh took the picture)

An updated immediate-Smith-family-member picture!

Library Loot 5

1. Clink Clank Clunk by Miriam Aroner

2. Meow said the Cow by Emma Dodd

3. Doggone Dogs by Karen Beaumont

4. Bats on Parade by Kathi Appelt

5. Chicks Run Wild by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

6. The Copy Crocs by David Bedford

7. Dino-Soccer by Lisa Wheeler

8. Good Morning, Digger by Anne Rockwell

9. Franklin Says I Love You by Paulette Bougeoise

10. Brenda and Belinda and the Slam Dunk by Anne Rockwell

Honorable Mentions:

Elliot's Bath by Andrea Beck

Paddington Bear by Michael Bond

Five Little Firefighters by Tom Graham

This was a pretty good haul--there were some pretty silly stories!  Jackson's favorite was Clink, Clank, Clunk--cute pictures too!  Bats on Parade and Chicks Run Wild were two of my favorites :)  Brenda and Belinda and the Slam Dunk was a little over Jackson's head.  I feel like we are working through the stages of reading: short board books are first, then you can move on to board books with a little story, next comes short picture books, now Jackson can totally sit still for longer stories, but there is a fine line when the story concept becomes too advanced.  Overall, it's a good place to be right now :)

This post is linked up to:

Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Oh Amanda

Kid Konnection hosted by Booking Mama

Feed Me Books Friday hosted by Little Sprout Books

Menu Plan Monday!

***DISCLOSURE: This was NOT a fancy week!  There was Labor Day at the beginning of the week, and then my mom flew into town Thursday around lunch.  But, here is the menu anyways!

Monday: grilled steaks with baked potatoes
Tuesday: Used FREE pizza code for Papa John's--YUM!
Wednesday: Pigs in a blanket with fries
Thursday: We tried out dinner at Wegman's after Mom got into town
Friday: Ocean Spray Blueberry Bran Muffins for breakfast and then we found an excellent Chinese place just down the street: Montclair Chinese Cuisine
Saturday: Grilled pizzas and salad 
Sunday: Tim's Rivershore Restaurant with Prosecco Raspberry Gelee (This was sadly disappointing :(  I do love Prosecco, but something went wrong with the gelatin and just last night we finally saw a little "gelling."  We poured our "sauce?" over some angel food cake, but I found the whole thing too alcohol-y for a yummy dessert.)


For more yummy recipes, visit Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie!

Top Ten Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Josh and I started watching "Good Eats" on the Food Network a couple of years ago.  Josh loves the scientific info thrown into each episode (some more than others), and I love watching the yummy food and checking out the fun gadgets Alton uses!  A little more seriously, he makes delicious food, but makes it seem very easy!  I have ventured out a lot because of him!  Two years ago Josh had the brilliant idea to get me a different kitchen gadget for each night of Hanukkah!  This plan falls into his top five of gift-giving, probably :)  There had been so many neat things used on the show, and Josh paid attention and went on a hunt to find them or similar items--THAT is an attentive and thoughtful husband :)  I would say all of this sparked me to say I enjoyed cooking and ever since I've enjoyed finding new recipes and trying out new gadgets!  Here are some of my favorites:

1. Pampered Chef Mix n Chop (This was the entire reason I attended a Pampered Chef party!!!  LOVE this thing!)

2. Pizza wheel (this is the one we have, but in white--I imagine any of them accomplish the same thing except I do like the control I get by not having a handle...) I use my pizza wheel for lots of things: slicing pizza, cutting quesadillas, making homemade tortilla chips, cutting dough, and other things I can't think of at the moment!

3. Muffin pan cleaning brush--how brilliant is this???  My mom gave it to me as a present, and I love it--she's so good at finding neat things like this :)

4. Melon baller--one of my top fave wedding shower presents :)

5. Silicon brush--I used to use a bristled brush for brushing butter on top of things or doing an egg wash, but the brush NEVER seemed clean :(  Then I found these brushes--fun colors, smooth application, and totally dishwasher successful!

6. Magnetic measuring spoons--gave these as a shower gift this summer...and then went out and bought my own!

7. Adjust-a-Cup measuring cup--Alton Brown uses something similar on "Good Eats," and Josh found one for me!!!  It makes measuring sticky things a breeze :)

8. Crate and Barrel Mini Bowls--I have a set of these and have given many as gifts!  They are SO cute and so useful for all sorts of different things: toddler snacks, dips, ingredient prep, desserts, etc.

9. Cookie dough scoop--I'm actually not sure if this is the size I have, BUT I do know I'm asking for various sizes for the holidays!  These scoops are good for all kinds of baking projects!  I use mine for cookies and muffins.  I just do two scoops for muffins and cupcakes, but it still stays so much neater!

10. Munchkin Bottle brush--this one I am a little brand specific on because the reason I love it and keep it around is it has the completely detachable nipple brush that comes out of the end.  The nipple brush is the perfect size to clean all sorts of things with narrow entryways!  Even if you don't have kids, this is a must-have in my opinion!

For more fun lists, check out Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Oh Amanda!

Menu Plan Monday!

 Monday: (Joe's birthday so Josh helped him cook dinner using his new toy...I mean, grill!)  Steaks topped with Bacon Butter (I'm not sure if this is the recipe they used, BUT it is the same ingredients and this particular recipe looks beautiful!!!) and accompanied by grilled asparagus and texas toast.  Dairy Queen for dessert :)  
Tuesday: Pizza Bake and salad
Wednesday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas with rice and watermelon
Thursday: Leftover Pizza Bake and salad
Friday: Leftover Enchiladas and watermelon
Saturday: Potomac Nationals Game!!!
Sunday: Japanese BBQ Lettuce Wraps (recipe in THIS blog post), fruit, and Quad-Chocolate Ice Cream Cake!!! (Pictured above!  Similar to THIS cake, but here are the specifics: Brownie "crust," crumbled Oreos, hot fudge, vanilla ice cream, Cool Whip, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and maraschino cherry topping.)


For more yummy recipes, check out Menu Plan Monday hosted by Org Junkie!

A Weekend of Friends

(We are still re-winding to a couple weekends ago!  These days were August 20-21.)

7:30am: Wake up to make breakfast burritos for breakfast before the Buerstattes left

9:00am: We all were planning to leave and go our separate ways, BUT Scott's car wouldn't start :(

9:30am: Josh gets Scott's car jumped, and we all head out

10:45am: We arrive at the Bascoms' house in Leesburg for a fun-filled Bascom-Smith Day!

11:15am: We all leave for the Luckett's Fair!

11:45am: We enjoy the small petting zoo at the fair.  Jackson loved using the brushes set out to brush the various animals!  We saw sheep, llamas, goats, pigs, chickens, baby chicks, porcupines, and a turtle!

 12:30pm: Picnic lunch followed by playground time and balloons made by a balloon guy at the fair!

2:30pm: Arrive back at Sarah and David's for nap time!

2:30-5:30pm: We relaxed, the guys started the grill for dinner, and various kids woke up and played

6:30pm: Delicious dinner of grilled steak and chicken, salad, and baked beans!

7:15pm: Load up the strollers to walk into Downtown Leesburg to listen to a bit of Acoustic on the Green!  Sarah and David live right by the W&OD Trail, so we had a really nice walk down the trail into Downtown.  The kids sat for a little bit listening to the music, but then we turned around and headed home so it wasn't TOO dark...

 9:00pm: We got back to Sarah and David's!  All of the kids got quick baths, and then Jackson got to stay up with us as we enjoyed a delicious chocolate chip cookie souffle dessert Sarah made!  He was so cute all snuggled up on the couch watching "Little Einsteins!"

 11:00pm: We were back at our own house :)  It was a busy, but wonderful day!  We don't get to spend nearly enough time with Sarah, David, Maddie, and Brodie, so we make the most of it when we have a date :)

Sunday was a day we had been looking forward to since our moving weekend: Joe is back in town for good!  He left for a deployment to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin the morning after our moving day, and is finally back in Springfield :)  We went over on Sunday after naptime and enjoyed both Five Guys and Dairy Queen in order to welcome Joe back in style!

Rachel was getting dressed up as soon as we got to the Yancey house, and Jackson turned to me and said, "I want to be a princess!"  So, Jackson took a turn with the blue Cinderella dress...

...and then had a turn with the purple outfit!

You never quite know what you will end up wearing, I suppose ;)