Summer Entertainment

The Popes are in town.  Which means:  fun, chaos, and more fun.  We loved seeing Cole interact with his Pope cousins. 

He is so skinny his swimming suit would just not stay up.  It gives a whole new meaning to the term low riders!  He got cold quickly and his lips turned blue and quivered, but he kept on going, trying to keep up with the big kids.

 

 

Down the slide with his cousin Lincoln.

Benson loved his warm snuggly towel!

This boy has no fear.

New event for the 2020 Olympics?

One Year Old

We recently celebrated Cole's first birthday.  His Grandma Manning made this cute cake.

The tail section was broken off.  He was tentative at first, carefully sticking one finger at a time into the cake.

  

He quickly figured out how good it tasted and that two hands would be much more fun than just one finger!

With cousin Abigail trying to figure out the bubble mower.

Zucchini Madness

I have two zucchini plants in my garden.  They are quite large - measuring about six feet in diameter.  One produces yellow and the other green.  Each day I go down to see what surprises I will find.  I have found five or six at a time and then that many more the next day!  If I miss a day, I may find a  one that resembles a baseball bat lurking under the leaves.  Thanks to family and friends who enjoy having the fresh produce.  I do love having the garden and have found new ways to use this vegetable.  We like some better than others.  Last night was a keeper.  Mini pizzas. 

I used Mission multigrained tortillas.  Brush or mist both sides with olive oil.  Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.  I spooned on a little pizza sauce or you could use pesto sauce.  Add toppings.  Bake at 400 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until edges of tortilla are brown.  Last night I used:

Ground chicken browned with Herbs de Provence
Small yellow zucchini - about 1 inch in diameter - thinly sliced
Baby tomatoes from the garden thinly sliced
Fresh basil from the garden coarsely chopped
Mozzarella cheese

So simple, so quick, so good.

Grayson's Blessing Day

Last Sunday we were in Smithfield for Grayson's blessing.  I love these occasions when both sides of the family gather and feel the great love for these new little ones that have so recently come from the presence of our Heavenly Father. 

What is everyone looking at?  An airplane!  Abigail loves airplanes and, for that matter, anything that is flying in the air, birds, dragonflies, etc.  She squeals (quite loudly) every time she sees one.



Great-grandpa Van Ausdal with the Abigail and Grayson.

I love being a Grandma!  Grayson is our seventh grandchild and we love him dearly.