So many blessings....

There have been so many wonderful things to report over the last few months. The first and most important is that Mark returned home from his deployment. It was a long 7 months and we missed him like crazy but reunions are wonderful. So are post deployment vacations. We have wonderful friends that kept our kids for a week while Mark and I took a vacation to Jamaica. Pure bliss! We barely left the resort. There was so many things to do there. Mark even got to go on 5 scuba dives. I think it was one of his favorites things. The weather was allot warmer then in Ohio but neither of us came back with any tan. We did enjoy delectable meals from the many 5 star restaurants on the 2 Sandals resorts. We tried to stay active and took advantage of the nice gym there. I discovered this drink called the "Hummingbird". It was so good and I indulged on several. We can't wait to go back someday in the future. We have had some company this month as well. We had some good friends come and visit for a day. It is always special to meet up with friends that we were previously stationed with. I love how God brings people back into our lives!
My sister and her family came for a visit last week. It was fun catching up with them and spending time with my niece's. Anna loved being a little "mommy" to the girls. Jonathan started coming down with something a few days before Christmas. He was in bed most of Christmas. Poor kid had strep throat but is getting better with antibiotics. The rest of us had a touch of something as well.  We are anticipating Anna's birthday on the 31st. Can't believe my baby is going to be 9~ Hope everyone has a Happy and healthy New Year!

Fall and Apples



Jonathan and I apple picking!



It hs been such a lovely Fall in Ohio.
We have had warm weather and beautiful Fall change of colors. The kids and I have been staying busy with soccer, school and anticipation of next month! We went Apple picking and have been making lots of goodies with our abundance of apples. Hope everyone else is having a "Happy Fall" as well!

Caramel Apple Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 TBS chopped candies ginger
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease six muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
Stir together 1 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, baking powder, ginger and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix in oil, egg and milk. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling to the top of the cup.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup brown c sugar, 1/3 cup flour, butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix together with fork and sprinkle over unbaked muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
To make caramel
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
Melt sugar in heavy pan. Stir with wooden spoon. Watch carefully or it will burn. When melted add butter and allow to melt, then add cream. Stir until comes together. It takes about 3-4 minutes for this to happen.
When muffins are still warm cut slit in top and pour 1-2 TBS of caramel down into hole. I add more caramel once muffins have cooled. Enjoy!

Its been way too long.....

I have really been slacking on keeping my blog updated. I think that I was even kicked out of my Barefoot Bloggers club since I haven't participated in such a long time... My parents are visiting this week and have been doing lots of fun Grandparent outings with them. I took my parents down to Holmes County to visit the Amish Community. I tried a new recipe for pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting today. I took them to my Womens Bible Study. They were such a hit all I came home with was an empty container. I wanted to share this easy Fall recipe.
Pumkpin Muffins
1 yellow cake mix
1 can trader joes can of pumpkin
1 ts cinnamon
Mix these 3 together and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Frosting
1 8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter at room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ts. vanilla
These were so quick and easy. Thanks for the recipe Ellyn!

Lazy Sunday afternoon

We headed to the park with some friends last weekend. It was such a pretty place to visit on a Sunday afternoon. We visited the ButterFly house and checked out some of the trails. It was such a warm day we that we had to go and visit Ritas on the way home. I am now ready for Fall! School has started and we are settling into a nice routine with school and soccer.

What to do with an over abundance of tomatoes...

make homemade tomatoe sauce and wonderful salads!

Tomatoes, caramelized onions, garlic, basil, celery and olive oil

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Heirloom Tomatoes with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing

Please, I beg you, even if you don't like tomatoes, please try this. It just might be the best salad in the whole wide world.
Heirloom Tomatoes with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
adapted from the recipe by Ina Garten
The best place to find heirloom tomatoes is probably your local farmer's market, and I thought they were delicious. Whatever you do, just make sure that the tomatoes you choose are fully ripe when you eat them; if they are white or mealy in the center, they are not worth eating.
Ingredients
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, mixed colors and sizes
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound Gorgonzola cheese, divided in half
1 cup good mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
slice and core tomatoes, cutting the large ones into thick slices, and halving cherry tomatoes. Arrange on platter, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and parsley.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine half the Gorgonzola, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup cream, and 2 tablespoons vinegar, as well as 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Process until combined, but still chunky.
drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Crumble the rest of the blue cheese, and serve at room temp. Enjoy! I ate this for every meal until all my tomatoes were gone!

Camping this summer

BLT Pasta for 2 or Summer Pasta

I haven't been doing allot of cooking over the last few months. I have been making easy meals for us. I found this recipe in Cuisine at Home and had to try it. It is a wonderful pasta dish made with whole wheat noodles, grilled chicken, caramelized onions, garlic, tomatoes and garlic bread crumbs. I left out the bacon and added basil and arugula at the end. Anna and I loved this dish. It says it is enough for two but we still have leftovers for lunch today. YUM!
BLT Pasta
Pasta: 

2 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced ( I used 2 grilled chicken breast instead)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp sugar 
1/2 cup onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic chopped 
1/4 cup dry white wine 
1/2 cup chicken broth 
1 tsp red wine vinegar 
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 
4 oz dry bucatini or whole wheat spaghetti 
1 cup fresh spinach leaves ( I used Arugula instead)
10 basil leaves thinly sliced
For garlic bread crumbs:
1 cup French bread, cubed (about one 1/2 inch thick slice)
1 T olive oil
salt to taste
How to make it
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Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Mince the garlic for the bread crumbs in a food processor, add the cubed bread, and process until coarse.
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium: add crumbs and toast until golden, 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and set aside.
Saute the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat.
Cook until crisp, then drain on paper-towel. Pour off all but 1 T. drippings.
Caramelize the tomatoes and sugar in the drippings over medium heat.
Cook until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the onions, saute until wilted, 3-4 minutes.
Deglaze with wine; simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated.
Add the broth, vinegar, and pepper flakes and simmer until reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.
Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions.
Add the spinach or whatever green you are using, basil, and bacon pieces to the sauce.
Transfer the cooked pasta from the pot to the pan using tongs.
Toss to coat.
Season with salt, then transfer to large serving platter or individual plates.

Sprinkle with garlic bread crumbs before serving.

Our trip to the Oregon Coast

We have been gone for the last month to Oregon and Washington to visit family. We had a whirlwind trip with our families. The kids loved getting time with all of there cousins and grandparents. We were able to take the kids to the Oregon Coast twice. It is always one of my favorite things to do in Oregon. We visited Pacific City and played on the sand dunes all day building sand castles, eating a sandy picnic lunch and playing in the water. We went to Seaside and Cannon Beach and ate at one of our favorite restaurants.We also took a trip to Tillamook to the famous cheese factory to sample the best icecream ever. I lived in Tillamook for 4 years as a kid. It brings back allot of memories of our trips to the coast with my family. My parents would love to get fresh oysters, crabs and muscles from the ocean to eat. I didn't enjoy it as a kid but I love it now! It was a great month long vacation but we are happy to be back home. I can't believe that school is starting in 3 weeks.

Summer is on its way

We have had our share of fun moments since Spring arrived and now Summer is on its way. Today was the last day of school for the kids. It was a bittersweet moment for all of us. The kids had wonderful teachers this year and are going to be greatly missed. Soccer ended as of 2 weeks ago. The kids had fun playing but being at the soccer field 4 days a week was a little much for me. The kids were in the talent show together. They did a great job holla-hooping to an Alvin and the Chipmunks song! Anna was in the end of year regional Art Show at the highschool. The end of school always includes field trips. I chaperoned both kids classes (on seperate days) to go to the same park. Carillon Park is a great place for school age kids. They have one of the Wright brothers planes displayed for the kids to see and walk completely around.  It was a very educational for me too. Softball is in full swing at the moment. The kids are excited to get to sleep in, have lots of playdates with friends, visit Kings Island quite often since we bought Seasons Passes, visit some of our local Metro Parks, summer reading program at the library and swim as much as possible!

Getting to know you...

Its Sunday! Time for "Getting to Know You Sunday". Link up over at Mannland5 if you want to play along.


The questions..

1. If a person has a booger in their nose. and you can see it, do you tell them?
I would have to look away. That has happened before and I just feel to bad to mention it to them.

2. What are you passionate about?
God, my husband and kids, running, cooking, spending time with good friends!

3. How long have you been blogging?
A little less then 2 years. I started so I could join Ina Gartens Barefoot Bloggers. I am a huge fan of hers!

4. What is your favorite "summer" drink?
I would have to say strawberry lemonade. I really love the homemade lemonade my mom made as a could where you slice the lemons really thin and muddle them with the sugar to get the most flavour out of them.

5. What is your favorite type of music?
I like huge variety of music. I really love Christian uplifting, love songs, country, stuff from the early 90's and late 80's.

6. Something I do before I go to bed is.
I try to read a couple chapters in my Bible before I fall asleep. I also always watch foodnetwork in bed and use a lotion that I keep beside my bed.

7. My Summer vacation plans are...?
To go and visit family for a month, take the kids swimming, library, bought passes to a local amusement park and lots of activities with friends.

8. My favorite must have, can't live without, beauty product is?
Sunscreen! I love thick body lotion without too much scent. Trader Joes has a good one. I have also started using a lemon perfume that I am addicted too.

Take me out to the ball game...

We went to a Dayton Dragons game with some friends for Military Appreciation Day. The kids had a blast but we got to have lawn seats and sit in the muddy grass. Fun day with friends and the kids got to help carry the flag for the ceremony.

Girl Scout Camp

Girl Scout Camp was so much fun! I wasn't sure what to expect with this being the first year Rhonda and I have ever gone as leaders or even taken girls to the camp. We have 4 girls in our troop. Only 1 was missing that day. It was very well organized and had 5 different stations planned throughout the day. The kids got to make shirts, do crafts, have an outdoor cooking class, go creeking, and have an hour of skits and songs. It was a cold day and I defintaly missed my second shot of espresso for the day. We had a great time and can't wait for more activites with the girls. Maybe next year we will even camp there!

My good friend and her darling baby!

I had the pleasure of getting to meet up with Ellyn and her adorable baby Ally for lunch in Indianna on Wednesday. I got to visit with her last summer in Colorado when she was pregnant but this was my first time meeting her baby! I left as soon as the kids went to school and made it back by there pick up time {almost}. Ellyn and I met in Montana over 7 years ago and became fast friends. It was such a special time getting to catch up with her and hold her little darling. Ally is quite the cutie and so sweet! She is 6 months and at the smiley/happy stage. I got so many toothless grins and she has the cutest bald head ever!  I really wanted to take her home with me.. Thanks Ellyn for driving to meet me half way! I hope you get stationed a little closer then Wy next time around.