Friends and bundt

One of my dearest friends, Amber, and her sweet family came over for dinner and to hang out. I made a new bundt cake off Mix and match mama's blog and it was delicious! If you are looking for an awesome red, white and blue dessert then you've got to make this one. Fresh blueberries and homemade strawberry icing. Click here for the recipe.

Microwave a vegetable?

Wait.. I've done this! I've even microwaved minute rice.. maybe I shouldn't type this. One evening I was trying to throw something together for dinner because Josh was almost home, so I put minute rice in the microwave. He got a hunk on his plate and started chewing... and chewing... and chewing. I think he spit it out. Ooops. Guess I won't try that again. 

A healthy treat

One of my goals this year is to cook more, eat out less, and eat more healthy. Eli and I made these frozen 'Popsicles' yesterday and he's loving them. We blended frozen strawberries, black berries, and blue berries with Greek yogurt and then put in Popsicle cups and froze.

Fall is in the air

Last Sunday we went on a quick 1 hour hike to some beautiful falls only a 1 mile from Josh's parents house. Eli and Olivia were napping with Mawmaw and PawPaw so we did a fast hike up and down. I love this time of year- It's my favorite season by far! You can feel the air cooling off in the mornings and evenings and feel fall in the air. We haven't had the leaves change yet but that is soon to come.


Every Sunday after church we go eat lunch with all the Allisons. Usually we eat at Josh's Mom and Dad's house but we also go to Jan's house, Sonja's house, and now that we have room for everyone-our house. Since the birth of Olivia our family totals 19, so that's quite the crowd. I think it's wonderful that a family that big still gets together every week; all of the siblings get along (of course we all don't agree with each other all the time) and are truly a family. Isaac loves having 3 cousins (Bryce, Braedon, and Gabe) to play with and they have such a big time playing in the woods, playing air-soft, gaming, or just aggravating each other.

Pawpaw and Olivia

View of the falls-- the water was low

Jan, Braedon, Isaac, Bryce, Josh, Chris

On Friday night we went to the Mountain State Fair. The kiddos had fun. Isaac and Gabe rode all sorts of rides, Eli liked looking at the tractors (he wouldn't ride anything), and Olivia enjoyed hanging out in the Bjorn watching all the lights. Last year when we went I wouldn't eat any of the fair food because I was pregnant and was afraid of contracting listeria or some food illness that would hurt Olivia, so this year I ate my fill. I had an apple dumpling and of course the famous maple syrup cotton candy. I don't have a picture of the cotton candy but that stuff is GOOD! I would go to the fair just to get a bag. I wanted one of those turkey legs but I couldn't bring myself to eat one. 

Mawmaw and Eli looking at his new book- I was nursing Olivia at this point

Josh taking his turn with the Bjorn.. 

My apple dumpling

Fall also means fall sports. Isaac decided he wanted to play football after the fact so he is playing on Bryce and Braedon's team this year. He also wants to wrestle but that doesn't start until the end of October. He is loving Jr. High and just started riding the bus home this past week.... the first time in his life! Josh takes him in the morning but the afternoons have been a problem. Eli's nap time falls right in the middle of when it's time to go pick him up... so after 2 weeks of dealing with a cranky toddler I decided we had to at least try the bus. We followed it home and his bus actually leaves the Jr. High and comes straight to our road.. he gets here just as soon as he would if I waited in the car line. So far it's working out.. I keep questioning him about who he sits besides and if they are talking about drugs, sex, or anything else I don't deem appropriate for my 12 year old. 

Isaac ready for football

We also took the kids to the driving range-- primarily because Josh wanted to hit a few balls.  Isaac has his own clubs and Eli inherited Isaac's old set of clubs... they like to hit as well. 

Eli and a golf club = danger!

Look at Hoss carrying that bag... he's a beast

Izzer 

Maybe we need a few more lessons!

I wanna golf Daddy!

Splurge

I ate this whole pint last night! I don't think I've ever ate that much ice cream. That was probably 700+ calories....eeek!

This is awesome ice cream btw.. PF Changs has some that is similar and it's is quite delicious

Stir crazy and more

So I'm used to running 100 miles an hour and I've pretty much been grounded at home the past two weeks. We haven't wanted to take Livi out in public places too much because she's a newborn.. But I had to take her to the doctor for a repeat hearing test so Josh and I went to lunch and ran around Asheville shopping for a while. Here are the pictures from Mellow Mushroom. The boys were with grandparents so we just had one today. Side bar.... I'm worried about Olivia's hearing now since she failed the hospital test and the retest. Her Dr is going to refer us to the audiologist for a better test. She seems to respond to noise so I don't know why she is failing her hearing screens. Pray that all is well with her little ears.

Ummmm... Food!

Kellie and I had lunch at this restaurant in Asheville called, Blue Water Seafood. They are only open for lunch but the cuisine was amazing!  They also have a fresh fish market... too bad I don't know how to cook fish. We both had the Po Boy special, a sandwich of fresh blackened fish with a yummy sauce on french bread, topped with lettuce and tomato. We need a re-run of this place.

http://www.bluewaterseafood.net/main/