4th of July Weekend

We had a great four day weekend in DC over the fourth of July. We went down to meet up with my cousin Emily and her little boy, Jackson, and stayed at her Grandpa's house. The weather was fabulous! We did get caught in a major rainstorm with no where to get shelter. We were drenched through every layer of clothing! That's happened to me more than once this year.

Hollocaust Museum

The Eternal Flame in the Museum

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial-with two sleeping boys!

World War II Memorial

Washington Monument

Jefferson Memorial

On July 4th we had a pancake breakfast with Bill and Sheridan's ward and played on the playground, horseshoes, and volleyball. Then we relaxed for a while at their home and enjoyed each other's company. In the late afternoon we headed into the District and left Landon with Bill and Sheridan. They offered to babysit him and take him to their neighborhood fireworks display which was so nice of them.

The boys loved Millie the dog!

On the drive back to Philadelphia we stopped at the Washington D.C. Temple. It is beautiful and the visitor center was great. Emily and Jackson came home with us and have been here for the last few weeks!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My Birthday was yesterday!!!! I am now 27 yrs old. Landon and I went down to the city to meet Troy for lunch at Jim's Steaks on South Street. They are ranked one of the best cheesesteak joints in the area. We thought they were so good. They said they go through about 500 lbs of meat a day! I believe it too, because the line was down the block.

Later on we had friends over for cake and ice cream. I don't have a picture of everyone, but there really were adults at my party, all you see are the kids! Also, look at how many cakes there are! I've always had the carrot cake (the cake with the big blue candle) for my birthday but this year I have fallen in love with a lemon cake that I talked about on Mother's Day. I we made both, and then my friend brought over a Chocolate Peanut Butter cake. I've never had that much dessert on my birthday! I had a great time with everyone, thanks for making me feel special! And thanks for all the phone calls from friends and my family.

here is the recipe for the lemon cake http://bakeforlife.blogspot.com/2009/04/fabulous-lemon-cake.html

Playing in the Rain

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but ours has been raining just about every single day. It's getting quite old feeling like April has never left us. Anyway, to spice things up a bit the rain we had on Saturday was like a Texas rain storm! My friend and I were out shopping when it hit and the water in the parking lot came higher than our ankles and when we reached the store it looked like we had just gotten out of the swimming pool with our clothes on. These pictures really don't show what we really had but Troy and Landon were only out there for a few minutes and they are that soaked!

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes

Here is the story about these babies. My cousin, Julie, who lives in Raliegh kept telling me about these pancakes that are so good called Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes. I flat out told her I thought they sounded digusting but she emailed me the recipe anyway and said they are a must try. Well, 1 1/2 years later I was visiting her after she had her twins and she found out I had never tried them and made them for me. I could not believe how good they were, I really stood corrected. We just made them last weekend and I decided that in my home they will be called Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes-it gives more justice to the yummy pancakes that they are!

sidenote: I don't photograph food well, imagine these sprinkled with powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes-AKA-Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes

1 1/4 c. flour or 1 c. white flour and 1/4 c. wheat flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream
1 c. cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. blueberries
Butter for griddle

Combine all ingredients and gently fold in blueberries last. Heat pan or griddle to medium heat. Butter pan lightly. Spoon 1/4 c. batter (or less) and spread around. Do not make your pancakes too big. Trust me. Cook on one side for about 3-4 minutes, flip and cook another 2 min.

Landon Goes to the Dentist

Landon had his first dentist appointment a few weeks ago and overall did really well. I didn't like laying back and having people in his mouth but loved getting all the toys and stickers they gave him. He was crying in the picture above and I told him to say cheese, and that's the face I got! I thought it was so funny.

Poor Landon

Daddy's been using him as a practice patient again. Actually, Landon loves being Troy's patient and thinks it is so cool to walk around all bandaged up.

The Rumor is True.......

We got Tattoos in the Outer Banks!

don't worry, they were henna and have already worn off. We got a lot of people asking us how long we've had them and that they have never noticed them before. We got a kick out of that.