Happy 7th Birthday Hawk!

Today I want to wish a Happy Happy Birthday to our Hawk, our "firstborn." The sweetest boy who has been the source of countless hours of entertainment over the past 7 years for us. He may be a giant, but he's the most gentle (as long as there's not a tennis ball in sight), silliest, happiest boy ever!

It still blows my mind that at one time, you were the current size of your head!  

Happy Happy Happy 7th Birthday!  We love you so much big boy!  

We're celebrating with a Dairy Queen milkshake tonight!

A Shower for that Sweet Lil Deer

I made it back!  I actually didn't go anywhere this time, but I've been going non-stop for the past week and things are finally starting to calm down...well at least my house is back to normal.  For the past week our house has been baby shower central.  Eric was so sweet to not say anything about the massive amount of baby shower decorations that had taken up residency on our kitchen table for the week...planning this shower for the weekend of his first football game of the season might have been my best idea yet because he was so distracted by football he didn't notice my giant mess. =)

After several weeks of planning, Sunday afternoon we showered my SIL, BIL, and soon-to-be sweet little nephew with love and food and tons of cute little baby stuff!  I had so much fun putting this shower together, from the invitations, to the food, to the decorations.  I was so excited to see how all of my Pinterest-inspired ideas came together and they did perfectly!  And now for the photo overload.....

Since my BIL is an avid hunter and they used had a hunting themed pregnancy announcement, I went with a [light] hunting theme. My goal was rustic baby hunter...not camo and orange overload.  I found an invitation I liked on Pinterest and re-created my own version using picmonkey.com.

Of course I had to incorporate some of my many chalkboard signs...this one was in our laundry room entryway.

These were my two main decorated tables in the kitchen: one served as the dessert table and the other was a day-of addition topped with a collection of pictures/prints/nick knacks.  I may be a little biased but I think they turned out pretty cute.

This table included the picture they announced their pregnancy with, chalkboard countdown board, his monogram, a print I found on pinterest and recreated with Picmonkey, a cute little onesie, and a few treats. My favorite parts were the "To go to sleep I count antler, not sheep print." and the monogram.

The monogram was a last minute addition Saturday morning.  I found the paper on one of my trips to Hobby Lobby and really wanted to use it for the shower, but had not found anything I really wanted to do with it.  Saturday morning I realized I did not have a single monogram to decorate with...shocking I know.  I pulled out my Cricut and went to cutting, well my Cricut went to cutting.  I had the easy job that involved a glue stick and putting it together.  I put it in a shadow box frame that I rotate my seasonal scrapbook sheets in, but them realized it doesn't have a stand and I didn't have anything to prop it up. Luckily one of the deer antler racks that I borrowed for accent decor was the perfect width and height to hold up the frame!

The dessert table was a lot of fun to decorate, too!  My Cricut did all the work for the Welcome Baby Banner on the wall, which turned out so cute! We were all on dessert overload after the shower, and we still have a ton of sweets leftover!

One of my most favorite parts of the decor was the centerpiece on the dessert table.   I found the W (for the baby's name) on one of my Hobby Lobby trips.  It was too cute NOT to buy to incorporate into the decor. I leaned it up against one of the burlap covered mason jar vases and set them in front of one of the deer antler racks.  It was perfect!   Funny story...I wanted to use some burlap to cover a few mason jars and to use as table runners.  I started to buy some and then I remember I had several pieces leftover from my SIL and BIL's wedding shower we threw them a couple of years ago, so I got to use the same burlap and mason jars for their baby shower, too.

These were the two desserts that I made (my MIL who threw the shower with me, made the others). I had originally planned to make blueberry lemon cupcakes, which would have been fantastic I'm sure, but the closer we got to the shower, the more I realized boxed cake mix would be just fine, so I picked up a couple of boxes of Devil's Food cake mix for the occasion.  I did, however, make the buttercream icing and dyed it blue so they would color coordinate.  They turned out so cute, and were absolutely delicious.  The other treat I made were dipped oreo pops.  I saw them on Pinterest when I first started planning the shower and knew I HAD to make them. They were a hit and I am trying to figure out a reason to make them again soon.

Of course we had more than just sweets to snack on.  My MIL got a delicious sandwich tray and made some pigs in a blanket which are my favorite! I made a couple of dips: cold spinach dip which I have made at least 5 times this summer, and ranch dip for pretzels and carrots.

My centerpiece on the food table was another favorite that was initially not going to happen.  My original plan for flowers was to put baby's breath in the mason jars which I had strategically placed around the house.  The week before the shower I made sure the grocery store had some, but wanted to wait until the day before the shower to get the flowers so they would be fresh.  Saturday I went to get them and my grocery store did not have a single cut flower in stock.  The weekend before they had a ton of them but the day I needed them they had nada.  I had to choice but to head to Montgomery to get some. I headed to Publix which I remembered having a small floral section by the cards, but at some point over the last year they have discontinued that section...I could not believe it.  Defeated, I headed to Costco.  I knew they'd have flowers, but I also knew they did not have just a bouquet of baby's breath like I wanted.  What I didn't know is that they'd have 2 bouquets of beautiful giant white hydrangeas waiting for me.  I was beyond excited and was so glad that the other two stores did not have baby's breath because the hydrangeas were absolutely gorgeous!  I realize that there were baby's breath in some of the pictures above.  I had some dried baby's breath that have been in mason jars on my kitchen table all summer, which I transferred to the other jars for the shower.  I don't think anyone noticed they weren't fresh.

The rest of the decor consisted of burlap covered mason jars and my tassel banners that I had strewn throughout the living room for a little color.  I made some for a wedding shower earlier this year and I just love them.  They're made of tissue paper so they're inexpensive and easy to make and they add a bright pop of color to a room!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to to meet that sweet little baby in a couple of months and I am so excited for my SIL and BIL to become parents!

Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry for Two

I am a sucker for quick easy meals during the week.  I have absolutely no desire to spend more than 20 minutes putting something together after I've been working all day. When I realized that Winn-Dixie had their broccoli crowns on sale for $.99/lb I decided that stir-fry was going on the menu this week at our house.  I looked up a couple of recipes on pinterest, but nothing really jumped out at me, so I decided to DIY it.  I took the sauce recipe from one of our favorite recipes and turned it into my stir-fry sauce.

What you Need:

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups water

1-2 Tbsp butter

2 cups broccoli

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1" knob of ginger, peeled and minced

2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp water

1/2 Tbsp honey

2 tsp sweet Thai chili sauce

pepper to taste

sesame seeds

How to Make It:

Combine rice and water in a rice cooker and set to cook, when it's done add the butter and stir until combined.  Set aside.

Steam broccoli on stove or in steamer bag, season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, peanut butter, water, honey, sweet Thai chili sauce, and pepper.  Microwave for 20-30 seconds and stir until smooth.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, ginger, and garlic and saute until chicken is no longer pink.  Add sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until combined.

To serve:
Place a scoop of rice on the plate, top with a scoop of broccoli, and a scoop of chicken/sauce mixture. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

This meal was so good, and like I said so quick and easy.  It made enough for a plate for both of us plus some leftovers for lunch today.  Did I mention it was delicious!?!

An Anniversary

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7 years ago today a wide-eyed 22 year old, fresh out of undergrad started her first "big girl" job. It was a huge step for me.  I always assumed that I'd go straight from undergrad to grad school and get a job after that but that was not in the stars for me.  On a whim I decided to take the job and 7 years later I'm still here (well in the same building at least).  In 7 years I've run several different programs; I've written grants; I've become someone's supervisor; I've changed programs; I've lost programs; I've been challenged; I've learned to roll with the punches; I've learned to stand up for myself; I've realized that I would not be in the position I am in now if someone didn't think I could handle it; I've made some wonderful friends I would not have met otherwise; I've become passionate about issues I never thought much about; and most importantly I do feel like I am making a difference in peoples' lives which is what public health is all about.

Our Weekend in Chicago

I mentioned last week when I was recapping our Mid-Western excursion that we took a little trip within our trip.  On Saturday morning we drove a little further up I-65 to a little town called Chicago.  I love Chicago.  It's my favorite big city to visit and explore. And on top of that some more of my favorite people just happen to live there which is a HUGE bonus!

We arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's house mid morning and walked to the train station.  They live in the cutest little suburb with the most awesome downtown area.  They are just blocks away from restaurants, shops, and of course the train into the city. After we arrived at Union Station we headed to our 1st destination: Gino's East.  Why Gino's? Because Eric saw it featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network a few years ago and he has had his heart set on trying their deep dish Chicago Style pizza ever since. This isn't the first time we've eaten at a Food Network recommended eatery; we sought out a couple of places on our trip to New Mexico a few years ago.  Gino's did not disappoint.  We tried a half supreme-half cheese deep dish pizza and it was amazing.  I am a huge fan of Chicago style deep dish, but this was Eric's first time trying an authentic one.  He loved it.  Gino's has a cornmeal based crust that we had never encountered in a pizza crust before...and now I'm on a mission to create one. =)  I've attempted deep dish pizza before [I've even made a Chicago Style Buffalo Chicken Pizza], but it's been at least 5 years since I've made one.  Rest assured it will happen again sometime this fall.

Aside from amazing pizza they had a really great beer selection.  Eric's favorite was a Wisconsin brew called Supper Club.  I had a really delicious pear cider..it had just the right amount of sweet without tasting like juice....delicious!

After we ate we headed to Navy Pier to do some sight-seeing.  While we were there we took a really neat catamaran tour of the city from Lake Michigan.  They drove up and down the coast so we could really see the skyline.

After an impromptu carousel ride [because the line for the swing ride was ridonculous], we hopped back on the train to head back to their house.  I didn't think that the day could get any better than it already was, but it did because shortly after we got back to the house this kid pulled in the drive way!

And I did everything I could to hold it together because I was so excited to see my brother who I hadn't seen since Christmas! He lives a few hours north of Chicago and came down to spend part of his weekend with us.  Like I said....my family is beyond amazing!  We finished off the evening with a couple of rounds of badminton [my cousin totally smoked Eric and Matt], walked into town for dinner, and played a few rounds of Just Dance which is now my new favorite Wii Game.

Little did we know, we were in for a real treat on Sunday. The town they live in used to hold a bike race, Tour De France style. After a 5 year hiatus the race had come back to town and just happened to be that Sunday, and one leg of the race course just happened to be down the street where my Aunt and Uncle and cousins live.  So we did what any ration people would do....we tailgated on the front lawn with all of their neighbors and cheered on the bikers all day long.  It was so much fun! 

We took a couple of breaks for golf and shopping, but were back in time for the last three races which featured all of the top racers in the Masters Division [men over 35], Women's Division, Men's Division [under 35]. To say the races were intense is an understatement.  I was blown away at how fast they were going up their street.  They were doing 1.2 mile laps in 2:15-2:25...for an hour and a half.  We did see one wreck right in front of the house...the guy clipped the tired of the guy in front of him and went down hard.  He seemed to be alright, so Eric of course asked him if he was going to finish the race.  I guess it's the coach in him.  

1. Eric and I at the bike races AKA standing in the front yard.

2. The Men's Division race.  Yes I was that close to them and can you see how far back that line goes?!

3. What do you do after a bike race?  Why you offer the riders a beer.  One of them actually came back and watched his wife race the next race with us and educated us on the ins and outs of street bike racing...FYI it can be a very shady sport. 

4. Bike Blur!  I was trying to get a picture that captured how fast they were going....this was about as good as it got and it doesn't come close to doing their speed justice. 

5. Eric and I with my cousins. I still can't get over that they're teenagers/pre-teens now!  

6. Since we were not by the Finish Line, we had to resort to asking who won when they came around on their cool down lap...Eric is high-fiving the guy who ending up winning.  

7. More bike blur.  The Under 35 Men's race was by far the most exciting. Not only was it longer than the rest, but every time they came around there was a different person in the lead.  The guy who ended up winning was at the very back of the pack with about 7 laps to go.  

I think it's safe to say that Eric thoroughly enjoyed his first trip to Chicago and I seriously doubt it will be the last.  As I said in the Indiana portion of this trip recap, this trip was right on time.  I'd been missing my family it was so good to see at least a part of them.  I was completely blown away by my brother making the trip down. As we drove back to my grandparents' house Sunday evening and I replayed the weekend's events in my head, and I was completely overwhelmed by how amazing my family is.  We may not get to see each other but once a year if that, but the times we do spend together are always so wonderful.

Weekend Recap

I'm now sure why but for some reason it hasn't really felt like football season is imminent around here to me.  It could have something to do with the crazy humid summer weather right now, which is typical for this time of year.  Eric's been at practice every day like normal, but before this past weekend for whatever reason it had not hit me yet.

After the weekend we just had...I am ready!  I mentioned Friday that we were having a cookout/cooking contest with all of the football coaches and their families like we've done the past couple of years and this year's event far exceeded the previous years' events. We had a house/carport/yard/pool full of folks having a blast!  As for the BBQ Rib Contest and the Potato Salad Contest, Eric and I both came in 2nd, which is just fine with us. We are so fortunate to have a group of coaches and their families who all gel together so well.  I am pretty sure all of the wives and kids enjoy being around each other as much as the coaches do.  It's like our own little football family.  I completely failed at snapping pictures because we were having so much fun, but I did grab a couple.

Aside from the company, the next best part of the night was the music.  The gentleman with the guitar in the picture above is the extremely talented Kevin Adair.  He is a local musician who plays around the Auburn area, and he is great! This was my second time to hear him play live, and it won't be the last.  You can find his music here.  The gentleman on the drums is one of the coaches.  He brought his drums over and the two of them who met that evening, played all night long.  It was a treat for all of us because none of the other coaches had ever heard him play!

It was a wonderful night with some really awesome people and I can finally say that I am ready for football season to start!  Although I don't really have a choice in that matter. =)

High Five for Friday

Another week down. I was surprised that it went pretty quickly, considering it had been a few weeks since I'd had a 5 day work week due to vacation. Let's get right to it, shall we?

1. I tried something new this week for dinner. Instead of racking my brain [aka scouring Pinterest] for recipes and trying to put a bunch of stuff together, I marinated a bunch of chicken Sunday afternoon and grilled it on Sunday night. Each night this week I pulled out a container of chicken, heated it up and combined it with spring mix and about 10 other salad toppings.  I think this will continue for at least a few weeks to come.  Delicious, healthy dinner in 10 minutes?  Yes, please. Being a creature of habit [I'm the girl who ate a turkey sandwich and Cool Ranch Doritos for lunch for at least 5 years straight in school], I am completely on board with this.  I was afraid Eric would want more variety, but I switched up the toppings and had three different chicken marinades, which seemed to work.  I ran out of chicken last night, so we had Naan Pizzas of the Gouda/Turkey Sausage/Prosciutto variety instead. It was a delicious change of pace.

2. Staying with the changing things up, I tried something new with my hair this week.  I had worn my hair curly on Sunday and for whatever reason did not wash it Sunday night/Monday morning. No biggie, my hair can handle it but I tend to only do that when it's straight. With the insane heat and humidity we've had this week, I have not been feeling heat-straightened hair. My solution to unruly second day curly hair was a ginormous inverted poof bun on the top of my head.  To my surprise I got a ton of compliments on my hair from coworkers.  I guess I should wear dirty hair poofs more often...they certainly take a lot less time to fix than straight hair!

3. I am getting really excited about a Baby Shower I am throwing for my SIL in a few weeks.  Being the planner I am, I've already started working on some decorations, and decided to experiment with one of the treat decorations I wanted to make. I saw some really cute blue-dipped Oreo Pops on Pinterest that I wanted to recreate.  I told a friend about it, and she suggested adding mini-pretzels as antlers to go with my very light hunting theme.  I tried it and they came out sooooo cute!

4. While at the grocery store getting supplies for my deer pops, I was reminded of why I don't go to the grocery store when I'm hungry.  Not only did I end up with Oreos (which will NOT make it until the shower...who was I kidding), but I ended up with these in my cart.

FYI they were completely worth it...and I justified my purchases because they were both BOGO and that meant I could get one of each for half price...so there. 

5. Our Saturday is going to be super full and so much fun!  We're hosting the 3rd Annual Coaches Preseason Cookout, which will feature the 2nd Annual Coaches BBQ Rib Contest, and for the first time a Potato Salad Contest which yours truly will be entering.  I was shocked when I realized I will have at least 4 challengers! We've always had the cookout on picture day as a nice little get-together right before the season starts.   I've been looking forward to it for several weeks, and I am so glad it's finally here.

Here's to a great weekend and hoping that I can decide on an outfit and get my hair to look semi-decent in the sweltering humidity on the football field tomorrow morning for pictures.  Please send me non-poofy hair thoughts!

Back Home Again, in Indiana

I'm going to break this vacation recap into 2 installments because there's absolutely no way I could put everything into one post.

I've always been a fan of going back home, which is why I was ecstatic when Eric said he had a week off from football the last week of July and suggested we take a trip to my first hometown in Indiana.  My grandparents still live there and it had been a while since we'd been for a visit, and even longer since we'd been for a visit in the summertime.  So last Thursday, we packed up the car and headed north.  After several construction filled hours (of course the leg I ended up driving was nothing but construction), we made it!

It was one of the most relaxing trips I've been on in a long time.  We are always on the go, even on vacation usually so it was nice to sit back and relax for a few days.

 1. The first thing we did Friday morning was head up to the lake.  I have such fond memories of this place where I grew up swimming, tubing, skiing, and spending countless weekends having a ball!
2. My grandparents' backyard.  It is absolutely beautiful here.  The trees, the pond, the flowers, it doesn't get much prettier than this!
3. We managed to get a few projects done while we were there.  This one happened to be a new railing for the stairs in the background.  Eric and my grandpa had it up in no time!
4. The beautiful Indiana country side.  Driving through this part of the country in the summertime, there's nothing but corn and soybeans as far as you can see!
5. and 6. A trip to Indiana isn't complete without a trip to my all-time favorite restaurant....Arni's.  I've mentioned my love for this place before, but seriously I can't get enough of it.  The Jr. [the salad] is amazing, and I have yet to find any pizza that stacks up to theirs.  I even got Eric to admit how good it was.  We made sure to bring a few home with us and their waiting in the freezer to be devoured!...well the 2 that are left are still waiting to be devoured.

1. and 2.  Sprinkled in the corn and soybean fields, you will find several hundred [and probably more] giant windmills.  They were installed a few years ago and they are an interesting addition to the skyline in this part of the country.  These pictures don't do them justice, but they are enormous!

3.-7. My grandparents have always had an enormous garden at their house.  Every year they grow all kinds of delicious fruits and vegetables.  This year of course is not exception.  They have an abundance of grapes (3), spaghetti squash (5), and of course the reddest, sweetest raspberries you've ever put in your mouth.  There's nothing better than a fresh red raspberry picked right off the plant.  I am pretty sure I ate a pound or 2 myself. My grandma gave me a couple of raspberry plants to see if I can grow some down here next year.  I hope they make it because they are so much better than the ones you get in the store!

We took an excursion on one of our days there to the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm.  We'd heard about it from my grandparents so we decided to see what all of the hype was about.  It was extremely impressive!  I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it!  This place was enormous and what we saw it's just one of 11 smaller farms in the area that all make up Fair Oaks.  These cows are treated like royalty, and rightly so  beacause the farm is self sustained by the cows.  Their milk is the money maker and their other output [poo]  powers the farm.

1. One of the barns where the cows live.  From what they said the cows are very social animals and enjoy spending time with their friends in the barn stalls.
2. The visitors center.
3. This is where the cows get milked.  It's a 72-cow rotary that runs for 7 hours at a time, and is cleaned for an hour after that.  It runs 24 hours a day so the cows get milked 3 times per day.  The cows love it.  They load themselves on to the rotary without human help and even more impressively, they unload themselves by backing out of the stall while the rotary is moving. As someone who has a fear of rotating doors, the fact that cows can back up on a rotating platform without human intervention is beyond impressive.
4. While we were there we got to eat at their brand new on-site restaurant, The Farmhouse.  The food was amazing!  We had a cheese and cured meats platter...because fresh cheese. =)  For lunch I had a delicious burger and some of the creamiest mac and cheese I've ever tasted. For dessert we headed over to the cafe for homemade ice cream.  Eric said their Butter Pecan was the best he'd ever tasted. I opted for the Mint Chocolate Chip of course.  It was some of the creamiest ice cream I've ever had and I am really sad I don't have any right this second.
5. Our last stop at Fair Oaks was the Cheese Factory.  They make their own cheeses and have several cheeses that have won awards at the World Cheese Championships.  Being the cheese connoisseurs we are, Eric and I had to try several, so we took home the Championship Cheese Sampler.  Which is where the cheeses on my "I'm so Fancy" cheese and cracker platter came from that I made this past weekend.  Needless to say my after work snacks this week have been nothing short of amazing. =) Did I mention I LOVE cheese?

We headed back home on Wednesday with our hearts happy and our batteries recharged.  There's nothing better than spending time with family to remind you about what's really important in life.  On our way home I kept thinking about how blessed I am to be a part of an such an amazing family.  They are incredible people who I love dearly.

So that's Part 1 of our trip. Part 2 actually took place a couple of hours north of Part 1 in the big city of Chicago!  I'll give you a little preview of some of the fun we had...let's just say one whole day looked like this:

No this is not just a really bad quality picture, these bikes were really going this fast and we were really this close to them!

Weekend Recap

I think I am going to suggest that 2 day weeks become the norm.  2 days at work followed by 2 days of weekend was absolutely wonderful!  This being our last [almost] football-less weekend for several months, we took advantage of our freedom.  Friday night we headed to our local Indian Casino to indulge in their crab legs and prime rib buffet.  I thinks it's safe to say that we won....we beat the buffet. Out table looked like an episode of Deadliest Catch with all of the crab legs on it.  I am not much of a crab leg eater [too much work for so little meat], but I made up for it with prime rib, mac and cheese, and fried shrimp.  We attempted to walk some of our dinner off around the casino and in the process won a little cash. Let's put it this way...I won back what my dinner cost. =) A win is a win, right?  We barely made it home before our food comas kicked in and we were done.

Saturday morning I did something I swore I was not going to do this weekend.....I braved tax-free shopping weekend.  I think I figured out the best way to take advantage of it without being completely overwhelmed....get there early so you can leave before the crowds get too bad.  I was in the Old Navy parking lot before they opened but decided to wait in the car instead of at the door like several other anxious shoppers.  The trip ended up being a success because I scored 3 pairs of pants for Eric and 3 shirts for me for under $100, and didn't have to pay the 10% sales tax we have in Alabama.   After that I headed over to Target and found 2 pairs of jeans for me, one pair for $6 and the other pair for $13.  I couldn't NOT get them!  I finished up my shopping trip with Costco and a stop at the Farmer's Market and I was in the car on the way home by 11:15am. That my friends, is how you do tax-free shopping weekend like a pro.  We spent Saturday afternoon lounging by the pool and cooking out with some friends....basically the way summer should be done.

Sunday I decided it was time to be productive so after church I hit the grocery store, cleaned the house, got the laundry going, and had 3 dinners for this week marinating by the time Eric got home from golf.  I had high hopes for a little garden work, but the couch and this week's episode of Girl Meets World were calling my name, which turned into a nap.  By the time I'd roused myself a few friends had made their way over to sit by the pool which seemed like a much better idea than gardening.  Sunday evening was a repeat of Saturday evening, just a couple of houses down instead of at our house.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

1. I had to walk to the post office and the bank on Friday while I was at work, so naturally I stopped at the new donut shop we have close by for a reward in the form of a red velvet donut with cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans on top....best $1 I've ever spent!
2. The reason we went walking around the casino floor after dinner.  We'd heard they had a shark tank inside, and had to see it.  Granted the shark was only about 3 feet long, but a shark is a shark.
3. The item at the buffet that made me shriek like a school girl....a cookie sandwich with frosting in between the cookies.  I think my friends thought I'd lost it at this point, it was the best thing I ate all night.
4. My fellow Old Navy shoppers who were a lot more hardcore than me.
5. I made a cheese and cracker plate for us for lunch on Saturday.  For some reason after I made it I could not get the Iggy Azelea song, "I'm so Fancy" out of my head afterward.  But seriously, it was the best lunch ever and Eric agreed.  The cheese came from an excursion we took while were in Indiana (which I will be recapping this week).
6. Peanut and his new BFF Bandit/Gizmo (depending on who you ask).  Our neighbors got a shih tzu puppy and he's only 7 weeks old.  He and Peanut chased each other around the yard and the puppy tried to chase Hawk, but his bunny hops in the grass only got him so far and he'd get distracted by a leaf or a crepe myrtle flower and start playing with that instead.

Even though neither of us are teachers, this weekend was kind of the end of the summer for us with [real] football practice starting this week.  It won't be long before we'll be spending our Friday nights under the lights as another football season gets rolling!