Fourth of July

Between starting working full time (and then some), traveling, and entertaining out of town guests, my blogging has been majorly slacking.

Our holiday weekend was a fabulous one.  We loved getting to spend time with my Mom and big brother Ryan, wife Milissa and the kids.  Plus, there's nothing better than having your family in town for your birthday (especially two years in a row)!  Here's a photo summary of our time...

we made cake balls

and sugar cookies.

Corn on the cob helpers.

Opryland hotel

lots of help opening presents

playing with bubbles

new favorite toy

funny

sharing a drink water at the honky tonks

meeting ol' rusty

cutest cowboys in downtown nashville

opryland hotel

jeep trip

"goin' out with my boots on"

turning 25! ah!

at home firework show

dslr + sparklers = endless entertainment

wizards?

please be impressed.  we took at least 58 of these before one looked right... I won't name any names...

peeing

spiral

who can guess???

happy fourth!

RWB dresses!

spending my birthday, with my mom, at the Stage. So fun!

with the boy

batman building.

BEST fireworks ever! love.

It was such a fun few days and I'm so, so happy to have been able to share it with everyone.  The house was very quiet after everyone returned home.  Ellie excitedly looked for the kids for quite a few days afterward.  I think she misses them as much as we do.

More recaps coming up soon!

Beach Day!

Our second day of our Florida vacay we woke up super early to take the pup to the beach before it got crowded.  It was actually still dark out the first time the alarm went off so we were able to hit the snooze button and still catch sunrise over the water when we got up.

i think this is my most favorite spot to spend a morning ever.

I think Ellie liked the beach even more than the pool.

pretty sweet birds out stalking the fisherman

She realized she could run forever.  Luckily the fishermen loved goldens and didn't mind!

she looks ridiculous.

After we exhausted her, the boys went out on the boat for some fishing while my Mom and I went back to the beach for some more relaxation.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging by the pool, playing Rummikub and eating more yummy food. 

We finished the day with a relaxing boat ride.  Hubs was excited to try out the new camera lens.

don't kill me for posting this picture.  it was just too cute :)

love that boy.

turquoise beach mansion? yes, please.

might make this into a puzzle

don't know these people.

lots and lots of osprey

giving her grandma some hugs.

there's nothing better than a boat ride.

Fried Chicken and Waffles

Some of our favorite places to eat around Nashville (especially with out-of-town guests) are those that serve large quantities of good ol' southern cooking.  One of the recurring items on many of these menus is Fried Chicken and Waffles.  Never having heard of this odd trend before, we were curious to try it and decided to give it a go at home.

I've been on a bit of a waffle kick ever since finding this recipe.  The only change I make is the addition of 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.  They are seriously the BEST waffles.  The recipe is a bit of a pain so I usually make the whole thing and keep a pitcher of batter in the fridge to use all week.

Not having a clue how to fry chicken or make gravy, I turned to the obvious food blog, certain to find how to make this classic southern meal.  I snagged PW's recipe for Chicken Fried Steak and just swapped steak for chicken.

Every part of the recipe was a total success as the chicken was delicious and the gravy turned out so perfectly I could have eaten it with a spoon (you know, if I was into eating gravy with a spoon...).

I'll admit the combination seems strange.  I was actually planning on letting Mike eat the combo while I ate my fried chicken and gravy for dinner and my waffle for "dessert."  However, I stole a bite of his and was instantly hooked.  I quickly piled everything together and dug in.  It went together perfectly and we loved every bite. 

I'm actually embarrassed by this picture as it couldn't look more unappetizing (oh, life before my new camera).  Don't let it deter you from trying this out.  You won't be disappointed!

Third weekend in Florida

Being in the "transitional" period between ending school and beginning residency, I have the luxury of picking my own schedule and taking some time off.  We wanted to make the most of it and drove south for my third weekend in Florida in a row.  This time we packed Ellie in the car with us, stopped in Gainesville to pick up my Mom and arrived in Englewood first thing Friday morning.

Our view from our favorite lunch spot: The White Elephant.  

only clouds we saw.

We spent most of the day hanging out at the house.  Ellie loved the pool possibly more than we did.  She swam all. day. long.

The weather was perfect and Mike and I tried to absorb as much "Florida" as possible.

We took about a billion pictures so I'll split it up a bit...