Culinary Awakening!

In an effort to become more healthy, I've started cooking with ground turkey. I made some turkey meatballs the other night that were delicious, if I do say so myself! They had apple, Parmesan, whole wheat bread crumbs, etc. in them. We dipped them in this maple, balsamic sauce that tasted a little like the sauce that comes with Gyoza in Japanese restaurants. Anyway, they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

 I've also been trying to come up with some ways to prepare zucchini since our plant is doing really well. Daniel actually loved the below too. I just slapped some olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic powder and Parmesan on these zucchini slices and baked them. 

The below was chicken sausage, onions, garlic, red bell pepper, marinara sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top of zucchini slices. This too was incredible! What did I ever do before Pinterest? 

 For dessert, Morgan and I made frozen bananas dipped in yogurt and sprinkles. Charlotte liked these too!

 Morgan and I are thrilled that we have a watermelon growing! I would have never ventured to even buy the plant if Morgan hadn't asked. I'm really glad she did.

 Nana taught Charlotte to smell roses and it's so cute watching her. She aggressively grabs the rose and shoves it into her face. Love it!

Growing Up!

Don't I have the most handsome nephew ever?! We're all so proud of our growing Chase! He graduated with a GPA of 3.5 and above! He had a huge crowd of family attend his 8th grade graduation.

Nana and Papa helped keep Charlotte entertained during the ceremony.

 Daniel commented on what a great job they did with her. 

 The other day I fed Charlotte some dinner while Maggie was at the vet. I seriously had no idea how much food Charlotte wasted and dropped on the floor. Maggie always hangs out below her chair when she eats and apparently gets quite the snack!

I just had the include the below picture because I love her curls and this sweet romper.

Since Nana and Papa were in town for Chase's graduation, they spent a night with us. We always have such a great time with them!

 We're still enjoying the different plant varieties that keep popping up in our yard. 

 I thought the below picture does a great job of showing how close our park is. This picture was taken while standing in our front yard. You can see the park to the left. 

Do you see anything in the below picture?

 Maggie doesn't like air blowing directly on her so when the ceiling fan is on, she takes cover behind our curtains. 

 Now you can see her! 

 She's so spoiled and doesn't even realize it.

Christmas in June!

I'm finally posting pictures of Christmas! And with this, I'm officially caught up. Ta-da!

Nana and Papa arrived a couple of days before Christmas to spend some time with us.

We watched movies and relaxed together.

Morgan and I made cookies for Santa Christmas Eve Night.

And we decorated them too!

 This year was a special Christmas for us because it was the first Christmas I've ever hosted. It was special to have it at our house where the girls could wake up from their own beds and run out in the morning. Unfortunately, poor Charlotte was miserably sick. She cried most of the day and during the night too. It was tough! We felt bad for her but had no idea what she was sick with.

Our spread! Yum!

 

 

 

Cousin Chase and Aunt Dusty spent Christmas with us too! Uncle Frank was away for work but we did get to Skype him!

 These pictures

 make me

 smile!

 This picture is hilarious! I had been so busy cooking all day, I hadn't had a chance to shower. Morgan isn't looking at the camera and Charlotte is screaming and wanting down. Regardless, this is us Christmas 2012!

 What saved us during these few days was the fact that Charlotte was happy as long as she was in Papa's arms. He pretty much rocked her around the clock for a couple of days straight. I literally don't know what I would have done without him. He was the only person who could make her comfortable. She didn't want me or her daddy, she only wanted her Papa.

 LOVE the below picture of Nana and Morgan!

 Morgan got a camera for Christmas!

 Love their relationship!

 Playing with their toys from Santa!

I love the holiday season! Can't wait for Christmas 2013!