A County Fair.

This weekend we took the childrens to the Tioga County Fair. It was over an hour away, but worth the drive. The kids had the best time and Aaron and I enjoyed ourselves too. These Boonie Babies are quite the handful, but they are so much fun I sometimes can't stand it.












I remember loving this slide at the Arkansas State Fair so much, it was bright pink and we asked to go down it again and again. Avery, Dalton and Sawyer felt the same way.















We always love visiting the animals. We're at home there. I'm sure my neighbors can attest to that.






Sawyer wasn't sure about the big pig.



But, he did love the goats.






After visiting the goats AaronBoone spent the rest of the afternoon trying to convince me to let him get us some. Yes, I'm talking about goats. In the backyard of our rent house. In the rent house in Pennsylvania where we will be dealing with about three feet of snow for the winter months.
Finally, he decided he cared more about my fragile mental state and said we wouldn't get the goats. Lands ...






Pennsylvania sure is purdy. I am always getting sidetracked in taking in the beauty around us. It's a major perk.






You just can't go a fair without sampling the food.






This picture of the boys is one of my favorites I've taken in a while. Makes me laugh.









Aaron and Avery at the tippy top.



Then while Dalton took a turn I took Avery to get her face painted.









She picked a yellow dolphin.



Then we went on this ride and I almost lost my corn dog. Yikes. I'm officially not a kid anymore.



Last, but not least we found the big hit of the day:



Mmm Hmm. A mechanical bull. Huge.












Cowboy.









Sawyer thought he wanted a turn, too ...






Then he changed his mind.



Then he changed it again.






Big time.



We ended with another trip around the barn.






This man let us pet all the bunnies. He knew them all by name...






We ended on this. We stopped on it Everytime we went by and I'm pretty sure they would have had just as much fun if that was the only thing they'd done the whole day.

It was a great Saturday.

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Mmm Mmm Monday

Without a doubt, my staple food these days is quinoa. I make it at least 3 times a week. I love that you can add different flavor combinations to it and make it a whole different dish ... It's such a great side. Oddly enough, I had never made it until I moved to Pennsylvania. I was constantly seeing recipes, reading my friends blogs or texts about loving it, but never made it myself. Also never actually hearing it pronounced. So when I walked into our grocery one day combing the aisles for it, finally asking the manager if they had it and found her looking at me very strangely. I kept asking though, "Do y'all have any of that "qui-noh-aah?" in my thick Arkansas accent. The sweet manager looked at my with her head cocked to the side, I'm sure trying not to laugh and said, "Do you men "keen-wha?" Oops.
So, note to self ... Quinoa is pronounced "Keen-wha." Got it.

Most of my quinoa recipes have been inspired from my friend the quinoa pro, Mandy. She always comes up with yummy flavor combinations that never disappoint.
This is my very fav:
Quinoa with Bell Pepper, Avocado, Tomato, and Feta
I toast the quinoa a little bit before I cook it. Just drizzle a little EVOO in your pan and stir it over medium heat for a few minutes. Mandy's best tip has been cooking the quinoa in chicken broth instead of water, MUCH more flavorful. Follow your package directions, but it's much like cooking rice- bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. All the broth will be absorbed and you can add in your fav ingredients. For this recipe just add in what the name suggests: a diced bell pepper, a ripe tomato, an avocado and some feta cheese. I add a splash of lime juice and a little cilantro if I have it. It's great!
I didn't have a pic, so I borrowed one of Pinterest ... Forgive me.



This week I tried out a super yummy baked garlicky shrimp recipe. I have a major love affair with Panko bread crumbs, I prefer to crunch my calories.

This recipe was dee-licious.

Here's what you need.
1 lb. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled (I used the extra-large)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbsp. white wine
salt and pepper
Half a stick of melted butter
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian-leaf parsley, chopped
And the juice of half a lemon.

And here's how you do it.

Preheat oven to 425.

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic, and white wine. Stir to combine, then pour into a baking dish. Spread out evenly, and then season with salt and pepper.

In another bowl, use a fork to mix melted butter, Panko, and parsley until well combined. With your fingers, sprinkle the mixture evenly in the baking dish over the shrimp.

Transfer dish to oven and bake until the shrimp are pink and opaque, about 15-18 minutes.
Easy Peasy.




My last bit of yumminess was a spinach salad ... Have I mentioned how much I love spinach? Me and Popeye were practically separated at birth. Except that I don't think I would like canned spinach.
Anyway, if you're looking for a new yummy salad- look no further.
Spinach Salad with Maple Vinaigrette.
Start with a bag of baby spinach
Add in a carton of mushrooms (I sauté these in butter, Worchestire sauce, and garlic salt until desired doneness. I have to try to not eat them all out of the skillet.)
Toss in half of a sliced red onion, 1/2 a cup of Gorgonzola chese and 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped.
I think what made this was the sweet maple syrup vinaigrette.
I think the top chefs would tell you to emulsify all this is a food processor or something, but I just put all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake, shake, shake. I just eye-balled this- but I'll give estimates:
I used about four tablespoons of
Extra VirginOlive Oil, a tablespoon and a
half of real maple syrup, a two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a little salt.
Now shake all your frustrations out. :)
Drizzle on your salad and toss well.
Yum to the O.

Enjoy!!

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Bedtime.

I love bedtime.
Duhhhhhhh.

I'm not sure you're going to find many moms of toddlers that don't love bedtime. We finally get to sit down, relax, read, have adult conversation, or (if we're lucky) sleep ourselves. It's a beautiful thing.
The last few weeks however I've actually started looking forward to the bedtime routine, which is something I used to suffer through in order to get to the prize of bedtime.
But, lately it's just been easier. Much more enjoyable. Aaron usually hurries the boys through a bath while Avery takes a shower and I lay out PJ's. We get them dressed and then begin the tag team defense. I take Sawyer, Aaron wrangles the big kids.
I usually read Sawyer three books, his choice. He laughs and listens and has not once tried to get up.



He loves story time. We always end with this book ... do you have it?


"Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado.
It's one of my very favorite children's books. I find a new favorite part every night.
After we read our books we say our prayers and I sing a few songs ... Sanctuary; I Could Sing of Your Love Forever; and As the Deer are usually in the rotation. He almost always falls asleep, but sometimes not. If he's not asleep I just tell him goodnight and tiptoe out. He doesn't protest at all, just drinks his chocolate milk, rubs his ear and goes on to sleep.
I think I love bedtime with him because he seems so much more of a baby at bedtime. And I'm watching that time pass by so quickly through the past few months. That used to give me baby fever and I would begin itching for another baby ... but it's not like that this time. I'm just sad that these babies aren't really babies anymore at all.

Aaron reads bible stories from a children's bible to the "big kids" at night. They work on reciting the little memory verse at the end of the lesson and then argue over who gets to slam the book shut. We can argue over just about anything over here.



I know this doesn't mark a monumental event or super fun adventure, but I just want to document the little things too. I'm sure one day those are the things I'll miss the very most.



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This and That

This is about to be a Hodge Post Post if I've ever written one.
Between my laptop being weird and having to get a new phone last week after mine finally went kaput (I'm sure it had nothing to do with Sawyer trying to flush it in the potty or Dalton giving it a bath in a cup of coke Mmm hmm ... It's amazing it lived to tell the tale). So my picture-taking slash phone-blogging capabilities were out of order. But, I'm back with our scoop- the good, the bad, the ugly. Get excited.

Lets start with the ugly. I suppose it is necessary to document our first ER visit in Pennsylvania.
Dun Dun Dunnnn ...
It was two weeks ago and the kids were playing downstairs while I was in the middle of a very serious eBay auction in my room. All of the sudden I heard a blood-curdling scream... One where I honestly had no idea which one of them it was. I didn't have to wait long; Avery came barreling in my room holding her head with a trail of red following her down the hall. I tried my absolute darnedest not to freak out. To act as though it was totally fine ... Even if I could practically see her skull. Thank. The. Lord that AaronBoone was home; he's fabulous in these situations. He acted as if there was hardly a problem and Avery was in for a TREAT of getting to go to the emergency room.
He's such a great dad.
While they were gone it allllllllllll came out how it had all started. I'm sure you're shocked to hear that Sawyer whacked her over the head with a 2x4, disguised as a "sword." Poor Avery didn't know what hit her. Literally.
Bless.
Aaron sent some pics from the hospital ...








All glued up.



So proud of her sticker. And top-knot by AaronBoone, himself. He's a jack of all trades, you know.
That night we had planned to go to a friends house for a backyard movie showing under the stars. However with the rain and injury incurred, I called to cancel.
But, Avery apparently didn't stop talking about the movie night the whole time they were at the hospital, so Aaron took she and Dalton to the church where they had moved the party due to the weather.



A Bugs Life did not disappoint. I'm glad they had some good after the bad.

That weekend more good was on the list: The start of a week Vacation Bible School at the Wesleyan Church.



She was so excited!



















I'm glad Amaryah took so many pics of all the kids! I loved finding Avery in the crowd.

Dalton had a really hard time with the fact that Avery, Trip, and everyone else in the whole wide world was old enough to go to VBS, but he wasn't. So we tried to do things at night while she (and the rest of the world) was at Bible School.













We spent several nights on the golf course, as usual. These boys love golf. And I love that it wears them out before bedtime.

We went up the tip-top of Roundtop Park so we could see the whole Valley ... The boys liked that.



Last Saturday we drove all over creation looking for a place to swim. After fighting traffic jams, city festivals making the swimming pools packed, and getting lost a time or two, we ended up at a fabulous local hotspot: Treman Park in Ithaca, NY. You walked through a gorgeous park and ended up in a small lake surrounded by Waterfalls. It was beautiful. Unfortunately it too was so packed that I was a nervous wreck and never whipped out my camera. And the water was a not-so-warm 70 degrees. By this time it was 2 o'clock anyway so we bribed the kids with lunch to get them to cheerfully leave. It worked!
It ended up being a fun family day. I'm glad we went, despite the chaos!

More fun is on the menu for this weekend; I'll fill ya in on Monday.

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