Summer nights...

are perfect for bike rides....

and grilling steak and shrimp...

and a few adult beverages for Gary and I!!

I love summer nights!

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flowers, rain, food, pups and our routine

We got home from our trip on Sunday afternoon.  We came home to our trees blooming gorgeous shades of pink.  Layla was thrilled to see some of the blooms had fallen onto the ground.  

I can't believe in just a few short days I will have an 8 year old daughter.  She is the sweetest girl.  She is so cautious and inquisitive right now.  She asks a million questions all the time.  She is very much like I was when I was a little girl.

Once the rain stopped for a few hours Layla and Dad played horseshoes.  Have I mentioned this summer is like no other I have EVER experienced?  It is amazing.  The weather is bearable and nice.  I can actually walk outside without burning my feet on the hot Texas concrete.  I love it but I am ready for the rain to let up.  We have gotten so much rain here in Ohio.  It's crazy!

Hayden loves when we grill.  He was happy to be eating good homemade food again once we got home!  He loves to walk by the grill and sample the goods.  Half the time when we grill we don't sit down and eat a meal at the table.  We are grazers and it's really fun to watch the kids act like they are stealing bites!

We are all so very happy to have our pups back home.  They are just the sweetest members of our family and we missed them so much when we were away.  They licked and kissed us to death the moment they laid eyes on us when we picked them up!

We are getting back into our summer groove here at home.  We are on birthday and beach countdown!  We are all excited to stick our toes in the white sand very soon!

steak night was a hit

We started our weekend with steaks, potato casserole and roasted asparagus.  Gary got a new cast iron grill pan for his birthday (his birthday is Tuesday the 22nd) from the kids and I.  I couldn't wait to see how we liked grilling on it.  The steaks turned out amazing.  I'm just happy we did good picking out one of his gifts!  The grill pan is so awesome.   It was pre-seasoned and super duper heavy duty.  I think we will love cooking all kinds of fun things on it.  Having a gas range has defiantly changed the way week cook some foods.  I am loving it!

winner winner steak dinner

The weather today was nice and warm, so Gary grilled steak and corn on the cob tonight for dinner.

Any time he fires up the grill he gets beggars.

All the kids do what we call "drive by's!"  They grab a bite and go play.

It makes me laugh!  We eat half a steak before dinner while sampling the goods!

Daisy Mae never leaves Gary's side.

Layla had to snag a bite too.

I'm thankful for my chef!

Our Easter Sunday

Saturday when we got home from camping Hayden was feeling super crummy.  Bless his heart.  He was wheezing and coughing.  He couldn't even talk or walk without having a coughing fit.  

We gave him several breathing treatments, but nothing helped.  

At midnight I was so worried and couldn't handle it any longer.  I loaded him up and took him to the ER.  I'm thankful I did.  He was a sick little man.

We finally got home and into bed and got a few hours of sleep.

  

Hayden, Daisy and I took a nap while Daddy and Layla got Hayden's prescriptions filled.

Hayden had multiple breathing treatments.

We had a fun Easter lunch just the four of us.

Layla set the table and decorated everything.

We had steaks, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and of course deviled eggs. 

We dined in our pj's and had a fun time talking about our camping trip.

Hayden seems to be on the mend.  I know he will be 100% soon.

Breathing problems aren't anything to play around about.  I'm thankful my Momma instinct made me take him in.  I think this is the day we were supposed to have.  We had other plans for our Easter Sunday, but clearly -- home getting rest is where we all needed to be.

I hope you had a happy Easter!

a recap of our relaxing weekend

Our weekend was all kinds of low key.  It was awesome. The kids have summer colds and we needed some down time.  Their colds aren't super bad, but they are just stuffy enough to drive us bonkers.  At first I thought Hayden was icky from his 3 year old shots on Tuesday. I think that is not the case now that Layla is stuffy too.  Thankfully they are feeling WAY better today!

I took pictures of the clouds.  I was hoping they would produce some rain for us, but nope!

Friday we picked up our new vehicle.  My Chevy Trailblazer was my favorite car EVER.  I really didn't want to let it go, but the air conditioner was giving us trouble.  I didn't want to pay the big bucks to get it fixed, so we just traded it in.  It was about to have over 100,00 miles on it, so it was time.  Gary has a Ford Bronco and it is paid for.  We love the Bronco and really love that it is paid for!!  We decided having one car payment is in the budget, so we got a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.  It is the perfect vehicle for our family.  We took the t-tops off on Friday afternoon and the kids were beyond thrilled.  It was a bit hot for having the hard top off, so the t-tops were just enough for the kids to feel the wind through their hair.  I can't wait until fall and camping in the new 4 door Jeep!!  We can take all four doors off and the hard top too.  I'm loving the versatility of this Jeep.  It is an SUV with tons of room but also a fun adventure vehicle too.  I'll have to take a few pictures soon.

Saturday morning we hit up a few garage/estate sales.  

I found a few fun things and then we came home to play in the pool and grill out.

Sunday was pretty much the same.  We really needed and wanted to go to church, but with the stuffy-ness we decided to stay home.  I'm glad we did.  Hayden sneezed about 100 times throughout the morning.   Due to the heat and nasty noses we didn't play in the pool too long on Sunday.  The water was hot in our little pool.  It only refreshed us for a few minutes and then it was unbearable outside.  Sunday night we grabbed a fun dinner out & watched America's Funniest Videos. AFV is a Sunday night favorite for us.

Our plans for this week are to stay cool.  It should be around 111 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are going to try to fry an egg outside.  I hope it works.  I plan to take pictures and blog about it.  :)  Otherwise,  I think we will hybernate here in the coolness with the A/C cranked down!  Layla starts school in just a few weeks.  We are so excited for a new school year!!!!  She is planning to do a fashion show for me today.  I need to know what fits and doesn't fit for 1st grade!  I know for sure we need a few dresses and some fun shoes.

What are your plans for the week?

weekend update

We had a fun and productive weekend.  I am so tired!  I feel like all we did was work all weekend.  We didn't really, but we did get caught up on some home projects.  A trip to Home Depot had Gary and I busy all afternoon today.



I got yellow mums!  I love fall...and mums. I got yellow to match the already yellow and blue decor in our back yard. I hope they are yellow.  I always buy mums that haven't bloomed.  So...I have to trust the color pot they are in...ha!  Hoping for yellow this year.

Gary got paint and wood for the work area of his smoker.  He was busy all afternoon doing a makeover on his precious smoker.  I love that smoker, so yes it is precious.  It cooks precious yummy food.

The weather was wonderful this weekend.  It was still hot, but not unbearable.  We spent every second we could outside.  Here's a shot of Hayden with a popsicle.  He wasn't too happy about it.  I just poured cranberry juice in a popsicle mold.  It probably wasn't the best popsicle but it was a cold treat.

Layla was a bit of a pill this weekend.  She is so tired from school, but refuses to nap.  She has tested every once of patience that Gary and have.  Oh! the joy of having a headstrong, beautiful 5 year old.  She wants to do  everything for herself.  She is a toot...end of story.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I can't wait to show you guys the crafty side of me.  I did something I never thought I'd do, and I must share.  So, I will post that later this week. 

baconator

I have been wanting Gary to do a guest post for so long...he is the best cook...a wonderful grill master.  I will warn you though, one of the precursors is that he appeals to the guy in you.  He posted a football favorite, and just in time for the upcoming season.  As you know we are huge college football fans.  This recipe would be great for any college football watch parties including tail gates.  In my opinion it is a heart attack waiting to happen.  But it is tasty!

 So, without further ado...

 Here is my husband, Gary, posting his recipe for the baconator.

ingredients:

1 lb bacon, thick sliced your choice

1 lb hot or mild breakfast sausage

1 cup of grated cheese, your favorite varieties

4 red potatoes, flash boiled and chopped to a 1/4 inch

garlic powder, cumin, black pepper

Braid strips of bacon as you would a pie crust, over under, over under.

spread sausage, flat to cover bacon

sprinkle with cheese and potatoes

add sprinkles of spices as you desire.

Roll length wise and pin with tooth pics or wooden skewers at end and in the middle.

Preheat smoker and smoke for 2 hours at approx. 200-250 degrees, with hickory or mesquite uncovered.  Then pull and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Slice with a sharp knife 1 inch slices and dip in ancho ranch sauce.

see (AR) recipe below.

Up close and personal with a slice of the BACONATOR...yum!

Sauce recipe:

1 cup mayo

1 cup milk

3 tbs ranch seasoning

2 tbs ancho chili spice

A fan favorite to be, a man favorite for sure...signing off, Gary

So there it is....I finally got the guest post I have been promising y'all.  I should have known it would have been for the boys.  After all it is football season!

5 ingredient marinade and potatoes

I love steak.  I haven't always been a steak eater, but I am now, and I love the way Gary cooks steak.  In the 10 years we have been married his grilling abilities have gotten so much better.  We both have become better cooks.  We have had some major kitchen fails, but we learn from those mistakes.  We are the perfect cooking team and love to cook and bounce ideas off each other.

Watch out Neeley's...heehee!

Anyway, today I want to share my favorite steak marinade.  It can be used on steak, chicken, ribs, pork, brisket, or any other meat.  I like it the best on a good ole rib eye steak.

Gary is the meat cook in our house, so I don't have exact measurements.

Worcestershire sauce
Garlic Powder
Fresh cracked black pepper
Cumin
Lawry's season salt

Gary washes the meat nicely and pats it dry.  He then pours the sauce on the raw meat, sprinkles the other ingredients over the meat and throws the steaks into a gallon sized storage bag. After you get them into the baggie, mush them around a bit to get the spices all blended in and let them sit in the fridge for 3 or more hours.

I am not happy with the outcome of my steak photos, but you get the idea. 

The meat smelled so good I couldn't take another picture, I had to dig in.

Before grilling let the meat come to room temperature. 

I think the secret is in the grilling. There is an art to knowing how long to cook a steak...we have sat outside many nights with a watch trying to time it just right to cook the perfect steak.  Lots of practice.  And sadly that is why we rarely eat steak out at a restaurant. I would rather cook it at home the exact way we like it :)

That steak pictured above was so big.  I never eat a whole steak...I usually eat half and then we have leftovers for the next day.  The same with the potatoes and beans.  We always make more than we need and then use the leftovers for another fun creation the next day.

The scalloped potatoes seen above are fresh sliced new potatoes.  I slice them very thin in the food processor. Throw them in a grill pan with some lovin'...aka...olive oil, salt, pepper and half a sliced onion.  And Gary grills them too. After they are grilled I sprinkle them with shredded cheese. Yum.

We use the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

This recipe is a post for another day, but it has eggs, bacon and leftover potatoes.  Lots of cheese and obviously topped with tomato and avocado. 

I love the weekends....Gary does most of the cooking and I get to watch and give my recommendations. All I recommended was that he hurry up and get it ready :)