june birthday babes.....

these three ladies are classmates....they are amazing friends....and they all have june birthdays! seeing as school will be out next week we decided to celebrate their birthdays at lunch today!

it was breakfast for lunch and then cupcakes for dessert....yum-o!!!

sweet siblings!!

daddy & daughter!

the birthday girls being oh so silly!!

mommy & daughter!

one more pic of the birthday girls!.....we are going to have so much fun in june with all their *real* parties :)

all the ladies at lunch today....precious!

FCA...

....clean-up day @ mitchell's place!

my husband and another awesome man, coach jeff, are the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) sponsors for their school.....i was so excited for brett & his school when he told me late last summer that he would like to get a chapter of FCA going at his school....i am quite proud of him!!

last friday (yes a week ago!) he gathered his guys and gals at mitchell's place for a little community service....they worked on the playground and washed windows....

oh, and all this hardwork came after a day of volunteering for brett, coach jeff & his wife at the regions golf classic to raise money for the school's athletic programs....whew!....to say he was a bit worn after this day is an understatement.....but he never complained a bit :)

our kiddos were there too watching everyone work....and convincing a few sweet girls to bounce them on the playground!

coach jeff's wife was so sweet to help out too!....yeah, i was in charge of documenting the event with pics....lol!

that is a great group of kids, coaches & dads!!!

a picnic & a ball game....

last night was my company picnic....they decided to do something a little different this year....a picnic & a birmingham barons baseball game!......it was a great deal for a family of four to have dinner and watch a ballgame...

after our hotdogs, burgers & beans we headed down to our great seats behind homeplate....the kids were in awe of the size of the stadium ~ could you imagine if they were at a braves or redsox game?!?!...

the birmingham barons vs the montgomery biscuits....a good ol' in-state rival!

of course, the kids had to meet the mascot.....babe ruff...too cute!

and what is a baseball game without peanuts!?!....gotta have 'em and the kids loved cracking and eating them!

oh my sweet girl!....it was nice to see how much she picked up from softball, she was able to follow the game pretty well....

big man was so cute yelling at the umpire....HUSH IT!!....over and over!

and their daddy said they just had to have some souveniers from their first baseball game....mini-bats & a helmet for big man....of course daddy put #19 on the back :)

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.....well, i think i am quite overdo for a recipe! i have still been cooking a lot lately but so many times i don't have a true recipe ~ more just a method for my madness :) this meal below is like that.....one side item is a true recipe, everything else is a bit of this & that.....a little shake of this, a little dash of that.....sorry ahead of time if i don't have true measurements! we had the honor of hosting our dear friends tommy, sara & their son grey this weekend....this was our dinner saturday night...

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Red Potatoes & Creamed Spinach

Pork Tenderloin

...this is a very basic marinade that i like to use on pork (chops, tenders, whatever)...

- Pepper

- Garlic Salt

- Olive Oil

- Balsamic Vinegar

...again, no real measurements...place tenderloin in a zip-loc bag....several shakes of pepper & garlic salt, a swish or two of olive oil & a few dashes of balsamic on each side. Close bag, mix around well & let marinate at least an hour, longer if you have the time...

....grill over medium-low heat....usually takes around 3o minutes...

Roasted Red Potatoes

1 bag (3 or 5 lb) of small red potatoes
- garlic salt
- pepper
1 package dry ranch dressing
- olive oil
...wash & dry off potatoes. cut up into bite size pieces, as evenly as possible. place potatoes in a zip-loc bag (i was loving these this weekend!). pour over potatoes dry ranch, a few swirls of olive oil, and a couple good shakes of the salt & pepper. close bag & shake up well. pour onto a well greased jellyroll pan.
....roast at 425-450 for 30-45 mins. stir them up a few times.

Creamed Spinach

-2 packages frozen chopped spinach ~ thawed, drained & squeezed dry
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups of milk
- 1/2 - 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large or 2 smaller shallots, finely diced
- 2 gloves of minced garlic
- pinch of nutmeg
- white pepper & salt to taste
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
...in a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter, add flour. whisk together well. slowly add in milk. add in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. heat thoroughly, whisk frequently.
...in a saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add shallots & garlic. cook a minute or two. add spinach and a pinch of nutmeg. a few dashes of salt/pepper. cook for 6-8 minutes.
....add white sauce to spinach. one more dash of salt/pepper. mix together well. pour into a greased casserole dish.
...in microwave, melt 1 tablespoon butter. mix with breadcrumbs & 1/4 - 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (your preference). crumble over top of spinach mixture. bake at 400 until top is browned.

...this was a great meal! so yummy :) earlier in the week i had also made some pulled pork bbq, slaw & beans...here is the recipe for the slaw, it is my own little invention...


ColeSlaw

1 bag of pre-shredded coleslaw
1 cup (maybe a little shy if you don't want it too wet) of Marzetti® Original Slaw Dressing
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (roughly one handful chopped)
ground pepper
celery salt
tabasco sauce
....i like to chop up the cabbage a little bit more. add in the slaw dressing, cilantro, several shakes of pepper & celery salt. a few dashes of tabasco sauce. stir & mix together well. taste. add more s/p if needed. refrigerate at least 30 minutes to chill & let flavors marry.

...i hope you guys like these recipes! sorry i don't always have exact measurements....i think that is why i don't bake :) oh, and all the above pics were borrowd from the internet...i forgot to take food pics this weekend ~ i was too in awe of this sweet baby boy at my house...

Enjoy!...Bon Appetit!!

mother's day....

...and an impromptu photo shoot!

sunday after church we headed to downtown montgomery for lunch and to walk around...it has been FOREVER since i have been to the union station / riverwalk area...it is really beautiful!...they have done a ton to renovate this area....new civic center & hotel, biscuits stadium, amphitheater, new restaurants and a general *facelift* for the whole area....

grams and almost all her grands...

i personally think the kids were starting to get a kick out of posing for pics....they set this one up all on their own...

wow...two family shots in one day!....thanks lisa for snapping some pics of us :)

heading back up to lunch!....those little legs were quite tired by the end of the day...

and what a yummy lunch it was!!....i was so glad mom thought of this great place for lunch...we will be going back very soon!!

umm, to say big man liked his pizza might be an understatement!

after lunch, we headed back down to the river...we needed to walk off some of that scrumptous food...and maybe take a *few* more pics....hehehe!

they loved how close the train came to them.....though it was a bit loud!

not that my family needs a stage to put on a dramatic performance...we sure can't pass one up!

these two below are what this day was all about....my babes...my angels...my *handfuls*...my spirit....i love them beyond measure....thank you sweet children and sweet husband & family for making mother's day so special!! and i am super stoked about my starbucks card and new earrings....whoohoo!!