Vaca Part 1, Clingman's Dome Hike

Little gift shop on the mountain.


Views from the trail.

Isaac said he was going to climb to the top! :)
Climbing the rocks on the side of the path.
After climbing the rocks. Don't look so excited! I'm not sure what they were looking at.
Eating wild blueberries.
S & I right before we went up the observation deck.
This is after we walked up the observation deck.
Some berries Isaac found on the "trail".

More of a paved walkway than a trail.
From the "Observation Deck".
Observation Deck from the ground.
Our family at the top. The only family pic we got on our vacation!

We went to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee last week for our vacation. I have so many pics that I am just going to post them in segments. :)

Best Friends

Isaac and Savannah love to play on their beds. This is on Isaac's bed the other day, just after I gave Isaac a haircut.



I will be linking to "Wordless Wednesday" at the Miller Racing Family's blog!

Happy Wednesday! :-)

Baby Elizabeth

This is my precious niece, Elizabeth Nicole! Her Mama is my sweet sister in law, Leigh. Elizabeth (or Lizzie) was born Saturday, August 7, 2010. She was 8 lbs, 10 oz!

This is Elizabeth and her Uncle Joe (my hubby). :)
The cousins & their proud Mimi! (Joe's Mama) :-)

Six Years Together

Our Wedding Day.

Tomorrow, July 31st, 2010 Joseph and I will have been married 6 years! It is strange how long and how short that seems, all at once. I can truthfully say, even though I know this is really sappy, that we are even more in love than we were on our wedding day. However, we definitely don't get as much alone time as we did then! We are going on a short over-night get away, without the twins! They will be having fun with their Grammy & Grandpa.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Today, Rain is a Good Thing

We got caught in a rain shower today. Instead of wanting to run back in the house, Isaac and Savannah shouted excitedly "Mama, rain RAIN rain!!!" And started running around, throwing their heads back and laughing. It made me think of when I was a little girl, wearing my swim suit with the purple flowers that I loved, saying "Mama, can I go outside in the rain?!" :-) Mom would usually say yes, if there wasn't any lightning. ;) So, anyway, we played in the rain today. Isaac ran around with "reckless abandon" and Savannah did an impromptu rain dance. Then, of course, I had to take some pictures!

A Couple of Pictures & Blueberry Picking

Picking "booberries".
Picnicking on the 4Th.

This has been a busy summer! Isaac and Savannah are growing like weeds, and getting funnier by the day. :) Last week we picked blueberries & they had so much fun! Isaac picked for about 30 minutes and then exclaimed "Mama, I'm ready to go to my home now!" I told him we couldn't go home yet, we had to pick more berries. Savannah and Isaac both asked me if we were picking berries to put up for the "long winter". We've been reading "Blueberries for Sal", and they think we are putting up berries for the winter, just like Sal and her Mother. Hopefully I will be able to pick enough to freeze/can for us this year! S & I are kind of wimps though, and they can't stay out there long. ;-) We were out picking for about an hour, and they started asking to go home and get in the pool. Then Savannah spilled about two big handfuls of blueberries out of her bucket. She had been picking very intensely, but I think that kind of took the wind out of her sails! Isaac gasped and said "Mama, those booberries are gonna die!" Anyway, we picked up what we could out of the thick grass, but we didn't stay long after that. Isaac got hot and flushed, sat down under a bush and started crying. Savannah tried to console him at first and then she started crying. Usually when one of them starts the other is soon to follow! Ha! So then I carried my big babies to the car & we went for ice cream, the "cure all" remedy. :-)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! :)

The BEST Blueberry Muffins

We have been eating a lot of blueberries lately, and this morning I found the BEST blueberry muffin recipe yet! I am very picky about blueberry muffins, and don't often find a recipe that I like, so I am definitely excited about this one!

This recipe is from Ina Garten on foodnetwork.com

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins: (now you know that this isn't a "lite" recipe)

Ingredients: nocoupons

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature*
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

*I used salted butter, because that is what I had on hand, and the muffins did not taste salty.

I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!