Cleanup from the storm ...

We had a storm go through our area early this morning.  We didn't have much damage around our house from the heavy rains, thunder & lightening, and balls of hail ... but some did. 

My dad called this morning at 7:00 and asked if the kids would like to come and help pick up sticks from the storm.  We were more than happy to help.  I just couldn't believe my eyes though when we pulled into the driveway.  We had one small branch down in our lawn, but pulling into mom and dads driveway was reminded me of helping clean up in Mississippi!  There were HUGE branches, tons of twigs, and piles of leaves all laying around ... everywhere.  Mom thought we should start on the roof and get all that debree down first!!!  :)

The kids and mom started picking up the branches and loading them on the golf cart.  One load after the next went into the meadow and dumped.  I started blowing with mom's blower and Mommy and I blew all the leaves and little twigs into the meadow. 

The heat was heavy and hot.  We were dripping sweat as we worked!  Unbelievable.

We did most of the clean up work but as we were about finished, Dad pulled in to help.  He got on his BIG tractor and was going to move the HUGE branch (seriously, this was the size of our full grown trees at our house!!!).  He was going to have to cut it up in pieces to move.

This was mom's driveway.  You can see where she started blowing.

 Here's a picture of their meadow.  Lots of branches and leaves down.

That big pipe was there ... not from the storm.

 Mommy D. helping with the blowing.  Itt really diddn't take too long with two blowers and three pick up people!!!

 Mom's front lawn ...

 Our cute helpers!!!

I promised the kids some lunch and swimming so we didn't stick around to watch the big stuff get moved.  We enjoyed the pool water for about 1 1/2 hours and then home again for relaxtion in the AC and naps!!!  I am so grateful for the cool house and healthy bodies to enjoy the swimming!!!

Mike is off to play some softball in this heat.  It's going to be hard but he loves this sport and because he was asked to help in a tournament ... he's out in the hot weather! 

Summer at it's best ...

Sun ... Hot ... Water ... Pool ... Good Food ... = SUMMER

We are so enjoying our summer!  More than I ever remember.  Diffently better with a toddler and not an infant like last year.  Ashlyn loves the pool water and loves it outside.  I adore her little tan that she can even get through all that baby 50 block!!!  Amazing!

We have been at the pool yesterday and and the day before.  Maybe even today???  Smile!  I am enjoying the weather, the kids, and the friends that invite us to their pools!!!  Never turn that down, right?  Thanks Annie and Marlene!!! 

Wednesday was Mike's 35th Birthday!!!  I didn't remember it was his birthday first thing, but while I was brewing him a cup of coffee before work, it's then that I remembered.  I served his coffee 'just the way he loves it' ... good coffee, topped with a big pile of whipped cream, and then swirled with caremel syrup on top!!!  I gave it to him and said, "Happy Birthday."  I was so glad I remembered before he was off to work!!!  As he walked out the back door, I said, "I hope others remember it's your birthday today too."  His comment back was, "Don't worry ... I will tell them!"  :)

That's one thing that I love about my man!!!  He's got this awesome sense of humor!!!  He did let other's know it was his birthday by sending all his close friends texts!  He takes all the gifts he gets with pride!  Don't get the wrong picture here ... he's not a prideful person or gready!  He just loves to be recongnized!  Some would care less to have a birthday celebration and others knowing about it.  Some want EVERYONE to remember and comment!

I asked him for a special birthday supper request and he asked me to make "Tomato Basil Pizza".  This is one of our favorite foods in the summer.  Homegrown tomatoes is the absolute must ingredient!  I made the pizza and we celebrated with a small chocolate cake for dessert.  (Thanks to a local bakery!!!) 

Dough:  1 Tb. yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup warm water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cup flour

1 cup kyrol flour or bread flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water.  Add salt and oil and mix well.  Add flour and let rise for 15 minutes.  Spread out onto 1 round pizza pan. 

Heat oven to 375.  Spread 1 cup mozzarella cheese on the unbaked pizza dough.  Mix 1 another cup of mozzerella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese together with 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 Tb. basil leaves and 1 garlic clove minced.  Slice 4 tomatoes and lay on top of mozzarella dough.  Spread on top your mayonniase mixture.  Bake for 25 minutes or until dough is completely baked through.  Yummy!!!  Yield:  1 pizza

________________________________________

The instant Mike walks in the door from a day of work, Aslyn is demanding all his love and hugs and kisses and then ... to the swing!  She loves it outside and especially with Daddy!!!  She just started sitting on the one end by herself.  Big stuff!!!  :)

 The others join in on the fun too!!!

 

_________________________________

If you plant a Zucchini Plant it seems you have plenty to go around!!!  They are in season right now and because I planted an eggplant and not zucchini, I have my sister and cousin that are supplying us with this wonderful veggie.  Making a bread out of zucchini is delicous.  Slice it and spread a thin (or thick :) ) layer of cream cheese on it and enjoy.

Zucchini Bread

2 1/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 T. Vanilla

1 cup oil

2 cups grated zucchini

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamin

Bake at 325 for 1 hour!!!  Yield:  2 loaves

 

Beach Trip ... with church friends!!!

I do not know how many years this beach trip has been scheduled on my calendar year after year?  I guess I could look back at all my yearly painer books but I will instead take a guess.  5?  Maybe, more???  The amount of years dosen't really make an important statement but this does ... BEACH, SAND, WATER, LAUGHTER & CHURCH LADIES!!!

There is a group of us ladies from church that do our same routine every June.  Some ladies leave after church Sunday afternoon.  The rest of us leave early Monday morning.  We all stay till Tuesday night.  I have always waited to leave till Monday.  We meet early and then stop for a hearty breakfast when we are just about at our distanation.  Bob Evans seems to be our fav!

We packed up our luggage and five of us ladies chatted while we drove south.  As we were loading up our suitcases, I remembered that I forgot to pack in my running shoes.  Oh NO.  I must have them!  I was wanting to enjoy the sunshine and beach sounds while running!  Mike met me half way and then we were off to get a small tire leak plugged.  (Thanks again, Dave!)  Goodness, with all our little stops we were ready to hit the road!  Kathy suddenly couldn't find her water bottle and so we swung back for that in her vechile!  :)

Rehobeth Beach signs were exciting to see!!!  The weather didn't look real promising so we turned on the radio.  Not kidding, listening for about ONE minute, the weather came on and said something like this, "If you are going to the beach today ... it is NOT a good day to go.  Winds, Thunderstorms and a chance of Tornadoes."  We laughed and looked at each other with total disbelief.  We figured the Christian station wasn't lying or joking, but it seemed funny to us.  No turning back ... we arrived after some rain drops and clouds but it was warm and partly sunny.

We settled on the beach and relaxed.  Then the unbelief came true.  The wind picked up.  Clouds started to look ugly.  Soon the life guards made everyone come out of the water and off the beach.  After just putting on some lotion, we were packing up our towels and walking toward the boardwalk.  Some went shopping and some of us went back to the motel and enjoyed the sun which did keep peaking out inbetween the rain showers and lightening. 

We had a gorgeous late afternoon and evening!!!  Thanks, God!!!!  Suz, Sadie and I went for a 2 mile run.  We worked up some appitite!  We ate at our usual all time favorite restaurant "BIG FISH".  The food is wonderfullllllll!!!  Then we walked the streets and shopped again and laughed and chatted and laughed and hung out!!!  Wonderful friendships and 'time off for mom' time!

We all relaxed and watched a movie late into the night.  It always seems a bit strange for me to just 'go to bed' and not tuck any kids in bed or kiss my husband good night.

The next morning we woke up to bright sunshine and ladies were going for runs and walks!!!  What a blessing!!!  I went for another 2 mile run alone.  I ran the boardwalk and passed many, many other runners.  I just love that morning sun shining on my sweating body.  Something about that seems so healthy!  :)

The whole day on the beach was warm and gorgeous.  Not a cloud.  Not a drop of rain.  Only sun rays and fun!  I love this group of ladies and so when it was time to wrap up our belongings, it's a bit sad that the trip is ending so fast.

We all grab some last minute candy's for our kids and baby sitters and then back home we go!!!

Thanks so much ladies for the fun trip!  Thanks Naomi for always planning this fun event!!!!  Thanks too to my babysitters!  Jody, Mike and Angie and of course our dog sitter - Sadie!  Thank you for making this trip available for me to enjoy!

If you need a break ... grab some girlfriends and head to the beach!!!  You will love it!!!

////////////////

Rehobeth Beach!!!  Those blue skies and waves are creations from our almighty God!!!

 I only had my phone for picture taking.  This is cool.

 Our lodging and foods ... that is one piece of peanut butter pie!!!  Huge and awesome!  (No, I did not eat it all myself.  I actually have a big piece yet in the fridge!!!)

 Had to take a picture of the Grotto Pizza sign for my mom.  I love their Greek Salad.  My mom loves this restaurant and enjoys their pizza.  Thin crust and delicous!!!  (Let's go sometime mom! : ) )

Thanks ladies for the great trip!!!  I treasure our friendships so much!!!  Now, it's great to be back home with my family!  Today is Mike's birthday!  I need to come up with a birthday supper treat for tonight!!!  I love my man!!!  Happy Birthday, Hun!!!  I love you!!!

Corn on the Cob!!!

Our family favorite vegetable is ready for eating!  SWeeT CoRn!!! 

Today was the first I seen a nearby road side stand with fresh corn on their sign.  I just had to stop and get some because corn on the cob is one of the kids favorite vegetables on the dinner table.  I am not sure if it's the taste or the experience that is so great!?!  They take a cob and drench it in butter.  Sprinkle lots of salt on top.  Smile and enjoy!!!

Ashlyn seemed to really enjoy it too.  Last week, we ate at Chilies while Mike was in Nic.  The kids ordered corn on the cob as their vegetable.  (Don't fool yourself ... the local corn is way much better!!! :) )  Ashlyn just wanted Matthew's at the restaurant.  So today, when she seen the corn in the sink while I cleaned off the husks, she was crying for some.  NOW!  She waited ... but it was tough.  She took a hold of it like a pro and ate it off really good!!!

Hadassah is off to a sleep over/birthday party tonight so she didn't get this treat yet.  Next week!!!

There are so many yummy foods in our area right now.  When I stop at local road side stands, I want everything!  Zucchini, squash, blueberries, beets, asparagus, green beans ... plus more!!!  Last night I cooked some green beans.  (Lucky there were some left!  The kids love these raw!)  Nothing beats fresh, local fruits and veggies!!!  Tonight, I made with our corn, a zucchini pizza casserole.  Another delicious dish and plenty left for tomorrow too! 

I am so blessed to have these fresh foods at my finger tips!!!  Be thankful!!!

Lapp Family Vacation

We got back last night from our annual Lapp Family Vacation.  The past two years we went to a very nice cabin a few hours away from home and enjoyed it VERY much!!!  (Thanks mom for reserving it for the family again this year!!!)

The trip started on Monday afternoon.  Actually, it all started Monday morning because it took everything I had to be packed, loaded and organized by 3:30 PM.  Monday's is always a big laundry day for me and then with cleaning up from the weekend, cleaning out Mike's clothes and suitcase from his trip to Nic, and repacking was a chore.  A fun thing though ... don't get me wrong.  Packing for vacation is always worth it!!!

Mike came home Monday afternoon and walked in the door and then right back out.  I sometimes wonder how he can keep his mind together and still be sane!!!  We drove into Lancaster to make settlement on some apartments that we are investing in!  This is Mike's first buy for rental units and he is excited!  We needed to sign lots of papers.  Thanks to the kids for being patient!!!  We then stopped at a small pizza shop for a few slices of pizza and a gyro sandwich.  Then off to the mountains we went ....

We arrived safe and sound and excited!  We unloaded our things and then the snack came out!!!  Why is it on vacation, especially at the mountains, that snack is a huge must?  The fruit and veggies did take over a bit and not just sweets!!!  Thankfully!!!

We had a ping pong tournament.  Matthew LOVED the pool table and played lots of games.  I wish like crazy I had some pictures of him playing.  It was his real highlight!!!  KanJam was a big hit too!  The guys (and girls :)  ) played tons of this!!!  Mary Sue's arm was so sore the next day from throwing so much frisbee!  A few games of Settlers and then some croquet filled up our fun times!

The weather was warm, so of course the inground pool was another big hit!!!  Matthew was like a fish!  Him and his goggles!!!!  Ashlyn loved the water too and even got a swimsuit mark!!!  Hadassah loved to lay of the raft and float!

Monday night we stayed up late, but Tuesday night they kids and 'young married' stayed up really late!  1:30 AM!!!  :)  They had a real blast chatting and laughing.  I love it so much when family just gets together and laughs there eyes out!!!  Good tears!!!  Everyone slept in the next morning! 

We did however, miss Ben's and Steve's this year!  With Ben's living in Florida, it makes it tough to always have the fun things planned when they are around.  Steve was working out of town, so they couldn't either come.  We missed them so much and the kids missed their cousins!  It was weird to have just our kids up there without other cousins running and swimming with them!  Miss you guys!

This girl loves watermelon!!!

 Here are Mike's parents.  They are wonderful and really love life.  They love to travel.  They love Florida!  They love their family!  Matthew and "Mommy Lapp" are watching KanJam!

 Serious game playing ...

This is such an adorable stage in life for this little gal!!!  I love this stage!  Ashlyn's personally is really blooming!  She is sweet and loves, loves her siblings.  She loves life.  Loves to laugh and have fun!  Here she is wishing to be on the other side of the gate, because that's where the pool is.  I think she is down right adorable!!!  A gift from God!!! 

 15 Months Old ...

 Now, in the pool!  Daddy loving it too!

 Lena and Hadassah on the raft enjoying the hot sun!

 Beautiful Girls ...

 This cabin is known for all the humming birds!  We seen lots each day!  God's creation is amazing.  Too bad for the ground hogs though.  With Uncle Matt around, they didn't stand a chance.  He was out hunting and shooting them!  He was even on the roof and high porches.  A tad desperate, but OK.

Thank you Lapp Family for all the fun this past week!!!  Love you guys!!!