Summer Daze

If every week of summer break passes as quickly as the last one has, I need to stop blinking or I'll miss the entire thing! Wow! I don't ever remember time passing this fast before.

A week ago we attended our niece, Hannah's, 8th grade graduation ceremony. No, her school is not in the Dominican Republic, the flag just happens to be the one she stood in front of in the hallway. Seems like just yesterday she was going into 4th grade here in Michigan. Congratulations, Hannah!! We love you!

I'm glad I took these two photos of her out in the hallway before the ceremony began, because the ones I took in the auditorium were too dark to see anything.
Last Thursday we visited our local zoo with my good friend H. who was there on her daughter's field trip. Was fun to catch a few hours with them and check out the animals.

Our favorite exhibit at this zoo is the bird cage. It's a giant cage with a TON of parakeets inside. You can purchase popsicle sticks with birdseed attached for $1 and then go inside the cage and feed the birds.

Nearly 2 weeks ago, we stayed the weeked with the B. family. We have so much fun together, and the kids get along like a house on fire. They all looked so cute Sunday morning that we had to get their pictures.




Where's Waldo?? Yes, this is my pathetic pantry. Owen came in here looking for pop-tarts but couldn't find them (maybe that's a good thing). Anyway, at first I figured it was just a guy thing, and he couldn't find them because he doesn't have good genes for finding things. I admit that it took me a minute to locate them as well. Can YOU find the pop-tarts? Sorry, no prizes (or pop-tarts) will be awarded for playing this game. I probably could, however, do with some serious suggestions for organizing this mess.
This photo is about a week old, but it was the first day I actually saw my little zucchini plants poking through the dirt. They are much larger now, and providing Mr. Cottontail doesn't dine on them, I'll be able to watch them grow and grow! Very exciting for this first-time gardener.
Do you remember the post I did about the homemade vanilla? Well, I thought I'd give you an update. The photo on the left was taken March 27th, the day I started it. You can see how the vanilla beans have marinated since then. I'm still letting them sit. I don't know how "thick" it'll get, but I want to wait a bit. The cork smells good, though!
Ok, a grilled chicken recipe has been requested, and I aim to please. I'm embarrassed to call this a recipe since there is so little involved in cooking it, but I will say that it is definitely a no-fail way to grill chicken that I have used over and over again. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is the recipe I fall back on when I don't know what else to fix and I'm in a hurry. Old Faithful. It's always tasty and juicy.

Butter and Garlic Grilled Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if frozen, just thaw)

1/4 c. butter, melted

2 large garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat grill to 400*. Melt butter and combine with minced garlic in a small dish. Salt and pepper each side of chicken. Using a basting brush, baste chicken with butter garlic mixture and place on grill over direct heat. Cover and grill for 10 minutes. Turn chicken over and baste again with butter garlic mixture, cover and grill for another 10 minutes. Check chicken for doneness, and continue to baste every 5 minutes on each side until completely cooked through. Serve!