Meal Plan

Tuesday- Salmon burgers, baked sweet potato's, sauteed vegetables

Wednesday- Caesar chicken pasta salad with whole wheat toasted bread

Thursday- Ground Turkey Stuffed squash with Tomato pie might go crustless on the pie

Friday- leftovers or maybe eat out somewhere cheap like subway

Saturday- Sauteed Cabbage and Sausage

Sunday- brunch- potato's (for brian) , eggs (for me) , turkey sausage, toast and some fruit

Monday- Leftovers or sandwiches with fresh raw veggies

Oh, and one of these days I am going to make a Bumbleberry Pie...stay tuned for that one

Ch-Ch-Ch- Change

A couple of weeks ago we said goodbye to half of our community group. This is our small group through our church that we "do life" with and lead. We have been with a lot of these people for a couple of years so it was a bitter sweet goodbye. It was good to multiply so we could make room for more people but change is never easy. Now, our dear friends Matt and Cori will be leading 1/2 of our group and we will take the other half and continue leading at our house. Here are a few pics of our friends from the last get together.

We found a lake

Well, I guess we didn't actually "find" this lake...it was been around for a long time but we just realized it is AWESOME! Basically, I have been looking for a beach for 3 years and just realized there was one in "my backyard". We went to Borden, IN twice over the holiday weekend and loved loved loved hanging out at the beach. We even bought a beach umbrella which is a big commitment for the Laffin's. We will be back again this summer.

Lots to Celebrate!

A few weeks ago we gained a sister when my brother Joe tied the knot in Vegas! Welcome to the family Kate! Love the pictures of them in Vegas...here is just one.

The Zoo

We have had a lot of fun these past couple of weeks, starting with the zoo.
Telia enjoyed herself!

Ruby's first ride on a carousel with her cousin. She actually liked it even if she looks like she doesn't in this picture.

Ruby and her cousin Holden loved climbing on all the animals.

I love this picture of the kids checking things out so seriously with their monkey and puppy dog back packs on!

One More Step Towards Being A Big Girl

Just over a month ago Ruby went from sleeping in this...

To sleeping in this...

Everyday is a little better as she learns new boundaries. We are tired but we know she was ready for it. Once she is asleep she stays in it all night and doesn't get out until we come and get her in the morning. This transition was easier on her than some of the other ones (i.e. taking the pacifier away and moving Telia into her room). I think it was easier because we did a better job preparing Ruby for this transition by telling her stories about a little girl named Ruby who got a new bed etc... We also prepared ourselves for the worst and it wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be...it hasn't been awesome but it hasn't been horrible. A friend told us a long time ago to wait and wait and wait to switch to the big girl bed and I am SO glad that we waited until we knew Ruby was ready. I think that has made a huge difference.

Yummy

We have had a lot of fresh zucchini, squash and basil lately so I thought I would blog about how we have been using them.
First off is my most favorite recipe (at least so far this summer)
Lemony Zucchini Goat Cheese Pizza from the Smitten Kitchen blog

I even made my own whole wheat pizza dough using the smitten kitchen's recipe here
We enjoyed it on a hot summer night with some Sangria and our fresh flowers and basil from our farmer.

We also roasted squash and zucchini with fresh beets, carrots, and onions; grilled some with olive oil and salt and pepper; and made some delicious zucchini bread. I got the zucchini bread recipe from my go to cookbook by Better Homes and Garden. love it

And just so you don't categorize me as one of those girls who cooks, cleans, takes care of the family and blogs without a hitch, I have inserted a picture of my kitchen sink. This is how it looks often...unfortunately. At least we are enjoying life even if our house is a little messy.