Chiles Peach Orchard

This morning, me and two other moms from the neighborhood loaded up our kids and headed out to Chiles Peach Orchard. Greg and I went last year (you can read abou that here) and I really enjoyed it. I'm a fan of Chiles Peach Orchard on Facebook and they kept posting that strawberry picking season was going to be over in a few days, hurry in if you want to pick your own. I've been wanting to go all month, so I'm glad that we finally went down there. It's only a 30-35 minute drive.

Here's when we first arrived and we all started to head out to pick some strawberries.

The boy seemed to know immediately what to do. They saw me grab a couple and they started to do the same.

 I think we were in the field for about 5 seconds before they realized you could eat the strawberries. Then, it was all over. They were eating them faster than I could pick them. They LOVED them. They would just pick them right off the plant and eat them.

 Carter helping me pick "strawberries". After he realized they were so yummy, he would put leaves and stuff in my box and he'd eat the strawberries.

Evan picking strawberries.

Mmmm.....yummy!

 It's so beautiful out at the orchard.

Evan looks so big to me in this picture. So sad. They definitely aren't babies anymore.

Maybe today wasn't the day to wear their new outfits from Mamaw. :( But, luckily I just bought some oxyclean spray to remove stains from clothes.

After picking strawberries. We decided to load up and go get some peaches since they were out also.

Evan immediately picked one up off the ground and started munching. I quickly replaced it with one I just picked off the tree. He loved it!

Evan was so sweet and got one for Carter to eat also. They stuck together while we were out today. If one ate something, they made sure the other had some. If one ran off, the other followed and they laughed as I chased them. I love how close they are.

The boys had such a blast. It was so hot and humid, but they didn't seem to mind. They loved eating all the strawberries and peaches and getting to run around. Evan ate his peach all the way down to the pit and I knew he'd try and eat that too if I didn't take it. He cried when I threw the pit away. :(

 Exploring the peach orchard.

The boys were exhausted when we left. They both fell asleep immediately when we drove off.

And just for fun. Here's the boys last year when we went strawberry picking. I cannot believe how much they've changed in a year. It makes me kinda sad how fast they're growing up.

Splash Park Fun

Today, we decided to take the boys to a splash park. I have been looking forward to this since last summer when I found out we had several around town, but the boys were too young. It's been really hot and humid this weekend, so we decided to go early since it was warm enough to play in the water already and to hopefully beat the crowds. The water turns on at 10:00, but we got there about 9:30 or so. We let the boys play on the park for a little bit.

The boys were obsessed with the splash zone already, and they didn't even know water came out of the ground. They had fun just running around that area.

When the water came on, we got the boys in their bathing suits. They didn't know what to think at first.

Here's the splash park with all the water going.

Evan didn't even hesitate, he jumped right in there and started getting wet. He had the time of his life, he ran all the water areas and didn't care about getting wet at all. I love this picture, the look on his face when he first got wet and realized what this was is so cute.

Since we got there so early, there was only a couple other kids there. It started filling up fast but there still wasn't a huge crowd when we left. Hopefully that's how it is this summer and it's not too crazy if we get there early.

Carter was a little more apprehensive. He was scared to go near the water, so I carried him over and let him touch the water while I held him. Then I showed him that he could splash the puddles just like he like to do in the bath and in the backyard at home. It didn't take him long to warm up and soon he was running around with Evan.

I couldn't believe Evan running under all the sprayers. I thought he'd stay back and put his hand under the water and be a little more shy about it the first time we went. But, nope, he was a wild child today.

And off Carter goes with Evan.

The boys were worn out when we left. We fed them lunch when we got home and put them down for a nap, but not before they got a little chocolate ice cream for dessert. Carter was very skeptical of the ice cream at first, but after the first bite, he was sold. Evan had some too, but I didn't get any pictures of him eating it.

Mmm....good stuff.

During the boys nap, I went and met two different people to sell a couple of things off Craigslist. When the boys woke up, we made a quick trip to the grocery store and came home and played until the boys bedtime. We are all worn out, it's been a fun and busy weekend. It was the perfect weekend to kick off the summer. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time outside and playing in the water with the boys this summer.

Sprinkler Play and a Recipe

Saturday we had another fun filled day with Mamaw & Papaw. Greg and my dad got a lot of projects done around the house, me and my mom did a little shopping during the boys nap, and of courrse we spent some time with the boys. It was another beautiful (and hot) day, so we let the boys play outside again.

We started off the day with biscuits and gravy. Mmmm... My dad makes gravy for us anytime he comes to visit or we go visit them. It's the best. We gave the boys some, Carter was more interested in the raspberry jam, but Evan ate some biscuits and gravy also.

While Greg and my dad worked on installing shelves in the computer room closet, we played downstairs with the boys. They love playing with balls, especially Evan.

After their nap, we went outside again to play in the water.

I decided to hook the hose up to the sprinkler and let the boys play in it. It was their first time playing in the sprinkler, so there's a ton of pictures. We got such a kick out of watching the boys and their reactions to the water. They were so funny. The first time the water came down, Evan didn't know what to do. Here he is, ready to get wet, but it kept coming and I think he was trying to dodge it.

Because if you look past Carter, you can see Evan's poor feet in the air. haha. He didn't know where to go.

But, both boys figured it out really quick and had such a good time playing in the water.

These are a little out of order, here's my dad in the boys room before they took a bath for the night.

Here's one of the many projects that Greg and my dad got accomplished while they were here. I got these shelves at Ikea last weekend. I'm so excited to have them up.

While the boys were playing in the water, my dad and Greg were busy planting my vegetable garden.

I'm telling you, we are the world's worst hosts. My parents come up, they brought ribs with them in a cooler to grill out, my dad and Greg install two closet organizers, hang shelves, go on many trips to Lowe's, spent a few hours in the hot, (VERY hot sun) grilling the ribs and corn for dinner, cooked biscuits and gravy, planted my vegetable garden, played with the boys, bought stuff for us and the boys, I don't think I washed a single dish while they were here, the entire house was picked up while we were bathing the boys, they played with the boys all day, my mom painted a shelf for me that I had been needing to do, and I'm sure even more things that I'm not mentioning. I feel bad, they need a vacation after visiting us. Plus, they have such a long drive from Georgia to get here. We're very, very lucky. And we really appreciate it.

And these two little boys LOVE their Mamaw and Papaw. As soon as they pulled in the driveway, I said "Mamaw & Papaw are here" and the boys dropped their toys and ran to the front door, laughing and smiling. They were so excited. They loved every second they got to spend with them and they were very sad to see them go today. :(

When the boys play in the cold water, they each have a face they make when the get sprayed with the cold water and they are so funny! Here's Carter's face that he makes.

And here's Evan's face that he makes when he gets wet.

I tried a new recipe this weekend. I've been wanting to make this baked bean recipe I found on Kevin and Amanda's blog for a long time, but Greg doesn't like baked beans. My mom likes baked beans though, so I knew I needed to try them while she was here so I'd have somebody help me eat them. Well, they turned out really good and everybody liked them. Even Greg--who hates baked beans. I was so excited that they were a hit. We'll definitely be having these again and I'm so glad that Greg liked them so I don't have to wait until we have company to make them. They were really easy to make.

Ultimate Baked Beans

2 (15 oz) cans Van Camps pork & beans
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pkg lipton onion soup mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 lb mostly cooked bacon

Put the bacon in two 9x13 dishes, cutting if necessary to get it to fit. Place the dishes in a cold oven. Then turn the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for about 25 minutes or until it's done. It doesn't have to be "all the way done" since the bacon will cook for another 45 minutes with the beans. (this is the best way to cook bacon, by the way)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients except bacon together and spread in a 9×13 dish. Top with cooked bacon. Cover with aluminum foil and bake covered for 30 mins, then uncovered for 15 mins. Makes one 9×13 dish.