His First Gun

My Dad has taken Luke to shoot guns a few times, but the last time they went Luke was real good at it.  He had finally gotten the hang of it all.  He was so good in fact, he came home and said, "I am so good at shooting, I should pretty much be doing it everyday."

And apparently, my Dad agreed because he decided it was time to buy Luke his first gun.

 

And so if there is daylight, he wants to be out back shooting at stuff.

I'm not sure if Hank is hiding down there, or what.  But, we did have a talk about being careful not to shoot the dog.  Luke said no problem, but he could not promise he would not shoot a cat.  

Josh smiled. 

I wonder how long all this ammo will last.  My guess is not long.

He has good aim and is pretty consistent.  Look at that concentration!

Eighth Birthday Party

It blows my mind that our Luke is now eight years old.  Time does fly when you are having fun!

This was, by far, the BEST birthday party Luke has ever had.  It was his idea to have his birthday party at his karate school, and it was a wonderful idea!

The kids did a lot of karate things, but one of my favorite parts of the party was when each kid was given the chance to beat the birthday boy.

It is not everyday that your allowed to whip up on your friends and cousins.

And while it was great fun to see each child come up and beat Luke and see Luke battle back.

It was REAL good fun to see them all gang up on my Luke.

Getting ready.......

GO!

They were after him!!  That one in stripes on the end is out for the kill!

But, do not feel sorry for him.  

My father-in-law got the money shot that shows how much Luke loved this beat down.

Just look at that smile!!  That is the best picture ever!

After the beat down, each boy was able to break a board.

Hey Luke, OPEN YOUR EYES!!

After each boy had broken a board, Mr. Mike had two of Luke's cousins come and lay down.  

I had no idea this was coming.

Holy Cow!!!  

I was so happy Luke broke that board....and his cousins were okay!

And then it was time for presents!

Aunt Melanie was in town from California and was able to come to the party.  Luke was so excited!

And Grandpa Stewart, Grandma Stewart, and Aunt Charity came into town!!  Grandma has kissed him bunches since they arrived...and it did not stop for the party.

I'm not sure who is more excited about that gun, Luke or his Grandpa Petty.

The party then got more wild and crazy as we all sang Happy Birthday to Luke while he whipped the nunchucks over his head.  

All the kids had so much fun and the adults had a blast watching and laughing.

Thank you to all who came out for Luke's party!!  I'm so sorry I did not get pictures of everyone who was there.  I was having such a fun time watching the kids that I forgot to take more pictures!

We all love you Luke!!

To Die for Cupcakes!

I am, for the most part, not a food snob.  If it tastes good, I’m on board.  I do not care if it was made from a box, bought at the store, or from scratch.  But, there is one area that I have found I am all about homemade and all against store bought and that is with cupcakes and cakes.  Now, if you are purchasing the cakes from a lovely bakery, then that is different, but the grocery store cakes are bland and almost tasteless to me.

As Luke’s birthday was approaching, I started searching the internet for some new cupcakes to make for him.  For the past three years or so, I’ve made him PW’s cupcakes, which he loves to pieces, but I wanted to do something different this year.

For the most part, I used this recipe from Sweetapolita.  The only difference was that I added sprinkles into the mix and used vanilla sugar (find it here), an idea from another of her cupcake recipes.

I cannot even tell you how good these cupcakes are.  They are perfection.  The icing...oh, fluffy goodness!  And the sprinkles, oh the sprinkles!!!  Luke and I are sprinkle crazy and we do not know when to say when.  Luke absolutely loved these at his birthday party.  And the adults loved them too!

Try them and you will not be disappointed!

Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls

To start Luke's birthday off on the right foot, we all had these for breakfast!!!

Oh so very, very good.

You can get the recipe from the How Sweet It Is blog here.  

I cannot believe our boy is EIGHT years old today.  Time flies.  I know all parents say it, and it is true.

I am so blessed to call him my son.

Happy Birthday, Luke!  Momma loves you so much!

A New Baby in Town

Sean and Kayla had a baby!  Their sweet baby boy was born last week.

Can I just say that it is way fun and exciting to know from the start that someone is pregnant, but BOY it makes for a long wait!  You can read all about Kayla finding out she was pregnant here on her blog.

Luke and I went to see little Jude last Friday night. When I picked Luke up, the following conversation took place.

"Hey, we are going to see Jude!"

"YES!!!!  I can't wait to see my new little cousin.  Wait, he is my cousin, right?!?!  Is Kayla my Aunt??"

"It feels like Kayla is your Aunt doesn't it?  Yes, Jude can be your cousin."

When we got there, Luke stormed in their house and made a mad dash to see his new cousin.  Meanwhile, Sean and I were bringing some stuff into the house.  Luke was so excited that he saw Jude first and touched him first, and was the first one to see him in person and confirm that yes, he is indeed cute as can be.

 
I had my fair share of snuggling too.  I got the impression that he really liked me.  I hope to be babysitting that little boy.  And after all, I owe Kayla many babysitting favors!

Congrats guys!  I am so happy and excited for you both!! 

**Thank you to Sean for taking our pictures since I am a total goof and failed to bring my camera!!

 

Santa Fe Chili with Lime Chicken Tostadas

So, if your camera is in the bedroom and you are in the kitchen and you pick up your phone to take a picture because the bedroom is just toooo far away.......well, you are lazy.  

I was lazy.  Admitting you have a problem is half the battle.....

I think I've mentioned before that I am a tostada freakazoid.  I make them all the time and all different ways.  But, I think these are officially my absolute favorite.  I will be making them often.  And they are easy peesy to make!

I came across this Lawry's Santa Fe Chili with Lime marinade and decided it would be great for my tostada obsession.

I baked two chicken breasts smothered in the stuff (covered so they would not dry out) for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Once they were done cooking, I took a fork and shredded the chicken, stirred it up in the marinade, and then covered for about ten minutes to let the juices soak in a bit.

While the chicken was cooking, I tossed together a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), about a cup of frozen corn (thawed), and about a cup of grape tomatoes (quartered), and a small can of chopped green chilies (drained).  I added salt, pepper, a little bit of extra light virgin olive oil, and some lime juice.  

Next up, build that goodness!  Put on a little shredded chicken, a little of the bean/corn stuff, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  I had turned off the oven, and then just stuck these back in for about 5 minutes to let the cheese melt.  Top with cilantro and you are good to go!

The only thing that would have made these better would have been to add avocado.  I knew this, so I had cut up some, but failed to put it on the tostadas and Josh pointed it out AFTER we were done eating!  Thanks, babe.

Our Monday night dinner was delish!!

So easy, so good, and healthy!  What more could one ask for??

Make these soon, they are yummm!

(Oh, also, I think these would be good as tacos with soft corn tortillas.  We will be having it that way next time.)