Lake Livingston

We just got back from our little Brown/Copes/Rhodes/Hennigan/Slaydon family vacation this year, and boy did we have fun!!  It's always a good time when we all get together, just wish it wouldn't go by so fast!  This year we rented a house on Lake Livingston, and it was so nice.  Nice porch overlooking a big backyard and the lake, huge dock for fishing, and only slightly uncomfortable beds. ;)  The kids had so much fun playing on the beach (and by kids, I'm talking Julianne to Granny).  We fished, swam, splashed, cooked, ate, napped, dominoed, and visited.  It was a great weekend!  I wish we lived closer so we could see each other more, but I love that we've started this little tradition so that we can all get together and play for a few days in the summer.  :)

Swimming in the hottest lake water EVER!

They fished their little hearts out!

I love these people!  Makes my heart happy!

This would've been when Granny developed her random foot sunburn!  

Poor thing.  She had fun, though!

Got the fire started and then everybody went fishing.  These kids aren't big on s'mores anyway.

We had several intense rounds of Mexican Train.  People cheated.  I'm not saying who, but they're in this picture.  And another one who gave birth to the person in the middle of this picture.  But no names, please.  Wouldn't want to embarrass the cheaters.  

Such a fun weekend!  Time to start planning for next year!  

How does your garden grow?

Ever since Justin and I got married (7 years ago, in case you missed the last post), we have had a garden in the summer.  They started out small: a few tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, and things grew (no pun intended) from there.  We've tried all sorts of things, but we generally stick with the basics.  In our red clay, some things just won't grow.  (Like my beloved purple hulls.:( ) Some years we've had good results, some years not so much.  We have been very fortunate this year, in that we've gotten plenty of rain along with ample sunshine, and we've had a pretty awesome harvest this year.  By no means are we Doomsday Preppers, nor are we overly concerned with that zombie apocalypse the kids are talking about these days.  We just think it's kind of a smart idea, for a lot of reasons.  We know where our food comes from and what is (and isn't) in it.  We can pick things when they're ripe and ready.  We can put up what can't immediately eat for later.  The list goes on.  We've been very blessed with plenty of veggies this year, so we've been able to share the extras with family and friends, which we love to do.  It's also great for trading: salsa for berries to make jelly, cucumbers for pickles (we've not had much luck making our own).  Plus, homegrown and homemade stuff just tastes better than the stuff you find at the grocery store.  We have fresh eggs every day, our beef traveled less than 5 miles round trip before it got to our freezer, the girls love their "deer meat" as much as we do, and we make our own sausage that, in my opinion, is better than any you could buy at the store.  I would encourage anyone who doesn't grow or raise at least some of their own food to try it.  It is a lot of work, but the benefits are totally worth it! Here are a few pics from this year:

Getting the ground ready!  Every year he says we're going to downsize, every year he lies. ;)

This pic was taken at the beginning of June.  Our tomato plants were looking great before they turned into a jungle!  Justin is about 6' tall, so this shows how big they were at the time.

These last two pictures were taken yesterday.  Even after the hail storm last week, we were still able to pick 5 gallons of tomatoes, several quarts of peppers, cucumbers, and a monster zucchini which will soon be turned into several loaves of zucchini bread!  Tomorrow we'll be making salsa and chow chow, and maybe just canning some stewed tomatoes if I can convince the hubby. 

7

You know that feeling that you get sometimes, like you can't wipe the smile off your face? Not that everything is perfect and sunshine and rainbows all the time, but just that realization of how blessed you really are?  That's kinda where I'm at right now.  Yesterday marked 7 years that Justin and I have been married.  In some ways, it seems like just yesterday, but (in a good way) it seems like we've been "us" forever.  Like everyone else, our marriage hasn't been perfect, but I can honestly say that there has been WAY more good than bad.  We just kind of fit each other, and I like to think that we usually bring out the best in each other.  Like I've mentioned a trazillion times, we've really had a great time this summer, mostly because we've been able to spend lots of time together as a family.  We've gotten to do things that we usually don't have time for, including just hanging out and relaxing.  Yesterday for our anniversary, we decided to celebrate a little differently.  Nana and PawPaw kept the girls for us overnight, for which we are eternally grateful.  (For all the family time we've been having, that was the first time we've actually gotten to spend some "alone" time this summer. Much needed and appreciated!)  Instead of going out to eat and trying to find a movie to watch or something to do, my sweet husband had an even better idea: let's just stay home.  Who knew I'd have the best seafood dinner I've had in a long time right here in Cole Central?!  Grilled lobster, shrimp, and redfish with fresh squash and zucchini!  It was amazing.  Really.  Got to swim and relax in the pool without throwing the big one in the air or holding the small one because she doesn't want to wear her floaties.  Then we pulled the recliners into the middle of the living room and rented a couple of movies, ate popcorn and held hands.  It really was a perfect night.  My favorite anniversary date so far.  Still smiling.  :) 

Just Fishin'

Have I mentioned lately just how much we are enjoying our summer? I feel as though I may not have said that in a day or two, so let me fix that...we are LOVING our summer!!  From swimming, to working in the garden, to camping, to just hanging out, we are just having a blast this summer!!  Yesterday, it was time to do a little fishing, so we took the girls to the catfish ponds to get some supper.  MeMe met us there and we were able to catch about 21 pounds of fish!  

4/5 of us had a great time!  (Julianne could not give a rip about fishing.  She sat in the truck most of the time, which is why you only barely see her in one picture.)

Abigail is the fishing queen around here!  I think she caught the most and biggest fish AGAIN this time!

   

Fishing is serious business!  

She reeled 'em all the way in with no help this time!  So proud of my big girl!

MeMe got caught some big ones, too!  

She did such a great job!  I think she would've fished all day if we could've afforded it! 

Okay, if you blow this picture up, then squint really hard, you just might be able to see Julianne sitting in MeMe's lap fishing!  She even caught a fish!  About the time they got it reeled in, she decided that she needed to get back in the truck!  She's a country girl, but fishin's just not her thang! Can't wait til this weekend to go again! Have I mentioned what an awesome summer this has been?! ;)

Good Eats!

I think it's safe to say that Summer is here to stay in SWLA.  Warm days (only in the upper 80s, still got a few degrees to go before we can officially call it "hot", don'tcha think?) and afternoon rain showers (Thank You, Lord!) have really helped our little garden grow lately!  In fact, we're growing a LOT of a few veggies: squash, zucchini, and cucumbers.  (Still waiting on the tomatoes and peppers!)  We eat plenty, give away what we can, and then try to figure out what to do with the rest.  We've never had much luck putting up squash and zucchini or making homemade pickles with the cucumbers, and the same ol' fried squash/zucchini and cucumbers in vinegar or Italian dressing gets a little old after awhile, knowwhatImean?  :)  I've found a few recipes that we really like to help us use up our leftovers, and I've had several people ask for them, so I thought I'd share them here.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Baked Zucchini

Ingredients: 
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon Cavender's Greek Seasoning
1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese (can use the grated kind if that's all you have, but shredded is better :))
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, butter and oregano. Arrange in a single layer on a greased baking sheet or shallow baking dish; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Yield: 2-3 servings.

Kansas Cucumber Salad

Ingredients: 
1 cup mayonnaise                                1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar                                      4 medium cucumbers
4 teaspoons white vinegar                    3 green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dill weed

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, dill and salt.  Mix well.  Peel cucumbers and slice thin.  Chop green onions, stalks and all.  Add to bowl and toss.  Cover and chill for at least an hour.  (It gets better the longer it sits.) 

I've found a few other recipes that I plan on trying out in the next week or so.  If they're worth sharing, I'll let y'all know! 

Happy Father's Day!

I would like to wish a very Happy Father's Day to all of the amazing Dads, Daddies, Papas, PawPaws, Brothers, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends I know!  Here are some pics of some of my FAVORITE Dads:

My girls and I are very blessed to have these awesome men in our lives! 

I can't imagine that it's an easy thing being the Daddy of 2 girls, but I know a guy who could write a how-to book!  He's fun and loving and patient (most of the time).  He teaches them all sorts of important things, like how to fish and hunt and swim and spit and sing Johnny Cash songs. He watches endless cartoons and paints toenails and fixes hair.  He pulls teeth and digs out splinters and kisses imaginary bo-bos.  I knew when I met him that he was going to be a wonderful Daddy, and he has never disappointed me.  Daddies are so important to their girls, and my girls have the BEST!!  

Justin Slaydon, I love you with my whole heart.  I appreciate all that you do for your girls, not just today, but every day.  Happy Father's Day!

The Fruits of Our Labor

Okay, so it wasn't so much "our labor" until today, and they were already fruits before the labor...but y'all know what I mean!  Today was jelly/jam making day at the Slaydon house, and we are officially exhausted!  Today we made mayhaw jelly and dewberry (blackberry) jelly and jam.  It took ALL day, but we have about 24 pints of the sweet stuff (minus a couple that already found another home!) to show for it!  

We finally got to try out our new Jelly/Jam Maker that we got for Christmas!  This thing is awesome, no more standing and stirring!  It does all the hard work for you!  

Here's a little action shot for ya! 

We had WAY more jars than we had labels for.  

Justin somewhat accidentally picked up some 12 oz jelly jars, and I just love how pretty they look!  

I didn't get a picture of the completely finished product, but this was definitely towards the end.  We worked in small batches, only making about 3 pints per batch, but we got a good system going and were rocking along pretty much all day.  (And let me just add that I was able to cook 3 meals during all this, too.  Go me.) It was definitely a productive day, and this is something we both really enjoy doing.  We've got some more dewberries in the freezer and we're looking forward to getting some Ruston peaches for some peach jam in a few weeks.  Plus the garden is starting to come in, so that means salsa and chow chow to make, plus no telling what all else.  But for now we are done, laid up in the recliners both wishing the other one would come over and rub our feet. 

We'll see how that pans out.  :)