My packing helper....

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD) on Wednesday, June 13, 2012.
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The other night, I decided to start packing our suitcases with some clothes and toiletries.  Julia was so excited to help. She is such a little me as she loves to cook, clean, organize and of course tell the boys what to do! We laid out the clothes and started rolling them and placed them neatly in the suitcase.  Then all of a sudden, she realized that she hadn't tried on any of her clothes that I was packing and she needed to make sure everything I was packing got her final approval.  Here are the outtakes...


We start off rolling up the clothes.  This was the easy part.
She was such a great helper and really took "charge" of the whole packing thing.  She loved  knowing what pile was Matthew's which pile was hers and loved matching all the socks and picking out her most prettiest underwear!


Then...we see the dresses.  She tried on every  outfit I had laid out to put in the suitcase.  EVERY OUTFIT.

Here is yet another dress that she decided to take.....

...and another one.  This one is a little more sassy...

Very hard to see but this is her luau dress...it is an off the shoulder pineapple and hibiscus yellow dress.



Boys having fun!

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD)
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Well...the boys seem to be having lots of fun these days!  School is out, no more soccer, no more baseball...so they have been very silly at home lately and lovin' all the time to play outside, ride scooters and of course play football!  Here are just a few outtakes from the last week...

Dave cooks breakfast Saturdays and Sundays.....and also wears my apron.!  He is so not embarrassed to wear this around the house!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

YIPPPEEE!!! LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!! C'MON SUMMER CAMP!





Boys Haircut

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD) on Wednesday, May 30, 2012.
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I just had to share this...I love this picture of my boys.  They both just got a haircut and gosh--- like father like son (with a little of momma in there too...)  One has a little more gray than the other.  One is also missing his front tooth.....




Party Party everywhere

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD)
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This past Memorial weekend was a blast!  We started the weekend off with haircuts for the boys and then an awesome lunch and family time down in Calvert County.  Dave's mom also got us to clean out the basement-- such a task but I know it felt good to get lots of stuff thrown out and to give more things away!

 Sunday was a blast and we had TWO cookouts!  The first cookout was at my mom's house and the kids broke out the water guns and the pool.  My brother did some chillin' while grillin' and we had so much yummy food!

The next cookout was at a friend's house where Matthew & his friends were able to let loose and play in the sprinkler and run around for hours and then to cap the night off...they went to the carnival!

Hope you all had a great weekend and we are so glad that summer is here!

Yes-- grillin under an umbrella....only Abe ...only in Dundalk

I LOVE WATER

How many can we fit in the baby pool?

Water fight!

Photo Shoot

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD)
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Ashley has a snazzy new lens and she knows that Father's Day around the corner and I am in the market for a new lens for him!  She showed me some awesome tips and tricks and also did a photo shoot of Jules!

That's right--- a princess and a water gun.  This has to be Disney's next Princess movie!

Come on boys--- don't be scared of lil ol' me!

I'm cute and I know it.....

Nationals vs. Orioles!

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD) on Monday, May 21, 2012.
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Dave is contuing is promise to Matthew...to take him to see a Capitals game, Nationals game, Orioles game, Redskins game and Ravens game.  We didn't think he could get tickets to the popular battle of the beltway game this past Sunday (May13th) at that Nationals stadium between the Baltimore Orioles (woot woot) and the DC Nationals.  Sure enough at the very last minute, Dave scored some awesome seats for he & Matthew.  I am so happy that Matthew was able to go and really enjoyed the game.  David said that Matthew did not want to play in the Kids area or play in the playstation lounge!  He just wanted to sit and watch the game.  He said that Matthew was so amazed at the size and overall grandeur of the stadium as we are so used to the Baysox stadium.  Matthew loved being able to park at the Navy Yard where David works.  He loved seeing the Naval ships and of course the marines, naval officers and army personnel in their uniforms and guns!
David and Matthew ready for the game!!!  Let's go O's!





Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup-- Olive Garden's Zoupa Toscana!!

Posted by Mary Grace (MGD)
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I love making a big pot of soup on Sundays.  It lasts us the whole week and for those nights where I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I can make a quick meal for the kids and know that I can have a big bowl of good soup and crusty french bread for dinner!  I love to just have soup for dinner sometimes or even for a Saturday afternoon lunch....soup is always better with french bread though!

As you know, I just love the Pioneer Woman so my first stop was to check her blog to see what she was cookin up.  This is where I found the Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup.  It is very similar to the one from Olive Garden called Zoupa Tuscana and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make. 

This recipe did call for heavy cream and half & half.  I opted NOT to use that and just went to 1% milk instead.  The consistency was a little thinner than the Pioneer Woman's recipe but I knew that using 1% milk would do that to the soup.  I just wanted the soup without the heaviness and fullness of the heavy cream and half & half.  I also opted to leave the red pepper flakes out.  Since Dave and Matthew would be eating this, I knew it would be too spicey for them.  I did add it to my soup when we sat down to eat it...because I like that extra bit of spice! 

Try it out....so easy and so good!  Thank you so much Pioneer Woman for your wonderful recipe!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/10/sausage-potato-and-kale-soup/

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