Beach Vacation 2010

Family. Sun. Storms. Walking places. The Gulf. Time to fix dinner, and lunch, and breakfast. A 1-yr-old Nephew. Naps. Water. Memories! Thank you Daddy and Mama for taking us all to the beach! (except for Zach, my bro-in-law...he had to work. You were missed Zacharies!) Here are some photos of some great memories we made.

Hot. Recipe.

I grew up in Florida but haven't lived here in 6 years. And I'm fairly sure it's gotten hotter. I mean, we lived on the Equator for 3 years and never had a change of season. Constant summer for 3 years and I come back here and nearly melt to death!

But I digress. Or rather, I really don't care. It's Florida and I love it.

Because it's hot I thought I'd post a blog about a recipe a blogfriend from Texas put on her blog a while back. If you would like a more entertaining story about heat, read her story about the recipe... huh-lar-ee-us!
Thank you Heather Hendrick for sharing this family tradition with the blog world. Our family is already requesting we make them at the beach next week!

Peppers.
Jalapeno Peppers cut in half, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, then cooked. I'm not putting all the measurements and time because you need to read it from Heather.

DISCLAIMER! READ THIS BEFORE YOU MAKE THEM! TRUUUUUUUUST ME! IF YOU MAKE THESE AND DON'T READ THIS AND COMPLAIN LATER ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU DO NOT BLAME ME!

Here are the before pictures of when we tried them with Anthony's family for the first time in Jacksonville and the after pictures when we then made them at my parents house and drank it with the Mexican Pineapple Soda "Jarritos." It seemed only appropriate.
And my apologies and pity go out to those of you in places where there aren't enough Mexicans to justify carrying Jarritos in stores. It's quite the compliment to any Mexican-y (or Texan-y as I'm sure the Hendricks would claim) dish.

Cousins EVERYWHERE

We have spent some good time with most of Isaac and Isaiah's cousins this summer. Lots of fun memories made. The only ones we haven't seen this summer are Kyle and Katie but we're hoping to go see them in the next few weeks. The ones in this post live close-by:)

My blogfriend Emily asked me to inform the blogworld about updates on our family since I mentioned in the last post on the boys' blog that next summer we'd be overseas. Yes! We're hoping to return to our adopted home in Southeast Asia sometime around December. All the details are not confirmed yet, but that is our hope! More details to come later, but if I get sappy in this post about cherishing this time with our cousins you'll get me. It'll also be the reason why I post one gazillion pictures...they're more for the cousins than for the readers we're not related to...but enjoy!

Time is limited.

Cousins...Adrienne's 4th birthday at Disney World. Emmett Dinky Doo looking cute.
I think Isaac looks like a film director here with his hat, long hair, and contemplative look.
You'll notice a theme in Adrienne's pictures. She usually has her arms wrapped around her baby brother or her baby cousin. She'll be a great (s)mother one day. :)
All of us. On a boat. In the rain. That's 15 people!
You may be thinking. Who's the laughing chick? This is Daniela (mentioned in the previous post). Her and Justin are in the above picture. The 15th man on board the boat in the rain is the baby in her belly! Justin and Daniela worked with us overseas. There's this thing that happens when you cross an ocean. All American friends become "Aunts" and "Uncles" of American kids. So. This is really Aunt Daniela. And that makes the baby in her belly Cousin Baby. (She's laughing hysterically at our husbands on a tube by the way.)
Oh my Oh my OH MY! Who wants a hug from a two-year-old? ME!!!
It really didn't matter that it rained on July 4th. Not with cousins like this around! When people say Isaac looks like Anthony I always think (and sometimes say) "That's because you've never seen all the kids on my side of the family."
I could have chosen the picture without Adri's finger up her nose. But what fun would that be?
Jeremiah and Isaac teaming up against the girls.The girls and boys in a water fight. Kaelyn's face (pink bathing suit) is so intense. While Zay attempts to act casual about eating grass.
Kara. Oh Kara. No words describe!
Laina proving to be an awesome babysitter of a cousin! When she's around, I can do dishes in peace!
Who says you can't drink out of the hose? Too cute!
Yay for Laina and her four-wheeler. Isaac loves riding with her!
That's it for now. Yay for cousins!

Andy's Igloo

In the heart of sunny Florida in the city of Winter Haven, there is a little place called "Andy's Igloo" or formally "Andy's Drive-in Restaurant." It has an eat-in restaurant, a drive-up spot/window for take-out and another window dedicated solely to delicious ice-cream treats.We met our friends Justin and Daniela there Friday of the 4th of July weekend. Justin and Daniela were with us in Southeast Asia for a while and they're some of our favorite people to hang out with. Daniela's hometown is Winter Haven and I grew up not far from there. We've each introduced our husbands to Andy's since:)I honestly have no idea how long Andy's has been there, but from the look of the neon lights on the sign, and the look of the place in general, I'd say at least since the 60's.
I fully expect Mater and Luigi to pull up every time we go there and say, "Howdy! Welcome to Radiator Springs!" It's that kind of a place. Except it's always packed.
It has a basic menu of burgers, hot dogs, and fried foods....but the reason we go there is undoubtedly for the milk-shakes. YUUUUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!! They can mix any and every kind of milkshake. I get the strawberry-banana everytime. Daniela got some sort of chocolate something, but she ordered it like a pro and I could tell she had done it dozens of times before. She knows. If any of you find yourselves in these parts, stop on by Andy's Igloo then you'll know!