Two weeks in July

As I am sure you are aware, my lack of posting has not gotten any better over the past month. However, I do have some updates and photos for you!

We had a fun 4th of July and days around it. Dylan loved the fireworks, snakes, and sparklers. We didn't go to a big fireworks display, but we did go over to our neighbors to set off a few fireworks for the kids. That seemed to be enough entertainment for the 5 and under crowd.

We also went to the Farragut 4th of July parade with friends. The boys had a great time getting all the candy and fun stuff the people were throwing out.

Still a cheesy smile.

Keeping a close eye on his sparkler.

Dylan and I have continued our Saturday morning trips to the Market Square Farmers Market. Dylan must get a cream cheese roll from VG's bakery and I have been stocking up on tomatoes until our plants started producing tomatoes.

We also made it to our first drive-in movie as a family. We all had a great time watching Brave. The next day was not as exciting since Dylan didn't sleep in after staying up until midnight...

Eating popcorn and waiting for the drive-in movie to start!

Children's Festival of Reading

Dylan and I spent Saturday morning at the Market Square Farmer's Market and the Children's Festival Reading. It's hard to believe this is the third year we have went to the Festival. I don't remember Dylan being that small the first time we attended the festival. Dylan had a great time playing in the bounce house, bubbles and with the water activities. I think his favorite was playing in the huge splash pad/fountain at World's Fair Park. We also stopped by the Yacht Club Sailing School where Dylan got to practice pulling in a sail and the Young Williams Animal Center to play a few games. Our last stop for the day was face painting. This was the first time Dylan had his face painted and he loved it.

Weekend photoblogging

We started the day at the Market Square Farmers Market!

Dylan wore his big boy underwear, but that didn't last very long. Apparently this is how you walk when your shorts are wet..

Dylan and Dave both love cheese cinnamon rolls from VG's Bakery.

I think Dylan ate more of the roll than Dave did!

Next we headed over to Worlds Fair Park to the Children's Festival of Reading. Dylan had a great time playing in the pools that were set up and other activities.

Dylan loves mascots. This is the Bee from local radio station B97.5!

We had a great Saturday and perfect weather to be outside! How was your weekend?

Saturday

We had an action packed Saturday. It started off with a visit to John Deere Landscapes to look at trees for our front yard (of which we did not really find anything). Then we hit up Mayo Garden Center to get tomato and the elusive zucchini plants. After Mayo we headed to Franklin Gallery to pick up the Master's prints Dave had framed and then went to Starbucks to refuel! And that was just the first hour and a half of our day!

Last Saturday was the first Market Square Farmer's Market and for some reason we missed it! I was not to be thwarted this Saturday though, even if we didn't make it until after 11am. Note to self, go at 9am like usual so you can get a cinnamon roll from VG's bakery before they are sold out! We did get some chicken salad from Mrs. Cockadoodles that we had for lunch later and it was excellent. We also got some Pecan Honey Jam that we are looking forward to smearing on toast :) There was also a fresh pasta vendor there, but since we were not heading home after the farmers market we decided to wait until next week to buy our basil pesto and spinach and cheese ravioli.

Dave has wanted to go to the flea market that is just off the Gatlinburg (exit 407 for your K-town people) for quite a while, so we decided to finally make the trip. I didn't bring my camera in, and boy I should have, it was a redneck feast for the eyes. Lots of camo, airbrushed tee-shirts, fake flowers and VHS tapes. The outside booths had more antique items and were much better to look through. They also had a few fruit and vegetable stands. I'm not going to say we won't ever go back, but it will certainly be awhile.

Since we were so close to the mountains already we decided to head up to Clingman's Dome. It is the highest point in the Smoky Mountains. We have only been there once and that was a very foggy day, so we decided to head up there again. It's still at least 45 minutes from Gatlinburg so we stopped along the way so Dylan could stretch his legs and through some rocks in the river. He could seriously throw rocks in the river all day long! I also had the chance to play with my camera settings and get a few good shots of Dylan and Dave and the water flowing over the rocks.

Check out Super Dave in the background!

See the water flowing?

Big splash! I would have liked to have more time to take this shot. We needed a few more takes and I should have been at a lower angle. Next time we head up to the mountains I need to make sure my battery is fully charged!

We figured the walk up to the top of the dome would be good for Dylan to stretch his legs too. We were wrong. Dave had to carry Dylan most of the way up the .5 mile vertical walk. I was barley able to make it up myself, there was no way I could have carried Dylan all the way up the mountain. Dave's marathon training has really come in handy :) Once we reached the summit we were treated to some pretty awesome views of TN and NC. It was still a little cloudy, but we could still see pretty far.

View from the tower at Clingman's Dome.

Apparently Dylan is not afraid of heights!

On our way back down the trail.

Almost to the bottom!

Even Dylan posed for a picture!

How was your Saturday?

The weekend and week ahead

We had a great weekend, Dave had Saturday off so we headed out early to run some errands. Our first stop was Dick's Sporting Goods so Dave could spend some of his birthday money, which he did an excellent job of doing. Then it was off to the Farmer's Market. However, this week we ventured farther west to the Dixie Lee Junction Farmer's Market. It's a smaller farmers market than the Market Square Farmers Market, but we did manage to purchase some fresh Tennessee peaches and squash. After the Farmers Market we made a trip to Target, which was brave of us considering it was Tennessee's tax free shopping weekend. Surprisingly the store wasn't too crowded, except for the school supplies section. I did have to grab a few school supplies for Dylan to take to daycare (crayons, watercolors, glue and kleenex) but I was able to grab those easily and meet up with Dylan and Dave.
We had a great lunch at Pimento Cafe. Dave had his usual, pimento cheese with turkey and I had a turkey Reuben, both really good sandwiches. Dylan had a grilled cheese and chips, I think he only had about two bites of the sandwich and then just ate chips. And drank milk, that kid loves his milk and juice (well, mostly water with a little juice). He would just drink beverages all day if we didn't limit them and have him eat.
The rest of our day was pretty low key, Dave also got a new pair of running shoes and we got take out from Famous Daves.

Our week is pretty busy though, Carolyn comes into town on Wednesday night, my mom, Judy, gets here on Thursday night and Dana and Paul come into town on Friday. We are celebrating Dylan's birthday on Saturday at the Cove at Concord Park. It's a great park on the lake and has a large playground, lots of trees and fun things to do. We went to a birthday party there a few months ago and Dylan had a great time. I am going to be making Dylan an Elmo cake for his birthday so wish me luck, hopefully the decorating will turn out ok!

What do you have planned for your week?

Obsession

Saturday Dylan and I made our usual trip to the Market Square Farmer's Market and came home with TOMATOES! I can not tell you how excited I was to see tomatoes at the farmers market. One of my favorite dishes is fresh tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it's out of this world! My tomatoes in the garden are just starting to turn, so we'll have a few more weeks of purchasing the farmers market tomatoes to satisfy my tomato and mozzarella obsession. I really do like trying different varieties of tomatoes and the farmers market usually does not disappoint.

I am growing Red Beefsteak, Celebrity and Brandywine tomatoes in my garden. I love the big slicing tomatoes, they seem to go best with the mozzarella and toppings. They are also excellent for another summer favorite, BLT's!

Let your children play

We had great weather in Knoxville this weekend, perfect for spending time outside. Saturday was a little cloudy, but luckily we didn't have any rain and Sunday was a little warm, but still great weather.

Dylan and I make our usual trip to the Market Square Farmers Market on Saturday and picked up a Tennessee strawberry roll, cinnamon swirl muffin, peanut butter cookie and chocolate chip cookie all from VG's bakery. All were excellent, the strawberry roll was chewy and sweet and perfect, the cinnamon swirl muffin was similar to monkey bread and really moist, I would certainly get both again. We haven't tried the cookies yet (I keep forgetting about them b/c they are in the pantry) so we shall try and remember to eat them tonight. I also got pesto chicken salad from Ms. Cock-A-Doodles and while it was a little pricey $6.50 for a 1/2 lb. it was excellent and I can't wait to try her other flavors.

After the farmers market Dylan and I headed over to World's Fair Park for the Knox County Library's Children's Festival of Reading. There was a kids play area with bubble machines, water activities, a bounce house and free Mayfield milk. There were also tents set up with vendors selling food and children related businesses like the Concord Sailing School, Knoxmoms.com, book sellers and much more. Dylan had a great time getting in the sailboat that Concord Sailing School brought and petting the dogs that were there from the Humane Society and rehab dogs from HABIT (especially the Great Pyrenees, he was so sweet!). And of course there were lots of storytellers and musicians for the kids to watch and listen to.

World's Fair Park has a huge fountain that all the kids loved to play in as well as a playground. And here is where I get to the part about let your kids play. While the playground was busy since there was an event it was made more busy by parents on the play equipment. Seriously people, if you child is over 2 years old and can't climb on the equipment by themselves don't let them go on it. Also, you don't have to stand directly behind your children while they are playing with cars under a tent. I'm sure they can figure out how to play with the cars on their own. You can stand back and let them play so other children can have room to play. I don't think anyone is going to snatch your child while you are five feet away. I also overheard a grandparent (I'm guessing) telling another person at the park that, "His mother just doesn't let him run, she always has him tethered," explaining why his grandson was running around having a great time. Hello, he's a kid, isn't that what they are supposed to be doing? Did I miss something here? We aren't talking about a dog here, we're talking about a child.

Saturday was actually Take your children to the park and leave them there day, a day thought up by Free-Range Kids parenting blogger Lenore Skenazy. She was made famous and labeled the "worst parent in America" by letting her then nine year old son ride the NYC subway by himself. Since that event she has taken in upon herself to encourage other parents to let their children bike to school, play at the park on their own, play outside in their neighborhood on their own and in general let them play like we did when were were growing up. I grew up in a very small town (Lowden, IA population: 700ish) and my summer days were spend at the park or at the pool. With no adult supervision. Yes, there were lifeguards at the pool. But, my friend Katy and I would ride our bikes or scooters to the pool and spend the afternoon there WITHOUT OUR PARENTS. We would also go to the park WITHOUT OUR PARENTS. I am sure we were out of our parents sight for hours at a time, we knew to come home before it got dark. And you know what? I survived!

I hope Dylan will be able to do the same, we do have a park with in biking distance of our house, there is one major road to cross, but I am sure he will be able handle it when he is old enough.

Statistically, kids are safer today than they were when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's. Crime is down, but you know what is up? Television viewing, every child that is abducted is plastered on the television for us to see, creating paranoia that is understandable, but unfounded.

So let your kids play on their own, let their imagination and independence grow. They will thank you for it. I know I do.

Aren't dads great

My dad (Dave) and step-mom Julie made it to Knoxville around 6pm on Thursday night so they got to see Dylan before he went to bed. He was a little shy at first, but warmed up to Grandpa Dave pretty quickly. Dylan has always gotten along really well with my dad. I thought Dylan might be a little scared of him (my dad is a big guy 6'2" and we'll just say over 200 lbs.) since lately he has been scared of guys, but Dylan did really well and was just a little shy. He did see Grandpa Dave in April so I think helped that Dylan saw his Grandpa only a month ago. Dylan loves to go outside and Grandpa Dave likes being outside as well, he also brings Dylan a toy when he visits. This time it was plastic tools, something Dylan doesn't have, but we knew he would love (and he does). I must say that my step-mom Julie is good about helping my Dad figure out what is age appropriate (she has 4 grandkids from 4-9 years old). They also just spent a week in Florida with the grandkids so they were certainly in kid-mode.
It's so nice to have help with Dylan while the grandparents are here. On Fridays I work from home, so it was great to have Grandpa Dave and Grandma Julie hang out with Dylan and entertain him. Dad also found time to replace my brakes and put some much needed lubricant on Dave's brakes to stop them from squeaking. Also, Dave (as in my husband, not dad, sorry 2 Daves can get confusing!) learned how to replace brakes!
On Saturday morning we went to the Market Square Farmers Market and it did not disappoint. They had booths and booths of baked goods(but sadly no chorizo wrapped in bread), salad greens, onions, fresh strawberries, handmade items and much more. I picked up a morning glory and wild blueberry muffin from VG's Bakery and both were divine! There are also splash pads for kids to run through, which Dylan loved. There were also lots of dogs and Dylan is a big fan of dogs, so he got to pet a few of them. We walked over to Mast General Store to pick up some Granddaddy' Dave's Hot BBQ sauce for my dad, it's his favorite! And to see if they had anything good for Dylan. He needs a hat to wear outside, but they didn't have what we were looking for, so the search will continue.
Saturday afternoon I had to head over to Nashville to pick-up Carolyn and Kyle (Dave's mom and brother) from the airport so Dylan got to spend more quality time with the "Florida" Grandparents. The drive to Nashville was pretty uneventful which was good. Carolyn & Kyle's flight was on time so I got them picked up and we were back in Knoxville just before 9pm. I had put a pork shoulder in the crock pot on Saturday morning so Dave and the Florida Grandparents wouldn't have to worry about making dinner and it turned out great.
I used a recipe from Iowa Girl Eats:
1/2 c. BBQ Sauce -I used Famous Daves
Garlic powder
Pepper
Salt
Coke/Coke Zero
Onion (1, sliced)
Put the pork shoulder/butt in the crock pot and turn to low. Season the pork shoulder (or butt) with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour the BBQ sauce over the pork. Put the sliced onion on top of the pork and BBQ sauce. Cover the pork with Coke. Cook on low for at least 8 hours.
It's that easy! And it turned out great. You could probably cut up the meat so you don't have to use as much Coke and you could also just throw everything in the crock pot instead of layering the onion and BBQ sauce.
It was great to come home from the airport and have dinner ready for our weary travelers (and myself).
More about Carolyn and Kyle's visit later this week!

Family coming from everywhere!

We have a busy few weeks ahead of us. My dad and step-mom will be here on Thursday night and are staying through Sunday or Monday. On Saturday I am going to Nashville to pick up Carolyn and Kyle who are staying through Thursday and my mom is visiting June 4-7th. Did you get all that?
I am hoping we have good weather while our visitors are in town so we can go to the park and Market Square Farmers Market. I haven't been to the Farmers Market yet this year and I can't wait to go! We were in Chattanooga last Saturday and the weather was not very good the first weekend it opened. I am craving some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella as well as chorizo wrapped in yeast bread. I just have to get there early enough before they run out. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Dylan gets up pretty early so I think we should be able to make it!
Our next few nights after work will involve some cleaning around the house to get ready for our guests, grocery shopping (what am I going to feed all these people?) and trying to find some time to catch up on our DVR'ed shows. The DVR is 68% full! And we haven't even watched the season premiere of Friday Night Lights! Maybe the cleaning will have to wait...