ten smile tuesday

here they are....some smiles from the past week! many of them include our fabulously fun long weekend at the lake! :)

1. 1 sink+2 girls+lots o' suds+a myriad of plastic dishes=tons o' fun! seriously, the girls enjoyed playing together happily in the sink for almost an entire hour! they were drenched afterward...as were the floor and counter-top...but hey, it was fun! :)

2. part of their sink playing time enabled me to whip up a big batch of homemade cinnamon tortilla chips...YUM! elizabeth started out as the designated cinnamon-sugar sprinkle but ended up finding the sink play much more interesting. you MUST try these chips...AND, even better, the fruit salsa that goes with them. i posted the recipe for both here!

3. playful patterns--i picked this up at a garage sale for fifty cents...and oh my, elizabeth is LOVING it...she is so engrossed with all the shapes and patterns and designs. well worth my two quarters--especially since it has ALL the pieces and is in perfect condition. would you believe that the current selling price on amazon is $65.99! its one of our current favorite "school" activities.

4. our first ever attempt at frying a turkey...and it turned out nicely! :) i especially love our handsome "fryers"...and the mind-way through construction background for the frying pictures...makes it look offically "redneck"! :)

the before and after! :)

5. lots of time with grandmommy and poppy! :)

6. the annual fourth of july boat-in pancake breakfast! the gray and cool morning didn't dampen our spirits! :) this is our fifth fourth of july enjoying the traditions on loon lake...and it was fun reflecting on five years worth of pancake breakfasts...our first year--riding over in the fishing boat, just mom, dad, mike and me...the next three years on the pontoon boat with aunt shell and uncle richard (and elizabeth and kate as they came along!)...this year we definitely missed aunt shell and uncle richard...but hopefully we'll see them soon and be able to introduce them to our newest little yak at the same time! :)

7. our molar-growing kate wasn't always in the best of moods, but she did eventually warm up and enjoy some serious giggles and swimming time...i think she's still our water-bug...even if the moodiness dampened her normal bravery at some moments. by sunday afternoon when we were ready to head home i could barely pry her from the lake! :) elizabeth, on the other hand, is still quite enamored by the sand...venturing further into the lake mostly only to retrieve shovels and such that decide to float away! but she does build a mean sand-castle!

8. special time with GG! we were blessed to have GG join us at the lake all afternoon and evening saturday. both girls LOVE their GG...and "GG" is one of the words kate has added to her repertoire! elizabeth had some special snuggle time with GG while waiting for the fireworks...and libbers sharing some sweet memories of Big Bapa had us all in tears briefly...priceless memories. i am SO thankful that my girls were able to meet their Big Bapa and that they have this time now to be getting to spend time with their GG.

9. both girlies were delighted by their first taste of a s'more...and both found them delicious! elizabeth was also treated to a roasted "coconut toasted marshmallow"...which she found just as yummy as mommy did! :) plus we all got a great laugh out of the story she told us about how much she loved coconut!

ooey...gooey...yummy s'more!

i simply love this picture of libbers and daddy...he was in the process of roasting marshmallows for the s'mores...

10. elizabeth had a super special saturday evening--getting to stay up for the fireworks for the first time ever!...thankfully, in spite of the gray, cool day the fireworks went off as scheduled. while waiting for the late night event elizabeth enjoyed running around in the wet grass and puddles, savoring some "cheese dessert" (turtle cheesecake made by grandmommy...YUM!), and watching her collection of lightning bugs (caught for her by mommy, daddy, and poppy!)...a little girls dream evening! she most definitely enjoyed the fireworks...especially the green ones! but i think the lightning bugs might have made the biggest impression, since that was the first thing she mentioned upon waking sunday morning! here she is enjoying her "cheese dessert" and watching her jar of lightning bugs!

11. ...and well, these two pictures just make me smile...so i'm sharing them as well!

12. and finally...we enjoyed a LOVELY day today...playing outside in the inflatable pool ALL morning long...and then capping off the day with more pool play and hamburgers from the grill, eaten on the back porch...and then watching the girls run around in the backyard while my hubby and i sat on the porch and chatted. its what summer is all about!