Going on Vacation, eh?

Luke went to Canada for five days, so we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Not quite even, but a good excuse for italian sodas and spumoni, right?

Puppers

When Isbelle was born, our friend Jon gave her a Beanie Baby puppy named Puppers. At that point, I was still under the impression that Beanie Babies would somehow become valuable, and for that to happen, I couldn't remove the tag--or even bend it for that matter. So Puppers got a tag protector (thanks, Angel!) and was put on display on Izzy's dresser. By the time Dylan came around, I had come to the realization that Beanie Babies were probably not going to become the collector's items that Ty would have had us thought. So, into Dylan's sticky little hands he went. They have been best buds ever since. Long story short, we were at Barnes and Noble the other day, and of the five stuffed animals in the children's section, wouldn't you know one was a brand new Puppers? Dylan scrounged together pennies, a dime, and a couple of quarters when we got home and begged us to take him back. He needed to save Pupper's little brother, baby Puppers. What do you say to a four-year-old who really believes that the stuffed animal's heart broke when he was left all alone at the store? Dylan was on pins and needles until we made it back to the book store the next day, and there was baby Puppers, squished behind the plush Cookie Monster where he had hidden him. Baby Puppers is a bit softer and new-looking, but at least we know the original has been well-loved. What would we do without our sweet little Dylan?

Bees Baseball

Luke took us to a Bees game the other night, and we had so much fun...

Dylan even got to meet Bumble. Finally!

Bullwinkle

Look who Luke ran into when he was hiking yesterday...

Seven Layer Dip

I'd never made seven layer dip before yesterday, but I was asked to take it to a family party. It ended up being really good, so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Seven Layer Dip
INGREDIENTS
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (16 ounce) container guacamole
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa (I used HOT Pace Picante)
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch chopped green onions
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, blend the taco seasoning mix and refried beans. Spread the mixture into a 9x13 dish.
2. Spread the guacamole over the beans.
3. Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Spread carefully over the guacamole.
4. Top the layers with salsa. Place a layer of tomato, green bell pepper, and green onions over the salsa, and top with cheese. Garnish with black olives.

Top Two

The top two most ridiculous things I saw today:

1. A guy standing on the corner of a main intersection with a sign that read: IMPEACH BUSH. Really? It was like, 102 degrees today. Nothing better to do? I mean, seriously, do the math. The election is less than six months away. I'm pretty sure you're wasting your time.

2. A lady (let's say around 65ish) on a red jazzy scooter barreling up the sidewalk with another lady of the same age. On her lap. Who was smoking. They were in quite a rush to get somewhere--I really didn't know jazzy scooters could go that fast. Anyway, they hit a crack in the sidewalk, and came pretty close to falling over. Pretty funny.

Maybe you had to be there.

Adoption

There are a few family members and friends out there who read my blog that may not know my dear friend Jamie, so for that reason, I am linking a post from her blog on mine to further spread the word. She and her husband, Dustin, are adopting. Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know when it comes to getting a perfect match between a birthmom and adoptive parents, so take a look and tell your friends! Dustin and Jamie are going to be incredible parents...just go to the following link to read more:

http://tatechronicles.blogspot.com/2008/06/growing-pains.html

Or, to view their profile, visit www.tatefamilyprofile.blogspot.com

The 4th of July

Isabelle and Dylan dressed themselves to go watch the fireworks. It's a good thing we just walked down the street to Liz and Anton's house and sat on their grass (hope that's OK, guys!). In the dark. It almost looked as if we were on our way to an open casting call for Annie. Oh well--they had fun, and the country club put on a decent fireworks show. It totally beat driving somewhere and having to fight traffic to get home. Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!