vacation - part 1

We started out our trip heading to Nashville, TN!  Kevin and I have been through Nashville but neither of us had ever visited there.  On the way he wanted to drive through Champaign and show the girls the house he did most of his growing up in!  I think he was in 5th grade when he moved there with his Mom and Dad.  He easily found it and had lots of good memories and remembered where his neighborhood friends lived as well.  The house has changed a bit.  He couldn't get over how big all the trees were.  I suppose we will be saying that about our house here in Frankfort someday. :)

2711 Rolling Acres Drive  Champaign, IL

The "downtown" area of Champaign has changed a lot.  Most businesses he knew of were no longer there but for the most part, they have updated it for the better.  If only Garcia's Pizza was still around...he could relive his days as part of the ground crew for the Flying Tomato Brothers and their hot air balloon that flew across Assembly Hall during the football games!  We're glad we took the time to drive through Champaign and show the girls that part of his youth.

No road trip is complete until you stop at such ridiculous places like Metropolis, IL!  It is why we drive instead of fly, right?!  It is at the very tip of IL, just before you get to Kentucky.  We spent a bit too much time there but I think we were all ready to stretch our legs and just move around a bit.  There really is not much else there.  Well, that's not entirely true...Big John lives there, too!

 Not sure why the grocery store mascot statue is bigger than Superman but whatevs. 

We were getting pretty close to our destination and made it to Nashville Sunday night!  We found a great hotel right away and really all that Jess and Sara cared about was whether it had a pool. :)

They should know by now we only stay at hotels that have pools!!  We had a nice surprise in the morning when we found out that they served a full breakfast and it was included in our stay!  Stay tuned, there is more to come... 

 



Home sweet home!

We had an AWESOME time in Nashville!

We went to the best museum in the history of museums in St. Louis!

We are happy to be home!

Thankfully all the laundry is done and Kevin has already started a big painting project.  We are all catching up on our sleep and I will share some photos from our trip soon!

Its good to go away and its better to come home!

:)

road trip

Hello loyal followers!  We are taking a quick road trip for a few days so it will be quiet around here.  We will be sure to have lots to post about upon our return.  We'll talk soon!  Love, K, J, J, & S    :)

**Both photos courtesy of Jess and Sara**

Recipe: Banana Bread!

Today I am going to share our favorite banana bread recipe!  It seems everyone has a recipe for banana bread and I don't think I've ever tasted banana bread I didn't like. :)  I got this recipe about 12 years ago from my former boss.  It is delicious, homemade, and best of all, very easy to make.  And the bonus is how your house smells while its baking!  Lets get started!

Start by taking 3 very ripe bananas and mash them with a fork.  Mix with 1 cup sugar and let sit for 15 minutes.

***  True story:  When Jessica was about 2 we would name objects and she would tell us what color they were.  She knew her colors very well at an early age.  One day Kevin said "banana" and Jess said " black"!  We could not stop laughing because a) it was so cute and b) it was so true.  At least in our house it is!  ***

It should be a runny consistency, like this...

Next you add the following:

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs, well beaten...the eggs, not the kids!

1 stick butter, melted...I know, I know but it really is necessary.  Mix well.

Add 2 cups flour and mix again!

Now we can have some fun!  I ALWAYS add chocolate chips!  You can also add pecans (my favorite but not the kids), walnuts, whatever you think will work!  Sometimes I make a loaf, sometimes muffins*, sometimes both!

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes.  Do watch it as it can burn the bottom and sides quickly.  Just sayin.

*muffins bake about 17ish minutes.  Watch carefully.  Enjoy!

By: Baby Ben

 

Hi im Sara and my buddy Baby Ben!     

We go every where together! Ben has his own purple caler and it has a red string on it.Ben and I have lots of fun !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ben is brown with brown eyes with a big hart. I know that Ben has fun and he knows that I have fun going to new places!  

But Ben gets in to trouble! ha ha!If you looook closely you can see he got the remote.I got him from a lady my mom used to work with. Her name is Dzidra. Jessica my older sister got a poler bear but a few years later I got ben!IT was in November.Ben and I like to be silly!!!!!!!!!!!Ha ha!

this is Ben's friend Beefy Bear

Ben is a small bear with a big hart.

Library Day

Hi everybody! It's me, Jessica! This is my first post and I hope you enjoy it!

Today we went to the Frankfort Public Library. At the library there is a program called the Summer Reading Club. The Summer Reading Club is where you read for prizes. There are 5 levels and each level is a different prize. For each prize you have to read a bigger amount of minutes.

These are the prizes we earned today. We received a bunny and pig, two bouncy balls, a certificate to the Creamery, and Stake'n Shake. We reached up to level 3. 

These are some crafts we made at the library. We made scratch-art in the shape of an apple and picture frames. It was fun!

When we were done with our activeities we checked out some books and went home.

Thanks for reading my post!

4th of July!

We hope you had a happy and safe 4th of July!

Mid Villa

Well, it looks like we have a few readers!  Yay!  I must do a post about our dinner tonight.  It was sooo good!  Delicious!  We ordered carry-out from our beloved MID VILLA in Midlothian!  They have been serving this area for over 38 years!  I hope they are around for another 38 years!

You see, the girls have been staying over at Grammie's house every Sunday night this summer so I can get to work bright and early on Monday, our busiest day of the week.  Once I clock out for the day, I leave right from work, jump on I 57 North and pick them up at my Mom's house.  I stayed a bit later at work today and the amount of time I needed to get the girls from Mom's, drive home, and prepare dinner was ticking away quickly.  It had been far too long since we had the BEST pizza on the planet so Mid Villa for supper it was.  Yes, its Kevin's favorite too, although he didn't grow up eating it like I did.  After driving with it in the car for 20ish minutes, it was mostly eaten before I could snap a picture of the actual pizza.  Here is what is left...

The next time you are passing through good old Midlo, you must have this pizza.  Its worth the trip!

Here we go!

Sara 7

Jessica 10

Hello and welcome!  The girls and I thought it would be fun to try our hand at blogging!  Its also a way that far-away relatives can keep up with the girls.  I'm not sure how often we will post or what the content of the posts will be so please be patient with us as we figure it out.  There is sure to be crafts, recipes, music and everyday fun!  Thanks for joining us....

we'll see you soon!