Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing! Cookouts, swimming, and lots of excitement! We didn’t want to miss out on all the fun at the Strobel household! We have been spending our evenings floating and grilling!

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

Don’t be jealous of our awesome pool and grill!

Do you really need to laugh that loud?

Dan & Nan Visit

 

Friday Dan and Nancy came to visit.  We have not seen them in a couple months so we were long overdue for a visit.   Friday evening I wanted to make a special dinner to celebrate all the special occasions that have occurred over the last couple months (Dan’s Birthday, Nancy’s Birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and their Anniversary).   I was trying to figure out a way to celebrate all the special occasions with only one cake (I don’t think 4 people needed 5 different cakes).  So Eric and I came up with the idea of makeing little flags to put on the cake! 

Menu

Salad: Balsamic Bacon Spinach

Appetizer: Bacon Wrapped BBQ Shrimp

Entrée: Chicken Cordon Blue, Season Potatoes, and Fresh Steamed Asparagus

Dessert: Carrot Cake

We had a wonderful visit.  I think we spent most of our time talking about the newest edition Benjamin James Strobel (he has brought so much joy to our family).  We are excited about his upcoming baptism!

Emma May

Emma May is One! On Friday Tabbitha asked me to take a couple pictures of her youngest daughter Emma.  This was my first time taking pictures of a one year and Emma keep me on the run.  I applaud all child and newborn photographers.  Photographing children is not easy, they are unpredictable and hard to direct.  I love to take pictures for my friends and family for free but I do not want the pressure of taking payment.  I feel like if someone pays me...I better deliver, but when I do it for free there are no obligations.  If the pictures turn out great everyone is happy and if they don't...know one lost anything. 

Brown Thumb

At the beginning of the summer Eric and I went to the Plant Center for a little landscaping help.  We walked away with a car full of plants and a little confidence.   When we got home we planted everything and watered daily.  We were so proud of our little landscaping job.  Everything looked good for a couple days and then it started to brown so I got the bright idea that we should fertilize everything so it would grow more.  The fertilizer had the opposite effect, within 2 days everything started to die.  I was so upset with myself.  I tried for 2 weeks to bring the plants back to life.  My neighbor then told me that most of the plants we planted needed more shade.  Eric and I trusted the staff at the Plant Center; we did not even question them.  So between the sun and the fertilizer the plants were burnt to a crisp!  One afternoon when I came home I found several plants on our porch.  Our sweet neighbor felt so bad for us she bought us a couple new plants! Finally Eric made me face reality that everything was dead.  So this morning we headed to Lowes and Menards to find some inexpensive replacement plants to add to what our neighbor had bought us.   Hopefully I will have better luck with these plants. 

This was out first attempt at landscaping 6 weeks ago

Here is what it looked like after to much sun and fertilizer

      
                                                                 Gifts from our sweet neighbor

                                                          
                                                       Max wanted to help Mommy and Daddy

                                                                   My new pot Eric bought me

                                   The new landscaping hopefully it makes it through the summer

Salamonie Summer Festival Pageant

Last weekend my niece Kinsey participated in Warren’s annual Salamonie Summer Festival Pageant!  My sister in-law Lisa asked me to help get Kinsey ready for the pageant.  I was excited to help but a little nervous because I am not a professional hair stylist! “Good thing I watch Toddlers and Tiara’s, the show is a total train wreck but I can’t stop watching it”. To prepare for the pageant Friday night Eric and I headed over to Dathen and Lisa’s for dinner. After dinner Lisa and I discussed clothes, hair, and accessories. I even had a chance to practice a couple hair styles!  Then pageant morning arrived and I headed back to the house and I started curling Kinsey’s hair about 2 hours later it was complete.  Kinsey was so patient with me.  After all the curls were complete we headed into town for the pageant! Kinsey was so excited but I was still nervous.  I knew I had to change her hair 3 times with only about 15 for each new style.  They started the pageant with interview, then casual wear, hobby, and finally beauty.  Kinsey did a great job! She answered all the questions with full sentences and she was her adorable self!  She did not win a title but she had a blast and that is all the matters in the end.  Kinsey has already asked Lisa to do the pageant again next year!

Bacon Bacon Dip

This is one of my favorite party dips! I call it double bacon dip! A few years ago my sister

in-law Lisa bought be a spice mix from Tastefully Simple.  All you had to do was add equal parts of mayo and sour cream and I think it was called bacon bacon dip.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the dip but I did not always have the packets on hand so I decided to create my own recipe.  Creating my own recipes is something I pride myself on.  With  help from my Mom, “who has a very sophisticated pallet” we recreated this dip!

1 ½  cups mayo

¾ cups sour cream

1 pack of bacon

1 bunch of green onions

Garlic, Salt, & Pepper to Taste

-Cook Bacon and Crumbled into Small Pieces

-Thinly Slice Green Onions

-Mix Sour Cream, Mayo, Bacon, Green Onions

-Season with Garlic, Salt, & Pepper to Taste

-Chill For At Least 2 Hour Before Serving

-Serve with Crackers

-Enjoy

Meet Miss Annabelle

Have you ever heard the phrase it take a village to raise a child.  Well, that phrase was also correct for little Miss Annabelle’s photo shoot Friday afternoon.   This photo shoot took 3 women and a baby to make it run smoothly.  I love taking pictures but newborns are the most unpredictable! As soon as Kristi undressed Annabelle she was not happy but with a little Mommy magic Kristi had her calm and I started snapping away.  After I loaded the pictures on my computer I sent a couple to Kristi’s cousin Jamie to edit.  She has some new software and has wanted a few pictures to edit.  So, like I said this was a three person job.  Kristi was the baby whisper, I was photographer, and Jamie edited all the images!  We make quite the team!