Down By the River

Last Sunday I had a wonderful afternoon with Ruby down by the French Broad River.  Jared stayed home with Max planning the week's menu (what a great hubby!) while we just kicked back.  Here are a few photos I took that afternoon.

The water was a good 18" higher than it had been a few weeks ago at Sycamore Flats.  From the photo, you'd think that it was July, but actually it was pretty brisk out.  Several families commented that Ruby must be freezing, but according to her the water was just fine!

I think the red skin tells a different story though!

My first attempt at French braiding Ruby's hair was a bit of a mess (no thanks to her little trim last week!), but it still stayed out of her face for the most part.

My girl.

I think it's going to be a great spring and summer!

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken Sandwiches with Red Onions and Goat Cheese

I was totally shocked that the kids loved this meal (even the goat cheese!). Now I didn't make them have the sauce, but Ruby did like to "dip" her sandwich in a little pool from time to time. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken Sandwiches with Red Onions and Goat Cheese

3/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. dry red wine

2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

2 (6oz) chicken breasts

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 T. olive oil

1 (3oz) pkg goat cheese

4 (2oz) hoagie or Kaiser rolls

1 c. trimmed baby greens

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 12 minutes).  Remove from heat; cool slightly.
2. While vinegar mixture cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and thinly slice. Cover and keep warm.
3. Brown inside of rolls in 400F oven for ~5 minutes.
4. Add oil to pan; reduce temperature to medium-low. Add onion; cook 5 minutes or until onion is soft and beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
5. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons goat cheese evenly over the bottom half of each roll; divide sliced chicken and onion evenly over rolls. Drizzle each serving with 1 tsblespoon balsamic mixture, and top with green and top halves of rolls. Serve immediately.

p.s. Why is Blogger so screwed up!?!

It's Monday, Right?

Okay, okay.  I know it isn't Monday, but it's raining today, so I'm finally catching up on "reporting" on the last three days without rain!  

Now that our mortage has been fully approved we're just biding our time until the big move, so we've had some time to spare...

Saturday it poured cats and dogs (again!), so we decided to drive up to Asheville.  The North Carolina Arboretum was hosting an Orchid Show, so we headed over there first.  I know virtually nothing about orchids, but I can tell you this, there are lots of varieties and they all look terribly delicate--which is why I spent the entirity of the show trying to keep Max from destroying someone's prize posession.  It wasn't easy, but we made it.  The kids loved the bat exhibit and also seemed to enjoy walking in the rain through the gardens.  

Next stop was at the Lucky Otter for some great burritos and chicken quesadillas that the kids actually ate--hallelujah!!  From there we went right over to the Fun Depot which is an indoor family center with mini golf, batting cages, go carts, bumper cars, kids bowling, arcade and "soft play" (think McDonalds tunnel maze thingy).  The ran around for 90 minutes and both fell asleep for the foggy ride home.

It was a great day with smiles all around from start to finish.  I'll take it.

Good Friends

Do you recognize that guy in the plaid shirt?  

It's our good friend Carter!!  We were so blessed today to have a visit from Claire, her mom Mary, and Carter for lunch today.  Ruby was absolutely beside herself with excitement which quickly turned into shyness which faded into delight to be with her best friend.  Max was right in there with them the whole time and we all had a wonderful visit.  Jared even got to be here for lunch since the power went out at work (we're having day 3 or 4 of heavy rain).  

We'll be getting together again soon for a weekend of T-ball in Charlotte, then again for camping out our direction in May.  We're so blessed to be near our good friends again.  God is so good to us it's amazing.

It was inevitable...

I discovered this  little surprise yesterday as I sat down to check my email.  When confronted, Ruby admitted immediately that "yes" she had given herself a little trim.  The good news is that she seems to have a knack at haircutting (not that we're telling her that!).  She somehow managed to make some very nice framing layers right around her face.  

What a girl.

Our New Home

I finally got some photos off of the realtor's website yesterday to show you a bit of our new home in Pisgah Forest... enjoy!

This is the view of the house from the road. We are in a subdivision with a natural waterfall at the entrance! We also have a speedbunp right before our drive, which is great! The house is on an acre of land and has a creek in the front section. As you can see-- it's not exactly flat land, but pretty good for around here.

According to the current owners the landscaping is like living in a fairy garden. We have about 100 rhododendron plants and many more flowering bushes, etc. Jared is excited to build an outdoor kitchen off the back of the house here. We need to move the sidewalk anyway since there are some minor drainage issues by the sunroom.

This is one of my favorite rooms--the sun room! It's four season and even has a gas fire place in it! We'll be putting up some curtains or nice blinds so that it can be used as a guest room. Our realtor thought it would be a great place to drink coffee and do your quiet time in the morning too, which I totally agree with. (If I could get a great Starbucks drink in my kitchen that is!)

Our kitchen isn't totally modern, but not disturbingly outdated either (in our opinion!). Something we're thankful for. Eventually we'd love to do some updating, but it isn't critical. We also love all of the skylights and solar tubes in the house. It really brightens up the house a lot and also dampens the effects of the darker rainy days on my psyche!

This large family room was converted from a garage (there is a large 2+ car detached garage now) and is going to be a wonderful space for our family. There is also a living room with fireplace upstairs, so we have lots of great entertaining space. Off of this family room is an office--something I have loved from our rental and I'm so glad we don't have to give it up.

Not pictured are three bedrooms and two baths. PLUS, there's a bonus toilet in the laundry room! I know- it's weird! But, it is kind of nice in that the kids can just come in the sliding glass door into the laundry room for bathroom breaks. We'll have to keep it well stocked with Purell though, since there isn't a sink in there.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your first peak at our home. I'm sure it will look a lot less country a and lot more like us when you come to visit. And please, DO come to visit-- you won't regret it!

You've Never Seen Keith Green Like This!

I have to say, I LOVE the high kicks with the big ol' purple slippers.  That girl knows how to shake it.  Yee haw!