summer pasta

i love making this in the summer, it's so refreshing.  it's basically the topping i make for bruschetta, just topped on cold noodles instead of toasted bread.

summer pasta:
- 4-5 fresh tomatoes (i just usually use whatever kind i have on hand)
-fresh garlic (1-2 cloves depending on how much fresh garlic your kids can take!)
-fresh basil
-olive oil
-garlic salt

chop tomatoes, squeeze garlic, chop basil and layer in a glass jar with enough olive oil to coat.

i usually use a big glass jar and just keep adding chopped tomatoes and basil until i fill the jar (so however many tomatoes it takes to fill your jar!).

sprinkle with garlic salt and mix well.

then refrigerate the mixture for a couple hours (if you have time, which i don't always) to enhance the flavor.

cook pasta, drain and cool, then serve with mixture on top.  sprinkle with sea salt if necessary.

you could also add grilled chicken to this if you want a heartier meal, which i have done -  but usually i just add a couple big loafs of french bread!

*last time i made this chris and i sprinkled balsamic vinegar on top of ours which also gave it great flavor.

new smile...

her front tooth had been wiggly for quite some time, and finally came out right before she went to her friend's house.  she was thrilled, and i love that smile.

lost, but not forgotten

sport of tennis, that is.  the boys took lessons years ago when they were young, and i played in high school and college and have always loved the sport.  my aunts who are in their 70's still play and are really good.  anyways, the boys got out the rackets the other day (ella was at a friend's house) and we all took turns volleying in our neighbors driveway. it was so fun...

i was so impressed with how well the boys were hitting the ball...

they volleyed for a long time, and then chris and i got in on the fun...

the little guy got into it too...

we seriously had so much fun playing.  now i just have to figure out a time to fit tennis lessons in again.

Fabulous Fourth

we had here in phx.  even though we weren't watching fireworks from the beach like we were last year, it was still a fabulous day here...

we all rode our decorated bikes from our house to the neighborhood park for a traditional 4th of july parade followed by food, fun and festivities at the park...

ella got a lot of compliments on her headband...

then it was home for swimming and naps...

followed by a fun evening (including more swimming) at nani's.  this is what we were greeted with when we walked up to nani's house...

she had the great idea of playing bingo for a special activity that we could all do together. john-john kept calling it 'mango'.

we used the beans for our markers and we all put coins in a bowl each game, and whoever won the game won the coins too.

i just have to say that nani was an excellent letter & number caller (really enthusiastic which made it really funny) and she is on the phone in this picture because she got a call from her friend to plan the time we were going to get together to watch fireworks....just had to add that bit of info since she's on the phone here and the call only lasted a couple minutes!

my brother john and christopher were the big winners - they each won 2 games...

nani has had this throw since we were young, i thought it looked so festive on her couch...

ella made some fourth of july decorations for our house one day while she was at her aunt cathy's house...

they made this pendant garland simply by hot gluing the fabric triangles to a piece of string...

nani's friend has a beautiful home that sits up on a mountain and she invited us over to watch fireworks.  john was scared (really scared...screaming) for the first couple minutes of the show.  then, he warmed up and loved them - safely from his mama's lap.

thoughtful surprises...

have i ever mentioned that i have the most thoughtful 6 year old daughter?  well, i do.  you see she is always thinking of others and things she can do or make for others.  lately, chris and i have been the lucky recipients of her thoughtful gestures.

last week when we went down our long hall to go to bed, these were waiting for us on our pillows:

we were so surprised, she keep this secret very well during the day - not a peep about it out of her.
this is what was inside the envelopes:

it was so very sweet.  she explained to me the following day that she didn't know who she was going to give them to at first (maybe her friends) which is why she wrote 'i like you' and not 'i love you' - then she decided to give them to us, so she drew the corresponding pictures to go with them.

she is also really into recycling.  always trying to figure out how she could reuse things i put in the recycle bin.  so, she recycled some left over thank you cards she had from her last birthday party to make us the wonderful cards...

last fall when i was putting john-john down for a nap, sweet, thoughtful ella came in and told me she was leaving me something on the floor to open when i was done getting the little guy down...

these were the treasures i found inside...

she does these things completely on her own, they are her own ideas and actions.  i am learning to be more thoughtful because of her.  the other day i was cleaning out my closet and found a pair of shorts and  a shirt i had bought for her (probably about a year ago - i do that at target - buy things on clearance and then save them for something) and i decided to give them to her for no reason, just because she is my sweet daughter.  but, instead of just saying 'ella, i got these for you', i placed them neatly on her bed with a cut out heart saying it was to her, from me and that i loved her.  it felt so good to have this special little surprise waiting for her.  and i had to bite my tongue several times that afternoon, wanting to tell her so badly about it, but wanted to wait for her to find it herself (and be surprised) even more.

it does feel good to do things for others.  i often have good intentions, but following through with them is  usually another story.  i am going to try now, because of her wonderful example, to do thoughtful acts for others just because.