Taylor Swift Concert

Last night Sidney and I went to the Taylor Swift concert. We went with Shasta & Gracie, Hannah and Gracie's cousin Sami. Sidney went to her concert last year with Shasta, Gracie and Hannah and we just had to go again. Taylor is such an amazing performer. This was probably the very best concert I have ever been too - - entertainment wise.

Gracie - Hannah - Sidney - Sami

Taylor Swift changed her costume 8 different times, there were multiple stage changes, she played several different guitars, the piano, the banjo and even the ukulele!

She had great backup dancers that were really entertaining. Tap dancers, ballerinas, trapeze acts...... Really entertaining!

She ended the show by singing a song in a little balcony that flew her around above the audience. I took a video of it but I can't figure out how to upload it.

I only knew about 1/3 of her songs because I just hear what is played on the radio. (Sidney has a few of her CD's and knew all her songs). But even though I didn't know all of her music, this was by far the most entertaining concert I have ever been too! Thanks Sidney for loving her so that we could go to her concert!

Cade's 8th Birthday Party

For Caden's 8th birthday, we had a Pirate themed party.

His invitations were messages in a bottle.

For his cupcakes I frosted some with chocolate frosting and for the others I dipped the frosted cupcake in crushed graham crackers to make it look like sand and I stuck a caramel filled chocolate treasure chest on top.

When they first got to the party, I read them the book, "How I Became a Pirate" by David Shannon. It's a really cute little book. Then the boys went on a treasure hunt. I had clues hidden all over the yard. One was in the kid's tree hut.

One was in the mail box.

One was in the fire pit, another in the pirate ship that was on the cake table, and another on the patio table.

The treasure was hidden under the main table that had the cupcakes on it. They each got either a sword pack or a hook pack.

Then they divided up into teams according to whether they had a sword or a hook and had a big sword fight.

Happy Birthday Caden! You FILL our house with life!

Backyard Movies

I love my neighborhood. I love summer nights. I love spending summer nights with my neighbors! Just about every year we do a big block party movie night in either my backyard or the Parry's backyard.

I had to take pictures before the party actually started so there weren't many people here yet but it would have been too dark to wait until later.

Jens and his dorky friends. I actually love them too!

There are SOOOO many things that I would LOVE to change about my house. Sometimes I get to thinking that we should just build a new one. Then about 5 seconds later I realize that no matter how great the house is, if you don't have a great neighborhood to go with it, then the house won't be great either. I just can't beat my neighborhood!

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 Stick (1/2 cup) butter

6oz (half the bag) semi sweet chocolate chips

*Melt together in a sauce pot on medium heat.

1 can Evaporated Milk

2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

*Whisk into the chocolate mixture. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then add:

1 teaspoon Vanilla

*Sauce will thicken as it cools.

***THIS RECIPE IS NOT PART OF ANY DIET PLAN***

Low Country Shrimp Boil

I had a few of my neighbors over yesterday for a low country boil. I love shrimp boils. So fun and yummy!

We were just getting the kids set up with theirs when the wind picked up and it started to lightly rain- -- - right on my parade!

So we moved inside.

Low Country Shrimp Boil

Water in a pot

2 packages of Zataran's Crab and Shrimp boil (or one whole box of Old Bay Cajun seasoning. Zataran's is spicier than Old Bay)

6 lemons - cut in half

*Get water boiling with seasoning and lemons. Then add:

Bag of new potatoes - boil for 7 minutes then add:

6 onions cut into big chunks - boil for 7 minutes then add:

Big bag of chicken tenders - boil for 7 minutes then add:

Mini corn cobs (however many you want) - boil for 7 minutes then add:

Cleaned, peeled, raw shrimp - boil for 3 to 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink.

You can really add a lot of different stuff like spicy sausage, crawdads, crab, etc.

*Drain water out and dump food down the middle of the table that has been lined with newspaper. Grab your food right from the pile with your fingers and dip food in a pink sauce and ENJOY!

Pink Sauce

Miracle whip

Ketchup

*mix together until it's a nice pink color

A sprinkle of garlic salt

A squeeze of lemon juice

*add garlic and lemon until you like the taste

Clean up is a snap! Just wad up the newspaper and toss it in the trash! No plates or silverware to wash!