Monday, November 9, 2015

fall 2015


Mary Van had a busy social calendar for Halloween.  She had Kate's birthday party, then we had a UGA.UF party (blah) in Riverwood followed by trick-or-treating.  She had Chip's birthday party on Sunday but had a fever so we kept her at home.  Turns out she had bronchial pneumonia!  Poor thing...


Our little ladybug hitting the houses.  She figured out the ropes really quickly.


with tensley 'batgirl' bowen


bobbing for apples




with caroline rud.  caroline's mama is good friends with aunt megan!

 


at kate's party


for school on friday, she was a cheerleader


fall school pics



mickey and minnie at the doctor's office



helping daddy drive the ranger


we went to steed's dairy and she got to feed the pony.  she loved that thing!


oh hey


with the goat



and cow


she was over taking pictures


going down the big slide with daddy








pure joy!










she started 'teeter tots' at hayden's gym.  it took her a while but she loves it, especially when bb comes too! 


the balance beam


with aunt megan and uncle adi at aunt megan's birthday dinner


sela, damir, bb, pap, nana, and papa were there too.  fun night!


she is so content to color.  i love it!


helping with dinner


and sweeping


had to take a picture with this cute little scene at daycare.  she didn't want to smile and had scratched her cheek the day before.  oh well.


eye black and all - go dawgs!





go dawgs




this pose


sitting in her old car seat

we went to the library one day and she had a ball!  maybe too much fun, as she didn't want to leave and ran around screaming.  oops.  


pulled every book off of the shelf


more teeter tots.  she likes going in the foam pit but hates getting stuck in there.  haha.


her star student board at school.  i had such a hard time picking pictures.  :)


driving the cart through publix






an afternoon of fetch with the dogs.  SO MUCH FUN!











an after-school picnic dinner


this curl.  i had to look up that nursery rhyme.  i had no idea it was actually a poem but longfellow!


celebrating mema's birthday in athens with uncle jeff, uncle scott, aunt kelly and uncle stan
bb and pap too!


she loves to paint also!


celebrating labor day at the lake with bb and pap



she loves pickles - just like her mama!


she got wet kayaking so she went pantless.  and with a cape.  


i think she had fun for a little while anyway











she tries to imitate us raising our eyebrows but just blinks most of the time.  then she got it!






last pool day until next summer!




she loves to unzip bear's onesie so i stuck her in there one day


not so happy


legs crossed while she plays




we went to st simons for a girls trip in late august.  mary van racked up at the bailey boys outlet


we stayed in this precious little house with the perfect pool



mandy, amber, liza, melanie, me and michelle


hello




got to visit with the scoggins and scott families for the boys birthdays


our little sprite

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

crockpot bbq beer chicken

I made this for the second time last night and it was just as delicious as I remembered.  Enjoy!
 

Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken
serves about 8-10
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 large)
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces of beer (I used a classic amber)
32 ounces of barbecue sauce
Season chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Add to crockpot, then add beer and 24 ounces of barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours, tossing once or twice if desired. After 8 hours, shred and add remaining barbecue sauce. Toss chicken to coat and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to absorb everything. Serve as desired.
Notes:
1. I’ve found that *thinner* barbecue sauce works better (such as Bone Suckin’ Sauce) than thicker sauce (like Sweet Baby Ray’s). If you choose to use a thicker sauce, you may want to add a little more beer (or liquid) in order for the sauce not to burn and thicken on the edges of the pot. This is also the reason I don’t use my homemade barbecue sauce.
2. If you don’t want to use beer, you can try a ginger ale, chicken stock, or even water.
3. This makes a ton of chicken and I usually immediately freeze a container for later.
 
*Jami's notes: I don't know if my chicken is a lot smaller than hers or what but I could have used 10 breasts and still had plenty of flavor, sauce.  And, with 6 breasts, there is barely enough for us for two meals.  I do not top with additional sauce but use some of the juices still in the crockpot instead.  We use the bbq sauce Brad's boss makes and it is amazing - thin and vinegary.  My favorite.  You can cook on high for 4-5 hours if you are short on time.* 


photo and recipe credit