Gluten free baking!

We've been having a fun and (somewhat!) relaxing time this last week. Will stayed with his grandparents Friday night so Matt and I could have a date! We went to Crabdaddy's - their blackened scallops are amazing. We woke up before sunrise on Saturday and watched the sun come up over the marsh. It was so pretty and peaceful!

We've been trying more and more gluten free baking. Some mixes are better than others. We have found the Betty Crocker mixes are not that good. We made sugar cookies though, and I really liked these:

We also tried making bread yesterday. My sister's church makes this bread for their communion, and she brought me the mix last week. We had tried several different gluten free breads, and this is by far the best! It tastes like the real thing and has "chew" - something most gluten free products don't have.

Shelia gave us some tomatoes from her garden, and we made tomato sandwiches! They were so good!

And since I can't do a post without Will, here is Matt making him laugh yesterday!

4th of July weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend! On Saturday Will got to play with his cousin Otto and She-she and Big-daddy!

Later in the day Will thought it would be fun to hang out in Max's cage...

In the afternoon my Aunt Faye, cousin Chrissy and her husband Mike, and Mary Beth all got into town. And my cousin Sarah and her husband Dalton came over for dinner, so we had a big crowd! We grilled pork tenderloins, and had homemade peach ice cream for dessert! Yum!

On Sunday morning, Will just so happened to match his grandpa!

We went to the beach during Will's nap since he couldn't go because of his burn (which is healing very well!) Sea Island had a beach castle display that was pretty cool.

We ate lunch with Matt's mom and Will got to do a little more playing with cousin Otto...

We made our traditional flag cake, but changed it up a little this year. We used a gluten-free Betty Crocker cake mix and spread raspberry jam on it when it came out of the oven. We made a cream cheese icing and then used raspberries instead of strawberries for the top. The cake turned out a little dry but wasn't awful. We're not sure if that is just how gluten free cake mixes turn out, or if we did something wrong, so we'll probably give it another try.

After dinner we went to the Lodge to watch the fireworks!

Aunt Sherry

Matt's Aunt Sherry came into town yesterday and we met her for dinner last night with Casey, Otto, Jessica, and Matt's mom. It was the first time Aunt Sherry had seen Will or Otto, and she had a great time holding them! It was so good to see her!

Eating out gluten free down here hasn't been too much of a problem. We are eating a lot healthier - you would be surprised at how many places a grilled chicken salad (with no croutons or bread on the side!) is the only gluten free option - I now only order one if it is the ONLY option, so that I won't get too sick of them! We are also eating a lot of fresh seafood. I make up for any lost calories with ice-cream though...I tell myself it is ok because I eat healthy the rest of the time and it is one of the only sweet things I can have:)

Fun and not so fun...

On Friday we went swimming with Craig and Ashley and their son Benjamin! Benjamin was born 2 weeks before Will and it is so cute to watch them together because they're in the same stage and doing the same things. I can't believe they are both about to have their first birthday!

Out of about 8 pictures I took, Will isn't looking in any of them!

A tired little boy!

Today we had our first minor emergency with Will. He pulled a curling iron down and burned his arm pretty bad with 2nd degree burns. We took him to an immediate care center here on the island, and they bandaged it up for him. We'll have to go back every day for the next few days and let them change the dressing and keep an eye on the burn. I thought he would be tugging at it trying to get it off, so afterwards we went to get him some long-sleeved pajamas and shirts, but he hasn't seemed to mind it. In fact, it hasn't affected his playing at all...

He tried to crawl in with Max!

My little trooper!

I am so thankful that it didn't land on his head or face. I am also thankful that he doesn't seem to be in any pain. He's been in a great mood since we got home, so I haven't had to give him Tylenol or anything. The nurse said an adult would be in serious pain with the burn that he had, but she said kids are very resilient and can handle it better. I am very thankful!

Matt's "graduation"

Last night we celebrated Matt's graduation at Blackwater Grill! Both of our families were there, and I surprised him with his cap and gown (he missed his graduation this past Saturday)! Last week before my mom and I left Evanston we went by the school to pick it up, and Matt had no idea!

I also asked the school to mail me his diplomas and awards, which I presented to him! He received a Dean's Distinguished Service Award, that he was nominated for, for making an outstanding contribution to student life at Kellogg. He also received an award for Beta Gamma Sigma, which is the top 10% of his class (which is OUTSTANDING!). He would have participated in a special awards ceremony before graduation to get these two awards - I was SO proud of him!

Then I gave him his two diplomas - he got a Masters of Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration!

Will wouldn't smile but he was wearing his Kellogg hat to show his support!

Then I have him a graduation gift...an ipad! He hasn't stopped playing with it since he opened it!

After dinner we went back to Matt's dad's so that Matt could model his cap and gown for him and show him his awards!

He was very proud of his son!

Casey, Will, and Matt in the backyard

The handsome graduate!

Two years ago Matt had the choice of a full ride to Emory or a spot at Kellogg in Chicago. Being that we are southerners through and through, and given that we owned a house a mile from Emory, it seemed the obvious choice. But my husband is anything but predictable - he saw Kellogg as an opportunity we couldn't pass up, and thought moving up north would be an "adventure" for us. So although I wasn't quite as confident about this move as he was, I followed him.

And what an adventure it has been! We moved from a 3 bedroom home with a yard to a small condo in the city...and loved it! We went to Croatia with 20 other students and had a blast. We learned that you CAN survive without central air. We spent countless days just laying on the grass by Lake Michigan. I learned to parallel park. I learned that fall colors are AMAZING in Chicago. I bought a Northface Arctic parka and some Uggs and thought I was prepared for winter. We experienced digging our car out during a snowstorm. We learned that the hardest month to live in Chicago isn't January...it's April - when it is still freezing and there still isn't anything green in sight. We've discovered that there are some really cool areas in Chicago and the northern suburbs that are a lot of fun. We learned that we were expecting a baby...BOY!!! We went from having everyone in Chicago comment on our southern accents, to having people in the south comment on how our accent has changed! We joined an awesome church that we love. We've made amazing friends. And we've grown as people, and experienced another part of the world. So, even though in a couple of months we'll be in the "real world" again with something we've been dreading: school debt, we know that it has been every bit worth it!

I love you Matt and I am so incredibly proud of you!!!

Our week

Here are a few pictures of our week so far in St. Simons. On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day! We went to lunch with my dad at Barbara Jeans.

Matt's first Father's Day!

Will helped his granddad open his gift!

After lunch we went to the hospital to visit Matt's dad. He is doing much better, and he came home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. We are still waiting on the biopsy results, but we are thankful that things seem to be improving.

Late afternoon, we went to the pool with my parents. Will loved it!

Monday we went swimming with Matt's mom and Casey and Cousin Otto. Otto is getting so big! I can't wait for them to really play together!