Eating clean and summer vegetable recipe

Since being diagnosed with Celiac and going gluten-free a year ago, we have naturally cut out a lot of processed food in our diet. A few weeks ago, we decided to go full force in eating "clean" and cutting out processed food and refined sugar in our diet. So far it has been pretty easy. We have an abundance of fresh, local fruits and vegetables available at our farmer's market right now. 

My sister-in-law Casey gave me this recipe for grilled summer vegetables. We made it this weekend and I'm hooked - it was SO good! We will be making it a lot this summer!

Grilled Summer Vegetables
3 ears corn
2-3 portabello mushrooms
red pepper cut in half
3 medium zucchini cut in half lengthwise
3 medium squash cut in half lengthwise
3 green onions
3 tbs. balsamic vinegar glaze (you can buy this or we just reduced 6 tbs. of balsamic vinegar in half on the stove - same thing!)

Lightly coat all vegetables (except onions) in olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook corn in the microwave 5 minutes to avoid charring on the grill. Grill all vegetables until tender. Cut corn off the cob and chop the rest of the vegetables. Eat leftovers cold mixed with feta - SO good!

Time for a BBQ!

Yesterday we hosted an end of the year cookout for our small group from church. Matt co-led our group this year, along with both of our pastors. It is such a neat group of people of all backgrounds and stages in life.

There were 41 of us there, 16 of which were kids! Every time I looked over at Will, he was running around the yard screaming and laughing! He really enjoys being around other kids! And the weather couldn't have been more perfect - about 75 degrees.

He LOVES watermelon!

Our pastor's daughter Mary, who they recently adopted from Ethiopia.

Noah is SO close to walking!!

Memorial Day weekend!

We had a great holiday weekend. It was cold and rainy Saturday and Sunday so Matt and I did some major spring cleaning and decluttering around the house. It feels so great to have everything organized! On Friday, we went to a local landscaping center and picked out lots of flowers to do a little gardening! Will had fun too!

Saturday morning, before the rain came in, we were able to go to the farmer's market and stopped at a garage sale (our two favorite things to do on a Saturday!). Our old patio table had cracked when the wind knocked it over, and we found this one for only $30! We bleached it and scrubbed it and it looks as good as new!

I'd been working out and look terrible but I have so few pictures with my little man!

On Monday the sun (and the heat!) came out! It got close to 90, so we pulled out the kiddie pool!

And we had a last minute BBQ with friends! It was so much fun!

Will spent most of the day outside, having a ball...

Company over!

We had the Howtons, family friends from St. Simons, over for dinner this weekend. John was a fraternity brother of both my dad and Matt's dad (ATO's at Tech) and they are some of the most fun people to be around!

They were in Chicago for a food show - they have a fabulous restaurant on St. Simons called Blackwater Grill. I think Matt really enjoyed cooking for fellow "foodies." He made garlic lime beer-can chicken and a black beans and rice side that turned out really well, despite nearly burning the house down;) Seriously though, it was great food with great company! Come see us again soon Howtons!

22 months

Will is 22 months!

Will,

• You repeat just about every word you hear your daddy and me say. Your vocabulary has grown SO much this month, and you are able to communicate with us so much easier now!
• You do not like having shoes on at all. You promptly take them off about 30 seconds after I put them on.
• You really like to get dirty! You like to play with dirt, pour the dog's water dish on you, put food in your hair, etc. You are one VERY dirty boy by bath time each night!
• Your current favorite food is cheddar cheese. You ask for it about 3 times a day.
• You can get frustrated pretty easily, and stomp your feet and do a little "tantrum" dance when you can't figure something out or can't communicate something to me.
• You love books more than just about anything. You sit and flip through them by yourself, and you like to be read several books before bedtime/nap time.
• For some reason you ascribe the adjective big (which comes out "beeg" when you say it) to everything. You ask for a "beeg" book, a "beeg" brush (your toothbrush), etc.
• You are looking more and more like a little boy and less and less like a baby. Sometimes I look at you and cannot believe how big you are already. Time is going by too quickly! I love you so incredibly much little man!

A visit from family!

**I reposted the "Bill Dart field" post from last week

Matt's brother Beau and his new bride Kate came to visit us this weekend! We had such a great time with them. Matt and Beau woke up early Saturday morning and went to the grocery store and came back and made breakfast for us...before Kate and I even woke up! It was great!

Thursday, when they got in town, was the hottest day that we've had all year - it got to the mid 80's. But Saturday it was COLD, never getting higher than the mid 40's! We still made it to the farmer's market and got fresh asparagus (the farmer said it had been cut the day before!), potatoes, and mushrooms, which we made for dinner with a whole chicken that Matt cooked.

Will was thrilled to have Uncle Beau and Aunt Kate in town. They brought him a lego set (which he played with all weekend) and he warmed up to them very quickly!

Beau and Kate - come visit us again soon!!