father's day & a new toy...

We celebrated Jesse's second Father's Day on Sunday with a trip to the Knights game. It was Eli's first baseball game and he seemed to really enjoy it for the first few innings. After that, though, he was ready for bigger and better things, like the carousel and bounce house :) On Sunday night, Jesse had to leave town to be in New York for the week. Having him away reminds me how much he means to me (and Eli) and how much he gives and sacrifices for us. It's nice to have times like this to remind me not to take things and people for granted...unfortunately I need these reminders fairly often.

So...since Eli and I are alone this week, (my grandparents and Dad are vacationing too), I've been trying to stay busy and entertaining. Last weekend, we bought Eli a balloon-powered boat at Books A Million. He and I tried it out the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. It works well and Eli seems to really like it! So...if you're looking for a simple, inexpensive toy that seems like it will last a while, check it out.

He was sooooo... funny and persistent with trying to blow up the balloon...

and...just couldn't keep those little hands out of the water : )

summer kick-off...

This past weekend served as a great start for my summer vacation. My mama and sister came to visit on Friday and we spent Saturday morning celebrating my cousin Laura Leigh's high school graduation. It was a nice ceremony and we're very proud of Snuffy :) I think this was our last graduation for a while...we've had a ton of them in the family! Jesse, Eli and I spent Saturday evening in Tryon, NC for the Blue Ridge BBQ Festival. Our friends Matt and Erika had told us about it and were there as well. Molly and Eli had a great time dancing and riding as you can see from the pics! Sunday, we spent the day by the pool with friends and had a nice, home-cooked meal for supper :) I had to work a workday on Monday, had yesterday off, returned today for a training, and now...I'm DONE! Yipee~Skipee! I'm really excited, although, I do believe my little man is going to keep me just as busy (probably busier) than my full-time job! Right now I"m spending my extra minutes completing an extra-special project for another special weekend coming up this weekend ;) and getting things ready for Eli's second birthday! I can't believe I just typed "second"! He is growing WAY too fast!

Time out for a hug...so sweet!

I don't think Eli closed his mouth the whole time...pretty sure he was in shock over us letting him ride by himself :)

all aboard!

We have been staying pretty busy lately...busy with work, busy chasing Eli and busy having fun! Our Memorial Day weekend was great...we got a chance to visit with our neighbors, spend time with Jesse's Mom (she came to NC for a few days), celebrate a birthday and graduations, and take Eli to Tweetsie for the first time! It was the perfect day weather-wise and crowd-wise and we were able to take quite a crew along with us! Jesse's mom, my grandparents, my dad, and my aunt Angie were able to join in on the fun! Eli had a blast and surprised us by enjoying some of the "big" rides. He is really into trains right now, so it was the perfect time to visit : )

for my little egg-lovin' man...

One thing that I got to do a little more of over Spring break was cooking. I really love to cook, but not when I have to or when I'm in a hurry. So, last week provided the perfect cooking conditions for me : ) Eli LOVES eggs, and quite honestly, I start feeling bad about just sitting a plate full of scrambled eggs in front of him. Not that that's bad...don't want to step on any toes here...but I really wanted to spice it up a little. So, when I saw this recipe in my parenting magazine this month, I got pretty excited. Frittatas! Is it bad that I now get excited over little things like this? Honestly, I don't know that I had ever heard the term "frittata" before I noticed the recipe. Apparently, it's the term for an egg-based dish similar to an omelet or quiche. I ended up preparing these with turkey pepperoni, chopped broccoli and mozzarella cheese. I know, kind of an odd combination, but these are some of E's favorites. I was really happy with how simple the recipe was and how quickly they were devoured by my little man. I think I'll be making many more in the days to come!

I'm posting some pics of the final product and a picture that I took of the recipe : ) There were also good tips for different ingredients to add. Because my muffin pan was missing in action, I had to resort to my silicone baking cups that I've had for years now and never used. I've heard lots of people talk about how great they are, but for some reason, I have always forgotten that I have them. I now agree...they are wonderful for a no-mess bake! Don't think I'll be forgetting about them anymore : )

e's second easter

I've always loved Easter. As a Christian, of course, it's a day of great celebration and remembering our hope in Christ. And, as a girl with an incredibly special family, it's a day to spend time together and chow down on lots of good food. This year was especially fun, because Eli was able to participate more. We started the day off by checking out all of the goodies delivered by the Easter Bunny and getting Eli all dressed up for church. "Pop", my Daddy, came down to worship with us, which made the morning all the more special. We have an annual egg hunt after church, so that was a lot of fun as usual. There were eggs, candy and kids EVERYWHERE! We headed up to Waco for the evening to visit with everyone there. Maw-maw had cooked an amazing meal and the perfect weather made hanging outside sooo... nice. We hid eggs, blew lots of bubbles, played in the barn and had "egg wars". It was a really special day!

spring break eleven...

It's been no work and all play for us Bachman's this week! Originally, we had thought of taking a couple of short trips over the break, but being the procrastinators that we are, were unable to book rooms at the last minute. Now, I'm happy that those plans didn't work out. We've had a really fun-filled week and have been able to take advantage of some neat places around home. We started out the week at Ray's Splash Planet, which neither of us had visited before. We went not really knowing what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised! They had lots of water fun for both little and big kids (including Jesse and I). Eli had a blast! From the brochure that I picked up, it looks like they offer all kinds of fun activities, including Mom & Tot stuff. So...I think we'll be spending a lot more time there this summer : )

On Tuesday, we spent the morning playing with Eli's bubble mower outside. He loves to pretend to mow and water the lawn like his Daddy. In the afternoon, we took Eli to watch planes at the airport. We also ate some yummy tacos and cheese muffins at Jim and Nick's BBQ. We had been there several times before, but not on Taco Tuesday. It was great and cheap, which makes it even better : )

On Wednesday morning, we headed to Huntersville to Discovery Place Kids. I can't say enough good things about that place...they thought of everything! From the farm section where kids can pretend to milk the cow, to the market section where they can pretend to ring up groceries, to the cafe section where they can pretend to serve their parents food...it was all really cool! They, too, had lots of activities for little and big kids. For lunch, we went across the street to a little cafe, Cafe 100, I think. It was a really cute place, with nice outside seating and great food. Jesse loved that they serve breakfast all day. This is another place that we will definitely visit again soon : )