Summertime

I absolutely love the summer. I'm truly happy when the temperature outside begins with the number 8 or 9 (I know, call me crazy). There are several reasons I love summertime:

• Jerry's Sno-Cones: If you live in Memphis and haven't had one of these then you are truly missing out. There is something special about these sno-cones that you just can't get at any ole sno-cone stand. Matt suggests that you try out the "supreme" which is a sno-cone with a swirl of soft serve ice cream in the middle. Sounds strange but it's lovely.


• The pool


• Fresh veggies from the farmers market


• Tomato tart: It's really simple and I never use exact measurements. All you need is one ready made pie shell, one 8 oz bag of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, fresh basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. First slice your tomatoes very thin and place them on a paper towel to drain. Dump the mozzarella in the pie shell. Layer the tomatoes on top. Chop or tear a good amount of basil (you can never have too much) and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle the whole tart with olive oil. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. This thing is dee-licious...especially with homegrown tomatoes and fresh basil!


• Fun sundresses


• The ice cream man: I'm not scared to chase his van down the street if I can't get my money together fast enough. Also, anyone else noticed how ridiculous the prices are for a Popsicle these days???


• Cookouts in the back yard: I just love our back yard. Really there's nothing too special about it but I love sitting out on the patio, having a glass of wine (when I'm not pregnant) and catching up on my US Weekly while Matt grills us something yummy.


• Fresh herbs from my herb garden


• Bathing the dog outside


• Trips to the beach
• And...another GREAT reason for loving this summer is that Banks will be here in 10 short weeks! Here's a little teaser for what's been going on at our house lately...

There are a few downsides to the summer heat:

• MOSQUITOES: I hate mosquitoes but they love me. It's just a terrible relationship. I wish they would go away forever. I can't see that they really serve a purpose at all...


• Hot leather seats in the car


• Excessive yard watering (all while the mosquitoes feast on me)


• Sunburn and subsequent peeling which leaves you looking like you're diseased or something

Our first baby shower!

We had our first baby shower Saturday and it was so much fun! Everything was perfect. There were so many fun details...pictures of Matt and me when we were babies and some of our baby items were on display all over the house. Clint and Jeri Anne had the shower at their house and it was wonderful! We were outside mostly and they had tables set up in their yard with lights and lanterns all in the trees! Best of all was that we had Mexican food and they had a margarita machine (I really wanted one of those!). Banks got some really great things. We are so thankful and feel so lucky to have such great friends!! Here are a few pictures from the night:

Jeri Anne, Emeri, me, Libby

Matt Still, Matt Hutsell, Mark, Matt Austin, John

Matt, Gram (my mom), me, Mimi (Matt's mom)

Matt and me

Fun story: these are two of my best friends from home. Molly (on the left) is due two weeks behind me and is having a little boy, Charlie. Sarah, on my right, is due one week behind me and is having a little girl. It has been SO fun being pregnant at the same time. We call each other all the time to ask questions and compare/contrast stories! I can't wait for their little babies to get here too!!!