Summer Vacation

The past two weeks have been a blur.  The kids finished the school year with a spring concert and the graduation of the 8th grade class leaving the school for High School.  I am going to be one of those parents next year and I’m already getting Kleenex out!!  The kids kicked off the first day of summer vacation visiting with some of their cousins who live locally as well as some who were here visiting from Hawaii!

I was even able to sneak in a ride with my cousin who lives in Hawaii.  It was great!!

The daughter/step daughter is planning a HUGE move to Colorado next weekend.  It’s going to be very hard for all of us as we will miss her.  But this is the next step into another phase of her life and we are happy for her!  She was here to visit and made a batch of homemade ice cream with the teen.

The Teen has been working on her riding skills and enjoying her horse time with Bailey.

My niece even stopped by for a cousin ride.  I love how the “boys” love each other while the girls spend their bonding time.

A visit from the horse shoer (Farrier) for a trim to the horses hooves.

 

The boy had the opportunity to spend some time with his cousins from Hawaii again before they left.  He of course had to introduce them to all his chickens.

Our first batches of strawberry jam have been made and are stored in the cellar.

And a new homey touch with a small curtain has been added to the chicken coop.

It’s been a strange weather pattern so far this spring and kick off of summer.  It’s cold, wet, and overly buggy and the weeks forecast does not look like it will be improving much.  At least we are keeping busy 🙂

Evening Cruise

The Niagara River was beautiful the other night and made for the perfect “mom and dad” night out on the boat.

You can see more of the beautiful night here:  Evening Cruise

Watermelon Jello

Super fun for the kids and great for a get together!

You can see how we make ours on my Facebook page here:  Watermelon Jello

Farm Kids

This picture really captures the essence of “farm kids” in my mind.  I love how they still at 13 and 10 appreciate their farm animals and remain the little “farm kids” we have raised them to be.

We built a larger run for the chickens tonight so they have more room to free range safely when we are not home.

You can see more cute chicken pictures on our Facebook page here:  Cute chickens

Amen

It’s that kinda day…..

Sunday night Sunset

Even Disco was amazed by our sunset last night.  It was a true work of art!

Garden update

Things are starting to produce in our little garden.  Now is the time for some tender loving care to keep these plants healthy and productive!

Hopefully nothing happens while I am Toronto bound with the boy for a hockey tournament this weekend.

You can see more of our garden pictures on my Facebook page here:  Garden update

Chicken Hoagies

This is one of my favorite all time dinners.  Caramelized onions and peppers with a chicken breast cooked perfectly in a little garlic infused oil, topped with provolone cheese and served on a fresh roll with a dab of mayonnaise.  AHHH it doesn’t get much better!!

I like to use colorful peppers with the onions instead of green bell peppers as these are a bit sweeter when you lightly brown them in garlic infused oil and a tad of butter.  I used a sweet white onion as well. Once caramelized, set them aside and use the same pan for the chicken.

I prefer the thin sliced chicken breasts but if you can’t find them, you can butterfly a regular chicken breast so you have a thin slice on your hoagie.  The thin breasts cook in approximately 8 minutes (4 minutes per side).  Use about 2 teaspoons of the garlic infused oil, salt/pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic powder when cooking.

When cooked through transfer to your fresh roll that has a smear of mayonnaise, top with the pepper/onions and provolone cheese.

There are never leftovers as the kids and man of the house love these as much as I do 🙂