Family Vacation!

Here is a look at the fantastic vacation we had this week!

One of the first things we did was craft! Benjamin made a Super Green Lantern Batman bear. 

We also did a lot of swimming during our time away.

Of course we did have some down time...

We also enjoyed playing on the playground. Benjamin and Henry both loved swinging. In fact, it became a family event!

The water park is a pretty big attraction where we went, so we had to stop there as well!

After a long day of water, we spent a little while playing in the arcade!

I wish I had pictures for everything else we did, but I was so busy being a part of it that I forgot! Of course we rested some, played a lot, and did plenty of eating!

Looking Forward

Still to come: a look at the best shopping trip of my life and the book I read on vacation! I also want to talk a little about my birthday and the most recent Glam bag from ipsy! I have so much to catch you up on that it may take a few days until we get deep again!

Day 21: Three Day Catch Up and Contest Winner?!

Should I be offended? Not one person entered my contest. My heart is just a tad broken. However, I am going to over look it and assume everyone was on vacation and try this again! Are you interested in winning a brand-new pair of handmade earrings! Specially picked for you, by me at a local festival!? If you are...

Here are the rules this time:
1. Like Casseruola Dolce Della Vita on Facebook.
2. Share that you entered my contest on either Twitter or Facebook. (make sure to tell them @dolcedellavita) Make sure you give them a link so they can enter too!
3. Comment that you did all three! Be sure to include your email so I can let you know if you won!


The contest ends Sunday, June 30th. You get a week to get in to win these lovely dangle earrings!

Catching Up

Now, we have had a very eventful past three days! Wait to you see how much fun we had!

Fun in the Sun: Friday=Water

The schedule I created to help keep summer boredom away said that Friday's mean water play. We didn't have any plans to GO somewhere so we made our own water fun.

Although my oldest got a bit more sun than I would have liked (even with sunblock), he had a blast! When I made them go in for lunch, Benjamin was really disappointed.

Playland and Catch Up

We took advantage of the playland later that day to get together with a family friend. In the end, Benjamin just ended up pulling them into playing with him and very little adult conversation was allowed. Oh the joys and woes of having munchkins. 

Burger King has $0.50 ice-cream cones of cups all summer, so we got dessert for less than 4 bucks! Add that to play time, we got way more than our monies worth.

Moonlight Delight

My oldest son has suddenly taken a liking to the moon. So we took a few minutes when we got home to look at the moon. He also loved the fact that I let him sit on top of my car. He thought he was hott stuff. After our moon adventure we went on a search for lightening bugs. It was the first time he had ever seen one.

Saturday Surprise Party

On Saturday we went to a surprise party for my dad. Because we celebrated earlier in the week he was so clueless of the very special plans we had made for his 50th birthday. Benjamin and Henry especially like the balloons and watermelon that came with the party!

My mother made my dad a dirt cake because she said that he is now "older than dirt". I attempted to have Ben ask "what were the dinosaurs like?", be couldn't remember it long enough to ask. Grandpa was very surprised. We parked all the cars in a church parking lot and shuttled people over, so even when he arrived there was no evidence. We had plenty of fun, food, and music!

Sunday: A Day At the Park

Today we spent some time with our church family River Church at the park. We did service there and did a huge potluck/BBQ afterward. Benjamin and Henry played their heart out. Everyone ate their heart out. And we pray that others were reached by our hearts being "out".

After church and the events surrounding it, we went to a little event full of local businesses. It was really more of a networking event for my job with Growing Up in the Valley, but it was fun having the family along. Benjamin was very helpful and handed out my card to every booth. I had the chance to sign up for some prizes and get some contacts, so all was good. When we got home we were all wiped out from a day of outdoors and hot weather. (Nowhere we went today was air-conditioned.) At home we cooled down and relaxed until dinner. After dinner the usual bath-time, bed-time craziness ensued.

That leads me to where I am now. All my kids in bed, my husband at the movies and the bed to myself for a while. If I new my youngest Henry wasn't about to wake again in a half hour I might have just hit the sack and left you hanging yet another night. So, you have my sleepless child to thank for a fun post of pictures today!

I've actually missed writing. Its part of what keeps me sane, but then again, so does sleep.

I hope to see lots of entries in the giveaway above! Until tomorrow, I pray that you sleep better than I surely will!

Italian Tomato Parmesan Soup & Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

Some days are hard to have kids. As I write this, my two year old is playing in his room after I put him to bed. In fact, I started bedtime at 8, its nearly 10 and he is still fighting. I am blaming this on the missed nap for the third day in a row. All I can say is, my children exhausted me today.

Today I cooked dinner at my parents house. I had to bring my supplies from home, which ended up with me forgetting things! Dinner was totally different from what it should have been. The soup was loosely based off this recipe for slow cooker Tomato Basil Soup. It ended up Italian Tomato Soup with no crock pot required. Let me explain. I forgot the basil, chicken broth, and crock pot! I did however remember the vegetables!

I quickened the recipe by bring the whole pot to a boil. Instead of using chicken broth I substituted for beef bullion and water. I also used whole milk rather than half and half. Otherwise, I followed the process pretty close. What can I say, I am a true Italian cook, I never measure and I work with what I have. On everyday occasions, I rarely use recipes! Remember, no basil... so thats why the name changed!

Even the none tomato eating crew seemed to enjoy the soup. It was very flavorful and I think it would be a really great base for adding all kinds of delicious things.

I followed the recipe for the Rosemary Olive Oil Bread a little more closely. I rarely bake, so I have less experience with substitution. I just didn't use basil. I also used fast acting yeast and normal flour (not whole wheat or anything). The bread is smaller than the above recipe because I am not patient and didn't let it rise long enough. Still, it was delicious! I would most definitely attempt bread again.

I would have loved to have made mozzarella grilled cheese with that bread to go with dinner. Another time, when I am more prepared!

My Outfit

I got a huge amount of compliments today, so I decided to share it with you. I am constantly amazed how many people are liking my hair! I never expected for it to be a fashion statement.

The sweater shirt is from Maurices. I love this shirt so much! I have had it since college, its been a favorite since then. The skirt is a Target design. The shoes also come from Target, many seasons ago. The biggest focus of my compliments was my earring, which I've noted before. They look like something between a feather and a leaf in pinks.

A Day In The Sun

We had lovely, almost summer weather here today. We hit 80, I know. My parents deicided to try to suffer through and not use the air conditioning and the kids were suffering. We decided to have a little fun outside!

My sweet little boy picked me a flower!

 





















Contest Reminder!

 Remember the contest ends April 13th at 8pm. See here to find out how to win a box of my favorite things!