Zuchini Bread Recipe

I just picked a nice big zuchini out of my yard and want to make bread with it. I've been looking on-line for a good recipe. I thought maybe someone had one that they love. I make banana bread often, but I've never made zuchini bread, so I'm looking for a simple recipe. I'd take any suggestions!!

Rainy Day

I love rainy days. We don't get very many overcast days and we absolutely love them. What's amazing is on Monday it was 112 degrees and we were swimming and today it's so nice I can have all of my windows open. I thought I would catch up on what we've been up to.

Emmet had preschool graduation. He was so cute singing his heart out. He loved school this year, especially because his cousin Sol was in his class. Emmet keeps asking when kindergarten starts and the poor guy has another year because of his Oct. birthday. I'm glad to still have him home. He and Emery have so much fun playing together.

My mom came into town for a week and watched my kids for the weekend. I met my college roommates for the weekend. We had a great time in Vegas. We spent most of the time laughing in our hotel room or sitting by the pool. We cracked up all day Saturday lounging by the pool people watching. It was a short trip, but fun to catch up with two of my closest friends. I'm not a huge fan of Vegas, for obvious reasons, but I was sad to leave Amy and Kate. Thank goodness for good girlfriends and for my mom willing to watch Emmet and Emery.


Emmet had a karate tournament while I was gone. He did awesome. He competes in two events, forms and sparring. His strength is in sparring. He loves to kick and punch. He has placed second two tournaments in a row for sparring. Emmet's first tournament I was so nervous for him because he expected to win a trophy. Thank goodness he did. After this last tournament my mom took Emmet and Emery to Costco. Emmet was still wearing his uniform and insisted on bringing in his trophy. Emmet carried his trophy proudly, smiling and singing to himself because he was so happy. My mom said it was adorable. Emery loved the tournament so much she fell asleep at it!!

I just had to throw in a picture of my tomato garden. I am so amazed I can even grow a garden here. I am even more amazed at how much fun it is. I wish my kids ate tomatoes! Any great recipes with tomatoes? I could use one!

Now What to Watch?

Yeah, the American Idol Finale was so fun to watch. I loved that David Cook won!! I was hoping he would win, but I didn't think he would. I love surprise endings.

I must admit American Idol has only been over for 35 minutes and I'm already sad it's over. I looked forward to every Tuesday and Wednesday night. I think I enjoyed American Idol so much this year because of my DVR. I could fast forward through the parts that made me sweaty. It was great! I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fill my time?!? I probably should start reading a good book.

Emery finally pooped in the potty today!!!

An Evening on the Lake

This last Monday, Sam's closest friend growing up, Scott Holyoak, took us boating on Saguaro Lake. We had so much fun with his family. Emmet and Emery weren't quite sure what to think at first. They had never been on a boat before. Emery was quite nervous most of the time and sat on my lap with her eyes closed! What was fun, was that the boat we were on was the same boat that Sam and Scott used when they were in high school. They went to the lake often. Scott told Emmet about how well Sam wakeboarded and pointed out the cliffs they would jump off of. Emmet couldn't understand why anyone would cliff jump. I laughed thinking one day Emmet would cliff jump himself and love every second of it. I relished every moment on the boat, I kept thinking to myself, "Sam has sat here and has touched every where I touched." I enjoyed swapping memories with Scott and his wife Lori. We laughed about all the funny things they did at the lake. Reminiscing about Sam and being able to show my kids a little about who there dad was wonderful.

Fun Saturday

Saturdays are my least favorite day of the week. I consider it "family" day. Husbands are usually home and most families are using Saturday to get "stuff" done! It's the day I feel Sam's absence the most. I never know what to do on Saturdays to keep us busy, but today was not like our normal Saturdays. The young men arrived at 7 am to complete my back yard. They have been working on my backyard as a service project and we have loved having them over. Emmet enjoys "helping". They finished it today and it looks fantastic. It no longer feels cramped and tiny. My yard was quite sloped in the back, but now it will be much easier to mow. I am overwhelmed by their kindness and generosity.

Sam's youngest brother lives a few minutes away and took my kids for a few hours this morning. He was heaven sent!! I needed a break from Emmet and Emery and they needed one from me. They were so excited to see uncle Blake. I was amazed at how excited Emery was. They came home with a Mother's Day gift for me that they had picked out. They were quite proud of themselves. Emmet couldn't understand why I couldn't open their gift today, so of course I opened it. They picked out everything, including the superman gift bag. There were two packages of Pokemon cards (thank you Emmet, I always need Pokemon cards) and these darling plates with matching place mats. We used them tonight for dinner. Emmet has already swindled the Pokemon cards!!

Lastly, the weather is warm enough to swim. And swim we did!! The water is a little cold at first, but you get use to it. It's funny, when I think a day is going to be long and hard, someone always calls and invites us to do something. Today was one of those great days!!