Fine, I'll catch up with ya and give a few recipes too

Well, have I been stuck in a blogging rut.  You would think with all this free time in the summer I would be all about it...   right?!   Let's travel back several weeks so I can catch you up.   

One of our friends was turning the big 3-0 and her hubby decided to throw a surprise party.  So, we all gathered together, yelled "surprise" and spent the night salsa dancing and eating fajitas!   Good night, huh?

 Here's the birthday girl with all the hubby's.

 Presenting the birthday girl!

This is the whole crew...even our amazing salsa instructor!  Thank goodness the weather wasn't unbearable ...I can only imagine the hot mess of a picture it would have been then.  

 In other news-   I am moving to a new elementary school and had a wonderful meeting with my new team!  We had tons to munch on and lots to chat about.  I don't want to reveal too much...but...  I am beyond excited to be a part of this new school.  Some amazing things are in store for the next school year. 
After several hours of "teacher talk" I met up with these ladies for GNO at one of our favorite places. 

 We saw a family taking pictures out front by this fountain and decided that it was the perfect place for us to snap a few too.

 Several days later...and many hours floating in the pool mindlessly...   we celebrated Father's day!  The Mr. spent the day working..all day..and most of the evening...but when he finished he found a sweet card from his kitty babies.  :)   I know...super cheesy...    I loooove super cheesy!

 On to food!!!   I have loved eating this over the summer break!  It's easy, fresh, and can be dressed up in so many ways.
Tomato, Mozzarella, Avocado salad
-chop cherry tomatoes.
-chop avocado
-throw in small mozzarella balls
-mix the zest of one lemon with freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/2 a lemon or so) and several drizzles of EVOO. 
-chop basil
-sprinkle with salt and peppercorn

 I put it on toasted french bread one day and on top of grilled chicken another night.  Perfection.

We had another friend of ours celebrate a birthday.... and it's funny how we always start off sitting next to our sweet Mr.'s but as soon as we start chatting we ditch them and start our own girls table.  These men talk about super boring things...  by the way...  Can y'all believe RHOC and the scoop on Vicki's man, Brooks.  Yikes. 

Girls table.

Another "big news bears" lately is that The Mr.'s older brother just moved to California. We wanted to get in lots of QT with them before they drove off into the sunset!!! Ummm...pretty sure they sent us a text today with their weekly forecast...60's and 70's. Braggers. I can simply walk to the mailbox outside and come back inside looking like I just ran threw the sprinklers. Yuck.  

 I will miss my sweet SIL...   she's always full of giggles.     And, she always gives me fun makeup and perfume samples.  :)   Next time we see them...it will be on the beach at their new pad. 

 As you know,  I am all about decorating for holidays ...it gets me all jacked up and excited.  So, we decided to host our bible study the week of the 4th of July.  Only rule... bring a yummy dish with red, white , or blue as one of the ingredients.  The creativity was awesome!   Blue ranch dressing, red hot wings...teehee..  
I found a wonderful dish on Pinterest of course.... 
Warning: This dish is heavenly and not so heavenly on your summer thighs.  I obviously love large thighs because I ate half the pan. 

Big Thigh Dip

-1pkg of cream cheese

-1 container of marshmallow fluff

-1 container of cool whip

-mix together and if you know what's good for you add mini chocolate chips

-pour 1 can of cherry pie filling on top

-use graham crackers for dipping

Once you devour this tasty treat...jump in the pool and hope no one sees the damage!!!  I seriously had such an amazing day with these girls.  They are so encouraging and honest.  I sit and think..."how did I ever get through tough times with out these chicas?"  I'm sure The Mr. thinks the same thing about their hubby's.

Please tell me I'm not the only person that takes a ridiculous amount of furbaby pictures on Instagram.  I like how life looks through Instagram in general.   Just my thoughts.  

Although these are all the fun and exciting things going on in my life...  it's not always this cheery.  Personally, I prefer to blog just about the good stuff.  I want to hold on to these memories the most.  But today I would like to make a quick prayer request for my dad.  No details I want to post about at this time but my heart has been aching for the past year and I know he could use some comfort as well.  Thanks for all the support and love.