Enjoying the Last of Summer

We've been spending a lot of time on the deck either sitting in the sun, reading our books, watching deer, or grilling dinner.  I am not ready to give up these long days!  It has already been so hard losing the time I've spent outside reading! The dogs are missing us being home too:(

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty...love it!

LOVE our deck and porch

Chicken on the grill

End of summer and now we have cantaloupe growing! 

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

The week was crazy with my start of school, but we did save a little time to celebrate Grandma's birthday.   The girls had their first sleepover ever at Grandma's house and couldn't have been more excited about it!!  Mom came over for dinner on her actual birthday.  I made a white lasagna and we had blueberry pie.  Unfortunately, I had a migraine and went to bed right after she left.  

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks as well.

Kline's with the girls while Jeff was at work...

Breaking in the new love seat

The girls put on their pajamas at Grandma's house and practiced calling the deer in!  haha!

Homemade cards for Grandma

First Day of School- Dana 2017

As I begin my 17th year teaching, I am still trying to figure out a way for kids to remember to bring a pencil and to keep them from taking all my pencils!  ha!   I love my classroom and I'm looking forward to an amazing year! 

Henley Staff.  Chuck Miller cracks me up! 

Meet the Dukes 2017!

Saturday, we went to "Meet the Dukes" night at JMU.  It was our first experience doing this and we had a blast.  We signed Hailey and Emily up for the Puppy Pound which gives them free admission to certain football and basketball games.  They both received free t-shirts and a puppy pound pass.  We grabbed some posters and Emily went to town getting autographs from the football team and the women's soccer team.  All of the players were super nice and friendly!  Emily received a few pointers from Coach Lombardo, who was the soccer coach when I attended JMU.  I actually met with him before attending JMU to talk about the program.  It is too bad that I didn't follow through and try out for the team! 

We can not wait for football to start!!!  Go Duuuukes!

Brian Schor, the quarterback 

Cheerleaders

Raven Greene, safety, one of our favorites! 

Women's soccer

Coach Lombardo, giving Emily pointers

Mike Houston, JMU's football coach

National Championship Trophy from 2016

Learning field hockey

Exploring campus

In front of Wilson Hall where I graduated in 2001

One Crazy Week

We had one crazy, crazy week.  I had some work days at school, Jeff was called in for SWAT due to the wild protest over the monuments in Charlottesville, and then he ended up working 109 hours in ONE week.  I had the girls on my own for part of the time and spent the other part of the time working and being worried about Jeff!  We were all very glad when the week was finally over!

Emily and I did make a trip to the station on Sunday since we had not seen him at all! We stopped by Dick's on the way home and bought her a new pair of pink soccer cleats too:)

What do you do when your husband works that many hours and you hear of the other families that didn't get their loved ones home safe from work?  You make sure he has a hot homemade dinner on the table when he finally gets home.  I cooked fresh green beans from the garden, chicken cordon bleu casserole and homemade brownies.   Emily absolutely loved the casserole, so it will be one that we made again for sure! 

The girls making bubble gum from their science kit

SWAT gear during the rally

Daddy's engine

Double rainbow from Dad

Reading on the deck, waiting to hear from Jeff

Storms rolling in 

An hour of picking green beans for dinner

Homemade brownies, not from a box!

YUMMY!  Green beans from the garden

Chicken cordon bleu casserole

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE

(From writtenreality.com)

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half

12 slices of thin sliced ham

1 1/2 cups swiss cheese, shredded

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 cup of Ritz crackers, crushed

3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

FOR THE SAUCE. . .

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Layer the chicken in the bottom of the baking dish. Then, layer with ham slices and the cover with shredded swiss cheese.

In a medium bowl, blend the crushed crackers, grated parmesan, and salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the cheese to create the next layer.

Pour melted butter over the top of the casserole and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until juices run clear and cracker crust is browned a bit.

To create the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan slowly. Whisk in the flour and cook for just a couple of minutes. Then slowly pour in the chicken broth and milk. Make sure to continue whisking for about 5 minutes or so as the sauce thickens.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the Dijon, Worcestershire, and a little salt and pepper to taste.

Top each serving of the casserole with the warm creamy sauce. Enjoy!