Father's Day 2011

We had a great Father's Day celebration yesterday! I felt really sorry for Darin though- here's why: we love making homemade ice cream at our house in the summer. This year we've made the grape and orange sunkist but he's been saying over and over again.... I want some homemade peach ice cream. So, I promised him a big freezer of my mom's " Summertime Peach Ice Cream" for Sunday. I bought the fresh peaches on Thursday so they would be really ripe and I mixed it up before church. All was well.... we got to church and in just a minute his phone vibrated. It was his boss from Alabama Power- get your clothes and get to work with two days of clothes- we're going on a road trip to Dalton, Georgia. It seems that Georgia had alot of power line damage from a late Saturday afternoon storm. I felt so sorry for him but not sorry enough not to eat that delicious ice cream! (LOL!) It was really yummy so I'll post the recipe below in case I've sparked your interest now. Anyway, I hope Father's Day was great for your family too. I believe God gives us our earthly fathers to love and protect us until He can for eternity. I often wonder if they realize what a huge responsibilty they have? Anyway, I was fortunate to spend the day with three other special father's in my life and the life of my children: my dad, my father-in-law and my preicous granddaddy. All of these men are special to me in more ways than I can say and I appreciate the love, example and support they daily pour into Will and Molly. I hope someday Will and Molly will realize what a difference these father figures have meant to the love, loyalty and stability we have in our family.

Summer has been rolling along pretty smooth. We went to the beach the day after school was out and stayed for the week. I'll post some of my favorite beach pics too. Then we came home and have attended two bible schools and began summer All-Star baseball practice. This is Will's last year to play Dixie Youth Major League all-stars and it's really a bitter sweet thing for me. I have loved, loved watching Will and his friends play ball together over the years. Many people think going to the ballfield is torture but I have some wonderful memories on little, cracked bleachers all over this state and now a trip to the emergency room too. He was pitching Thursday night at a practice game. A kid got up to bat and hit a pop fly. Will came off the mound and caught the ball but didn't realize there was a hole off the mound and he tripped. His glove slipped and the ball hit him square in the mouth. Scared us to death.... I heard one of the other coaches say "I think it knocked his teeth out". My heart sank but thankfully his teeth were fine. That tough little stinker even finished playing the game. By the end of the game his lip closely resembled some of the lovely ladies on the "Real Housewives" shows that have had just paid for a new injection of Botox, and when he pulled his lip back to show Darin it was Gadsden Regional here we come. Long story short.... we ended up at RiverView with Ashley's bud, Dr. Etchevery, and we left shortly after midnight with two stitches in his upper lip. These are the days I'll never forget about playing summer baseball. And I have to admit that it will be nice to be able to plan a vacation without worrying about a practice or game somewhere. It also makes me sad because I see Will growing up so quickly. He will be celebrating his 13th birthday this week and I really can't believe that it's been that long. We have a special bond and I know God has something really special planned for Will one day if he will be obedient. He's a smart kid with tons of common sense and I'm so blessed that God chose ME to be his mom! Love you Wizzy! :)

Ok, guess I need to get on with my day. I've made me a list of all the summer projects I want to get done before school starts back so I can get organized. I have really good intentions but every year it's August again before I know it and I really can't look back and see that I've accomplished anything. Let's hope Summer 2011 is different! I'm also going to post a pic of my Reese Cup cake that I made yesterday! If you know me, you know that me and Reese Cups are really tight and I like them anyway I can get them. I love cooking and especially in the summer when we grill and cook out. I know I'm a little strange but I love looking at cookbooks and recipes. I find that relaxing so I've come across some great treats over the years. I'm going to try and post a few of my favorite recipes as they come along. You may want to try some yourself!

With Love,

Allison

Summertime Peach Ice Cream

4 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches (about 8 small fresh peaches)

1 cup sugar

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 (3.75) package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

4 cups half-and-half

Combine peaches and sugar, and let stand for 1 hr. Process peach mixture in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Stir together evaporated milk and pudding miz in a large bowl: stir in peach puree, condensed mil, and half-and half. Pour mizxture into freeze acoording to manufacturer instructions. Spoon into an airtight container and freeze until firm. Makes 2 quarts. Enjoy!

(Southern Living recipe, July 2002)

Reese's Cup Cake

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 cup confectioners' sugar

12 oz. cool whip

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 bag Reese's Butter Cups

Prepare cake mix according to directions and pour into three 8 inch round pans ( I only did 2). Beat softened cream cheese and conf. sugar until creamy. Fold in cool whip. Chop 1/3 bag of Reese's Cups until fine. Fold into mixture. SPread between layers and on sides and top of cake. Half enough Reese's cups to circle the bottom. Chop the remaining Reese's cups coarsely and sprinkle on top. Chill. Enjoy!

(http://www.recipezaar.com/, April 2005)