sweet summertime

I just realized I hadn't even posted pictures of Lainey! Wendy and I had a great, but long, trip to Missouri. It literally took exactly 16 hours. The worst part was when you are going towards Branson on "Old 76" and it's like driving through the mountains for 3 hours on scary curvy roads! But we made it safely and without too many bumps in the road. So here she is: 

Lady Jane Cogdill aka: "Lainey"

So far she has been a good pup. She has had a few accidents in the house but I think it's mostly she is trying to communicate with us that she has got to pee but I just think she's whining because she's bored or hungry or just being whiney. I guess I need to be more in tuned with her needs! She loves to swim in the pond and the lake and enjoys her new brother and sister, Hank and Birdie, and biting their tails and chasing them around the yard. She is very relaxed and laid back and starting to get protective, which is a good thing. Brent and Gavin came to the lake last night and she barked and growled at them until they came in the door and she figured out who they were! She is sweet as can be.

She also enjoys laying out on the boat :)

I had a request for some ideas for July the 4th menus so I'm going to include a new tab at the top and make that a separate post. I have been doing a lot of recipe searching lately. My good friend Stephanie gave me Southern Living's 1001 Ways to Cook Southern and I finished reading it last night. I have also been checking in on Tasty Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman as well for new ideas. 

I can't wait to get into the new house so I can start cooking again. I have been cooking more than usual at the lake, but mainly sticking to pasta dishes so there is less clean up. Last night Brent requested a late night snack of fettucine alfredo and surprisingly I had everything to make it! Mainly because I used the Alfredo sauce in the jar but some good ways to spruce up stuff like that is some good fresh parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. I also cooked the pasta noodles in water with chicken base and salted it well. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We are headed to the beach on Friday for a few nights. My brother is flying in from Vermont on Saturday and I haven't seen him in a while so hopefully we will go play some golf on Sunday before Brent and I head back. 

I will post some festive recipes next. Have a fun and safe July 4th holiday!