USDA's MyPlate Program

Have y'all read where the USDA has "revamped" the Food Pyramid?

What? How are those of us who are just trying to get a grasp on personal fitness supposed to take these changes?

This is what they are promoting, and you'll notice the 2010 date on it. Yep, it's been in the works for a while. These are just the basic messages they want to get out.



Hop on over to HERE to the USDA's Choose My Plate program page to learn more.

What Have You Been Up To?

We have had a fun-filled, yet exhausting week of birthday celebrations, camp fun, and so much more.

Neeley spent the past week at a Girl Scout camp about 2 hours from here. She attended the "Art Attack" session and LOVED it!











Neeley returned from camp just in time to celebrate her birthday. We had already had the big ol' PAR-TAY earlier so now was the time to celebrate.....for real style! ;)

The birthday girl requested chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. They were so hot on the plate that they were melting the candles. ;)



After that, she requested to get busy opening gifts.









We lounged for a bit more yesterday morning and then we headed out to a local place to pick a few strawberries. Yum Yum! The owner of the place was very nice. It was mentioned in conversation that it was Neeley's birthday and we had told him that was the first time that Neeley had ever been to pick berries so he allowed us to walk away with FREE berries! Sooooooo blessed!











We were FILTHY from the strawberry fields-ever had squished strawberries on the bottom of your shoe? GROSS!-so we came back home to freshen up a bit. Then we headed out to dinner. Neeley had seen a place a week or so ago called Vapiano's. It is an Italian place with the neatest atmosphere. We had THE BEST pasta and pizza and yummy bread. And it was cheap! Oh...and the latte macchiatto and the fresh berries and cream? Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah!!! ;) We will definitely be going back there!!









Do we look like the parents of a 10 year old? {PLEASE say no! ;)}



We headed out to brunch earlier today to another one of our favorite places. Check out http://www.seagaertle.de. Oh yumm-o!



Then we headed over to another one of our fave places, Killesberg Park, to play with our furry friends and take advantage of the beautiful weather and ride a few rides.











It has been a GREAT week! We have lots of other excitement coming up this week and next, but that will have to be another post....or several. ;)

Happy, Happy Birthday To One Special Girl!

Today is THIS GIRL's 10th birthday!!!!!



And it amazes me how time flies. We can't possibly be celebrating 10 WONDERFUL years with our Baby Girl, can we?

Weren't we just bringing this precious little bundle of joy home from the hospital?



Or celebrating her 1st birthday?



We've had several years to celebrate now.........











To me, 10 is such a special age. Neeley Beth, you are no longer a baby, but yet you really aren't anywhere near a teen, or even a "tween" yet...or at least we're holding on for dear life here. ;) We love you more than life itself and look forward to spending many, many more amazing birthdays with you, precious girl!!

Neeley arrives home today from a week long Girl Scout camp and I just can't wait to give her a big ol' hug and hear how her week went. I've missed her soooooooooooooo much, as this was her first camp away from home. I couldn't think of a better time to celebrate a birthday!

Yum Yum's

Tropical Fruit Compote
Recommended by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 piece lemon peel
1 tsp. rum or vanilla extract (optional)
1 pineapple, cored and peeled, cut into 8 slices
2 mangos, peeled and pitted, cut into 8 pieces
3 bananas, peeled and cut into 8 diagonal pieces

In a saucepan combine water with sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel (and rum or vanilla extract, if desired). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add the fruit. Cook at a very low heat for 5 minutes. Pour the syrup in a cup. Remove the lemon rind and cool the cooked fruit for 2 hours. To serve the compote, arrange the fruit in a serving dish and pour a few teaspoons of syrup over the fruit. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve with Homemade Sour Cream. Makes 8 1-cup servings.

Preparation Time: 2 hours

Cooking Time: 100 minutes

Nutritional Information: (per serving)
Calories: 148
Protein: n/a
Sodium: 3 mg
Cholesterol: 0 g
Fat Total: < 1 g
Saturated Fat: < 1 g

RBEMS Field Day

Field Day at any school is always fun. The kids were kind of bummed this year about some iffy weather headed our way when we were scheduled to have some fun, and it wasn't really made any better by finding out that our Field Day 2011 would be held inside the school gym......just in case. It was hot, and miserable, and hot, and stanky, and have I told you it was hot inside there? Oh.My.Word! But the kiddos made the most of it and had some fun anyway.

Happy Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day to our own Father's out there in the States! Sure wish we could be with you all today.

And Happy Father's Day to the Father of The Bowden Brigade! We ♥ you mostest!!

The End Of A Season

Neeley had a GREAT soccer season this spring! We were sad to see the season end. She played on such a great team. They all played well together and were such good friends. We had their end of season party the other day at one of the parks here on post, complete with hamburgers and hot dogs and the works.

We're so proud of our "Most Improved Player" of the 2011 Annoying Oranges! ;)

It's The End Of An Era

Today is Neeley's last day of 4th grade.



Can you believe how much these kiddos change in just one year? This is her pic from the very first day of school.



Since she was in a mixed age classroom, she thought she had to be all hip and trendy for that first day of school. And now, today, you can tell she just doesn't give a darn anymore. LOL They get out at 11 am, so who cares, right? ;)

And...............................we have kept it under wraps for a bit, but we did receive a verbal confirmation that our baby girl has been approved to skip 5th grade for next year and go directly to 6th grade, and in to MIDDLE SCHOOL! Dun-dun-dun............. {cue doomsday tune.....}. Yikes! More on that in another post....

For now, we are going to enjoy some family swimming time this afternoon and just relax and savor these moments for just a bit longer.

Amazing Achiever Status Alert

We are so proud of our Amazing Achiever! Neeley was recognized last week for her "dedication to academic success" all year long. And that's definitely her; she's a pleaser through and through and refuses to receive any red marks on her work. That we love, but sometimes kids can be so tough on themselves. Breathe, girl! ;)

Neeley has done so well at this school. I was so worried about her academics and how different the DoDDS curriculum is, but she has thrived, especially with the teacher she had this year. This year truly has been a blessing. Now next year may be a different story, but so far so good!

We ♥ you, Neeley Beth!!

Neeley's 10!!

Well, technically, she's still 9 for a few more days but we had to celebrate early due to our crazy schedule and a summer that is looking very full already. But nevertheless, we partied hearty today making ribbon wrapped headbands, bracelets, keychains and bottlecap necklaces. Too much fun!!