summer days

I do realize it's been two weeks since Sam's 1st birthday party and as far as this blog is concerned, it never happened! I do hope to post pictures and stories soon from his party but we have so many photos and video that I'm trying to pick out the best. I am fully aware of that saying "no one thinks your kids are as cute as you do" so I'm being mindful of the amount of birthday pictures I post! :) I will give you a sneak preview of my cutie...
Until I get around to that...

The dog days of summer are in full swing around here and we are enjoying a {slightly} more relaxed schedule and some {temporary} down time!

Sam is enjoying one of his favorite pastimes - completely unloading one of the kitchen cabinets...

While these silly girls
do what they do best - make me laugh! Today, they served me this for lunch!
We spent most of the morning outside and they decided to make me something yummy to eat. Hmmm...

While they were "cooking" and Sam was napping

(i love how he sleeps with his blanket in his mouth!)

I decided it was time to tackle my out-of-control basil plant. I've been doing a little research to figure out the best way to preserve my herbs once the beauty of summer has passed. I compiled the the most common suggestions for drying them (freezing is next!) and here's how it went down...
I cut leaves from the plant in bunches. Most articles I read said to do this early to mid morning - soon after the dew dries.

Next I rinsed the leaves really well in room temperature water and patted them dry with paper towels. Apparently basil can mold easily so getting the leaves dry was important.

Finally, I rigged up a string in our dining room (adds a nice touch!) to hang small bunches of basil on. I secured the stems with a twist tie and hung them upside down. Honestly, if you peek around my china cabinet, it looks like I'm dabbling in some illegal activity!

I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out in the end!