Happy 4th of July

We had a wonderful weekend with our family! We stayed with the Cain parents this weekend. Coop really enjoyed spending time with them! "Grandpa"/"Pops" even took him for a walk!! We took a VERY long family walk on Friday to the Vinson parents' house. Coop was so tired! We had a nice family 4th of July celebration on Friday at the Vinson house. It was so great to spend time with all of our family together:) We are so lucky that our parents get along very well and they live close to each other!

Cooper went swimming on Saturday at the Vinson house. He's getting over his fear of the water. It took D about 20 minutes of encouragement (and throwing Green man in the pool) before Coop would put his front feet on the top step. About 20 minutes later with the help of mommy, Coop was jumping in after Green man! Once he realized that it was fun, he wouldn't stop!!! We really do have a water dog;) Here's a video I took of him swimming:

Sorry for the lack of audio. We didn't bring the video camera...just the digital. What you can't hear is us cheering for him and Abbey barking at him as he gets out.

Abbey wanted to be involved, but she was NOT interested in getting in the pool. She would run to where Coop was getting out of the pool and bark excitedly at him! Then she'd run away to avoid getting wet when he shook off. Somehow she ended up soaked too:) We are so proud of our boy for overcoming his fear and enjoying the pool!!

Coop was so tired from his busy weekend of walks, playing fetch in the backyard with Grandma and Pops, playing in the pool, and running around with Abbey that he slept the entire way home! He kept finding new and weird positions to sleep in. He was so funny that I just had to get some pictures of him! Here's Cooper's version of sleeping in the car:

On Dad's lap

On Mom's lap

On the floor

How is that comfortable?!!!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating our nation's freedom!

Happy 4th of July
~The Cains

The New Addition

My hubby wanted to complete the living room with a new addition:

I think it looks really nice! We will probably bring football season in "the right way" with a new HD receiver:) D is in heaven!!

Great Recipes

Derek and I have been trying new recipes recently! The recipes came from a cookbook that my dad's cousin gave us for our wedding. It's a great cookbook and I've really enjoyed using it! I made Garlic Chicken Pizza the other night and it was great! Here's the recipe:

Garlic Chicken Pizza

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. rice or white vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. olive oil or vegetable oil, divided
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. sliced green onions, divided (I didn't include these)
1 T. cornstarch
1 (12 inch) Boboli bread shell
3/4 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T. pine nuts (I didn't include these either)

Rinse chicken, pat dry with paper towels. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch pieces. In large bowl, combine the garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the oil, red, and black pepper and half of the green onions. Add chicken pieces; stir to coat. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Drain, reserving marinade. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat remaining oil in large skillet, add chicken pieces. Cook and stir about 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir cornstarch into reserved marinade. Add to skillet. cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Spoon evenly atop bread shell. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake, uncovered, for 12 minutes. Top with remaining green onions and nuts. Return to over for 2-3 more minutes.
-Recipe by Lisa Schellhorn

*I would probably make a little extra marinade because I like a little more "sauce" on my pizza. Enjoy...it's yummy!