CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR

This past Saturday, we started the day early and hit the California State Fair at Cal Expo (home of the CALIFORNIA letters that sparked the original entrance for Disney's CA Adventure). We spent the majority of the morning admiring the beautiful Clydesdale horses and stables before enjoying the county float exhibits inside. San Diego upset us by not participating (what's up with that?!) but the Northern CA counties did NOT disappoint! Sacramento County won three blue ribbons and Sonoma and Monterrey were close seconds. It was a fun morning spent walking around and exploring. We discovered a water park inside the expo, and will for sure be going back for a day of water slides! We splurged on frozen lemonade to combat the afternoon heat, as well as trying a deep fried Twinkie, which was surprisingly delicious! We love going to the fair, and thankfully it only comes around once a year. I'm not sure our waistlines could handle it if it was a regular occurrence.

CHICKEN COBB SALAD

In the warm summer months, we tend to live off of simple salads with fridge staples. I love a good Cobb salad, so this has become almost a weekly rotation for us. The chicken in this salad couldn't be easier; I purchase a big flat of chicken breasts, bake them in the oven or crock pot, and then use my handy stand mixer to shred the hot chicken. I then split it in half, throw one half in the freezer for another week, and place the other half in the fridge to use during the week. From chicken tacos, BBQ chicken pizza, and this Cobb salad, it's the perfect staple for easy summer dinners. Besides the chicken, anything with avocado & bacon is my good friend, making this salad a favorite of both myself and Derek!

4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

We spent time this weekend with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins who also live in the Sacramento area. We kicked off the weekend with a huge celebration held in Rocklin called "Celebrate America". A large local Christian church sponsors it, and it was amazing! Patriotic songs, great performances, and huge firework display. We spent the afternoon of the 4th swimming in their pool, BBQ'd for dinner, and played games before setting off fireworks in the street. We lucked out with not having too warm of weather, and the breeze kicked in that evening making it an enjoyable evening! It was a fun day spent with our family! 

PATRIOTIC FRUIT PIZZA

One of my first ever memories of fruit pizza is as an eight year old girl, attending our church's activity days, which was then known as achievement days. As boys enter the scouting program, our church mandated a program for girls ages 8-11. We did everything from learning basic recipes, to how to take care of our bodies and proper diet exercise, along with gospel principles. For this particular activity, we learned to make individual fruit pizzas. Ever since that day, I have loved this concept. I whipped this one up for a BBQ, and it is the perfect thing to take to any 4th of July party this coming weekend. The best part about this dessert is how simple, yet pretty it is. It's always fun to customize the pizza (note ours doesn't have raspberries because I absolutely LOATH them!) as well, making it colorful and delicious with all the fresh fruits of the summer season!