Kid's Meal Toys

I hate them! They are cheap, lame, break-in-2 seconds toys and are somehow completely invaluable to the kids who acquire them. Yep I'm talking about Kid's Meal toys. These are the toys we find in every nook and cranny of our home. Despite all the puppy dog eyes, we rarely get Kid's Meals, but with Dan being out of town, I caved and got dinner from Wendy's. Kid's Meals and all. This was a specific and special request from Josh because the "toy" had something to do with "Magic Treehouse" books. Josh has loved this series of books for years and is always in search for the next book in the series he hasn't read. (I can't imagine there are many left.)

So after dinner we pop the CD in and what do we find, but a book on CD, read by the actual author and much to Josh's excitement, a story he has yet to read! For 45 minutes they were silent disrupted by only an occasional giggle. They loved it. I loved it. Now I am by no means dissing books. Books always trump the "stuff on tape". But for a toy from a fast food chain, this beats them all. It may just be the first toy of it's kind to remain in our home longer than 3 months.

The Funeral, Part One

Jen will probably post more about our trip to Utah in the next few days but I posted something on the Suns Blog about the funeral that I wanted to post here as well. It's a bit long but I'm a wordy person, I guess. I figured I may as well link to the Suns blog instead of copying it here...sorry for the extra clicks.

You can read the post here.

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The Best & Sweetest

After 5 days of traveling to and from Utah for a funeral (another blog) we finally get home to find that Dan has some urgent work to get done immediately. Luckily he does not have to go to the office. As soon as the car is unpacked, he's on the computer while I finish unpacking the cool chest and bags. Now here is the sweet part- once his office work is done & with a quick run to Costco, he shew's me out of the kitchen & tells me to relax while he makes dinner. He really is the best!

School Days

The first day of school. Everyone woke up super excited-almost like Christmas. New cloths on, yummy breakfast eaten, hair just right, pictures snapped. Then we wait (not so exciting). Yep, we were ready and rarin' to go at least 30 minutes early. For Josh this is no surprise, but for Emily, well she is a dawdler through and through. For her to be dressed, fed and done with her jobs with 30 minutes to spare, well, that is about a miracle. It shows how excited she was. The feeling was pretty contagious. They even talked me into leaving for the bus stop extra early because they just couldn't wait any longer!


Everything was great. They lined up for the bus, still excited. They posed for a "getting on the bus" picture, still excited. Then Em took that gigantic first step onto the bus and practically fell over. That is when the tears welled up. Not from Emi, no, she made a quick recovery and bounded up the enormous steps. Nope, it was me! Em has always been mature, so fearless, so grown up, even a little tall for her age. But just then all I could see was my little 5yr old leaving on a huge bus, wearing a backpack as big as her, sitting in chairs she couldn't even see over. My baby!

Needless to say it is far too quiet at home. I miss them more than ever. Adam keeps looking around wondering when they will pop up to say "Peek-a-Boo." But we'll stick together, the two of us and wait anxiously until they are home again.

Wind's a Changing

It's any day now. I can feel it. The wind is changing and the storms are coming. I can't wait. I love the wind, the rain, the smell. Ahhhhhh........round the house things have been changing really fast too, but I'm not sure I'm ready for these. It is tropical storm Adam!

He just started crawling a couple of weeks ago. He isn't even that fast yet. None the less he's developed a new talent. He can pull himself up to furniture and stand! This kid only six months old. I am not sure this is a very good idea. All I can picture is this little face climbing walls, on top of dressers and who know what else. We've never had a real monkey, dare devil baby. Maybe our luck has run out. I don't know, but I'm really nervous.

The Feast Continues

A while after eating Dan's magnificent meal he realized his itch for cooking wasn't fulfilled. He found a new recipe for homemade french fries w/ a yummy dipping sauce. Of all the french fry recipes he has tried, and he has tried them all, this is the best. Yes, it is a Bon Appetit recipe and the homemade sauce called an "aioli" was scrumptious. It reminds me of that Utah fry sauce with a new and spicy kick. Aioli may sound fancy, but this sauce was simply dijon mustard, oil, minced garlic, & 2 egg yolks whipped together. I guess there is a little technique to it, but Mmmm, mmmmm, yummy.

Daddy is in the Kitchen!

Welcome back Dad! With his job at the SUNS, Dan has not had as much time to tinker in the kitchen. He loves finding new recipes and trying them, no matter how outlandish. On the menu tonight- Roasted Cod on a Garlic Crouton. Look how yummy.....

I'd never had Cod before, but this quick recipe found in Bon Appetit magazine really inspired us. We just started getting Bon Appetit. Inside are some pretty fancy recipes that are a bit too much to bite off for a week night, but it is definitely inspiring and educational. This recipe seemed very attainable. We had all the ingredients except for fresh basil and anchovies which were pretty cheap. The recipe began with a garlic toast base, topped with a simple tomato saute with red onions, garlic and anchovies. I've never had anchovies either, but the saute was really fresh and yummy. Not your typical maranara. A few pieces of basil topped the saute, then the cod and a little more tomato. I conjured up a quick side dish with white beans that was pretty good, but it kind of looked like "Paint by number" next to Picaso. Oh well, at least it was an original! Josh really loved it all and ate it up! Em thumbed her nose to it and really lost out. Best of all, it was super satisfying and healthy. Thanks Dan for helping us step out of our food comfort zones and taste something outstanding!