Tonight we went to an event that we'd been looking forward to for at least two months. Rob and I started watching Good Eats on the Food Network probably seven or so years ago. We've always thought Alton Brown has such a fun way of presenting cooking.
We found out that he'd be signing his newest book at one of our local bookstores tonight, and for the cost of the book we were able to attend. He did a question and answer for about an hour before the book signing, and we bought our book early enough to be in the first group of signatures.
Mr. Brown is a pretty cool guy in person. He's a lot like his personality on the show. He could nearly have a stand-up act. But you can tell that he doesn't take his modest fame lightly, and he really enjoys his fans. It was an awesome evening and the price was great for an event like this.
My dear friend watched our little guy so we could better enjoy the evening (it was pretty darn crowded). Paul has been a fan for much of his four years, so he was excited to go too.
The weather in October can be surprisingly nice, but you have to be careful about getting used to it. It's been a really clear, sunny week, but next week is bringing cloudy skies and rain.
I wanted to take the boys to the pumpkin patch earlier this week, but found out Paul will be having his first Pre-K field trip at our favorite place next week, so I didn't want to go two weeks in a row. We decided to go out this afternoon just so we could get some pictures while the weather was nice.
Unfortunately, no one mentioned to the boys that they should cooperate, so I wasn't thrilled with the results. There were some good ones, but not "the" one.
This is one my husband took of me and the boys. You can see that they're into having fun, not so much into smiling at the camera.
Tonight I have a picture share of two of my guys kicking back and reading a story before bed. I'm not sure why the littler guy felt he needed to be read to in our bed, but he enjoyed it. It's the simple things some days.
Paul starts preschool as a new student at daddy's school next week. Tonight was the ice cream social where new students are able to visit the school, see their classroom, meet their teacher, and of course, have ice cream.
This picture is of my oldest's creation of vanilla with Oreos and M&Ms. It was much more colorful than mine with just Oreos.
He's excited about starting school next week.
This evening we went out to claim Cold Stone's free ice cream for my husband's birthday last week. Before we headed back home we thought the boys might like to burn off some energy in the outdoor play area.
One of the things for the kids to play with is a kind of water feature. I thought the captured water droplets in this picture (with the point-and-shoot) were pretty cool!
The frenzy that is back-to-school starts in our household again tomorrow. My husband is a teacher, so he has meetings and work-type stuff going on the week before the kids start back. Instead of driving straight to work (and sleeping an additional 30 minutes or so), I will be taking the kids over to my parents bright and early tomorrow morning.
Conventional wisdom says to be as prepared as you can be the night before, so my picture of the day is of the stuff I need to pack in the car staged by our front door.
Summer vacation is officially over.
My parents took us out for dinner this evening for my husband's birthday. I saw this plate as we were leaving and thought the pattern and colors were very cool.
-- Post From My iPhone
Today is my husband's birthday and a few days ago he mentioned that he really wanted some Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats. The problem is that Matt can't have peanut butter yet. I took the ingredients to work and during my lunch I managed to make a batch of treats, separate out a bit for Matt (and me since I'm not a big fan of the peanut butter ones), and add peanut butter to the rest.
It's not quite how the directions say you should do it, so the peanut butter wasn't as well blended as it should have been, but my husband was thrilled, so that's all that really matters.
My oldest wasn't feeling well on Saturday night, so I decided to stay home from church with the kids yesterday. Rob went without us because he was playing that morning. When he came home, he brought me these lovely tulips for our anniversary. They were looking so pretty this afternoon that I had to capture a few of them.
Our 12th anniversary turned into sort of a last minute affair. My sweet husband wanted to make surprise plans, but the coming week is so overbooked that it wasn't working out. Then there were the floating activities that were tying up a couple of days because plans were up in the air.
As the weekend got closer, things finally started settling down and in the dust emerged our actual wedding anniversary to go out and celebrate. A last minute call to his parents (for the second time in three days) and we were on our way to celebrating this evening.
We decided to go into the city to Pike Place Market and walk around the shops and then stroll up to 6th Avenue and Pine for dinner at Il Fornaio. This authentic Italian restaurant was fantastic. We had an early reservation in order to not keep the kids up too late, so we were one of the first patrons for dinner.
Since it was our first visit, they gave us complimentary bruschetta, which was delicious. The picture of the day was my dinner choice of Pennoni alla Vodka, which was pasta in a vodka-cream-tomato sauce with bacon. It was fantastic.
I mentioned that it was our anniversary, so they also gave us our choice of dessert. We settled on the Rosina al Cioccolato, which was chocolate mousse, fresh raspberries and sponge cake soaked with Triple Sec. It was amazing. The wine was fantastic too.
All and all, a great meal with a pretty awesome guy. I'm looking forward to another 12 years of adventure. ^_^
We were able to take in a concert at the Chateau Ste Michelle winery tonight. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band come to the area every year, and just about every year we say we should go. By the time we decide it's a really good idea, the tickets are sold out. This year, when they announced it and I could get pre-sale tickets, I didn't hesitate.It was an awesome concert. The venue was fantastic. It was great to be in our low-back chairs out on the lawn. The sun went behind the trees just in time for the concert, so it was cool enough that I actually went out to the car for my jacket.We'll have to do it again in a few years. Lyle is pretty expensive, so maybe we'll try a different artist next year.
Oh, and not a half bad picture for me holding my iPhone, if I do say so myself. ;)
When I was in high school, I used to go to the movies all the time. I was "up" on the latest movies and what was playing. In college and when we were first married, I wasn't able to go as often because there just wasn't a lot of extra money. But when we did want to go, it was a matter of deciding which movie to go see.Since having kids, going to the movies is one of the rarest treats there is. I think it's right next to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.I knew when the Harry Potter movie was coming out that I really, really wanted to go. In the past, I've been able to go with a girlfriend, which is easier to arrange. But since the last movie, my husband has actually read all the books and wanted to go as well.It's difficult to not feel guilty about asking for more grandma babysitting when she's been watching the kids more than normal with my husband out of town, but she was willing.We were able to catch an evening show, and it was free thanks to my husband's school. He was given a couple of tickets as a thank you for chaperoning an event earlier in the school year.Thanks to everyone who allowed me an evening to enjoy one of my very favorite pass times. And as a bonus there were about seven previews including one for New Moon coming out in November. I'll be at that movie too, so that'll be two movies for me this year! ;)
One of the gifts that the boys gave dad for Father's Day was a mug with their little pictures on it. We did this last year, but this year I did it a little differently. I bought "A" and "D" letters for the boys and had each of them pose separately with a D and both of them pose with the A.At the time of the "photo shoot", it was just this side of disaster. The little one was certain he should be allowed to go splashing in the murky, slimy water (ask me, I managed to step back into it), and the big one does all he can to never look at the camera.When I got the pictures home, I managed to work though them enough to get basically what I wanted. It worked out and D A D really liked his mug this year.
For the first time, I was able to accompany my husband on one of his school trips as a chaperone, and I picked a good one. We left for Lake Chelan this morning and spent the afternoon at the water park. This evening we took Matt on a walk around town (Paul is staying with my parents), and this was the view of the lake from the park.
I was getting ready to go to church this morning and when I went to put on my watch and ring, I could not find my wedding ring.I have a metal allergy where I will get irritated skin rashes if I leave my ring on all the time. I will always take it off at night, and I often find myself taking it off to do the dishes or after I wash my hands because water aids the irritation.
When I couldn't find my ring, I didn't worry too much at first. It's normally with my watch, but sometimes I end up taking them off separately. My hubby and I checked out all my usual places, but we weren't able to locate it and needed to leave for church.
It felt really strange to not have my ring on, and then I tried not to worry about where in the world I might have left it. Some time in the morning I had the idea that I might have put it with my jewelry because I'd been wearing a bracelet or two on Saturday. When we got home, I discovered it was in fact in a drawer with my other jewelry.
Before I found it, I kept thinking that I really don't have any pictures of my wedding ring other than one that was taken at the reception. So I decided I needed a current picture (not that the ring has actually changed any), and I wanted to play around a bit with my macro lens.
I do not often get a chance to work on making jewelry outside of classes. I really would like to, but the busyness of life gets in the way.Tonight my husband could tell that I needed some time off. So he left with the kids and orders that I was not to do anything work related. I bought this kit when I took the jewelry class a few weeks ago, so I pulled it out.
I was hoping I could make it all tonight, but I am pleased with my progress. First I made all the little flowers, and then I started the assembly. I'm probably just over half way through with the entire project. We'll see how long it takes me to finish it.
Daddy came home today after being in Europe for 11 days. The boys (and momma) couldn't have been happier.
Depending on how often you check my posts, you might have noticed a different picture earlier, but I decided to change it to this one. The other will show up on the boys' 365, but looking back, I liked capturing this moment of Paul with his hands behind his back. This was his patiently waiting for daddy to come up the escalator.
I had some bacon left over from the stew I made a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want it to go bad, so I looked up a crustless quiche recipe and it turned out fantastic!
I hadn't made a quiche in years because hubby gave the impression that he really didn't care for them. This one had lots of bacon, mushrooms and cheese. It was such a hit with the hubby that he had to stop himself at three pieces because he was afraid he'd get sick.
Now the kids on the other hand were a different story.
My husband is leaving in a few days for an eleven day trip to Europe. I couldn't imagine parting with my DSLR for that long and he couldn't imagine lugging it around. We have an old point-and-shoot from many years ago that seems to still work, but we had been talking about getting a compact digital for a while.
On Saturday we finally took the plunge. This is a cute little 10 megapixel Canon PowerShot. It fits in my purse and takes video too. I'm looking forward to always being able to carry a camera around with me that has much better quality than my iPhone. Of course, I have to part with it in a few days.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to try my hand at making some Irish Lamb Stew. I'd never cooked with lamb before, so I was a bit nervous about trying it out. It turned out fantastic! The meat was very tender and flavorful. It was a surprise for my husband, and he really enjoyed it.
