Old Food

Here are some things I made semi-recently that I never posted about.

Peanut Butter (and Jelly) Muffins-The recipe didn't call for jelly but I added it to a few on a whim since they looked boring. I'm glad I did because the ones that didn't have jelly also didn't have any flavor. I've since lost the recipe I used but you've at least been warned!


Chocolate Chip Pretzel Bars- I think I was actually making these to give to someone but they were too soft and gooey to cut so we ended up eating them all...They tasted like butter. With some chocolate thrown in. Super good but I'm not sure I should ever make these again...

Giraffe!

Apparently Giraffe has a secret life we don't know about! With Nicole Richie's daughter! What!? Click here to see Owen and Giraffe

Camp

Camp was great fun and a little different now that Owen is older. He was great all day and enjoyed being fed various chips and desserts by everyone he walked by. We stayed in the "lodge" due to our lack of appropriate sized tent and so Owen could go to bed earlier. He went to sleep fairly easily but then fell out of bed and never quite got back in the groove so we had to leave around 1 am. There was also a new game we had never played before (see below) and lots of great food!
Group Shot!


Playing Frisbeer...or Beersbie...


Mom and the Camp Director (Aunt Marlene!)


Lounging in a tent before packing up!

Field Museum

Last post about Chicago! The Field Museum was our last stop before we headed home. It was actually a really great museum that you could probably spend the whole day in...if you aren't with a 2 year old. Owen did really great but didn't last as long as we hoped.

Chatting with a pirate


Brave, brave Owen. I don't think pirates like being touched...


Owen knows all about DNA now


I'm pretty sure this was Owen's favorite spot. He kept running back here every chance he got. It was a "bus" with a tv in front.

When we ran out of energy/patience with Owen (meaning-when he started having crazy tantrums) we headed to the Corner Bakery for snacks. Cookies for Pat and Owen and rugelach for me.

You can't tell by the picture but we had to carry Owen out screaming. He was much happier outside on the steps. So were we. It was a beautiful day outside.

Around Town

You didn't think I could drag out a two-day trip into so many blog posts did you? I still have one more after this one too!
We sprung for a hotel suite with the hopes that we wouldn't have to go to bed early with Owen. There were two separate rooms and a refrigerator which ended up being great for the milk I hoarded from the free breakfast bar:) Owen was tricky with the sleeping situation though. The first night he got me to sleep with him on the pull-out couch and on the second night he commandeered the comfy king-sized bed for himself. We surrounded him with pillows so he wouldn't fall out.


We had a great day for walking around the city...here are some random buildings...


An awesome fountain, perfect for taking some group pictures.

Playing Around

We went to a nature preserve near our hotel that ended up having a really great playground. Owen had fallen asleep so we actually had to wake him up so he could enjoy it.

This was a big circular rock wall that you could climb. Every chunk of playground had a sign noting the ages each activity was appropriate for, which no one paid attention to.

Owen tackling the rock wall, with some help


Once you got to the top there was a slide to bring you right back down.


Pat challenged me to climb this boulder. No easy feat in my flip flops.


Fun dinosaur rocker thingie.

At some point we saw a double-decker bus. I was very excited. Probably a little too excited. I thought these only existed without roofs and to use for tours, not freeway driving!

The Ceremony

The ceremony was a lot of fun to watch and totally entertained Owen for the hour (hour and a half?) that it lasted. This was Owen's seat for part of the time. We had a lot more room to sit than this picture makes it seem like.


Lots of sailors


Afterwards...we managed to snap a few shots before they kicked us out of the ceremony hall. You're not allowed to take pictures anywhere else on the base.


Still to come...
A super awesome park!
Accomodations!
Downtown!

The Drive to Chicago

The computer is fixed already! (Yea! Thanks again, Scott!)

Owen did amazing on the drive up to Chicago. We stopped to get some food and I found (stole from Pat) the longest french fry ever!


Pat asking me if I would rather eat raw broccoli or broccoli cooked in a lot of butter. I still haven't decided. The little girl in the background has some awesome moves!


Owen shamelessly eating my pasta salad. I guess he didn't like that burger so much...


Did you need a reason to attend the Cuyahoga County Fair? Here it is. Banana Derby.

Owen's reading material. Many minutes were passed staring at this fire truck and making fun siren noises. Wee-oo, wee-oo.

A Bit of Chicago

Our computer is broken! Again! I'll have to make do with short posts from Pat's laptop. We went to Chicago over the weekend to see Pat's brother, Jeff, graduate from Navy boot camp. The ceremony was really interesting and we spent a lot of the weekend asking Jeff about his experiences and learning fun Navy lingo.

You can look forward to some more posts about our trip soon! Here are some teasers...
The biggest french fry ever!
The banana derby!
Pirates!

Outside

Hooray! A tomato sighting! I will be eating this as soon as it turns red.


Hanging outside on the tricycle, pondering his route around our horribly cracked driveway.


Owen and Ruby, who have begun treating each other like siblings. I think it's hilarious, they spend most of their time trying to keep things away from each other.

At the Drive-Thru

Why drive-thru's are awful...
The Scene: 6:30 on a Sunday night driving home from the "choo-choo" park
Owen, shouting from the backseat-"Eat! Restaurant!"

Pat and Kim have a lengthy discussion on whether or not to go to a restaurant or eat out because even though they didn't have plans on eating out...it is late and Owen's suggestion is a good reason for getting out of making dinner. Plus it's cute that he has a preference for dinner, even if that means he wants to eat anything that isn't from home...it's also the second time he's pulled this trick today...They agree on the Arby's drive-thru. Curly fries=yum.

Arby's guy--"Can I help you?"
Kim--"Yes. I need a #2 combo meal"
Arby's guy--"What?"
Kim--"A #2 roast beef combo meal"
Arby's guy--"Ok" (followed by incoherent mumbling)
Kim--"What?" (Pat translates from the backseat) "Oh, curly fries and a diet coke"
Arby's guy--"Anything else?"
Kim--"Yes, um..." (Kim frantically scans the menu for something "healthy" that is not a salad and gives up) "Um...a junior roast beef?"
Arby's guy--"Ok, is that all?"
Kim--"Um...another junior roast beef"
Kim pulls the car around to the window, pays the man and then...
Arby's guy--"Arby's sauce or Horsey sauce?"
Kim--"Yes, Arby's Horse. I mean Arby's sauce!" This is immediately followed by hysterical laughter from Kim. The kind in which you can't breathe or function.

Good Times. Immediately upon returning home the bag of food is unpacked and inside is a roast beef combo, 2 junior roast beefs, and 3 packets of horsey sauce. Sigh...

Finally! (more pizza)

I've been talking about making pizza on the grill for awhile now and I finally got to test it out last night! I was impressed with its tastiness and will definitely be doing it again. It's flavor is somehow different than the oven. It's a superfast process so you have to make sure you have everything ready to go. As you can see by this first picture I haven't quite mastered the art of transferring the dough...These pizzas definitely don't look as pretty as ones from the oven but they taste just as good!

Pepperoni

Artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes

Fourth of July!

We headed to Chagrin Falls the morning of the Fourth and had a good meal and did lots of sightseeing. Later that night we went to see fireworks where Owen took all the hoopla and loud noises completely in stride.

Eating at Joey's. Look at those fork skills! I'm not sure I was even in the mood for pizza but I have to get meatball pizza whenever I go here. It was a good call, we demolished our pizzas.


Wandering Chagrin Falls. This might have been when Owen noticed the car show going on. Or he just saw a dog. Again.


Owen's favorite car at the car show.

Smoothie Pancakes...?

In my attempts to get Owen to eat a little healthier I try to hide veggies and other healthy ingredients in things that I know he likes. I made this Cottage Cheese Blueberry Smoothie yesterday for him and it was absolutely awful (even after adding some strawberries!) but saved it in the fridge because I felt bad throwing it out. This morning I decided to substitute the milk in our pancakes with the smoothie and it was a big hit! With everyone!

More Food!

This is a picture of the shepherd pie we got from the Westside Market



I made Baked Blueberry French Toast using the sourdough and blueberries we got at the Market. It was mediocre. Good enough to finish eating but probably won't make it again.