music fest

Every year we say we are going to go to the Music Festival that they have on Wednesday nights at the Botanical Gardens.

You know how that goes.

We end up not going.

But this year, we found ourselves on a Wednesday night without kids and decided to go.

We didn't even care what kind of music was playing.

Just wanted a fun atmosphere.

This is the only time you're allowed to picnic in the Gardens, and let me tell you that there are serious picnickers there!

We brought some fruit, cheese, crackers and sausage, along with our Georgia blanket and Georgia chairs.

I'm pretty sure we were the only ones with either a Georgia blanket or Georgia chairs.

And I'm positive that we were the only ones there with both.

And I'm pretty sure most everyone else had a spread of food about 5 times what we had.......and on tables.  

We were amateurs and fine with it.

We thought it wouldn't be crowded - wrong!

We knew we were in trouble when we saw people walking from the overflow parking a couple of blocks from the Gardens.

But we actually found a great spot on the street and Brian managed to find us a great spot on the lawn for the concert.

We enjoyed the music, the atmosphere, people watching, everything.

We will definitely go back.

only took 5 years

People are always referring to Ted Drewes around here.  And they are usually astonished when we say that we've never been.  With good reason - really, who lives in St. Louis for 5 years without stepping foot anywhere near Ted Drewes?  Apparently, we do.

But when my parents were here a few weeks ago we remedied that.

Well, three of us remedied it while the fourth was at work.

Sorry B.

My dad remarked that he had never been, so we decided it was our time.

We were already at the zoo, so it wasn't much further.

Any drive that ends with frozen custard cannot be considered a far drive, right?

It did not disappoint.

The boys did not want to stick with the traditional concrete, and chose sundaes in baseball cap cups instead.

I about came unglued when Ethan requested a Yankees cup instead of a Cardinals cup.

In fact, I really questioned for a few seconds if they would even serve Ted Drewes in any kind of baseball-related container besides one that sported a red cardinal perched on a bat.

And I'm pretty sure embarrassment was written all over my face.

But the girl did not bat an eye and handed him his Yankees sundae.

Maybe they're tolerant as long as you don't ask for anything blue with a red and white C on it.

Anyway, I think he did it just to get under Brian's skin.  He likes to do that.

After we finished the deliciousness, Ethan wanted to see if he knew any of the famous people who had been there.

I think he only knew 2 or 3.

It was fun to look and see who all was on the list.

I thought it would have been fun if they listed what everyone ate, too.

I do not think we will let another 5 years pass before we visit again.

Yummmm!

strawberry bruschetta

Last night I felt really good about the dinner that I provided for my family.

BBQ Pork Chops

Corn on the Cob

Roasted Summer Veggies

and

Strawberry Bruschetta

Mmmmmmmm........I was most excited about the bruschetta, although the Roasted Summer Veggies surprised me and I had two helpings of those.  They're veggies - that's allowed, right?

Now lunch today was a different story.

I've had the house to myself since about 10:00 this morning.

Ahhhhhhhh......yesssssssss.

Pure silence.

No one to tell me they are bored every 10 minutes.

However, that also meant there was no one to look at me like I was crazy

when I filled my lunch plate with.....wait for it.....

5 pieces of bread with leftover strawberry bruschetta

a handful of cheese cubes

a cosmic brownie (don't tell Elliott about that one)

and Dr. Pepper to drink

So I feel REALLY good about dinner last night.

Lunch today.....not so much.

But that's okay.

As soon as Brian gets home he is going to take me out to a nice

healthy dinner before the kiddos get home

(he just doesn't know it yet).

Anyway, back to the bruschetta.....

Yum. Yum. Yum.

This recipe came from a Southern Living issue featuring all kinds of strawberry recipes
(of which we tried almost all of during strawberry season in May).
I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but at the time I had just experienced awesome traditional
bruschetta at a friend's house and thought that if this turned out half as
yummy as hers, then it was worth getting past the tomatoes.

Turns out that I really couldn't taste the tomatoes in this at all.
I can tell they are there, but the flavors blend so well, that it doesn't taste
tomato-y (is that a word?  didn't think so).
But it does taste delicious.
You can even ask my husband,
who coincidentally also has an aversion to tomatoes.

So here's the recipe so you can try it for yourself
(or make it over to my fridge within the next few hours before we finish it off)

Strawberry Bruschetta

(original recipe source found here at Southern Living)

1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

1 nectarine, diced

1 cup diced grape tomatoes

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1 shallot, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 French bread baguette (the thin, skinny type)

1 goat cheese log, softened (optional)

Stir together strawberries, nectarine, tomatoes, basil, shallot, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, pepper and salt.

Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch slices.  Toast them in the oven for a few minutes, spread with goat cheese and top with the strawberry mixture.  Or spread the cheese on and then toast them.  We have also just sliced the bread and put the strawberry mixture right on top, without toasting or any cheese.  Enjoy.  

weekend stories

Turning 4 is a big deal,

so we headed over to Illinois 

this weekend to 

celebrate with Eli!

It was a Curious George party - love Curious George!

His antics remind me very much of the antics at our house.

Nobody means to cause trouble,

they are just curious little monkeys.

While we were over there, the boys had to ride the

golf cart, of course.

And Rob was a good sport and put up with

their driving!

 Eli's other grandma brought a couple of beautiful 

horses with her to the party.

They were hanging out in the yard most of the day 

trying to stay cool.

Eli wasn't too fond of the Earl (the darker horse),

but he seemed to like this one.

 Isn't she pretty?

I can't remember her name, but

I remember thinking it was the perfect

name for a horse.

And she must be southern, because I

also remember that it was a double name 

(like Anna Beth, Mary Ann, etc.)

The mercury rose to 109 at the party Saturday.

Hot. Hot. Hot.

The only thing to do was play in the water, right?

Happy Birthday Eli!!!

stingrays

More time with Grandma and Grandpa.

This time at the Zoo.

We were lucky this time to be there during the stingray feeding.

{Helping the boys get the food just right}

{Getting more instruction from the stingray experts}

{Ready to feed them}

{By the look on Ethan's face, I believe he was

successful.  The stingrays suck the food up from between

the kids' fingers, so it apparently feels really weird

when the rays eat.  I say apparently, cause I'm 

always chicken to do it myself.  More of

a spectator}

mini golf and baseball

My parents were here for a few days last week to watch the boys play baseball.

It was in the upper 90s everyday, but we managed to get some

fun activities in.

One of those was mini golf.

|{We tried to win the free game at the end}

{No luck either time}

At least the baseball games were in the evenings, and it cooled off

quite a bit so that we could enjoy those without sweating to death.

father's day 2012

We had a great Father's Day!  My parents and sisters and their families were here for the weekend, so we were able to celebrate with many special dads.

An evening swim

My dad and sisters

Cousins.

Believe me there were tons more takes, but I love these the best.

This is probably the one that most people would choose.

But I personally like these next two.

Notice what is happening with baby Gideon...

The pacifier went flying, and I love that the camera caught it

in mid-air as well as the look on Elliott's face as he realized what

was happening.

Now all the boys are intrigued.

Elliott is still not sure what to do with the fussy baby.

And Gideon has had enough of the photo shoot!

My sweet sisters