Five Brown Kids

Here are the boys at the end of year school talent show. For first grade I have clips of the actual talent show (no zoom - Jax has blue shorts on in the front row) and also from a repeat performance during the awards ceremony (much closer - Jax has on the tye dyed pink shirt). Jaxon was totally into this dancing. He was a hit. Taye is a few rows back in the fourth grade dance. He has a green shirt on and is direclty under the trunk of that very tall tree. Find the official "Move Your Body" video here. And Jaxon's year end award? Magnificent Mathematician. That's totally Jaxon!

My neighbor brought me a handful of fresh mint the other day. So here are two wonderful mint recipes. Fruit Salad Fresh Lime Chiffon Cake (this is totally a winner if you need a fancy summer cake)

Saturday was my first weekend with Tyrone home since last summer. We were busy all day long and it was so nice to have him around. Jaxon had two soccer tournament games. He is an excellent player. Tyrone says he has great "field smarts" . Unlike most 7 year old boys who run after the ball and kick it with a hope for the best, Jaxon hangs back, waits for the ball, gets control and then kicks it very purposefully. It is fun to watch him play - he made at least 70% of the goals for his team this season. In between games Tyrone participated in a Gladiator 5K with some of his classmates. He had a great time! We also mowed 3 lawns, made 10 pints of jam and went to a Railhawks soccer game for Jaxon's end of season soccer party. Is it silly to say I feel like a newly wed? A happy man in my house focused on me and my children. How did we get so lucky?

Hanging out at the Orem Costco.

These videos are due Friday at 3:20 pm and barring a great catastrophe I'm going to meet my deadline!

For our anesthesia friends: Here's my brother-in-law Jake's review of his recent humanitarian trip to Haiti.

None of these should be a surprise... French Dip Cafe Rio Teriyaki Salmon Steak Salad Chicken Pot Pie

I spent the weekend in Boston with my friends. We move at the same pace, have interest in the same things and share the same food tastes. Made for such a relaxing, fun and tasty weekend. Downtown Boston, quick phone break. Salma Hayek and Kevin James filming a movie (Here Comes the Boom) right in front of the Quincy Market. Lunch at Quincy Market - fabulous! Walk down to the wharf and time to sit and talk. Public gardens Dinner in the North End with dessert at Mike's . Cannoli's out of this world! Antique shopping in Cape Cod. (Stopped for a bathroom, left two hours later minus $400) Antique store owner recommended lunch down the street at the gas station. It was so good! All the houses (in Sandwich and Chatham) I saw were painted on the front and weathered grey on the sides and back. I've never seen that before? Dock in the back yard of our Cape Cod cottage... Orphaned seal on the beach... It was cold and beaut...

Scotia, "Mom, do I have to marry a white boy or a brown one?" Mom, "It doesn't matter, you can marry a white guy if you want." Scotia, thinking it over for a bit, "I think I will marry a brown one."

No mayonaise in this coleslaw. It's a Pauline Brown special and I love it. We've been eating it on fish tacos (baked tilapia, toasted Trader Joes tortillas with melted cheese, coleslaw and cilantro vinaigrette or mango salsa - off the hook good!) It would be great for a summer BBQ too. 1 head of cabbage, shredded 1 green pepper, diced 1 small onion, diced 2 carrots, shredded (or one store bought bag of coleslaw mix :-) Toss above with 1 cup of white sugar. Bring to a boil and pour over the cabbage/sugar mixture: 1 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup vinegar 1 tsp celery seed 1 tsp dry mustard 2 tsp salt Refrigerate overnight. (Or at least a few hours.) Serve with a slotted spoon!

This could be a super long post about the first exhausting year of anesthesia school, or a cute post of numbers like how many hours Tyrone studied and how many swim practices I drove Taye too. But mostly I just want to say We made it! Tyrone did a great job and I survived (twice now) and I'm really glad it's over. Just one more year to go!

This dessert is heaven on a biscuit! Back me up Courtney... 1 quart strawberries, sliced 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup shortening 2 cups white flour (don't use whole wheat for this) 2 tbsp sugar 3 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3/4 cup milk Sweetened whipped cream, Cool Whip or vanilla ice-cream to top. 1. Mix strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Let stand for 1 hour. 2. Heat oven to 450. 3. Cut shortening into flour, 2 tbsp sugar, the baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, using a pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended. 4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Gently smooth into a ball. Knead 20 to 25 times. Roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 3 inch cutter. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 6. Split shortcake horizontally in half while hot. Spread margarine on split sides. Fill with strawberries; replace tops. Top with sweetened whipped cream

Full length DVD available for a small price...

A few more pics. How could I forget fresh strawberries and asparagus at the Farmers Market, hush puppies and fried shrimp at the NC Seafood Restaurant, Tryone placing second in the ward pancake eating contest.....

Love it!