Five Brown Kids

In a random conversation the other day Tryone said that he's going to have inscribed on my gravestone, "She Cooked" and I add (and cleaned). That about sums things up. 

A tornado , an earthquake and a hurricane.  It's a party on the east coast!

crepe myrtles in the back yard - once they were two feet tall, now over 9 feet pot of strawberries on the patio table, scotia loves checking for ripe berries and eating them pink wave petunias in the front porch flower box and flower pot, some year I'll do something different a little more landscaping around our garbage can front entryway gets a plant and sunglasses tray

If you've got snack duty for soccer this fall you might be interested in these sweet orange slices. I've always cut oranges into wedges until I discovered the Bagley way.  Now my kids are thrilled to eat oranges all the time- less skin/membrane getting in the way. Slice in the middle like you're ready to eat a grapefruit. The cut into thin slices and halve.  Perfect!

Here's proof that I really did finish those 9 years of family videos that I worked on all last spring.  Each video covers one year of family life since the day Taye was born, condensed into about 15 mins each, complete with applicable music.  Everyone loves to watch them now.  That never happened with the old collection of VHS tapes with random clips and big spaces in between and 30 minutes of Christmas unwrappings and 25 mins of total black when someone set down the camera without turning it off. On a side note - last year with Tyrone in school was long and hard and lonely and having this project to focus on was my breath of sanity - it kept me going.  I was learning a new skill in a mind numbing world of taxi driving and childcare - and those grownups to visit with at the Mac store while I worked were pretty great too.

Today marks exactly one year until graduation. We just hit the mountain peak and are on the down hill run.  Hopefully it is fast and painless. The money mountain goes straight up though and gets steeper every day. One year down - still one year to go.

Just wanted to show you where all the antiques from our Boston/Cape Cod trip ended up. Crock for serving spoons - Jessica Massive dictionary, bottom shelf - Jenny Old crab basket, snack container in pantry - Jessica Old architectural piece, above hutch - Jessica Old desk and chair, girls' room - Emily Flip top canning jar, from Courtney to Jessica Wooden box for jar storage - Courtney

Tyrone rolled over this morning at 6:30 and said, "It was so nice to sleep in today".  (Anesthesia students get to the hospital very early.) Yesterday the boys went golfing after school with Tyrone.  It was more about riding the golf cart than actual golf.  Jaxon summed it up well when they got home, "I love golfcarting!" (I hear that he may never get his license.)

The chalkboard

Jake and Hannah made these at the beach house this summer and I loved them.  I've made them for dinner a few times since then. Tyrone told Jaxon, "Just eat them with your eyes closed, they taste great".  You must make the dipping sauce, it's the best part. Asian Lettuce Wraps Recipe by Our Best Bites 2 tsp canola oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 1 lb ground chicken/turkey 3 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped (about 8 small mushrooms) 1/2 tsp kosher salt 4 C bagged coleslaw mix or thinly shredded cabbage 1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and finely minced 1/2 C thinly sliced green onions (never use these) 4 Tbs soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3-4 Tbs juice) 1/2-1 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce  1/3 C roughly chopped cilantro 1-2 heads iceberg lettuce Dipping/Drizzling Sauce 4 Tbs soy sauce 4 Tbs rice vinegar 3 Tbs water 2 tsp honey 1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger Heat a very large skillet...

If I was in a position to buy stock I would purchase these two companies.  We used so much ink last year when Tyrone was printing out notes for school in stacks inches thick that I probably could have purchased a small island.  I still don't know why the school charges a "printing fee". And the goggles - no explanation needed.  Speedo Black Junior Hydrospex are Taye's favorites.  Don't mess with his goggles. And this too of course...

Hands down, no question my all time favorite restaurant is Cafe Rio in Provo.  They make food that I love. Specifically they make a shredded pork salad that is out of this world.   Last weekend I picked up Taye in DC. We hung out with friends in Old Town Alexandria on Friday night and enjoyed the wharf and the buskers.  On our way home on Saturday we stopped at the brand new Cafe Rio in Manassas.   It was every single bit as good as I remembered from my college glory days. The tortillas are cooking as you wait, the salad has beans, rice, lettuce, meat and a scoop of guacamole, a scoop of pico, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, a lime wedge and cilantro vinaigrette to die for.   Taye loved the steak burrito with hot sauce and of course we carted two home in a cooler for dad! Bless you Cafe Rio for moving across the country for us.  Raleigh next?

Taye arrived home just in time for the swim team banquet. When we finally got to our house he was happy to pull out all of his treasures to show us.  He had gifts and souvenirs for each person and then these wonderful items  A new lobster trap buoy for our collection on the deck One of the hanging cans from the back yard, with a few pellet holes Grandpas army badges and dog tag Canadian money and more army pins  Beautiful bowls Taye made on the lathe A sweet vintage fishing rod and knife An owl that Grandpa carved and Taye painted It was a wonderful experience for Taye.  He flew alone and survived and has a stamp on his passport to prove it!  He tried new things and became a big fan of his grandparents.  It was exactly what I hoped for. Thanks especially to the Ricks who got Taye to and from the Philadelphia airport.  You made it work out!