Owen: Chronicles of the First Day of School

The day dawned bright...

Owen look snappy in the clothes he picked out for himself...

and yet...

...no smile?

You'll notice the backpack came OFF

at this point.

I was informed:

"I'm not going."

Into the car we go then!

And that's when it hit Gabriel like a ton of bricks!

{It's a brother thing...}

Two hours later,
it was all over.

Owen had a great time
(as evidenced by his HUGE smile)
and loved showing off his class work!

Gabriel and I survived a morning by ourselves

(turns out moms aren't so bad to hang out with afterall!-),

and all was right with the world now that we were

all back together again!

Well,
at least until the next time
Owen has to go to school...

{smile}



Simple Refried Black Beans

I cannot tell you how many times I have choked down refried beans as a child. 

Looking back, it seems like we ate them nearly every single night.  I can even vividly remember cracking open the fridge and seeing the bacon lard container staring at me.

Taunting me.

Ugh.

{Shudder}

Now that I am all grown up,

{It does have it's benefits!}

I've successfully avoided refried beans,

refusing to order them in restaurants,

and certainly not cooking them at home!

Until now.

This considerably lighter version uses absolutley no lard and very little oil.  The flavor come from the beans themselves and chicken stock, making them a tasty-and simple!-side dish for those delicious Latin entrees!

Refried Black Beans

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 15-oz can low-sodium black beans, drained of half the liquid

1/2 c 99% fat free chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, deveined, de-seeded, and minced (1 tbs)

1/2 c 2% mozzerella cheese, shredded

Directions

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in the oil.

After one minute put in everything except the cheese. 

Lower the heat to medium-low,

combine well,

and allow to simmer,

stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes. 

Mash until nearly all the beans are incorporated. 

{I like mine "beany" and leave some untouched.}

Turn the heat to low and stir in half of the cheese.  

Top with the remaining cheese, cover for one minute,

or until the cheese is melty on top,

and...

Enjoy!

Gabriel Dodge

While we waited for Owen and the girls to finish up

with their dentist appoinments,

it struck me how much this little guy has changed.

He was just sitting on a little chair,

happily swinging his legs,

completely content in just being there!

Little does he know that in a few short months

he'll be in the dentist's chair too!

And that this is just the beginning of
all kinds of wonderful

-and some not so wonderful-

things to come!

But until then,

we'll just wait!

Owen's Joyschool Kick-Off Party

This is the first year ANY of our children have

participated in a pre-school.

I'm not against them,

I just enjoy having my children at home!

But when some girls in our ward and neighborhood

asked who was interested in getting a small co-op together,

Samuel and I gave some serious thought to it.

We went back and forth,

but in the end,

thought that Owen would not only benefit

from regular interaction with other kids his age,

but that he'd just have fun!

I was able to help coordinate the

Kick-off Party,

which meant the planning of fun activities...

...and a tasty

-and very kid-friendly-

brunch!

Gabriel loved the menu!

Owen,

giving the evil eye!

And we haven't even officially started school yet!

Owen was a bit of a mess this whole day.

He knew something was up,

and was pretty sure he didn't want any part of it!

...

Don't worry, Owen.

With anything,

there's bound to be a few bumps

along the way!

Keep pushing on, son.

You won't be disappointed!

I love you!

Love,

Mom



Impromptu Soccer

It's a shame Ava's not in these pictures.

Actually, I think she is in one. 

Only she's teeny-weeny

(see the far left-bottom shot).

The reason it's a shame

is because she's the reason we get the ball out!

She loves to kick it around-

and that's something that she's been doing

since she was a little girl!

You think we'd have her in lessons or on a team,

but every time we ask she refuses.

This is the year,

I think she would go for it,

however with Samuel in school three nights a week,

I don't see how it's possible to haul five kids around

for weeknight practice.

We'll see how it goes though.

If she's game,

I don't want this window of opportunity to pass her by.



Stupid Chairs, Bone-dry Lake, & the Best Cabin Ever: Yosemite National Park, Wowona

Our final adventure of the summer

was the creme de la creme!

First off,

Yosemite is gorgeous,

and having just hiked there with Samuel,

we were both dying to take the kids too!

Second,

Samuel's former boss, Bill,

graciously offered us the use of his family's cabin in Wowona

for however long we wanted to stay!

It was incredibly generous and

we were so thankful for the opportunity!

Thank you!

As I said before,

it was the last trip of the summer,

which is always, always bittersweet.

So in addition to being fabulous in and of itself,

everything was just a touch more everything:

Beautiful...Wonderful...Sad...Exhausting...Hilarious...

You name it!

And it was "it"!

So here we go...

"Stupid Chairs!"

This phrase comes from Grandpa Gary himself,

who in a fit of frustration while packing the van up for camp,

had a bit of trouble with-

you got it,

the chairs!

In our case,

Samuel was wrestling with the bike trailer

which I just had to have!

He he

Alright!

Dad finally did it! 

We are officially on the road!

First stop,

Yosemite Valley for a tour of the gift shop,

a walk through the village,

and of course...

Pizza at Deghan's!

Yummy!

Ice cream in Curry Village.

Our first day was exhausting...

and we hadn't even started hiking yet!

Our first night in the cabin was so much fun!

It's terribly exciting to stay somewhere other

than your own home.

And staying in a cabin

-when normally you'd be sleeping in a tent!-

is downright luxurious!

Barbie time!

Our first day out we visited Bridalveil Falls (.5 mi. round trip)!

Clamoring up the rocks was definitely a high point!

And then, of course,

there's the view!

The easy way down and out:

Slide!

 

More impressive than Half Dome:

The Shuttle Buses!

My boulderers!

Mirror Lake

(5 mi. round-trip)

Yes, you may wonder what is lake-ish about this lake?

Well, in my exhaustive research for

family-friendly day hikes,

this gem popped up on the radar.

Unfortunately,

I didn't read the entire description of the trail,

which means I missed out on this juicy tid-bit...

Thus,

the lake never was a lake.

And being early September,

it certainly wasn't a "shallow pool" either!

It did make a great spot for a family pic,

plus we ate lunch in the bottom of the lake!

Er, pool...

What it lacked in being a watery oasis,

it more than made up for in the stunning views of Half Dome!

At least I thought so.

There was still a fair amount of grumbling from the kids,
who were totally looking forward to making some
major cannonballs!

Owen,

The Great

Taller than even a grove of redwoods!

Gabriel,

waiting for the Jr. Ranger Program to begin.

He's on pins and needles.

We were told the programs were great,

and with President Theodore Roosevelt leading the charge,

we learned alot!

Over one hundred years ago,

President Theodore Roosevelt looked out

at the view from Glacier Point and exclaimed,

"I wouldn't miss this for anything...this is bully!"

Guided into the Yosemite wilderness by naturalist John Muir,

the president went on a three-day wilderness trip

that started at the Mariposa Grove,

and included Sentinel Dome, Glacier Point, and Yosemite Valley

among other points of interest in Yosemite National Park.

Muir seized the opportunity

"to do some forest good in talking freely around the campfire,"

and the President, referring to John Muir,

is quoted as saying,

"Of course of all the people in the world,

he was the one with whom it was best worth while

thus to see the Yosemite."

Roosevelt and Muir camped the first night, May 15,

at the Mariposa Grove under the Grizzly Giant,

with the President bedding down in a pile of about 40 wool blankets,

and the second night was spent in the vicinity of

Sentinel Dome during a snow storm that left five inches of new snow

on top of the existing five feet of snow.

The third night of camping was at the edge of

Bridalveil Meadow in Yosemite Valley,

where President Roosevelt was Muir's captive audience

to hear a convincing plea for Yosemite wilderness

and for setting aside other areas in the United States for park purposes.

 

 

After the show we learned two incredibly important things.

One, Curry Village haS a pool.

And two, that pool was FREE!

Nice!

Take that Mirror Lake!

 We jumped in the pool with ten minutes to spare!

It was the fastest strip down ever,

and I'm sure the lifeguards absolutely LOVED us!

To our credit,

we were out on-time and
the kids were super-happy to finally, finally
jump in some water!

Dinner

BBQ Chicken

Baked Beans, Coleslaw, & Corn on the Cob

This picture,

in a nutshell,

is why staying in a cabin is AWESOME!

Dessert

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Brownies & Whipped Cream

The Wawona Stables

Bella's heart melted here.

Really,

a part of her heart is probably still there!

At $60.00 a pop for a two-hour ride,

we all had to be content with with petting from the fence!

 

After we lolly-gagged around the horses,

we explored the Pioneer Yosemite History Center,

and took a quick juant up to the Wawona Hotel.

Then it was time to hit the trail again.

This time to Sentinel Dome (2.2 mi. round trip)!



I love this shot of the family ascending when...

the camera batteries die!

{rats}

Long story short,

they don't carry Lithium batteries in the park-

we even tried the fancy-smancy Ansel Adams Gallery-no luck!

We still took loads of photos using our camera phones,

unfortunately,

we don't have the USB cables to download them!

...

So for now,

the saga continues minus visuals....

We couldn't leave Yosemite without
taking the kids to see Vernal Fall. 

So that was next up on our itinerary.
We hiked up to the footbridge (1.6 mi. roundtrip),
and both Samuel and I got the best leg workout of our lives!

Picture two boys sitting comfortably in the bike trailer,
while you push that puppy UP!
Boy,
they are little,
but they are HEAVY!

We spent the rest of our trip visiting the

museums and historic sites in the valley.

First stop,

The Ahwahnee.

The kids were floored by the age of the building,

and the native colors and patterns throughout.

I think the detail that impressed them most of all was

the ancient bathrooms though!

Outside the hotel,

we found a deer nibbling on the grass of the courtyard!

It was so fun to see Owen & Gabriel openingly gaping!

Once we got over the whole live-animal-up-close thing,

we did what anyone does after you do anything:

Eat chocolate!

The Ahwahnee has a great Sweet Shop and

everyone picked out one to share.

Our favorites...

Chocolate truffles, of course!

After the sugar rush we opted to mellow out in the

Yosemite Valley Visitor Center where we saw

the film,

"Spirit of Yosemite".

It's a beautiful movie,

and we were all grateful to sink into some soft chairs

and just relax for bit.

Then we made a quick stop at the Yosemite Museum

which has a neat reconstruction of the Indian Village of the Ahwahnee.

For our last stop,
we hit the Yosemite Gift & Grocery Store

for some necessities before we hit the road:

1) A rubber spatula and,

2) A top-secret Christmas gift for Samuel.
 
He's since opened his 1,000 pc. puzzle
of the Yosemite Mountain Range,
and seriously,
he loved every minute of putting it together.

Don't ask this non-puzzle-person why!

...

We loved our visit and created so many wonderful memories.

Next time we come,

we'll try our hand at camping in the valley,

and later,

as the kids grow older,

we definitely see many family backpacking trips

on the horizon!

Jr. Half Dome

training begins now!

{smile}

Broccoli & Parm Strata

Okay.

Before I get started...

{Take Note}

When I die I want to be rolled in this panko bread crumb mixture. 

Seriously.

And make sure you slather it on real good because honestly,

it's amazing!

{Alright, back to the story...}

Yes, stratas are favorites for  baby or bridal showers,

but really,

when I haven't a clue what to make for dinner or I don't have meat readily defrosted,

this is my go-to meal for something light and delicious!

Please experiment using what you have on hand.  It's an extrememly versatile recipe that can accomadate a variety of different cheeses, vegetables, and even meats like chopped ham or sausage.

Broccoli & Parm Strata

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

6-8 slices of soudough bread, torn

2 c frozen broccoli, steamed until al dente

1/2 c parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 c 2% shredded mozzerella cheese

6 large eggs

1 1/2 c 2% milk

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 c Japanese Panko bread crumbs

Salt & Pepper

Directions

Generously butter an 8 x 8 glass pan and pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until combined and set aside.

In a separate smaller bowl, combine the bread crumbs and half of the parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Using your fingers, combine well and set that aside too in a very special place.  That's important.  It's your pièce de résistance and you don't want anybody walking away with it...

Now your on to making your layers. 

Place half of your bread in the pan and top with half of the broccoli mixture.  Top that with half of your mozzerella and parmesan cheese.  That's layer one!

Repeat with the reamaining ingredients to make layer two and you are almost done!

Tear off a piece of foil and place over your strata carefully pressing the mixture into the pan.  You want to condense the ingredients slightly so that when you add your egg mixture you've minimized the number of air pockets in the dish.

Carefully pour the egg mixture to cover, and top with that irresistable bread crumb mixture.

Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  Cover with foil and allow to cook for an additional 35-40 minutes.  

This custardy mix of bread, eggs, & cheese is to die for,

and served with a dollop of sour cream (I like light!), 

it's ready to...

Enjoy!