Archive for August, 2010

Gone fishin’

We spent a bit of time at the fishing hole on the farmstead last weekend. I’m not sure what Ava was expecting to find in her rented bucket, but I don’t think it was worms.

Once Bry rigged up the poles, we waited…and waited….and waited.

And waited.

I can’t say we had much luck, but it was hard to beat the weather and the view!

Down on the farm

We spent yesterday at the fabulous Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park. Bottle-feeding the baby goats was one of the highlights.

Salted caramel ice cream

When you find a perfectly-scored recipe on Epicurious, it’s rarely a disappointment. I agree wholeheartedly with the glowing reviews for this salted caramel ice cream. We made it for company last night, and it was fantastic. Plus, it made that sixth day of 100+ degree temperatures a bit easier to manage.

When Livie Lou Who wasn’t even two

Smashing!

We’ve received about 849 potatoes through our crop share this year, and I’m trying to find interesting ways to serve them. I love this recipe for grilled smashed potatoes, which despite a two-part cooking process, is relatively easy. Plus, smashing the cooked potatoes is quite satisfying…

Stages for which I am not ready

At the fair last weekend, I mentioned to Bryan that wasn’t really looking forward to having a teenage daughter, let alone two. They seem to be rather naked and loud these days, and that concerns me.

Granted, we do have a few lovely babysitters who go against the grain in that respect, so perhaps there is still hope. Nevertheless, my blood pressure increased a bit when Ava came home from preschool with a boy’s phone number scrawled across her homework.

It seems as though they are planning a trip, and they needed to spend some time on the phone to work out the details. (Thankfully, Ava assures me they both have their driver’s licenses, and they won’t need to borrow our car because Ava just bought one of her own online.)

I wrote this off as extremely creative play, until my mom (who, by the way, had two teenage daughters herself not so long ago) said something that made me picture my five-year-old packing up her belongings and letting herself out of the house at 2 a.m.

I suppose, though, I do have about 10 years before I have to worry too much about that, or about phone numbers from boys in general. Right?

In the meantime, I have this handy new meditation podcast that seems to be helping…

Staples of the season

We had our first large garden tomato just last week. I’m hopeful that a bountiful harvest that might allow for a bit of canning is right around the corner, but it seems quite late. So just in case this might be one of a few, I relished every bite of that BLT.

Ava Fix

Up in the air

All’s Fair

We took the girls to the county fair last night. When they were finally ready, I realized they’d blend right in with the carney folk.

It probably goes without saying, but Ava dressed herself.

Once we talked Olivia into leaving her two blankets, three lovies and teddy bear in the car, we made our way to the petting barn.

This nice cow really enjoyed the feeding, and he left Ava a little something in return. Thank goodness for anti-bac.

When the kids saw the midway, they were pretty much done with the farm animals. It was at this point that Bryan decided the rides didn’t look safe, and suggested perhaps we skip this part of the fair.

Sixty minutes later, we’d spent roughly $648 dollars on tickets and thoroughly enjoyed the ferris wheel that Bryan was sure would end up rolling down the countryside with his family inside. (That’s assuming, of course, that we hadn’t already fallen out of the “really low gates.”)

I wish I had video of my sweet husband yelling, “AVA! HOLD ON!”

Olivia was barely tall enough for most of the rides, but we found a few just for the little ones.

If the tears on the way back to the car were any indication, I think the girls were sad to leave. Bryan says the midway is open until midnight tonight…