Spinach Burgers

Last night I made Sparklebot's Spinach Burgers. I even made a couple that were gluten free by replacing the stuffing with rice crispies and some italian seasoning.   I tried them and they taste pretty much the same.

I loved them. Michael ate his and half of Madison's so I think I can safely say he enjoyed them. Davis liked his (though thats not saying much, I've seen him eat some pretty disgusting things).  Madison said "They aren't the best thing I've ever tasted, but I ate it."  Which translates to, "I am going to choke down half of one because I saw how angry you got when Kai gagged as he picked his up."  A teary eyed Chase tasted a very small corner of one and vowed never to eat another green burger.  Kai said, "Fine, I'll eat another, but only if I can put on enough ketchup that I don't actually have to taste it."

All in all I think it was a success.

Happy Father's Day

Davis Turns Three

This week Davis turned three.  For his birthday he requested lots and lots of cake, not just any cake, a farm cake.  This worked out well for me because not long ago Target was getting rid of old cake decorations. For 23 cents I scored a bag of Charlotte's Web decorations that work perfectly for a farm cake.

Davis woke up the morning of his birthday and with all the enthusiasm a new three-year-old can muster he came running down the hall and asked for his farm cake.  I explained that because the cake was for after dinner, I hadn't made it yet.  He was not happy.  At this point the boy and girl heard he was up and came in to sing Happy Birthday.  Little Davis balled up his little fists and yelled, with all the enthusiasm a new three-year-old can muster, "STOP IT!  STOP SINGING!"  then he looked at me and finished with, "YOU HAVE RUINED MY BIRTHDAY!" He then proceeded to stomp down the hall.

His disappointment didn't last too long.  He even helped me make homemade Root Beer for the party.  Later that night he got his farm cake, along with pancakes and bacon for dinner.

Happy birthday baby.

The Summer of the Lawn

We have dubbed this year the summer we attempt to take care of our lawn.

This was the situation

This picture was taken after I'd sprayed the weeds no less than three times.

Not only did we have a serious weed problem we had a pretty major sprinkler repair which resulted in trenches being dug all across our back lawn.  When they flipped the fixed sprinklers on, a whole row of sprinklers we'd never seen before popped up.  I'm pretty sure the previous owners didn't know they were there either.  They also told us that we have 5 sprinkler boxes, 2 in the back and 3 in the front.  But we'd never seen ANY boxes in the front.  EVER.

After a lot of digging and stabbing things with the shovel, they found 2 of the 3 boxes.

The two they found are inside the curbing, under the ugly white rocks, and even under the black weed barrier material.  Its really a miracle we found them at all.  We still have no idea what those white pipes sticking out of our patio are for.  We have one in the back yard too.  But like I said, we found 2 of the 3 missing boxes--one is still MIA.

Quick side note: If you're in need of large quantities of white rocks, contact me, we'll talk.

So now the sprinklers are working.  And by "working" I mean they are no longer spewing water into the basement window wells.

But it hasn't all been fun and games.  Michael was dying to make me a new planter box, so I let him.  I'm all heart.

He also built a small one for Madison.  She is very excited to have her own little box and even has a tiny little tomato on one of her tomato plants. 

See the white pipe?  WHAT IS THAT?!!

So there's the yard.  Its a work in progress.  Hard work and slow progress.

I Should Have Guessed as Much

Me: Davis, what do you want for your birthday dinner?
Davis:  A farm cake.
Me:  Yes, I'll make a farm cake, but what do you want for dinner? Before the cake?
Davis: I just want cake.
Me: No dinner?  Just cake?
Davis: No, not just cake.  LOTS and LOTS of cake.

Earlier At the Pool . . .

After 15 or 20 minutes of bobbing, jumping, and diving in and out of the water while Mike and I kept grabbing and pulling him back up for air, Chase finally said, "It's not working.  I can't do it.  I just CAN'T breath underwater!!"

The Rodeo

Yes.  We went to the rodeo and it was actually kind of fun.  In fact this is what Chase thought about it . . .

At the rodeo the kids got to meet some horses and try their hand at roping cattle.

Madison said to Hell with cattle and tried to rope herself a cowboy.

When that was all done, we got to see some real cowboys give it a go.

We also learned about "mutton bust'n."  For those of you who, like us, had never heard about "mutton bust'n"  you basically throw a small child wearing a bike helmet on the back of a sheep and see how long they can hold on.  We've decided to sign Davis up next year.  Because we don't have easy access to any sheep we're going to have him practice on the back of Madison.  We would sign Chase up, but unfortunately our one child who actually wants to be a cowboy is too scared to get on the back of a sheep.

Other things we learned at the rodeo--

• People still use chewing tobacco
• Rodeo clowns have an unlimited supply of political and religious jokes.
• A Dodge is better than Ford

Brown Shirt to Rodeo Chic

When Michael told us we were going to the rodeo on Friday, Madison and I decided it was time for our next clothing refashion.

We started with this brown polyester shirt circa 1970.

First we cut off the sleeves and took in the sides.  Then we used Heat n' Bond to cut out cowgirl-esque patches for the front and back of the shirt. 

Add a few ruffles from the scraps and you're ready for the Rodeo!

Coach Pitch

Beginner's Luck

 "Guess what Grandpa! I Passed 2nd grade-- FIRST TRY!!!"