Look alikes.

I realized today when I took this picture of Finley, the older he gets the more he looks like his big sister......

I didn't think they looked at all alike when he was born, but maybe they will be like Micah and Kristy: the male and female version of each other:) And hopefully as good of friends!

New reading material.

In case this blog is making you a little sleepy these days......Check out the sibs new blogs. Josh is blogging about his very entertaining adventures overseas and Bekah is blogging from Clemson, South Carolina (which has always felt like a foreign land to me).

Puddle jumping.

Summer rain is the best kind of rain. Rain boots are optional. But getting soaking wet is not.

Bruschetta.

This is my favorite way to do bruschetta. Okay, it's my only way. But that's because I like it so much that I haven't even looked for another way.

It's inspired by the bruschetta we had at the Tennessee Pass Cafe in Leadville, Colorado the evening Micah proposed. Maybe I should call it "Engagement Bruschetta". Maybe if you're single and you make it a man will suddenly show up at your doorstep and propose to you. No promises though.

Anyway, I crave it mostly in the summer. I think it's great as a light meal with a salad. I made it twice last week when I was THIS hungry (enter gratutious picture of starving baby):


So here's how to make it. No exact measurements here, just add more or less of whatever you like. Mix together:

-Cannellini beans (although navy or great northern beans work too)
-calamata olives chopped
-cherry tomatoes chopped
-handful of flat leaf parsley chopped (I frequently substitute cilantro if I already have it)

Just slice your baguette about 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal, brush with olive oil and toast until crispy and browned. After you take it out of the oven, peel a clove of garlic and rub it on each slice (the garlic flavor will get all over the bread without any pieces of raw garlic--it's yummy). Then give each piece a smear of herbed goat cheese. I go easy on the stinky cheese. You could omit it altogether or use feta. Then spoon on your topping and enjoy.

Recap.

We had a perfect R&R. It felt like a month. We hit all 20 things on Skylar's extensive "To-do with Daddy" list in the first week and spent the last half hanging out around the house.Micah is still in transit as far as I know, he hasn't been able to call since Monday when he left. I don't think he knows that his sister had a baby last night. (We love you Cora Grace!)

So here is R&R in a nutshell--trying to fit a year's worth of memories into two weeks. It's always bittersweet to come out of "survival mode" into "vacation mode" and then have to say good-bye again. But of course, you wouldn't trade the time you have for anything.

We hit up the beach....

Micah got to see Skylar in full on "Sandageddon". He played with her and I got to sit with Finley under an umbrella that a nice lady wasn't using and offered to us. Micah stressed about the umbrella and kept checking it every few minutes to make sure it was secure. It was.
We grilled out and made s'mores on the 4th.

It really bothered her that Micah had marshmallow on his face. "Get it off daddy. GET IT OFF!"
There was a whole lot of wrestling. Many times a day it was "Do you want to wrestle with me daddy?" Funny, she never asks me to do that.

We went to see the fireworks on the old battlefield at Sacketts Harbor. A nice man took two pictures for us. He chopped our heads off in one, and the second one was blurry. But the occasion was documented nonetheless.

We took Skylar to her first drive-in movie. She loved it and stayed up really late eating pizza and ice cream.

We hit the farmer's market up both Wednesdays so Micah could get his fill of whoopie pies.

Then it was off to Rochester where we spent a couple of nights and had some Dinosaur BBQ and Chipotle.

Skylar wanted to stay in a hotel and swim in the pool with daddy. Check and check.

We went to the children's museum and then the zoo the next day.

We took Micah to our favorite breakfast spot so he could experience the wonder that is Stuffed French Toast.

And this is the kids meal for $4.....seriously.

We fed the ducks at least twice.

Went on lots of walks to the park. We hit up the County Fair, the CanAm Festival, and Sam's Club twice so that Micah could gawk at all the american excess. We hit up our favorite ice cream stand...twice.
And then it was time to say good-bye. When Micah came downstairs in his uniform Skylar asked him why. He told he had to go back and she said.......
"Oh well, too bad. Thanks for visiting me. I had fun!" Like he is just one of her many visiting relatives passing through. We decided that was a good thing.

So now we are on the homestretch. Only 10 more weeks give or take. And then as Skylar says "daddy is home FOREVER". Let's hope.

Chubs McGee.

I prayed for a happy baby.

A fat happy baby.

A good eater.
Well.....the Lord answered that prayer.Do you see a knee cap? I don't think he has them.

And he's not just chubby, he's so so happy. Like, almost always. Unless he's hungry of course. (See "good eater").
From the top of his baldy head to his roly poly cankles.

We just can't stop kissing him.

And I think he likes it that way.

Let's go fly a kite.

Kite making kit from target: $3.49 on sale.Time spent decorating and assembling kites: 30ish minutes

Number of attempts at flying said kites before deeming them unflyable peices of crap: 5
Watching your husband prance around the yard with your daughter trailing behind having the time of her life: priceless.

7-11 is Heaven.

We were driving through Rochester today, mindlessly following our GPS to the zoo, when I looked up just in time to see a 7-11. So of course I yelled "7-11!!!!!!" the way a person would yell "FIRE!" and Micah immediately swerved into a parking lot and turned around.

As if on cue, all the traffic cleared and we crossed 4 lanes of traffic unhindered right up to the doors of 7-11. It was all so perfectly orchestrated, Micah compared it to the parting of the Red Sea. Indeed, I believe angels intervened. (Because making sure we get to 7-11 is probably a high priority for heavenly beings).

Yes, I know it's just a gas station. But we don't HAVE 7-11's up here. Or so we thought until today.

We haven't been to one since moving from Colorado. It was a tradition there to do The Incline and then get a slurpee afterwards (thereby ensuring no calories were actually burned). Sometimes we skipped The Incline and just got a slurpee anyway. And sometimes when we were out running errands we got a slurpee to celebrate our successful errand running. Once Bekah came to visit us on Free Slurpee Day, and we may have hit up two or three (or seven) of them in a row.

So it's not just a gas station. I grew up getting slurpees with my dad. It's my heritage.

Naturally we had to let Skylar experience her first slurpee with her daddy. Our excitement must have been contagious, because although she had no idea what a slurpee was (it could have been a cup of Brussels sprouts for all she knew) she was whipped into a frenzy and went marching in there to find out.

She picked a blue one and came running out to the car to show me. (At this moment I'm thinking that slurpee is way too big for a three year old. I'm such a kill joy).

Oh happy, delicious day. (That first sip probably gave her flashbacks to the womb. I drank enough of them when I was pregnant with her. Bad, I know).

And just like that a love affair was born. A tradition passed on. A brain freeze incurred.

Don't forget that this monday, 7/11, is free slurpee day for those of you lucky enough to be in close proximity. Drink one for me!

Iced Coffee.

There's a new addiction in town.

I'm not a real coffee drinker, just a frou frou coffee drinker.

This stuff is yummy. I stole it off my friend Nancy's facebook page. (Thanks Nancy!) I've been drinking it every morning for a few weeks now.

Iced Coffee

12 cups (one pot) of coffee

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 cups of milk

Just mix it all together, keep it chilled in the fridge and pour over ice to serve. I make mine with vanilla soy milk. It's even better with chocolate or caramel sauced drizzled on top.

R&R'n

Saturday was the BIG day.

Skylar and Finley made a picture for daddy. (So maybe Skylar made it and Finley cried, same difference). Then we made daddy some cookies. Got in the car. Drove to Syracuse. Got our pass and made it through security and got to the gate with 2 minutes to spare (after stripping Finley of his overalls that kept making the sensors go off and have half of the diaper bag items confiscated. We were those people).

Skylar held her picture and waited and waited until she saw him.......

And then everything was perfect again:)

Finley was still bent out of shape from the security fiasco so he was crabby. And somebody might have forgotten how to hold a baby. It's been awhile.But it all came back to him in no time.
We waited 37 weeks to spend these next two. Here's hoping they go slowly.