Summer fun

Simon posing as Anakin

Ava at the park

Brahm

Blooming chives in the garden

Daddy and Brahm picking out the perfect strawberry

Nicholas

Lakeside Lavender Farm

Grandma Hanks and Brahm

Romaine lettuce in our vegetable garden

Jess and Nicholas

Brahm gearing up for the pool

Ava

Our garden

Ava and Simon

Anakin on his cousin's Cruiser

My sister Meredith and her husband in Salt Lake City

Jess on my sister's Cruiser

New Piece

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the Warren clan to the world!! Mandy brought our 8 lbs 7 oz Nicholas Andrew Warren to us in a quick yet painful labor . . . with NO EPIDURAL AGAIN!!! She has officially achieved legendary birthing status! I will leave the official post to the master, but for now here are a few pics.

What's for dinner?

I go through weeks where I love to cook, and I make extensive grocery lists for meals.  And, then there are weeks where it seems like I make pizza quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, or homemade macaroni and cheese every single night.  Jess and I did some heavy duty grocery shopping on Saturday evening in preparation for the upcoming arrival of our new baby.  I actually made a meal plan for the next 2 weeks, and I am excited about some of the dinners that I (or Jess) have planned to make.  Tonight for our Sunday dinner I tried out something new-- Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder.  I found this recipe in one of my Real Simple magazines.  The pork was very tender, and the ginger, soy sauce, and brown sugar were flavorful against the meat and bok choy (bok choy adds the same type of texture to a meal as celery).
You can find this simple recipe here.

Zucchini Pie is a family favorite.  In fact, this is one of Simon's most requested meals.  For those who have an over-abundance of zucchini and basil growing in their gardens, this is the dinner for you!  I usually double the recipe for my family and substitute the grated provolone cheese for mozarella (only because that is what I have on hand).  Make sure that you use small(er) zucchini.  Overgrown zucchini is bland, less flavorful, and has big seeds. 
This is another Real Simple recipe that you can find here.

I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but I try to make a non-meat dinner every other day.  I found this recipe for Summer Veggie and Pesto Tart in my Family Fun magazine.  This is another great option for using up your garden grown veggies.

You can find this recipe here.

Fish, in the summertime, is always a refreshing, light, and mild substitute for heavy beef dishes.  Brahm has a tough time with meat.  He'll gnaw on it and then spit it out.  With the tenderness of fish, it just melts in your mouth.  I grew up only knowing fish to be those smelly, frozen, and battered sticks found in the freezer aisle of the grocery store.  Jess has opened up my horizons a bit since we have been married, and I prefer eating fish when we go out.  I am excited about making this recipe for Halibut and Sugar Snap Pea Salad.  For the recipe, go here.

Call me crazy, but I like hot soups even in the heat of the summer.  This recipe looked especially tasty (Sweet white corn soup with poblano puree).  When vegetables are all blended up, my children are more likely to try and actually like what they are eating.  I made a squash soup last fall that even my pickiest eater requested seconds of. 
This recipe can be found here.

Peachy Pork Tenderloin.  Who's mouth doesn't water when you hear Peach and Pork in the same sentence?  Thank goodness I have a husband who is a grilling maestro!  And, I have the perfect roll recipe to accompany this dish-- Buttered Rosemary Rolls.  Do not skimp on the sea salt.  It sounds strange-- sprinkling your rolls with salt, but it is HEAVENLY!
For the pork tenderloin recipe, go here.  For the roll recipe, click here.

While flipping through my America's Test Kitchen Baking Book, I came across this heavenly creation--New York Style Crumb Cake.  I decided that I would devote each Sunday as a day for baking a new dessert.  And, this is the recipe that I've decided upon. 
For the recipe, go here.

Birthday Boy

Simon and Nathan at McDonald's

This year for Simon's 7th birthday, we opted not to do a party.  Instead, I gave him the choice of inviting one special friend out to lunch and a movie.  Without hesitation, Simon wanted his neighbor friend, Nathan, to join us.  Even though Nathan is a year and a half younger than Simon, the two can be seen riding bikes outside with each other almost every day.    We went to Simon's restaurant of choice-- McDonald's. 

We then went to see Toy Story 3.

Afterwards, we went swimming as a family.

The next morning, Sunday, was Simon's real birthday which happened to coincide with Father's Day.  I made pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fruit for my special boys.  We let Simon open presents directly after breakfast.

I made Hawaiian Haystacks (Simon's favorite meal) for dinner, and for dessert I tried to create the Aliens from Toy Story.

Make a wish!

Meridian Dairy Days

Jess, Simon, Ava, and Brahm at the Meridian Dairy Days Pancake Dinner

In an effort to get more involved with the community and to make our summer fun, I've been religiously following a Treasure Valley calendar of family friendly events.  This entire week has been Meridian Dairy Days.  We ate at the Pancake Dinner as a family on Thursday evening.  Sausage, eggs, hash browns, milk, and of course, pancakes were served.  It happened to be a cool day (68 degrees), so it was comfortable sitting in the sun (a little too cold for Brahm who was wrapped in a blanket). 

The upside of things:  The Meridian Dairy Princesses were in attendance doing grunt work like serving coffee and helping people to their seats.  The down side of things:  Some knucklehead thought it would be OK to smoke in the presence of everyone eating. 

The Warrens and the Johnsons at the Dairy Days Parade

On Friday evening, we attended the Dairy Days parade.  This particular parade didn't boast any huge, elaborate floats.  There weren't clowns or marching bands or Budweiser Clydesdales.  But, chocolate milk, string cheese, frozen yogurt, and candy galore were handed out to everyone!  That is my kind of parade!

The Dairy Princesses waved to the crowds while sitting atop convertible corvettes.  Tractors and livestock caught the attention of the little ones.  Classic cars cruised down Main Street. 

Two surprising spectacles-- a local gymnastics club performed back flips on a balance beam on a moving trailer, and the Meridian librarians walked the parade route all the while pushing their book carts. 

The kids had a blast gorging themselves on all the goodies.  Thanks Johnson family for letting us crash your party!

What is a dairy parade without a cow?; one of many tractors; the Bagpipers

Brahm was absolutely filthy by the end of the night.

Lemonade Stand

Poster created by Simon and Ava

When I was I child, my sisters and I thought that we were quite the entrepreneurs by selling lemonade.  Our tactics for drawing attention to our business were unconventional. We faked cardiac arrest on the sidewalk where our stand was set up and frantically waved down cars to stop and help.  This tactic worked.  Cars stopped immediately, and then we miraculously all stood in position and asked the drivers if they wanted to buy a cup of lemonade.  Confused and angry, they peeled away without patronizing our little business. 

**********

I encouraged Simon and Ava to start a little lemonade stand this summer.  They seemed quite excited as they created their own sign and helped me set up all the supplies and goods outside on our front lawn.  I had the ingenious idea of making freshly squeezed lemonade.  I do admit, the lemonade was great but also very pricey (lemons cost way more than a lemonade mix). 

Ava's responsibilities included scooping the Sonic pellet ice into the cups and occasionally running into the house to retrieve the homemade ice cream sandwiches from the freezer for the hungry patrons.  Simon was in charge of draining the lemonade into the cups, adding a flexi straw, and taking/counting the money.  

We hit some bumps in the road that we will need to correct before the next lemonade stand:
Simon didn't have the patience to fill the cups all the way up with lemonade.

Ava hid from the customers behind the columns in our front yard.
Brahm stole lemonade at every chance he could get.
I caught Simon drinking lemonade straight from the container with his mouth over the spicket.  I immediately disinfected the "contaminated" area and gave him a good talking to.
 

After a couple of hours, we closed shop, cleaned up, and counted the money that the kids had earned--$7.50.  Split between the two of them, they each received $3.75.  I thought that they did really well, especially for a Monday.   

 

Swagger Wagon

We just recently traded in our Jeep Commander for a Dodge Grand Caravan. If you think that took our coolness level down a couple of notches, check out this hot new music video. I think it might change your mind.