Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sunday on the Water

This past Sunday we went to Proud Lake which is only about 30 minutes from our house but it feels like you are up north. There we took the canoe out for some family time on the water. Madelyn & I sat up front for a little bit but Brendan wanted to paddle so we let him for most of the time out. Afterwards the kids went swimming in the water. We were on a river that is slow moving and I guess it goes on for quite a while so we may have to explore that more next time.

Here are some of the photos that we got:
My Truck with the Canoe sticking out. (It looks even funnier in person!)Madelyn our little nature girl trying to catch a Robin. Brendan paddling the canoe. We even got to go in a tunnel on this part of the river. Really neat.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Brendan's Final Soccer Game

Here are a few short videos of Brendan's final soccer game.

One of Brendan's goals:



They still aren't too good at passing yet, but Brendan handles the ball pretty well:



This is what LuLu does at games:



The final cheer for the year:

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Weekend Fun

This past weekend we were quite busy. That seems to be the theme around here. On Saturday I had Lids for Kids event with my women's group. I took the kids up after my shift of helping. The kids of course had a blast. Brendan got a bright red helmet & I think the officers are going to try to get pink ones for next year. There were two bounce houses & the ladder-fire truck was there spraying water for the kids. (It was a hot day!)
Here are some photos from the event:Brendan & Madelyn getting license's for their bikes. The safety officer had problems finding a type of vin number on Madelyn's little trike. Brendan getting a cool red helmet. They didn't have any small enough for Madelyn but we have one at home for here. Madelyn got one of the bounce houses to herself.But of course she had to go play with the boys. Brendan taking the bike safety course.
On Sunday Brendan had a soccer in the afternoon. It was really, really hot here that day. After the game we planned on going out for Slurpee's but we also had to stop by Target to get a slip-n-slide. Brendan was really into it. Madelyn does care for getting wet just yet so Brian had to help her. Well really we had to catch her then give her a helping push down the slide. By the end of the afternoon Brendan was really good at going down.
Here are the photos of the kids playing.

(Oh yeah he rocked! at his soccer game even with the heat. He helped pass the ball to his team mates to assist on a couple goals & block all the balls when he was goalie.)

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Wok this Way!

Anyone that knows me, knows that I like to cook. Not only that, I tend to like to cook things that you just can't walk into a restaurant and get.

If you read my other website, you already know that I have an interest in using the carbon steel wok for outdoor cooking. I was intrigued by the original uses and design of the wok. The traditional hearth stove, needing very little fuel because it was both expensive and scarce in China at the time.

With that, I decided it was time we get a wok for home use too. Consulting with professionals, it quickly became apparent that a carbon steel wok is the ONLY way to go. The others are for just playing around. The only downside of the carbon steel wok is that it requires seasoning, much like a cast iron pan. It is not big deal to me, but to others it might be enough to cause them to look elsewhere. With that, I ordered one wok for outdoor cooking, and one for indoors from The Wok Shop in San Francisco.

I also have quite a few friends who are Chinese. So, I have been picking their brains for some authentic recipes. Not the Betty Crocker, American version of Chinese cooking :D We also have an Asian market close to our house, so finding the good ingredients is no big deal.

I have to say that I am addicted to woking. Jen and the kiddies like it too. Last night, I cooked Pork with Scallions, and of course had rice on the side. In general the results have been unbelievable. This one was especially good. Jen had to take a picture, so here it is:


I actually find the "super cooking stores" quite comical. You can literally spend hundreds of dollars on a single skillet. I have used many, many good ones, and it is all a bunch of crap to part you with your money. If money were not of any consequence at all, I would still choose one $15 cast iron skillet (Lodge brand) , and one $15 carbon steel wok and you can do anything you want, and do it much better than all that expensive cookware out there.

I have also found The Breath of a Wok to be an excellent resource.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Some Random Photos

I found a memory card with a couple different types of photos on it. So this is just going to be a random photo post.
First is Madelyn on her new big wheel that she got back for Christmas. I thought she looked cute with Brendan showing her the way.Next is Mr. Mojo at the park. He loves going for walks with the kids.Next is something that Brian did. He is always coming up with crazy stuff and wanting to try out stuff that he saw on tv. So he made this trap inspired from the Surviver Man show on Discovery. Brendan of course likes to help him in almost all of his crazy little adventurous or ideas.Next we Madelyn down for a nap in her room. While she has to have at least 15 stuff things in bed with her yet all she sleeps with is her bunny that I had made for her as a baby (it has been washed a couple times & I am amazed it is still together)Here are Brendan and Madelyn getting ready to make the mother's gifts that went out to Grandma'sFinally playing at the park. We are lucky enough to have about 5 different parks that we can play at within close walking/biking to our house. It seems that at least a couple times a week we are at the park. So we are never without park photos. Here are a couple photos from early May.You know that your kids are growing up when they can swing all by themselves.