A New "Do"

I had to cut Brandon and Elijahs hair last night after their little hair cutting episode the other day. I had to shave them pretty short and you can still see where they cut their hair but it's a little better than before. I tried taking a picture of Brandon but he wouldn't have it. At least it's summer:)

Elijah came in with a new haircut this evening. He said he wanted to see the bruise better on his forehead. Oh dear..what to do????

The Bite

Mike had a gig in Seattle yesterday at the Bite of Seattle. It was cloudy which took a lot of the crowds away (which was kind of nice since it didn't make for such a mad house). It was fun watching him play guitar and sing even though he did have some technical difficulties during the second song-he couldn't see his pedal board so when he would play a note on his guitar it sounded like a drum machine...it was actually kinda funny in hindsight. We drove back home after the gig and hung out with Mike for a few hours before he took off for another gig in Seattle, this time at a hotel for a wedding with Idol Eyez.

Success!

We prepared the soil, and prepared the soil, and prepared the soil again! It took about 3 weeks of solid labor to rake, pick up rocks, haul them away, and get the soil ready to plant seed. We spread the seed the 5th of July and now after constant watering we have some sprouts! I don't know how well you can see it but they are there and it's super fun to run my hand above the top of the soil and feel the baby grass:) Yippee!!!

Hybrid Cheese!

Last week we were invited by my sister in law, Tammy, to come over and learn how to make cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. We came with our gallons of whole milk, strainers, and pots. It was really fun and I learned a lot. Tammy gave us an awesome lecture on cheese and bacteria and the DNA of bacteria and how it all works together to make cheese and alter the taste, appearance, etc. We discovered however that our Rennin that we used was not as fresh as it should have been and therefore only 1 of our mozzarella pots turned out *good job Maribel:)* while the rest of ours were a mix between mozzarella and ricotta. Although they weren't like we were hoping they would turn out...they were soooo yummy. I made manicotti on Monday using a mixture of Parmesan, eggs, nutmeg, and my ricotta/mozzarella hybrid to make the most delicious dish. After I stuffed the shells, I poured a regular pasta sauce over the noodles and added my homemade plain ricotta to the top. ( I made ricotta from the whey after I had collected my cheese). I wish I would've taken a picture of it but believe me it was deliciouso!!!
We successfully made homemade yogurt and love getting to eat that-so far lemon is our all time favorite around here-
Our cheddar didn't turn out either (we will have to try that one again) but it did make lots of yummy cream cheese. Thanks for the fun time Tam!

My little Man

Elijah went to the dentist last week and got his first silver cap of 3 put on. He got a token when he was finished so that he could get a prize from the machine. He decided to get the one with a mustache so that he would look like a grandpa. He was so funny with it on. Love that kid! I am taking him in again tomorrow afternoon for hopefully the last two caps.

Nature is Beautiful

We spent last weekend in Oregon visiting my parents in Salem and then driving to Bend, where my older brother lives, because Mike was playing with "Mister Miyagi" for a wedding there. Saturday we took the kids and went to a state park called Silver Falls. It was a gorgeous day and while Mike was running along a trail that showcased all of the falls we took the boys and enjoyed a nice picnic followed by wading in the river.





After Mike got back he told us about how awesome the North Fall was so we packed up everything and drove up to the site. We had to hike for a while on the trail but it was sooo worth it. It was so neat-we were underneath the waterfall and got to enjoy it's beauty.