Whats cookin' good lookin'?
Braised lamb shanks...mmm

With Dave working so much at the moment, when he is finally home for a meal I really want to make it special! So I try and cook something yummy (or suggest somewhere nice to go...lol!)

The other night I tried a new recipe for Dave, as I know how much he loves lamb shanks. I found some at Fred Meyer, lamb is not always easy to find here in the states. But when I do, I buy it all up! Rosemary braised lamb shanks on garlic mash potato, with a glass of red wine...yummy! The Lamb slow cooked for over 2hrs in a mix of red wine, garlic, pearl onions, cherry tomato's, chicken stock, rosemary (from our backyard) and seasoning, very tasty!

Red wine Rosemary Olive Oil Vine ripe Tomato's The aroma was amazing and the taste was so comforting...



I found this recipe on a really wonderful website http://www.allrecipes.com/ you can type in what you have and it will find a recipe that uses your ingredients. It can also compile shopping lists for you using all the ingredients you need. Its pretty addictive and very inspiring when it comes to trying new recipes. Can't wait to try something else from here.

I am excited to learn some new cooking techniques and even more excited to see the look on Dave's face when I cook....the way to a mans heart really is through his belly!

Night out with the girls.....

Beatles Laser Show & Cheesecake Factory

Finally a night out! Although it meant Dave would be home early and I would really love to spend the time with him, it's nice to get out with the girls minus the kids! It's been a few weeks after all and I was dying for some girl time!

Tonight was to be my first laser show experience. Not quite sure what to expect, I just wanted to get out with the girls, plus this sounded fun! A laser show to Beatles music in a huge indoor dome theater...Beatles music you can't go wrong!

So off I went to Sarah's house, we would all go in together from there...It was quite exciting to do something I had never done before. Its funny how life can become quite monotonous, same things day-in/day-out, you have to keep it fresh and try new things to make life fun!

Anyway, after running through the rain from the car park to the Science Center we finally got there. What a night! So much for summer, it was more like winter, I even had a sweater on....

We entered the dome building and found a spot on the floor. Its best if you lay down and look up. The room went dark, the music started and BAM! The lasers started dancing around the room to the beat of the music. How cool was that! They played some really good Beatles songs like Get Back and Hey Jude, two of my favs. It was quite a tripy experience and honestly you feel like you should have taken some kind of drug before hand to have the ultimate experience...lol!

After about 15 songs it was over, a fun experience and would do it again. I would love to see the Doors like this, although I would take a pillow to make it a little more comfortable (do I sound old or what...lol!)

The night was still young so we headed off to the cheesecake factory for desert! Yummo. Hmm what to get, it's never easy to decide as they have over 60 different cheesecakes to choose from. After recommending so many of my fav's to my friends I had no idea what to get so I tried something new.

OK, so I know I am working out with a personal trainer, hoping to lose weight. And Yes I felt guilty and yes I looked around to make sure he was not there to see me. But its cheesecake with the girls, who can say no to that!

So anyway, I ordered the tuxedo chocolate cheesecake. I had a bite then let everyone else have a bite, had a little more and took the rest home for Dave...so I wasn't that naughty!

Long story short, I had a wonderful night and can not wait to hang with the girls again....I feel so totally lucky to have the friends I have...love you guys =)

BBQ....Yum!

Grandma and Grandpa helped us enjoy our first BBQ with our new grill and outdoor set while they were here.
It was the most perfect night, 7pm and it was a whopping...84deg! The sun out, a beautiful cool breeze blowing, shade from the wisteria and the smell of Meat grilling. It doesn't get much more relaxing after a hot summers day! Oh, and did I mention the wonderful iced wine....mmm!
The kids played in the pool and took great pleasure in trying to splash Daddy while grilling. Only if every night could be this easy.
We started out with the Bruschetta that Harry and Grandma had made, it was delicious!!! Thanks Harry you are quite the little chef. It was then followed with Rib eyes cooked perfectly, Cesar Salad with sundried tomatoes and bacon, grilled red peppers and crusty bread!
The best part was taking our times, we had no where to be and nothing else to do so we just sat, ate, drank and talked for hours!!! What a great summer night!

Letter to my little boy.....
Happy 3rd Birthday Thomas!

Its hard to believe that this time 3yrs ago the labor and the pain was all over! And I was laying with you tucked in my nightgown, you fast asleep on my chest, so precious and so small!
Only a few hours old and already the feeling of an amazing love!

To this day my first moment with you alone is one of my most treasured memories.
That special time after the chaos of the day, to finally have you in my arms. No nurses, no Doctors, no bright lights or loud noises, at long last everyone had gone.
Just me and my new little baby Thomas.

Now you are 3, how that time has flown!
Happy Birthday my little man...xx

We celebrated at the Rainforest Cafe, see movie above.

Here are some of Tom Tom's favorite things -

• Cars
• Speed Racer Movie
• Story time before bed, "where's my mommy?" "Kisses" "Round the garden"
• Eskimo Kisses
• Drawing with chalk
• Digging in the dirt ie, mommies garden
• Playing soccer
• Best Bud is Noah
• Pulling all his bedding down and sleeping on the floor
• Has chocolate milk banana and oats for breakfast
• Swinging in his yellow bucket swing
• Word World, Noddy, Jay Jay and Super Why!
• Picking on his big brother
• Baby George, aka Curious George
• Polar Bear

Cooking with Grandma....

"Mix some love and hugs and a little bit of milk, that's how its made" - Harry talking of Grandma's tiramisu, what a sweetie! I think he was quoting what grandma had said previous but I didn't hear it, anyway still cute!

Grandma and Grandpa have been staying with us this week.

Harry has had a ball in the kitchen cooking with Grandma. If there is anyone that can teach him to cook its his Grandma as she cooks for a living!

Here are some of the delicious things they made....

Here they are grating chocolate for the tiramisu...yummo!

Harry holding up his little tiramisu cake with chocolate sprinkles

Fruit salad....yummy yummy!

Washing the freshly picked mint from the garden, so yummy on a fruit salad.

Bruschetta...mommies favorite! Great job with the oil Harry it was delicious!

Is it a bird? Is it a Plane......Thunderbirds at the McChord Air Show

Today we spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa out at the annual McChord Air Show....Unreal!
They had so much fun stuff to do and so many planes to see and explore. We got there around lunch time and the crowds were crazy! It took us so long to park and even longer to get out of the parking lot afterwards on the way home. So many people! I would love to see what the crowd count was today.

The main attraction of the day is the aerial acrobatics and plane demonstrations. They did a reenactment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor which was really amazing. Obviously no boats, but the air display simulating what took place that day was incredible. Harry loved the explosions, especially when he saw the skydivers a little later on.
He said "look mommy the Power Rangers are here to save them" from then on, he just wanted to see the power rangers....Harry you are so funny!

But really the best was still to come. The boys were loving the planes, that is until they made the sonic boom noise or flew over the top of us or were just really loud. Harry didn't mind, but Thomas freaked out with the sound! He spent most of the time on my lap with his hands over his ears, poor little sweetie! Mommy will bring the earmuffs next time, I promise.

So anyway, like I was saying the best was still to come......the Air force's Thunder Birds!
Awesome, is really the best word I know to describe them, just amazing!
Dave, Grandma and Harry moved towards the runway to get a closer view, while I stayed back with Thomas and Grandpa. I didn't think Thomas would handle being any closer with the noise. They started up and took off, man they were loud! Just as I thought, Thomas freaked out again, so he snuggled with me and put the blanket over his head. Every time a plane would go over his little arms would cling on to me even tighter, just precious! He was asleep within 5mins, how he slept through that noise I will never know.

We had a wonderful time, such a sight to see and I know Harry will be talking about this for weeks to come. It was perfect day for an airshow, clear skies, sunny with a cool breeze. Could not ask for a more perfect summer day!
I will update some photos from the airshow over the next few days, when ever I get them off my camera!

On the way home we stopped of for dinner at a great little Thai restaurant in Kent called Mauigotai....yummo! Best Green curry chicken ever! The boys even ate their vegetables, we are so going back there!

A great day was had by all, but I am tired so I am going to bed! Big day tomorrow, but you will all have to read about that tomorrow night!

Claim Jumper....home of the motherload!

One of our favorite places to take our out of town visitors, for a true taste of American food not to mention outstanding American portions is....Claim Jumper's.
A fun family restaurant located 10mins south at South Center (great shopping area)
River stones, log beams, chandeliers made from antlers and a huge buffalo head over a very impressive stone fireplace, its got the charm of a huge log cabin that offers wonderful home cooking.
Meatloaf, pot pies, pot roasts, biscuits and gravy just to name a few of their signature dishes. But the real signature dish that its know for has to be the Motherload....chocolate cake 8 layers high!
This cake measures over a foot high and when you ask for a piece don't expect to finish it! Even Dave couldn't finish it! The deserts on their menu are crazy huge and will need to be shared, that's even if you get to the desert! The meals in general are just huge, you don't leave without a bag of left overs.
Today we headed there for lunch with Dave's mom and step-dad who are in town this week. We had a great time catching up and hearing all about their travels up to this point.
We didn't order anything to outrageous today, mainly salad's. They do a killer Asian chicken salad which I got. Warren ordered a crab wedge salad which I think I will be ordering next time we go, looked sooooo good! Man were we full but it didn't stop us from heading of to the Cheesecake Factory for coffee and cake for afternoon tea....yummo!

XXX Car Show in Issaquah....

One of our new favorite weekend traditions is checking out local car shows!

Sorry its a little small to see the list of car shows, you can check out the website on the side of our blog

On Sunday after Breakfast at Issaquah IHOP (our first and favorite weekend tradition) we head 5mins down the street to a diner called XXX. I know strange name and no its not adult rated...hahaha! Its a real 50's diner decked out in cool 50's decor. Every weekend during summer they hold a car show specializing in a type of Muscle car, Vett's, mustang's, trucks....etc very cool!

Today we got to see the General Lee from the Duke's of Hazard. It was one of the cars used in the TV show, one of 17 that didnt get destroyed during the show. Over 250 were destroyed in the series.

Harry thought it was very cool, especially when they honked the horn!

This 67 Fastback is just like Dave's.... He can't wait to show his car, when its finished that is...Oh and drivable....hehehe!

Kindness from a complete stranger!

No milk...agh! Come on boys looks like its Starbucks for breakfast.
So I order my usual iced mocha no whip and a few muffins for breakfast. OK, so I know its not the healthiest way to start the day for me and the boys, where is their breakfast from the 5 food groups...hahaha!

I pull up to the window and am all ready to pay, when the Starbucks guy says that the lady in front of me paid for my total order!!! OMG!!! Is that not the sweetest thing ever? And from a complete stranger! This totally made my morning, I could not believe the kindness, so I bought the guy in the car behind me his order, spread the happy feeling!
This really was a WOW moment for me, you can make a difference even with a cup of coffee! Nothing could phase me today.
I was so inspired by this stranger, to be kind to others and to make a difference in someones life even with the little things.

What a weekend!

Its hard to do nothing on a weekend like the one we just had. The weather was absolutely beautiful....sunny & Hot!

The weekend started with a fun girls night out with my friends on Friday night (but I will save that for another post, if I'm allowed to talk about it....lol!) After a late night home all I wanted was to sleep in. But waking up at 7:30am with the sun out and the boys in great moods, that was not to be. So we got up, excited to get on with the day.

We organized to met up with our good friends KC, Karen and their daughter Michelle at Red Robin in Bellevue for lunch. It was so good to see them, it had been ages! After our yummy lunch of burgers and salad...oh and bottomless steak fries, yummo! We headed off to the movies to see Disney/Pixars latest kids flick...Wall-e, the boys were so excited, so was the big boy =) The kids loved it and will definitely add this to our DVD collection when it comes out. It was also really nice being in the cool AC, it was 90 degrees outside, quite a shock for us Seattlites.

So what do you do on a hot, hot day....go to the beach! The Deitricks live in a wonderful little part of Seattle called Baux Arts Village, located on the water in Bellevue, with its own community beach....whoo hoo! Of to the beach, well the guys and kids anyway. Thomas had fallen asleep so Karen and I headed back to their house. While Thomas slept Karen and I got to catch up while sitting in the shade of their beautiful huge trees, it was so peaceful. (until T woke up anyway!)

After a few hours Dave, KC and the kids arrived back from the beach. Harry was sporting a new war wound. He had cut his foot....agh! He had done a good job on it and my mommy instinct was telling me to take him to the Dr's. Kids in the car and our goodbyes said, off we went to the urgent care in Issaquah. Harry was a trooper, actually he didn't even seem bothered by his foot. I'm sure if it were me I would have been passed out by now! 2hrs later and all was good, he did not require stitches, they just bound it with a very impressive bright blue bandage, he was quite excited by that.

More Pancakes Please!

Waking up to the smell of breakfast being cooked....what's the special occasion?

Dave makes the best Pancakes in the world and I am the lucky recipient...mmmm!

We all got short stacks covered with sticky maple syrup. Before Dave had even cooked mine, Thomas was already waving his plate at Dave saying "More Cancakes Please!" he is a pancake hoover! blink and they are gone. It was so special sitting down together as a family for breakfast, its been a while since we have done that at home, thanks for a yummy family breakfast daddy!

A little bit about our neck of the woods....RENTON

For those of you who have not even heard of the city of Renton. Here are some facts about this wonderful place to live:
Population: 15,360 covering over 17 sq miles
Located: 10 miles (16min drive) from downtown Seattle on the southern end of Lake Washington.

It has..... over 25 parks, the home of Boeing's 737 plant, home of the Seattle Seahawks training center, home to the only IKEA in the North west, a wonderful old downtown full of antiques and 100 year old buildings, is famous for its rubber duckie race and Renton River Days, has its own water park, not to mention the best moms group around =)
Famous people: Jimmy Hendrix grew up here and is now buried just up the street. Garry Ridgeway (aka, green river killer) one of US's worst serial killers.

Our Favorite Renton places:
Eating Out - La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, Armando's Italian Restaurant and for a date night, The fin & Bone Restaurant all located in old Downtown RentonPlaying - Gene Coulon Beach Park, 52 acre park on Lake Washington
Pub - The pickled Onion, great for Karaoke, darts and good cocktails
Shopping - we frequent Fred Meyer every week but can not wait for the landing to open
Coffee - Anywhere you go you will find a drive through coffee house, my fav is good old Starbucks!

Some of the more unusual sights you may see....
A plane train, this is a train carrying up to 5, 737' fuselages on it's flatbed carriages.
A library built over a river, serious! The whole building is built on one huge bridge.
The salmon fighting their way up stream by the thousands (library is a great viewing spot for this)
A freight train going right down main street Renton between shops and restaurants
Statues of people at Gene Coulon Park that mysteriously get dressed for every holiday season!
Please let me know if know of anymore =)

Renton is a fun place to live, very diverse with race and affluence. A great place to raise a family, a very down to earth and friendly community!