Week in Photos

A bunch of out of order photos:

Callie, Mira, Maylee, Kate, Ella, and Jolie came over for lunch and a playdate and we all had a blast! While the kids played, we dug through a box of old notes from middle school and high school that my mom had kept and laughed forever about how ridiculous we once were (and how also, our personalities have remained the same after all these years). ;)

Playing doctor's office: Ella the receptionist, Maylee in the waiting room, Jolie the patient (with a leg injury), Mira the Doctor, and Ben the Doctor's Assistant.  Funniest thing overheard during their play (Mira to Ben, handing him the play scissors):

"Ben, will you cut Jolie's neck, please"?

Dead.

 

Ben and I joined the local YMCA last week!  I needed a place to workout where they offered child care.  I wasn't sure how he would feel about me dropping him off there, but he absolutely LOVED it.  They have a huge climbing structure (similar to what they have at Elevated Sportz) and he had a blast!

Ben has been resisting his nap lately and crashing on me HARD much earlier than he normally goes to bed.  We definitely are not ready to give up this nap entirely quite yet (due to the crazy and unpleasant mood he shifts into in the late afternoon).

Truck time.

I, along with another friend of Becca's, threw her a bridal shower last weekend and we had so much fun!  I handled the food.  One of my favorites was the bacon hearts:

Popsicle date.

A truck drove by as I was taking this.

School pics:

 

Snuggles in the window seat.  

Meal planning: Week of July 20th

Review from last week:

Throw together meal: Grilled chicken, potatoes and asparagus with dill creme fraiche.

Halibut a la Barigoule (yum).

Open-faced salmon roll sandwiches.

We also had tomato soup one night and leftover salmon another.

Plan for next week:

Saturday: BBQ at Rachel's house!

Sunday: TBD - probably will grill something.

Monday: Crockpot Creamy Lemon Chicken Kale Soup

Tuesday: Dinner at Denali, Kyle and Oliver's house!

Wednesday: Crockpot Salsa Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: BBQ - Flank steak

Meal Planning: Week of July 13th

Review from last week:

The best salad (made without bacon this time and still turned out amazing).

These pork carnitas have been declared "the best pork we've ever made" by Greg.  So great - even better as leftovers.

We had a leftover Blue Apron meal from last week.  Mustard/panko crusted chicken breast, kale cabbage slaw and biscuits.  Really good.  I think I'll make this salad and chicken again.

The other nights were just "whatever" meals: soup, meatballs, pasta/salad/roasted cherry tomato/prosciutto dish.

Plan for next week:

Saturday: I'm throwing a bridal shower in the morning...so we may end up eating leftovers for dinner on Saturday :)  OR going out to eat!

Sunday: Salmon Rolls

Monday: Halibut a la Barigoule

Tuesday: Grilled chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus.

Wednesday: Grilled flank steak and salad.

Thursday: Dinner with Brenna while the boys go to swim lessons.

Friday: Dinner with Kristin and Craig!

4th of July

We had such a fantastic 4th of July this year!  In a break from tradition, we joined Callie, Phil, Mira and Maylee at Phil's parent's home on American Lake in Lakewood.  Phil's mom, Jean, throws a fabulous party each year - one that I actually attended many many years ago back when Callie and Phil were just dating (or perhaps shortly before or after they got married.  I knew that Ben would have such a blast hanging with his BFF's - and we did, too!

Due to the extreme heat we are having around here, the party started earlier than normal so we could hit the water for a few extra hours.  We were SO grateful to have a place to cool off!  The water was so warm, yet refreshing.  We got to take a boat tour around the lake followed by floating around the dock for a long time.  It was heaven.

At 4:30, Jean called us up for their annual parade around the block!  She had a table with tons of American "swag" so we could deck ourselves out and show our pride :)

Ben and Maylee!

 

Following the parade all of the kids went on a scavenger hunt (adorable) complete with prizes for each of them (which Jean reported back that when she gave Ben his, he said "THANK YOU for all of my stuff!!!" - gotta love that)!

After a delicious dinner and just a little more cooling off in the lake, we decided our skin needed a little break from the sunshine.  Ben crashed almost immediately on the drive home - it was a very full and fun day! 

  

Meal planning: Week of July 6th

Review from last week:

If I had to choose a meal to eat for dinner every night, this would be it.  Grilled flank steak "fajitas" with guacamole and a margarita.

The results from our gnocchi class!  Amazing.

Almond flour crusted cod, roasted asparagus, fingerling potatoes and dill creme fraiche sauce.

Cheese burgers, prosciutto arugula salad, watermelon (and a margarita because OMGITSSOHOT).

On Wednesday we went to Shauna and Brandon's and had one of our favorite dishes, shrimp ceviche!  We love that she makes this for us whenever we request it (which is every time we eat with them).

 

Shimp rolls and green beans:

 
Plan for next week:


Sunday: BLT Salad with Corn, Feta and Avocado with Grilled Chicken

Monday: Blue Apron meal from last week that I didn't get a chance to cook: Fried Chicken with with Kale-Cabbage Slaw and Buttermilk Biscuits.

Tuesday: Mexican Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice and guacamole.

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Soup (canned) and sandwiches or salad.

Friday: Grilled Flank Steak fajitas.  I'll be busy prepping for a bridal shower I'm throwing on Saturday so dinner will ideally be cooked outside :)

Our Week

I can't tell you much I love Ben's imaginative play.  It is essentially him playing "Daddy" to all of his trucks.  Here he is helping them with "Circle Time".  We went around the circle and named each car after one of the kids in his class.  So cute.

Then he flipped them all onto their backs for nap time and kissed each one.

A couple weeks ago I took a Friday off work.  Callie and I took the kids to a park down in Renton that I love and was excited to show them, followed by a stroll through and lunch at Ikea and then ice cream at McDonalds.  A perfect morning!

I finally caught up on Callie's blog and found these pictures she had posted:

At a park in Woodnville, waiting for Greg to get back from his run and meet us there.  Greg is such a stud - he has us drop him off 5-6 miles away on the Burke Gilman Trail and then he runs to meet us! 

A tribute to Greg on Father's Day.  Every single day I feel lucky that he is Ben's dad (and my husband)!  I'm certain Ben feels the same :)

Visiting my dad and bringing him his Father's Day gift :)

Pre-swim surprise pic.

Several months ago, Lisa, Evan, Greg and I purchased tickets to take a cooking class at The Pantry.  The day finally arrived and of COURSE it was 90+ degrees in a kitchen with no air conditioning ;)  Luckily, it didn't take any of the fun!  We learned to make:

Potato Gnocchi
Spring Pea Pesto with Crispy Prosciutto
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Green Garlic Cream Sauce
Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi
(The Most Delicious) Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion
Gnocchi alla Romana

Beating the heat with ice cream at the mall.

We attended the Eat Run Hope event put together by Ethan Stowell Restaurants and ate and drank our hearts out.  And now I'm never eating again.