Weekend Celebration/Hike

This past weekend was both my birthday and also father's day.  So Matt and I decided to have a weekend celebration with one big trip.

First we decided on the menu of the weekend.  I got to choose for Saturday since it was my birthday.  I chose breakfast casserole, and fettuccine con carbonara...YUMMY!

Sunday's meal was eggs, sausage, and toast for breakfast and Greek hamburgers with homemade tzatziki sauce.

Usually we only celebrate with food, but this time Matt and I decided to celebrate with a trip.  My requirement was that we be outside and together as a family.  Matt wanted to go somewhere we could hike and have history.  Our neighbor told us about Roaring Run, so we thought we would check it out.

 

It used to be an Iron furnace that was in use in the mid-1800's.  The furnace was really cool to wander around.  But the most fun part was the hike along the river.

 Grace took very well to her leash.  I know, some people think that it is horrible to put a leash on your child.  However, Grace is very independent, and I heard that this hike was very easy.  So we thought we would put the leash on and let her wander (to our allowance).  She had freedom to walk and run, and she ended up hiking the whole way to the end where the waterfalls were.

 This is one of the many mini waterfalls along the way.  It made the hike somewhat loud, but what can you expect with a hike called ROARING Run?

 Grace loved the rocks, stumps, leaves, and dogs along the way.  She was so happy to be down and exploring.

 Run Grace, Run!

 Checking out the river from one of the many bridges along the hike (yes, I have a tight hold on her so that she would not get too close to the edge/water)

 Beautiful scenery!

 Matt got some wonderful pictures :)

And at the end Matt took a fairly good one of me in front of the large waterfall.  We put Grace in the backpack to go back to the car.  She did not mind, she was pretty worn out from all of the excitement on the way up. 

Afterward, we set up some chairs in the parking lot and ate a little bit of a snacky lunch.  Here Grace is, in her sized chair, eating crackers.

It was a perfect outing for me, it was a perfect outing for Matt, and Grace seemed to love it too.  What a great weekend!

18 month check-up

Today was Grace's 18 month check-up.

All is well.  She is 24 pounds, and 32 inches tall.

40-50 percentile for both height and weight :)

No shots today so it was a nice visit.

Just wanted to document the stats.

It Came From The Garden

Matt and I have been blessed with an early growing season in our garden...

At least for the squash and zucchini!

For the three years that I have had a garden at this house I have tried to grow squash and zucchini, but each year I have gotten NOTHING.  That is until this year.  I do not know if the change came because we started from plants (rather than seed), composted more, or because I newspapered early so that weeds would not get to the plants.  But whatever it was, we have been getting one or two squash/zucchini every day since Sunday.

We have been enjoying them, and Matt is experiencing the wonders of my creative culinary skills :)
So far we have enjoyed:  sauteed squash, stir fry, chocolate zucchini cake, and a zucchini casserole.
On the menu for the future:  More of the above, different casseroles (there are so many in the E. Shank Cookbook :), grilled squash and zucchini slices, and maybe crab cakes...and who knows what else will come to mind as I am in the garden gathering our bounty.

I am so happy!

(if anyone else has an idea for squash or zucchini, let me know.  It seems we will be eating one or two a day from now till the season is over for them.  But this is a great way to get our veggies :)

First Baby Picture

About two weeks ago we had our first appointment for baby Daniels #2.

Not much out of the ordinary to report.  Healthy, strong heart beat of 164.

Things are going well with this pregnancy, and I am starting to feel much better :)

Just thought I would share the picture.  Enjoy!

Quack

Grace's new favorite word is "quack"

I was talking to my sister Amy yesterday and while on the phone I said:

"Grace, what does a duck say?"
"Quack"

"Good job Grace!  What does a dog say?"
"Quack"

"Grace, what does a cow say?"
"Quack"

"Grace, what does Aunt Amy say?"
"Quack"

The laughter got louder and louder as this conversation continued.
So when Matt got home I had to tell him this story.  So I said:

"Grace, what does a duck say?"
"Quack"

"Grace, what does a cow say?"
She thought for a minute then loudly proclaimed "MOO!"

I was happy to hear that she got it right, but it ruined my story that I was trying to tell Matt.

Memorial Day Weekend

It is scary to think, but I believe that we are slowly becoming the "typical American family."

At least in the way that we celebrated Memorial Day weekend.  

Well, we mainly worked on the garage shelving (which was already talked about).  Then we celebrated the long weekend of Matt being home with some wonderful food (which is not surprising to anyone who knows us).

We began with sushi (not to worry we got the kind with no raw meat...pregnant people everywhere are very happy that they came up with that concept!).  The next day we ate stuffed peppers that Matt was surprised that he liked so much.

Finally (what makes us "typical") on Memorial day we pulled out the grill and cooked some wonderful steaks.  Yum, yum, yum!

But what makes this post special is what was going on while we were cooking or building.  Grace in all of her cuteness was enjoying her pool (another thing that makes us "typical"...we pulled out our pool on Memorial Day weekend :)

 

She had a blast!

We will be using that pool a lot this summer.

What Can You Do With $100.00?

If that question was asked to Matt and I, we might respond with "Make garage shelving!"

Because that is exactly what we did.

My sister needed some basement shelving.  She found a snake in her basement and it was suggested that they get the boxes and other items off of the floor.  So Matt decided to help build the shelving.  Matt had a plan for shelving like this in his mind for about a year and a half (ever since our garage shelving broke).  So he showed the plans to my sister's husband and off they went to build.  The shelving turned out wonderfully.

About two weekends later it was a rainy weekend at our house.  I knew we were going to be cooped up so I suggested that Matt start our shelving.  After a $60.00 trip to Lowes to get the starter lumber we were on our way.  Chiseling, sawing, and other dust producing activities ensued for the next many weekends.  However, we were finally able to put up section after section and slowly see our garage get cleaner and more organized.

True to our nature Matt and I were scavengers for this project.  A neighbor was replacing their wood railing for outdoor steps.  We got permission to take all the wood that we wanted from there.  Another neighbor was replacing their playhouse for the children.  More wood for us.   We used wood that was being saved for us at my parent's house.  And wood that we randomly already had in the shed.  Not all of the wood matches, but that does not bother me at all (most of the wood is being covered with stuff anyway!).

This past weekend Matt and I went to Lowes once again to get $40.00 of wood to finish off the project.  It is done now!  For $100.00 (and a lot of time and cleaning of reclaimed wood) we built five 7 foot high, 3 foot wide, and 2 feet deep sections of shelving that is adjustable and sturdy as can be.

I am so happy, I almost have my garage back!