Farmers Market Tour

Yesterday, I had a really great opportunity. Through the blog Gourmet Mom-on-the-Go I won a tour of Pike Place Market and an afternoon cooking with some amazing women, all sponsered by I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. You can read all about our day here. I had such a blast, although I have to admit that I felt a little intimidated by the other women on the tour. I was definately the only amateur. They are all amazing bloggers, chefs, and business women, and they were a ton of fun! Mandy is the author of Gourmet Mom-on-the-Go and one of the greatest cooks I've ever met. I also spent a good portion of the tour wandering around with Lindsey, who has 2 adorable children, owns her own business, and definately knows her way around the kitchen. She was so fun and friendly and pretty dang good at catching fish (see the video). I also enjoyed delicious food from Deanna, owner of The Old Hen Bed & Breakfast, and Emme, who you can watch for on the upcoming Fox TV show, Master Chef. After my fabulous day with all of them, I feel inspired to be a little more bold in my cooking adventures.

SLC (Idaho Part 2)

While we were in Idaho, we also made a day trip to Salt Lake for my grandparents 50th anniversary. I already posted a few pictures of them, but I wanted to post a few more of my family.

Jackson LOVES uncle Kevin... I think it's the red hair

Look how hard he is concentrating. Maybe he shouldn't try to eat grapes with a fork. Kim (my sister-in-law), Kevin (my brother, but not the one that's married to Kim), my dad, and me

Jackson is sitting on my lap as I post these. He just said "Daddy silly!", so I'll use that as the caption.

4th of July

We started off our celebrations with an early firework show while we were still in Idaho.

Playing with sparklers

Then we had a celebration at our apartment complex...

...which included a parade with all the kids

Then we decided to join some of our friends and brave the crowds at Gas Works Park. It was worth it. The firework show was amazing! We ended up having a fantastic time despite the exhauted toddlers that probably shouldn't have been up that late.

Here is Tyler being exhausted the morning after (Jackson is faking... obviously. At least he closed his eyes. Usually when he fakes sleep, he snores loudly and keeps his eyes cracked open so he can see if anyone is believing him.)

Grandparents, Cabins, Boating, and Camping

Our trip to Idaho was amazing. We did all of the happy Idaho things that we love, and I have to admit that it got us a little excited about returning there in 3 years. I also celebrated my birthday while we there. Tyler (and everyone else) got me a new camera that I love. I can't believe what a difference a nice camera makes, especially since I've never had anything better than an $80 Sam's Club camera. So you will never again hear the complaint, "I forgot to take pictures." Instead it will always be "there are too many to post" or "I don't know which ones to use" or you will just see mile-long posts like this one, which is only a portion of our Idaho trip. Enjoy the many, many pictures. Feel free to scroll quickly :)

Enjoying a bike ride with Grandpa (and testing the zoom range on my camera... they were pretty far away)

Jackson and his only cousin, Madden. We can already tell they are going to be quite mischevious together. We also enjoyed a few days at the Boyd's cabin in Island Park. Jackson liked the hot tub.

Goofy face

Jackson has a problem with picking on Madden, who is a year younger than him. I had to get a picture because this was one of the few times that Madden had the upper hand. I promise I helped him up as soon as I finished taking the picture. Watering Grandma Hawkins' flowers

Playing with Uncle Kevin

Jackson did really good in the boat. When he was younger he hated the life jacket, but I think this trip he just accepted that he had to wear it.

And I expected him to be scared of tubing. He wasn't. He giggled and waved the whole time.

Jackson did really good with our camping trip too. The boys are playing volleyball in the background.

Jackson loves Aunt Whitney. She's a lot more fun than all the boring adults he's used to being around.

This is my cool dad

I'm pretty sure Kevin was letting Jackson sneak some s'more bites.

Tyler tubing

All 3 of the Boyd brothers cliff jumping

50 Years

We're home! We made it back from our big Idaho trip in one piece... barely. I have way too many pictures to share, but I wanted to first post about my grandparents 50th anniversary party. Congratulations to them. We enjoyed celebrating with everyone in the family. Here are a few pictures from the event.

I love my grandma's face here

Jackson enjoyed himself

We convinced Jackson to say goodbye to the balloons. There just wasn't room in the car.

News & Pictures

First the news...

I am no longer unemployed! I got a job working for the Univeristy of Washington housing. I work in the office here at our apartment and I host events and programs in the housing community. Plus, I get to bring Jackson to work with me. It's going to be really, really fun! I've wanted the job since we moved in last summer, but this was the first opening they've had. I'm excited about being a little busier and being able to help out with all of the crazy dental school costs. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Now on to the cute pictures...

His thinking face

This is the "oh, hi" face. I don't know why he's sticking his belly out like that.

Beaches and Swimming Pools

This weekend we discovered a new park here in Seattle. Carkeek Park is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Gorgeous thick forest surrounding a big grass field and awesome playground, plus a great beach on the Puget Sound. We had a blast.

That evening we got Jackson's new swimming pool out and invited some of the neighbors to join us. It was a great weekend.

Today Tyler is back to work. He has 6 finals in the next 3 days (he's already had 3, so that's a total of 9 finals this quarter... wow!) and then his first year of dental school is over. I can hardly believe it. Then we are going to have a nice quiet weekend in Seattle celebrating the completion of our first year, and next week we are off to Idaho for some camping, boating, dirtbiking, and playing with grandparents. We are also going to celebrate my grandparent's 50th anniversary with a big party in Salt Lake. Yay!

Memorial Day in Seattle

We had a very rainy holiday weekend, which means we did a lot of indoor relaxing. It was a great weekend anyway.

Jackson being lazy after sleeping in way later than he should. I'm still trying to figure out how to get him to smile without pointing to it when I ask him to smile for a picture.

Getting all bundled up for running in the rain at Green Lake Park. This weekend we learned that all 3 of us actually really like jogging in the rain. Jackson especially likes riding on the slippery wet slides after our workout. He goes super fast and has this terrified, yet joyful look on his face.

Stretching for the workout. I love when Jackson tries to do stretching or workouts with us. He's so cute doing his little imitations of our moves.

Fabulous Oven Fries

I don't post recipes very often, but this one is too good not to share. It's pretty basic, but I've been looking for a good french fry recipe for a while, and this one is REALLY good. We've been having burgers and fries way too often because of these. I've made a few minor changes to the original recipe. I hope you enjoy. Robin's Fabulous Oven Fries 3 T. Vegetable Oil (or canola, but don't use olive oil) Salt & Pepper (or steak seasoning) Cajun seasoning 4-8 Whole Potatoes (we use red potatoes because they are our favorite and they cook up really well with this recipe) 1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. 2. Slice potatoes into french fries. Soak them in a bowl of water for 10 minutes. 3. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with a piece of aluminum foil and then pouring 2 T. vegetable oil and spreading it over the entire pan. (this first piece of a aluminum foil is optional. It just makes clean up easier, but I always fold the sides of the foil up to prevent the oil from draining down onto the pan below the foil and away from the potatoes) 4. After potatoe slices are done soaking drain them and pat them dry. Stir in remaining 1 T. oil and salt/pepper/steak seasoning/cajun seasoning. 5. Spread potatoes on pan in a single layer and add additional seasonings if needed. 6. Cover fries with another sheet of aluminum foil and bake at 475 for 10 minutes. 7. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. 8. Flip fries and rotate pan. Bake for an additional 10-20 minutes until fries are golden crispy. 9. Serve with ketchup, ranch, or your favorite dipping sauce. My personal favorite is a mixture of ketchup/mayo/cajun seasoning.

Confession

Confession: Sometimes I let Jackson watch TV just so I can get good snuggles. He snuggles with me when we read books, which is a much more wholesome activity, but I have to keep my arms somewhat free so I can turn the pages. But when we watch a movie together, I can get my arms completely tangled around him and bury my face in his yummy-smelling hair. It's one of the best feelings on earth. I miss the days when I didn't have to trick Jackson into snuggling with me.