August 6, 2012

Outside Temp: 75 F (it hasn't cooled off like it usually does.  I think we're in for thunderstorms tonight... I can smell rain)

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Pasta: I was so tired, I almost made them go without dinner.  Boy, is my family lucky that I worry about actually feeding them. 

Update:
We went into Stanford today.  I had to run some errands, so the kids (minus Ryan, I didn't want to risk it with his new line), jumped in the car with me, and we headed east.

We stopped at the Elevator in Geyser, to pick up some chicken feed.  As luck would have it, the cat that lives there had her kitten.  So stinking cute.  I think the kitten is about 4 weeks old, still mewing and so small.  Of course, Katie fell in love, and spent the entire time coo-ing over the kitten.  I think we are going to have to break down soon, if only to get her to stop her begging for a cat.

After that, we headed over to the library in Stanford.  The kids had some books to return, and wanted to get a few more.  The librarian over there is amazing.  I guess it helps that there are so few kids, but she knows everyone, what they like, what they've read, etc.  She had asked her son about a book for Allen, and was looking for it.  There was some confusion over whether her son had brought it back or if it was still at the house.  So, since her son was at the pool, she told us to ask him and then come back.

So, after I finished my other errands, we went over to the pool.  The kids are getting so much better at both swimming and diving.  Allen is loving the diving board, and he's showing off his back and front flips (of course, the front flips usually end up in a flop of some kind, but he is getting better). 

Connor was able to dive (head first) off the board for the first time.  He has always been nervous about diving head first, ever since the last time, when he belly flopped.  It made quite an impression.  But, one of the nice ladies in Stanford offered to help him out, and show him how.  I was able to stand back and watch.  Amazingly, he listened to her, and (perhaps because it wasn't me) he managed to get into the water head first.  After about 3-4 more tries, he was able to go off the board!  Woo hoo!

Katie has been practicing her swimming.  She hasn't had much practice before now, so she was very unsure of herself.  We went back and forth a few times, with me giving her pointers (your head needs to be in the water, cup your hands, don't forget to kick, etc).  After about 30 minutes, she decided she was ready to try going from side to side.  She did great.  So, we moved up to the deep end (10 feet) and she decided to swim side to side in the deep end.  I think she was a little surprised when she reached the end with no problems.  Slow and steady, don't freak out, don't forget to kick.  You should have seen the smile on her face!  She was so proud of herself!  So, she had to swim back and forth a few more times, just to prove that she could.  Amazing! 

While we were at the pool, we met a very nice older gentleman, and we started talking.  It turned out he was part of a group that were bicycling across the country.  There were 2 older men, a middle aged man, a younger man (probably in his late 20's, early 30's) and a younger woman (in her mid 20's).  They started out in Washington and were biking the whole way.  One of the older men used a recombinant bicycle, where he could use his arms to peddle, instead of his legs.  Both men were probably in their mid 70's.  The whole group was inspiring, although I know that I'm too lazy to ride a bike across the country! 

After the pool, we went back to the library.  The librarian's son said that he book was there, but she still couldn't find it.  So, being the awesome librarian that she was, she left us in charge of the library for a few minutes, while she went home to look for it!  After about 10 minutes, she came back, very upset because she couldn't find it.  Then, she happened to look at the bookshelf where she puts 'reserved' books, and there it was, with his name on it!  We had a great laugh over the concept of putting things where they belong, and never finding them again!

Of course, with our busy day (which, of course, required a trip to the little grocery store for ice cream), I was pooped, and immediately fell into bed when we got home.  I wonder if my sunburn had anything to do with that...

June 29, 2012

Outside Temp: 56 F (it was warm today, in the 80's.  But not too bad... At least it was a dry heat... hehehe)

What I cooked today:
Chinese Chicken: Since I did burgers last night, I decided to do chicken.  Of course, I forgot that I ran out of sherry, so I couldn't make my normal Chinese chicken.  It just ended up being chicken with soy sauce and sesame seed oil.  They still ate it all up, so I guess it wasn't too bad!

Update:
Busy day today!

We headed over to Stanford to get hair cuts.  Patrick got all cleaned up (since his beard was making him look like a mountain man) and the boys needed to get trimmed up.  In between hair cuts, I took the kids over to the library.  Connor picked out about 4 books, Katie picked 2, Allen picked up 2 and Ryan picked up a new movie.  I love our library in Stanford!  It's small and cozy and yet they have all the books that the kids would want to read!

At the barber shop, they had fireworks, to purchase for the 4th of July.  I love the idea of buying them in Stanford, instead of Great Falls, so that we support the local guys.  Of course, we went a little crazy (as you would expect, since in CA, we couldn't have fireworks anyway).  So, for the rest of the day, Ryan kept asking if we could play with the firecrackers.  Yea, that wasn't going to happen. 

After we got back from Stanford, Allen and Connor went over to the Belt Pool with the neighbor kids.  Connor said he needed to practice a little more, since he didn't feel comfortable in the deep end.  But Allen said he did great.  He also commented that apparently, some of the kids in Belt knew who he was.  He was pleasantly surprised by that.  They had a great time and are already asking to go again!

While they were gone, Patrick and I worked a little.  But, we are both getting burned out on the whole 'working' thing.  I'm looking forward to next week.  My mom will be in town, so we'll be going out each day, checking out all the 'Montana' things.  I can't wait!

June 11, 2012

Outside Temp: 47 F (Clear as a bell and beautiful today!  No rain, although I expect it tomorrow or later this week...)

What I cooked today:
Steaks: We still had 5 steaks left from our meat order a week and a half ago.  I just couldn't justify freezing really good steak (although I probably should have).  It was totally awesome.  And I've finally figured out how to tell if the steak is done by pressing on it, rather than using the meat thermometer.  The kids were licking their plates, literally!  I guess I did good.

Update:
Ryan had speech therapy in Stanford this morning, at the library, which was totally awesome since it meant that I didn't have to drive all the way into Lewistown tomorrow.  His therapist said that Mondays worked for her, so we'll do that for his remaining 2 sessions of summer school.

I really like it because it means that I get to go to the library and chat with the librarian and read books, which are always good things.  There is another student there, and Ryan got to play with him.  I love seeing Ryan interact with other kids!

This evening, our after dinner conversation included descriptions of Logical Fallacies during arguments.  We found a list that detailed, in simple terms, the top 12-15 logical fallacies that people usually use.  Things like the Ad Hominem (attacking someone personally instead of the argument), or the Slippery Slope (A always leads to Z, and Z is bad, so A must be bad). 

Then we proceeded to attempt to recognize the fallacy and refute it appropriately.  The kids had a blast and really had fun learning new things.  I love that they might be able to argue better, and to recognize when other people have bad arguments.  Boy, do I miss homeschooling sometimes.  But, perhaps that's what summer is for!

June 4, 2012

Outside Temp: 67 F (it was a little warm today... Into the 80's.  I don't like the heat.  It makes me cranky.)

What I cooked today:
Chicken: Hehehe, yes, chicken.  Like my chicken.  Like the chicken that was alive yesterday morning.  Hehehe.  It was suggested that I try just frying it with some salt and pepper and a little flour.  I realized that every chicken dish I make is loaded with spices or seasoning.  Even my normal fried chicken has smoked paprika and buttermilk.  So, I went with simple and just fried it up.  Totally nervous.  But the consensus is that it was great.  There was no after taste (so I guess the dandelions weren't a problem) and it got all eaten up.  We saved back 2 breasts and the legs and thighs to have with the Grandparents when they get back home.  And I must say, there were something kind of cool about knowing that the chicken was on our table because of the work we did to raise it and butcher it.  I'm not really ready to plan on raising 20 of these chickens a month, but I can see doing it again. 

Update:
First off, if any of you have seen the 'severe weather and tornado warning' going on in Montana, we are fine (as of now).  I can't guarantee that it stays that way, but it looks like the storm is north of us.  As of now, we've had some wind, but no thunderstorms or rain (yet).

Katie and Allen went to Stanford today for a basketball camp.  It's 3 hours a day, Monday - Thursday.  Which means that they both had to wake up at 8am this morning and get ready.  Which also means that I had to wake up at 8am and get ready.  Ugh. 

Katie didn't sleep well last night, so she was a little grumpy today.  Hopefully, she will sleep better tonight and be happier tomorrow.  Allen realized that he hasn't been practicing basketball, and he needs to practice.  He suggested that rather than play baseball in the yard, he needs to practice shooting hoops. 

I stopped over at the Stanford Public Library this morning (while I was waiting for the kids), and I had a wonderful chat with the librarian.  She was great!  And our library is really cozy!  They even had a section for books on Montana.  I had to pick up a few of those.  Their fiction section is great and I can't imagine why I would ever buy a fiction book again.  I could be happy in there for years!  I picked up a book for Allen and another book for Connor.  Katie is still working on Goblet of Fire, and we already have Order of Phoenix.  However, I might go borrow the last 2, rather than try to find them in the boxes in the garage. 

This evening, I went to an Altar Society meeting at the church.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the Cookbook when it comes out.  And we have an Ice Cream and Pie Social in September.  That will mark our 1 year anniversary here (we arrived on the day before the Ice Cream Social last year).   I'm excited, since this year, I'll actually know (almost) everyone!  (and yes, the ice cream will be a big attraction).