Lemon Shrimp with RIce

Ever make a recipe for dinner and like it so much you can't wait for the leftovers? 

Can't say that mine looks as pretty as Martha's, but take a look at the recipe here. It actually tastes pretty good hot or cold, so I think this one will see some heavy rotation this summer.

Bon appetite!

Scenes from the End of Season

This weekend marked my daughter's last regular-season softball game.  We'll miss:

rainbow-colored helmets lined up for at-bats:

hanging with Daddy on first base:

gloves in pink!

getting the stats right - even in U8, the coach needs the facts:

softball = hot weather + concession stands = snow cones!

hanging with the team at the break between the double-header:

It's been a great season!

Ka-Boom

My daughter has had a collision week. You know that week when everything possible overlaps and collides? Swim team, ballet, softball, Brownies, and school - BOOM! 

I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I signed up for these things, but then I see how much she is digging her activities and remember that we signed up for the fun, not the collisions. I don't think that we could avoid them even if we tried. So school has been scaled back mightily and we've slept in and kept ourselves rested and fed. We're buckled in and enjoying the ride. So all that's left to do is have fun:

Her face in this shot cracked me up! We were on our way to her first recital performance of the weekend and I had to snap a few pictures of her Woodland Sprite costume. I loved this one best. She's really stretching out and flying high, but there's still a little girl in there. 

I'm really enjoying the ride!

Hawk Man

We had our field trip experience at home today. Our friend, Mr. Andy, brought his red-tailed hawk to show the kids. We invited a few families to see and had a great afternoon of it.

Here's Mr. Andy and Dart (or is it Dash?):

Tubby particularly enjoyed the attention from everyone (after he jumped in Mr. Andy's car and generally made the hawk nervous):

We learned lots of tidbits about hawks. For instance, it's the talons and not the beak that do the attacking. 

We learned lots of names of all the hawk gear (which quickly "flew" out of my head). We even learned why this red-tailed hawk has no red tail (not mature yet).

Just being so close to a bird that only see soaring or perched far away was pretty stunning. He was gorgeous. Mr. Andy has permits to capture and train wild birds, which he then lets go at about age 3 when they become mature males. The details of the capturing and care of the birds was fascinating.

The hawk didn't fly for us as it is the wrong time of year for him (Mr. Andy explained that he's just too fat now to do much but perch on a shady limb) and the kids couldn't pet the bird (see talons above), but they were fascinated by the gear, including the glove (which also has a name!).

It was a great field trip - at home!

Craftman

My son is working through his Webelos activity badges for Cub Scouts. One of the assignments was to create a display for awards. I was thinking shadow box; four pieces and you're done. He, of course, had constructed the Taj Mahal in his mind. It was time for a reckoning.

We headed to the salvage/scrap store in hopes of Cool Things, but managed to get some neat rusty bolts and some trim. Not quite enough. So next we headed to the hardware store and wound up with brass tubing, metal faucet handles, and a miter saw. But it was worth it:

Not quite the Taj, but he was quite proud of constructing it. It'll will look nice if his mom ever gets around to helping him hang it in his room.

Memorial Day Weekend

I'd like to say that we spent the weekend being good Americans and remembering the reason for our holiday, but I'd be lying. We spent the weekend thinking only of ourselves. Lots of relaxing, playing for HOURS and seeing the kids' cousins.

We spent time blowing these:

I kept getting distracted by this all weekend:

The kids practiced their synchronized swimming:

and being daredevils:

but mostly just having fun with each other:

Thanks to the fallen ones who secured our "pursuit of happiness".

No More Teachers' Dirty Looks

Woohooo!! We finished our year-end testing!

Time for hula-hooping (who says you need a hoop to hula!):

And an end-of-year-test celebratory visit to the new Dave and Buster's:

Yes, it is a giant, adult Chuck E. Cheese.

My daughter pretended the moles were her brother:

And my son demonstrates that wonderful phase where sticking your tongue out = cool.

And the teacher had an afternoon off - now that's something to celebrate!!

Chasing Cars

Richmond hosts a NASCAR race twice each year, and it wouldn't seem like spring without seeing a few demo cars out and about. When the kids were really small, it seemed that every race event (especially the May race) would mean lots of demo cars in our local area as there was always a grocery store opening or a strip mall opening. I remember one store in particular opened with 5 straight days of cars and driver signings (for the truly loony) and lots of samples and give-aways. But now, we have to range a bit farther for our "filed trips" and I'm guessing the economy is to blame for the end of free tacky hats.

Mind you, we don't really follow NASCAR. But when in Rome! 

My brother was the instigator this time. He follows this car and wanted a picture with the kids by it. We were happy to spend a sunny morning out among the faithful.

My daughter really liked the oven mitt on the hauler:

There is no way my son is getting the car keys anytime soon!

This one's for you, Uncle Bryan!

Birthday Dress

No birthdays here, but the loveliest pattern from Oliver+s tempted me oh so much that I had to report on my f.o. They're finally making patterns in the conceivable size-range of my "little" girl. After much measuring, I opted for the size 7 with a size 8 length. Unfortunately, it fit her for 7 minutes, during which we took this shot. If you look closely, you can actually see her grow out of it!

Oh well, it was great fun to make. There is little else to swell the heart of this mama than to go fabric shopping with my daughter. And we both loved these prints. The oliver + s pattern was well done (did you see the fun tab on the front?!), but I just don't think I can get my girl into them, so I can't even say I'll try it again. Isn't it funny how when you have cute babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers around you don't have the time to sew, but when they get older and you can string together a few more minutes, the cute patterns are too small? 

Bring on the grandkids!