Day two...

Here we go...day two. Oscar was up at the crack of dawn and pulled the all-to-willing-and-ready dad along with him. Poppy and I on the other hand were happy to sleep a bit longer, make us some oatmeal and then venture to the ocean. Poppy, a bit apprehensive after the previous nights tumble, kept a very conservative distance from the shore and was happy to build me various cakes.

(Ricky feeding the birds what was left of our squirrel-eaten pitas)

The boys took a very long walk before coming back to humanity. They found a cool wooden shelter, that even later when we thought we would walk to find it again, ended up cutting back because Poppy couldn't make the distance (remember, she doesn't want to get strong legs).
We then ventured to Cannon beach which was 18 miles north of our campground. The camp ranger gave us a nice tide pool map and boy were we glad to have day trips where we could escape to the underworld of the ocean.
Although cannon beach was pretty and has haystack rock, the tide pools were mediocre compared to the others we would find.
Poppy found a lone crawling sea-star that they could touch an feel. (always making sure to put it back safely)
(It was a bit foggy here in the morning, and a little chilly, but the boy loved to explore.)
On our way back to the campground we decided to stop by another tide pool stop. Oswald park. There was a .5 mile trip down tot he shore. It was the beautiful green and lush trail with a bunch of hideout trees.
Oswald beach had a TON of surfers. In fact we have now decided that if you want to find the BEST beaches, all you need to do id follow the surfers!
Look at this place. It was such a beautiful cove with fresh water streams flowing into the Ocean.
The moss and tide pools were amazing! The kids and dog couldn't get enough. We hadn't packed a lunch this time around and we were certain we were coming back to this beach the very next day with food to hold us until we were all fully content.

(Typical edge family photo!)

(Smiley dog checking out the awesome moss!)

After leaving the beach and heading back to the camp ground and re-grouping, we ventured over to the Manzanita town farmer's market. It was fun to see a friendly farmer's market. We had some delicious blueberries and crapes for dinner. After hanging around we found our way back to the beach. Oscar and i walked the beach back to the campground and daddy and Pop's went in the car.
As he and I were walking down the beach he would randomly say, "mom I want to go back to camp." The very next moment he would want to go explore another batch of driftwood. I kept reminding him that we had a couple of miles to walk back... he then was off running down the beach again.
Once back in camp we all showered, had some hot cocoa and finshed watching Star-Wars before snugguling down to sleep.
Another fun-filled day on the beach.

To all of you who actually read this entire email, I salute you! This is really my way of clearly documenting what we did and where we went. Not to mention, I hope to make all of you a little jealous to the point of making your own trek to the coast...you won't regret it...that is unless you need fancy things and parties to keep you happy.

Day one...

After a 7 1/2 hour drive we arrived at the Nehalem State park campground, set up camp and headed to the beach. Here is the view right before you come over the top of the dune ...
And this my friends is what our Ocean vacation is ALL about.
Oscar can hardly hold back long enough for us to set up camp before he is leaping to the shore. Poppy, the more cautious of the bunch tried to follow suite but was quickly swept off her feet into the frigid water. She lasted about ten more minutes before it was imperative that I take her back to camp to change. It was at that moment I decided that I in fact DID not over pack. She was going to use up what I brought for sure!

This particular beach seemed to get pretty windy int he evening hours so we would venture back to camp and go find some place yummy for dinner.

This night we found a little restaurant who served a bowl of chowder the size of my head. It was delicious and yes, I ate the entire bowl full, a roll, salad and some of the tikes fish and chips. We all had our fill of dinner and headed back to camp to cozy down to watch Star Wars #6 while we snuggled in our sleeping bags.

This was just the beginning of the late night dvd movies and snuggle time under the star speckled sky. Lucky for us, our tent is equipped with a huge star gazing cealing.

3rd annual Edge Family Ocean trip...

Every year I think that it can't possibly get better...and yet, that is exactly what happened. I am up to my neck in laundry and house stuff, so no pics will be posted YET. However here is a breakdown of central themes of the trip that I will elaborate on later...

Poppy: "I don't want to get strong legs!!!" (this was the protest to having to walk, we heard it about a thousand times each day)

Oscar: "Is today day 4? I really don't want to go home tomorrow. Can't we just live at the Ocean?" (This is the same boy who was up and the crack of dawn on the first morning, getting his dad out of bed to walk 3 miles down the beach to find a log shelter...he never got sick of being on the beach)

Mom: "ummm...more fried fish and chowder? Do you serve that with salad, bread and pizza?" Seems my appetite has returned to normal (if not a little more aggressive) just in time for our trip.

Ricky: "No thanks, we're vegetarian" Said to our Neighbor on the playground After our neighbor offered him some of their sweet smelling terriyaki dinner. I think after sleeping for three nights next to this very LARGE group of neighbors, who insisted on playing Latino/elevator music the entire day and night. . .he wasn't up for the offer.
Luckily we spent most of the day at the beach and only had to be subjected to it in the evening and morning hours. My head was full of the constant background noise. Finally they turned it off and immediately I felt a weight lifted off my brain!

More is coming I promise!

Way behind in the blog world...

Ummm...lentil chili. This is actually a post that should have been finished a week ago...alas my friends (my few readers) you get things a bit behind schedule these days.
The one thing that is VERY notable about the Lentil festival, is that it seemed to be the beginning of some better energy/not-so-nauseated days! I'm thinking it was the lentil chili. More scientific evidence will have to be conducted but really, after that lentil chili I have felt SIGNIFICANTLY better!
So much better, that I have actually gotten my Lazy rear off the couch, and have pick up my beloved past time of running.
I did have to recruit the newest locals to come support the cause of the lentil fest 5k. They were great sports and so fun to hang out with! I figured since I wasn't up for the 100k Tour de Lentil, I might as well run the 5k.
And as withl many of these small-town races, when you have a crappy race time and stick around for the awards, you discover that you actually placed 3rd your my age group! Not so bad for a prego-post morning sickness mom. Truly it was a pretty small pool...but it made me feel better. Maybe placing in my age group is the cure???
We then ventured down to the lentil festival parade and festivities. It was the first year we have actually experienced the ENTIRE lentil festival (short of the lentil pancake breakfast). Wyllie Gustafson was there, and if you have been a reader for a while you will already know that i am a lover of yodeling!!! And especially our local Yodeler. He was great and I loved watching Ricky and Poppy enjoy the music.
After Poppy's day of Lentil festivities you can see that snowcones, cotton candy, and parade candy to not make for a very nutricious diet. Thus the sugar low melt down.
This picture actually was her response to the lentil chili...do you think she liked it?

All good times at the lentil Festival. If you are ever in town in late August you'll have to stop by.

First day of first grade!!!!

Here's the first grader...Do you think he has grown a bit since last year?

(Oscar last year)

Kindergarten was just the beginning. I had no idea that first grade would bring all of the important choices like: Will he eat cold lunch or warm lunch? Will he like warm lunch? Will I let him ride his bike? Will I let him ride his bike by himself with his buddy Austin?

There seems to be a whole different feel to me about first grade. I feel comfortable with Oscar at school all day, and I don't worry about him being a good obedient boy at school. I know that he will absorb a ton of information and that I will have to filter it and pry it out of his little head.

On the other hand I find myself this paranoid mother int he realm of the biking to school world.After practicing over and over again the route, that he should ride ont he sidewalk (not the road) that he needs to watch for cars and PEOPLE (especially other students) it was all thwarted by the fact that it was garbage day and everyone had they stinkin garbage cans on the sidewalk!
We ended up ridign the road and due to the inherited race instincts of my child, he insisted on tring to pass Austin or I if we ever ended up in front of him.
I found myself shouting "move to the side of the road", "Don't pass out into the middle of the road", "OSCAR STOP!!!" Why did you go to cross infont of that car???? I don't care if they are stopped!! They have the right of way!"
Unleashed was this over-protective mommy that couldn't just let the boys ride...
My justification is the fact that it only takes ONE wrong move between you and a car and that is it!!! There is no replay or learning curve!
ahhhhhhh just typing this I feel myself tensing up. I know that if Rick were riding with them he woudl be a bit more laid back. Truly the majority of the time when they were making a riding infraction they were not in any serious danger, but still...before I can let them ride solo I NEED to know that they are going to follow the rules!

On a good note, Oscar came home alive and LOVED his first day. he loves his teacher ( who on more than one occcasion has been described to me as the very best teacher). He is excited to learn and was exstatic taht they got to climb on the climbing wall in P.E. today. He ifnormed me that the younger kids aren't allowed to go to the top until they get bigger...he was a little diapointed but loved it anyway.

Poppy adjusted well to the one on one time, that is after she threw a few tantrums just to make sure she had my undivided attention.
tonight she used her sweety voice and was a nice bird. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.

Dog days of summer...

(Poppy girl happy as a clam in the mud!)

I'm currently wrapped up in a warm blanket posting a blog about the toasty days of summer...Why you ask am I bundled in a hoodie and blanket? Let's just say that this summer mama is not accustomed to the 60 degree weather we have had for the past few days...therefore i will indulge in a little bit of some warm day recap!

(And here is clam #2 Ivy bug basking in the muddy goodness)

If there is one thing that can be said about summer, it would be the copious amounts of food snacks that get devoured at all hours of the day. In fact, as you can see all of these kiddies are loving the treats that us three mommies had to share. In fact I think there is an unspoken rule that if you are meeting for a picnic with friends be sure to include extras so that it can become a snacking feast.
Oscar ate nearly nothing (aside from the brownie Betina brought)...he was much more content swimming or laying in the sunshine.
And what summer on the Palouse could be complete without seeing a bit of the food chain. Here we see a barge full of the Palouse gold...wheat! So cool to see the wheat go from the green stubble in the spring, to the golden flowing fields in July, to the combine, grain truck, barge, bag, and then...to my wheat grinder where I always love to open the flour catcher to a dust of freshly ground flour.
There is something special about living amongst such active agriculture. I love it!

Now if this Pregnant mother could learn how to cook again, we might be in business. Seriously I think my family may throw me out and never let me come back! i wouldn't call myself a Fabulous cook, but I have been known to cook some tasty food, that is when my taste buds are in normal order. Let's just say last nights dinner was not so great. It may have something to do with the fact that I CANNOT taste test the food during preparation without it becoming a black listed food.
Sad dinner days at the Edge house...fair warning to all who dare to share a meal at this house!! That is, unless Ricky is on duty and then all is well.

Eight years plus...

Eight Years ago today Ricky and I were on our honeymoon in Jackson Hole/Yellowstone National Park. I had forgotten to pack any sort of hiking shoes, and only had my Wedding dress wedge flip flops and my generic flip flops...not the best choices when you are planning an outdoors honeymoon. To make things worse my regular flip flops broke the first day and I managed to pick up some sort of illness that left me puking (no I was not pregnant).

My poor sweet husband I'm sure was wishing he could step back a day to find his more collected and level headed Fiance'. If he was in fact thinking this, he didn't show it one bit. He was supportive and bought me some Pepto-Bismal at the wee hours of the morning to calm my wrenching stomach.

After I believe three days of very low-scale hiking (yes we found a replacement pair of flip flops) we decided that it was time to head home...who cares if it was a couple of days early??? It seemed that the cure laid back in our humble little apartment.

This certainly wasn't the Honeymoon that story books are made of, but it was nice. It was nice because every day, trip and experience from that moment forward has just kept getting better. I can think of a hundred vacations that were more fitting of the typical honeymoon mold. Yet, I still hold on to that honeymoon as the beginning of something great.

I really can't think of anyone that could be a better fit than my Ricky (here is where he gags on my sentimentality) but really...I'm a happy girl, with a happy family, in a happy place. What more could I ask for. Life is good!!!

Grandma and Grandpa's visit...plus Anutie Nat

To see some the fun pics of the bike riding excursion to Harrison you can check out this blog and this one...in the meantime, here are some fun shots of the visit...from my lens. The same lens that forgot to accompany us on the bike ride. But was lucky enough to capture...

Grandpa trying out the wet slide...

Grandma Toting around the Poppy Princess...

And two soggy bottoms.

It was so fun having the family around. It makes me miss all of the fun times that families have that live a bit closer. But as they always say...it's Quality, not quantity that counts.
Thanks G&G+N for coming to visit. We miss having your fun faces around.

Oh, so good...and Oh, so bad

When Pregnant I develop this strange relationship with food. At first I hate ALL of it. Nothing is good everything is bad, and if I'm not careful the food may remain on the Black list for a very long, long time...
I then seem to go into transition where food becomes something of a obsession...In fact I clearly remember (and Ricky does too) that when I was pregnant with Oscar we went on a date to a Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant (a buffet, salad bar type joint). You take a plate and fill it with whatever you like and then take a seat and eat.
After getting my food and sitting down to the table Rick looked at me, looked at the plate, and said "Are you really going to eat all of that?"
At that very moment I had no clue that my plate was actually THAT full. In fact if I recall, I remember eating ALL of it and then going to the little dessert bar for some tasty ice cream. I was in my second trimester, when I start to feel alive again and food tastes like you have never had good food before.
Shortly after this "date", my Doctor informed me that I had gained 9 lbs in ONE month. He said I should probrably watch what I was eating a little closer...

I share this experience, not so much to illustrate my complete loss of self control, but to put down on blog, a very important truth...Food never tastes SO good, and SO bad as when I am pregnant.
Case in point...Yesterday while at the Farmer's market, we collected our fresh veggies and proceeded to ride our bikes home.
Rick had picked up a few danishes to eat at a stopping point on the way home. For the entire 10 miles to that stopping point my mind wandered through various types of food I would have very much liked to have been shoving down my face at that very moment...Patty's kitchen tamales, burritos, the danish sitting in the trailer in front of me...the list goes on and on.
It was as though My mind was in a constant state of food lust.
When we finally stopped to enjoy the treat I was completely in foodie heaven...Never had I tasted a danish that was so delicious! It was light, fluffy with tart cherries and some heavenly creamy cheese middle. In fact as I sit here typing this, I find myself wishing it were not Sunday, and that I could venture over to Moscow to find another.
I may find myself at the Wheatberry bakery tomorrow after spin class, and I may also gain 10 lbs this month, but wow....they are delicious.

Next up is the delicious dinner we had last night. Ricky took me out to Swilly's (a local favorite) for our 8 yr anniversary (I'll post on that tomorrow).
For dinner I ordered come green curried trout, with a tomato-coconut curry sauce, placed over jasmine rice and green peas. Once again I ate every bite with a renewed love of fish and all things curry! Food was suddenly my best friend and I relished in every bite.

Yesterday was a good day...not too sick and overall wonderful. Had it not been each of those items could very well have ended up on my black list...

I'm sure it has something to do with teh old addage that "you have to have somthing bitter so that you can taste the sweet" that makes the whole fenomenon occur. In the mean time I'm really looking forward to briding the second trimester mark, where I'm past that nausea and all food tastes good, nearly every day...
Oh, and I'm certain to be craving those danishes for the next 6 months!!!

1 car, 6 bikes, two stroller/trailers

This past week We said goodbye to our sweet little Honda...
And our Not-so-cute Mini-van...
All in order to say hello to our family's newest addition....
Our newish mini-mini van, the Mazda 5. I am amazed at how small it looks in our garage. We now have room for all of our bikes! We currently have 6 bikes and two Trailer/joggers. lately they have certainly been getting much more use than our vehicles, so we thought it only perfect to downsize to one car.
Oscar thinks it is great that he can park his bike on the whole second half of the garage. Also, the new mini takes up a lot less space than either of the other two cars, but still seats 6 people!
To acquire our new addition we drove to Boise to make the deal with another couple who were selling it. It also made it so that we could swap our van over to my sister, it's new owner. It took 26 hours for the entire trip in which we drove for about 11 of those hours.
We stayed at my cousin Tammy's house and got to see my brother and his wife (who I haven't seen in almost 2 years) and a bunch of my cousins.
We also stopped by the World birds of prey Museum to kill a bit of time before picking up our car.

Oscar loved seeing all of the birds, alive and stuffed...
Poppy was like a little hawk...On the journey home we stopped by Payette Lake in McCall ID. It was really pretty and the water wasn't too bad (although, I only went in up to my knees). The kids and Dad had a great time on a little island rock, while dad searched for crawdads.
In the end it was a nice little adventure and we are getting back to normal. I have a ton of things to post and I never manage to get it on here.
Soon to come is my Cherry canning, and the current visit of Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Natalie. Things are going well and we are so happy to have family in town.

Warm Lemonade

Have I ever mentioned that Poppy loves warm drinks? Even if it is 100 degrees outside (not that we would know since we have only been up to the mid nineties this summer) she will beg for me to warm up her lemonade. I try to give her the room temperature variety and although she may drink it (because she is thirsty) she will stop mid drink and ask me to warm it up until I have procrastinated long enough that she has finished off.

Oscar went through a phase of always having to have warm milk...In fact I recall one time leaving his sippy cup on the dashboard of the car during a road trip just trying to get it warm enough that he would consume it.

Where do these kids come from??? It always seems amazing to me all of the little quirks and tendencies that seem to be nature rather than nurture.

For about the past three weeks I have been experiencing the more unpleasant physical changes that take place when a little tiny baby begins to develop in my uterus and rake havoc on the rest of my physical being. I'm appalled and amazed that something so tiny can make such a HUGE difference.

I tend to be like cool lemonade...full of energy and direction. Zesty, sweet, and full of refreshing goodness. Alas, I'm now about as dull as warm lemonade. All of the wonderful thigns I live to eat have suddenly hit the black list of nausea and the food on teh good list is the worst food you can think of. In fact, this veggitarian has found herself on more tahn one occasion, devouring a bag of jerky, crackers, ect... before she even makes it to the checkstand. Toast is my bitter/sweet companion. Bitter becasue I hate, hate shocving it down my throat, but love that it seems to magically subdue the nausea.

I suppose the point of this whole post isn't just to complain about the whole pregnancy process (which I'm sure I will do more of), but to ackowledge all of those women who have large families in spite of morning sickness!!! How in the world do they do it? I only have two kids and there are seriously days where they seems like a dozen.

I know I'm whimpy...but seriously to all of those amazing moms out there I have to say "Way to GO"!!

One of the big things that I have noticed about this pregnancy is the return of anticipation. Anticipation of the day when my illness subsides. Anticipation of a new little baby to snuggle, squeeze and enjoy. Anticipation of the day when I can excercise at a normal capacity. Anticipation of seeing my two kids sweetly geeting a new baby into our family. And lastly the great anticipation of seeing my great husband holding a coddling an infant. He does it so well and it melts my heart to think of it.

I'm very excited to have a new baby and it was even more exciting to hear it's sweet little heartbeat this past week. There is just somethign about that racing heartbeat that reassures me that truly THIS is what life is all about. Soon, the illness will end (I'm curretnly considering accupuncture) and soon there will be a new baby and soon my kids will have grown and my life will be routine (becasue I love a good routine) and I will be grateful that I had this oppertunity to assist God in a beautiful creation.

For now, I will be warm lemonade, and that is ok. I will wake up each morning and be the best mom I can be and will be eternally grateful for my good kids, my amazingly helpful hubby and a suport group who truly care.

Catching up...

The Fix...Poppy's new cut reminds me of the lovely 70's haircuts. It does blend a bit better but knowing her Edge family hair genetics...I'm afraid it will be quite some time before we see the sight of golden locks. On a side note, I"m not really surprised that she cut her hair. Evey time we cut Oscars hair she says she wants to buzz her's off too. Crazy girl.

In Spokane last Saturday while at the Riverfront park, Poppy was giving Rick and i some big fish stories...this is her in action. She is so animated!
Big Boy news in the edge house: Oscar earned his new bike! It even has gears!!! I am constantly amazed at how far and fast this boy can ride. Monday when riding to meet Rick from work (6mi round trip) he says "Mom but I wanted to go for a real LONG ride..."

He seems to never tire...he even can climb our entire hill (which is no easy feat) and has mastered going to and from our house to school...for those of you who have been here, you know what kind of hills he has to climb to get there.

I love that he loves his bike so much. The only hard part is that he wants to do it every waking minute. Here he is just before the purchase...can you see the look of anticipation and annoyance at his mother trying to get the last shot of him on the green fire bike?

Lastly (but certainly not a comprehensive catch up) we got our first tomatoes from the garden this past week. Ummmm....nothing quite like a fresh homegrown tomato.
Other things harvested: Beets, Basil, lettuce, spinach, and strawberries.

Right of passage...

Pick your own flower farm venture...notice the sweet little girl with pretty flowing hair...

She must have decided she wants to look a bit more like Vanilla Ice! The very next morning...The unfixable...I guess we will just have to endure a few months of re-growing... short of buzzing her hair.

Pay it Forward...

I was the lucky recipient of this good mail from Traci (who happens to be the wife of my cousin, in case you were wondering). I was quick enough to be one of the recipients of Traci's"pay it forward" Blogg-activity.
Lucky for you (at least the first three persons to leave a comment) I will be paying it forward to you too.
Here's the game...You leave a comment (the first three) and I will be mailing you a good mail package with something of my choosing. You then get to pay it forward to three other people...get it! Lots of fun.

Thanks Traci for the fun package of goodies. It is always so nice to get a package in the mail.

Would you be worried?

If the woman (me) who is charge of your Relief Society camp out dinner is the ward vegetarian??? Especially considering she is making Dutch oven chicken?

As of tomorrow evening I will be feeding the masses and sleeping out with the Poppy...Should be fun.

Rick tonight made the comment..."I can't believe you are in charge of it ALL!"
Just goes to show what a horrible deligator I am!
Here's to a busy day.

Princesses...

Today while Poppy was NOT napping she came out of her room to ask me to untangle her necklace. I said, "Oh, I thought you were supposed to be sleeping?"
Poppy-"Well, Mom the Princesses keep waking me up."

Asian noodle salad, Pioneer Woman style

Last night for dinner we had this yummy Asian noodle salad. It was really delicious. I used Udon noodles rather than linguine because I didn't have any. I think it was probrably better with the Udon (a little more authentic?).
Here is the recipe...the best part is that you only have to cook the noodles. Nice cool dinner.

Asian Noodle Salad
adapted from Jamie Oliver, from The Pioneer Woman blog.

Download Printable Recipe: Asian Noodle Salad

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin (if available)
1 small bag bean sprouts (also called “mung bean sprouts”)
3 sliced scallions
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers (I didn’t have a cucumber for the photos above, but they’re yummy in the salad)
LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet (again, I didn’t have them for the photos, but have used them before and they’re…sublime.)

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped
More chopped cilantro—LOTS

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.
*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, WITHOUT cilantro.

Strawberry Season

These pretty beauties came from our lovely garden. There was even enough to make a bit of this...
Ummmm....Yummy strawberry jam. You can let your mouth drool over this tasty goodness!
Lastly, speaking of lovely RED things...I found these beauties down in one of my boxes from my younger years. Funny thing is, they were not even mine (Mine were the brown tri-color, ugly variety). Nope they were my sister Verena's. The best part is that the have hardly any prescription at all, therefore I believe they were a fashion statement of sorts! Yeah...good stuff! How do you think I look? Besides the fact that they take up most of my face.

Easy picnic meal

Last night for our FHE outing I found a delicious recipe in my Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cook book, which I might also add is one of my favorite cook books.
The recipe is Pan Bagnat (or literally means "bathed bread" in French).

Pan Bagnat

1 baguette or other thin loaf of French bread ( I used some yummy crusty bread)
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 cup olive oil (or what you decide to use)
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 cucumber thinly sliced
1.2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced olives black or Calamata
salt/pepper

Other optional ingredients:
Provolone cheese
2 hard boiled eggs
1 red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of capers
1 cup artichoke hearts, sliced into quarters
1/2 cup pesto
herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram

Slice bread in half lengthwise, open loaf and spread garlic on one of the cut sides. Drizzle olive oil on both sides. Layer ingredients on one half of the bread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Close the loaf, and wrap tightly in saran wrap. Weight the full length of the bread with a heavy book (or with a baking tray topped with bricks, a 25 pound weight, a toddler, or whatever you can find for 1-3 hours.
(It even mentioned that if you are taking it on a picnic put the loaf UNDER the cooler.)

I didn't take a picture but belive me it was delicious...and the best part was that it could get squished. The kids even seemed to enjoy it.

I pre-mixed oliveoil, garlic scapes, onion, balsamic vinegar, and parmesean cheese, ann my fresh herbs (basil, oregano, and thyme) all together and then smeared the soncotion onto both sides of the brad before putting all of the other ingredients in. It seemed easier and it turned out delicious.

It was quick, delicious and require NO COOKING!
Good eats for a summer evening.

Out and about town

(Weekly ride to the Farmer's Market in Moscow)

This summer has been a summer dedicated to more biking. You may or may not know that I had a hip issue that still isn't quite back to normal. Therefore, this summer I have determined to make it a bike about town summer.
Oscar is a camp on his little bike and despite the fact that he has a single speed, tiny chain ring, he peddles that little bike about town. It is about 2-3 miles each time we ride down into town and we have lately been doing it pretty much daily. That doesn't even count the miles he rides behind mom and dad's bike. (I think Saturday he rode 20 miles behind my bike and then an additional 3 on his own!) This boy was born to ride!
We are looking into possibly getting him on a bike with gears. It shure would help him out with our big hill we live on.
Currently we try to set a goal each time we ride our hill. We count the Lampposts. So far he has made it to lamppost #4. Lampost #6 is almost at the top. Somedays are better than others, especially depending on how much he has worn himself out at the pool.
The other day he and I were riding down our hill (it was 97 degrees outside) and I thought to myself, wow it dosen't even feel that hot out here. The bikes really create more wind and it makes riding around town much more comfortable than riding in a hot car!
Poppy on the other hand is quite content to ride behind me in the trailer. Here is a picture of her priming in front of the mirror.
The other day while she was screaming in the store, one of my spinning students saw us. Yesterday in my class she commented on how well behaved Oscar was...and that Poppy sure seems to be feisty...Yeah I think so.
Sunday we spent the afternoon reading some books and enjoying some Jello in the back yard.
FHE @ The pool. What better place to hang out as a family than at the pool.
Not to mention that dad make a great fish friend. Oscar loves to be a fish too. He even goes off the high dive (which I belive is 12 feet).

I lvoe being a mom to my two cute kids. This summer seems to be super full of fun activities and things to do that it seems we are all exhausted by the end of the day.
Today we opted to hang out at home and catch up on some house work...I think I woudl rather be out playing.