And now I'm going out to lunch with my friend Kaaren! Who is a lady of leisure today? It's ME!
She was great! Isn't that cookie thing pretty? She didn't win, but she scored very well and all the judges were impressed that a 9 year old could make something so great. One woman even asked her for the recipe. It was nice!
I was so full! There were 24 things to eat. 14 "treats" and 10 dishes. We had sweet potatoes, stuffing, flank steak (so good) a pork tenderloin (the winner) a beautiful chocolate cake with fresh raspberries, cupcakes....Holy Cow! It was actually hard to eat all that! It was fun and I hope they ask me to do it again next time!
We think Delaney will be in the November issue of Idaho Falls Magazine. If she is, I'll buy up all the copies and send you each one.
It's Friday night, and we decided BEFORE we parked ourselves in front of the TV for more Olympic fun, we better actually move our bodies around a little bit. We loaded up the bikes and headed to the new Snake River Landing development here in Idaho Falls.
This is really incredible. It will be kind of like the Gateway Center in SLC (for those of you who know SLC) Lots of upscale commercial property, beautifully mixed with residential. They have taken what was a dilapidated warehouse district along the river, and turned it into a real jewel for Idaho Falls.
The Greenbelt, that goes right around our beautiful falls, now extends across two major roads and winds down through this area. They built a couple tunnels UNDER those major roads I just mentioned so the kids are always safe. We can ride to 6 different restaurants, the library, the museum, or just loop up around the falls and feed the ducks. It's pretty cool (Take THAT Anchorage, Alaska!)
We took a couple snapshots on the new pier overlooking the Snake River just to post here on the blog. When I went to take them off Chris' camera, I found these pictures of the boys camping trip.
On a Friday night, a couple weeks ago, Chris and Cameron took off to spend one night in the wilderness in a pup tent. (good for you...have at it!) Chris took a couple cute pictures of the baby enjoying some "smarshmellows" and hanging by the fire. I put those in with the bike ride snapshots and some of the kids just messing around.
Don't forget to cross your fingers for Delaney tomorrow. It's her first cooking competition and she's pretty excited. I hope to be able to post tomorrow with good news!
All our love,
I went through my digital camera, the video camera, and my new favorite recording device...my Blackberry, and I just didn't find anything too darn exciting. We are spending the last few days before school starts in the pool and we are loving it. When I'm not at work, or at the pool, we are here in the basement watching the Olympics.
Delaney decided to drop basketball and join the swim team this year. I think she has been more than inspired by Michael Phelps and Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin. She will stick with the ballroom dancing and join the swim team and we are capping the "activities" at two.
Cameron is all signed up for 1st grade flag football. When people ask him if he's excited about 1st grade, he says "I'm excited about football!" (You had to be in 1st grade to play flag football so this is a big year for him.) I think it only goes 6 weeks, and then he'll be on to basketball. And again...the 2 activities per year rule will apply.
Delaney has been watching the Food Network (thanks Grandma) and she's been inspired by the Challenge shows. This weekend the 23rd, she's entering her first cooking competition. She'll make the Nutty Carmel Cookie Tart we posted a few weeks ago. We saw it on the Pillsbury Bake-Off and have made it a couple times. It's not my favorite, but she can make it by herself, and that's important. The contest is actually the Idaho Falls Magazine Holiday Dish and Treat Cook Off. I am judging, but will know what her treat is and not score that one. She's pretty excited and we're excited for her. She COULD win $250 so keep your fingers crossed for her.
Then the State Fair gets underway beginning August 30. I thought I would make a pan of cornbread and give it a shot again. Idaho doesn't seem to like my cornbread, but I just keep trying. There are 2 other contests I thought maybe Delaney and I could enter together. There is a brownie contest (and I think those Hershey brownies we've been making for years could take the big ribbon) and there is a Peanut Butter cookie contest. These are separate from the fair entries - these are for CASH! LOL Again, I think we'll borrow the recipe from the woman who won the million dollar prize at the Pillsbury Bake-Off. She won a million bucks for making peanut butter cookies.
This last weekend we enjoyed a full day of fun at Taylor Crossing Summer Days. I can't believe it, but I didn't take a single picture! But I did manage to shoot this little bit of video of the children in a doughnut eating contest. They tied for 1st (I'm so proud) and won T-shirts, and a lunch certificate to the pizza joint up the street from us.
Then, later that night we went and saw Transformers on a huge inflatable screen FREE (and they even threw in the popcorn and soda) It was a fun weekend for sure.
We did a little school clothes shopping, and I'll get Delaney to try on some outfits and give you a virtual fashion show. I think she's most excited about her new book bag. It's not a backpack, but more like a denim attache. It's very grown up...which is important when you're in the 4th grade.
Cameron was extremely impatient with the school clothes shopping process. He was less than thrilled to be trying on SEVERAL pairs of pants. He kept insisting that he already HAS pants at home. LOL Boys are so different from girls. Delaney could have spent the whole day at Old Navy, trying on jeans, jeans, and more jeans!
Chris is in Wyoming...(again)...and we are hoping he'll be home on Wednesday. I will take off Monday the 25th, and stay home for the 1st day of school. Wayne used to fuss at me about it, but now he is resigned to it, and everyone knows that I stay home for the 1st day of school.
I had a little excitement over the past couple of weeks. I got offered a job in Anchorage, Alaska. I never really considered it, but had a 10 minute panic attack today, and was convinced we needed to pack it all up and head to the Last Frontier. Then I calmed down, and thought of all the good stuff happening right now in Idaho Falls, and I will call them tomorrow and say "Thanks, but no thanks." It was a very nice offer though and I will file all the compliments away in the part of my brain that hangs onto stuff like that.
Chris and I are excited about my almost 40% pay increase...I didn't get a raise, but for the 1st time in many years we won't have any daycare expenses. Both children will be in school from 9 - 3 and I am home by 3 every afternoon! We are going to keep hoarding most of the "raise" away, and pretend nothing has changed, but I bet we'll notice the difference pretty quickly. It's hard to believe that almost 40% of my paycheck went to daycare every month.
Well, that's it for the minutia. More pictures and videos soon...I promise.
All right, I realize that most of you that read this blog, really only care about what MY kids are doing...but this little video makes me laugh so hard everytime I see it. The look on the big brothers face is so fantastically cute and funny, I just can't get over it.
It is less cute around my house right now. We are ALL ready for some Back To School action. Last night Delaney hit Cameron with a baseball. Nope, she didn't throw it at him. She picked it up in her fist and hit him WITH THE BASEBALL. Like it was a rock or something! They both went to bed at 6:45. (tee hee)
Sometimes you just gotta' laugh...and here's Charlie!
I have just realized I am extremely susectible to Mascara Commercials! 
Everytime I see a new brand (or new packaging) I feel compelled to go right out and buy it. 
Maybe it's because I have little stubby eyelashes. 
Maybe it's because I don't wear a lot of make-up, but mascara is a staple for me.
Maybe it's because their commercials are so dang slick.
But Chris has put a poster in all area drugstores, grocery stores, and other places that sell health and beauty products. DO NOT SELL MASCARA TO THIS WOMAN!
