Off the top of my head - silly reasons I love my boys

I just paused for about 3 minutes and watched the boys in their absolute silly-crazy-hectic-right-before-dinner madness.  And this is the only thing that came to my mind:  silly reasons I love these crazy boys...


Ryan... 

• Tells Seth “I’m too much for you!” when playing, wrestling, or just randomly yells it out (like when we were getting groceries)
• Tells me at least once a day, “the way of the sinner is hard.”
• Wants to have every moment of his day documented in pictures.
• Is dying to have another baby so he can “sit in the back by myself”
• Thinks learning is actually fun and tells me "you're so sweet as chocolate pie."  Who can resist that?

Seth....

• Thinks he MUST "duck, duck, goose!" himself on the head before finding the hidden ryan during Hide and Seek.
• His chipmunk patch of black hair among dark blonde
• Has no fear and ends all his stunts with “You see that????”
• Like a squirrel (or maybe a chipmunk again) hides things everywhere...always a mystery around here.
• Loves to “nuggle on your lap” at bedtime and says “carry me like a baby"

What silly little things made you smile today?

Yummy meal on the grill

Before summer is over, you MUST make this chicken on the grill.  Simply deeee-lish.

• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 T sugar
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 lime

Combine all ingredients.  (clean garlic, smash and incorporate into marinade.  Wash and dry cilantro, remove stems, finely chop and incorporate into marinade). Add a few cleaned chicken breasts and let marinade at least 30 minutes (or overnight).  Cook over open flame and baste with remaining marinade.

Great sides on the grill:

Pouch-grilled Potatoes and Garlic 

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved (or cut into wedges - cooks faster)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1-2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• lime

Place potatoes and garlic on large double layer of foil, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper, lime spray and cilantro.  Fold foil around potatoes and crimp edges to form a packet.  Grill directly over heat source, rotating packet often, until potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes.  After grilling, toss with additional cilantro, salt and pepper and any remaining lime juice...to taste.

Grilled corn with sour cream and cotija cheese

• 4 ears corn, husks left attached
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese (1 ounce)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• course salt and ground pepper

Wrap each ear corn with a 2 inch band of foil to keep husks in place.  Soak corn in a large bowl or cold water for 10 minutes.  Remove from water and shake off excess.  Grill corn directly over heat, turning often, until husks are charred and kernels are tender...8-12 minutes.

Transfer corn to a platter.  Peel back husks and spread sour cream over cobs with a butter knife.  Sprinkle evenly with cheese and paprika.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

And for dessert?  Grilled (over indirect heat) S'MORES.  And BONUS - try using a peanut butter cup in place of a Hershey bar.  Wow.  Wow.  WOW.

Quick trip to the fair

My awesome hubs made a brief window of free time and agreed to go to the state fair.  He's not a fair-goer.  I think I am....but honestly, I think I might have gone once maybe 15-20 years ago.  And I'm pretty sure it was with my mom.  I just remember jams, quilts, and cross-stiching.  I didn't even know things like corn dogs and funnel cake even existed.  So I never really wanted to go back. And then all the hype started....the food, the shows, the free stuff, the fun things for kids.  So I wanted to go back.  But Troy did NOT.  And who could blame him?  He spends at least 6 hours out in the sun at camp each day, then go walk around in the crowded heat as soon as he's done?  Nah, I wouldn't want to either.  But we did it Saturday.  It was H.O.T.  I'm a baby in the heat.  But at least we did it.  Overall, Ryan wasn't impressed.  He just wanted to ride the train (never found one) and see the fish (???).  Seth was amused at the animals, but kinda freaked out at the crowds.  Still, we did it.  The highlights were:

The bus ride there and back:

The big bull:  (that thing was NASTY).  For the record, weighed 3022 pounds.

The Little Hands of the Farm was grrrreat:

\

And then it got too hot to take pictures. Well, we did the Fair.  Cross it off the list.  Whew.

Still alive and kicking

We're still here.  Life has gotten in the way...as it often does.  And that is fine with us.  We're smiling through the end of the summer and a few very trying weeks are behind us.

 I'll get back on the blogging horse soon.