Quick Zucchini Recipe

I made these Zucchini Fritters today.  And they were the bomb.  Helena even ate some.  So what if we bribed her with a dollar bill.

Meow, Ball, Uh-Oh Spaghettios!

Harper turned 14 months old this week....and he's quite the chatterbox lately.  In addition to what's on this tape, he can say thank you, please, cheese, down, bye-bye and this! (when he wants something you have).  We are officially in the "you're talking but I have no idea what you're saying to me" phase of toddlerhood.

Lawrence Mini-Break

My sister and I hit up Lawrence for a couple of days when I was in Kansas.  I decided instead of trying to run around and see everyone that I'd park my bum at a restaurant, cocktail in hand, and have the people come to me.  :)  I'm so glad so many could make it -- a few of whom I hadn't seen since we moved!

So, we all met up at the Star Bar inside Pachamama's.  It was lovely to see everyone and it ended up being this weird former KUEA employee reunion. Ha!  Evidently without KU Endowment I would be friendless.





Michelle & Erin -- two college besties.  Erin, coincidentally, was the only girlfriend in attendance who never worked at KUEA. :)



Kim and Andrea -- old work partners in crime.

Melissa, Amanda and Corrie.  Thanks for coming out ladies!

Old roomate Tracee (who is also 8 months pregnant) and her hubby Jim.

My former boss Kaela from my student job days and my sister Jessica.

In addition to this cocktail hour we were able to see a few other people who couldn't make it, do a  culinary tour of Lawrence (I hit up Wheatfields, Genovese, The Merc, First Watch....yum!), and attend my friend Erin's new Jazzercize class.

Here's her in all of her Jane Fonda-esque glory.  Her class was awesome and it kicked our butts.  Well done! 

- Emily :)

Produce Post

So this summer we've gotten ourselves into a pickle.  In March, I signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) -- which basically is a box full of veggies I get from a farm each week.  Then, later in the spring, Helena's school decided to start a community garden.  I was all in there, too.  And, we may have four 6-foot tall tomato plants in our backyard. 
So....the result: I'm up to my eyeballs in produce.  This week I got a double veggie box from East Farms (since we took a week off for vacation), my tomatoes started coming in and we had a ton of stuff for harvest at the school.  The result:  6 yellow squash, 4 large zucchini, 2 UFO squash, a bunch of medium sized onions, 6 green and purple peppers, 5 anaheim peppers, a bowl full of cherry tomatoes, two giant bunches of carrots, 10 beets, a bunch of kale, 10 ears of corn and 2 pounds of green beans.  Whew! 

Photographic proof...almost my entire countertop!

So, lots of cooking going on around here. Today I made caprese salad for lunch with our own basil and tomatoes,  a squash casserole (definitely very yummy), and a roast with cabbage (from last week's box), carrots, and onions.  Tomorrow I'm thinking zucchini brownies or bread....and lots of veggie sides with leftover roast.  This week I'm going to use up all my kale by making this and trying this for breakfast.

Dancing Moose Community Garden plot right after planting.  Tee pee trellis is for my pole beans!

Beets, Anaheims and Kale from Dancing Moose plot. 

We still have yet to harvest any of our own eggplant, beans, watermelon or hot peppers.
Anyway, I'm loving the challenge of figuring out how to use all of this stuff, but it's definitely a part-time job.  :)  In the meantime, if any SLC friends need some extra veggies, just come on by...or I might be stopping by unexpectedly to unload some things once the novelty wears off!
If anyone has some yummy summer bounty recipes to share, link to them in the comments!
-Emily :)

Also in Kansas we....

...Had sundaes with sprinkles and M&M's

 ...Spent time with mom's cousin Ally (& Aunt Diane!)

...Discovered we really like Kansas peaches (thanks Sparkle!)

...Ate pie and fried chicken at Carriage Crossing (and evidently were there too long if Harper is standing on the table).  Teresa's face is hilarious in this picture...

...Started walking...everywhere...all the time...

 ...Ate pancakes at MeeMaw's house

...Had a pose-off for the camera...

Tried to get Jess to take a picture with us...

Played with buckets on our heads...(worked pretty well for keeping them still!) Ha!

Thanks for the good times, Kansas.  :)  See you at Christmas!

-Emily :)

Paradise Isle Time

Helena & I post jet-ski.

I made a list of blogs to write today...so....provided I can remember details of the last 35 days or so (with only 5 of them where I was actually home)...the writing should be plentiful around here very soon!

First off -- Kansas trip recaps... First category: Lake time!  We had plenty of it and I was even able to particiapte in the annual picnic/lake party while I was in town.  Live country cover band was awesome, and I two-stepped with people I hadn't seen in years / didn't know.  That's what happens when your hubby doesn't come with you.  Wait, who am I kidding, Ash doesn't really two-step. :)  Anyway, it was fun...I stayed up later than I have in a really long time.

Brother-in-Law Justin - signature post with a Bud Light. :)

Kane enjoying the water.

My brother's new lake / commuter vehicle.  I drunk termed it the 'Junebuggy'.

Also, while I was in town a friend of my dad's sunk the family track hoe trying to do some beach/moss maintenance around the lake.  It was bad.  My dad and my grandpa about had heart attacks.  (No one was hurt, thank goodness.)

But, three days, two bulldozers, tons of sandbags, one water pump and one 250 ton crane later, and it was outta there!

We all gathered to watch across the way....  Shortly after this picture was taken, I had to leave with Harper beofre he REALLY freaked out and I missed the actual moment when the track hoe was jubilantly lifted out of the water.  (Also, in case you're wondering, this picture very accurately personifies what it's like to fly with Harper.)

Helena had a blast at the lake.  She asked me almost every day to go swimming.  The first day she went out, she lost her swim shoes "at sea"... ha!  Harper didn't get much lake time in because it was SO HOT.  He would get red cheeked in like 15 minutes.  I was really glad Helena had taken swim lessons before we went because it has made her way less scared of the water.  She had an awesome time trying to catch minnows, floating, practing her "scoops and kicks," and collecting shells to take home to her dad.

This is pure joy, not drowning.  Promise. 

- Emily :)

P.S. -- Sorry for the weird formatting in places...blogger formatting and I do not get along sometimes. Boo!

Gagging on Champagne?!?

This happened to me once when I was pregnant with Helena, but it was a screwdriver, not a mimosa. 

From the Salt Lake Tribune this week:
West Valley City Mayor Michael Winder proudly wears his LDS religion on his sleeve and even presented President Barack Obama with a copy of his book, Presidents & Prophets: The Story of America’s Presidents and the LDS Church, when he was in Washington, D.C., earlier this year with the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

During a breakfast meeting with the mayors and the president, Winder grabbed a glass of orange juice, began to drink and then gag.

When he asked why the juice was so terrible, he was told it was a mimosa, a mixture of champaign and orange juice.

So, the first time alcohol passed Winder’s lips was an event sponsored by a liberal Democratic president.

Some other mayors got a laugh at Winder’s expense. Noticing his dilemma, one said, "Hey you can counter the alcohol with coffee. Oh, wait, you can’t drink that either, can you?"
Where else in the world would this little tidbit even make the paper?  Hilarious.  And I love how the columnist can't even spell champagne correctly.  10 bucks says they've never had champagne or champaign either.

-Emily :)

Back Again!

So we're back in Utah after 3 whole weeks in Kansas.  I am recovering from several bad nights of sleep, but hopefully my brain power will be back enough to write some good blogs this week.  We had a really great time going to the lake and seeing lots of friends and family.

A few quick things:
-- Ash won the weight loss challenge while I was gone and notified me via text message photo of him on the scale with the numbers to prove it.  I have no idea where the cash went. He's very skinny, I almost didn't recognize him at the airport.  I'm proud of him.  Unfortunately, I still have work to do! :)

-- Helena asked me why we live in Utah last night as she was going to bed.  She seems to think Kansas is a lot more fun.  And she's evidently over her shy streak-- yesterday on the plane she made a friend with our seat mate.  They were BFF's by the time the whole 3 hours was over...Helena had looked at all her pictures on her phone, was sitting on her lap, asking her to watch Toy Story with her, putting stickers all over her, etc., and as we were saying goodbye Helena says, "Hey Tara, you should come to my birthday party.  It's going to be really fun.  It's on October 4th!"  Hilarious.  This lady was SO NICE and I was SO GRATEFUL for her help on the flight.  The kids were as good as can be expected, but flying from Minneapolis to SLC by myself with those two is not on my to do list again any time in the near future.

-- Harper is a walking fool now.  He's so funny, and he's saying a few more words too -- "thank you", "fish!" and a few names of family/pets he learned in Kansas.

That's all for now! :)

-Emily :)