We Will Feast for Years

Well, our meat was delivered yesterday. Our 1/4 of a cow provided us with 144 lbs of meat. We will have meat in our freezer for years to come. The picture below shows less than half our meat. The rest is over in a friend's freezer. I'm thinking that beef will be our Christmas gift to everyone -- or should we BBQ? :)

First Swim Meet

This summer is Annalise first time on a swim team. I'm so proud of her swimming ability, probably because I have none. :) The pool does have a year-round swim team but we have so much going on during the school year that--well, I decided--the summer team is good enough for now.

So today was her first swim meet. She swam against the Benicia Southampton Swim Club. There were two meets earlier this summer that conflicted with our plans, Annalise wasn't able to participate until now. She said she had fun, though I could tell afterwards that she was tired. She swam in 3 events -- 25 yd Butterfly, 50 yd Breaststroke, and 50 yd Freestyle. Robyn was pretty good through it all. It helps to have snacks, and the pool has a playground -- that helps too!

County Fair

This is the second year I've entered items in the county fair. I did much better last year. Last year I won a Best in Show for my capri-sun bag which totally made my day. Anyway, I entered two items this year. The baby sweater won 2nd place and the baby hat won 3rd place. I wish I placed better, but what can I do. Entering in the fair is a lot of fun -- I'm already trying to figure what to do next year.

New Brighton Beach

The last two weeks have been crazy with vacation. We came back from Maryland on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon we left to go camping by the beach. There were five families total and we ended up bringing a friend of Annalise's as well. We had a lot of fun but due to having two huge activities so close together we are still trying to recover. It may take a couple more days.

This is the flight of stairs from our campground down to the beach. Going down is definitely easier than climbing up.

In between swimming and boogie boarding, the kids must dig the requisite hole. I don't know if all kids do this but our group likes to dig holes big and dig them deep. Robyn would get down in the hole and I couldn't see her from where I was sitting.

Besides digging holes, everyone must be buried in the sand at one time or another. Robyn seemed to like being buried the most. I'm still finding sand in her hair and in her ears?!

Always part of our camping trip is sitting around the campfire. I have to admit I'm a bit of a pyromaniac. I love to start a fire and since I'm up before everyone else in the morning I'm usually the one starting the fire. The girls were the next ones up so they liked to keep me company by the fire. It's been several days and my hair still smells like smoke when I wash my hair -- what's up with that? :)

Family Reunion- Washington DC

The first full week of July we headed out to Maryland/Virginia for my family reunion. We ended up with 26 people (15 of them were under the age of 12) camping out at my sister's house in Virginia -- poor Jennifer. :) We had a great time visiting with everyone. My kids especially loved being with their cousins. Because we live so far away from everyone we only get to see everyone about every other year. We have to enjoy it while it happens. Though, I was unfortunate to get a cold while I was out there so there were a couple days where I was cranky -- I don't do sick very well. But everyone put up with me so it ended up on a good note. :)

A Really Good Cookie

This recipe is from Martha Stewart's website, http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/glazed-lemon-cookies?autonomy_kw=lemon%20cookies&rsc=header_1. If you like lemons, these cookies are for you. Enjoy!

Glazed Lemon Cookies

Prep: 25 minutes

Total: 45 minutes + cooling

Ingredients (Makes 24)

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze

Cookie Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread cookies with Lemon Glaze and let set, about 1 hour.

Lemon Glaze Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice until smooth.

*Helpful Hint
Always zest the lemons before juicing them. For orange- or lime-flavored cookies, substitute the zest and juice of those fruits.

Wicked: The Musical

This past weekend we took Annalise to see Wicked. Jeff & I went several years ago and loved it. After seeing it I bought the cd and have been listening to it the last couple of years -- Annalise knows the music well. It's now running in SF so last fall we bought tickets. Annalise really loved it as well. If it's still running in a couple of years we plan on taking Robyn. It was a great weekend to be in SF. The rest of northern California has been experiencing a heat wave of super hot days of over 100. SF was only in the 80s. It definitely felt cooler than home.