First Grade Field Trip

Today was our class's trip to the zoo! Mrs. Keyes told me not to worry about coming in with Steven until around 9:00, because the buses weren't leaving until 9:15. I thought, perfect.....she is giving me some extra time to get our lunches packed, etc. Well, Steven was fully dressed from head to toe on top of me in my bed at 6:30am chanting "field trip, field trip" So, I dragged myself out and went ahead into school at 8:00. George took Amanda Lily to breakfast, then they were off to the restaurant. She really enjoys helping set up at the store anyways, but that is another blog.

We rode the big yellow bird, because I didn't want Steven to miss the whole experience. It was windy, but not overly hot, so we had a good time. I was having throw backs to my childhood. I'm not sure how many of you have been on a school bus lately, but they haven't changed much since our day. Steven has begged me all year to ride it to and from school, but I just look at him and say "honey, you just need to get over it....you are not riding the school bus" It is totally me, and I accept it, but it's just not gonna happen.

We had a nice lunch in the park area upon arrival, then broke into groups and toured the park. I found my friend Trish who was chaperone for Ben's class, and we navigated the place together. I was really surprised at the animals they had there. Not that it's Lowry Park Zoo, but it was fun for the kids to see the alligators, leopards, elephants, emu, snakes, lemurs, eagles, and my personal favorite....kangaroos! Another really cool looking animal was an alligator monitor. It was like this giant lizard looking thing with fluorescent spots. They also got to feed the mountain goats, which was super cool for them.

Some of the photos show Steven with our group, as well as one on the bus ride where he was sitting with his Spanish Teacher Sra. Catala, and his good friend Kaitlyn.

Zoo Animal Cookies

Stevens First Grade Field trip is coming up on Thursday. I thought it would be fun to make Zoo shaped animal cookies for him to take into class. Amanda Lily and I have been working on them this morning. She is so precious. She knows they are for Steven's class, and she still has no problem working hard on them. (Of course, we made a couple heart shaped ones for her to eat as well.) Anyhow, since my blog is morphing into recipes and cooking advice, I thought I would share this super simple recipe I use for the cookies.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Refrigerate batched dough for at least 2 hours. Roll out dough in batches, working quickly so that it doesn't become sticky. Also, be sure to dust your surface with flour prior to rolling dough out.

Cut into animal shapes. (I got mine at Joann's) Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. I only baked mine for 5 minutes because the animal cookie cutters are mini's, so adjust time in oven according to size of cookie.

One word of caution, remember to work quickly with the cookie dough or it will stick.

Risotto instead of processed rice

A couple of months ago, I did a blog on Nutrition. Jennifer commented on her love of Rice A Roni. I have been meaning to post this recipe for her, but keep forgetting. It is for an Italian style rice called Risotto. You can find it in any grocery store, and it is easy enough for even a novice cook to make.

1 cup risotto
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cups free range organic chicken broth
Sea Salt and Pepper

Warm your oil and butter in pan and saute the onion. Throw a pinch of coarse sea salt in the pan a minute after the onion has started cooking, to bring out the water in the onion (as well as the flavor) After the onion has a glossy look (maybe 3 or 4 mins), add the risotto and cook stirring for 3 more minutes. Stir in broth one cup at a time, allowing it to be absorbed by the rice before adding each cup. The risotto will come to a good consistency gradually. Add pepper to taste.

Above is the most basic of recipes. There is allot you can do to spruce it up to your tastes.
My kids favorite risotto is made with tomatoes and parmesan cheese.

1 lb roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (buy a block of it in the deli section)

Add tomatoes and cheese after most of broth is absorbed. The cheese gives the risotto a very creamy texture. The possibilities are endless with risotto. I've even made a sweet potato risotto before!
!
My next recipe I post will be for couscous, another great starch for your side dishes

Visiting Nanny

For the past two weeks, we have had house guests. Mom, Larry, and Tre' have been here, and we have had lots of fun. One of the highlights of their stay was a trip we took to Monkey Joe's. It is alot of fun for the kids, and it wears out their energy. We went on a Thursday after school. Steven told me that he wants to have his birthday party there, so we will see.

We also got a chance to go and have a visit with Nanny. I was so glad to see her. And she of course was happy to see us. The kids made her day. We ran around in her yard playing tag and she sat on the swing and just soaked it all in.

While we were in Wildwood, we got lucky and saw 3 trains. For those of you who don't know, my son is train crazy. He has been since he was 2 years old. We always thought it was a phase, but no.....he loves trains. There is even a documentary series on the Discovery Channel called "Extreme Trains", that is his very favorite show. Maybe one day he will help engineer the train that will travel from NYC to California. Who knows?

Anyhow, here are some photos from our fun times together.

Strawberry Jam

Scroll to bottom of post for strawberry syrup/jam recipe

It is strawberry season! The children and I met some of our friends (Mia and Heather) out at the strawberry patch this past Wednesday. We all had lots of fun picking the berries and playing with "Haus" the resident dog. Heather made such a fuss over that dog that I was certain she was going to slip him into her car on the way home. He really was a great dog. Which, it goes to figure. The entire place is surreal. It is like when you are there you are in another world. Rows and rows of strawberries greet you when you first pull up. Then there is the quaint little strawberry store that is actually an old barn where they have you pay for your pickings, and offer a selection of strawberry delights. Fun for the kids is the tire swing that hangs from this huge old oak tree. Heather and I sat at the picnic table watching them play. It was a beautiful day, and she and I decided that if the place ever goes up for sell, we are buying and moving our families out there!!! LOL (Up the hill is a large two story house where we would all live)

Amanda Lily and I are making strawberry jam today with our flat. We are celebrating Papou's (grandpas) birthday tomorrow, and one of his favorite things it our strawberry jam. He loves it on his toast. So, we are hoping to fill a mason jar with the good stuff, and give it to him as a gift.

Here is our super simple recipe:

STRAWBERRY SYRUP/JAM

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled

4 cups white sugar

1/4 lemon juice

Crush berries (in batches if you need to)

In large saucepan, mix together all ingredients

Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved and blended

Increase heat to high, and bring to full rolling boil

Boil, stirring often for about 20 mins

Poor hot mixture into sterile jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace, and seal

After jam has cooled, eat up or refrigerate.

Quick Dinner Idea

scroll to bottom of post for baked apples and baked potato soup recipes

Today has been a pretty chilly day. Tonight is supposed to be even cooler, so for dinner I made potato soup. While in NC last week, Trish made it for lunch one day. It was incredibly comforting and warming to the tummy, so I was inspired to make it today. While cooking, I thought "this couldn't be easier, I should blog the recipe for my friends."

Baked Potato Soup

Peel and chop up 5 baking sized potatoes

Boil in one box chicken stock (I use wolfgang pucks organic free range broth from publix) until potatoes are tender

Mash potatoes with potato masher, or use your spoon and smash them on the walls of the pot

Add milk, a little at a time, until desired consistency.

Season with butter, salt, and pepper.

Stir in a little cheese

While soup is cooking, bake up a few strips of bacon. (optional)

Add the bacon and a couple snips of chives. (optional)

For those of you who have not read my "nutrition" post, all the ingredients I use are organic. You can even find bacon at publix that is hormone free and grain only fed.

Dessert is super easy as well.

Baked Apples w Pecans

Core some apples (however many people are eating) and set aside in a baker

Stir a few chopped pecans, brown sugar, and a couple pats of cut up butter in a small bowl

Put mixture inside cored out apples, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 25mins

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla yogurt and sprinkle with cinnamon

YUMMY.

North Carolina

One day while visiting my friend Trish, something caught my eye. She has one of those nifty photo frames that allows you to upload digital photos and it scrolls through. I noticed one of the photos was breathtakingly beautiful. She told me it was a picture taken at her Mom and Dads place in North Carolina where they have a second home on the "tippy top" of a mountain. Within minutes of conversation, she invited us to go up with her family for a weekend. I jumped at the offer and the trip was planned and airfare purchased in only a couple of days. We were all so excited for the trip because Steven, Amanda Lily, Ben, Josh, and even little Gracie have become close friends, and I knew they would all have a great time together. We adults have done our fair share of bonding as well, and find allot of pleasure in just chatting and hanging out. So, we knew we were all in for a great time.
The cabin was awesome, and Ms. Patsy (Trish's Mom) was a wonderful hostess. She made me feel right at home, even giving up her kitchen to me one night to make dinner. She made us feel like just another part of the family. The nature was just as breathtaking as the photos in Trish's frame.
By the time our flight landed and we got our rental car, it was dark on Thursday night. We drove up and up. I told Trish once we arrived that when she said "Tippy Top", she wasn't kidding. We would have never made it up the mountain without 4 wheel drive.
It did not snow while we were there, but we all jumped into the SUV's and went down the mountain to Maggie Valley where we found "Tube World" The boys slid down the artificial snow while Amanda Lily and I built snow people. The weather really teased us because it was VERY COLD, just no snow......our rental car's doors were even frozen shut!
We went on a nature walk and the kids had a blast throwing themselves down the incline and rustling around in tons of leaves. They even climbed up a huge rock.
Another good time was watching Larry and George sling the kids down the front lawn on cardboard and snow saucers. The photos don't do the front yard justice, but it is a pretty steep hill that the kids loved running and throwing themselves down on.....or just rolling. Watching them made me dizzy. I also got a kick out of wondering which were the bigger kids, the children or dads.
The boys went off on the four wheeler in search of firewood, and we roasted marshmallows on sticks to make smore's.
It was such a relaxing, laid back weekend. None of us wanted to leave. We are so blessed to have good friends in our lives who are willing to share their lives with us.


PS....Amy, you are the reason I am still blogging. I almost abondoned my blog completely until I got your comment. (:

PSS There are photos in the slideshow on the right

Privacy Please

Hello to all my friends and family. Just wanted to let you all know that I will be making my blog private as of Monday. If you want to continue to have access to my blog, please give me your email address so I can put you on the list of those who are allowed to view. It never really occurred to me that random people are looking at my personal photos and thoughts. I know some people are perfectly ok with this, but it kind of gives me the willies. I naively thought that you had to know my blog address to access it, and who would randomly type that in???? Jennifer showed me the "next blog" button and how it just automatically takes you to the next persons blog. I almost scrapped my blog completely until she encouraged me to look into how to make the blog private. I've got it all figured out, but I don't want to loose contact with some of you who I do not have your email. So, if you want to keep following, send me your email address.

Hope you are all doing great!

Ok, so just so you guys know. My kids do eat junk food and sugar, as well as pizza and fettuccine alfredo with shrimp! On occasion, we even stop thru a fast food joint, but to get through it, I have to tell myself that I can't deprive my kids of childhood fun when we do.


It is because I LOVE to cook that it is so easy for me to spend time and energy doing it. There is something creative in it that gives me a thrill. Somehow cooking to me is not a chore. I even enjoy going to search out in season fruits and veggies at the farmers market that is held every Thursday literally within walking distance of the restaurant. I actually show up early to prep at the restaurant so that I have time to go over there and check things out.


I do use sugar, flour, pasta, and rice products. Most of the time they are whole wheat brands. I even make pancakes with whole wheat flour. The kids wolf them up like they are going out of style.


There are currently alot of "convenience foods" on the market that we use as well. My favorite distributor of these types of foods is Kashi. They have great cereal bars, instant oatmeal, frozen waffles, etc.

After reading my previous post, I thought you all might get the idea that I am a "drill Sargent" of food. So, I wanted to make sure you all know that I don't deprive the kids of sugar, it is just in moderation......and always the real thing. (:

Exploring Nutrition

I have really been looking forward to this blog. I am writing about one of my favorite things. Good food. Coming from a Southern family, baking has always been an important way of showing love and appreciation. I picked up my love of cooking "real food" from my exposure to Greeks and Italians. I have learned how food is woven into everyday life and traditions. Traveling abroad and living with people who cook totally different than I do, has had a huge effect on how I cook. Another way I have come to appreciate good food is through actually having a restaurant. Customers who love to cook, love to talk about it. Over the years, many have shared recipes and ideas with me, just because they know that we appreciate something yummy to eat. Also, eating and entertaining go hand in hand, and all who know me, know I LOVE a party. I will use any excuse to have people in my kitchen. Even if they are all 6 years old and under.

Speaking of that, I would say what had the most profound affect on how I cook was having children. While pregnant with Steven, I could not read enough about healthy eating and how food has a direct effect on our bodies (and our children's). You all know how every Mother has their "thing". It's the one thing that no matter what, she doesn't compromise. That for me is what goes into my children's mouths. For others, it may be making sure they have a helmet and knee pads on while ridding bikes. (my children have them, but seldom wear them) You all know what I mean. Everyone is different, and I do not judge other mom's for their choices of what to feed their kids. And, I would appreciate no judgement on the helmet thing. (: The only time I cringe is when I see my own child making poor choices on what to eat.....not others. However, if I could give some gentle advice, and you are willing to take it, read on.

In my cooking, I try my best to cook with fresh ingredients. This means cooking with no cans and no boxes. If you can't cook with organic ingredients, do your best to make sure they are fresh and without hormones. I once read that the best foods for you to chose in the supermarket are on the four walls of the place, not down the aisles. I encourage you all to give it a try. Next time you are at your grocery store, only shop the walls. Don't go down the aisles unless it is for cleaning products, etc. (Cleaning products are another blog) For me, vinegar and water are great.

You can also stop at your local fruit and vegetable stand. It is very likely that the food sold there is fresh and hasn't traveled far. Cook your veggies in a steamer pot. If you boil them, it zaps a lot of the nutrients right out. This is most every vegetable.

I have no problem with butter and spices, as long as it is the real thing. Ask yourself if it comes from the earth. "Did the Good Lord make this product I am about to put in my mouth?" He doesn't make fat free or substitute sweeteners, so splenda and anything containing aspartame are NOT ideal. (unless you have a specific dietary reason) Also, I encourage you all to give cooking with herbs a try. I have a small herb garden in pots on my lanai, that I use almost everyday in cooking. If a recipe calls for herbs, just use a little more fresh than you would dried, as the fresh herbs are less potent.

As a result of all this, my children have come to appreciate good food. They have such advanced palates, and eat some of the most non "kid friendly" food. They are willing to try most anything, and are very picky about what they eat, but in a good way. Imagine me taking them over to Greece for the summer, as we do. How in the world could I get them to eat over there, if they weren't used to eating real food? In Greece, they do not have processed foods. No boxed up or canned foods. I would have to pack a whole suitcase full of mac n cheese boxes. No Thanks! Put food that comes out of a can in front of Steven, and he'll look at you like your crazy. Ask my brother who once tried to feed him spaghetti o's. Steven said, "Umm, no thank you" then pushed the plate away. The child knows good food better than most adults. Also, Amanda Lily LOVES to help me cook. She loves watering the herbs, etc. Taking on good nutrition is a fun process. I know most people won't take it up like we do. It is just something I am passionate about.

Another thought is Teflon.....I do not cook with anything that is coated in the stuff. All stainless steel pots and pans in my kitchen. Think about it. When you heat up a pot or pan, then add your food, how much Teflon is leaching into your food????? Not to mention if your husband cooks and decides to use a metal spoon then scrapes little shavings of the stuff into your food. Also, do not heat plastic or melamine in the microwave, or you get the same cancer causing plastics leaching into your food. Only use glass when using your microwave, otherwise you might end up eating more than just your day old pizza, or even worse, serving it to your child.

Ok. So, I could go on and on and on(fast food and soda, etc) but I'll stop here. I hope you all have taken something from this post that you can use in your cooking experience.

Jeanne, this one was for you. (:

Natalie's Baby Shower

My sweet friend Natalie. Well, after many years of trying and lots of heartache and losses, she and her husband are being blessed with a little girl! She is super excited, as we all have been for her. I hosted one of her baby showers here at my home, and was so happy to do it!

I made a great cherry chicken salad for finger food, as well as chocolate strawberries, and a variety of other food. (those two foods seemed to be the popular ones) Natalie got lots of great gifts to start her off in Motherhood. We all can't wait to meet baby Coryn, and are praying for a quick, easy, delivery. And, a happy, healthy baby and mommy! I hope all you fellow high school cheerleaders enjoy the photos. I'm sure most of you haven't seen Natalie since Graduation......

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was a blast for us. It was very low key. We had friends and family, and a bunch of kiddie's! I was very surprised at how well the children all stayed up without completely falling apart! Which, they were all vamped up on chocolate fondue and Uncle George's fireworks! Seriously people, I can't believe the fireworks that were in my backyard. Our neighbors must have LOVED us that night! (: George traveled over to Daytona to get them to the same spot he has been buying fireworks since we lived over there 9 years ago. They were beautiful. Not talkin Disney, but definitely better than Venetian Gardens on July 4th. We also had sparklers that were fun. I lost it laughing at Dan playing around with the sparklers. He and Jessica somehow became the designated sparkler lighters. The kids couldn't get to them fast enough. It was a great time. The fondue was soooooo fun. I really enjoyed making it up, and it was yummy. I am thinking of doing a Valentine's fondue party for the kids and a few friends. (That was supposed to happen last year, but my kids got seriously sick, and we cancelled) Anyhow, it is a great idea for those of you who have small kids. Little effort is involved, and what kid doesn't like fondue???? My prayer is that all who read this have a blessed 2009.

ps..I have a prayer request for my pregnant friends. Please pray for them. Their names are Hannah, Natalie, and Jennifer. All three have amazing pregnancy stories, and are needing prayer for strength.

Love to all.

Christmas

This Christmas has been hectic. It is of course a wonderful time of year, but my favorite by far is Thanksgiving. We have had family dinners and get togethers and have opened our home to family and entertaining mostly the entire month. We have attended and planned special school events. (Amanda Lily's preschool program, and Stevens International Luncheon) Then there was ensemble at church. I decided this year that I was ready to take on the commitment of taking part in our Christmas Eve Service which require hours of rehearsal. The service was pretty good, but I was so sad for Melinda who had put so much planning and effort into it, and there were many glitches. We even managed to squeeze a trip to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the mix, and we spent the night! It has been a memorable Christmas, but I am ready for a break. I am blogging all of it in this one blog, because I am just ready to move on!

Each of the following paragraphs really deserve there own private blog, so if you get tired of reading, just stop and come back to the next paragraph another day!

Lets see, we'll start with Stevens International Luncheon at school. For those of you who do not know, Steven is in the Dual Language Program at his school, where he is taught the same lessons in English as well as Spanish during the day. When Mrs Keyes called me with the idea of an International Luncheon, I thought it was a great! And, boy did it end up GREAT! We had over 17 mothers make different foods from their country of origin. I of course made Greek food. Baklava and Adaka with Feta which are two of Stevens favorites. We had Spanish Pork, Swedish Meatballs, German Pie, Plantains, Vietnamese Rice, we even had Sushi, and much more. It was all sooo good. We had one of the moms bring in chicken nuggets from chic fil a, because we weren't sure how the kids would take to such a variety of foods, but they actually were more than willing to try everything. We had over 25 parents attend, as well as the Principle, Assistant Principle, and office staff. The day was topped off with Pinatas for the kids to swing at. It was a blast for them.

The Annual Green Family Dinner was at my house this year. I was so happy to have my extended family in my home. Everyone brought a side dish, and we had ham. All the food was really yummy, but the company was even better. I did miss Scott and his family, though. I got to see Jennifer, and let me tell you all....she doesn't look a day pregnant. Will is such a sweet boy. He was ready for some present opening. I think it's so strange that he has the same blood in his veins as I do, and he is my best friends kid. Even after all these years, Jen is not my cousin....she is my best friend. I was also very happy to see my little cousin Michaela bonding with my little girl. The two of them really seemed to hit it off. The night was a huge success, very laid back and relaxed.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was a BLAST. So worth the money. We had arranged a room at the Contemporary Resort so that Steven could watch the monorails go through. In all our Disney travels, the one thing we hadn't done is spend the night. This seemed like the right time because the actual party started at 7pm and didn't end until midnight. Upon arrival we were told that we had been "upgraded" in honor of Disney's Year of A Million Dreams. The woman handed me a key to insert into a slot in the elevator to get us to the "all suite floor"

I almost dropped my teeth when she told us we had a butler/concierge. If you all remember, the last time we went to Disney, we had gotten VIP service that was very uncommon. This was over the top. Our concierge had Uncrustable PB and J's with juice boxes and milk for the kids along with all kinds of fruit, cheese, croissants, beer, champagne, wine, and espresso for George and me when we got to the room. I kid you not.....our view was unbelievable. We had a birds eye view of Cinderella Castle and all the Monorails and The Grand Floridian, from our balcony. I took photos, so check them out! Once we got to the park, we had lots of fun. For the first time in years, we didn't have to wait in line at all. When I bought the tickets, they told me that they were only selling a "limited amount" I thought yeah, what they consider limited and I consider limited are definitely different. Not so....it seemed as if there was no one in the park. Steven even got down at a Character Dance Party. I laughed so hard as he did the YMCA and danced to Vanilla Ice.....Ice Ice Baby. He actually did pretty good and kept with the performer on stage teaching the kids the steps. George and I enjoyed it so much that we've decided not to renew our annual passes, and to just go to the Christmas Party every year and spend the night. (We may also go in May in honor of both kids birthdays being that they are only a week apart.) I highly recommend it.

Let's see...we opened presents from Mom and Dad the night before Christmas Eve. Mom outdid herself once again. My favorite was one of her gifts to Amanda Lily, a sewing machine. She is so excited about making clothes for her dolls. Christmas Eve service was at 6pm, then we headed up to the restaurant to have dinner with George.

Christmas morning, Steven, Amanda Lily, and Tre' were soooooo excited. I mean bouncing off the walls! This is such a good age for "Santa" they are 4 5 and 6. Steven was most excited about his Amtrak Train Set, Amanda Lily was thrilled with her pink kitchen, and Tre' freaked over his four wheeler! Good times. Mom made her famous omelet's, and I made my famous pancake puffs for breakfast.

Christmas night we all packed up and went over to Amanda's (mom in laws) for dinner and gift exchange. The kids and I made cupcakes for "Baby Jesus' Birthday" The food was prime rib and lots of Greek dishes. It was really unbelievably good.....I mean Stavro (dad in law) really has a gift in the kitchen. Steven got an awesome CSX train engine from Uncle Pete Aunt Heather and Jimmy. His reaction was priceless. He literally could not come up with words to say. He was like "this thing........" Then he passed around the huge thank you hugs. Amanda Lily got kitchen stuff from Pottery Barn Kids, little Cupcakes and a cake, and the cutest apron ever with cherries on it.Baby Sophie was laughing really hard at Steven as he danced around all silly to entertain her. She is getting so big. Heather had to remind me that she is almost 8 months old! I keep thinking she is 6 months. I just don't want her to grow up!

The kids also received a Christmas package from Greece. Our cousin ViVi aka Girly Girl, is AWESOME. She sent them glow in the dark stars that are already on their bedroom walls and beds. As well as all kinds of stickers and chocolates and candies and goodies. She spoils them so much. It is very special to get things like that all the way from Greece. It keeps them connected. I love that the kids are so loved and doted on by our family.

I got a Cricut cutter for my craft room, a new camera, and a yellow diamond ring! My husband is so good to me. He surprised me thoroughly.....and I LOVE to be honestly surprised.

Sorry to have put all of my Christmas adventures into this one blog. I am just really ready to move forward a pull out of the Holidays. I may keep my blog colors though....they will do through Valentine's Day at least! Oh and I took so many photos that I am putting them in seperate slide shows. I'll title them so everyone can see the different goings on. Also, I'll put a couple of my favorites on the blog page. I hope you all had as blessed a Christmas as we did.

Church Christmas Padgeant

Both Steven and Amanda Lily participated in this years Christmas Program at our church. Steven was an elf who helped with the singing. Amanda Lily had a small speaking part. Her lines were "Grandpa Biddlebop, tell us again about your first Christmas at Santa's workshop." and "I just love that story" Pretty simple stuff, but we were sure proud that at a young 4 years, she had no problem speaking into the microphone in front of around 400 people. I was certain that she was going to have a panic attack and run off the stage, but she did not. She was very composed and said her lines perfectly. Her only concern was that someone was going to put makeup on her face.....that she did not want, and she most likely would not have done it if they had. The play was the same weekend that the stomach bug had gone through my house. Steven and Ben (his friend that had also been sick) were standing side by side in the play. Trish and I had our fingers crossed that the two of them didn't start throwing up!

Aunt Mary, Mom, Yia Yia, George, and myself were there armed with cameras, but none of us got really good photos. The kids were all great, and we were once again thrilled to watch.