We better find a travel agent . . .

. . . . this boy loooooves salmon and we probably ought to teach him to catch his own as soon as possible. Though Grandpa Ron and Uncle Matt may claim to be quite the fisherman, we all know that it's Uncle John and Don who can really help him to reel in the big ones instead of the fabled giants that got away :-) And lord knows with the way this boy eats, little ones just won't suffice.

And here's some more cuteness.

How could anyone resist this little dude as a houseguest . . . even if he will eat them out of house and home!

And, okay, maybe Dad and Matt aren't that bad of fisherman :-)

I guess they can come too.

Wellllll, maybe not. That's definitely not enough for little Matt.

Okay Uncle Matt, that should be enough, you can join us!

Bread, Bread and more Bread!

Some time ago, I happened upon the idea of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I then went back to making things like banana bread and this fabulous beer bread because I was disappointed that ABin5 actually took more time than 5 mins before throwing it in the oven. I was still intimidated by all the time I needed to budget to allow it to rise. (Alright, I fully admit I probably wouldn't have survived a century ago and my fear of bread making was beyond silly) Anyway, a good friend and really cool librarian posted on facebook that she was giving it a shot. She graciously copied some pages and sent them to me. (As an aside, this is why I love librarians. They are sooo wonderfully helpful and eager to share awesome books.) Now that we have dough in the fridge and I've realized how easy it is, this is going to be deadly for our diet.

The initial rise:
The first loaf of whole wheat dough.


My attempt at white sandwich bread. I'm close, but it's not quite sandwich sized. In the meantime, my sandwich bread attempts may not be the right size, but they are delicious. Technically, I'd say I have also finished #95 on our 101 things list because this bread has been amazing, but I'm going to wait to declare it completed until I can get the sizing right for sandwiches.

There aren't enough words to describe how excited I am about this whole thing. Right now there's a batch of dough in the fridge and I'm debating if it will become bagels, pita bread or dinner rolls for my next experiment. Most importantly, Matthew also approves!




Also, in other culinary news, I made corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's day. I've never really liked it but used this recipe and it turned out rather well. I think rinsing the corned beef may have been key. Matthew also approved of this as well!

Burning

Warm weather means it's our chance to put Matthew in all of the warm weather clothes that were way too big when he got them last year. They're now a little small and require some stretch to snap, but oh so cute! Here he is in his very first souvenir purchase from his first trip to Thermopolis! Unfortunately, his little legs have yet to catch up to his need for larger pants in the waist.
Matthew's little bug threw him off for the past two weeks and he pretty much refused all foods. The one food he'd eat (maybe because it was gentle on the throat?) was applesauce. The boy loves his applesauce. Though he's back to eating just about everything again he'll still double-fist some applesauce when he gets the chance.


Yesterday, Matthew, the dogs, and a good friend and I went hiking. We were the only car at the trail head so I let the dogs spend the afternoon off-leash. Matthew and I tested out our new baby backpack and between that, keeping an eye on the dogs and you know, having fabulous conversation with a good enough friend willing or crazy enough to travel with our roving pack, I didn't take many pictures. However, I took enough to prove
A) the day was gorgeous!
B) Sky had a blast exploring the Red Rocks


C) June is very lucky we found each other because she's kinda neurotic :) Most days she'll avoid the snow in the yard at all costs. Yesterday, she'd run ahead and find a small snow patch and lay down and wait for us. Crazy little thing!

D) Matthew pretty much enjoyed his day. His new carrier allows him to see over my shoulder which I think he enjoys, but it's still lacking in a comfortable place for him to lay his head when he falls asleep. All in all, it will work perfectly to navigate the airport, but I'm still on the fence about using it for a ton of hiking. Too bad Matthew refused to look at the camera for me even though he was rocking an adorable mohawk.

However, when we got home he showed off his suncreen-styled hair. Though I got his head, it was too bad mommy missed a bit of his left cheek and nose and now Matthew has his first sunburn :( In other accomplishments, Matthew's starting to clap, kinda. Mostly, he likes to clap with his feet:

Sometimes though, he'll get to clapping with his hands which is great fun:


Once Matthew had gone to bed, we decided it was time to take care of the yard carnage from that heavy October snow storm. Rather than try and track down the mayor of Hudson and make eleventy-bajillion runs to the brush pile, we burned. It was a beautiful night for our own little bonfire. Too bad we had more fire than hours before bedtime. With all the debris around and the severe lack of moisture to promote decomposition, we will likely have 4-5 more bonfires in the near future. I think we ought to stock up on marshmallows and graham crackers!