Roar!!!

For the summer, we are trying to have more art time around here. My kids love creating and I love it too. On a recent trip to Michaels, we hit the jackpot and found these balsa wood kits on sale for .49 cents!! Now that is a deal. I bought a whole big stack of them including Eiffel Towers (my fave), helicopters, horses, dinosaurs, etc.


Ford chose the dino to make first. We colored both sides of all the sheets of wood together with washable Crayola markers.


His favorite part was punching out the shapes.


The leftover piece makes a really cool board for stenciling designs and peeking through.


We assembled it and it is fantastic! Not really for playing rough with as Ford wishes it was, but looks awesome and was fun to make.


Next, Delaney is working on her Eiffel Tower. We will post those pictures when she finishes!

Cherry Red

The Cherries were beautiful at the grocery store today. We bought a big bag and came home to see what we should do with them.


We ended up mixing crumbled Gorganzola into greek yogurt. We spread the mixture onto whole grain crackers and topped with sliced cherries. To finish, we drizzled the top with Vanilla Fig Balsamic Vinegar. It was delicious.

Happy Father's Day

I have been thinking more about Father's Day this year than usual. Probably because I am in the throes of parenthood and days that can seem eternal with little ones and trying hard to remember that this job is the most important and wonderful thing I'll ever do. I have been thinking about being a mom and that leads me to thinking about dads. I have spent the week reflecting and being thankful for the kind of dad Brandon is to our kids. I read a heartbreaking article this week about dads that a friend posted on FB. And as I sat reading, I praised God that Brandon chooses to be the kind of father that he is. He works so hard to provide for us and yet he comes home every night ready for us, never complaining that his day was too long or too hard. He comes home ready! Ready for the evening, ready to engage, ready to give me a break and ready to play with our kids, ready to enjoy our time as a family, ready to be the father and the husband that I dreamed of.

Brandon,
Thank you for your strong arms that keep our kids safe and secure.

Thank you for your imagination and fun loving play with our children.

Thank you for the world you are teaching them about and the unconditional love that will carry them so far in their lives.

FORD'S WORDS ABOUT HIS DAD

What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
Play with him

What do you like to play?
Nerf guns and Pez and Blocks

How does your dad make you feel?
Good

What is your favorite thing to call your dad?
Da Da

How much does your dad love you?
A little little lot

DELANEY'S WORDS ABOUT HER DAD

What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
Go on dates with him

What is your favorite thing about your dad?
He is so handsome

How does your dad make you feel?
Happy and so so beautiful

What is daddy's favorite thing about you?
He thinks I have beautiful sparkly eyes of blue

Is there anything else you'd like to say about your dad?
I love him and that's it

Happy Father's Day, Brandon, and to all of you Dad's out there who are doing a marvelous job!

A Good Excuse

Today, June 7th, is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.

We celebrated....


...as if we needed an excuse!

Howell Mill Food Park

It has been a big week for Food Trucks in Atlanta..first the filming of the Great Food Truck Race came to town followed by the opening of Howell Mill Food Park on Tuesday night. Within days of launching their facebook page, the Howell Mill Food Park has over 2000 fans. If that isn't sign enough that Atlanta was overdue for the food truck scene to hit, the crowds at the inaugural Food Park opening sure were.


The Howell Mill Food Park is an empty gravel lot where food trucks congregate on Tuesday nights from now on starting at 6pm. It is a great way to taste food from many trucks. The crowds were quite large and lines could be long but the experience was great and it was wonderful to see so many people supporting the effort.

We sampled many things including the Bahn Mi from Munch

A slaw dog from the Pup Truck

Delicously spicy tamales from the Tamale Queen

Carne Asada quesadillas from Tex's Tacos

And Salted Chocolate Popsicles from the King of Pops

The best thing we did was to bring our kids a couple of chairs as seating is sparse.


I hope that Howell Mill Food Park is here to stay. Parking is a bit tough but worth the effort. And I really hope that in the coming weeks my favorite truck, The Good Food Truck, will be there and the Fry Guy, who I have been dying to try out.

The Great Food Truck Race comes to Atlanta

The Food Network's Great Food Truck Race came through Atlanta this past weekend. They are filming for season 2 and by the time they hit our city they were down to 3 trucks. The trucks were parked at different places around the city and we made it to two of them.


We started out at Atlantic Station where we heard the Hodge Podge truck would be pulling in around 12:30. We got there at 12:30 and watched the truck set up, the camera men scurry around, and all the food being unloaded and stocked.


It was a long time waiting for the cooks to get their food prepped and start cooking. By the time we waited in line, ordered, and got our food it was after 2pm. It was fun watching the process and it will make it even more fun watching the Atlanta week competitions when the show airs.



At the Hodge Podge truck we tried the Melon Bisque with Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Micro Mint, and Lemon. It was delicious and refreshing on such a hot day.

Here are the Ribeye Tacos with sweet corn slaw and the Shrimp and Grits.


The Roasted Carrots were wonderful served with Grapefruit Wedges, Micro Mint, and Lemon Aioli.


Finally, we tried the King Crab dip with cilantro, Sriracha, and pea shoots and the Chicken Tacos with Sweet and Sour Slaw.


Later in the day, we found THE LIME TRUCK parked in Colony Square. One of the chefs from this California truck is originally from Atlanta so they had quite a local following.


By the time we got to this truck I was very full so I only tried two items: the Passionfruit Limeade and the Ahi Poke Tuna Nachos with blood orange mango puree, cilantro, serrano, edamame slaw, and guacamole. The nachos were amazing and make me wish the LIME TRUCK was always in Atlanta.

THE LIME TRUCK definitely gets my vote and I wish I had gotten to try the other things on their menu!