Food for April

We  had to try all our new food early in the month this time, since Ryan is spending most of the month in China. First, we tried another new cheese, called ButterKase.  It was really good, kind of mild.  We tried it with some rotisserie chicken on rolls and it was tasty.

Second, Ryan made some delicious pulled pork one day this month.  We ended up with more leftovers than we thought, so we decided to try pork tacos.  I heated the leftover pork in some green chili, then we used hard shells (and a little guacamole).  They were so yummy they will definitely be on the menu again the next time we do pulled pork.

This new food/new recipe resolution is working out pretty well!!

Happy Bithday Ryan

Ryan's birthday happened to fall on Easter Sunday this year.  That happens every so often, but this year for the first time ever we went to church on his birthday.  Every other time his birthday has ever been on a Sunday, the church has General Conference, and we get to stay home and watch conference.  This year for reasons unknown to us (although we suspect it has to do with Easter), General Conference was held on March 31 and April 1.

Since I knew Easter Sunday would be a little crazy, we went on a date the week before.  We have been trying to spend birthday money less on material "things" and more on "experiences," and when we talked about what to do this year he remembered what a great time we had at Ruths Chris last year, so that seemed to be the perfect fit again. 

I forgot to get a picture of the two of us, but I did get this shot of my perfectly cooked tenderloin.  It was amazing. Ryan had the ribeye and the potatoes au gratin we love.

On his birthday I let him choose the menu and he picked shrimp scampi with lobster mashed potatoes.  The potatoes turned out so well I'm sure we will do them again.

Yum.

For birthday cake he picked his favorite, banana cream pie.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Easter

We started with our yearly Easter basket hunt.  This year I wrote the clues instead of using pictures

 Found it!

 Then we dyed eggs.  We used food color and a white crayon, and it was a lot of fun.

 We went to the church for a baptism. (Hence the Sunday dress).  Afterward we headed to the park for Richmond's Easter Eggstravaganza. Rachael loves the games.

 And the annual candy free-for-all.  (Hard to call it a hunt when they just scatter candy all over the ball field.  But everyone gets plenty!)

 Monday we decorated sugar cookies for FHE.  Ryan's is the aquarium scene.  Mine is the one with an attempt at stripes and patterns.  Rachael's has every Easter sprinkle we had on it. 

Since Easter Sunday was so busy, we took Rachael's pictures a week late. 

When she tried this dress on Sunday morning, she said, "This says 'Rachael' all over it!"

Happy Easter!

Spring Break

A quick overview of our spring break this year...

Monday: Ryan had to work, so Rachael and I had a play date with the Jasinski boys.  Most of my pictures didn't turn out (the iPhone has yet to come up with a camera that can keep up with a toddler) but I did get this cute picture of Rachael holding Jaron.

 Tuesday: Ryan took the day off and we drove up to Indianapolis by way of Louisville.  We shopped our way there, stopping at Bass Pro in Clarksville and lunch at Famous Dave's, then power shopping at the Edinburgh Factory Outlet shops.  Rachael is decidedly not a fan of power shopping but we got her a cute new dress for summer so it wasn't a total loss for her. Ryan got a new Columbia shirt and I got a cool new immersion blender.   We spent the night in a hotel in Indy - the novelty of sleeping in a hotel is still fun for Rachael.

Wednesday: We had breakfast at Burger King. It had a unique play area that was full of video games instead of indoor play equipment.  I let Rachael check it out and she came to the same conclusion that I did - it was kind of a waste of time.  Then we headed over to our destination for the day: the Children's Museum. 

 My favorite - the water clock.  This was so interesting to watch! Quite a crowd gathered to watch it change from 12:59 (when all the glass is full) to 1:00.  The entire process took nearly five minutes.

That's my girl - go to someplace designed to overstimulate children, and she wants to sit and read books.

 Here's the overstimulation: a carousel ride.  She was nervous because that horse started out really far off the ground.  After the ride started she had a good time. 

Ryan's favorite - the Lego exhibit.  It was neat.

 We found a slide! Two or three, actually.  I loved this smile.

And the gift shop.  Rachael found the corner with all the Barbies and was in heaven.  (The museum had a Barbie exhibit that ended the week before we were there.)

Thursday: Ryan had to go back to work. Rachael and I spent the day running errands and playing at home.  It was a nice break.

Friday: Rachael had a cavity filled at the dentist in the morning, so we ended the week on a high note in the afternoon with a trip to the park.  Love that toothless smile!