it was good to visit our old zoo again... we did all the stuff we always did there... so many happy memories at this zoo... when the kids were little peanuts :(
more pics to come!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Bismarck- "The Dinosaur Museum"
Yesterday we hopped in the van right after school and headed to Bismarck for a few days. John was attending an administrator's conference and the kids and I were taking the opportunity to visit our old neighbors/friends. On Wednesday night we went out to eat- just the adults!- and our friends' oldest babysat. Since John and I never go out at night without the kids it was a real treat! They took us to a new pub downtown call The Blarney Stone and we had some pints of beer and split the fish and chips- YUMMY!
Then this morning the kids all swam at the hotel pool for awhile while Tracy and I visited- we stayed at a newish hotel: La Quinta and it had a pretty nice pool with basketball hoops and a slide so the kids really enjoyed it. Then we went to the our friends' house for lunch followed by our mandatory trip to "The Dinosaur Museum"- it's really called the Heritage Center but when the kids were really little and we were living in Bismarck they always called it the dinosaur museum- so we still do!
Because it's cute.
And funny- because I think there's only one dinosaur there. :)
We kept reminiscing about all the memories we had associated with the place... it was sad for us because we really really loved Bismarck and miss the town and our wonderful friends so much. I kept telling John I wanted to move back!
They had closed the children's section, which the kids were really upset about. But we ended up finding some of the kids stuff scattered in different areas of the museum so they cheered up a little. I would always take their pictures on these horses when they were little so I did it again to compare. Then before we left we made sure to go to the top floor to see the geese and press the button to make them honk. Mom- do you remember all the times we took the kids here when they were little? And we'd meet up with John on his lunch break? And the time little Mickey crawled into the tee pee that no one is allowed in and I had to go get him out?
Now I'm crying... :(
We had a great day... even though I kept feeling really nostalgic the whole time. And the people who bought our house changed the porch and even though it looks better I was still sad to see it different. We have so many wonderful memories in that house and town... plus I didn't really like the people we sold our house to so that doesn't help... I have to go stop crying now.
Tomorrow is the zoo!
{these pics aren't that great because I was using my phone}
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Halloween Treats
Look at these adorable Halloween treat bags my parents sent the kids!
"Thank you Nonna and Nonno- we love everything!"
Mickey said the flashlight was "one of the best presents he's ever gotten." hahaha
Friday, October 7, 2011
homeade pizza sauce & eggplant pizza & the Worst Witch
Tonight I decided to use up some more of the billion beautiful tomatoes I have(thanks to my very generous neighbor/friend!) and try my hand at homemade pizza sauce.
It included a lot of chopping so some wine was in order. :)
I just kinda made it up as I went and simmered it down so it was less watery. It turned out DELICIOUS! I started with olive oil and fresh minced garlic, then added chopped tomatoes(a lot), fresh oregano and basil(lots of basil), 1 tsp of red paper flakes, and some kosher salt. If you try this use more tomatoes and basil then you think you should because it boils way down. I thought I made a lot but there was only enough to make one pizza. Luckily I was making one pepperoni pizza and one eggplant & tomato pizza so I only needed that much.
I used the dough recipe from The Pioneer Woman also(found on the link above) but I always substitute whole wheat flour for about 1/3 of the flour amount called for. I also added chopped kalamata olives and red pepper flakes to this pizza- and we really liked it like that. Looking for a way to use up some eggplant? I highly recommend making this- it is YUMMY!
And the perfect ending to our weekly Friday pizza and movie night?
We LOVE that movie!!
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