Edible Art

We are addictied to the Food Network. Absolutely, no doubt whatsoever. Ryan, Julia and I LOVE watching "Chopped", "The Next Iron Chef", and "Man vs Food". With the first two mentioned, it's the thrill of beating the clock and making something wonderfully delicious. With Man vs Food, dude--what's not to like? Well, except maybe the fact that it makes a person extremely hungry and totally brings out any craving you may be having (and of course that craving is whatever Adam Richman is sampling).

Julia took our obsessesion to another level last week at dinner. We were having tacos and she decided to pretend she was on one of the shows. Presentation is a significant part of each dish. She tried her hand at making a soft taco look pretty and inviting. Not bad, eh?

The funnies

Funny: Julia's shining moment of fame--she's officially on a cereal box (at least it's not a milk carton!)

I made rice crispies tonight for our fhe dessert and Julia was reading the back of the cereal box. It had all sorts of interesting facts about hurricanes. It also has the list of the names of hurricanes for the past couple of years and what the names will be for next year. Apparently in 2010, one of the hurricanes will be named "Julia". Her reaction when she read that?

"Hurray! My name is on a cereal box! Next year will be my lucky year cause I'm going to be a hurricane!"

I wonder how she'll feel about that hurricane if it comes through our way? ;)


Funnier: Shoo fly, don't bother me....or especially Marcus.

A couple weeks ago we had the missionaries over for dinner and a random fly found its way into our dining room. Marcus absolutely F-L-I-P-P-E-D out. And not out of happiness either! Right as we were about to bless the food, he noticed the fly and started screaming and crying all while trying to climb up Ryan and I for protection. The missionaries, Ryan and I were trying so hard not to laugh. My poor little son is scared spitless of flies! We're trying to teach him that flies are really our friends--but he still started to cry when he noticed a fly at dinner tonight.


Funniest: Girl Cooties--the revenge

We all know that in our junior years of elementary school, it's a well known rule that boys and girls have cooties. If you get touched by one of the opposite sex, you have to go home and detoxify yourself.
So Julia is now if fourth grade. It's not considered the junior part of elementary (in fact, 6th graders attend the middle school now so she only has a couple years left there!). Apparently she's quite over "cooties" and the belief that she's going to shrivel up and die or catch something if she touches a boy's school work or whatever. However, tonight she told me that there's a certain boy in her class that has fits whenever girls touch his papers. He swears up and down that he gets cooties from the girls and that his hands positively BURN from having to touch the same papers as them. Julia thinks this is quite humorous...so humorous that she volunteers to pass out the papers for her teacher and she always rubs her hands ALL OVER this certain boy's paper before handing it to him just so that she can see him writhe in pain. :) LOL. That's my girl!!!

Pie Fundraiser

*Inviting music begins in background*...Pie fundraiser....sounds yummy! Keylime pie? Dude, count me in. I'll buy one. Apple? Definitely.


*A turn in the tempo--the music picks up and you're getting a new twist*...But now, what if, let's say, that instead of buying that pie to eat it, you have to choose someone and throw it in their face? Hehe--ok, this could be fun. Hmmmmm, who's been getting on my nerves lately and needs to be brought back down a couple notches? ;) Yeah, this could really be fun now! Let the fundraising begin!!!!!


Oh wait! I forgot--the military is involved in this. *Music comes to a screeching halt* So instead of just saying "Hey! I'll pay $5 for that key lime to throw at him!", it's now become THIS:

"I'll pay $5 to throw a pie at B!" says A. Now the raising is between just A and B.

"Fine, I'll pay $10 to throw that said pie at A" says B.


This goes on til one of them doesn't/can't bid anymore. Funny, eh? Now, let's remember that this is the military and A is probably a Joe while B is his Platoon Leader or Company Commander (for those who don't speak military, it's like the worker who gets to throw the pie at his boss). Let's also revamp those pies....cause who wouldn't mind a chocolate pie in their face? Dude, if someone were bidding one against me, I'd let them bid the highest just so that I could eat the remnants off of my face! Why waste, right? Well, seeing as this is the military--here's what was in THOSE pies......


*DISCLAIMER*--NOT FOR THE WEAK STOMACH!!!!!! You've been warned....

How about some curdled milk, rotten eggs, sardines, olives, rotten bananas, and anything else that can go really nasty?

So friends, now the question is: How much would you pay to NOT get one of those lovely pies shoved in your face? Cause that was the question a lot of these guys, including Ryan, were asking themselves a couple weeks ago. :) If "A" said to you, I'll pay $100 to throw this pie into your face", are you going to let them? Do you have the stomach to let them? Or will you start digging into your checkbook and make darn sure that that reeking pie doesn't touch you? (And I guarantee that those things were absolutely N-A-S-T-Y).

So here was our fundraiser--and boy was it a successful one! I heard that some of those pies went for as much as $250! Hahahahahaha.

I believe this is the new First Sergeant aquainting himself with the Company Commander via pie in the face.

I felt so bad for him--it actually got up his nose and he had to be very careful NOT to breathe through it or he was going to start retching in front of his company.

Needless to say, it was quite a bit of fun (in a sick, twisted way) and it was quite successful. The unfortunate pie-in-the-face guys were able to hose down just on the other side of the building.

So here's another part of this story--what do you do when your 9 year old is attending this lovely fundraiser and is quite excited that pies are going to be tossed (not knowing what kind of pies they are). She so excited that she's going around and asking everyone to please bid on her dad so that she can see him get a pie.....

Yeah, Ryan's platoon likes him so he face remained clean. :)

This hot magma...

Julia's grade performed a couple of songs for all the parents and this one just really cracked me up. It's to the tune of "This Ol Man".

And heaven forbid someone come along (ahem, Evelyn) and try and steal her thunder. ;)

A couple more...

Ryan just peeked at the blog and is wondering where the close up of us is. Um, seeing as we had two nice close ups (thanks Julia!), I didn't know which one he's talking about. So here's both.

Last weekend we hit Bellows--LOVE that beach!

My crazy, crazy son

Jacob eating a snack before getting back into the water at Bellows. Maybe I should watch his sugar intake from now on? He was doing his own little song and dance on the shoreline....

"What, Mom?"

I'm totally whipping these out for his first date. :) Heheheheheheh.