Happy 87th Birthday Oma Enoo!!!!

Today is the 87th birthday of Todd's grandmother Ann Van Enoo. Oma Enoo moved to Folsom almost 2 years ago and we have been so lucky to have her close by. Our family has really enjoyed spending quality time with her and hearing stories about her life and all of the amazing things she has been through. We feel so blessed to have this woman around and for our kids to have a great grandmother who they know so well and who cares so much about them. It is fun to see how much she enjoys all the little things in life, including chaos that sometimes occurs at our dinner table. We appreciate her wisdom and her unconditional love more than she'll ever know. We had a little cake with her last night to celebrate before she left on a trip to visit other family for the week. I know she won't mind that I mentioned her age because she thought she was going to be 88 and then laughed when I told her she was only 87. I guess I gave her an extra year as a birthday present.

For the Love of Dolls

Every summer the City of Folsom holds a Thursday Night Market in the historic part of town. They shut down Sutter Street and allow people like me to sell aprons or other fun stuff. Last summer Emma and her friend Sadie opened an Otter Pop stand adjacent to our Domestic Darlings booth and were very successful in their efforts. They used their profits to buy several Webkins (a very popular stuffed animal) for themselves and their brothers. This year their new goal was not spend money on a bunch of stuffed animals, but to save it all up for an addition to their American Girl Doll family. This week was the third time this summer these girls charmed the locals with their cuteness. In 3 hours time they were dancing in the street to their new Miley Cyrus CD because they had sold $80 worth of water and Otter Pops and had finally crossed the finish line. They now have enough money to buy their dolls and have learned a little about saving money.

All American Girls

Meet Kathryn

I decided to introduce Kathryn this week because it is this doll that has kept Emma busy and entertained all summer long. Kathryn (Emma's middle name after our good friend Kathryn Scott.) is Emma's Just Like You Doll from American Girl. She joined our family last Christmas and has turned out to be the best $100 I ever spent on a toy. She (the doll) has spent every single night of her life in Emma's bed. She has inspired Emma to read many, many American Girl books, learn to do hair and even design clothes. (The outfit she is wearing in this picture Emma designed this week all by herself with some left over apron fabric. She even used a needle and thread to sew the back seam together.)

A few days ago we finally coordinated schedules with her best buddies Sadie & Sara (fellow American Girl & Miley Maniacs) and went to see the movie Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. It was really a good movie and it's not just because I love doing this this mom & daughter stuff. The film had a great message and one very relevant to what is happening in our country today. Later in the evening when we got home Emma I had some serious discussion about some of the themes in the film. I was just amazed that at 9 years old she had a grasped economics 101, understands adversity and knows how important it is to be grateful for what we have. Those people over at American Girl really have a great thing going on and I look forward to a few more years of throwing more money at what they have to offer.

Last Pick

At our house in early summer we seem to always be infected with a blackberry virus. (Blackberry meaning fruit, not PDA.) The endless trails and recreation areas that surround our beautiful city are full of wild blackberries waiting to be picked during the end of June and begining of July. Casual picking has become a tradition and even an obsession for some of us. We have our own spot off the beaten path that we have kept top secret for years! As the kids have become older they are now picking more than they are eating and have become experts in the field of blackberry selection. It is funny to sit and listen to the conversations as the Emma and Noah are picking and to hear the things they are trying to teach Daegan. Today as we entered the patch Noah yelled "I think I hit the Jackpot!" This is blackberry speak for finding a lot of ripe fruit just hanging there. Later on I heard him say to Daegan "I think there is another jackpot back in there, but you better stay here so you don't get hurt." Daegan tried to follow him anyway and as Noah started to complain Emma said "Just let him go, if he gets hurt it's his own fault." (Blackberries are full of thorns and usually we can't tell if we are bleeding from the thorns or if it is juice dripping from our fingers.)

Jackpot!

Although Noah said jackpot on more than one occasion, it seems today may have been the last pick of the season. (I may sneak out one more time after the kids are in bed.) The heat wave we've had this week of several days over 100 degrees may have brought the season to a quick close. The kids have had another fun year of it, willing to sweat it out for some free fruit while waiting for mom to pick the last berry. One thing I know for sure is if we took a family vote to change our our last name from Drybread to another food related name, "Blackberry" would literally be the first pick.

Fit For A Pig

I thought I would start this blog with this photo that I took when I came home last Thursday night to a pig marinating on ice in my bathtub! This is something I never imagined could happen in a million years, and before telling the story of how it got there, I must also say that I did not sleep well that night, nor did I sleep in my bedroom.

Last year Todd had this great idea to dig a pit in the backyard. He had rented a jack hammer to put in some palm trees and before the day was over he thought he'd dig an extra hole so we could cook a pig. I thought he was kidding, but then he proceeded to plan and carry out our first Luau without much help from me at all. (I was kind of freaked out by the idea.) The first year was a moderate success as we had 30 guests to share in the eating of the pig. This year he decided to combine the Luau and our annual 4th of July barbecue, so we ended up with one yummy roasted pig, (much better than last year) and 60 guests to share it with! The kids really enjoyed helping out with all aspects of preparing the pig and planning the party. (The only scary part this year were the 27 kids in our pool at once!) It was a memorable holiday as we tried to cram in the parade, traditional blackberry picking and cobbler making events, as well as putting a pig in the ground and hosting a party. We decorated the front of the house for the 4th of July and the back in a traditional Luau theme. After the clean up, I decided that next year we're back to two separate events, just to make the clean up a bit easier. I am sure the neighbors will appreciate that too!