REM does Sesame Street

"Furry Happy Monsters" not "Shiny Happy People"

I love the bipolar monsters!

Ryan

Watching Fish

This is one of Molly's favorite activities. She will watch the fish swim around for a long time. We currently have 4 tetras. Alas, our algae eater died today. He may have starved to death—a sad way to go, but at least the tank is clean.

Noah Noah

I just wanted to let everyone, especially Daniel, know that Noah is officially potty trained. Yeah. And there is much rejoicing in the land.

Noah's other news is that yesterday at church is was standing up on the bench in Sacrament meeting and did a flip over the back. It was pretty amazing and he was pretty scared but is okay. Matt who was on the stand was oblivious, the bishop had to elbow him and tell him to go and see if Noah was ok. Luckily he was. It did make things pretty exciting though.

I can't just let Ryan's post go unanswered.....

I have warned Heather that my midlife crisis is coming, and it has a name.

Evo.



You can see his big brother in action here.

Recipe--Couscous and Lentil Salad

We just tried this and it is surprisingly tasty. I really like the couscous and lentil base, though I'm not sure that the arugula, tomato and feta is the exact right combination. I think you could add a lot of things to the base. It is a nice way to change up the summer menu. We used red lentils (the brand we've found is organic) and I think that they are tastier than the brown/green ones.

Here's the recipe.

Hananh's Bananas Cookies Recipe

Mom wanted this recipe so I thought I would post it for everyone.

Hannah’s Bananas

Do not preheat dough must chill before baking

1 ½ cups melted butter (3 cups)

2 cups white granulated sugar

¾ cup mashed very ripe banana (2 medium or 3 small)

4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 beaten eggs (just whip them with a fork)

4 cups flour (no need to sift)

2 cups finely chopped walnuts or pecans (measure after chopping)

½ cup white granulated sugar for later

Melt butter in a large microwavable bowl. Stir in the sugar, beaten eggs, baking soda, and salt. Choose bananas that have black flecks in them. Mash them until they’re smooth. Add banana puree and mix thoroughly. Mix in the flour and then nuts. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees f. rack in the middle position.

Roll the chilled dough into walnut sized balls with your hands. Put ½ cup white sugar in a small bowl and roll the balls in it. Place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a sheet. Press down a little so they won’t roll off onto the floor when you put them in the oven. Then return your bowl to the refrigerator and let it chill until it’s time to roll more.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F. or until they’re lightly golden in color. They’ll flatten out, all by themselves. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

These cookies freeze well. Roll them in foil and place in a freezer bag and they will be fine for 3 months or so.

Yield 10 dozen, depending on size.

Friday Night Racin'

I took Ian to Wake County Speedway to see some short track (1/4 mile) stock car racing. The track is only about a mile from our house and since we can often hear the cars on Friday nights, I figured we should go see them.















Ian had a great time and so did I. Very loud and smelly and redneck-y. Ian made friends with the 4 year old son of one of the drivers. He would yell "Go Charlie! Go #21!" and clap in a cute way.