Asian Infusion

Marble Soda

After the T-ball game on Friday night, I was craving sushi. We decided to actually go out for dinner. It was actually perfect timing because in the book we just finished reading with D-man, the characters traveled to Japan and ate sushi. We headed over to Blue Moon Sushi and sat right by the fish tank.  We talked about the difference b/t a bread roll and a sushi roll and yes, that really is seaweed we were eating. The boys were very well behaved and both enjoyed the sushi. T-man liked the mackerel and the tuna and D-man enjoyed the smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls. And of course, the "marble drink" and steamed white rice and chop sticks were a big hit (the 3yo ate it out of the bowl sans utensils).

Sunday, the boys and I joined some friends at the Dragon Boat Races held at Sloan's Lake in northwest Denver. The boys enjoyed the races, a magician, learned their Chinese Zodiac animal (we have a Dog and a Monkey), and enjoyed some snow cones and funnel cakes. Right before we left, D-man was mesmerized by the break dance performing in the cultural tent. Needless to say, he was spinning on his head and rolling around on the floor right after we arrived home. I think it is always great when the boys can be exposed to things they don't see every day - whether that be people spinning on their heads or rowing weird contraptions across the water.

The rest of the weekend had much less cultural flavor, but was still quite enjoyable. Saturday afternoon brought a family trip to the pool. Since the boys and I were home this summer, we joined the Colorado Athletic Club up the street. We've biked to our swimming lessons there and enjoyed being able to have D-man go off the diving board (I'll post video soon) and T-man enjoy his flotation device. We've yet to bring in our cans of beer, but there is still time.

Sunday night we enjoyed having friends over for dinner and eating a nice meal on the patio.  We even had fresh cherry crisp that I made from cherries we got from our neighbor. Oh, what a domestic (and once in a lifetime) summer this has been.

Hernando's Hideaway

We returned from our annual trip to the Peavy cabin on Lake Couer d'Alene on Sunday. It just gets more and more fun as the boys get older. This year Granddad created a special "Hernando's Hideaway" for the boys.  I feel so lucky that we are able to visit this "hideaway" every year. The beautiful view, plentiful activities, completely relaxing atmosphere, and time with family really can't be beat.

And this year, the boys really enjoyed the time with their grandparents (and I'm pretty sure the grandparents enjoyed the boys a great deal as well). There were so many activities that were planned -  treasure hunts, BB gun shooting, tenting, croquet, checkers, bike rides, piano lessons, and so much more. The boys were not want for activities. And as usual, my mother-in-law took great care of us with the food, the beverages, and thoughtful preparations.

We fought through some colder weather at the earlier part of our trip, but we were lucky to have Marshall's sister and her husband there for the 4th of July weekend. As the week warmed up, we were able to enjoy more time down at the water. D-man was able to get out in the kayak all by himself and was really into the paddleboat. Both boys enjoyed riding together in the tube behind the boat. T-man really got his sea legs in the last two days. He went from hiding "below deck" when we would go fast to getting in a tube behind the boat. What a great way to wrap up the trip.

Beverages on the lawn

Enjoying the lake 

Our little skipper - so helpful with the boat 

Our happy guy

The boys before their bike ride

Pender Q125

 Whew - the summer is truly flying by. We are finally back in Denver for the remainder of the summer after a couple of great trips to be with family.

Our first trip took us to Pender to celebrate their 125th birthday. What a great week to have the kids back in Pender. They enjoyed so many different activities - pool time, motor home time, cousin time, parade time, and all that small towns have to offer. Highlights for me included catching up with high school friends, golfing with Drake, watching the US soccer team beat Algeria with my Mom, seeing both my sisters, dressing up in my one of my Grandma Schulte's dresses for the style show, and being able to spend such a long time in Pender with my parents and the Geiserts. I feel so lucky to be able to go "home" and have it truly be that - home.


Dressed up for the Style Show



















The Family

Cousins

Lake Couer d'Alene