Thank you, Julia Child

A few weeks ago Christian and I went to see Julie and Julia. We enjoyed it, or at least we enjoyed the Julia Child part of the story (A+ to Meryl Streep, C+ to Amy Adams). Anyway, a wonderful thing has happened because of that movie: Christian has found the buried desire to cook again, and I mean cook without me in the kitchen. He even does the shopping for all the ingredients and makes a noticeable dent in our grocery budget (who would have thought saffron would cost $18 for a tiny envelope of the stuff?). This lovely occurrence happens only on Sunday evenings, but I absolutely LOVE it. I am in heaven - delectable smells come from the stove as I nap, and viola! dinner is served without me lifting a finger. I have to say, I'm glad Julia Child wasn't familiar with a crock pot at the time because it seems to taste better doing it all in the oven. He is, however only on his third Sunday and hasn't quite grasped the idea that a meal is more than just a main dish.

That said, I'll be the last to complain. Who can pass up melt-in-your-mouth porterhouse steaks seared in butter with Madeira sauce drizzled over the top? That one is called "biftek sautee." Or how about pot roast cut and simmered with rice, tomatoes, saffron, onions, bacon, and a slew of other tiny but wonderful ingredients. The meat was tender and perfect. I can't believe I am actually saying this about Christian's cooking, but we all sat there smacking our lips and oohing over the flavors of "boeuf something-or-other." (boeuf a la catalane) He has come a long way from chocolate chip cookies and scrambled eggs.

Christian is actually embarrassed that this new marriage with cooking is because of that so-so movie, but I could care less where it came from, I just don't want it to stop! Here's to inspiration and cooking with butter! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Julia Child.

Lake Time

On a little canoe outing we found a sandbar that was perfect for the kids, so we loaded up the boat with tubes, toys, and of course lounge chairs, and headed off for the afternoon. All we needed was a cooler of beer...root beer.
Across the lake was a tiny restaurant that served amazing, piping hot, fries. We didn't realize we were ordering such large amounts, so we decided to make it count for dinner. (Two food groups: fries and ketchup).

Daddy and Win getting set for tubing.

There is no wake, but Winfield insisted on going extremely slow. This was about their top speed and Win sat there with his chin in his hands like he was watching a movie. After Win got off Christian decided to take a turn alone - let's just call it the ride of his life. When our friend, Jake Morton got that boat up to screaming speed I yelled, "Don't hurt him! I need him in one piece!" It was kind of entertaining to watch Christian fly into the air, legs slapping, with a big grin on his face. Glad it wasn't me.

Paddy and Gammy

We were all so excited to have Christian's parents visit us in Milwaukee. They arrived with a whole slew of Star Wars toys, plus a few guns, which I now call the "Paddy Special." The boys were in heaven. We went sailing, out to eat, read books, and got lots of love and attention. Janet showed me the proper way to fry goat cheese while Christian vented and laughed about work with Mark. It was a wonderful time and Winfield said to me after they left, "I love Gammy, and she loves me!" (Isn't this a great picture? Just wish Charles had clothes on...)

Reading the boys one of his older stories about a crew of sailing dogs.

"Dah" = Dog

We all took our weekly walk to Klode park and down to the lake to throw rocks in the water. Paddy returned to Atlanta laden with fist-sized rocks. The boys brought rock after rock and filled Paddy's make-shift bag/sweatshirt tied in knots. He was .3 pounds shy of the 50 pound baggage limit at the airport.

Family, aka: Babysitting Crew, comes to Milwaukee

I looked through some old pictures to find these first two pictures of Christian and his siblings because it doesn't happen often that the three are together. This first one was taken in Charleston, SC before we had Jack (2002, I believe) when we were first married. You can even see Creagan as a young little doggy.

The three siblings four years later in Newport, RI when they came for Christian's graduation.

And here we are three years later in Milwaukee. What a good-looking trio.

Aunt Genny.

Chapman brought his girlfriend, Jessica to visit and experience a few "firsts" including first bratwurst, first mushrooms, first airplane flight, first ice cream truck purchase, and first time to meet all the Mitchell boys. They stepped in as the parents while here and I had my own first: first time to have a live-in nanny. Jack cried when he found out Chapman was leaving and I feel like crying now that I'm without my nannies.

The whole gang (minus Gammy who was tending to a now aged Creagan in Atlanta).

Family Time

I love this expression that Dad uses sometimes. It always makes me smile and I was glad to catch it on camera. I see Win making the same face sometimes.

Beautiful Grandma. Doesn't she age well? (I only wish that Cannon gene of going gray early had passed me by. Alas! I got the gummy smile, too).

Grandma reading Noah's Ark by Peter Spier (we love this one) to Charles.

Nana with the Milwaukee grandkids.

Super Heros!

Here is my public apology to Adam and Laura for letting my boys' love of all things Star Wars rub off on Jane. She can duel with the best of them. Let's just hope they drop the obsession before they become teenagers.

Nana and Grand Dad have the perfect yard for light saber wars. (The heavenly Utah nights aren't bad either).

Winfield and Anders. Don't you just love the bulging shorts under Anders' costume?

Temple Square

We had dinner with Grandma Mitchell at Little America (for old time's sake and in honor of Grandpa) and then headed to Temple Square. It was the first time for our boys to see the place and we all loved it. The weather was perfect, Grandma seemed to be in heaven, and we all got a little exercise. The Church does such a beautiful presentation, even while under construction.

The three Mitchell angels in front of the temple. Jack quickly pointed out "Holiness to the Lord" inscribed in gold on the front of the temple. He learned about it from - what else - a movie about the man who carved the words and Jack was very proud of himself for finding it there.

We waltzed right into the Tabernacle just in time to see the quick acoustic demonstration and to hear a recording of the choir singing "God be with you 'till we meet again." Christian and I were both in tears by the end of it, thinking of Grandpa. That building will always be special to me because of the time I spent playing with the orchestra there. I really miss it.

Everything worked perfectly for us from parking to the wheelchair for Grandma. She rode queen-like and commented on how long it had been since she had visited Temple Square. We were all taken in by the beauty of the place. What a great visit!!