A girls weekend!

This last weekend Richard had the opportunity to help chaperone a scouting trip to Mount St. Helen (which happens to share a birthday with mine-- May 18). Although I was originally quite bummed that Richard and I wouldn't get to spend a lot of time together, I quickly turned it into an opportunity for a "girl's night." Only this time, instead of my usual assortment of mommy friends, it was an opportunity for Anna and I to have some girl hang out time and for me to have a little time just to myself. First, I made an almost perfect buffalo chicken pizza from scratch..... (in fact, I couldn't help but send Richard a picture of my perfect pizza and ask him what he was having for dinner). After dinner I watched some T.V., ate ice cream, and read a really good book until after midnight.

In the morning, Anna and I went out for a five mile run together as part of my half marathon training. There is nothing cute about me either before or after a run (I just keep my pajamas on and add running shoes), so I will include a picture of Anna in the jogging stroller prior to our run.
Later in the morning we went to a sheep shearing festival at Kelsey Farm. I got to watch a demonstration on sheep herding. It was actually really cool! Did you know that the phrase "that'll do" is actually quite common in the sheep dog world? Even before Babe the pig made it famous.

And we got to watch some sheep get sheared. They called it the "Ba Ba shop"....
I actually got a parking ticket at the festival. It was for blocking a driveway...which I obviously did not deserve because the car that was in the driveway when I parked was no longer there when I left. I wouldn't call it "blocking," I would call it "partially obscuring."

Here are some bonus pictures of Anna and I at the park a few weeks ago. I have a good friend named Ruth who is teaching me to use my camera, and during one of our photograhy lessons she snapped these.






As much as I love my husband, it was really nice to have some time to myself, and to have some fun time with Anna. Almost all her waking time is spent with me, but I like to think that she still loves to spend time with me as much as I love to spend time with her!!

Our Family Date: Happy Hour

We love food....
I cannot stress that enough...the Rose family LOVES to eat.
That is why almost all of our dates involve food. It is practically at the epicenter of our lives. So we have figured our an ingenious way to try new food at great restaurants while still keeping within our budget:

HAPPY HOUR.

Happy hour was no doubt created by a restauranteer who figured out that if you offered cheap drinks at certain times of the day that you could create more of a profit during slump hours (typically between 4 and 6 pm-- a time that involves no defined meal), thus luring employees to stop for a quick drink and bite to eat on their way home from work. Since the alcohol is where many restaurants make a big profit, they can afford to offer sumptuous food for a fraction of its normal price.

So Richard and I have decided to take advantage of the great food prices and patronize happy hours all over the city. This doesn't mean going to seedy, poorly lit bars full of down on their luck cowboys singing to their beer...
most of these places are the nicest restaurants in town.

This was a great little family date. We brought along some food for Anna and she behaved herself remarkably well. The waiter didn't hesitate a beat when we asked him for a good table where we could bring our stroller.
I didn't think to take pictures of the things we ordered, but we got was this:
1. rustic sweet potatoe fries with 3 dipping sauces
2. soudough grilled cheese sandwich with a tomato reduction (for dipping)
3. figs stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and glazed with a balsamic vinegar reduction
4. a fire grilled pizza with chorizo sausage, onion marmelade and fontina cheese

all for less than $20
Anna's new skill is drinking from a bottle...a real bottle. She doesn't know quite how to work the opening yet without getting water down her front, but it keeps her entertained.