Yes, it's a vegetable.

 It's called a Romanesco.  We roasted it with some cauliflower and put it in a curry.  It was a slightly broccoli-ish cauliflower flavor.  And very fun to eat!

 So cool!

Eight Years

Brian and I celebrated eight years of marriage yesterday with a date in a snow storm.  

I like to put on my dress every year just to prove that I can.  Viola was pretty excited about seeing it.

Hair Do

 I have been trying to get Viola to wear a barrette in her hair.  It some how came out of her hair and landed on the table and guess who wanted to wear it. 

Today

 The little guy has a bit of a crusty situation going on with his nose.

 We shared a Spinach, Kiwi, Pear Smoothie this morning, it was very green.  And it was followed by a lot of kisses.

 The first glimpse of spring.

 Living on a cul-de-sac allows for lots of bike riding.

 Extreme jumping in his new Shaun White sneakers.

 Viola decided to clean the garage for Papa which created quite a dust cloud.

John 3:16 Re-Mem-borized

Charlie Behr and Mountain Charlie

 We took our Charlie over to Doug and Lois's house to meet their friend Mountain Charlie.

 The two Charlies saw eye to eye.

Sunny yet Windy

 We took advantage of the sunny (snow-less) front yard to get in a bit of outdoors time this afternoon.

Warning: What you are about to see contains cuteness, of the fluffy baby chick nature.

 When we need dog food this time of year we drive a little bit farther to JAX: Home and Ranch, so that we see the baby chicks too!

 And they had a horse.  Of course!

Fancy dress

 Viola had a princess party to attend on Saturday.  We did not have a "princess" dress in our possession so...we made one.  I took an old and too short dress with a stretchy peasant bodice and added a long pleated skirt made from a piece of fabric that was formerly my bed skirt.  Top it off with a vintage scarf from my collection of inherited old lady scarves and BLAMO, Fancy Dress!  And what goes better with Renaissance glamor than red cowboy boots?

An education in the farming arts.

Viola attended and I photographed farm school on Friday.  Check my photography site for the whole story. click here

Waitress in Training

When Brian is immersed in his studying Viola wants to bring him whatever he needs.  Yesterday it was a beverage, today it was buttered toast then a carrot.  To which she replied "coming right up!" Complete with my grandmother's apron so that she looks like a real waitress.

A little something pretty just for me.

 I was in need of a bed side table so... Brian made an incredible one for me.

Viola loaned me a book so that I could look studious for the picture that she took of me.

 The photographer in action.

The top is wormy maple.  Don't worry the worms have vacated.

And in case you wondered this is where Charlie's eye is.

Grass Fed Gummies

More goodies from my new grass-fed beef gelatin (which is really good for you, by the way). These yummies are blueberry lime flavored and delicious.

Here's a the recipe that I used as a jumping off point.

 mmmmmm!

What we needed is a day at the beach.

So we declared it Beach Day.  

Complete with swimsuits, sun hats, "sunscreen", "pina coladas", and hot dogs.

Ignore the pile of showboots in the background.

 We found some sea shells.

 Charlie played the part of the Cabana boy.

 Then the kiddos hit the pool.  Which didn't last long since Viola said that the water couldn't be hot since it was a pool.  So swimming was followed by some beach blanket snuggling.

 Viola and I made Leis while the cabana boy took his nap.

Mama's are not as hearty as children so I kept my wool pants on under my swimsuit and sundress.  There is a limit to how fun I can be if I'm freezing.

These are the faces of Cabin Fever.

 These are the people affected by this terrible disease. 

 They drink vitamin C packed drinks trying to make the cold go away.

 They read books trying to figure out what it is that people do all day.  Because they just don't even know anymore.

 These people do crazy things like make homemade marshmallows just so they can drink hot chocolate.

 Don't forget the faces of Cabin Fever.

 And by the way, we have been outside.  It's freaking freezing out there.