We've been in search of beautiful flowers here. As May tumbled gently into June, the spring and summer flowers have been at their peak of beauty. Gus and Louise helped me remember to stop and smell them.
My favorite flowers of the early summer have always been tulips and irises, but this year the peonies have been calling my name. Poppies too. I think when we move to the farm I might just have to plant lots and lots of them. So beautiful, and so bright!
Memorial Day. The true beginning of summer. A day of picnics and family time. A day to remember. Our day was filled with all of these important events. The kids and I went to Lakewood Cemetary with Ron's parents to visit the family graves. The cemetary was filled with people, flowers and flags in hand, some smiling and laughing, others with tears streaming down their sad faces.
For us, it was a day of discovery and adventure, a day of respect and education. We showed the kids how to carefully wipe the leaves and grass off the grave stones, how to tip-toe around the cemetary, making sure not to step on the names and why it is important to remember those who have gone before us. Carl at his ripe age of seven seems to recall having a picnic with Ron's parents near the graves when he was 2 1/2, conjuring up amazing details of the day. We had a snack near where we placed our flowers, then continued on to the beautiful nature that abounds in the gorgeous grounds of Lakewood. Catfish in the pond, monarch eggs on the milkweed, caterpillars climbing on Great-great Grandpa Ralph's grave. 
Afterwards, we took the refurbished street car from the cemetary to Lake Harriet for a mere $2.00. If you've never ridden the line, put it on your must-do list for the summer.
Gus, Tacky and the neighbor girls.
Gus and Tacky tackle the tomato watering.
Ron and his friend Pat are going to be in a Barbeque contest this summer. To prepare for it and to enhance his techniques, Ron recently acquired a very cool new addition to our entertaining palate. A smoker. A very big, sturdy, serious smoker.
Louise grabbed my hand and pulled me into the porch. She didn't want me to finish what I was doing. She needed me *now*! I looked down and she was wearing big brother Carl's boots on her feet and had one of her ladybug boots on her other hand. She pointed to the window-- at a bug that was trapped between the glass and the screen.
She stared intently, willing it to come out.
With a little poke of the boot, she wanted it out. 
Fortunately, we have a few fly swatters around for such occasions. Bug catchers need the right tools. Two pairs of boots, a fly swatter and no pants. Sounds about right.
I think she finally gave up when she heard that dinner was ready, but the determination on this one makes me wonder where her future will take her. This little bug catcher might just conquer the world... in her underwear.
This is a simple version of provolone. Simple, well, not really very simple, but simple compared to the fancy stuff you buy at the grocery store. The kids decided that it is even squeakier than Wisconsin cheese curds. This one was soaked in a salt brine for one hour after it had been air dried for 24 hours. Yum.
This one is queso fresco, a crumbly, squeaky Mexican cheese. I was delayed in finishing all the steps at the proper times and temperatures, so it is missing the typical squeakiness. It is a bit drier than I expected, but still tastes pretty good. I love the texture on the outside from the variety of cheese cloth I used.
Now, off to bake some bread to go with it. Or not. It is 78 degrees and beautiful outside. I just might be done with standing in a hot kitchen and baking bread for the summer.
Yes, we have another birthday in our family this week. Gus and Louise almost shared a birthday. She was born 18 minutes before midnight, and we all sighed a collective sigh of relief. He has never minded sharing a birthday week with her... in fact, he loves the idea of having not one, but TWO cakes in a week.
Mr. Gus turns five today and we couldn't be prouder. It has been an exciting spring here with Gus making his mind up about wanting to ride his bike without training wheels. They were frustrating him and making bike riding not very fun. He ran up to me one day and said, "Mom, Berik beat me." 
May Day Parade 2009
I hope you had a wonderful Mother's day. I felt very loved. When the kids and I returned home from church, Ron (with help from his Dad) had a lovely brunch prepared and ready to serve to his parents and our five. We used fancy dishes and silverware and lingered at the table long after the meal was over. 
In the afternoon we went to my parents' house for a fun gathering with the two new babies, my siblings and families, my parents and grandmother. It was low-key and exactly what we all needed. I brought my camera, but unfortunately, forgot to take pictures. Bummer. My Dad had never made a potato salad before and was asking around for a good family recipe. I passed on my mother-in-law's recipe which he made, but also added a few of his own tweaks. Good work, Dad. 
My favorite way to clean a room is to rearrange it. I love to totally switch things around, leaving no thing untouched. That way, I am forced to clean everything... even the little dust balls that lurk in the teeniest nook and cranny. Recently, it was the porch. Over the winter I had let piles of stuff for thrift store donations pile up in the corner along with other random stuff left over from last summer. Ugh. 
So, with a little help from two little helpers, I rearranged the porch and cleaned. Afterwards we celebrated with some fresh cut flowers from the garden, plus a vase for both of their rooms.
What's your method for the spring cleaning madness? Are you a rearranger? Do tell!
I'm back. Sorry for my absence. I've been taking a lot of pictures, playing in the yard with my kids, helping an almost five-year-old learn to ride his bike without training wheels (more on that soon!), baking, doing some watercoloring magic with my mom, a bit of laundry, gardening, weeding and picking lots of flowers from our yard. Much fun, indeed. I hope to be a bit more regular here, but with the outdoors calling our names most days, I find it tough to sit down long enough to write my own entries. It is much faster to read the other blogs my friends are working on and dream of what I'll be typing soon.
This cake is an Orange Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake from Cafe Latte in St. Paul, the same place for the Turtle Cake tutorial over there on my sidebar. I found the recipe many moons ago in the Star Tribune and had been waiting for the right time to make it. My sister-in-law Tonya requested cheesecake for her birthday, so I decided to give it a try. It was very tasty and it must be low-fat, considering the fact that it has five packages of cream cheese in it. (That's 2 1/2 POUNDS of cream cheese!) Mmmmm good. I especially liked the chocoate ganache drizzled over the top. 
