Fourth of July Weekend- Part 1
Fourth of July Weekend has it all! Fascinating historical significance. The excuse to eat insane amounts of barbecue and ice cream. The chance to get as excited as a five year old when the fireworks start going off. Fourth of July Weekend 2010 did not disappoint. It was quite action-packed and fun-filled! To start things off, Mom, Dad, Brad, and Bagel came to visit for the weekend… and about 20 minutes before their arrival, Ryan and I cooked up a plan to BBQ at a local park instead of going out to lunch as was the plan.
In retrospect, it’s hilarious! It was 11:30. Ryan and Marie were an hour (which ended up being longer due to an accident that momentarily shut down the freeway on which they were traveling) away. Mom, Dad, Brad, and Bagel were still on the road. Ryan offered to bring what he had at home: hot dogs, buns, and charcoal. Meanwhile, never one to do something halfway, I started talking a big game about burgers, fruit salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, chips, etc. Now, did I have all the ingredients for said yummy items on hand? Not quite. This lead to some pretty scary running about, scrambling to get everything together, so we could eat somewhat close to lunch time.
Suffice it to say, that it turned out fantastically well! The weather was beautiful. The park was super nice. We even had a picnic pavilion, next to this massive stone grill all to ourselves. You’ll have to take my word that the food was great because though my plate was very photogenic once filled with all the aforementioned goodies, I was too hungry to stop and take a picture of it. But, on to the pictures that we did take!
The Boys
The park had a pretty fountain
and a “fishing” pond that had about 3 fish in it
and this fluffy pine tree that Mom really liked
GrillMaster Ryan was excited about the charcoal—You just set fire to it, bag and all, no lighter fluid required.
Then, because no one had remembered to pack a spatula/tongs for the grill, he made do with a
plastic fork and a stick. Everything turned out great! The sign of a true grilling professional!
After lunch, we played Ladder Ball, Bocce, Frisbee, and Football. The vast amount of tree cover led to some issues with Ladder Ball, as the bolas kept getting caught in the trees. A happy predicament as it led to one of my favorite quotes of the day. In the picture on the left, you see Ryan in a tree, supported by very slim branches. When Marie saw this, she said, in a rather worried-sounding voice, “You’re too big, Buddy!” Now, if any of the rest of us had voiced concern, he would have laughingly ignored us, which is probably why seeing him in that tree didn’t even draw a reaction from the seen-it-before rest of us. But it worked coming from his bride! Grins! As it should!! From then on, they just leaped after the bolas, as evidenced by the picture on the right.
Ladder Ball is loads of fun!
Even the dog enjoyed a hot dog!
After all the fun at the park, we headed off to Sundaes at the Cottage for some frozen deliciousness. Sadly, Dad could not be convinced that Bagel needed a Doggie Sundae, which was billed as the perfect treat for canine companions. Boo.
We headed home, where Kevin went to work on the boards/targets for a Cornhole Game. The boards went together much more easily than the cornbags, let me tell you. The sewing of those bags was all sorts of trouble! But, they’re done now, and that is what matters! Now, all that’s left to do is paint the boards. Any guesses on the design Kevin has in mind? Use the cornbag colors as a hint, if you need one.
Our collection of backyard games just keeps growing!
We rounded out the night with homemade fajitas, refried beans, Mexican rice, guacamole, and tortilla chips. Can you believe that’s only Saturday? Stay tuned for the next post, Sunday was even busier!
In Celebration of 5
The morning of our anniversary dawned clear and gorgeous! Blue sky, puffy clouds, warm but not too hot temperatures. It was almost a carbon copy of our wedding day. How perfect was that for our anniversary??
For a multi-sport athlete, or at least the one I live with, there is no such thing as a day off. Our anniversary was no exception! We headed out in the morning so Kevin could do an open water swim while I kayaked/life guarded. After a trip to our CSA, lunch, and relaxing, we headed out so Kevin could do a long run. I biked along carrying a lot of water because it was hot and it was humid at that time of day!
Between the two of us, we swam, kayaked, biked, and ran… all in the span of a few hours!
We had reservations at 8 at Tre Cugini, which turned out to be a phenomenal choice. It was absolutely delicious! From the rosemary focaccia we ate while perusing the menu to the final bite of dessert, we were in foodie heaven. We went in different directions—soup v. salad— for our first course. Kevin started out with their Insalata di endivia con noci e gorgonzola (Belgian endive salad with walnuts and chunks of gorgonzola cheese in a raspberry dressing), while I opted for the Tortellini in brodo alla emigliana (House-made meat tortellini in a vegetable broth). Both were spectacular. For his main event, Kevin chose the Gnocchi di patate con quattro formaggi (House-made potato dumplings with mascarpone, gorgonzola, fontina, and parmesan cheese). I had the Arrotolato di pollo con asparagi, spinaci e mozzarella (Pan-seared breast of chicken, stuffed with fresh asparagus, spinach, and mozzarella cheese) which was accompanied by roasted potatoes and a delicious combo of buttery veggies. Everything was spectacular. For dessert, we enjoyed the Sgogliata di cioccolato al’amaretto (Chocolate sheets filled with amaretto chocolate mousse). That in itself was worth the trip! Add in the fact that they had a very talented accordion player (who stopped at our table multiple times during the evening to take requests), some of our favorite beverages (Oberon on tap for Kevin and Black Star’s Late Harvest Riesling for me), and charming atmosphere, and it’s easy to see why they’ve been added to our short list of favorite restaurants!
Anniversary Accolades and Accordions
We told no one but the accordion player that we were there to celebrate our anniversary, yet this is how our dessert arrived. He must have been a spy for the pastry chef!!
We stepped out of the restaurant, which is in the heart of downtown GR, and right into the middle of a party! It was Friday Night at the GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum), and it was hopping! There was a DJ playing swing music, waltzes (including a waltz by Kermit the Frog, who knew??), pop songs, and a whole bunch of other styles. It was very spiffy. Before each dance, the DJ would ask for volunteers to demonstrate the dance steps for everyone. Some very talented couple would skim through the steps, and then the DJ would restart the music so everyone else could join in. Though there was no way to learn the dance perfectly from a 30 second intro, it didn’t matter, because 95% of the crowd didn’t know it either! It was very fun!! Oh, and at one point, the DJ asked if there were any birthdays during the upcoming week. Kevin!! He asked all the birthday people to join him on stage. It ended up being Kevin and 5 other people. Everybody was introduced, said when their birthday was and how old they were going to be, and then the crowd sang Happy Birthday. Very cool! It was one of those occurrences that make me sure that we live in a city that is just the right size. Large enough that they have events like this, but small enough that they do stuff like sing Happy Birthday to each other.
Off to join the party in Rosa Parks Circle!
From fireworks at our reception to parties downtown, it seems like getting married on Fourth of July Weekend was a fabulous choice!!
Swim, Bike, Run, Go to Holland!
Saturday was a busy day that had us up early for Kevin’s 3rd Tri Del Sol at Camp Manitou-Lin in Middleville. This is always a fun one because this race was Kevin’s very first tri ever; so it always feels a little sentimental, going back to where it all began. Sigh. Ok, enough with the mushy, gushy stuff and on to the race recap as seen by this spectator.
The day was beautiful. Blue skies, sunny, and warm— so warm in fact that Kevin decided to forgo his wetsuit for the swim because the water was a balmy 83 degrees! I was thankful for two things with this race. First, that they start these races early. And second, that this was a sprint tri, which means that it was a .5 mile swim, 18 mile bike, and 4.5 mile run— you know, a “SHORT” one. Otherwise, the athletes may have cooked out there on the run portion! We were packed up and on our way home by 10, and the sun was already super hot with temps in the 80s!
Ready for some pictures?
Swim (Well, close enough!), Bike, Run, and FINISHED!
Kevin continued his trend of doing better and better each year. This year, he finished 43 out of 440. For more details and specifics, be sure to check out his post!
After lunch, we headed out on our bikes (Yes, he was game for more biking!) to check out the Uptown Summer Shop Hop. I think they were going for something like Holland’s annual Holiday Open House, where the shops open their doors, featuring sales and sometimes goodies to entice retail activity. Sadly, it didn’t quite work. The shops involved are more spread out, where in Holland, you can just go from one to the other cute establishment before your credit card has even cooled off. But, oh well. It was worth checking out, and since it didn’t take very long and got us thinking of Holland, we decided to head to Holland!
Apparently, the hot temperatures were enough to send just about everyone to the beach. It took us about 20 minutes of waiting in a long and winding line of cars to even get to the guard booth at the entrance of Holland State Park! Once in, the beach was packed. There were so many people there. It looked like an ad campaign. Come to Michigan! Oh, wait. You’re already here!
Busy beach and harbor!
After the beach, we had a yummy dinner at the 8th Street Grille. We were so stuffed afterward that we practically had to roll instead of stroll to all the cute shops on 8th St. I got a cute glass at Home & Company— love that store! And of course, we had to stop by the Holland Peanut Store for some candy because, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been too full for candy. We capped off the evening with some cold drinks at the New Holland Brewing Company before heading home. What a fabulous day!!
Isn’t It Ironic?
Would you believe that I have nearly a gazillion pictures to sort through and posts to write? I feel very behind! It’s ironic, isn’t it? To have an interesting blog, you have to do, photograph, and write about interesting things. Well, our lives have been ever so busy with all kinds of exciting activities that there’s just not been enough time to blog about all of them! Therein lies the irony. A life exploding with so much activity does not leave much time to document it all! And I do so love to document!
There’s so much to share! And rest assured, I will get around to it all… eventually… I hope.
Have a happy weekend!!
Showing Them How It’s Done
Today was our Week 6 CSA Pickup. It reinforced our conclusion that kale and chard must be verrryyy easy to grow! Again, we got a huge bunch of each. As you can see from the picture below, those items make up about half of this week’s haul! Too bad we haven’t developed a taste for either! Which leaves us with the salad greens, parsley, radishes, scallions, few carrots, and zucchini that rounded out this week’s basket.
Week 6’s basket
The funniest part of this week’s pickup was the “1st fruit” option. Each shareholder got to pick one of the following: a zucchini, a pepper, or a tomato. We opted for the zucchini because the pepper was small and the tomato was tiny—about cherry tomato size. The guy behind me in line was incredulous: “You mean I get one tomato? Just one? That’s it?” …Yes, yes it is.
That’s why I was extra happy to see these in our garden:
More than one ripe tomato and two good size peppers
Oh, and Kevin’s Dad brought over some of his excess garden produce earlier today. Two large cucumbers and one gigantic zucchini. No offense to the CSA’s zucchini, but doesn’t it look like a jalapeño in comparison?
Zucchini and mini zucchini
Jammin’
It’s scandalous, I know, but we completely missed strawberry season this year. *Wipe away the tears.* We were busy/out of town each and every possible weekend that we could have been out there picking berries.
But, there will be homemade jam to bring that fresh taste of summer to the cold winter months! Toast, rejoice! I made raspberry jam this weekend. And. It. Is. Goooood.
So sparkly and delicious!
Fresh Herb Inspiration
So, since I didn’t post a photo of our CSA basket this week, I thought you might like to see a couple things we made with our fresh goodies: This week’s Italian parsley joined some oregano and basil from our garden to season some Three Cheese Stuffed Shells. The green leaf, red leaf, radicchio, mixed greens, and radishes joined a cucumber from the Farmers Market to make yummy salads.
Our garden’s oregano and basil
Oh so cheesy stuffed shells!
Greens galore!
Oh, and we used our new napkin rings! I’ll let you guess who rolled each napkin! Hehehe.
Napkin rings and napkins as table art!
We Heart Lettuce and Mini Carrots
I’ve been remiss in posting about the latest CSA news… but no more! Here’s a recap of Weeks 4 and 5… and of our impromptu trip to the farm.
Week 4’s pickup was another “bonus” week in that it included a cooking demo. This particular demo featured different salad dressing recipes. I tried three of the options, and they were all fairly yummy… However, I do plan to tweak the recipes when I make them at home! Most interesting to me, though, was the way they served the dressings, on a mixture of egg noodles, mixed greens, and radish slices. It was a very interesting take on a combo pasta and lettuce-based salad!
Week 4′s chalkboard breakdown, dressing samples, and our basket
Last Friday, we happened to be out near the farm, so we decided to stop in and see where all of these veggies were coming from. Finding it was a bit of a challenge. The address we were given was the farmers’ home address. From the weekly newsletter, I knew that they lived “three doors down” from the farm. The problem was, the house we found based on the address was in a subdivision. It was a puzzlement, to be sure. Where was the farm?? We drove down the street, thinking maybe the street ended at the farm- nope. We drove around the block, thinking maybe the farm was there- nope. We happened across another larger farm, that you could see from a nearby road, but it wasn’t our CSA farm. Where was it?? We decided to go back to the farmers’ home and look again, more carefully, for any sign of the farm. We were getting annoyed at the decided lack of farm when I spotted a little dirt road! It was highly unremarkable, which was probably why we missed it the first time! That road, in the middle of an ordinary neighborhood, led to the farm! Who knew??
A farm in the middle of a neighborhood— highly unusual!
Me picking our allotment of u-pick peas (do you know how few pea pods are in a handful??),
the farmer plowing the field, and Kevin exploring the farm
Week 5’s pickup was a salad extravaganza. I, for one, was very excited by this! Lots of yummy lettuces, more radishes, Italian parsley, and the first carrots of the year! Aside from the fennel and the kale (which Kevin’s Mom ended up taking in full as we’ve decided we’re not on the kale bandwagon), everything else was as good as eaten! I’m not so sure about the fennel. A woman at the pickup was trying to give her portion away since she didn’t like it. We tried little pinches of it, and the results were inconclusive. Kind of an ehhhh taste. Oh, and it made my car smell like black licorice.
Week 5’s chalkboard breakdown… Kevin, Kevin’s Mom, and Kevin’s Grandpa met me at the market for this week’s pickup, and in the hubbub, I forgot to get a picture of this week’s basket—oopsies!
Piece of Cake!
I just baked a cake. From scratch. As in using actual cake flour and separated eggs- the whole shebang.
…And did I mention it was nearly 90 degrees??
This was the first time I’ve made an ice cream cake, so I was kind of nervous about the whole rolling it up bit. I had visions in my head of a crumbled mess of crumbs around a melted heap of ice cream. Thankfully, those visions did not manifest themselves in reality! The resulting cake looks and smells great! I’ll let you know how it tastes once the Birthday Boy has had the inaugural slice.
Spending time in the nice, cool basement before turning on the oven and baking away
Five.
I remember when I turned 5. I was really excited to show people how old I was because it was a whole hand worth of fingers. Now I get an opportunity to do that again. Not for age this time, but for years married.
Yes, that’s right! As of today, Kevin and I have officially been married for 5 wonderful years. So picture me, nose scrunched, huge smile, holding my hand over my head with all 5 fingers spread out wide.
I’ve gotten to spend 5 incredible years married to my very best friend. How awesome is that?? I thank God for writing this stellar love story multiple times a day, to be sure. We’ve been blessed beyond belief! It’s been amazing thus far! And, so I’ve heard *cue Sinatra*: the best is yet to come…
Happy Anniversary, Kevin!!
XOXO
Jennie
