We went out this weekend to try to get good photos of the boys. We borrowed Dan’s camera in hopes of getting some good shots so we didn’t have to pay someone this year. I think we succeeded. You be the judge. We went downtown with the intention of going to the Myriad Gardens but when we got there we ended up having to park near Stage Center, and decided it might be fun to take a few shots there as well. We really liked the area and ended up taking ALL the shots there and never even going to the gardens. The boys did pretty good. Chase got tired of us after a while but really he put up with a lot. So here’s some of the shots.  Enjoy!

So I picked up some roast on sale last week at Target. I have been playing with ways to season a crock pot cooked roast for about a year now. It’s always good but it’s never blow your mind good until now. I found a great great combo. I didn’t take photos because frankly we ate it immediately because it smelled so good. Maybe next time.  I also used the juices left in the crock pot to make a gravy for our potatoes. The gravy was AMAZING. The boys would have bathed in it had I let them. Aiden said it was the best gravy he ever had!! Of course everything was gluten free casein free.

Balsamic Herb Rubbed Roast

You will need:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Balsalmic Vinegar
• Dried Rosemary
• Dried Thyme
• Minced Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 1 Roast

– Cut up your onions into rings. Place half in the bottom of the crock pot, add a few tablespoons of minced garlic. We like garlic in this house so we use a lot. Drizzle in about 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar.
– Drizzle the roast with a small amount of olive oil, a small amount of balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper, add about 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Rub it all over the side facing up. Pat it in.
– Place roast seasoned side down in the crock pot. Now season the side facing up the same way.
– Place remaining onions over the roast and pop on the lid.  Cook on low until done.

For the Gravy… (trust me you WANT the gravy!!!)

You will need :

• GHEE
• Corn Starch
• Juices from roast
• Salt
• Pepper

Remove Roast and onions from the juice in the crock pot. Reserve the juice.

– Melt 3 or 4 tbls of ghee, spectrum spread, or butter in a pan over medium heat. (We used ghee).
– Sprinkle a little cornstarch into the butter, mixing it in with a wisk.
– Continuously whisking — Quickly but gradually add in the juices from the roast that you reserved. (It’s okay if the garlic and few smaller onions come with it). Season with salt and pepper.
– Keep whisking gravy as it cooks until its as thick as you want it. Remove from heat and serve. It’s killer on your mashed potatoes.

So Neil and I knew it was going to happen somewhat soon. In fact we even talked about it a few months back, and were a little nervous to say the least. We were really concerned about Chase losing his first tooth. We wondered how he would handle it or what he would think… Well it happened.

!!!!!CHASE LOST HIS VERY FIRST TOOTH!!!!!

I took the kids to Red Robin for lunch. Yes me and 4 kids alone. They were ANGELS. Seriously I had a few people stop to tell me how impressed they were, and the server complimented me on how well behaved they were and how she was impressed at how well they used their manners etc…  So we were almost done with the meal and I started talking to Chase and realized as he’s chewing a fry that something looks wrong with his mouth. I THEN REALIZE HIS TOOTH IS GONE!! I told him to smile big at me and sure enough theres a little gap on the bottom with a speck of blood. He lost it and apparently swallowed it with his food.

So I told him he lost it and he’s like “ya” and just kept saying “ya” to me not getting it. Aiden and I were excited. I finally as we were getting ready to leave took his finger and put it in the “hole” and he gets this shocked look and says “OH NO, OH NO!!! MY TOOTH, MY TOOTH IT’S MISSING!!” He was disturbed by the fact it was “missing” but not too upset. I just talked him down and he was okay. We got out to the car and he got up in the mirror and looked at it and got a little upset again but then decided it was okay. He sat there the whole way home putting his tongue in the hole, or his finger, or curling his lip around his teeth.

It was sweet, and he was over it fast enough. I was very very relieved that it went okay and that it wasn’t as traumatic an experience as it could have been for him, in fact he really doesn’t care much about it after the initial shock wore off.

I can’t believe he is big enough to lose teeth. Blows my mind. My boys are growing up waaaaay too fast for my liking. Alex was pretty mad he hasn’t lost his teeth yet and wanted to know the day and time his first tooth will come out now. LOL!!!

I will take pictures tonight and post them up!!

****Update**** Here’s a picture of Chase