Monday, June 30, 2008

Ooh La La

Nas and I went to Costco this afternoon. They were sampling French Crepes. Nas and I love crepes. We bought some and are now very happy. This is what we made for dessert.
Costco Crepes & Reddi Whip



Our finished product (strawberries & Reddi Whip on the inside too)

Recipe for deliciousness

These pictures are actually from last Thursday. This was my breakfast.
Take a bunch of fresh strawberries.
Add some sour cream and brown sugar.

Enjoy!
Arezou & Evan arrived in town yesterday for a week's visit. Matty is now officially taller than both of them.


Arezou comforting Remy (thunderstorms were out & about - Remy was very upset).

The men - talking men stuff.



Papa, Matty, Omid & I headed out East to Cascade Locks today to see if we could buy some Salmon. We found a local who had a beautiful King Salmon for sale. It was 25 lbs. and she was selling it for a ridiculous $200! We couldn't believe it! We said no thanks and then headed back home (she was the only fish seller out there today.

On the way home, we stopped off at Multnomah Falls (neither Omid nor Papa has been there before). It was a really beautiful day. The sign at MF says over 2 million visitors a year visit - it seemed like there were at least 5,000 there today. Busy is an understatement.
The view of the Falls from the parking lot.



Matty cooling his feet.

Photo of the lower falls

God's Light

Please click on this photo to get a better view. I noticed this gentlemen (I am sure visiting from a different country). Omid & I coudln't take our eyes off his footwear. In this country, what he had on his feet are for women. They were also a size too small. I told Omid I just had to get a photo. Now that I took this photo and left this comment, I am sure that I have made several mistakes in the different countries I have visited and locals have photographed me as well. So I don't feel too bad.

Omid bought Matty & I giant soft serve cones. They were super nummy. Mine is vanilla and Matty had choc/vanilla swirl.

**NOTE: Nas is absent from the above post as she wouldn't let me take her photo yesterday or today.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Olympia Visit Part 2

Saturday night we had a small bday party for my mom. We had a bbq with too much food.

Here is my deeeelicious fruit dip and fruit (strawberries from Spooners). The pound cake was the first to go (Naseem!).


Papa's bbq chicken.



Cynce's potato salad


Naseem made a blackberry cobbler for dessert.


Cynthia snoozing outside.

enjoying the sunshine
My parents yard is so lush & green - it's a haven for gnomes. I used to search for gnomes & unicorns in the yard when I got home from school. It's a middle child thing.

Remy - zonked out from the heat (& exhausted from searching for gnomes).

Hot Hammish

Papa & Nas were the chefs of the evening.

Papa bbqing the chicken.

Black & White



Do you like butter?

Olympia Visit Part 1

The kids and I rolled into Olympia on Thursday to visit family & celebrate my mom's bday on Saturday. We picked up our posse and went to eat lunch at our favorite restaurant in town, Ramblin Jacks. Most every time we visit Oly, we eat here. It's a bad habit.



B & I stopped off at the Spooner's Strawberry Stand and picked up a 1/2 flat for my contribution to Saturday's dinner.

Then we made another stop to visit Buddy, our other sister's 11 year old lab. Buddy just had surgery to remove a cancerous (?) lymph node. They won't know the results until Tuesday. He was all drugged up and still came out to say hello to B and I. So polite.


Buddy's shaved face. He received 42 stitches. Poor boy.

Next, our rich sister, Cynthia, took all of us to the Olympia Golf & Country Club (she is a member) and we hung out at the pool. Cynthia knew a lot of people there. I felt like I was in an episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County.

Cousins


Noodles



Aunt B, Cayden & Matty


Cousins

Matty and I took a walk down to the Country Club's beach. Mt. Rainier looked so beautiful.


Budd Inlet

Saturday, June 28, 2008

While I would love to post a new blog with lots of photos, I cannot. The kids and I are here in Oly and I forgot my usb cord for my camera. The one my parents have doesn't work with my camera - so we're stuck until we come home tomorrow.

By the way...Happy birthday Mom and Happy Birthday Arezou. HOpe you both enjoyed your days!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Picnic Dinner

We headed over to the Port Park tonight for dinner. We had to take advantage of the beautiful evening.Johnsonville Brats for dinner.
Don't take my photo!

Look at Remy eyeing Matty's dinner.


Thirsty boy.

Say Cheese!



Say cheeseburger!

If you check Nas' blog, she has two other 'race' videos. I'd like to say I was full on dinner, but the truth is, it's been over 20 years (!!!) since I've ran and it shows in this video. :( If you watch the video to the end, listen to my pathetic excuse. :(

The kids and I went to see the new Adam Sandler movie today (You Don't Mess With the Zohan). It was classic Adam Sandler. Rude, crude, gross, disgusting, politically incorrect and very funny.

In between all the funny stuff, the movie had a great message: Peace. Peace between all people of all colors & religions. The point was made several times during the movie. It was great.

On a side note, we have some friends who are moving to North Carolina soon. They just returned from a house hunting trip. It was sad, as they experienced racism first hand at a restaurant. My friend said it was terrible - she felt so sad. She always goes out of her way to make sure she makes others feel comfortable, and then this happens. It's terrible.

The same can be said for Omid. When he was a student at WSU (not so long ago), the locals would say terrible things. I remember being so incensed at the things that were hurled his way when we would be eating out at a restaurant in town. Educating people is key. That is why I visit with the middle & HS students every spring and educate them about Iran & what I've learned about it's culture (& from living in a bicultural household). The kids are so eager to learn about the world & how we're all not that different from one another.

Brace Face

I use the title term lovingly (so no nasty comments please). I wore braces for almost 5 years (4 3/4 to be exact), so I know how it feels to wear braces. Now it's cool to wear them - back then (in the 70's/early 80's), they weren't as hip as they are now.

So...Matty couldn't sleep in this morning. He had to rise early and go to the ortho.


Before
After.
No more gum, popcorn, caramels or soda for this boy.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Fish Tacos - Part 2

While Omid was busy talking to coworkers in Singapore, I prepared our fish taco sauce. Juice of 1 and a half limes, not quite half a packet of taco seasoning and approximately 1 cup of sour cream. Mix all three in a squeeze bottle and shake, shake, shake. When Omid finally got home from work, he fired up the grill and cooked the fish for us.
It was a tasty dinner. I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but I assure the dinner was delicious.