Culinary Competition

At the end of the school year, which happened to be 2 weeks ago,  the culinary lab at the career center holds a culinary competition. 

First, they start out competing against their classmates for a postion on the competition team.  This took about 2 weeks and in the end LittleE was selected as the team alternate.  YEA!!

Next, they compete with other surrounding area schools for medals and scholarships, and look what LittleE brought home from school that night!

Yep, she did great! 




The day before the competition was to take place however, she was informed that she would be competing for another school in the next county over.  Chef graciously loaned them LittleE plus one other student.

While competing, she was responsible for the appetizer for her team-- zucchini fritters!  Of couse, we here at home have yet to taste them, but they must have been very good.  That's right... when LittleE is at home she doesn't cook... sad, but true.

I did get her to make potato skins though a few weeks ago when grandma and papa were here.  They were delicious!

Back to the competition....
LittleE's "other county" team won third place in the team competition garnering her a $2000 scholarship to a top culinary school. 

She won a silver medal for her personal chef skills, plus
she won a gold medal for being the top overall scoring team.

I'd say it was a pretty good evening, and in her words, "the fastest 2 hours of my life."

Great job, LittleE!

Birthdays!!

In the last 30 days we celebrated 3 birthdays with 3 birthday ice cream cakes!

Happy Birthday to Tim!

Happy Birthday to BigJ, who hit the teens this year!

And Happy Birthday to LittleE!

We have definitely had our fill of ice cream cake, as that is what everyone chooses these days.

I guess I should learn to make my own.

Ya know, I think I might just do that for my own birthday which is coming up next.

A Mother's Day Photo at the Gardens

On Mother's Day last Sunday we decided to stop by the Fellows Riverside Gardens in Youngstown.  I like flowers, and some day I'll actually plant my own.  But in the mean time, I am enjoying other people's flowers, while I dream about having them all in my yard at home.

I found a good spot for a photo of the kids though, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Everyone's usually game for a photo.... except ONE!

LittleJ is such a goof ball sometimes, and he loves to have fun. 

 I like that.... most of the time.

Then, his shoe fell off....

... but in the end, I had a satisfying portrait.

 I love my family!

The Dorm Room Shuffle

Last week we brought LittleA home from Cornerstone U.  She completed her freshman year and is ready for a summer of fun, work, and relaxation.  As you can see, we packed the car as full as possible, including luggage in the car top carrier.  To say the least, it was cozy!

Everyone was glad to finally make it home!  Welcome home, LittleA!!

My Reading List

     My reading list continues to grow this year with the completion of 2 more books.  I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 5 or 6 weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely, from beginning to end.  Then as I was considering some possibilities, though really not sure of where I wanted to go next, I came across a biography called Tolkien And C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship.

Both of these men are two of my favorite authors so I decided to give the book a try.  The beginning seemed a little bland at first with the discussion of each man's upbringing, but once the author reached the beginning of the friendship the book turned around.

I found their friendship very interesting and enjoyed learning about what that friendship meant to each of them.

So what's next on my reading list?  I'm not sure.  Having read most of Tolkien including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion, I don't have many more places to go with him;  I don't think I'm ready to begin the Unfinished Tales.

With C.S. Lewis I've read the seven books of the Narnia Chronicles and his science fiction space trilogy.  All absolutely wonderful stories, and next school year we will be studying Narnia.  I'm also thinking we'll be doing The Hobbit as well.

But, I put another C.S. Lewis on hold at the library, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold.  It was highly recommended in the biography.  I hope I like it.

The Trillium Are Blooming!

Last Saturday we drove back out to Johnson Woods to see if the Trillium had started blooming yet.

It ended up being a fairly warm day, and before we were all the way around the 1 mile boardwalk LittleJ had to take off his boots because his feet were hot.

He also convinced LittleE that he was "SO TIRED" and needed a ride!








Here is the largest patch of Trillium, protected by the wire enclosure so the deer won't eat them.  Aren't they beautiful?  Many of them still weren't open yet.

   

These are Mayapples.  They look like little umbrellas with small pink flowers that bloom underneath.

This one, I believe, is a Swamp Buttercup. 

Close to the end of our hike, Little E spied this little guy sunning himself next to the boardwalk.

LittleE is showing off one of the larger trees in the woods.

I love walking in the woods and I'm so glad everyone humors me and comes along! 

It's Prom Season

Last week was prom at the career center for LittleE and she asked her best friend to go along with her.

Can you believe that Barbie pink dress on her?  Usually she avoids pink because of her red (uh... strawberry blonde) hair, but when she tried it on at the shop it looked fantastic.

She fell in love with it!

They both look beautiful!

One down, one more to go. 

She gets to go to a different prom with another best friend.

YEAH!