Memories from the Week You Turned 30

Hi Topher,

You're turning 30 in a few hours.  Ten years from now, you may have forgotten the little memories from this week.  This post is to remind you, when you are an even older guy than you are now.

 Stockton has been supervising outside projects from under the apple tree.

 Six baby chickens live in our living room.  You are constructing a coop outside, and it can't be done fast enough for me.  One day while you were gone this week, the chickens escaped from their crate, and Stockton tried to help me catch them.  I ended up "sweeping" them out the front door with a broom until you and Logan got home.  I can only barely tolerate the chickens.  Logan, Stockton, and you all love them.

 Stockton loves bouncing in the doorway.  He also loves playing with and sucking on a plastic snake he nicked from Logan.

 We have been working on the garden together.  Until this year, your schedule has been busy, and you haven't had much time available to help us.  We're glad to have you on the brute labor force this year.  You're good at it.

 This is you hoeing in the corn rows.

This is Logan planting the corn.

Sometimes Logan takes a break and plays with the chickies.

Oh yeah, the week you turned 30, you got a diploma for your MBA!  We celebrated by having a little "staycation" downtown and seeing some of the sites.  Your graduation ceremony will be in July.

 We spent one evening at the Red Butte Gardens.

 Where we took lots and lots of pictures.

 We also went to your favorite Brazilian Steakhouse for a carnivorous dinner.  Logan's favorite dish... the rattlesnake.  Yours, the cheese bread and chicken hearts. 

 Stockton planted open mouth kisses on you throughout the evening.

 We met up with some of our favorites, the Birds, to play at the Family History Library. 

 Then, we headed over to check out the new City Creek mall,

 followed by a trip to the planetarium, 

and a train ride for Logan.

Happy Birthday!  I hope the next decade is a happy one for you.

Salad Bar in the Fridge

This is a post to share one of the better ideas I've had in the last decade.  I call it, "Salad Bar in the Fridge".  I've started spending about an 1-2 hours at the beginning of the week chopping fresh foods for salads and stocking the fridge with ready to eat, easy to throw together, whole foods.  Over the past couple of months, we've started eating different varieties of salads for 8-10 meals during the week (southwest, asian, BLT, nuts/berries, cobb, leftovers).  Topher and Logan have been able to help "cook" lunch/dinner more frequently, and we're all feeling like healthy little rabbits (except when we binge on chocolate cake or something of the sort). 

I rotate items based on what is on sale (and what is growing in the garden out back).  At any given time, I have about 25 of these items on hand.  Here are some of our the items we have tried... in case you want to make your own.

Veggies
spinach
romaine lettuce
chopped red cabbage
shredded carrots
sliced cucumber
red onion
avocado
shoestring beets
olives
chopped celery
tomatoes (fresh and dehydrated from last year's garden)
peas
corn
sprouts
kale
cilantro
basil

Fruits
apples
mangoes
blackberries
blueberries
strawberries
raspberries
grapes
pineapple
mandarin oranges

Other (These are nice because they add protein, keep my husband on board with eating lots of salads, and most of them can be stored longer than the fresh items above.  Even if the item doesn't require refrigeration, I store them in the fridge on a designated shelf.  It makes assembly quick when I'm in a hurry... which is always.)


Parmesan cheese
Bleu cheese
Feta cheese
Mozarella cheese
Cheddar cheese
Goat cheese
Gorgonzola cheese
sunflower seeds
almonds
walnuts
pecans
hazelnuts
bacon crumbles (crisp in microwave for 30 sec)
pepperoni (crisp in microwave for 30 sec and crumble)
chopped cooked chicken
chopped turkey
hard boiled eggs
croutons
kidney beans
black beans
raisins
Crasins
shredded coconut
4-5 dressings