Memorial Day Weekend

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Breakfast

John and Jason seem to think that the Robisons always have to post pictures and reviews of their food. It must be the new trendy thing to do. This morning I had a wonderful bowl of grapenuts cereal topped with fresh strawberries. The colors and textures were superb. Rachel had a bowl life cereal. I think the milk she used was 1%. She seemed to really like it.

3 Mermaids ... Grace, Tessa and Taylor

Practicing

Jamie and Jenny came to Boise with Jenny's kids for the weekend. We finally got to meet darling 2 month old Mason. The girls are taking every opportunity to practice having a little brother!

John has always wanted a Pirate party!

One of John's patients found out it was his birthday and threw him a surprise party at the office. This patient is quite a character! He is a real pirate. He went all out ... giving real swords to all the office staff and blasting crazy pirate music. The party was very fun and very random. John didn't quite know what to say besides, "Oh....ummm...I've always wanted a pirate birthday party." Okay, I know the cake picture is sideways. I put it in the right way 3 times and it always turns sideways. Just tilt your head.

Baby Boy's Room!

I have been working sooooo hard all week nesting. I know it is a little early but I've been going at it for a while now. I guess I want to be on top of things before the kids get out of school and before I get too fat. We have a lot going on this summer and I want to be able to lay by the pool and work on my tan when we are around instead of organizing my house. Anyways, I have been painting my butt off this week. John helped me with the nursery ceiling last weekend (it was yellow, now it's white) and since then, I've done the walls, sanded and painted the dresser and knobs, the blue slats on the bed and the crib. If I never see another piece of sandpaper it will be too soon! So we got the room set up and now I don't know where to go from here. It is way too matchy matchy. I love the crib bedding (click on the picture and you will be able to see it better) but I need to bring in more to the room. I especially need advice for what color to put on the twin size bed ... should I get a tan duvet cover? I have ordered a yard of the brown and white houndstooth fabric (like the ties on the bumper) to maybe make a sham or something. I also need a lamp and maybe some sort of window treatment. Somebody help me???

Jazzy Rachel

This is Rachel's jazz recital costume...

Julia's Clarinet Solo

Ballet Recital Videos

Grace is the little one in the middle of the back row...

Little Ballerina Grace

Grace had her dress rehearsal today. All the little girls thought they instantly turned into fairy princesses when they put on their sparkly white costumes.

Sweet Tessa

This is Tessa's school picture that she brought home today. She is my little buddy these days. She is the best helper I have ever had. She is at my side giving her 100% helping with any job I am doing. This week we are sanding and painting a dresser for the nursery. She is the only kid that stayed with me working through the tough sanding part so she is the only one I am going to let help paint. The other girls are ticked!

Mother's Day and the $100 Appetizer

John has a tradition of going all out for dinner on Mother's Day. This year he asked me if I had any requests and I told him to make a pasta with vodka cream sauce. I had set aside a recipe a long time ago but have not made it since I never make it into a liquor store. Well he looked that over and decided to make that and fresh homemade crabcakes. He typed up his grocery list and made his big plan for the day. I told him I would stop in the seafood market yesterday and buy the crabmeat since I would be running around near there anyways. I walked up to the counter and asked for 3 lbs of fresh crabmeat. They looked at me funny and said, "Are you sure you want 3 lbs?". I looked over to the price and it was $30 per lb! I told them to wait while I called my husband. I told John the price and he said that the plan was in motion and he needed the crabmeat. I need to mention that he has a major pet peeve of running out of food. He hates it when people underestimate what they need and guests are left wanting more. He wanted to triple the recipe because his brother and mother would be there. Anyways, I bought the crab and John spent all morning in the kitchen before church and about 2 hours after church. I have never seen so many different fresh herbs being minced at one time. Julia was his little assistant by his side all day. She loves to cook. So ... we had a wonderful dinner. They made a creamy lemon herb sauce for the crabcakes and everything turned out perfect - and we have plenty of leftovers. Now they are facing a mess in the kitchen that will probably take all night to clean. Happy Mother's Day!

25 Week Belly Picture ...

Can you read the t-shirt?

Poor Neglected Tessa

I was not giving Tessa much attention this morning. I cleaned the freezer, put some laundry in, ran on the treadmill and then took a shower. She is just so good at entertaining herself. She colored for a while and played with some toys. Finally she came into the bathroom and saw that I was drying my hair and getting ready for the day. Without even saying a word, she went and got the Chutes and Ladders game and set it up on the floor beside me. She got 2 players out and started playing. She would spin and move herself, then spin and say, "you got a 6 mom ... you get to climb the ladder!" ... and she would move my player along. She happily played a whole 2 player game of Chutes and Ladders without me doing a thing. As soon as I was done in the bathroom, I sat down and played a round with her so I guess she wasn't totally neglected.

Julia's Wonderful Crepe Recipe

Julia and Rachel learned how to make a fancy dinner at their Achievement Days activity a few weeks ago. Their teacher is the very experienced Chef Doughty from our ward. The other day Julia made these and they were very yummy! It may seem like a lot of ingredients that are not normally on hand but it is worth it!

Crepes:
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
3 eggs
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
Make the crepes a little thicker than usual.


White Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
For white sauce: in small pan melt butter. Wisk in flour and cook well. Add milk and simmer until thick. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper.


Filling:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
2 cups mushrooms - sliced
1 box frozen chopped spinach - thawed and squeezed
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes - thin sliced or chopped
2 oz gorgonzola cheese - crumbled
3 tbsp premade pesto sauce
1 recipe white sauce
2 cups cooked chicken - shredded or cut into pieces
For filling: In large saute pan heat the oil and add onions and mushrooms. Cook until golden sliding pan as needed to brown evenly. Add garlic and stir until aromatic. Add a few tablespoons of water to get the nice golden color off the bottom of the pan and onto the vegetables stirring as needed. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, including premade white sauce. Taste for salt as you will probably need another 1/4 tsp or so.


Topping:
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup pinenuts
1/4 cup parmesan cheese - grated
2 tbsp olive oil
For topping: combine all ingredients (except oil) and process in blender until it looks like coarse meal. Transfer to small bowl and drizzle with olive oil and mix well with fingers.

This makes enough for about 10 crepes.

To assemble: fill each crepe with about 1/4 cup of filling and shape it to look like a twinkie. Roll and place in greased casserold dish. Drizzle w/ a little olive oil and sprinkle top with crumb mixture.

Bake in preheated 375/400 degree oven until top is golden and filling is hot - about 20-25 minutes.

Happy Birthday to Grace!

Grace was a great sport about having to celebrate her birthday a few days late (we were still in Florida). We had a fun time with cake and presents yesterday. Tessa was the assistant present opener. I can't believe Grace is 6!

A Few More Florida Pics

Rachel and Dad.

This was Rachel's favorite activity. She was flipping all over the place.

Rachel won the poolside hula hoop contest.

We both really needed manicures. Rachel even got flowers on her thumbs.

A little mermaid.

Rachel's Florida Trip

We have been taking one kid at a time on special trips. It was Rachel's turn and we went to St. Pete's beach in Florida. She had a great time. She doesn't like to lay around and relax like I do. She kept me hopping from activity to activity. Luckily it was a nice resort with lots of things to do.

Rachel loved the beautiful beach!

This was a cool ocean tricycle that the hotel had.

Rachel trying to relax.

Mom with the 5 minute rest time that Rachel allowed her.

Rachel met the Pirate Red Beard. He taught her to make a shark tooth necklace.