Fresh Cut Fries

One of my memories of childhood was mom and dad getting out the fry baby to fry up onion rings, french fries and corn dogs. Tonight we had the same ambience going on as Steve made fresh cut fries with his french fry cutter ( purchsed from Northern Tool and Equipment). I can still smell that signature deep-fried scent and I'm sure our neighbors are appreciative too!

Pippi

On Friday we took a trip to Barnes and Noble since Anna and Ellie both wanted new books. Anna was looking at the Pippi Longstocking series and it reminded me of what dad always said when I was reading those books. "Are you reading about Peepee Yellowstocking again?"

Soup Day

Today was a perfect day to make soup. Anna had requested wild rice soup so that's what I made. As I was cooking the rice and grating the carrots I thought about how much my dad loved soup. It was one of his favorite meals both to make and eat. He almost always ordered a cup of soup when he went out to dinner. One of his favorites was mom's "zuppa toscana" made like the one at Olive Garden.

Pearl Harbor

On the last trip mom and dad took to Hawaii they spent some time at Pearl Harbor. One of the highlights for dad was a tour of the USS Missouri. The Missouri's claim to fame is that the Empire of Japan officially surrendered on it's decks in 1945. As they toured the ship dad had Stella climb into one of the tiny bunks and then he told her about his days in the Navy. I know this was a great memory for dad and he was so proud to have been able to tell his stories to his grand-daughter.

All you need is...Walgreens

When Myndy and Jason first moved to Woodbury dad spent some time getting to know their surroundings. One of his first finds was Walgreens. He discovered that they had spice drops, reading glasses and peanuts...all in one place. He had no need to go anywhere else!

Ear Aches

Last night Anna had an ear ache. Needless to say it was a long night for both her and her parents. As we were giving her medicine and putting the heating pad on her ear I got a visual of my dad doing the same thing for me. I remember one particularly bad ear ache and how my dad kept the warm wash cloth on my ear and tried to distract me with a Speerno story and some cheese curds.

Christmas Cards

One of the traditions that we've started in our family is that we hang up all of our Christmas cards on the door of our pantry. The kids love to look at them and often there are one or two that are dogeared because someone ( namely Erik) has been carrying them around. This year the favorite card is the one that mom sent out. There are pictures of all of the grandkids but in the middle is a great shot of mom and dad in Hawaii. They look tan, relaxed and happy and dad is even sporting his swimsuit. Erik likes to look at it and point, "Grandpa Myles going swimming!" I'm so glad mom and dad took that trip.