Tasting Menu

Since we have a few foodies in the family, thought I'd share the menu from last night:

Hamachi Sashimi

micro greens, caviar-lime dressing

Hirsch Gruener Veltliner, Heilingenstein, Kamptal Austria 2006

Sauteed Hudson Valley Foie Gras

asian pear-ginger salad, onion marmalade

Jean Vesselle Brut, Reserve, Champage, France NV

Nantucket Bay Scallops

sunchoke creme, cardoon barigoule, hand-rolled pasta and truffle sause

Mastroberardino Fiano di Avellino, Campania, Italy 2007

Roasted Breast of Pheasant

salsify, pecan cream, matsutake mushrooms and cognac-pheasant jus

Jean Raphet, Les Bussieres, Chambolle-Musigny, Burgundy, France 1990

and

Grilled New York Brandt Natural Beef

ragout of short ribs, swiss chard and baby carrots, pommes puree, bordelaise sauce

Rocoulons

red wind-apple compote

Yalumba Shiraz-Viognier, Barossa, Australia 2001

Apple Creme Brulee

palmier pastry, cinnamon ice cream

Lillypilly, Noble Blend, Riverina, New South Wales, Australia 2006

Seven Years

Leslie and I are celebrating our seven year anniversary this evening. Seems like we just got engaged yesterday. Have organized a sitter for the kids and will be enjoying the chef's tasting menu at Studio in Laguna Beach - perhaps one of the nicest oceanfront dining experiences in all of Southern California. Looking forward to a few hours of fun with Les and a ton more anniversary dinners. 

Sunset Picnic at the Beach

Last night we packed up dinner and drove over the hill to the ocean for a Spectacular Sunset Picnic Dinner.

I realized quickly that there would be no sunset, but we were undaunted and kept driving.



We got the sweet treat of seeing the Corona Del Mar bunnies! (Other cities have rats...CDM has bunnies)



We got fancy and brought a table and everything


Sarah thought it was pretty cool


Andrew loved it - and shows his pleasure with his "dinosaur face"


Owen had subdued fun - he's still sicky


It was super fun Sunday night! (don't mind the slightly frozen expressions...that camera timer takes much longer than it should!)

Paper Planes

A couple of weekends ago we headed to the park after church

On the playground Andrew found an abandoned paper airplane

The next hour the boys flew and chased their planes

The next time they ask for a big expensive toy

I'm going to send them outside with a piece of paper

Bones

Poor Owen has been sick since Tuesday and is still not back to himself.

I don't know if he has the flu but he had three days of fever and now he's really congested and coughing a lot.

I hope he's back to himself soon.

I miss the excitement he brings around here.

Saturday

Checking in! We've been really busy - but today we had no plans and it was wonderful.

Owen

Owen is just the cutest thing ever. He's lovey, and smart and full of energy. He's also Andrew's mimic. If Andrew says something Owen will say it too. Sometimes it's clear that Owen has no idea what Andrew meant, but that doesn't stop him from repeating it! If Andrew plays with something, Owen wants it too. Owen goes his own way in a few important areas though: Owen will eat anything you put in front of him and lots of it! His teachers call him "piggy" because he is always asking for more food at lunch and snack. Owen also prefers Diego to Dora, and has really attached to his blue blanket. I do not want to be around if we ever lose that blanket! Owen loves to take baths and loves the water. He's still young for swimming lessons (non- parent involved lessons), but we'll enroll him as soon as we can.

Andrew

Andrew is exploring the joys of potty humor...I didn't know it happened so young!  I'll spare you the details but he thinks nothing is funnier.   As he rounds 4 and a half and heads toward 5 years old, his play has become much more complex.  He's pretending and using his imagination a lot and it shows as he plays being a dinosaur, flying an airplane, or taking tickets on a train and its a lot more social.  He's playing pretend games with his friends.  Sometimes, I'll come and pick up Andrew and see him with his friends before he notices me and its hilarious to watch them chase each other around being dinosaurs.   Or watching them all shoot each other. It seems that the boys at this age love the shooting games - every toy can somehow be transformed into a weapon - (hmmm, I maybe starting to regret letting him watch all the Star Wars movies....).   

Andrew is still a very picky eater and right now I couldn't really tell you what he ate all weekend.  I think I only actually saw him drink a few sippy cups of milk, and eat a cliff bar and a few strawberries!  

Swimming lessons continue and he's really enjoying them.  Some of his friends are now in soccer, t-ball, and golf and we'll choose another sport soon.  Most likely we'll do soccer, but we'll see. 

After a rough first year with ear infections and respiratory problems, Andrew has been really healthy (very tempted to delete that sentence as to not tempt fate....).   We are praying that all the kids stay healthy and avoid the H1N1 virus.   We are debating whether to get the vaccine or not - we probably will when its available.

Andrew and Owen are quite the twosome - they play and fight, but mostly prefer to be around each other than separate. 

Sarah

Sarah had a great time this weekend hanging out with the family. She hit a major milestone and rolled over all by herself on Saturday! Another milestone she reached was being clobbered by her brother. She's fine but we were a bit stressed after one of the boys fell on her, while Eric was right there changing her diaper! But as you can see below, she's doing just fine.

Sarah Barah

Sarah Barah, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Sarah continues to delight around here. She had her four month appointment last week (a little early). She's doing exceptionally well (of course!).

Here are the stats:

Weight: 14 pounds, 10 ounces, 87 percentile
Height: 24.25 inches, 70 percentile

Happy Times

 

 

 

Labor Day Weekend

One of the nice things about living in a beautiful place is that you don't have to go very far to get vacation quality experiences.  Case in point, our last few days hanging out in Laguna Beach, going to the Newport Dunes for movies at the beach, playing in the fountain at the District and enjoying our neighborhood pool.  Hope everyone's enjoying a few days off.  Let us know what you've been up to.

Brooks Street in Laguna Beach after church and fish tacos. 

Brothers embracing - 1 second before a hug becomes a full-nelson

Sarah watching the waves crash on the beach while sitting on Dad's lap

Leslie shopping in Corona Del Mar and turning heads at the bikini store

Eric enjoying a rare moment of silence on the couch

Happy Labor Day Weekend!