Trout for Lunch

I have been trying to eat more fish lately, and so I picked up a couple rainbow trout at the grocery store. I am always a bit nervous when I prepare it, because fish isn't always cheap, so I don't want to ruin it. I'm also trying to get my kids hooked on fish, so I want to make it in a way that they'll like it too.
Here is what I did, but I may not be doing exact measurements!

I patted the fish dry with a paper towel. The oven was preheating at 475. On the inside of the whole boneless trout, I sprinkled in kosher salt, added pepper, and white truffle butter(I think the special butter added a richness of flavor!). I cut up lemon slices and put them inside the trout and then closed the trout. I added lemon slices on top of the skin after I coated the skin with some olive oil drizzle. I baked for about 24 minutes. When I pulled it out, I warmed up some citrus soy sauce from Wegman's. I sauteed some mushrooms in butter on the cooktop as a side dish.

Delicious meal! My kids loved it and said it was the best fish they have ever had. Even my husband liked it. The kids didn't care for the sauce, so that is why I served in a side bowl and just spooned some onto my own fish. Truthfully the sauce was delicious, but the fish was still excellent without it too.  Such a simple meal, but so tasty! I can't wait to make it again.

12 Years Together

This weekend we celebrated our 12th anniversary.  I think this was one of our best anniversaries ever!
For starters, we had a date night on Friday.  We went to one of our favorite places, Coastal Flats.  My husband had reserved a table that morning, so when we got there that evening, the staff was expecting our arrival. We got many congrats from the employees.  Phil ordered his usual, the delicious steak, and I got the scrumptious pecan crusted trout.  The food there never disappoints. We turned down dessert since we were full, but then our server came back and said that he would give it to us for free. I don't know about you, but I don't turn down free $7 desserts, especially if chocolate is an option. We ordered the chocolate waffle. Delicious! Turns out the staff had prepared a special hand drawn card for us, and they all signed the back. Our dessert had chocolate words drawn on the plate, congratulating us on 12 years. We ended the night by going to see the Hunger Games.
One reason we celebrated early is because Father's Day fell on our anniversary this year. We took a long time coming up with a plan for Father's Day, and we still hadn't figured out our plans except to go to church. Well between services, Phil got the most brilliant idea ever.  He asked me if we could pull off going to Ocean City, MD after second service. Well, if you know me at all, you'll know I didn't hesitate about an offer to go to the beach! 
After church, we told the surprised and very excited kids. We rushed home, grabbed some stuff, asked a neighbor to watch the dog, and hopped in the car. No fancy Father's Day lunch today, just McDonald's for the road! We arrived in Ocean City at 4:30 pm.  We put our toes in the water, walked the boardwalk, indulged in Fisher's popcorn and Kohr's ice cream.  We had dinner at Lobster Shanty at Fenwick Island.  We ended the evening by playing a round of indoor miniature golf at 10:30 at night. 
We reluctantly got back in the car and drove home, getting back about 2:30 a.m. so my husband could go to work in the morning.
Was it worth it? Absolutely! We had an amazing anniversary and Father's Day! The memories of this weekend will stay with us for many years to come.

Plants versus Zombies Cake

My son wanted a Plants vs. Zombies theme for his seventh birthday. I wasn't too excited about the zombie part, but the plants I can handle. This pea shooter cake was the perfect compromise. I looked around the internet for ideas, and decided on this cute pea shooter. My husband is artistic with cakes, so he worked on the design and then decorated the cake. I made the cake, but that is the easy part. Dave, my son, was absolutely thrilled. Watch out zombies, we have a pea shooter!

Pool Fun

Today was a gorgeous summer day. I went to the pool with my sister. We hung out and read magazines and talked, while the kids splashed and played in the water. Here are some photos from our relaxing afternoon. Christina playing with her water doll. She has a
December birthday, so up until now it has been just a
bath toy.Christina and her cousin Joshua playing together at the pool.
Christina and her cousin Jason playing.
Dave showing his muscles, cousin Jenny, and Andrew. They all have passed their swim test so they can go all over the pool. Days like this make me wish summer could last all year round. Sometimes I want to pause time; the kids are growing so fast!

Stink Bag

So the other day I was on a walk with my cutie dog Pepper. We usually walk about 2 miles. Well, I must have been distracted because I realized I had dropped one of her poop bags. I looked behind me, and it was no where in sight. I had no desire to retrace my steps to find it, but I still felt bad leaving a bag of "stuff" on the sidewalk.
Fast forward two days, and I decided to go on my usual walk again. I was happy to find the bag of dog leftovers on a street corner. I must have dropped it when I was rounding the corner. Well, trying to be a good neighbor, I picked up the bag from two days ago. I continued on my walk.
As I kept walking, this jogger ran past me and gave me a strange look. I looked down, and the dog bag was leaking. It was all over my shirt, pants, and legs. Ugh!! It had rained the night before, and I didn't realize the bag had a leak and had filled with water. I found a nearby trashcan and discarded the bag. I don't usually like to use other people's trashcans, but I was not about to carry the bag and leaking contents the rest of the way home!
Anyway, I made it home with the doggy, told my husband my disgusting story, and hopped into the shower.
Lesson learned!

Cute Conversation

Christina: Why did God make kids?
David: So they would enjoy the world He made.
Christina: How did He make them?
David: He just said "Let there be boys and girls" and there were boys and girls.
Christina: How did He make princesses; Did He just say, "Let there be princesses" and there were princesses?

Sometimes it is fun to just listen in to the sweet conversations.

Something Magical

Yesterday, my son Dave lost his tooth. It had been loose for awhile, and around dinner time he pulled it out himself. It was so fun to see his excitement!
We soon began discussing the tooth fairy coming to visit. He was a little worried the tooth fairy would be busy and forget to come by. Dave knew that a teen in our church had lost a baby tooth on the same day, so the tooth fairy had more than one stop to make.
The tooth fairy made her appearance. Dave was delighted to find a pile of coins in his room this morning. He was also thrilled to discover the GLITTERY fairy dust trail that led from his bed to the windowsill. I was so excited when my little baby Dave grew that first tooth and now I'm just as proud that only a hole remains where that sweet little tooth used to be.