We're off to the Fair!

We headed to the fairgrounds Ssaturday, bright and early at 9:00 a.m. in order to beat the heat. Our goals were simple; take Chris to see the animals, get some food, see some booths, and send the little guy down Big Pink. Adam was volunteering in the Elephant Ear booth the rotary club runs at noon so we had three hours which was plenty of time.

I'd forgotten how active the animals are earlier in the day during fair week we always seem to go in the evening and by then they are hot and tired. As we walked through the pig barn more than a couple of pigs were eager to check us out, sniffing and talking as we let Christopher take it all in. He got a little scared when one big snout touched his leg but was enjoying it otherwise. He pet quite a few bunnies, but was much more excited about the chickens. He kept saying we were at the circus. He had fun in Old McDonald's Barn and loved running on the hay barrels that surrounded the duck pond.

After the animals we went through the booths and non-living exhibits rather quickly. I even purchased my first duck ever. The next stop was funnel cake, Christopher's very fist taste of one. It was cute we pretty much had to tear it away from him. He found it very very tasty and was trying to finish it off by himself.

Then we headed over to Big Pink. Christopher loves slides so we had to get him on this one. Adam volunteered to go down with him. Chris loved it and was beaming by the time he got to the bottom of the slide. He even tried to walk back up it, silly boy. Next year we'll try to get him on more rides, he saw the strawberries and really wanted to get in one, however he's a bit short to get on most of them and we were pressed for time.

We meant to get turkey legs however they somehow were forgotten at the end of the day. Twitter saved us however. You see a friend of Adam's was still at the fair, we knew this because of her tweet and she graciously delivered turkey legs to the house, saving the day.

Mmmm Mmmmm Good

Thank you Banta's!! Those were some yummy cupcakes.

My super awesome birthday!!

This last Monday, June 1st I headed up to my big sister's in Skagit County. You see she'd been working on a surprise birthday getaway for me as I'm turning 30 this year. All I knew was that we'd be going to Seattle and I'd need some good walking shoes, a swimsuit and a good book to read.

In my head I'd been flipping through all the possible things she could have planned: a day at the zoo, the food tour walk of Pike's Place, or just a nice relaxing couple of days hanging out by the pool enjoying the company of a good book and each other. How wrong I was.

Monday night when we got to her house after watching my very talented nephew play some basketball I got to open the big box waiting for me. I untied the string and pulled the bag away, out popped a big mickey mouse balloon... I didn't think much of it, I love Disney stuff so thought it was cute. Then I read the scroll she'd attached to it. Many heartfelt sentiments, the kind that bring tears to your eyes were written (I love my sister very much, she's my best friend) and the last line, "I decided we should celebrate your first magical 30 years at the Magic Kingdom!!!"

I was in shock and disbelief. No way would my sister surprise me with a trip to Disneyland, but sure enough she did. I haven't been since 2005 (which I know doesn't sound like long, but trust me it is) and didn't think I would be going for a while, you see my little man is a little bit short, he'll be six before he can get on most of the rides. I was so excited I couldn't even show it properly. Theresa you're the best sister a girl could have, thank you for the trip and the effort you put into it. I loved the shirts you made us too!! I will treasure this memory always.

Here are some pictures.

The reflection of the castle in the "moat" at night was gorgeous.

We decided to get our faces painted.


I'm celebrating!! I'm celebrating!!


Our last day. We were sad but had a great time!!!


Even Christopher got to share in the magic.

My family and I had a great dinner on the 10th. My mom always does such a great job and it really is all I need to warm my heart, getting to spend precious quality time with my family. We joked and giggled over a great gluten/dairy/pepper/tomato/citrus free dinner. I know, crazy right.

Adam took me out to Bonefish on the actual day of my birth and got me a Kindle with a cover for my gift. I'm very excited to get to using it. I love to read and this was the perfect thing to get me. Thanks honey!!

I also want to say thank you to all my loved ones, family and friends that touched base and said hello to me on my birthday. It meant a lot. Thank you so much.

I'll leave you with this for now and will post again soon. Love, Rachel

Going as local as possible.

This month I was thinking hard about how I wanted to feed my family this summer. We're self employed, and while my husbands business is doing well we're on a pretty strict budget. We eat at home 99% of the time, going out maybe once a month.

I know I want to support my local agriculture and farming community and I've got a good start. I signed up for my local CSA. This is the first time I'm participating in a CSA. While I lived in Eugene for four years I got exposed to the idea as a few of my friends were doing it. We moved back to the Tri-Cities however and I was sure we didn't have anything like that. I was wrong Schreiber & Sons provides a wonderful CSA service for my area.

I received my first box last Thursday and was extremely happy and very excited to put it to use. They are even able to work with those of us with allergies/intolerances and will make sure (to the best of their ability) your box doesn't include those. I can't wait to blog throughout the summer sharing the foods I make with my farm fresh fruits and veggies.

I've also purchased a side of grass fed beef from a local rancher (also had to buy a freezer, :-) Thanks to a gluten free friend for the contact. I'm very excited to have done this, my family used to raise our own pasture fed beef for food, however my parents have gotten a little older, the fence is in need of repair and I don't think they have the energy nor funds to do it themselves anymore. The next best thing was for me to find somebody else local to purchase from. The freezer is now full of meat and we've have a steak from our grass fed cow. Very very tasty. Thank you Andrew Miller of Morning Star Farms in Pasco.

The last thing I'm excited to do is visit our local farmer's market. I go to the Pasco Farmer's Market. My mother used to take us there and I always loved the feel of it, and going now brings back fond memories for me. That is where I will continue to go with my family. I hope to get at the Farmer's Market those things that I don't get in my CSA box weekly.

While this is my plan, there are still some things I will have to go to the supermarket for. There is nothing wrong with that, it's simply a fact of life. I do shop at WinCo Foods, and our local healthfood store Highland Health Foods where I can buy my gluten free flours in bulk and other assorted gluten free items. Occasionally I will shop at Yoke's or Fred Meyer...

It'll be a fun summer and I plan on enjoying my weekly box of CSA goodies, and local produce from the farmers market to go with my grass fed beef. What are you doing to support your local market? I'm curious to know what avenues I may not have looked at.

Getting closer.

That's right. We're getting very close to the 20th. The day we get to go and pick up our puppy. I'm very excited and just trying to get everything together so that when the little guy gets here he'll have all his needs taken care of. It'll be fun taking him on all our Christmas stops, as I can't see leaving a puppy we've had for just a few days home alone. Here are the pictures of the litter. We'll be getting one of the boys! Less than two weeks, I can't believe it.

I've started working on Christmas cards today, and wrapping some gifts. I only have two that require any shipping which makes it easy on me. Most friends and family will be getting tasty treats made by me, saving me precious money and making the gift that much more special. I hope you are all well out there in the world and enjoying the season!

He didn't have a chance.

Poor little Christopher. He didn't have a chance, what with my side of the family being completely allergy ridden. It started small, he reacted to cinnamon... getting a little red around his mouth and his face just a tad splotchy. Then it carried on to strawberries, citrus and egg whites. All these foods we avoid as well as we can. No life threatening reactions to them, simply a very red and bumpy goatee with some mild splotchyness of his face.

Well the other night I was eating a peanut butter and honey rice cake. I broke off a tiny little piece, maybe a pea size worth of peanut butter on it, the first time I'd be giving any to Chris. Within two minutes of eating it his lips were swollen and blistered and his face had red angry looking bumps wherever he touched it with his little peanut butter hands. It was the worst reaction he's had. I was scared and I watched him very closely the rest of the evening. It slowly cleared up but I'm keeping it as far away from his as I can now.

I feel so bad, there are so many foods he can't eat, yummy foods. He CAN eat wheat.... as far as I know. I won't be able to start deducing if he's got a wheat issue until he can tell me how he feels when he's eaten it and he becomes more "regular." Hopefully he'll grow out of them and will someday be able to eat cinnamon, eggs, strawberries, citrus and peanut butter. For now though, they are off the menu.

Chugging along.

Adam is home after a long week of being gone. He went to Minnesota to visit family and get a little business in. His first day out hunting he downed his deer, a nice young (not to young,) buck that will be tasty to eat. I'm glad to have the extra meat in the freezer as it means less money out of my pocket. So, all in all he had a good time and is happy to be home.

I had an uneventful week. Went shopping with my mom for Christmas gifts, took a Quickbooks class... cooked, cleaned a little. Christopher got to play with Katie and spend some quality time with the grandparents. (He also got to play with Beckett and Grason today, so he had a busy week.)

I've started a gluten free blog. Living Without Wheat. It's not much and I probably won't post more than once a week but I thought it was important that I share what I know about eating gluten free, and that it might be fun to have a food blog. I'm open to recipe suggestions so send them my way if you have any.

A little sprinkling of Christopher.

Today was pretty fun. Christopher slept in until 8 this morning, giving me of course a morning I would consider getting to sleep in. We did some dishes (dishwasher currently out of service so this was by hand,) folded some laundry and vacuumed. We had a wonderful lunch together of some pasta with sauteed tomatoes and garlic. The neighbor called and we took our kids to the park. Katie loves playing with Christopher and visa versa so it was a good time. Here are a couple of pictures.

From Christopher Michael

From Christopher Michael

From Christopher Michael

After the park we went to Fred Meyer to visit grandma. Christopher has chosen the terms amma for grandma and papa for grandpa. It's very cute and he actually asks for them now.

A couple of weeks ago I made Gluten Free onion rings. Very tasty. Adam and I decided to let Christopher have a go at one. He loved it, a messy meal but very worth it. Hope you enjoy the little update and the pictures.

From Christopher Michael

Adam is currently spending his last week away from home as a Symantec employee and we're very happy to have him home full time. The end of September is coming fast and we're excited and nervous to really get nGenuity going full swing and be done with Symantec (hopefully for good.) Keep us in your thoughts and send some positive vibes our way.

A little bit of Chris.

Tuesday we went to the fair. We met my parents there and listened to Chicago, they were pretty good and I'm sure Adam enjoyed the drum solo! We got there and went through the animal barns first, the pigs were being herded to the show ring so were walking right past Christopher, pretty much at his level... his little eyes were wide with wonder and I hardly got a word out of him he was taking so much in. He was pretty much in the same quiet, wide eyed state in the cow barn too, but once we got the the chickens and bunnies he was smiling and pointing... "Birdie, bunny!!" It was cute, he even got to have a bunny in his lap. He's very good at patting the fuzzy animals nicely as we practice with Kiro kitty at home. He was in heaven. Here's a picture of Adam and Chris at the concert.

Lately Chris has taken to running around the house with my baseball cap on. Usually backwards, but occasionally with it facing forward, completely covering his face. He of course can't see like this, but it's very fun for him and he giggles and runs (slowly, almost in place,) every time he does it. I thought I would share a goofy picture of him with my hat on. He likes to get very close to the camera right now for some reason.

This last photo is an interesting one. Christopher was being very quiet in the living room. I was washing dishes I think and so I decided to check on him. When I looked over the couch to see him sitting on the floor I discovered he was "hungry" and since mommy was taking to long to feed him he took it upon himself to have a snack.

That's right, he ate his nerf ball. I don't actually think he swallowed any, he was just biting the pieces off and setting them on the floor. By the way, that foamy stuff feels gross when it's all covered in slobber.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was pretty darn good. On the 22nd Adam, Christopher and I headed out to my sisters house. My parents came out too and we got to meet my sister's soon to be in-laws. It was a yummy traditional meal; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, yams and pie!! I of course didn't get to eat with the rest of the family because Christopher has wonderful timing when it comes to meals and decided he was hungry.

On Saturday the 24th I hosted our family dinner. My first time hosting Thanksgiving and I had 14 people. Grandparents, both sisters and their families and my parental units of course. The turkey was great, very moist, herb roasted potatoes, green beans, yams, stuffing, pie... etc. Everything was wheat free and milk free. You would never have known, in fact many people eating didn't know. It's so nice to be able to not worry about being sick after a meal like that and have it turn out so great. Again, I didn't get to eat with the crowd, I was feeding the baby who's timing is impeccable. It was great to get so many family members in one place at one time. I'm making bread today so I can have a turkey sandwich... yummy!!!

The great part was that my mom kicked butt on the Wii. She was playing Mario Party mini games and rocking it. My dad even played with my nephews for a bit. I don't know if my grandparents played at all but they hung out up there for a while. I love that we have something that's so easy to use anybody can jump in and enjoy themselves. Definitely a good investment.

From Baldwin Blath...

Deer Hunting in Minnesota

I spent last week hunting with my dad (and only had to do minimal computer work). I haven't been deer hunting in Minnesota since 2001 and I had a great time. It was a full week of doing absolutely nothing. By the end of the week I even forgot what the date was.

My dad shot a 6 point (3 point for you crazy people who think that you should only count 1 side of the antlers) and I shot a 4 point.

Friday night I stayed with friends (Justin and Chris) and of course went out and had too much fun before I had to fly back home at 6:00 AM on Saturday. I had to literally kick Justin in the shoulder to get him up so I would be at the airport on time.