Ep: Three

Here we have yet another family feast...thanks to Brandon and mostly Diana! Suffice it to say, this was so good that several family members have partaken of leftovers for BREAKFAST! Dad also provided yet another of the reknowned Fred-Salads.

Note the exquisite tablescape of artichoke and eggplant tealight-candle-holders!

Episode: Two

Alrighty then, here's the gist of our daily format:
- someone provides a group activity or performance
- another soul creates an evening feast
- many one-liners are recorded in "The Purple Book"

Throughout the day, these items are graded, culminating in an end-of-day voting process for stars (gold, of course, reigns supreme)

Detailing our menu @ Chez Mindy:
- Roast Beast au Dill over Sourdough Briquettes
- Fred's Famous Festive Flora Fontaine (sans fauna) aka Dad's superb salade
- Dill Antipasto
- Cherry Nut Vanilla Surprise
Yeah...she got lots of gold stars!

I've captured this particular day with an app that you can grab for a 30-day trial.

First full day in Oz

One of the coolest things to see is Fiona and Gramps interacting. Think Fiona thinks it's cool too?! But seriously -- it is very cool.

Monday's Dinner by Lisa

Menu: OZ...Asian Style
- Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Grilled Glazed Chicken Breastlets
- Sautéd Pork Dumplings
- Gourmet Fortune Cookies (yep, these babies were homemade with custom handmade fortunes
UPDATE: A couple more photos added courtesy of B & D

P.E. requirement

Coach led us out for mandatory P.E. at 9:45 a.m. Wow this place is full of hills. Feel the burn, Jane Fonda! There's no shoulders on the roads, and cars swing around the curves upwards of 35mph, so we were prepared to SCRAM to the ditches. A sheriff drove by, and then slowed and backed up. He asked if we were OK -- umm, since we (OK, well, Mom) were picking up trash in the ditch, we think he thought we were homeless. Hee.

First eve

Well, after much trial and many tribulations, all the family arrived in the same space, except for Stevie -- who had to drive back to Ames for a partial week of work. And Opie, who went with him. Lamberts in Springfield was our dinner destination, and we all chowed royally. Mindy caught all our rolls except two. Hee!

The Reveal

Well, Mom and Dad have seen it now, so I can show the world ... ta da! I made a sizeable donation to Locks For Love! And I feel like a NEW person. And 10 lbs. lighter. Whew!

Big News

Paco ... deconstructed

Here is the REAL Paco, just so y'all know we're not kooky.

Extended Halloween

Erin's Halloween Party

Woo hoo! We were so honored to be invited to Erin's Halloween costume party, and was it ever a BLAST! Silly me, however, never imagined we have already entered the boy-girl party-zone (duh, they're teenagers), so the prizes I brought for best costume were embaressingly girlie. The boys were all great sports about it, though (especially Mullet-Boy, who we both--separately--mistook for a girl). Steve's Paco costume was a HUGE hit, and he was a trooper for wearing it (all of 10 minutes). Robin's got better pix, so I'll probably replace mine a bit later. Thanks again, Erin!