The Search for Miss Direction: Yes, we like Pina Coladas (and Jim Gill)

Jim Gill! Jim Gill! Jim Gill!

Noah and Mikayla have been so wound all day I thought the 7pm concert would never arrive. I did manage to distract them for a bit with a fabulous Kid Kitchen celebrating our food today - pina coladas!

If you like pina coladas.....

Which everyone here does we found out. The kiddos and I put together a batch of pina colada popsicles first and I let them taste test the liquid batter, which was basically a virgin pina colada. (Pineapple, coconut milk, banana and some vanilla) It was given a huge thumbs up as were the popsicles by the whole crew when we feasted on them after dinner. As not the biggest coconut fan, I can usually take or leave a pina colada, but these were pretty yummy.

We also put together a pina colada salad which consisted of vanilla yogurt, coconut milk, shredded coconut, banana and pineapple. We ended up throwing in some mini oranges for color, too. Noah got to work on his knife skills as I let him dice up the pineapple for the salad. I gave him a pretty sharp serrated knife to make it easy to get through the pineapple and admit that I held my breath the majority of the time he was using it. I know I was standing right there, and I know that unless he practices he won't get it (and he is only five) and I know that we've had numerous conversations and instructions on knife usage, but still! He did a great job and the salad was a hit as well.

And since I had more time to distract them Noah and Kayla helped me make dinner as well. We made something brand new called "lasagna rice" using the end of the basmati I had made up for yesterday's fried rice. It's basically just what it sounds like - lasagna using rice instead of noodles. Not only did the kiddos have fun making it, but everyone here raved about it. I love finding successful uses for leftovers...

And finally, it was time for the concert! First, a huge shout-out to the library for getting Jim Gill to come and give the concert. As I've mentioned repeatedly over the past few days, Noah and Kayla have been looking forward to this for months and we were not disappointed. There was tons of dancing, singing, and playing - as he described it a real 'family concert' We all got to participate and play and had a great time. He did do "Alabama, Mississippi" but the kids were a little bummed that he didn't do "Oh Hey Oh Hi Hello" Otherwise, what a great concert!

On a completely unrelated note, my thoughts and prayers are in Fremont tonight. A huge storm ripped through the area this afternoon causing extensive damage. Fortunately, everyone is safe and accounted for. As of 8pm, my parents were still without power. Shell and Dudley had a good deal of damage done to their house. Mom says probably 30-40% of the trees are down in the nearby park and most of the roads around their house are shut down. I saw reports of a funnel cloud in Bettsville and possibly Gibsonburg. I am scheduled to head that direction tomorrow afternoon, but at this point am not sure if I will be going or not. Prayers and thoughts sent to all of them.

Blueberry muffins, pavilion storytime and a possible trip to the 'Mont tomorrow! Until then...