Someday I will be done with late summer/early fall posts.  Unfortunately, today is not that day.  Ha.  So while it seems forever ago now, we squeezed in one last summer-esque outing last month.  Because the kids always love to visit the fair and have memories now of going every year.  But also mostly because we had bought the Costco pack of tickets, forgot about them, then remembered them one week before the fair would be packed up and gone til next year. So away we went.  This time on a weekend day which meant CROWDED.  Boo.  But still fun. Deep fried candy bar.  Because seriously, what’s the fair without getting…

This one went over very well with the family- lots of flavor in the different components and the kids had seconds and thirds of the green beans!  This was another really easy meal to throw together- always my favorite kind. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil 6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on 3 garlic cloves, minced pressed 1/2 cup dry white wine, or stock 3/4 cup chicken stock 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried ground thyme 15 oz quartered artichoke hearts in water (drained) Directions Preheat oven to 425. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet…

The last day of our little Legoland getaway… Apparently (apparently I say “apparently” a lot because now Allie’s been saying it a lot too) Jonah was done with pictures. Allie wanted a shot with her daddy.  And this Lego pilot guy.  I have a feeling I’m supposed to know who he is. This was number 1 on Mikey’s list of things he didn’t want to miss before leaving Legoland. This guy could’ve stayed here all day doing this if we let him. Racers, are you ready? And they’re off! Making sure we got on some more rides was tops on Allie’s list for this last day. Her daddy wanted to…

The next morning… These little critters found their way onto our bed. They sure are pesky sometimes, but I think we’ll keep ’em. Mikey took this one. And while Mikey was taking that one, the peskiest one of all found a chocolate coin, managed to quietly get it free from the foil wrapper, and was happily breaking his fast. We managed to pull ourselves together by mid-morning-ish, joined forces once again with our compadres, and set out to spend the day here. To look at these (awww, the wittle baby!)… and these… and these.  Only they were hot and were sitting downwind of something unacceptable to their noses.  I think…

For several years, my parents have run a group home for adults with developmental disabilities.  And every year, my step-mom takes the group out on a special trip.  In past years, they’ve gone on cruises, visited the Grand Canyon, and went to Disneyland among other things.  This past summer, Mira told us this year’s trip was going to be a weekend at Legoland in September. And so, all of us (my brother’s family too) came tagging along! We stayed in the newly built Legoland Hotel.  More on that to come… This giant Lego tower in the middle of the lobby was our first clue that this was no ordinary hotel. …