Hot in the City? Make This for Dinner...

Lisa arrived safely last night, right on schedule (about 11:30pm). The girls tried to wait up for her (we took a bubble bath adn did our nails and watched TV on my bed, but they crashed at about 11:15). As I type, each Melin kid is contentedly playing with the gifts she brought them--Hello Kitty scrapbooking kit for Addie, Calico Critters Playset, and a cute set of touch-n-feel cards for Wee Bub. Good times!

Anyway, we are busy today and I can't post recent pix just yet, but here is something DELICIOUS I made for dinner Tuesday night (courtsey of my favorite mag, Real Simple). It's good hot or cold--we ate it cold and LOVED it! It's my first experience with fresh tarragon--a unique taste, but definitely worth buying the fresh stuff in the produce section. Hope you try it and like it!Shredded chicken from rotisserie (I just used 4 breasts left over from grilling)
4 medium carrots, shredded
4 scallions cut on diagonal
1 TB fresh tarragon, chopped
Salt & Pepper
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 TB white wine vinegar
1/2 c EVOOil
3 TB Honey

2 Heads of radicchio
(I used green leaf and you could easily use Bib lettuce leaves)

Combine shredded chicken, carrots, scallions, and tarragon (I even added a cup of chopped celery for crunch).

In small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and honey. Slowly add oil, whisking til emulsified.

Spoon chicken mixture in to lettuce leaves and drizzle with dressing.

AND THEN ENJOY!!!!

(It tastes a lot like the Parisian Salad you can buty at Costco--so good, people! Even Rich filled up on it, and NO COOKING!) Stay cool! XO

The Cutest Thing I Have Ever Seen

Addie and Heidi are drawing and coloring right now and Addie jsut brought me this. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen (except for the Real Thing, and his two sisters!)

Twenty-Four Crazy Hours!

Stop One of Four: The Ward Campout at Mill CreekFriday Night: Now THAT'S a barbecue!
Ward Family eating dinner, bonding 'round the campfire...
Addie and her root beer
James surprised by the flash!

Good Morning! Our tent on Saturday morning
Daddy making pancakes and hashbrowns
Addie and James at Breakfast
During breakfast, the North Dakota Melins arrived...

here James is super- excited to see Cousin Matthew (hence the spaz face).

(Terry Carter is holding Matthew)

Heidi loves Matthew, maybe because, unlike James, Matthew is half her weight!
Heidi had lots of questions for Uncle Jess...
...like "when are we going to the carousel?"

We packed up camp and were gone just after nine, only to quickly huck all our gear into the garage, clean ourselves up, and leave again at 10:30am for Helena.

Stop Two of Four:

The Great Northern Carousel in Helena Rich, James, Mike, Heidi, & Addie spin on the carousel
Heidi and her giddy-up bunny
Addie hiding and Cousin Danny looking on
Jess, TJay, & Summer
Jake (and his mom in the background)
Cute Post family on the carousel...our favorite thing in Helena!

Stop Three of Four: Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour

...but first, popsicles for the 100-degree heat!
How the canyon looks from the boat
Amazing Limestone Formations
Heidi-Lynners on the boat
Sweet Adeline on the boat
The Postums and the Melins pulling away from the marina

James thought Sam and Jake were hilarious...
...here's Jake making us laugh, and look at sweet baby Sam!
Sam Post with his Daddy

TJay Melin and his Daddy
Pictographs (or was it petraglyphs?) on the canyon wall

Heidi got to drive the tour boat...
...and so did Addie
Always check your rear view!

We had a great time on the tour adn can't wait to camp in the canyon sometime!

Thanks for taking us up there, Gram & Gramp Melin!

Stop Four of Four: The Watson Family Barbecue in Townsend, Montana (Watson Irrigation)

Heidi, Me, James, and Grandma enjoy our dinner at the kiddie table...Matt and his kids were behind us on the grass.
Heidi and Jake took a swing while everyone enjoyed the cowboy music. (There was a jumping castle out front, too!)

Here's the fam watching The Ringling Five perform

(We all agreed that Dad Post would love this band--he might even join them!)

And here are the horses in the field at sunset...
...have I mentioned I love Montana Summers?

***

We just couldn't make it til the fireworks...we were beat (Grandpa Melin always wears us out)...we headed home at 9:30 and got to bed about 11:30...WHEW--what a day!

My Wee Hausfraus

While I was doing house work last Monday, the girls went and got their aprons on, too, and brought their animal "babies" up for a nice walk (in the house and on the drive way).When I asked them what they were doing, they said...
"We're playing Mommies. We're walking our babies so we can be healthy."

Yay! No soap-ops and bon-bons for these little hausfraus!

Stay tuned for more pictures of a WILD weekend ...

(after we get THIS Monday's housework done!)

Only TWO DAYS til Aunt Lisa gets here! YAY!

Back on Independence Day

Gabriel & Jared slept over at our house on July 3-4. In the morning, Laura and Darrin came home form the hotel and we all went to Sacajawea Park for a little picnic, then home for siesta. At 5pm, we headed out to the ranch with the Lehmans, the Winsors, and some Melin/Marsh family... Gabriel & James at the ranch picnic July 4th.
Darrin, Laura, & Mom Melin at the ranch picnic.
--Crazy kids playing at the ranch on July 4th: Heidi, Boston, Addie, Alexander, & Jaylee--

Peter & Zuzana came with us to the ranch, too, and we had to leave at 7:30 to take them into town for the last night of the Livingston Roundup--their first rodeo! When we got to the fairgrounds, it was crowded and the signs said "sold out," but Rich jumped out and escorted them to the ticket counter and said, "Can you help me out? I've got two Slovakian students who've never been to a rodeo? Aren't there any tickets at all left?" The ticket person felt sorry for P&Z and handed Rich two $25 ticket and said, "Tell them to have a great time!" So Rich got them in to the rodeo for free and they LOVED it!

In the meantime, we all went back to our house with the Lehmans and the Winsors to eat the yummy Pioneer Woman flag cake I had made. The kids played in the kiddie pool and we all say on the lawn and the hammock and watched the sunset. Soon it was 10pm--time to go watch fireworks at the Claar's house (which is on 3 city lots near the fairgrounds--perfect!). When we got there, the fireworks had begun and the Claars' firepit was all stoked up. The kids were out on the lawn in chairs and blankets, the adults were on the wrap-around porch and lawn chairs, and I could only make out people's faces when a big firework burst. It was sooooo beautiful!

--Addie with her s'more, and Jared in the foreground.--
"OOOOOOO"
"AHHHHHHH"

God Bless America!

--Zuzana and her first s'more --

--Peter & his first s'more--

After the fireworks, Rich picked up Peter and Zuzana from the rodeo and brought them over to make their first s'mores. I also tasted my first roasted banana (yet another thing I missed not going to girls' camp--and no, I still don't regret missing out on camp--not even a delicious banana roasted with chocolate chips, nuts, and marshmallows could make me wish I had participated in the histrionics and catiness of three days in the woods--and DIRT--with adolescent girls, even when I was an adolescent girl). --The Firepit--

It was Norman-Rockwell-eque, and I felt so grateful for all my blessing at that moment--great friends, a fabulous family, liberty, health, education, testimony, charity, home, food, mini-van, Montana weather and beauty...the list goes on and so does my gratitude for ALL OF IT!

Edify & Rejoice

Feeling better today, but still trying to learn: "Kindness is to do and say/ the kindest things in the kindest way." Read about it at Segullah (click).

Also, it's birthday time around here! Happy Birthday yesterday to my nephew Danny and BIL, Mike!

Today, it's Happy Birthday to my Pixie-Niece, Isabelle, and my dear friend Page.

Have a great day!

Something Random

I looked in my photo folder adn saw a bunch of great pictures I haven't posted yet, so here they are in no particular order:

James takes a bath in the sink!
He loves baths! All three of my kids are such water babies...
Don't forget to get behind your ears!
Heidi & Addie on June 18, 2007
What they're doing: Greeting Daddy as he comes home for lunch on his birthday
What they're wearing: I made them three different skirts for summer this year and let them choose the fabrics. This yellow fabric was Heidi's choice.

"Yay, Dad!"

Rich took this photo of the moonrise over Livingston--

isn't it beautiful!?!