Friday, July 24, 2015

Gateses to Pittsburgh!

Pittsburgh, July 2015

The Gates family took a quick trip to Pittsburgh on Tuesday. We stayed at a really cool hotel, a renovated historic home in Shadyside. We had the second floor to ourselves, and that allowed us to really spread out and enjoy it.

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Above photos from Shadyside Inn & Suites
Pittsburgh, July 2015
It was in the middle of a neighborhood very close to the Shadyside shopping area, so we walked to dinner, got some frozen yogurt on the way home, and then Jenn and Lincoln got to go for a nice morning coffee walk the next day. After they got back, we spent the morning at the Pittsburgh Zoo...
Pittsburgh, July 2015
Pittsburgh, July 2015Pittsburgh, July 2015
Pittsburgh, July 2015
We saw them give an elephant a bath!
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Pittsburgh, July 2015

... and the early afternoon at the Duquesne Incline before coming back home.

Pittsburgh, July 2015

FLASHBACK, same location (bigger boy & better camera):

May 2009:


July, 2015:
Pittsburgh, July 2015

Monday, July 20, 2015

Jenn's First Wedding Cake

Wedding Cake

And this past weekend, Jenn delivered her first wedding cake.

  • She made a mold of the lace from the bride's veil
  • hand crafted and painted the flowers
  • textured the tulle by running the fondant & veil through the pasta maker
  • (the topper is a brooch bouquet provided by the bride)
And the cake flavors…
  • Upper: dark chocolate cake w/ raspberry preserves and Nutella buttercream
  • Lower: yellow cake w/ Kahlua syrup and mascarpone espresso buttercream (think tiramisu)
  • each layer covered with dark chocolate ganache and finished with *tasty* fondant

Wedding Cake
Wedding Cake
Wedding Cake

In other news...

Lydia joined me at the clinic a number of times last week, and she bandaged this leg properly the first time without any instruction!

Fracture Repair

Another French Night

French Week, Crepe Night

As if Jenn hadn't knocked us all out with her French theming the previous days, we had another go-round a week ago Friday night (I'm getting to this a bit late). And she just kept impressing.

Our location was Bonjour Crepe. (Lincoln chose the name.)

French Week, Crepe NightFrench Week, Crepe NightFrench Week, Crepe Night
French Week, Crepe Night
Lincoln shows what Euros look like.

French Week, Crepe NightFrench Week, Crepe Night
French Week, Crepe NightFrench Week, Crepe Night
French Week, Crepe Night

The kids hung their Impressionist art (that Jenn had taught about a few days prior... and did I mention that they visited the Akron Art Museum on Thursday?), we "popped a cork" on some sparkling grape juice... er... Special Kid Wine, and each of the kids participated in the serving of dinner, putting together and folding the (yummy!)crepes that Jenn prepared. Buckwheat crepes, with a variety of cheeses, smoked salmon & ham made up the main course; and for dessert, we spread sweat cream cheese & nutella, then loaded them with peaches, bananas & strawberries.

They each paid for their service with some little Euros we printed, and each of them really seemed to enjoy serving each other.

And to say they cleaned their plates would be an understatement.

French Week, Crepe NightFrench Week, Crepe NightFrench Week, Crepe Night

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

French Night

French Dinner

It's homeschooling time again, and the country of the week is France! Jenn pulled out the maps and books and taught the kids everything that their little brains could hold about France. When I got home from work on Tuesday, Lincoln told me about how the French were involved in World War II!

French DinnerFrench Dinner

So the big French dinner was on Wednesday evening, and Jenn went bonkers. Before I get to the detailed menu, I'll just spoil the big surprise and say that...

OUR KIDS ATE ESCARGOT!!!

AND LIKED IT & ASKED FOR MORE!!!!!!

Jenn was a proud mama. And speaking of Jenn, I'll leave the rest of the text to her...

French Dinner
French DinnerLydia loves her escargot!

Dinner at Chateaux Gates was a four course culinary extravaganza. The kids had no idea four separate courses were even possible - They thought we were done after the cheese plate. :) Lydia set a beautiful table, with the real silver Grandma and Grandpa Mullen passed down, and Ryan queued up the French Café Pandora station to enhance the mood. So, on with our menu...

Course 1 - French Cheese Sampler with Accompaniments -Délice de Bourgogne (a triple cream, silky rich cow's milk cheese); Roquefort (a sheep's milk blue cheese from the south of France); Camembert (another triple cream cow's milk cheese which was baked with rosemary and olive oil) Accompaniments included fig jam, dates, green apples, french bread toasted with olive oil, red grapes and an assortment of crackers. Just to be complete, I served Escargot. As Ryan said, shockingly, the kids each ate theirs and asked for more! Unbelievable.

Moving on to Course 2 with a Spinach and Kale Salad with green apple and Chavrie (a mild goat's milk cheese produced in France) with an Apple Cider Vinaigrette. Mostly just the cheese was french, but we needed some veggies. :)

Course 3 - Quiche (I took many liberties here due to time and ingredient restraints, however the bones of the dish were French, so I'll call it a win.)

Lastly, Course 4 - Dessert. Lincoln helped prepare a Berry Clafoutis. Traditionally, I believe cherries are used, but if Julia Child can encourage experimentation with ingredients, then I can too.

French DinnerFrench Dinner

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Hilton Head


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Not a week after we were through with Fayetteville, WV, and the kids were in Columbus, we took off for Hilton Head Island for a gathering of the Gates-Gates-Hopwood crew. The beach was fantastic, the pool was lots of fun, we had comfortable sleeping arrangements in the house, and dinners were amazing.

One evening Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug kept the kids so the Hopwoods could visit Palmetto Bluff and Jenn and I could visit Beaufort. We took a really cool walk around Hunting Island then had a wonderful dinner at the Old Bull Tavern. The food, service and drinks were incredible... one of our better restaurant experiences.


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The beach where we were at, a stone's throw north of Sea Pines, was perfect. Long and gradual, with a nice tide pool during low tide that was great for seeing wildlife: hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, blue crabs, minnows & mussels.


The bike paths around the island are neat, and good for running in the shade, but think long and hard before you take bikes for young kids. Lincoln (7) was a good age for using the paths. Lydia & Henry (4.5) needed lots of (stressful) guidance to keep them on the correct side of the path and out of others' ways.


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Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge was a morning stop for us that was fantabulous.


We loved the ocean...

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... and, of course, the pool...



There were crafts, a visit to the local diner, sand castles, a light house climb, planet sightings, alligators, and just a whole lot of fun. (And notice the alligator just behind the kids in the photo below!)

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