Old Man's Cave & the Rest of Early August

Since we got back from Old Man's Cave & the Ohio/Midwest CCAI reunion a couple of weekends ago, the action hasn't stopped around here. Between the kids visiting the wildlife park with Grandpa Doug and Grandma Paulette, to Lincoln fishing Leesville Lake with Grandpa Doug, to the Cruisin' The Chapel benefit event at church with over 500 classic cars, to a last-minute decision to drive to Pittsburgh and catch Auntie Haley's exhibition game, we've been busy beavers around here. And school's about to start!

Gateses to Pittsburgh!

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.

Above photos from Shadyside Inn & Suites

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...

We saw them give an elephant a bath!

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

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

May 2009: July, 2015:

Jenn's First 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

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!

Another French 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.)

Lincoln shows what Euros look like.

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 Night

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!

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...

Lydia 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.