More pics from our trip to Atlantic City

Atlantic City Baby!

About a month ago, my best friend Cari from North Carolina met me in Atlantic City for Spring Break. Cari brought her 2 kids Andrew and Emily. They are almost to the day the same age as Maggie and Audrey, and they truely are the best of friends when they are together. We looked at this as a little farewell trip since we'll be moving in June. Since we've lived on the East coast, we've been able to see Cari and her family several times. Now that we'll be far away from each other, it will be hard not to see her as often. Although, we're hoping to see each other at least once a year. Cari was my roommate in college, and I'm so glad that we've stayed such good friends. She is such a loyal, generous friend. Thanks for such an awesome time! Even though it was cold, there was so much to do at the resort. Besides, the kids were content swimming every day! We also enjoyed the aquarium, childrens museum, playig the Wii, flying kites on the beach and walking on the boardwalk. Here are a few pics from our aweseome trip. It has taken me a long time to post these, because Cari took most of the pictures and just mailed me the disc with 823 pics on it. Don't worry, I won't show all of them.

How do you cook bacon?

My children love it when I cook bacon for them. I have always hated the smelly, greasy mess it makes frying it on a pan. Then I went to the microwave, and it just made them all shrivel up. We are HUGE fans of Barefoot Contessa. If you have never watched her on the food network, or you don't own one of her cookbooks I suggest you get one. We're talking high quality! So, I was watching her show the other day and saw this great new way to cook your bacon. This morning I tried it, and it was amazing! Not only did it taste delicious,it didn't make a big, smelly mess. I don't think I'll ever be able to cook bacon the old way again--I'm converted!

Barefoot Contessa's Maple- Roasted Bacon recipe

Ingredients

3/4 lb thick-cut smoked bacon (16 slices) .(I used store brand and it was still good.)
1-2 tbsp good maple syrup (i used store brand, and it was still good.)

Directions

Step #1 Preheat the oven to 400F degrees F.
Step #2 Place a baking rack on a sheet pan lined with foil & arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack.
Step #3 Bake for 15 to 20 mins, until the bacon begins to brown.
Step #4 Remove the pan carefully from the oven; there will be hot grease in the pan! Brush the bacon slices with maple syrup & bake for another 3 to 5 mins, until the bacon is a warm golden brown.
Step #5 Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels & serve warm.
Enjoy the Barefoot Contessa's Maple- Roasted Bacon recipe

Funny Drew

Today I was looking at the Seagull book catalog that I got in the mail. I found some pictures of the savior and I asked Drew who it was. His reply was "Ho,Ho,Ho!" --that's right, he thought it was Santa Claus. Just when I thought I was failing as a parent, he came through and said it was Jesus.

Charlie and Lola addicts

It's official! We are Charlie and Lola addicts. We really are completely obsessed it's rediculous.(I am a teensy weensy bit more obsessd than the kids.) Why do we enjoy it so much? I love how Charlie interacts with his little sister Lola--he is such a kind big brother, and Lola is just the the cutest thing ever! All of the kids LOVE the show, and we watch them on demand quite often. Everytime the theme song comes on, Audrey and Drew run in circles. We've even bought a few books, and I must say that my British accent is improving each day. --Maggie's accent isn't so bad either. I'm even starting to say the word "completely" a lot and I think I even called the garbage "rubbish" the other day. My favorite episode is "please may I have some of yours?" It absolutley completely is my favorite and my best.

This was our first favorite

This is one of the best--especially if you have a lot of wobbly teeth at your house

The girls were a little unsure about this one. It has a lot to do with Lola's imaginary friend Soren Lorensen, and he appears "ghostlike" throughout the book. It kind of freaked them out, and Maggie said she couldn't sleep one night because of Soren Lorensen. We've had a chat about imaginary friends, and everything is fine now. Yep, we're hooked!--YOu have to read it with a british accent to get the full effect.