Saturday, 4/30/2011

My parents and I got so much accomplished today!  It rained this morning, so we couldn't do much outside.  While mom and I played with Katie, my dad started to organize and clean out the garage.  He took a trip to the local building materials donation shop to get rid of light fixtures we no longer needed.  When he was done organizing, he had given us back three feet of space from side to side in our garage.  Whoo hoo!  When the rain stopped, my mom and I set out to weed the terrace to make room for the raised beds.  Katie spent her time watching Toy Story on my iPod in her stroller.  It's the only movie I have in a digital format, and she loves it.  The iPod gave my mom and I enough time to fill our yard waste bin with extra debris ready to go in next week's bin.  Dad got the structure for the two beds built today.  We'll mix the soil and fill them tomorrow.  

Katie and I picked Ben up at the airport this afternoon.  Katie ran to him, hugged and kissed him, and told him she loved him.  What a happy reunion!  We then met my parents at Anthony's Home Port in Des Moines for dinner.  Katie and my dad had fish and chips.  Ben had steak and coconut prawns.  He was really disappointed in the steak.  While cooked perfectly, it was lacking flavor.  The prawns and his caesar salad were excellent.  My mom and I started with spinach and bacon salads, topped with dill vinaigrette.  The salad was delicious!  I really wish I knew how to make that dressing.  Yum!  We also each had halibut for our main dish.  Mine was pan fried and her's was oven baked.  Both were perfectly tasty.  Dinner with my family-- what a wonderful way to finish a day.