Fitting everything we want to do in, can sometimes be a challenge. Connor really likes to cook, and would like to learn to make more things. Moving forward we are going to try and fit in a "Meal Planning" day on Monday's. Today Connor planned his meal: Ham, Bacon, Pepperoni, and Pineapple Pizza, Caesar Salad (with homemade croutons and dressing) and Chocolate Lava Cake for Dessert. In addition to planning his meal, Connor had to make his ingredients list (see what we had on hand) and make a grocery list. He had to navigate the cart to try and find his items, and check the ad for coupons. We used our Betty Crocker Cookbook to find the recipes. One of the challenges with planning a meal is figuring out the best order to cook your meal in. In most cases Connor would have started with the dessert, but the Lava Cake needed to be served warm. Connor decided to start with making his croutons e(they made the house smell so good), and his dressing. After he let his dressing chill for a few hours he started his pizza. Instead of making his Pizza Dough by hand, he decided to use the Pillsbury Pizza Dough. Right before the Pizza was done he assembled his salad. It all turned out really good. Mr S. really enjoyed it. After Dinner Connor worked on his Lava Cake. It was actually very easy to do, but we did leave it in a little too long. Some of the Lesson's we took away from meal planning Monday:
We left for Bend, Oregon on Thursday. This is our first time visiting this part of Oregon. It was a beautiful drive. You can just see the blue sky peaking through the clouds below. We saw tons of snow capped trees, but thankfully the roads were clear and recently plowed. After we settled in our hotel, we swung by Powells Sweet Shoppe. They have quite the variety of "Scoop your own candy", and a fun display of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory memorabilia. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Deschutes Brewery Public House. We highly recommend you save some room and try out the Peanut Butter Pie. Friday Morning was beautiful with clear blue skies. I purchased Mr. S an hour long Dog Sledding Adventure with Oregon Trail of Dreams on Mt. Bachelor for Christmas. Connor and Greg arrived early to get started on their Adventure. You can watch a short video of their trip here. They both said it was so peaceful. They were able to ask the musher (who has been doing this for over 20 years) all kinds of questions about the dogs. Connor was even able to Stand in the back and do some mushing! They both had such a great time and really enjoyed their experience. If you have a child who is interested in the Iditarod you should check out the Iditarod Education Portal. From this site you can subscribe and follow up to 5 mushers. You can choose from Insider Videos or GPS Tracking. There are Free Lesson Plans, and related activities as well. After their Dog Sledding adventure we went on a Self Guided Factory Tour at Goody's Chocolate and Ice Cream. During the tour you get to see behind the scenes of a a real working factory. At Goody's they create over 100 different sweet treats including gourmet chocolates, fudge, caramel corn, toffee, peanut brittle, and Goody's famous ice cream. While we were there they were making chocolate dipped cherries. At the end of the tour you get a free sample and the option to purchase some of their "Oops" candy-which isn't perfect enough to package-but tastes delicious. Connor's favorite thing: Sampling the flavored Popcorn Mom's favorite thing: Checking out a real Cocoa Pod Dad's Favorite thing: Checking out the old equipment To round out our evening we checked out the Modern Boardshop. This is definitely a place to check out if you are a board game fan. They offer a variety of board games to purchase and Demo! Connor chose to play the King of Tokyo. The owner was even kind enough to show us how to play the game and get us started. It's clean and modern. In addition to board games the also offer a complete drink menu full of seasonal craft beer, cider, soda, cold brew, and kombucha.
Tomorrow we plan to check out the snow park and do some sledding! The end of December was busy for us as always. We enjoyed some much needed time off to get ready for Holidays. We also enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Fites, Auntie and Jesse. Some of our highlights were visiting Salty's for their Weekend Buffet, and visiting Portland Meadows to see the horses. This year we took the family to Stuffy's II to try out their massive 5lb. cinnamon roll. Stuffy's also has a 10lb. cinnamon roll challenge, and a 12-Egg Omlete that has been featured on the Food Channel's "Most Outrageous Food". Santa brought Connor the HUE Animation Studio! I can't wait to share some of his animations. I really like that he can use with with his laptop. He also received an Elgato Game Capture device so that he can start recording his game play (and eventually post to youtube).
We are preparing to leave for a trip to Mount Bachelor tomorrow. I can't wait to share some photos-we are so excited! We received our first snowfall of 2016 on Sunday and Connor (and sparky) had a fun time sledding. |
AuthorHi, I'm Melissa.. Mom to Connor. Archives
February 2017
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