Culinary Vegetable Institute and Date Night

We are very fortunate in our area to have a strong Farm to Table movement.  We are also very lucky to have the Culinary Vegetable Institute in our backyard (well, 45 minutes away).  They host dinners a few times a year to share their seasonal vegetables and we finally signed up for one.  We were treated to several small courses throughout the evening with an interesting story about each course.  We met Farmer Lee Jones (yes, he was in his trademark bibs!), were encouraged to wander around the kitchen (which we did) and dined on inventive appetizers and desserts.  My only regret is that it was so dark outside, preventing us from wandering around and viewing the outside grounds.

Such a great evening with the husband!

24 Days of Christmas

This year was hit or skip for the 24 Days of Christmas activities.  I had everything laid out and organized, but the holiday season was so hectic with my work, B’s activities, and Meg being at school.  My accuracy rate was probably 75% this year (although Meg would argue it's closer to 50%).  We still managed to hit all our Friday Night Family Activities.  The first Friday was watching Elf.  Second Friday was spent enjoying pizza from Angelos (another tradition).  But the most exciting family activity was our Lolly the Trolley tour, which included visiting the Christmas Story House.  I would highly recommend this tour for everyone who is a fan of The Christmas Story or just enjoys a tour of Cleveland and looking at the pretty lights.

Visiting Santa

Love this picture of B with Santa.  What’s better than sharing your Christmas list with Santa, then enjoying an ice cream at Mitchell’s?!

I wonder what they're talking about?

Irish Festival Fun

Another summer bucket list item checked off our list! And best of all, it was a fun day for Bridget and her cousins as well as our extended family.  So many wonderful activities in Cleveland.

#14 check!

Summertime Activity List in the CLE

Last year we started the tradition of making a list of summertime activities that we would like to do as a family.   It's impossible to check ALL the items off our list, but we make one heck of an effort doing so.

In honor of the first day of summer, we hope to tackle these 20 activities in or around Cleveland:

1. Go to Edgewater Live sponsored by the Cleveland Metroparks.
2. Wade Oval Wednesdays in University Circle.
3. Hale Farm in Peninsula
4. Akron Zoo to see their amazing penguin exhibit.
5. Goodtime III.  It's a joke in our family that I've never been on this (cheesy, yes).
6. Catch an Indians game.
7. Attend a Browns practice at their Berea facility.
8. Ride the Towpath.
9. Have lunch at Szalay's Farm.  Best corn-on-the-cob!
10. Go to Put-in-Bay.
11. Go to a drive-in movie.
12. Attend the Summer Market in Avon Lake.
13. Get scoop of Honey Hut Ice Cream in honor of the Bean, who would take my husband there every summer.
14. Go to the Irish Festival.
15. Kayak in Lake Erie.
16. Go to Yoga at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
17. Attend one Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom.
18. Enjoy Summertime Treat Night - hotdogs, s'mores, roasted marshmallows).
19. Go to Cedar Point.
20. Attend at least one farmer's market or pick fresh fruit and vegetables at a farm.

Showing Cleveland to Our Friends

Meg's friends from college stayed with us a weekend or two ago and we had the wonderful opportunity to show them around our great city.  We enjoyed an afternoon at the Cleveland Museum of Art (including B), a trip to Little Italy to enjoy pastries at Presti's, and dinner at El Carnicero to introduce them to the best guacamole and salsa verde.

Can you guess which one is B? Love those masks!

Such a fun day to spend with these girls!

Roll Tribe

Going to an Indians game is a must for every kid and adult in northern Ohio.  We attended a Sunday afternoon game a couple weeks ago and had so much fun at their "children run the bases" event!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

What a fun afternoon at one of the biggest parades in the U.S.! We enjoyed large crowds, a good pint, fun stories and were treated to the Cleveland Firefighters' Bagpipers.  Happy St. Patrick's day!