Focaccia

I tried to make focaccia today for the first time, and it was not a success. It is one of the simplest breads to make, but as I discovered today, it is one of the most persnickety. It fell before it finished rising and didn't rise on the bench. It came out a little undercooked but burnt at the edges. It is almost saved by the olive oil and the rosemary from our garden. I cut it up, and I may use it for a snack or a sandwich tomorrow.

The author of The Bread Bible, Rose Levy Berenbaum, says that it is the recipe about which she has been written most. She calls it "that notorious rosemary focaccia," and now I can see why.

Sunday Morning Television

I guess they like Fireman Sam! This is the first time that Oliver has sat and watched a show on television, other than watching some of the dancers on So You Think You Can Dance as I watched. He had been playing with his toys, but he abandoned them to watch the show.

We do not plan to let him watch much TV, but it is fun to watch him experiencing new things!

Cute Baby Photo Of The Day

We are practicing crawling!

Key Largo 2012, Part I

Since we have so many photos from our trip to the keys, we will take several posts to share them.  We had lots of fun adventures in the keys, and then we took a day in the Tampa Bay area to visit a very special dolphin - but we'll get to that.  First things first:

This was the very start of our road trip, just reaching downtown Atlanta.

Our van was jam-packed from the third row to the back doors.

"Road Trips Are Awesome." - a quick refueling stop for everyone at Starbucks.

We stopped in Orlando for the night, stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn, and visited Downtown Disney.  The boys settled right in.

Both boys taking a nap en route to Key Largo.

M and G enjoying the sunset.

Our first sunset at Key Largo - outside the Jimmy Johnson's Big Chill, where we ate dinner.

Our first day there was Father's Day, and G chose a great Star Wars Aqua Droid action figure to give his Daddy.  

The first full day we were in Key Largo, we visited Theater of The Sea, the second oldest marine mammal facility in the world.

Here is some video of the best dolphin show we have ever seen.

The mission of this facility is to care for the animals, many of whom need to be cared for by humans, while raising conservation awareness in the public.

The small beach among the mangroves was rocky but charming.

You can buy lettuce for $3 a head to feed the iguanas.  A stranger shared his with Gabriel until this big guy jumped up onto the fence and tried to bite him in the stomach!

That evening, we had dinner at the Key Largo summer family home of G's friend, Finn, his little brother, Mac, and their dog, Brannon.

We are only through the first 24 hours - more to come!

Ready To Run!