Now Serving Skilly 'n' Duff

If you are a fan of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, this post is for you.

Several months ago, my brother David kindly donated his childhood collection of Redwall books to Jacob. At first Jacob judged them to be "too old" for him, so they sat in a box in our garage. In March, he asked me to dig out the first novel in the series for him. He read it in four days. (These are 400-page books.) He is completely hooked. There are 22 books in the series. Jacob has read all but two of them.

I haven't read the books myself, but sometimes it feels like I live in them. Jacob now speaks with a British accent. He uses all sorts of fantastic words that I don't understand. When he calls his brother a "badger," I don't know if that is a compliment or an insult. When he wants food, he says "I'm as hungry as a gluttonous hare." This kid created his own meal plan based on the dishes mentioned in the novels. (The food is a very prominent part of the story.) I can almost see little furry creatures scampering about my feet.

You can imagine Jacob's delight when he discovered The Redwall Cookbook at the library yesterday. He was bouncing-up-and-down excited all day long today.

So tonight, we put on our best British accents and had a Redwall feast.

{October Ale}

{Savoury Squirrel Bakes}

{Guosim Shrew Shortbread}

{Dibbun's Delight}

Jacob declared it the best meal he has ever eaten.

Wot wot!

A Tribute

Happy Father's Day to the man who:

changes dirty diapers

fixes the telephone, washer, dryer, car, and pretty much everything else

makes dinner every Sunday (except today)

takes the boys fishing even though all they hook is each other

reads stories to Grace every night before bed

works hard so Mom can be home with the kids

sings to Abram when he puts him to bed at night

puts chains back on bikes

mows the lawn, trims the trees, and plants the garden

has a bag of peanut M&Ms in his "office" (car) at all times

loves classic cars, the outdoors, and a good steak

is diligently trying to learn how to do his daughter's hair

plays Uno, Phase 10, and Risk with the kids and is a good sport when he loses

leads family prayer and scripture study every day

takes a child with him when he runs errands, goes home teaching, or does a service project

plays soccer with the boys in the backyard

...and a thousand other things.

I love you, Marty!

My Summer To Do List

Buy a funnel cake

Read The Lonesome Gods

Complete the temple work for my great-grandmother

Bike the greenbelt

Enter a piece of artwork into the County Fair

Go letterboxing

Walk on the beach

Read a great book to the children outside

Memorize the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling

Take a road trip

Learn to cook a new dish

Plan curriculum for next school year

Make homemade ice cream

Keep a journal

Spend a morning at the farmer's market

Play in the fountains at S. Park

Watch fireworks

Work in the orchard

Learn the theme song from "Pride and Prejudice" on the piano

Hike in the mountains

Photograph a meteor shower

Hold my newborn nieces

Watch "Anne of Green Gables"

Draw a portrait of Grace

Eat smores

Visit Temple Square

Finish reading Plato's Republic

Give the boys a weekly cooking lesson

Have a picnic in the backyard with friends

Anybody want to join me??

Drumroll Please

It gives me great pleasure to announce the winner of the 2011 annual Family Home Evening homemade paper boat race:


Captain Zebra of the sailing vessel "Noah's Ark"... and its proud creator and helmsman:

Moi.

Thank you, really. Your applause is very generous.

Note: This is at least the fifth such boat race I have entered, and my first victory. Actually, it's the first time my boat wasn't eaten by the rapids. In all previous races I was beaten by a six-year-old who used an entire roll of Scotch tape to "waterproof" his craft.