Isaac in the video game

Isaac found a way to unlock his MX vs ATV Reflex to let him customize the bikes. So he made himself. That is a KTM with the number 75.

He rides all over in the game, free riding, racing, and doing tricks.

It's super fun for him to see his number on a bike that looks just like his in the game.

I am pretty sure that he picked the red gear too. I think that his next set will be red.

Making Ice

The other day after Isaac's hockey team party Lexy got a super big treat. She got to ride on the Zamboni. I have never see anyone at our rink get a ride like this. She was on top of the world. If you look close there she still has her skates one. Here they are cleaning the boards...

She kept telling Butch, "You're Number One." He made her weekend.

Lexy's Drawings

Lexy liked Isaac's art kit from Michael's so much that she got her money out and bought one for herself. Truth be told she got herself ready on Saturday morning before breakfast and was dragging me out of bed to take her to get it.

She is drawing charaters as well, but I like when she does the dress designs. They always have a lot of color to them. She got inspired by the fireplace too, Ha.It's quite fun to see this at the house. It's quiet, productive, and doesn't cost much. Love it...!

Isaac's Drawings

Isaac bought an art kit and Michael's this last weekend. He has spend hours drawing with it. I kind of like the idea of all the pencils and crayons in one orderly box. I hope that they can stay together that way.He is mostly drawing Dragon Ball Z characters. He is really into that cartoon. All of these guys have names, power levels and different forms. I can't keep track of them, but he and Lexy know them all. If you look at the picture above of Isaac drawing we can see the glass of water on the table. He decided to draw it.

He told Amy and I that this is a picture of him dropping the glass...

When we asked him if the glass was half empty or half full he said, "Half full." That's my boy, but I would that been even happier if he would have said, "Twice and big as it needs to be."

WV Wild Squrts - End of Season Party

The West Virgina Wild Squirts end of season party was this morning. It has been a month since the championship tournament and it was great to see the crew back together. There was a Dads vs Kids hockey game. It turned out to be mostly coaches vs the kids. But I did strap on some skates, borrowed a helmet and headed out on the ice with the boys. My goodness it was fun. I sure can't skate very well, but we had a blast. Yep, that is me in the gray trying to stay upright. It' didn't always work.

Man, Isaac was so fast that the pictures of him are a blur...It sure was fun to be on the ice with Isaac, and the bench too...After the skating we had a trophy reception in the party room. This is Isaac when Coach Phillips gave him his trophy. This is a close up of the cool trophy that Isaac got.

Part of the ceremony was the unveiling of the championship banner that is hanging at the rink.

Just for fun we put the the boys numbers on ding dongs as or treat at the party.

Cumberland, Maryland Train Station

We got to go to Cumberland, Maryland to see Amy this weekend. She had a test on Saturday morning, so we drove while she tested. We got to see her apartment that she shares with Lora, the hospital where she is working, and some of the places in town. One of our favorites was the train station. During the summer there are scenic train rides, but they don't start until April. So we just checked out the place. Amy took some sweet pictures, here they are.

Here are Isaac and Lexy on a waggon in between the tracks.
Kind of a cool picture. On the left is the awning of the stations, on the right is a platform between the different tracks, and the bridge in the background is I-68 that comes through Cumberland..
Another neat picture of the platform. This is the shelter over the stairs that lead up from the tunnel under the tracks.

Lexy and Isaac on the wagon again in front of a caboose.
Here they are on the back of the caboose.
This ramp that they are standing on is to an old canal barge. There was a very busy canal system that ran through Cumberland.

Here is Isaac on the tracks. Both kids had so much fun exploring the train station.

There is a lot of history in this town.

Pinewood Derby Car 2011

Isaac picked a Corvette inspired design for his Pinewood Derby car this year.

We had the Pinewood Derby last night. It is kind of a big event for us. Last years car has had quite a bit of attention in the 'Blog-o-sphere'. That posting has been viewed some 1,450 times to date. Even though last years race didn't go to Isaac, we had fun.

Here is Isaac and the car introductions. With the car in had. He named the car "Need for Speed". If you look close you can see the "Hot Pursuit" addition that was made after the other photos were taken.

He looks good in that uniform, Huh...

Here is a picture of the car in action, just edging out another car. It won a few races.

Here are the showroom pictures of the car. We were kind of in a rush this year because we didn't even start until Saturday before the Wednesday race. That left no time for paint adjustments. But it turned out pretty slick. Notice the StingRay inspired hood.

Here is what the car would look like from a police helicopter...

And a view meant for the competition to see.

So... Poor Isaac didn't make it to the finals of the races. He got 4th place again. Just out of the running. I think that the car got a little tired after so many trips down the track. Maybe I needed to put in more graphite or maybe I needed to buy the set up jig. Either way, the car looks cool, and he did get "The Sportiest Car" award.

Girl Time

With Amy being gone all week long every week Lexy has not had much Mommy time. On Saturday morning they got showered and when off for a few hours. They got their toe nails painted, shopped a Kohl's for a new springtime dress and had some lunch. Lexy told us it was "the best day of my whole life."

Thank you ALL who donated

Lexy got this email from the Skate for Hope folks.

Dear Alexis,

Congratulations! You have raised $450 based on donations received online and now qualify as a fully registered cast member of the 2011 production of Skate for Hope! Thank you so much for all of your efforts and for supporting Skate for Hope.
We greatly appreciate all of the time, consideration and effort you have put forth to reach this wonderful goal. With this outstanding milestone accomplished, we cheer you on as you reach to help us raise even more funding for clinical breast cancer research.

Sincerely,
Skate For Hope

She is soooo excited. The show is in Colmbus, OH on June 18, 2011. They have been praticing for about three weeks now. It should be a great show.

He plays the Violin...?

Yep, Isaac has been working on the violin. He takes group lessons at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He has tryouts today for the All County Strings group. He is so excited. He really wants to make it. Over the last 4 or 5 days he has been playing his two songs between 10 and 20 times each day to get ready. Amy was able to work hard with him when she was home on Monday. I got him up a hair early this morning so that he could give them each another 3 runs before school today. I think that he will do great.

Balsamic Vinegar Steak

So I have seen a couple of blogs that give recipes for different things in a format that is fun and easy to follow. I wanted to give it a try and share one the we have been enjoying lately.

Balsamic Vinegar Steak with Alfredo and Pasta of Choice

We start with the sauce.

Alfredo Sauce
1/2 C Butter
3/4 C Parmesan Cheese
1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 t Garlic Powder



Melt the better in a small sauce pan over a medium heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Once the Parmesan is completely mixed and melted stir in heavy whipping cream, then garlic power. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Stir often to prevent scorching.

Set sauce aside. Prepare the pasta as directed.

Now on to the meat...

I have had the best luck with a ribeye about 3/4 of an inch thick. The night I took these picture we enjoyed cheese tortellini as the pasta.

Cut the steak into strips that are approximately square.
Dust the steaks strips with garlic powder, black pepper, and dried basil. Coat a hot skillet with about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
You can see all the action at once here.

Lay the steak strips into the hot skillet with the olive oil.
Once the strips are all in the pan and arranged pour approximately 4-5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar over them. I like it to soak into the meat and them some to be reduced around the meat as well.
I like my steak rare, so I turn them and get them out pretty quick. Cook the steak to your preference. Once the steak strips have been removed from the skillet salt them to taste. Place 3 to 4 strips of the steak on top of a bed of pasta covered in the Alfredo sauce. As a bonus if I have some Gorgonzola cheese it makes an excellent topping. A little garlic bread on the side and enjoy.
Here is another version that we made with angle hair pasta and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Sooooo Goooood...

This boy really enjoys it, no smile but he's going to have a happy tummy.

Nerd Day

Lexy got some 'Nerd' glasses from her friend Averi. They are just 3D movie glasses with the lenses pushed out. So we made more. Lexy has kept quite a few of the glasses. She told me Saturday morning that it was Nerd Day. So we played along. Her is a nice picture of three of us in or glasses. Then Lexy dressed up to be a 'Nerd'... She looks pretty good with the maroon and pink outfit. The glasses make the whole thing come together.

So I figured that I better get dressed too... The kids couldn't live with the sweats, so I had to change them before we left the house.
Turns out the with my pants riding high and the cuffs turned up that I still got a good effect with the two different socks. Also turns out that we fit right in at the WalMart. "We didn't stand out at all, shoot, they thought we were insurance salesmen."

We kept on rolling, stopped by Radio Shack, Office Depot...

... and on to Kohl's. Lexy had a blast checking out dresses at Kohl's. She is quite the shopper. And we didn't even buy anything. This picture is a little screwy because we were trying to use the mirror and my cell phone to get the pic.
I must admit that we did most of this all to get Amy's goat. She was in class down to Beckley. We kept texting her pictures. And she kept begging us to change our cloths and take off the glasses. We kept on harassing her by sending her a picture from in front of the church with our glassed on. She sent is "I am dying... Please take them off..."I feel kind of cheap because we didn't wear them into the church. But at least Amy is OK...