The Adventures of 'The Kidds' » DKidd

Olive Mountain

DKidd — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:38:52 +0000

While in Evanston this week, we checked out a place called Olive Mountain. It was recommended by some locals that were at my workshop. They mentioned that it was a good middle eastern restaurant so we decided to check it out. We ordered a Kifta Kabob and a Baked Lamb Shank, they were both pretty good. I think most of the food could have used a little more flavoring, but maybe that is how it was supposed to taste, I’m not sure, definitely not an expert on Middle Eastern food, but it was pretty good. We didn’t really like the soup, it could have used a little more seasoning, but it was definitely a good place to eat, And I would recommend it to anyone in the Evanston area, looking for a different place to eat.

Trek 2010

DKidd — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:56:39 +0000

So we just returned from Trek yesterday, and it was a great time. This is like the 11th year that I have been able to go to Trek, and it was great cause this year Corrine & Daniel got to come too, which made it a lot of fun. We stayed at the Wus Haus, which is a vacation home that friends of ours bought a few years ago. But it worked out quite well. We went to the island in the morning to spend the day there and then at night after dinner, I drove a boat back to the main land where we drove 2 miles to the house and spent the night. It was a good week and I think all the middle schoolers had a fun time while there as well.

Here are a few pictures from the week.

Here is Daniel, decked out in his Island Gear with Mommy,

Here is Daniel Enjoying the boat ride on the pontoon.

Tired boy after a long day of playing in the lake…

Daniel’s 1st Laptop

DKidd — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:55:43 +0000

I know he’s a little young, but he is my kid, so he needed to get a computer, and since he won’t sit at a desk, well he’ll barely sit, we figured he needed a laptop..

Corrine was out at a yard sale, and saw it so she decided to get it. It was only a dollar so definitely worth the price… I just need to do a little solder work, I think she said the sound board is loose, or something, but definitely a good toy for Daniel..

Daniel and the fish tank

DKidd — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:14:20 +0000

As you probably know we have got a fish tank last year. We got it from the Clarks when they sold their house, and they left the tank, so we got it and have used it for a while. We recently added a new fish tank stand, that we could close and add a safety on, as Daniel gets bigger, more mobile and more inquisitive.
We can sit next to the tank, with Daniel on our lap, and he will just intently check out the fish. Corrine put him on the sofa and he could watch on his own, here is a picture that she took of Daniel watching the fish.

I think he was surprised by the flash…

More plants

DKidd — Sat, 01 May 2010 01:29:07 +0000

I received a magazine in the mail earlier this month from Lowe’s that saved $10 on a $50 purchase. Since we had a large “mole hill” in the yard where the geo was put in, I knew we needed grass seed, so to spend the additional $$ to save the $10 I bought some plants for the garden. I got a few pepper plants, an acorn squash plant and some cilantro & basil. Its going to rain tomorrow so I decided I should plant some seeds and some of the plants I got today. So I planted 2 of the bell peppers that I got today. I also planted some sun flowers that Paul bought, that will make a nice wall of flowers behind the pool. I also planted 2 rows of snap peas in the edge of the garden. Now I just need to plant some of the tomatoes we started from seed, and then the squash and other peppers I haven’t planted yet. More updates to come..

Garden Started

DKidd — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:27:20 +0000

So Paul and I spent yesterday planting in the garden. We planted 2 rows of beans, and left room so we could plant 2 more rows in 2 or 3 weeks, so we can stretch out the harvest time of the beans. We planted 2 different kinds of beans so we will see what we get. We also planted the carrots that we had started from seed a few weeks ago, in pots, along with the squash and zucchini, and the 2 pumpkins that Paul started. We will plant some more stuff in the next few weeks, but we will have to get some more seed first, and then we will probably plant some corn, and Corrine wants some snap peas. But the garden has been officially started, which is great, since it has been raining a little today, and should continue for the next few days, so that will be a good soaking of the garden.

Dogwood Tree

DKidd — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:45:55 +0000

So another on of the trees that we got from the Arbor Day Society a few years ago looks like a flowering dogwood… When we originally got the trees all of the trunks we marked with paint, but since they have been in the garden for three years, the paint wore off, and I didn’t mark which tree I planted where. But after checking out the leaves on this tree is looks like a dogwood. So yesterday I planted this dogwood out in the front yard.. So our front yard is starting to looks like a forest.. Atleast it will in a few years…

Crab Apple Trees

DKidd — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:15:54 +0000

About 3 years ago Corrine and I joined the Arbor Day Society, and for joining they sent us several flowering trees that were bare root. To protect them, and help them get a little bigger, we planted them behind the shed in the edge of the garden. Well this year I decided that it was about time to move them out of the garden and plant them in the yard. So I started by planting the crab apple trees. We figured that since there wasn’t anything out in the yard on the north side of the pool, we should put some trees out there, so I planted 2 crab apple trees. They are still a little small, but hopefully in a few years they will get a little bigger. I planted them about 15 to 20 feet apart thinking that maybe we could use them as the posts of a volleyball court in a few years once they get bigger.

Daniel’s Tree

DKidd — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:32:34 +0000

With Daniel being born, we decided that we should plant a tree in celebration on Daniel’s birth. Since he was born in January, we had to wait a little until it warmed up a little. So a few weeks ago, Daniel’s tree, a Paper Birch arrived, along with this tree the Arbor Day Foundation sent along a Red Maple Tree. So once if finally warmed up we planted Daniel’s tree and the Red Maple out in the front yard. Hopefully the trees will take off soon and we will see some growth on these trees.

Awesome Weekend

DKidd — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:11:53 +0000

It was a beautiful weekend and so we had to be outside. There is a lot to do, so luckily some friends wanted to be outside as well, so we accomplished quite a bit.
Thanks to Terry’s tiller, Paul was able to till the entire garden, and it looks ready to plant.. And Ricardo and I were able to make our way through about a third of the dirt pile, left behind after the geothermal installation, and tried to get atleast the big rocks that were on top. Just like we did last year after we replaced the water main. Its interesting how rocky this soil is just down a little, but the top part isn’t that rocky, so stuff grows quite well. Anyway we took some of the rocks, and I used them to edge the flower beds around the house. It looks nice, just that little bit of work, just makes it look so different. I’ll post some pictures in a few days, but I need to finish the last flower bed in front of the house then I’ll take some pictures. Maybe I should take a picture of the back one now, but I need to finish weeding that first, too. So just be patient and I’ll have pictures.