Summer is here so let's review the BBQ Rules

Hey everyone, been a while since we have posted anything on the blog, but that is largely because both Gigi and I work in the "Education Industry" so the end of the typical academic year tends to be "crazy wicked busy" in the Dobo household.  This is not to say that there aren't a whole lot of things going on, stories to share and things to do, we just happen to be a bit busy and haven't had time to share.

Gavin has officially finished school this last Wednesday, I had Gustavus Commencement last weekend, and Gigi's school has their commencement tomorrow.  I would guess that come next week we might actually have time to catch up on the things that have been going on, since there are a lot of great things to share.

As some of you know, BBQ has a special place in the Dobo household, and now that we are into summer, we (as I am sure many of you) are cooking out a whole lot more, so it seems prudent to review the rules of BBQ so everyone knows their role.  

The following was sent to me as a forward of a forwarded email, so I am not sure who the original author is, but this person has captured the essence of what it means to BBQ, and since I am not the type to participate in the "forward the email" game, I am going to post it here (if someone knows the origin, please comment as the original author deserves full credit for this one):

BBQ Rules

New Standard Operating Procedures released today, please learn the

BBQ RULES as we are about to enter the BBQ season. It is

important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime

outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the

following chain of events are put into motion:

Routine...

(1) The woman buys the food.

(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.

(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along

with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the

man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.

(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion

zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding

activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:

(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine...

(6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery.

(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking

great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he

flips the meat

Important again:

(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine...

(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins,

sauces, and brings them to the table.

(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:

(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and,

upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no

pleasing some women.

Because we can. . .

So, today Gigi arranged to have our boys hang out next door with the Headlee boys (Tim and Kyle) since she had some meeting to go to and I had to finish up some work because I went to the party for Garek's last day of Preschool (oh, BTW Garek is now officially done with Preschool and looking forward to starting Kindergarten). Anywho, the boys had a great time playing, and when I went over after getting home to fetch the boys, they were busy practicing their skateboarding skills in the Headlee garage. The only problem is that because of the chance of rain Tim left Black Betty at home and took the truck, and I'm pretty sure there is some man code out there that says even though we aren't supposed to covet thy neighbors stuff, we need to do a darn good job making sure that the kids don't accidentally mess thy neighbors stuff up (I think it officially is known as the "Got your back" clause). So I eventually had the boys migrated to our house. I think the plan was to play some video games (which they did) but eventually the ended up out in our garage back on the boards (but no Harley in my stalls- yet). Pretty soon they had a show worked out for me to watch, and naturally I grabbed the video camera for blackmail material when they hit High School.

They really got into the idea of making a show to post on line (Hmmm I think this might have something to do with that show iCarley), and pretty soon Garek and Kyle were working on their materials, so with out further adeu. . .

The Gavin and Tim Show

and

The Garek and Kyle Show

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a quick shout out to all the moms out their on this special day.

Today, the boys and I had to adapt our plans a bit since we as a family took the day to work in the garden and get things planted.  Things start to get crazy hectic until June (which is a bit late to be planting a garden in Southern MN), so instead of taking Gigi out for a Mother's Day brunch following church (like we had planned), we headed out to the garden (without eating any lunch, as Gavin would point out, since we ate a late and rather large Breakfast before Church).  4-5 hours later, everything is good to go, and we have a garden completely planted (minus a few tomatoes that need some more time indoors so they can get bigger while we wait for the soil temp to get up where tomatoes are much happier).

You might think that Gigi would be a bit disappointed by the day's activities, but as she said at the Garden (and I quote) "Other moms might look forward to spending the day laying around or taking a nap.  For me, I got to spend the day with my boys, we got the garden done which will allow me to concentrate on other things now, and we get to go out to dinner once we are done to celebrate- My kind of Mother's Day!"

One thing we did notice this year at the garden is that Gavin in much much more helpful when it comes to doing things that actually need to be done.  He said it is because he is a third grader now, but we are guessing that it comes from years of helping out and seeing what needs to happen (and being a year older never hurts either).

So after a wonderful meal at Whiskey River, we got the boys in bed, I tried calling my Mom while watering the various things around the house we just planted/transplanted, including a beautiful evergreen tree that we moved from our garden to our back yard esterday (it was getting out of hand and the back yard needed another tree- thanks for helping Jonathan), and Gigi "relaxed" by completing her first assignment for the next EdD Class that just started (par for the course).

Off to bed after a wonderful day with the Family!

Happy Earth Day!

For earth day, I decide to not drive to work...haha...many of you realize I work from home :)

Really, Garek and I planted some flowers outside, and the boys (along with most of the neighborhood) decided to start digging a big hole outside. We are pretty sure that someone told them it is the way to China. It is not really in our back yard, as there is a bike path and on the other side of the bike path is a berm up to the highway. The boys dig in the slight hill. Garek and I discussed what erosion is, but that does not seem to stop the 6 year old and pals when there is work to do with dirt and shovels!

Yesterday, when the boys were digging in the berm area, they actually transplanted a "tree." This tree is actually a bush that is growing in the area. They dug a hole, dug up the tree and moved it over. Then they gave it plenty of water. I guess our boys and the neighbor boys have been watching as Matt and Tim (the neighbor) have each planted trees in the backyard over the past couple of weeks. This is how little boys grow into big boys :) I love watching the imitation of daily adult life and household chores.

All in all we love spending time outside, and it is a good reminder on earth day how we want to keep our earth this way (or better) for the generations to follow.

Happy Birthday Tiki!

We are a house of many pets! Today is Tiki's Birthday.  He is 6 years old, just like Roxy and Garek (we have three "family" birthdays within a month of each other, and they are all 6!) Tiki is a conure and he talks to us regularly.  SOme of his favorite phrases include: "Pretty Bird," "Whats a matter with you?" "Tiki good birdie" " Tiki wants to go to" "I love you" "Gimme kiss *smacks lips*," and "Tiki whistle" (followed by a whistle).  He was originally Matt's grandparent's bird (Bob and Louise).  He still enters Bob into his phrases, and the other day at the avian vet, there was an employee named Bob and Tiki heard someone say Bob and immediately went into "Where's Bob?" over and over.  The employees thought it was funny.  Anyways, Tiki has been a nice addition to our family, even when he squawks or confuses house sitters by mimicking the sound of dripping water.  Happy Birthday Tiki!

Happy Anniversary Jake and Jody!

Five years ago today we were off taking pictures at Leif Ericson Park and the Rose Garden for Jake and Jody's wedding!  I will need to look around, as I know we have some awesome pictures! Gavin was the ring bearer, Matt was best man and I was matron of honor, while Garek was just a cute one year old :)  It was a beautiful April day, not too cool and perfect for some outdoor shots! After pictures, we headed to Greysolon Ballroom where we ate and danced! It was a privilege and honor to be a part of Jake and Jody's very special day and it has been fun and exciting to watch as their family has grown and as we eagerly await child number 3! 

Birthday Report

So, as Gigi pointed out, Garek just celebrated his 6th birthday. It seems like just yesterday that I was running home quick to get the bag of "stuff" because Gigi's routine Dr visit became "your having a baby today"- and the rest is history.

So, since I billed this as the "birthday report" I figured a quick recap of the celebrations and some pictures are in order (especially since Gigi promised they were coming- she is working on homework for class, so I am going to help out with this since I am sure she doesn't want me doing her homework)

This year was a two part adventure. First a "family" party on the weekend in the cities at Chuck E Cheese, and then a traditional "kids" party at our house on that actual day of. . .

So, part of the reasoning for the Chuck E party is that Garek has a special place in his heart for the place because of previous trips with Grammy and brother, but facilitating a trip up to Burnsville with kids from town- not so easy. The other big reason is that we try to do what we can to find a centralized location for the family to meet since we have family up in Duluth and we are down here in St Peter (with a few clumped in the Metro area). Unfortunately, Garek's cousins (Kaleb and Ian) became very sick the day before the party, and traveling with kids who are running a 103˚ temp is never a good idea. The boys still had a great time, and the adults got a chance to visit. Here are some pics:

Eating pizza and chatting it up with Uncle B:

Opening the present from uncle B and auntie Andee (since B needed to get back to work- he works at the LensCrafters in the same mall as Chuck's Place)


Opening more presents:


And some "adult time" as the boys were off playing:

On the actual day of his birthday, we had a party at our house for Garek. It was a lot of fun (for the kids) and not to bad for the Adults (Gigi and I are glad that Avery's dad Tony stuck around since they came from Mankato- it gave a boost to the Adult:Kid ratio).

Some highlights:

It was a "bug" themed party, so many crafts were done around the table:

Kyle got some help from his brother Tim on his caterpillar:


There were period in between activities where the kids would play/ "battle" downstairs
(things were a blur- literally):


Gigi helped Liam make a butterfly:


We opened presents:


Sang "Happy Birthday", had some cake and ice cream:

Gigi had the kids decorate and assemble their own Goodie Bags:


And that was that.

As I said before, a bit wild and crazy for two hours, but the kids all had fun (and I really, really appreciate only having two kids, as 10 is just way too many).

Final thoughts: