Revisiting Childhood

Recently my father has begun writing his life story. I'm not sure how the actual writing is going but as he sorts through old photo albums he has transferred many photos to digital form and shared them with us.

This particular photo holds many memories for me.

1. My childhood house was really cold. I'm pretty sure that all houses in Idaho should have insulation because it's really cold during the winter. I'm also pretty sure the house we grew up in did not have insulation. This is why we look so cold even though we are wearing footy pajamas AND socks.


2. The orange plaid couch mostly reminds me of my first babysitting job. This is the couch we caught on fire and tried to burn the house down with. My parents left me in charge while they and my older brother went to a church activity. My siblings and I fell asleep on and around this stylin' couch with a portable heater close by...too close by. We woke to a smoldering couch cushion. I called my parents, they told me to dump some water on it and go next door to grandma's house (she was out of town). Meanwhile the water failed to put out the cushion and when my mom got home the house was filled with smoke but not on fire. She pushed the couch out the front door at which time it ignited and burned to ashes. Sorry, mom, for the smoke damage. But you are welcome...for getting rid of that couch for you.

3. My super cute younger sister. This might be the only time in my life that I was cuter than Kadie.

4. Cousins. We grew up with many cousins close by which most of the time equalled a lot of fun. Notice the gnarly shiner by brother has...this was not one of those times.

Retro Snack Time

I love when my sister, Kadie, brings her family for a visit. To encourage this type of behavior I decided to treat them to chocolate fondue on their last visit. And, yes, it was as yummy as it sounds.

We dipped strawberries, bananas, pretzels (these don't work well with fondue forks), marshmellows, apples, and shortbread cookies.



Jack won the cleanest face award which is pretty astounding for a two year old. Although, I don't think he could reach the fondue pot. I'm glad he didn't know what he was missing...more for me.



Ell won the "I'm enjoying this the most" award. It's all about the dip whenever she eats.

What could make this treat even better? Someone else (Kadie) cleaning up afterwards.


Come again soon, Kadie. I won't make you do the dishes next time. I promise. Okay, maybe not all of them.