Below are some tunes that I enjoy listening to these days. Feel free to listen as you read through the Hayesvision.com posts. Please feel free to comment below if you love or hate this feature and I will be happy to adjust accordingly. Enjoy the tunes.
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Emily, who is the queen of theming, put together a really fun Father’s Day for the family. For those of you who follow along with Hayesvision (or “The Vision” as some have been known to call it), you know that we love hopping in the car and going on road trips. With that thought in mind, and since we are not taking a long car trip this year, Emily decided to create a Road Trip “Staycation” for our Sunday festivities. The gift was presented on Saturday night with a really cool booklet of all the places we would go.
We got up Sunday morning, got ready, grabbed our Gardettos, and headed to our first stop,
breakfast at the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs Resort. The Breakfast Skillet has long been my favorite breakfast on Disney property and a semi-regular Father’s Day tradition. It also was themed to the Western United States so it worked for many reasons. After we devoured our Pepper Market breakfast we walked around the Coronado Springs Resort and captured some fun “road trip” photos.
The next stop in the road trip booklet was supposed to be Pop Century Resort for the world’s largest Potato Head and Rubix Cube toys. Hunter was a bit crabby and in need of sleep so we drove around a bit to allow him some time to regroup. After the lengthy 22 minute nap he was ready to go so we decided to head to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
We arrived at the Studios, rented our stroller, and headed back to the Animation Courtyard on our quest to find Handy Manny. When we arrived Manny was minutes away from his arrival so Hunter decided he wanted to meet the Little Einsteins. Leo and Annie were out so Hunter waited his turn, performed his meet-n-greet routine (give a hug, kiss the nose, grab the autograph book, get autographs, say cheese with a silly grin and say goodbye). After Hunter bid adieu to the Einsteins we explored the Animation Courtyard to kill some time before visiting with Manny. After a lap around the courtyard in the sweltering heat we got in line, met Handy Manny, and continued on our journey. We bopped around the Studios and took some fun photos trying our best to stay cool and hydrated. After enjoying the park to our fullest we turned our stroller in and took the tram back to our car (which was the highlight of Hunter’s day)!
Although Emily had more fun activites planned for us, the 115 degree heat put an earlier end to our activites than expected. We got in the car and headed back to the 
house. Emily had an incredible dinner planned to cap off our really fun day. On our last trip to Kennebunkport, ME, we visited the Maine Diner and Emily had ordered this delicious Lobster Pie. Well, because Emily is the queen of finding everything on the internet, she had no problem locating the recipe for this delicious meal. I can’t even describe how incredible this dinner was. The picture on the left doesn’t do the meal the justice it deserves but you get the idea. Of course the placemats were themed too!
We had such an amazing day and Emily did a great job as always coming up with an awesome idea to celebrate Father’s Day.
OK I have to get into this game as well. Hunter and I were having dinner and as Hunter was slamming his last bite of kineapple (pineapple to the lay person) and as he swallowed his last gulp and said “Ta Da!” in a very excited voice. I said “Who taught you ta da?” Hunter said without a pause “Alex and Taylor!” For those of you who don’t know Alex and Taylor are Hunter’s cousins who I believe he only has met 2 or 3 times and hasn’t seen for at least 4 months. Kids are funny.
Picking up my mom to go to Target, she opened the back door to say hello to Hunter before getting in the front. I should also say that Hunter chose his shoes today, which would not have been my first choice but I had simply said, “Okay!” when he picked them.
Grandma: “Ooh, I like your shoes!”
Hunter: “These are my MICKEY shoes! *pause* They work with my outfit.”
For those of you keeping count, this is twice in one week he has commented on his personal fashion. Love it.
I keep meaning to share some fun recipes we have tried lately, and this seems like the best place to share them with everyone at once. I will tell you what modifications I made as well, in case you are like me and see some parts of the recipe that seem like something you would not do! These are all from Rachael Ray Magazine, which I love. So many great ideas. Even if you do not love Rachael, these recipes are good and you don’t have to hear her say “Yum-o!” Soon I will post some non-Rachael recipes. Enjoy!
Rachael Ray Mag Citrus Stacked Pork Burger: A big hit. I used ground turkey because I couldn’t find the pork. Also, only used one grapefruit and that tasted fine. I burned the sauce of honey and balsamic the first time around, so be careful that “bubbling” doesn’t turn into charring. Patrick really loved these. Oh, I also just broiled the burgers because we don’t have a grill pan. For the scallions, I cut them up first, then cooked them briefly in a really hot pan with a little olive oil. Screw the grill pan.
Rachael Ray Mag Stick Em Up Shrimp: Delish. As good as Chinese takeout. I served with brown rice and here again, I sauteed the shrimp instead of grilling.
Rachael Ray Mag Toasted Bread Salad with Salami: One of Patrick’s all time favorites. He love love loves this. It’s also perfect to take for a picnic.
Rachael Ray Mag Chicken Pasta: As the name suggests, not the most creative of recipes, but it is a crowd pleaser. We can all eat this, and I don’t have to make something different for H. Also, it’s really easy if you have frozen rotisserie chicken that you picked apart when you had the time, so this comes together very quickly with that already done.
Rachael Ray Mag Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Roll-ups: These were so easy and seemed SO fancy that Patrick asked incredulously, “You MADE these? Like, from scratch? Not out of a box?” Yeah… I took it as a compliment and not an insult. *raised eyebrow*
Rachael Ray Mag Cracker and Parmesan Crusted Fish Fillets: We both loved this one. Delicious and kind of a different twist on plain fish. I didn’t really fry it per the instructions… I used a little more oil than normal but certainly not enough to coat the entire fillet.
Rachael Ray Mag Pesto: Made this using our fresh crop of basil, growing under our Topsy Turvy for maximum watering potential. I made it to use in the next recipe. I did not have pine nuts so I used almonds per the internet suggestions. Eh… I would try for pine nuts next time.
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/dinner-recipes/Pesto-2
Rachael Ray Mag Summer Shrimp Rolls: Delicious and versatile… could take on a picnic or serve as a salad. Different twist on shrimp salad.
Rachael Ray Mag Pan Seared Chicken with Grapefruit Butter Sauce: This was pretty good but a little time consuming. I wouldn’t make this now except maybe on a weekend when Hunter was otherwise occupied with Patrick. I added a bunch of butter (Smart Balance) to the potatoes because the only seasoning called for was the parsley. Boring. It was pretty good, but sectioning the grapefruit took a while since I am not a pro! My mom suggested buying the grapefruit in the jars in the produce section… genius.
Rachael Ray Mag Eastern Shore Crab Slaw: In the magazine, this was positioned as a main dish for under $10. While that may be that you could make it for $10, I do not recommend this as a main dish. It was a lot of slaw taste, and I think there is a reason that is normally served as a SMALL side. Patrick didn’t mind it, but we both agreed it would be a much better side dish… maybe alongside a burger of some sort? Good flavor, but I would add more hard boiled eggs as well to give it more interest. I bought the bag of “coleslaw” mix in the produce dept instead of ending up with two half-heads of cabbage leftover.
Rachael Ray Mag Waldorf Salad Style Penne: This was very good. Patrick and my dad both loved it, and my dad remarked that it would be a good one for a “pot luck” or work picnic. If you don’t LOVE cumin, I would maybe cut back on the amount used, because it comes out VERY cuminy. It is a neat salad to serve for a luncheon that would not be something everyone has seen before. Also, there is a lot of mushy texture here, so be sure you pick firm nectarines. Mine were borderline spoiled and VERY mushy… next time I would know better!
Playing the trash can “drum” in his room, Hunter launches into “ALL THE GOLLLLLLLLLLD IN CALIFORNNNNNNIA, DON’T MATTER AT ALL WHERE YOU’VE BEEN BEFORE, CALIFORNIA IS A BRAND NEW GAME!” Then he says, “ONE MORE TIME!” *plays his encore* Then: ”I’ll play ONE MORE TIME, then I’ll play a FEW MORE SONGS!” Rock star.
Patrick: “What did you do today at Grandma and PopPop’s?
Hunter: “Watched the garbage truck video… the train video…. and the bonus episodes!”
While getting dressed, Hunter told me, “These shorts match my WALL-E shirt perfectly.” I am not sure how he knew to say “perfectly” and not just “perfect.” Not to mention he is a fashionista in training…
After traveling the entire city of Orlando in the car looking for something for dinner (long story), we ended up on the East side of town at the Mellow Mushroom. For those of you who have not had a chance to eat there, they have awesome pizza and calzones. We had a really great experience with our waiter Joey. Hunter was in such rare form that he called out across the restaurant at the end of our meal, “Joey.. where are you???” Joey seemed to enjoy Hunter as well. Hunter not only loved the atmosphere but also enjoyed the pizza quite a bit. He told Joey, “My pizza is good.” The three words seemed fitting as pizza is one of the few foods that Hunter will routinely consume.
In line at the drive-thru, two cars behind a very old, diesel truck: *deep sniff* “It smells like… a tram!”
To the server at Urban Flats: “I’ll have a Sprite, and Mommy will have a Diet Coke.”
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