An update

I don't know where to start to catch you up on all that has been happening here. Perhaps just some pictures will be fine.

I took the girls to a movie the other day. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." I believe this was Lara's first movie also when it came out in the theater. We lasted about an hour, with our M&M's and popcorn. Afterward we went to a wooden park and walked on some paths.

Spending time out in the country.
Kitchen is almost done. Today, the garage got cemented, as well as some sidewalk. Dustin also leveled off the stairs, so the upstairs is about ready to be carpeted. Dustin also made a path that intertwines throughout the hay field in the back yard-so the girls have a fun place to walk around back there.
We like the pool that the girls' Aunt Molly bought for them. The girls have a lot of fun in it.

Over the weekend, we had a couple cook-outs to celebrate Father's Day. For my parents' cookout, I made a delicious broccoli salad; here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 10 slices bacon
• 1 head fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the broccoli, onion and raisins. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar and mayonnaise. Pour over broccoli mixture, and toss until well mixed. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
3. Before serving, toss salad with crumbled bacon and sunflower seeds.

For Dustin's parents, I followed our tradition, and made stuffed mushrooms, since Dustin loves mushrooms. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 12 whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
3. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

I sent some down the street to Dustin's grandma; she likes them too, it must be a recessive gene.;)

Dustin is still working hard with his bee business. It's a lot of trial-and-error. Not so many errors, really, but he is learning a lot of new information as he goes along. He really enjoys it, and he is still working on trying to decrease his hours at State Farm.
Lara's therapy is going well. Unfortunately, after hassling with the therapist and orthotist at Carle, and after making a billion phone calls, I have learned that the orthotists in the Champaign area will not accept Lara's insurance, which covers a nice pair of orthopedic tennis shoes a couple times a year. This Friday, we will be headed to Bloomington to CLOSE ON OUR ATLANTA HOUSE YAY YAY YAY, and to take Lara to her former orthotist who will get the shoes for her.

That reminds me. I spoke with Lara's specialist today, and the pelvis x-ray looks good. Her hips have not rotated inward at all in the last year. This could very well mean that the slight rotation we are seeing is just her hip structure in general, and not actually related to the CP. Only time will tell. Actually, the radiologist said her pelvic bones look normal, but Lara's specialist is better trained at what to look for, so noticed a slight oddity. Lara is now taking Baclofen, and while I have maybe noticed a slight relaxing in the muscles, there is nothing obvious. But she is not showing an allergy symptoms, so we are going to start increasing her dose.

We've been staying pretty busy here. Playing outside, taking bike rides, playing at the park, visiting family. Tomorrow marks the first day of summer! Happy summer!!