Trains, Milk Toast and More Birthday Fun
February 24th, 2008

After Church on Sunday, February 24th, Brian decided to bust out a train set I had picked up at a thrift store with Vaughn the day before. Brian was taking great care to set up a very cool track for Vaughn, and Vaughn was loving it!

Brian tried to incorporate every piece he possibly could, and it was a great little set up! Vaughn was in heaven!

I especially liked this view of the two bridges. Brian is very artistic in everything he does.

Vaughn spent quite a bit of time just pushing the train around and around the track. It was so cute to watch him! He really enjoyed showing his dad how well he could keep the train on the tracks! Brian has always been great to play with Vaughn and show him the ropes about being a guy. And guys just need to know how trains work!

As a thank you to Brian for just being himself, I made milk toast for us while he and Vaughn were playing together. To my great delight, I had also found an egg poacher the day before at the same thrift store as the train, and I had been looking for one of those for a long time! Brian was so excited because he LOVES milk toast! So here's what the setup looked like. The three components to milk toast are: toasted bread, poached eggs and milk with a little butter melted in it (and some salt and pepper for extra taste).

First you put a piece of buttered toast in your bowl. Then you place the poached egg on top of the toast.

Then you take two good-sized scoops of the milk-butter mixture and pour it over the top of it. The final step is chopping it up with your spoon, and then it's time to enjoy!

Vaughn preferred to have just toast and eggs, but that was okay! That left more for me and Brian!

Brian said it was the best milk toast he had ever had, and that's a big complement! Brian's mother is quite the milk toast expert. So needless to say I was very happy. I guess back in the day it was quite common for people to have milk and bread for supper. This is a more tasty version of that meal. It may not look great once it's chopped up and mashed, but it tastes DELICIOUS!!! Not convinced? Then come over and I'll make you some! Just look at Brian's face. It screams, "I LOVE IT! You shouldn't have! You're so good to me Darling!"

Later that evening we all gathered over at Brian's sister Amy's house for a family dinner and to extend Jared's and my birthday. Amy hadn't been able to be there for the celebration the night before. Robert came with his new girlfriend Heather, who I found out doesn't like to get her picture taken! That's why she's streaked in this picture, because the second I pushed the button she made a run for it! But just to let you know, she's GORGEOUS! What a HOTTIE! Good job Robert!

Brian and Danny decided to "max, relax and bootie wax" (as Danny says) on the couch for a while and have some man talk. I like the nickname Danny gave me....Reesta. Danny is a lot of fun to be around, and he always finds some way to play a joke on me. It's like having another brother around!

The kids were the first to get ready for the great dinner Amy made. She cooked a spiral cut ham, potatoes, gravy, rolls and squash. It was quite the feast! We felt pretty spoiled, and very grateful for Amy's generosity! It was cute to see all the kids lined up at the table waiting to eat!

After dinner we gathered in the front room for some musical entertainment. Amy's son McKay busted out his new guitar and played a few chords for us he had just learned. He did a great job, even though it was kind of embarrassing for him to have all of us watching him.

Next we all got ready to listen to Amy play a few of the new songs she has written. Amy can turn out music like bakers turn out cookies! She is amazing! She is even entering a song she composed into the American Idol Song Contest! We hope she wins because then she would get a trip to the finale, which she would love!

Vaughn tried desperately to be quiet while Amy played, but it was hard because he was so excited to play with a balloon he'd just found. To make matters worse, little Lampateeze (in the background) kept trying to steal it from him, and Vaughn would cry. Alvin is half Vaughn's size, and yet Vaughn is afraid of him! It was too funny!

Finally we got everyone settled down, and we were able to listen to Amy play and sing a few songs. It was very nice, and Amy even sang one of her older songs just because I requested it! It was great to hear her sing because she has such a good voice! Go Amy!

Just before we had to go, Amy stopped me and said, "I have a present for you!" I was so excited because Amy always gives really thoughtful presents. Her three girls also made cars for me that were SO CUTE! So here's me opening the gift....

...and here's what I found inside! Bottling lids! It was the perfect gift for me because I had recently used up a lot of my lids to bottle hamburger and I needed more. It was also fitting because Amy and I do a lot of bottling together! Thanks Amy for being so thoughtful! And thanks for a fun-filled night with great food and great music! I love you!

Love, Lisa