A Chocolate Connoisseur....

A week ago at our Moments for Moms night, we had the owner from the Chocolate Chisel give us some tips on tasting chocolate. She discussed the process of harvesting and grinding the cocoa beans before they actually become that delicious, magical chocolate that most women crave. We were able to do some tasting of milk, white, and dark chocolate along with a few other special darks. (I can't remember which countries they were from anymore). So, there are a couple of steps in getting the most taste out of the chocolate and in determining how expensive it really is.

1) Break the chocolate in half. A nice, crisp snap indicates a good one.
2) Smell the chocolate. If needed, rub it between your fingers a little to warm it up so the smell is stronger.
3) Take a small bite and let it melt on your tongue.
4) Close your eyes and enjoy!

Well, I might've tweaked the steps a little bit, but you get the general idea. Anyway, there were some extra samples after the tasting, so I brought them home for Tim and Caleb to try. I thought this would be right up Caleb's alley since he's been obsessed with watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Plus, what kid doesn't love chocolate? I went over the steps with Caleb while he tried a few chocolates. It took him about 5 minutes to eat a piece the size of a quarter. Talk about success! Meanwhile, Tim didn't realize I wanted him to take his time trying the chocolate too so he just tossed a piece in his mouth and gulped it down without even savoring the exotic flavors as they melded together.

After we did this taste test, my funny little son remembered the steps when he was eating chocolate a few days after the fact. Just picture him telling Tim that he needs to smell the chocolate, bite it, close your eyes, and enjoy it. haha... makes me laugh. He's going to be my little chocolate connoisseur someday. Love that Caleb-boy. :-)

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

After a week of being cooped up in the house with the kids, it was so nice to have a beautiful, sunny day. So on Saturday, we all got up early so Caleb could join in the Easter egg hunt at Pick 'N' Save. Then later in the morning, we walked over to Hill School Park. Caleb rode his bike while Sonya rode in the stroller. We even brought a few basketballs along to play with. The weather was so nice that Tim and Caleb even took off their jackets for a while at the park. I haven't been very good at taking pictures lately and since it was so bright outside, I could actually take some decent ones on my camera for once!

Sonya liked picking up the ball and carrying it around.

Here's a good one of daddy and Sonya

Caleb is getting ready to dunk!

Hanging on the rim!

Mommy and Sonya

Daddy with the kids

Just monkeying around :-)

I found a stick!

Daddy and Caleb (gotta love Caleb's facial expressions)

Later in the afternoon, we walked along Lake Michigan by the new canoe launch area. The waves were crashing along the beach and the shells crunched under our footsteps. Sonya absolutely loved walking on the wet sand (and eating a little off the rocks she found along the way). It was a nice leisurely family walk. Unfortunately, my camera kind of died earlier in the day so I didn't get any pictures. But... we'll definitely be going back again. 

Un adventura en Port Washington

Anoche, fuimos al Sauk Creek Nature Preserve para ir de caminata. Era la primera vez para Sonya. Caminos por el bosque y miramos a los arboles. Caleb le gustó lanzar piedras en el río y encontró muchos bastones. Había hojas y ramas adelante de la senda. Sonya no supo como caminar por las ramas y caminó debajo algunos muy pequeños como bailando el “limbo”.. jaja. Fue muy chistoso. Me gusta la primavera y el tiempo calor. También me gusta la naturaleza porque es un buen oportunidad compartir la belleza de Dios con mi familia. No puedo esperar hasta la próxima vez cuando podemos explorer el parque de Lion’s Den o otro parque.

Si no entiendes eso, aquí es un clave:

caminar = to walk
mirar = to look at

bailar = to dance

esperar = wait

el bosque = the woods

las ramas = branches 

un baston = a walking stick

el río = the river

hojas = leaves

piedras = rocks

naturaleza = nature

primavera = spring

** Translation**

Last night, we went to Sauk Creek Nature Preserve to go hiking. It was the first time for Sonya. We walked through the woods and looked at trees. Caleb liked throwing rocks in the river and he found many walking sticks. There were leaves and branches along the trail. Sonya didn't know how to walk through the branches and walked under some small ones like dancing the "limbo".. haha. It was very funny. I like the spring and the warm weather. I also like nature because it is a good opportunity to share God's beauty with my family. I can't wait until next time when we can explore Lion's Den Park or another park. 

Writing again!

Seems like life has gotten so busy lately. I had kind of lost my passion for writing. Now it's slowly coming back and I feel a little happier too. :-)

I finally got around to posting the next part of "my story" in Grace Like Rain. So for those of you readers that have been anxiously waiting to hear more, I just posted today. Sorry it took me so long, but it was tough to write about and that was what was holding me back from writing much of anything. I kind of dreaded having to walk down memory lane and relive some feelings that I thought I ditched a while ago.

Anyway, today was a good day. I surprised Caleb by having a picnic lunch at the park after school today. Then, I got a call from Tim and he asked where we were. I thought it was strange that he was asking because he was at work anyway. He had actually gone home to surprise us for lunch since he had to head to Denmark and make a few stops along the way this afternoon. So he came to the park and ate lunch with us. It was nice :-)

Well, it's a beautiful day out so we're going to enjoy it by playing some soccer. Catch ya'll later.