Berkeley Turns 6
Berkeley (like Olivia) wanted doughnuts for his birthday breakfast. His favorite KK doughnut is the "Chocolate Fling" (despite the fact that he has a distaste for chocolate in general).

Here are Berkeley's sisters... both enjoying a sprinkled doughnut.

Cracker Jack Ice Cream
The theme for Berkeley's birthday party is a baseball training camp. Berkeley already requested Oreo Ice Cream, but we need something else to have enough to serve everyone.... something baseball theme... hmmm... I know how about Cracker Jack ice cream?! I came up with the idea of making the ice cream based on the "Burnt Sugar Ice Cream" recipe found in The Ultimate Ice Cream Book (found on page 22) and then just mixed in some cracker jack popcorn after the ice cream hardened. It's actually pretty good. Give it a try.

2 cups milk
1½ sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tbs cornstarch
1½ tbs milk
¼ tsp salt
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 1 cup cracker jack caramel coated popcorn

Place the 2 cups of milk in a small saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Place the sugar in a large saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook until the sugar turns golden brown. Remove from heat and gradually add warmed milk to sugar, stirring constantly. The mixture will rise, foam, and splatter. Return to heat and keep warm.

Mix cornstarch and salt with remaining 1-½ tbs milk and stir until smooth, then beat into the egg yolks. Slowly add the milk/sugar mixture to eggs. Return mixture to pot and place over low heat. Stir constantly until slightly thickened (be careful to not heat too quickly or the eggs will scramble). Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a stainer into a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until cold.

Transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add cracker jack popcorn and mix to combine by hand. Serve immediately or transfer to freezer to harden completely.

Oreo Ice Cream
Berkeley's favorite flavor of ice cream is Oreo. He specifically requested it for his birthday party tomorrow. None of my ice cream recipe books have a "Cookies and Cream" or "Oreo" ice cream recipe, so I made it up. This recipe is based on the "Vanilla Ice Cream #1" recipe found in The Ultimate Ice Cream Book (found on page 129). It turned out great... probably the best batch of ice cream I have ever made.

2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbs flour
¼ tsp salt
1-2/3 cups milk
1 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
10 oreos

Beat sugar into eggs until thickened, add flour and salt and set aside. Simmer milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Slowly beat hot milk into the egg mixture and then transfer back to pan over low heat. Stir constantly until slightly thickened (be careful to not heat too quickly or the eggs will scramble). Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a stainer into a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until cold.

Add 5 crumbled oreo cookies to ice cream mixture and then immediately transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add remaining 5 Oreos (crumbled) and mix to combine by hand. Serve immediately or transfer to freezer to harden completely.

Movie Review: Wild Hogs

Title:	Wild Hogs (2007)
Rating:	4/10

We have been incredibly busy lately with party preparations (one down, two to go)... but we decided to take a bit of time to unwind tonight and watch the completely brainless Wild Hogs. The movie has very little to offer other than a few laughs. The predictable plot, manufactured drama, as well as the inane ending (not to mention the melodramatic acting *cough*Ray Liotta*cough*) would be quite suitable for an hour-long TV sitcom (a la Tim Allen's Home Improvement), but this definitely wasn't good movie material. But whatever, I wasn't expecting much.

Restoring Order to the Universe
A couple of weeks ago we started cleaning up the garage. Today I made some signifcant advances to restoring order to my universe (which consists of a clean garage and a clean home office). Enough progress to park the ML in the garage, something that hasn't been possible to do for almost a year. The garage is only halfway cleaned up, but it's progress.

w00t!

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Tile Grouted
The tile was grouted today (top and bottom). It will be sealed next week. The kids have had to stay off the tile the entire past week. On different days, different sections of the tile were installed and we were asked to stay off of it while the thinset completely cured. But today the kids were happy to enjoy the new patio with some ice cream bars (see below).

July 2008 Olivia Birthday Party
We sent out Olivia's Party Invitations to a birthday luau a few weeks ago. If you didn't get a card - don't fret - we only invited local family (and the grandparents too of course). We made the best of the semi-finished backyard with some luau-themed decorations (e.g. tiki torches and the like). The kids were all provided with grass skirts, a flower (or a shell) lei, and the opportunity to get a tattoo on their forearm or calf. Olivia welcome her birthday guests in a new pink dress (with matching silk flower hair clip) and her new "pretty" shoes. Here are some pictures of the principal party guests:

From left to right: Eliana (age 4), Berkeley (age 5 yrs and 360 days), Nathan (age 2), Isabella (age 4), Emily (age 3), Hinckley (age 1 month), and the birthday girl Olivia (age 2). Not shown: Jenna, Ebey, and Andrew (oops).

We invited the wife of our home teacher, Kamaile, to teach the kids a simple Hawaiian song. I can't remember much of the song now, and the kids can't either... except for the part that went "poo poo". Heh. Here is Kamaile teaching the kids the song and the accompanying hand movements:

After the song we served a luau feast headlined with Kalua Pork and Teriyaki Beef. There was also plenty of fresh fruit to munch on. I wish I had taken a picture of the spread now. Suffice it to say, the food was deluxe and there was plenty to go around.

After dinner, we sang to the birthday girl and served the cake:

We served the cake with three luau-themed flavors of homemade ice cream... Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks, Pineapple Ice Cream, and Mango Ice Cream. The coconut ice cream was a big hit and I must say that it was exceptional, one of the best flavors Kristy and I have created. The pineapple was also very good. However, the mango flopped (and it was the hardest to make!). I don't think my mangoes were ripe enough as the flavor was very weak. Ah well.

Immediately following the cake and ice cream, Olivia opened up her birthday presents:

Pictured below are two of her gifts... a new umbrella and a new "sofa" (her word) for the attic playhouse.

But, by far, her favorite gift was a sing along cassette recorder that the Thurmonds bought for her. Just take a look at the pictures:

It was a great party! I wish some of my own family was there to enjoy it (maybe next year *wink wink*).

Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks
A few years ago I bought an ice cream recipe book that contains predominantly custard-style recipes called The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. This recipe is based on the "Coconut Ice Cream" recipe in that book (found on page 50). My own variation adds the macadamia nuts and chocolate chunk pieces. Enjoy!

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1 cup half-and-half
1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup macadamia nuts (or more if desired)
½ cup chopped chocolate bars (or more if desired)

Toast coconut in a broiler oven until golden brown. Beat sugar into eggs until thickened, add cornstarch and salt and set aside. Combine half-and-half with coconut milk and bring to boil over medium heat. Slowly beat hot liquid into the egg mixture and then transfer back to pan over low heat. Stir constantly until slightly thickened (be careful to not heat too quickly or the eggs will scramble). Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a stainer into a large bowl. Add toasted coconut, cream, and vanilla and mix to combine. Refrigerate until cold.

Transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add macadamia nut pieces and chocolate chunks and mix in my hand. Serve immediately or transfer to freezer to harden completely.

Book Review: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein
Several years ago, I purchased The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein. I bought it with several other ice cream books (specifically the Ben & Jerry's one and the one published by Williams Sonoma). The Ultimate Ice Cream book is a good reference and has many obscure recipes for ice cream flavors that you won't find in many other books (like recipes for Lavendar, Rhubarb, or Red Bean Ice Creams... the latter of which I had almost every day in Taiwan during the hot and humid Taiwan summers). Most of the recipes in the book are "custard-style", meaning that you must create a thin custard out of the ingredients (with the exception of the cream) before the ice cream mixture is transferred to the ice cream maker. If there is one weakness in the book, it is probably the chocolate ice cream recipes... but I prefer non-chocolate ice cream anyway, so I'm not complaining too loudly.

Summary: A book well worth the minimal $12 price tag. Go get it.

Teriyaki Beef

About 4 lbs of tri-tip beef steak
1 cup Hawaiian "Huli-Huli" sauce

Combine steak and Huli-Huli sauce in a leak-proof ziploc bag and marinate for 24 hours. Grill on an open flame until medium-rare. Cut into bite-size strips (or chunks) and serve over white rice.

Kalua Pork
Dig a pit in the middle of your backyard lawn. Then build a fire in the pit... no, not really. Just get your crockpot out 24hrs in advance of serving this.

1 pork roast (about 5 lbs)
2 tbs Hawaiian sea salt
1 tbs liquid smoke flavoring

Combine ingredients in crock pot about 18-24 hours before serving. Turn crockpot on low and simmer until pork is tender. Pull pork apart with two forks and serve over steamed white rice.

(Note: QFC sells Hawaiian sea salt; it is mixed with purified Hawaiian Alae Red Clay.)

Olivia Turns 2
Olivia turns 2 today. The tradition around here is that the birthday girl (or boy as the case may be) gets to pick the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I asked Olivia what she wanted and she said "No-nuts" (doughnuts). I drove her down to KK and let her pick out a doughnut - a plain glazed doughnut with brightly colored sprinkles. When we returned home, we put a couple of candles in her doughnut and sang to her. She was thrilled.

(Update Fri Aug 8 11:16:11 PDT 2008 // corrected spelling)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Hearth Installed
The solid surface slate slabs were installed today, namely the hearth and the fireplace cap. Here are a few pictures of both the hearth and the project progress at large:

	The hearth stone and fireplace cap are made from solid surface Brazilian multi-color slate; the same material used for the tile. The fireplace and the bottom portion of the columns will be wrapped in the synthetic stone shown resting against the hearth. The colors of the synthetic stone and the slate look a little too close, but the slate will be sealed which will give it a permanent "wet look" that is darker than currently shown. The synthetic stone is scheduled to be installed late next week.
	This is how the intersection of the deck and the roof turned out. If you look carefully, you can see the small exposed line of the flashing that extends up the roof about 8" inches and underneath that last row of slate tile about 6". That outside corner has also been sealed up. The roofer said there was a big hole there between that corner and the deck (which he fixed). Eventually, the handrail will be installed right along the intersection to keep the kids off the roof.
	This is a shot looking back toward the house from the south corner of the deck. The slate tile is completely installed now upstairs and lacks only some grout around the curbing (not to mention the mess that still needs to be cleaned up). The first window will be replaced with a door. This door will lead into the kids study (or music room or whatever we are calling it). The large holes on either side of the windows are for the lights. The smaller holes are for speakers that will be connected to our home audio system. The second window is the window in our master bedroom. Eventually we will need to address some structural concerns before we can swap out that window for a door.
	This picture show much of what Baxton did last weekend. The column was built out to cover the storm drain system and then wrapped in fascia. The soffit cedar material was installed. And the posts were built out to hide the downspout pipes. What's next for Baxton? Siding repair... this weekend supposedly.

(Update Fri Aug 8 11:34:34 PDT 2008 // changed URL of pictures)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Tile Progress
The tile on the upper deck floor has now been restored. The curbing still needs to be re-installed and grouted. About 6 rows of the slate tile were also installed today down on the patio floor, out on the outer edge around the fireplace and the posts. I'm trying to get the mason out here to install the stone on the fireplace and the posts before Berkeley's birthday party next week (on the 29th), but it doesn't look like his schedule is too promising. Oh well.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Roof/Deck Intersection Flashed
After our recent rain (and subsequent leaks), I hired the roofing outfit that did our Ecostar slate roof to come out and properly flash the intersection between the roof and deck. They sent a field technician out about a week and a half ago to look at the project and get the measurements for some custom flashing to make the transition from the roof to the deck waterproof. The installer came out today and installed the flashing and re-installed all of the roof tiles necessary to finish the roof.

Jason the tile setter was out all day today and has reset many of the tiles up on the deck. Still a lot of work to do if we hope to have the tile done by Olivia's birthday party (on the 24th).

Movie Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Title:	National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007)
Rating:	3/10

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets provides little more than a threadbare plot and inane, meaningless, "ho-hum" non-stop action. Nicky Cage has returned to reprise his role in a movie (which like its predecessor) is pretty much a ripoff of Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code. The plot is so pathetic that it hardly deserves mention. Cage and Cage's dad (Jon Voight) must prove that their great grandfather was not in league with President Lincoln's assassin as alleged by a good 'ol southern boy, Ed Harris, and some halfway burned up piece of paper. Though it doesn't really make sense, Cage and Voight decide they must find a legendary "City of Gold" that the now-ignominious grandfather supposedly died trying to protect from Confederate spies. Yet, finding the City of Gold doesn't prove any such thing, the grandfather still could have been in league with the South... but hey, look over there... an explosion!

Summary: Absolutely preposterous; almost insultingly so.

(Update Thu Jul 31 07:09:48 PDT 2008 // added link to first review)

Home Renovation Project: Tile Repair
Well, Jason the tile setter has been working on re-waterproofing the deck all day yesterday and today. The tile is still all torn up and strewn about the deck... but the new waterproofing is installed. I guess that is something. Baxton will return tomorrow (and work through the weekend) to finish up the soffit install, wrap the beam, and build out the column posts.

Eliana's Ballet Pictures
We received Eliana's class ballet picture in the mail today. These were pictures taken backstage at on the day before Eliana's First Ballet Recital. She sure does make a nice pose with her ballet dress on!

(Update Thu Aug 7 22:10:24 PDT 2008 // corrected the timeline)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Concrete Pour #2
The new step is now poured... and the larger patio footprint as well. I felt kind of bad making Baxton (and Mike and Darren) do the extra work, but it will look far better in the end. It was a short day of work today on our project; Baxton is now stalled until the tile can get fixed. That is supposed to happen tomorrow and Friday.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Soffit Cedar Install Delayed
Baxton started installing the cedar soffit material today. He installed about 5 or 6 rows of the material and then decided to test the integrity of the waterproofing at the deck edges. Sure enough, there were leaks... pretty big ones... on either side of the deck. So the tile on the edges (and on the curb) will need to be ripped up, the waterproofing redone, and then re-installed. Baxton can't continue with the framing until the deck is water tight.

So, uh, that sucks.

Instead of installing the soffit material, Baxton formed out the patio extension we decided to have him do yesterday. We are widening the deck by about a foot on either side and another foot in depth. This will align the edges of the patio with the outside edges of the column posts... which are going to be built out for the benefit of hiding the drain pipes. Also, Baxton will pour the new step tomorrow as well.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Mantel Installed
Baxton was able to knock out quite a few items today. The most exiting item was the installation of the fireplace mantel (see first two pictures at right below). We made the mantel ourselves (even the kids helped!) out of a 4x12 we bought at Second Use for $20. We all took turns distressing it and we sanding it. We used the same dye/stain process on the wood that we used on our hardwood floors in the attic. It came out pretty good.

Baxton also completed the drain pipe install (see second two pictures below) and also took care of the mechanical run for a duct that provides exhaust for a fan in the mudroom. The vent was extended out through the deck fascia (see third picture).

Parking Garage
We spent the evening as a family cleaning up the garage. Ever since we started our attic conversion project (almost a year ago), our cars have not seen the inside of the garage. There is still a lot to do... quite a lot to do. While we were working, Berkeley asked:

"Why are we cleaning up the garage?"

Kristy responded, "So we can park our cars in here again."

"We used to park our cars in the garage?!", Berkeley offered incredulously.

Yeah OK, so it's been awhile.

Eliana's Request
Just before dinner today... and remember, Eliana is 4.

"Dad, can I have a pown in my room?"

"A bone? What?"

"No, a pown."

"A what?"

"A pown to call people. I need a pown in my room."

"Oh, a phone. Who are you going to call?"

"Everyone I want."

"Like who?"

"Um, Elsa or Dallin or whoever I want."

Elsa was in Eliana's preschool class. And Dallin is in Eliana's Primary class. The mention of Dallin is interesting since Eliana made Dallin a card yesterday afternoon. While she was making the card, she asked me to spell the word "love" for her. Oh boy.

LDS Radio Online
About a year ago (or so), the Hallmark Channel pushed back the Sunday morning broadcast of Motab from 8:30am to 6:30am. We haven't watched it since. I guess I could get/build a DVR, but I don't watch (or rather *miss*) enough other TV programs to make the value proposition of a DVR worthwhile. *shrug*

So on a whim, I googled up "LDS shoutcast stream" and found LDS Radio Online which offers a free broadcast stream of Sunday-appropriate audio. Most of the instrumental pieces are quite lovely. But you'll have to wince once or twice (and roll your eyes) for a few of what I call "Josh Groban"-like tunes. It's hard for the music directors to separate the wheat from the chaff I guess.

Movie Review: The Notebook

Title:	The Notebook (2004)
Rating:	7/10

At the beginning of The Notebook, an old man (James Garner) in failing health enters a room in a rest home where he meets and greets a silver-haired woman (Gena Rowlands)... seemingly for the first time. He is there, he tells her, to read her a story out of a notebook - a love story - about a young man and young woman who meet and fall in love during one summer, are then separated by class (and by WWII), undergo a lengthy separation (where the young woman becomes engaged to another man), and then reunite. We find out that the old man and woman are the young couple in the story, and have been married for quite some time. However, the woman is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease and can no longer recognize her husband or her family. The man reads their love story to his beloved wife every day only for the hope that she will "remember" and come back to him... even if it is for only a few moments during the day.

It is a touching story and hits close to home (for me), since I'm very much in love with my wife and would be hurt tremendously if she were to fall into such a state. The acting in the film, especially by Garner, really drives home the emotional impact of the material... particularly when the wife "remembers" at the end of the story and then relapses just minutes later.

The end of the movie lays it on a bit thick. I thought the climax of the love story, which coincided with the wife's re-emergence would have been a fine place to end. But the movie continues and offers a denouement that seemed a bit too contrived for me (albeit it did provide a happy resolution for the couple).

Summary: Worth a look.