Soup Box Derby Strange: Langely's most unusual downhill exhibitionism (Soup Box Derby 2008)

Soup Box Strange: Langley's 2008 Race

Featuring Luc and Luke
Last year I helped Luc race his Lively Landscape mobile, both of us dressed in flight suits, sunglasses, and landscaping chaps. For this year, Luc completely revamped his mobile including painting it gold and adding planters and some killer costumes. Because I am sporting 8-month old Stella Bella, Luke R. (the other "Luke" as we often say), took over the side kick role as a daisy to the bumble bee. They made a sweet pair with their scruffy faces!
Not quite your usual day, hangin' with the boyz. Goal: win the downhill race? Nooo way! Wow the audience? Yeeesss! P.S. In th background is the ambulance, luckily not that kind of wowing!

Pictured in the Foreground: Our target audience, the newspaper photographer! He took our names, I'll keep y'all updated on the newspaper results. If you'll remember, #1 goal: get in the newspaper =)

Above: Racing to . . . finish our Yerba Mates. Nikki (left) me (right). Yeah, my fav drink to buy. I think Stella Bella is judging the results. I don't think this shot made it in the newspaper . . .

Zebra Ravers from Outer Space (oops, that was supposed to be the title of another blog entry, well, it fits): Some other very creative Soup Box Derby constants. The Fringe Friends, AKA Cosmic Cuties (Above)

ABOVE: Luke (pre-daisy) and Luc

The two Lu(c) (uke)'s paired to make a daunting team: bee (with stinger, mind you!) and daisy flower. Pictured above with the very pretty landscape mobile. The mobile featured both yellow and pink live flowers, gold paint, and a very flashy advertising sign on the back (see below)Lots of gold paint, above. Ideas evolving. The gold was nice. That's aluminum foil tacked on the the sides and back and painted, hoping it would SHINE! And of course a lawn chair for the landscape mobile!

A Very Manly Daisy (see above): Luke R. donning his daisy hat for his transformation from man to flower.

Above, Girl in the Rain: The kids had as much fun as the adults! Not even weather stops the Soup Box Derby! Marina is enjoying the view from the sidewalk, and is prepared for the weather. It poured in the morning from the time I woke up until about 8:45, when Luc rode his derby vehicle down to Langley. It is too big to put in his truck so he cruised it 1 mile into town sans petals.

Above: The Soup Box Hill with Luc racing down for the practice run.

Above: Luc's trophyAbove: Luke's Trophy

Langley's Soup Box Derby: Saturday September 20th at 9AM

Anybody who is anybody will be there. . . =) I encourage everyone to come to the Langley Soup Box Derby Saturday, that is tomorrow or today or perhaps you are too late! In any case, watch the blog for pictures of the derby and race results. Luc and his Lively Landscape Mobile, plants and all, will be BUZZZING (you'll just have to wait and see what I mean by that =) down the 1st Street hill in Langley. Last year Luc placed 2nd, and this year we hope to WIN! Or at least make it into the newspaper! That's the ultimate goal. Come on over and cheer us on!

New Kittens at the Farm! Kiki had 6 healthy kittens

For more information on the kittens checkout our Kitten Blog (also Lucy's puppy blog) at http://www.lucyhaspuppies.blogspot.com

Above: Watching in on the kittens as they are being born

Above Left: Kiki has mid-labor snack of eggs

Above: looks at her first kitten. She meticulously washed and dried each kitten.

Above left: Abra Cadabra is looking at Kiki and the new kittens. Above Right: Marina enjoys watching Kiki & kittens and petting them.

Kiki had her babies yesterday on the eve of the full moon, actually in the morning from 8am to 11am. She had 6. three are dark tabbies and 3 are gray. Of the gray kittens, 2 are dark gray and one is a lighter gray tabby. Marina is very excited and watch much of the birthing. Kiki's tummy was still quite large for her sleek size, so I kept expecting a couple more kittens to come out! Marina has learned to be very gentle and careful with the kittens. We got Kiki over a year ago from some friends when she was a kitten so handling animals has been a learning process for a while now. Checkout the video below of the birth

Playing in September: Our new Trampoline and the Bayview Farmer's Market

The girls relax on the trampoline and enjoy the view. We got the trampoline last week.

YEAH! Even I love the trampoline! RRRrrrr!

Marina builds a home (above)

At the Bayview Farmer's Market eating watermelon from Mr. Mobley

Grandma Vicky "Nanny" and the girls at the Bayview Farmer's Market. The market is a must! So much fun and lots of wonderful food and art. We especially enjoy Mr. Mobley's Soup stand and his amazing sauce!

On our new trampoline. It has been a big hit. The girls LOVE it and I do too! As of today, it is safely embedded in the ground so that the girls will be safe while jumping. Well, Stella isn't jumping just yet, but soon! marina is getting stronger and better at balancing and some tricks already.

Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple, Stir Fried Broccoli, and Jasmine Rice

Making Teriyaki Chicken is a great way to turn normal ol' chicken into a tasty treat. I really enjoy making it for food trains because you can prepare the chicken the day before then cook it right before you bring it over to them. I usually pair it with a stir fry of vegetables and rice, that way you can mix the whole thing together and pour some of the extra sauce over the top. Here are the steps: The Marinade, The Vegetables & The Rice. See? Nice and simple. Double the recipe for a food train or if you want lots of leftovers! Serves 4-5

The Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice cooking wine) or sake
2 TBS brown sugar
4 large garlic cloves (through a garlic press)
---1 package of chicken thighs, or about 6-8 thighs
---1 medium can of pineapples (small pieces) add these just before baking the chicken

Mix all ingredients of the marinade (minus the chicken) together and pour into a large baking pan (large enough to hold all the chicken). Add the chicken and turn it over so both sides have come into contact with the marinade. Cover and marinate overnight or for a minimum of 2-4 hours. It is best somewhere around 6-8 hours. Turn the chicken at some point so that both sides marinate.

Teriyaki Sauce to Serve the Chicken, rice and stir fry with:
* Take out about 1-2 cups marinade before cooking. Place in a small saucepan and before serving the chicken, cook at a low boil for 5-10 minutes. You can serve this as the teriyaki sauce at the dinner.

Keep in mind that the chicken will take somewhere around 1 hour +/- to cook. After you put it in the oven at 350 F bake & add the pineapple, start cutting vegetables for the stir fry.
The Vegetables:
2 large heads of broccoli
2 large carrots
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 large onion
1-2 TBS olive oil

Cut all the vegetables to stir-fry size, about the width of your finger or so. You can be creative with the cutting, but keep in mind that you want everything to cook at about the same rate, or else keep in mind that you will need to add ingredients in order of speed of cooking. In this recipe I like to cook all the ingredients at the same time. Heat the stove top on medium, when heated for a minute or so (at least on an old stove like I have!) add the olive oil and then the vegetables. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are firm, but cooked through.

The Rice:
4 cups water
2 1/2 cups Jasmin rice
1 TBS olive oil/butter

You can start the rice just before you start cutting and washing the vegetables for the stir fry. When the water comes to a boil add the olive oil or butter and then the rice, stir and cover, reducing heat to a low simmer. Check rice occasionally after 15 minutes, but try to keep it covered as it will cook better with the steam.