Tiki~riffic 4th!

This is the first year that we allowed the boys to go pick up fireworks, and with a $20 limit and a strict list of absolute NO's, they came home with some of the old favorites: snakes, smoke bombs and sparklers. The day ended with a beautiful fireworks display on Bellingham Bay!!

Happy 4th!

*click on picture to enlarge

Too hot to handle!

Being the long holiday weekend, Chris had today off, and to be brutally honest, there couldn't be a better one! The weather forecast predicted 80's, yet I think we topped 90's~so instead of staying inside (afraid we might melt), we took it all out with sandboxing, sprinklering, and just plain ol' lounging in the backyard.

The best ribs ever!

Here is a fun rib recipe that was given to me by my good friend Kelda. Super delicious and a fun 4th of July tradition at the Schweigerts!

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon course salt
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 racks (4 to 5 pounds) pork ribs ( I get them at Costco)
• 1.5 cups BBQ sauce (whatever you like. The recipe comes from KC Masterpiece)

1. Dry Rub: Combine paprika, salt, thyme, chili powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Line counter top with Glad Press n Seal wrap. Place ribs on layer of Press n Seal wrap. Divide the rub and spread over both sides of ribs. Wrap in Glad Press n Seal and refrigerate over night.

2. Heat grill for indirect heat. Allow ribs to stand 20 minutes at room temperature. Remove from Press n Seal wrap.

3. Place ribs, bone side down in center of gill. Cover and grill ribs over medium heat 1.5 to 2 hours. During the last hour of grilling time, brush the ribs with BBQ sauce every 20 minutes until meat is tender. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing into individual ribs.

*The cooking instructions are based on a charcoal grill. You kind of have to judge the cooking time based on the look of the ribs. Usually, I let them go pretty close to 1.5 hours.

Enjoy!

just because...

• it's sunny out
• they're ALL mine and i can take their pictures whenever
• i love their new dresses from the gap clearance
• they wanted me to take their picture of them playing "on their road trip" (playing with the buckles in paige's booster chair...i guess invincible shine is driving)
• piper actually let me fix her hair today
• i wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world but with my girls

Birthday gameplan!

Written by Piper, illustrated by Katie!
*click to enlarge!

heads up!

Because I need more pictures of my children (yeah right), I decided to make this little display out of canvas for above our bed! Chris is just hoping the the extra "durable" crafty super glue stays intact and we don't get a little head trauma in the middle of the night when it decides it's met it's maximum capacity! I'm just proud I got it in a stud!!!!

*photos taken by Rebecca Brethauer Photography.

New addition to our extended family!

Welcome Janna to the Michaud Family!

Congrats to my brother Tom and Janna on their engagement, it will be a fun year planning for your wedding! Piper & Paige cannot wait for flower girl job #2 (they should be experts by now)!!!