bringing dinner back

“This is going to be the worst, most boring weekend ever.” — Noah, Friday afternoon on our way out of town.

Bringing dinner to East Texas

We had plans to go to a cabin in East Texas with friends who have boys the same ages as our boys. Their youngest got sick, so we decided to go it alone. Well, three of us decided that. Noah decided such a weekend was a fate worse than watching a two-hour Barbie infomercial while folding laundry and listening to an emergency siren going off in your ear. He didn’t actually say that. But he more than implied it. And was promptly outvoted.

Off we headed, the snarky pre-teen quickly getting more in the mood as the miles between our family and home grew. By the time we were eating barbecue at Baker’s Ribs, our new favorite East Texas establishment (OK, the only East Texas establishment we can actually name), Noah was unabashedly enjoying himself. The brief holiday from city life and our schedule included six family meals, shuffleboard, morning tickle fights, fart jokes, putt-putt golf, Nerf wars, old inside jokes, new inside jokes, and watching Spiderman snuggled together on the couch.

I knew it would be OK, despite Noah’s protests. That’s the beauty of a family. If you give it a little time, the fun and memories will just play out — one laugh, smore, and golf ball at a time.

With that wonderful reconnection, we begin our week:

BBQ, cheesy potatoes, corn, and fried pies at Baker's Ribs.

Sunday: Enjoyed Clyde’s biscuits and gravy for breakfast, then barbecue on the road back to Dallas for lunch. We dropped Clyde off at the airport, ran to celebrate International Women’s Day on a cold, rainy bridge, then pizza with friends. As is the case when one of us is out of town, the others carry on the daily meal tradition.

Monday: Boys have tennis and rock climbing this afternoon, but I have plenty of time to cook before we all sit down for dinner. I am so slack on the cooking when Clyde’s out of town, though. Something about having just the three of us makes me that way. However, I have an entire bin full of fruits and veggies from this weekend’s co-op, so cook I must, starting with a potato leek soup with crispy kale on top (broken up into bite-sized pieces, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, broiled ’til crispy). Planning for leftovers so I can slack tomorrow.

Tuesday: Driving Noah’s class on a field trip to see that Bodies exhibit. Then Sawyer has chess. Leftover soup — the best kind.

Wednesday: Noah heads out for a two-night camp-out with his fellow middle schoolers, so it’s just Sawyer and me for dinner. This could bring dinner slacking to a new low. I’m thinking a baguette, olive oil, cheese, tomatoes, and some yummy fruit. Why cook when you can simply slice and dip?

Shuffleboard on the Libo deck...

Thursday: No rock climbing practice. No after-school activity of any sort. No Noah. No Clyde. Seems we may need some pork chops to honor the occasion, served with green beans and mac-and-cheese — all my little man’s favorites. Maybe we’ll rent a movie and drink hot chocolate by the fire.

Friday: Noah is home from the camp-out, Clyde back from Rhode Island. We’ll all come back together, enjoying a rather late family meal at Sawyer’s favorite near-the-airport restaurant, Panda Express.

Saturday: We’ll have a family breakfast as we are entertaining our book club group this evening. Not sure of the exact details but planning some sort of pasta with salad and bread. That goes with any book, right?

Smores: a favorite cabin tradition

...perhaps Sawyer's favorite cabin tradition

Hosing down Sawyer: another cabin tradition