Working In The Kitchen at Schlotzsky's Deli

We're members of The Hip Homeschooler group. We're a group of homeschool families that get together once a week for cool field trips in the area. We attended one of their field trips recently when we got a behind-the-scenes tour at Polar Ice Rink at Grapevine Mills Mall.

Today's outing was at Schlotzsky's Deli. Man, I could eat there every day. But even better than the food was the fact that the kids got to go into the kitchen and make their own pizzas!



But before a chef enters their kitchen, he or she must don their chef's hat. Schlotzsky's gave every kid their own paper chef's hat and let them use markets to personalize them.



What a cute little chefette!



Nicholas has become a bit of a picky eater in his old age (7!) so he skipped the pepperoni and went with just sauce and cheese.



Nuthin' wrong with that beautiful mound of melted cheesy goodness coming right out of the oven!



The counter was too high for Rachel to be able to see what she was doing. So, in a feat of Mommy strength, I held her up with one arm while reaching my other arm around her to try to get a picture or two.



The kids were excited to eat their own culinary creations. And I must say, those were some really good cheese pizzas. The crust and the flavor of the sauce were really good.



Friends catching up over lunch.



After lunch, our hostess brought out cookies and little tubs of icing so the kids could decorate their own cookies.



My kids are now in love with this place as much as I am!



Of course, Rachel doesn't waste much time on the cookie. She's just all about the icing!



Thanks, friends, for organizing such a fun outing!

Dandelions

We went to play at a playground this afternoon with our friends. While Nicholas and the boys climbed and ran, little Rachel could be found playing in the field of dandelions.

I showed her how to blow the seeds into the air.



There were lots of dandelion flowers to pick. She had quite a collection of them.



My sweet little girl! She's only 2 1/2 but she's so tall that she wears clothes for a 3 and 4 year old. Not much of a baby anymore...

Snuggle Time

It makes me so happy to see the sweetest two children I know cuddled up together under a blanket.



Wait! Which one is the "real" Nicholas?!



I just love this blanket. It was a Christmas gift from Stuart and it's one of the best gifts I've ever received. Check them out at Photoweavers.

Behind The Scenes Tour at Kroger

Nicholas' Cub Scout Den had their "Go See It" at Kroger this month. We met up with our very friendly hostess, Ms. Denise, who took the boys all over the store.

We started in the floral/balloon department. There was lots of excitement and antsy-ness in the boys. You would have thought they had never been to a grocery store before, despite the fact that I know I take my children to this very store just about every other day.



Next we visited the bakery and produce sections. Ms. Denise asked the boys some questions and I was surprised that Nicholas wanted to answer because he usually gets shy in situations like this. Maybe the antsy-ness did something to his jitters.



Seriously, they were all chatting up a storm and giggling and asking crazy questions of Ms. Denise. I don't know what had gotten into them but can you imagine being a customer and seeing this gaggle of busy bodys in uniforms behind Ms. Denise as she walked through the entire store.



Even I thought it was cool to get to go behind the "Employees Only" sign into the store room areas. We saw pallets and pallets full of various products. Oh, is that Pepsi there? I had not noticed.



Nicholas had great fun being on the other side of the milk shelves. He has occasionally seen a hand moving around behind the row of milk jugs while we are picking out our milk. It was kind of neat to see things from the other perspective, to be on the inside looking out.



The boys got to chat with the Seafood Guy for a moment. The Seafood Guy even pulled out a live lobster for the boys to touch, with banded pinchers, of course.



We visited the Pharmacy where the boys got stickers and coloring books. Ms. Denise wrapped up the tour by giving the boys cookies...like they really needed the sugar rush!

Thanks Kroger for welcoming our Den to tour your store. We love you and plan to visit you again tomorrow....because I just can never seem to get everything I need in one trip!

Cub Scouts Visit Lake Cities Printing

Each month, Nicholas' cub scout den has a "Go See It" where they take a field trip to a local place. This month we got to take a behind the scenes tour at Lake Cities Printing in Lake Dallas.



Doug Gryder invited us into his shop and showed us the printing process from beginning to end. It starts with creating the graphic then transferring it to a negative.



Next we got to see the giant printer!



Mr. Gryder taught us about the ink that he uses and how to put the ink in the printer.



He only uses 4 colors of ink - red, yellow, blue, and black. With those colors and a handy "recipe" book of mixes, he is able to create any color that he needs.



It was pretty cool to get a look at it up close and it was all we could do to keep the boys' fingers off the knobs and buttons.



The boys were fascinated with the equipment and the sound of the printer. It's so different from the printers they usually see at home.



Doug Gryder, owner of Lake Cities Printing, has over 20 years experience as a press operator and printing specialist. We appreciate that he took time out of his busy schedule to meet with our cub scouts.



Lake Cities Printing is located at 209 Main St. in Lake Dallas. Their office hours are M-F 9:00-5:00. For more information, please call them at (940) 497-7468 or visit the Lake Cities Printing website.