Auntie JoJo visits/Army Ball

A week and a half ago, Auntie Jo-Jo (or Gigi as Cole says it) came to visit us in UT! For Father's Day, all Ben wanted was to go see Josh Ritter in concert and he was playing Friday night, so Joelle came in and watched Cole for us while we enjoyed a night out. Then, on Saturday, we had to go to the Army Ball so she got to watch him again! It was so nice having her here and not worrying about a stranger watching him.

While she was here, we did have some fun, we didn't just make her watch Cole the whole time :) We got our nails done, went to Gymboree class, did some shopping, ate some good food, went to the Sunday market in Park City, and visited a petting zoo. Cole's so funny, he copies everything Gigi does and he would wake up in the morning looking for her and calling her name. We're looking forward to spending the whole month of July with her. Thanks again Joelle for flying to SL to take care of your bug!

Beautiful Park City

Cole's 1st pony ride on "Charlie"

Sweet baby goat

The softest little lamby

Dugway Army Ball

Thank you, Food Network

As mentioned in my previous post, Ben and I have a love for the Food Network. Specifically, Ace of Cakes, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Diners Drive-ins and Dives (from now on will be referred to as "Triple D"). So, when we planned our little trip we for sure had to visit some of the awesome restaurants on these shows. I guess what's so much fun about eating at these places is the fact that 9 times out of 10 you wouldn't just run into them. Plus, we love to try new restaurants and this is a sure way to know that the new restaurant you're going to try is going to be a good one. Added bonus, none of these places are fancy or expensive!
So, we start in Boston where we visited a Triple D called Sam LaGrassa's. It's in downtown Boston and it's known for it's sandwiches, Ruben's in particular. I'm not a fan of the Ruben, but Mollie is, so that's what she had and Ben and I had others on the menu. They were huge and definitely delicious. Now, I really wanted to post the little segment of all of the restaurants, but I can't figure out how to post a YouTube video to the blog, so if you're interested, I'm adding the links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD5Z9npYKzY


Next stop was the Shady Glen in Manchester, CT. This was on Best Things "Cheesy" episode.

This is our awesome car we drove!

This diner has their own cheese made so it will do this:

Crazy spaceship burger

The shakes weren't bad either!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnhyNVcX5fQ

The first night we were in Philly, we just happened to turn on Man v. Food on the Travel Chanel (sorry food network, no props for this one) and the host was in Philly eating not a Philly cheesesteak, but an Italian pork sandwich. The next day we ventured into Reading Terminal Market, which we probably wouldn't have and we are so happy we did because it was the neatest indoor market with a ton of food vendors. We got one sandwich from Dinics, which is an Italian sandwich with sharp provolone, pork and broccoli rabe, and another cheesesteak from Carmen's Deli, which was featured on The Best Thing "Between Bread" episode. Ben preferred Dinics, I preferred Carmen's, but they were both delish!


My favorite stop on our culinary tour was The Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ (just across the river from Philadelphia). This restaurant was featured in Bobby Flay's grilled cheese Throwdown and we knew we had to visit as soon as we saw the episode because we both LOVE grilled cheese. It's the cutest little diner in the cutest little town I've ever been to. They have a full menu, but they're obviously known for their 31, yes, I said 31 different types of grilled cheese. I had the Calvert, a grilled cheese special featuring Monterey jack cheese, roasted turkey, apple-wood smoked bacon, avocado and balsamic mayonnaise on rosemary focaccia bread. This is the sandwich they made for the competition. YUM! They also had a huge list of ice cream sundaes for dessert. I would probably eat there once a week if given the opportunity. Cole loved his mac and cheese, but he also loved the ice cream of course! Added bonus, their menu was in the form of a newspaper, so we took it with us and have been creating really delicious grilled cheese at home.

Yum-O!

Do I have a little something on my face?

Finally, in Baltimore, we stopped at Chap's Pit Beef, which has been featured on both Triple D and Best Thing "Between Bread" episode. All I have to say here is awesome, tender, bbq beef sandwiches. Oh so tasty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81D8lqg4bnk



We obviously had a lot of fun trying all of these new restaurants and we hope this inspires you to take the time to look up and try some local favorites in your neighborhood or when you travel. You'll get a great meal, support local businesses, and have fun at the same time! Bon Appetite!

Baltimore

Our final stop on our trip down the East Coast was Baltimore, MD. But, first we made a quick stop Monday morning in Arlington, VA. Our friend from high school, Chandra, had a gorgeous baby boy a few days before we got there, so we took the opportunity to visit him. He's a big boy, but sooo sweet. Cole really liked seeing the baby, but he also really liked their dog of course. We didn't have the camera with us, so I'm borrowing a pic from Chandra's facebook page for your baby enjoyment. Congrats Burnside Family!!!

Tom Connally "TC" Burnside, II

After meeting TC we drove up to Baltimore just for a quick stop before we caught our flight home. So, as some of you may know, Ben and I have a slight obsession with the Food Network (if you didn't know this before, you'll see if first hand in my next post) and really the only thing I wanted to see in Baltimore was Charm City Cakes, which is where Ace of Cakes is filmed. Well, the whole way there I was thinking, "I really wish we'd catch some of the bakers walking in and out of the bakery." So we pull up and I look across the street and sitting at a picnic table are like 7 of them! I really hate just walking up to people and bothering them, so I devise this plan to park the car down the street and take Cole out and walk him by where they're eating and they'll of course think he's the cutest thing ever and come up and talk to us, right? Wrong. We did park the car and get out, but by that time, they were all going back into the bakery. Cole stopped right at the entrance and was being so cute smelling the flowers right outside the door, but they just walked on by. Apparently they were too busy to stop and see my adorable little boy :) Then my favorite, favorite person on Ace of Cakes walked out...Geof Manthorne. He was enjoying what looked like a romantic lunch, so again, I didn't bother him, but I did get a paparazzi shot. I guess all in all our trip to Baltimore was successful!

Charm City Cakes

Geof eating lunch with his girlfriend
(I know, I'm a dork)

Cast of Ace of Cakes
(Geof's the guy sitting on the far left. We did not see Duff at all,
but he was there because his motorcycle was parked out front)

Washington D.C.

We've finally made it to D.C. for Alex and Liz's wedding and some sight seeing of course! On Friday, we got into town and went to the Smithsonian National History Museum and the Museum of Flight. Saturday, we visited the brand new Capitol Visitors' Center. It is quite beautiful. Cole was not in the mood for indoor museum ventures that day, so it was a quick visit, but still very nice to see. After a good long nap for Cole, our friend, Josh, met us and we took Cole to the zoo. It was a really hot day out and the zoo was packed. The animals weren't very active, but it was still fun. That night we went to rehearsal dinner which was on the rooftop of Alex and Liz's apartment. It was a gorgeous location. Sunday we made a quick trip to the White House before the big wedding.

The wedding was gorgeous! For those of you that don't know, Ben was the officiant, and he did a fabulous job. The wedding was outside at the Tabard Inn and then the reception was inside the hotel. The bride was, of course, absolutely beautiful and we had a great time. We had someone watch Cole for us after the ceremony so we could enjoy a nice dinner with our friends and some fun dancing. We had such a wonderful time and it was sad to have to say goodbye to our friends who we have so much fun with.

Dinosaurs!

Cole really loves elephants

He did not love taking pictures with his dad though

U.S. Capitol



Visitors' Center

Us under Spaceship One in the Air and Space Museum.
Ben's Uncle Paul was on the team who helped build it.

Family picture, with, of course, the elephants

"Uncle" Josh and Cole at the zoo

It is most important that we always wear shoes

Bride's Maids

Groom's people
The beautiful, happy couple

Another happy couple that has almost been married 6 years!

Cole with his Tio Alejandro

South lawn of the White House

Alex and Liz getting married by Ben

Cole making mischief during the ceremony


Mr. & Mrs. Poppi :)

Brothers "dancing" (I think that's what they were trying to do)

The Jabara's and The Poppi's

Mom, why'd you wake me up for this?