Church Picnic

We enjoyed an afternoon out with our church at Veteran's Park today and David had a blast. First he tackled the playground, where he learned to go down on the big boy slide on his very own.

























Then he showed us how much of a boy he is by combining the elements of sand and water to create mud:

























Then his dad took David to the nearest water pump and had him stand under it for awhile. Sure he was wet, but at least he was clean.

David's Two-Year-Old Photos

We're nearly two months late in delivering these, but we think you'll enjoy these anyway. We have a newly landscaped park near the "bad part" of town (presumably to beautify the area and encourage homeowners to do the same). We went there on 24 May 2008 (first two photos) and again today (last photo) to get some pictures of David. He fought us all the way (through a sort of passive resistance that would make Gandhi proud), in that he found every reason not to smile and every additional reason not to look at the camera. For a generally happy, laughter-filled child, David was certainly out of character. Alas, we still managed to get these shots, which show the David that we see on a daily basis.

Everyone's New Favorite Recipe

Lately, Elizabeth has been bringing a certain dish to various social events that has garnered rave reviews from everyone that has tried it. The dish is called "Bacon and Scallion Potato Salad," and is a twist on a recipe found in the book Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade: Grilling. Since we're sure that you will want to eat what the Draper Household of Kansas is eating, we thought it appropriate to make the recipe our latest blog entry. Enjoy!

Bacon and Scallion Potato Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 1 lb boiled, cubed potatoes
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup real bacon pieces OR 4 strips crisp bacon – chopped (plus more for garnish, optional)
• 2 scallions, finely chopped (plus more for garnish, optional)
• 1 teaspoon bottled crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar (may also use balsamic vinegar)

Directions:
• Boil cubed potatoes for 15 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, bacon pieces, chopped scallions, garlic, mustard, and vinegar. Add cooked potatoes and toss to combine.
• Garnish with bacon pieces and chopped scallion (optional). Serve warm or chilled.

Analeigh at 3 Months

Admittedly, Analeigh turned 3 months old 3 days ago. Alas, we're prepared to forgive ourselves for this oversight. Anyway, as you will see from the pictures below, Analeigh has grown by leaps and bounds since entering the world. And, she has developed quite a winning smile... even if it is toothless.

Disney Time

Walt Disney would be proud to see that his movies still bring families together today. Initially, only Analeigh and her daddy were on the pillow. Then David saw how much fun it was to be the center of attention.

Kansas Humor

Ben's work takes him all over the state of Kansas to visit the children on his client list. On his way to the east side of the state, he noticed a pair of water towers in the small town of Canton, KS. As you can see in the photo, one is labeled "Hot," and the other, "Cold." Ben nabbed this picture off of the Internet, as he did not have a camera with him at the time. If you do a Google search, you will find that Pratt, KS did the same thing with their water towers (presumably before Canton did). If you need any help figuring out how to do a Google Search, Ben found a very helpful website that teaches people how to more effectively utilize all that Google has to offer - Easy Googler. In the mean time, enjoy the photo.

Farmer Ben

Thanks to the generous donation of land from our Bishop, we have started our own garden. Ben's coworker, Gayl, let us borrow her rototiller and Ben got a crash course in tilling the earth. By this fall, we hope to have zucchini, pumpkins, summer squash, green beans, yellow wax beans, green peppers, and cilantro (as well as anything else that decides to grow). What you see in the second photo is about how big the garden ended up being. Ben just didn't feel up to doing making it any bigger.