I'm Cuban B!

 

Pretty sure we were quoting this line all night.

Nana is at it again!  She chose to do Cuba this time and cheated a little with the help of Havana Cafe.  They specialize in Family style take out which is something Cubans are known for.  We had the paradise pulled pork meal with all the trimmings.  Including : white and black bean rice, Cuban cabbage salad, Maduros (sweet fried plantains), and chocolate cake!

After dinner and clean up we all practiced our animal sounds with little Zoie.  Nana had taken Ayden to the book fair earlier that afternoon and they both scored some great books!  Thanks again Nana!

Then we put the kids to bed and introduced Eliana to the Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virgina.  It's probably the most shockingly amazing thing my eyes have ever seen, and it never gets old.  If you haven't heard of it, have a completely warped sense of humor, and you love trashy reality shows as much as this girl then you have GOT to see it, its on Netflix.  Shocking doesn't even begin.  Here is what Eliana thought of it...

Thanks for doing another country Nana!  We love that you are getting into it with us but mostly we just love having you around.  Nana helped us learn that Baseball is very popular in Cuba and so are toiletries!  Toiletries are hard to come by in Cuba because supplies are so limited on the island, so locals totally appreciate gifts of toothpaste, make-up, etc.

My laptop is up and running again, which makes blogging so much easier so I will definitely see you next week!

G'day Mate!

The Ford's were a little under the weather this week.  Total bummer.  Never the less, through the sneezes and sniffles this "sheila" managed to get our Australian night checked off the map...with a little help from Outback Steakhouse....Points for creativity, Dad!

Outback can't help but reminds all of us of Grandma Debbie, it was one of our favorite places to meet up for dinner in Prescott...her ears must have been ringing :)  We haven't been there in forever but it was just as tasty as we remembered!  Ayden loved the bloomin' onion (who doesn't?) and Zoie ate daddy's lemon all while giving us some amazing sour faces.  We even tried to see which one of us could write their name the best using our left hand.

Dad went cursive...show off.

Australia has been on my bucket list for lots of reasons but mainly because it looked like so much fun when Oprah went.  Who's coming with me?  Keeping with tradition we brought along our facts to read.  Here's a little Aussie vocab for ya.  I love the way they speak, I might just start adopting it....that's normal right?

• Cotton candy - "fairy floss"  ( I mean honestly, does that get any cuter?)
• French fries are "chips" and potato chips are "crisps"
• Clothes - "clobbers"
• Candy - "lollie"  They call the game Candyland, "Lollieland".
• Girls are "sheilas" and boys are "blokes"
• If something is terrific it's a "ripper"

Cheers!  To our 23th country!  Holla! 

Madagascar Movie Night

I'm in computer HELL.  A few weeks ago our laptop stopped working.  We bought a new battery only to discover it was most likely the power cord.  No problem, I'll just use the desktop right?  Nope, apparently our desktop has taken a strong disliking to my camera and memory card and refuses to upload my pics.  Grrrr.  Finally, I decide I will just use Ayden's mini laptop.  Key word- mini.  You'd have to be a carnie to type on that thing, you know...small hands, smell like cabbage.  Due to intense frustration I will have to keep this one short and sweet.....  

Leave it to Ayden to pick Madagascar, I think he has watched that movie at least a hundred times.  I surfed and surfed the internet until I found a recipe that looked somewhat edible.  Appropriately named Madagascar Chicken, made with coconut milk and fresh ginger.  It would have been great served over rice, but we had corn on the cob instead.  It did earn a spot in my favorite recipe book, but I penciled in a few things, like adding some curry powder and more garlic.

Of course we couldn't do Madagascar without watching the movie!  We even rented the sequel in case we felt like a marathon. 

 Then we hopped into our jammies, popped some popcorn and cozied up on the couch.

Zoie had popcorn for the first time and LOVED it!

We learned that a vast majority of the 12,000 species found on the island of Madagascar cannot be seen anywhere else in the world!  It is also one of the friendliest places based on the notion of "fihavana" meaning Brotherhood, which basically entails always finding a way to get along and avoid hostility.  I think more countries should adopt the fihavana idea!!

Can't wait for next week!  Daddy picked Australia!!