Logans in the (town)house!

The Logans came to visit!!! Luke and I had a blast last weekend opening our home to the Logan family clan. It was Evan and Matt's first trip up, so it was fun having them see our world up here. They came up Friday night and Connie came on Saturday morning.

We started out our weekend with a couple of our new fave recipes: Caribbean Jerk Ribs and Bean Salad (recipe at the end of this post). Everything was delicious, but of course our meal was not complete without KLINES, the local dairy bar.

Lila could not stop talking about ice cream....and neither could my husband.


We finished up the night by playing Spades...somehow Matt and Luke won even though Evan and I definitely outplayed them. I am looking forward to a re-match next time we are in town, not that I am competitive or anything.

Saturday morning we woke up to Mr. Jays (great bagel place here in town) and then headed to the one and only KIDS CASTLE. Luke and I have been looking for a kid to take here for the past 3 years. I run in this park all the time, and every time I pass by the castle, I want to have a kid (more specifically two twin girls that I may or may not have named already) to play with. So, having Lila here was the perfect excuse to head to the park and get our play on.



I am pretty sure the grown ups had just as much fun as Lila did! By the way, Luke is going to be a great dad. It was fun watching him play with her and get excited about things like coloring, puzzles, swinging, etc.


After the park, we headed to the Farmer's Market, had lunch out and then the girls went shopping in Dayton. Later that evening, we got a babysitter and we went out for an amazing meal at The Local Chop House. Wonderful music, drinks, food, and company of course!

One thing I really enjoy about the Logan family women are the fact that we can relate on dealing with the strangeness that is Logan men. For instance, Matt suggested that we have a poop-sit off to see who could poop in their pants and sit in it the longest. It was great to see that it was not just my husband who brings up weird CRAP (get it?) like that all the time, but his brothers as well. HAHA.

Sadly, Sunday morning came and the Logans had to head back to the boro (why is that VA has lots of burgs and NC has lots of boros?) but not before Lila got ready for the day. She was dressed to the nines in her romper and purse over her shoulder...


Once again, Luke and I had an awesome weekend with friends and family and we are always looking forward to the next time we can host people we love. So, come visit soon!

Also, here is the bean salad recipe I promised. This comes from the home from our friend Mercy's mother. We had it at their house one time and Luke and I licked our plates....so try it out!

1/2 cup cooked pearl barley
1/2 cup long grain or brown rice
1 cup drained and rinsed black beans
1 cup drained and rinsed kidney beans
1 cup shaved (or canned) corn
1/2 cup chopped green ( I prefer red) onion
1 medium red bell pepper
1/4 cupped chopped cilantro

Combine ingredients and mix with dressing

Dressing:
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 crushed garlic clove
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
shake of red pepper flakes