Celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month at the Boone Mall!

This Saturday Februrary 4th, the Adult and Child Orthodonists are co-sponsoring National Children’s Dental Health Month Fair at the Boone Mall where children can receive free toothbrushes and information for both children and parents on proper dental health care. You can find displays at the entrance to Old Navy the event’s co-sponsor from 10am -4pm on Saturday!

I almost have all my Christmas shopping done!  What about you? We only have a few more days to get everything bought, wrapped, and given, so we’re scrambling for those last few items!

If you have any last minute gift needs, consider supporting our High Country Mom Squad partners who invest in the Mom Community by making this site possible!  Here are some great last minute ideas, sometimes thinking outside the box, and the best thing is… it’s LOCAL, so no overnight shipping!

1. For your health-conscious mom friends, pay the registration fee or one-month of a Wellness Center membership! (you could also ask for this from YOUR parents or significant other!
2. Black Bear Books has all kinds of gifts for children and adults of ALL ages, ranging in price from a few bucks! Browse the books for the perfect one, get a gift certificate, OR buy a coffee gift card with a promise to a friend to have a girl-talk sometimes!
3. The Chick-Fil-A Calendar is a great gift at just $6.  You can get a gift set with a Calendar, a Christmas Ornament, in a Nutcracker Gift Box for just $7.95.
4. The Deer Valley Swim and Racquet Club has a pro-shop with great gifts for your tennis-enthusiast friends! Anyone can go over there and browse, or even get a gift certificate!
5. At Reed Orthodontics, give your children or grandchildren the gift of healthy teeth! Schedule an initial office visit with Dr. R.R. “Kim” Reed for FREE! It won’t even cost you a penny!
6. The gift of Dance can enrich a child’s life, and help with gross motor development, as well as social skills! Not to mention fun.  Call Studio K Dance Workshop at (828) 265-4111 to inquire about classes, starting in January!

We are so thankful to our sponsors for supporting us this year! We hope to continue these partnerships and develop more in 2011, to bring you more fun and informative content here at the Mom Squad!

It’s that time again!  Wee Cycle Children’s Consignment Sale is soon to be up and running, in a NEW LOCATION!  The sale will be located at 368 Highway 105 Extention (The Old Charleston Forge Building)!

As always, Wee Cycle will feature thousands of square feet of brand name and boutique, gently worn clothing, furniture, maternity, toys, shoes, books, dvds,  and more!

If you are interested in consigning or volunteering with Wee Cycle, you can fill out the online form here. Volunteers and consignors get access to special pre-sale dates for first choices of the incredible selection, and consignors receive 60% of a his/her sales totals.

Visit Wee Cycle Children’s Consignment Website for more information, and stay tuned to High Country Mom Squad for updates and special news about the sale.

The Watauga "Blue" Baseball Team. Back Row: Coach Kevin Hensen, Ben Hensen, Zach Valet, Coach Wendell Ellis, Dakota McCrary, Levi Wilcox, Tyler Nigro, and Coach Angelo Nigro. Front Row: Spencer Hamrick, Willis Ellis, Ryan Church, Justin Greer, Dylan Lawrence, and Logan Norris.

“Take me out to the Ballgame,” was just what we were singing excitedly during our drive to Kingsport, Tennessee this past May 21^st-23^rd, 2010. Our caravan of vehicles were headed to our 1st interstate baseball tournament of the season consisting of 4 different states: Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.  We were playing at Domtar Park, with 8 brand new fields to play on. I nicknamed our team Watauga Blue, but we were the Watauga Baseball team representing Boone and Watauga County proud! We were there to WIN and WIN BIG!

Our team consists of 11 boys from 3 different current American League teams through Parks and Rec, in the 12 and under age division. We have three great coaches, Kevin Hensen, Wendell Ellis, and Angelo Nigro, who love teaching the art and game of baseball. Before this tournament, because of school and baseball, Watauga Blue was only able to get in 2 practices. In essence, the boys were pretty raw going in on mere unity and talent, however, they did have the addition of a very enthusiastic and supportive parental/family team, with some even having corporate and individual sponsors helping them get to this tournament.

All total, there were 11 teams including ours. Watauga Blue went into this tournament non-ranking because of not playing before, and Saturday’s games were to find out where we would place in this Pool Tournament ending in a Single Elimination on Sunday. This meant that on Sunday, if our boys kept winning, we would keep playing, but when and if they lost, it was over! During tournament preparation, our team found out that they were able to use “Big Barrel” bats, giving more room on the bat to hit the ball. In practice, the team was hitting great and the boys thought they had this in the bag! Once the games started, it was a whole different ballgame, no pun intended.

Saturday approached bright and early with anticipation in the air. Our 1^st game was against the Tennessee Cherokee Warriors. Our boys won the coin toss and were so anxious to bat that they chose to be the Visitors. After several players striking out and some getting hits, but ended up being tagged out, you could see the morale drain from the faces of our players! You see, the teams that we were playing against many times play continuously through out the year giving a huge advantage, and since we live in the mountains, we only have seasonal ball play.

About this time, the storms rolled in and it began to rain. After about a 10-15 minute delay, the game resumed in the pouring rain, but our boys seemed to be defeated with that gloomy cloud hanging over them, not able to pull out of it, lost the game 9-1. In fact, the Refs called the game over in the 4^th inning, issuing the “Mercy Rule” when a team is behind 8 runs.

The rain finally subsided and our 2^nd game began against the Abbingdon, Virginia Alpha Dawgs team. Watauga Blue started off well, but ended up losing to them as well, 11-2. The team and parents were discouraged, but vowed to play better the next day.

After resting and relaxing, the statistics became available for the game schedule on Sunday. Coach Kevin Hensen said, “You’re not going to believe this, but even though we lost both games, we were actually the better losers with the other teams who lost and will place higher in the games on Sunday.” This seemed unheard of, but in fact the games played that day didn’t count as far as the score, it was all about where we would place in the time slot of game playing in the Silver bracket. With our losses, we didn’t qualify for the Gold bracket. Our 1^st game on Sunday was to be at 12:30 pm.

Everyone had a great breakfast Sunday morning and the boys were pumped and ready to Win! We assembled at the Park, Watauga Blue having batting practice until time to play. Because of having the better record, we were automatically the Home team, giving us the opportunity to bat last. The Refs called the game to order and the Virginia Bucks came up to bat. Tyler Nigro started the game off pitching beautifully! We were able to get the Bucks out quickly and it was our time at bat.

All of the sudden…Watauga Blue was back! Our boys were once again in this game to WIN and they started hitting Home Runs, some even over the fence! The crowd went wild, screaming and applauding! I was even yelling, “That’s the way to play”! Watauga Blue kicked the pants off of the Virginia Bucks winning 12-2! Wow, now that was a game!

With this win, we waited to find out our stats. It took some time, but our Coaches came back whooping and hollering telling us that we were now playing for the Silver Championship! It was a surreal moment. A couple of hours passed and it was time to prepare for the Championship game against Kentucky’s Pikeville Reds.

Watauga Blue began playing and our boys were holding their own. We could tell that this was much more of a match player wise. We scored a couple of runs and held them off and then they began to catch up to us. We tied runs and then we would get a couple more runs. This went back and forth for several innings. The game was a real nail-biter!

If you can picture the scene, we were in the beginning of the 5^th inning and the Pikeville Reds were up to bat. It was blazing hot for us mountain folks, almost 90 degrees, sweat was just pouring off of the boys. The Reds had tied the score at 7 to 7. We got some of their boys out, but they end up scoring a run making it 8 to 7. Watauga Blue has it’s last chance to bat! Here come our team and one gets a hit and makes it to 2^nd base and then gets picked off by the pitcher for not being on the base. Then another player does the same thing and gets picked off again. Our last batter was up, makes a hit to third, the Reds catch it and throw it to 1^st base getting our player out…and we LOST! The Pikeville Reds won by 1 run! We were all so disappointed!

The Watauga Blue team picked up their heads and went out shaking hands with the Reds. A ceremony ensued and all of the Coaches and Players were congratulated. As the Runners Up of the Silver Championship, our boys all brought home trophies and our Coaches received a nice plaque. Before leaving the field, both teams came together and prayed giving thanks to the Lord for a good game! The sportsmanship of each team was impressive.

In the end, our boys did Watauga County proud! With only 2 practices, incredibly they pulled it together and did an outstanding  job! Personally, as a mom of one of the players, I am so very proud of these boys and yes, I want to make sure that all of Watauga County knows it! WooHoo, Go Watauga Blue! I look forward to many more tournaments and competitions.

No, I’m not talking about Houston, Texas (it is snowing there today!), or even the Ski Slope!  My family and I will be traveling to The Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC, to experience an indoor Winter Wonderland, complete with real snow falling three times a day!  I know what you’re thinking, but we haven’t had any snow yet here in the High Country, and this is just the thing to get me into the Christmas spirit!

I’m also excited to be able to spend some time with other awesome Mom Bloggers, like High Country mom Jen Spink of One Mom’s World! Great Wolf Lodge has locations around the country, in WA, OH, TX, PA, WI, MI, VA, as well as in Canada, so we are lucky to have one so close by!

This December marks the fifth anniversary of Snowland, an annual holiday tradition at Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.®, North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts. The month-long celebration welcomes families into the Lodge to celebrate in a unique, family-friendly way.

The winter wonderland experience starts as soon as guests enter Great Wolf Lodge through the Grand Lobby. Images of snowflakes, icebergs, twinkling lights, decorated trees and other festive decorations fill the space. And several times a day, holiday music plays to compliment the three times daily Snow Show – yes, that would be real snow falling from the snow-making machines hidden in the rafters, showering the children below.

“The holidays are always a special time here at Great Wolf Lodge,” said Phillip Cunningham, general manager of Great Wolf Lodge. “We focus on the family all year long, but when families choose to spend their holidays with us, we try to make it as happy and memorable as possible.”

The holiday experience continues with a variety of themed activities throughout the Lodge:

· Holiday Story Time with Rowdy the Reindeer

· The Writing Depot, where children can write, decorate and mail letters directly to Santa

· Polar Wolf Walk – a wintery nature hike for kids to site penguins, polar bears and more

· North Pole University, complete with educational activities to earn a diploma and special gift

· Toy Creation Station, where children can create toys to keep or give to a friend

· Wrapping Depot for guests to have presents wrapped on-the-spot

· Special musical guest performances

· Holiday caroling

· Santa appearances

· Animated Great Clock Tower holiday performances

Snowland wraps up with the celebration of New Year’s Eve and the annual Snowball, a family-friendly event that includes music, dancing and special waterslide duck races (with prizes). Naturally, all stays include passes to the 84-degree indoor waterpark.

For additional information, visit www.greatwolf.com or call 1.866.925.WOLF (9653) for specific dates, events, and rates.

We are definitely in the throes of the “hustle and bustle” of the Holidays, and it will be so wonderful to get out of the house and away from responsibilities for some genuine family time!

I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures and videos.  Click here to see all the activities and amenities at the Great Wolf in Concord!  But THIS is what I’m most excited about: the waterpark!

Disclosure: The featured event was provided to me, at no cost, by the representing PR agency for the sole purpose of supplying my honest view of this event. I did not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about this experience, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Many of us enjoy sharing photos of our kids at the Holidays, through digital photo cards.  I have a central location in my home to display all the photos of family and friends sent to us at Christmas time.

I am also trying to support local businesses this Christmas as much a I possibly can!

Enter: Holly Ambler, local mom, and owner of Paper and Things, a home based retailer of stationery, invitations announcements, holiday cards and gifts, located in the mountains of North Carolina.  Paper and Things features all kinds of stationery needs, from personal/family, to weddings, to corporate.

Holly is offering a Big Sale on her products, including Holiday Photo Cards!

December Savings Sale
Tuesday, December 1 – Monday, December 7

• 10% off all holiday photo cards
• Plus discount holiday shipping! (see chart below)
• Flat rate shipping on all orders shipped by FedEx.
• Ground $6.95
• 3-Day $12.95
• 2-Day $15.95
• 1-Day Afternoon $29.95

Important: Holiday Order Cut-Off Dates
The following guidelines guarantee pre-Christmas delivery

• Ground shipped orders: Friday, December 11 before 4:30pm CST
• 3-Day shipped orders: Monday, December 14 before 4:30pm CST
• 2-Day shipped orders: Tuesday, December 15 before 4:30pm CST
• Next Day shipped orders: Wednesday, December 16 before 4:30pm CST

Stationery is also a great gift for Teachers! Ditch the Apple Mug, and go with something you know they will use!  Look at these cute designs for folded cards!

Visit the Paper and Things Website to take advantage of Free Ground Shipping and the sale on Holiday Cards!

Disclosure: The Mom Squad is proud to have Paper and Things as our newest sponsor. Click here to see a list of all our sponsors.

Starting today, August 12, 2009, Harris Teeter will offer triple coupons for a week!  They have been doing this regularly lately, and I for one am very thankful!

So gather up your coupons, and I’ll see you there!  Remember that they only triple 20 coupons per customer per day, up to $0.99. You can go to www.HarrisTeeter.com to see the weekly specials and match them up with your coupons!

Side Note:  I just made my shopping list online from the Weekly Specials, and emailed it to myself, so now I can shop with my blackberry instead of a cumbersome paper list that I will lose!  Kinda cool for this tech-geek mom!

I’m checking out Cellfire e-coupons now, and I’ll let you know what I think of it!

Here is all the scoop on the Children’s Playhouse Family Music Festival this weekend! All proceeds support The Children’s Playhouse, a nonprofit children’s museum in Boone.

• · Ticket Information—It’s not too late to save over the gate price!
• · Directions to Sugar Grove
• · Performance Line-Up
• · A Chance to Earn Free Tickets
• · Food and Kids’ Activities
• · Spotlight on the Performers
• · Kids’ Craft Market

Playhouse Family Music Festival, 5:30-11:00 pm Friday, August 7 & 11 am-6 pm, Saturday, August 8th at the Historic Cove Creek School, Sugar Grove, North Carolina (7 miles west of Boone). Sol Driven Train, Big Bang Boom, Lazy Birds, Puppet Parade, plus airwalks, crafts, food, contra dance and more!

Tickets & Info:

www.goplayhouse.org, 828-263-0011, The Playhouse, Green Mother Goods, & Mast General Store.

• Friday only adult $10, Friday only kid $4
• Contra only adult $8. Saturday only adult $18, Saturday only kid $6.
• 2 day adult $25, 2 day child $10. Under 2 free.
• We have a fantastic deal on our website (http://www.goplayhouse.org/events/BuyFestivalTickets.html) for a Two day family pass [two adults, up to 4 kids (2 and up)] for $50. This offer is not available at the gate.

Directions to the Playhouse Family Music Festival

The Playhouse Family Music Festival will take place at the Historic Cove Creek School just 7.3 miles west of Boone NC. Take US 421/321 west toward TN 5.2 miles. US 421 splits north toward Mountain City TN. US 321 splits west toward Hampton TN. Turn left on US 321 and go 1.1 miles to Sugar Grove.
The Cove Creek Grocery is on the right, the Sugar Grove Post Office on the left.
Turn right on Old US 421 just past the Cove Creek Grocery. Follow signs for parking for the events.

Playhouse Family Music Festival Schedule
All activities take place at The Historic Cove Creek School, 207 Dale Adams Road, Sugar Grove.
Friday August 7th
Tent Stage
5:30 Lisa Baldwin and Dave Haney
6:30 Lost Ridge Band
Gym
Contra Dance with dot-dot-dash, the Forget-Me-Nots, and caller Diane Silver.
7:30-9:00 Family Dance
9:00-11:00 “Grown-ups” Dance

Saturday August 8th
Tent Stage
11:00 Lisa Baldwin’s “Learning through Song”
12:00 Big Bang Boom
1:30 Belly Dancers
2:45 The Lazybirds
4:30 Giant Puppet Parade with Elkland Art Center
5:00 Sol Driven Train

Shelter Stage
1:00 Puppet Workshop with Elkland Art Center
1:30 Juggling with Crazy Kaleb Kimbro (on grass)
2:15 Hen House Thieves
3:45 Drumming with Rhythm Foundation
4:10 Parade Gathering—choose your costume

Volunteer at the Festival and Earn Free Tickets!
We are looking for volunteers for set-up during the day on Friday (anytime between 9 am-5:30 pm), Friday night (anytime from 5:30-10:00 pm) and Saturday (anytime from 9 am – 7 pm). You can email meghann.ainsworth@gmail.com or call 828-263-0011. Also, please spread the word that we need volunteers. We are offering families free two day admission if they give three hours but you can volunteer for as little or as much as you like.

Food and Kids’ Activities
The Playhouse Café will offer barbeque, pizza, veggie wraps, beef and veggie burgers and more with all proceeds going to The Children’s Playhouse.
In addition to music, festival-goers will enjoy airwalks and a giant slide, art activities, face painting, water play, plus food and high quality crafts vendors. Use of the giant slide and the two airwalks (provided by Appalachian Party Rental) is included with admission. There will be a puppet-making workshop on Saturday and festival goers will be invited to carry their puppets along with 100 other props created by Elkland Art Center in a giant puppet parade at 4:30 on Saturday.

Spotlight On Performers at The Playhouse Family Music Festival

Ancient Moon (1:30 Saturday), led by Annie Goodson, will provide an authentic belly dance demonstration.

Diane Silver. (7:30-11:00 Friday) An experienced caller based in Asheville, Silver is well suited for a night that will encompass dances for kids to grown-ups and from novices to experts. “She has a rare skill of bringing together dancers of all ages and all levels of experience into one big fun experience for everyone—without overly challenging the less experienced and without ho-humming the highly experienced” said Asheville parent and dancer Elana Kann.

dot-dot-dash (7:30-11:00 Friday). Specializing in Celtic, Appalachian dance, Old-time and Gypsy-jazz, dot-dot-dash includes Bill Anderson, John Hildreth, Joel Keebler, and Matt Livingston playing fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and double bass. Originally based in the Radford and Blacksburg areas of Southwest Virginia, Dot Dot Dash began performing in the fall of 2002. In the time since, the group has become spread out geographically, with members living in Boone, NC, as well as Roanoke, Abingdon and Pembroke, VA. The group has released two CD’s. Bill Anderson is the Watauga resident of the group with strong ties to The Children’s Playhouse. “Our kids, Rebecca and Gwendolyn, love The Playhouse and my wife Christine is a former board president,” says Anderson, “so we are excited to help The Playhouse with our music.”

Elkland Art Center (1:00 and 4:30 Saturday). An award winning art center and puppet troupe based in Todd, NC, Elkland will led a workshop on Saturday followed by a giant puppet parade.

Sol Driven Train. (Saturday at 4:30). This South Carolina band brings a quirky combination of strings, horns and inventive lyrics to the stage. The group’s two discs for kids, Tajar Tracks and Tajar Tracks Two have been universally acclaimed, the first voted Best Children’s Album of 2005 in South Carolina. But the band has ample grown up fans as well; Atlanta’s Creative Loafing praised their “languid world-beat, swampy funk and downright catchy melodies.”

Big Bang Boom. (Noon on Saturday). Featuring Chuck Folds (younger brother of Ben Folds), Steve Willard and drummer Eddie Walker, Big Bang Boom is a pop/rock music group from Greensboro, where they frequently play the Greensboro Children’s Museum.

Forget-Me-Nots (Friday at 7:30). Local Watauga phenoms, the Forget-Me-Nots are fiddlers Ledah and Willa Finck (ages 15 and 13), Maura Shawn Scanlin (age 13), and back-up guitarist-dad David Finck. The girls have been playing together for nine years, since they were ages 4, 3, and 2 years old. Their music mixes traditional Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and Appalachian fiddle music, with a helping of contemporary tunes. The Forget-Me-Nots have performed at a number of regional venues, including the Merlefest and the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Henhouse Thieves (2:15 Saturday) features Dave Hutchinson, Paul Orkiszewski and Vanessa Van Valin will play everything from pop music to folk music, original music, ethnic music, and even some operatic music.

The Lazybirds. (2:45 pm, Saturday). Praised by Doc Watson for their wonderful mix of blues, jazz and the “good old ragtime sound,” The Lazybirds are a popular country blues and jazz quintet based in the High Country.

Lisa Baldwin and Dave Haney. (5:30 Friday and 11 am Saturday) Singer-songwriter Lisa Baldwin performs bluegrass for adults with her husband Dave Haney and is popular locally and in Alabama for her “Learning through Song” concerts for children. Lisa will be back on Saturday morning with a Learning through Song program.

Lost Ridge. (6:30 Friday) Based in Boone, the Lost Ridge Band’s sound is inspired by The Grateful Dead, Railroad Earth, Steve Earl, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, The Dillards, and Widespread Panic. Their members are Pete and Phil Washburn, Elijah Davenport, Shane Crawford, and Peter Hanast.
Rhythm Foundation (3:45 Saturday), led by Nia and Jeff Dickens gathers a crowd with African drumming and dance.

Kids Craft Market and Operation Ramona

Kids can sell their own handmade items priced under $5 in the Kids Craft Market from 11:00-3:00.
Adults wishing to sell crafts or food are invited to call The Children’s Playhouse at 828-263-0011 or visit the website for an application.
There will be great kids’ books and comics at rock bottom prices in the Operation Ramona tent. This project of Craig, Nate, and Mercer Fischer will donate all proceeds to The Playhouse.

A while back, the Boone Chick-Fil-A transformed itself into a mooing pasture of human cows! It was a great day of free chicken, lots of family fun, and silly costumes!  Well, the National Chick-Fil-A company is holding a photo contest on Facebook, from Cow Appreciation Day, and a Boone family is in FIRST PLACE!!!  Now, people can vote every day, so it could turn around really quickly!

Here is a message from Tina Jobe and her daughter, Christina!  Wouldn’t it be amazing if a local family won the National Contest?

Hello Mom Squad Moms! It’s possible that if you live in the High Country and have Facebook, you’ve seen a Chick-fil-A / Dr. Pepper ad urging you to vote in a picture contest for Chick-fil-A. If you’ve been to our local Chick-fil-A, it’s possible you’ve seen a poster of me and my children with the same information. I thought I’d take a moment to explain the story behind the solicitation.

I am a “cook from scratch, eat your veggies, drink your water” kind of mom. My family loves to eat out, but we very rarely do because, well, … with 6 children it’s just too expensive! When we do eat out, I am usually accused of taking the fun out of it by ordering large everything to split and enforcing water.

So, you can imagine the excitement when the children were told that simply by dressing like a cow, they could enjoy lunch on CAD at our local Chick-fil-a. This was a HUGE treat for them that included their OWN fries and drink (with refills!)

On CAD Eve, my chief costume designer and activities directory (Christina, age 12), organized a cow costume party. All of our children filled what would have been a long summer afternoon, taping black spots on white shirts and cutting yarn for cow tails.

Before we left to the CAD lunch, we hung our son’s blue bed comforter from the ceiling of our basement and my husband took our picture. The picture turned out cute! – a miracle for our herd that really just had chicken on the brain.

When we realized the joy of free chicken could be extended a whole year if we won the Facebook National Contest, we decided to go for it. My little cows are just ecstatic about an occasional soft drink and fried chicken weekly fix, and I must admit, a weekly evening off of kitchen duty sounds pretty wonderful!

I am asking when you check your FB, to quickly go to

http://www.facebook.com/ChickfilA?v=app_99369078187

and cast a vote for the Jobe family. You can vote once a day until August 31st. I know the ads can be obnoxious so you can choose “skip” and no voting solicitation will be generated. Clicking “share” when you vote will post our picture on your profile. Of course this can be skipped too. You will have to allow the FB group Chick-fil-a access. However, they are a reputable company and doing this is totally safe. Popularity plays a part in winning but is not the only determining factor. They also are looking for good picture quality and representation of their “eat mor chikin” campaign. So, keep voting, even if we look behind. We may still have a chance!

I’d really like to promise everyone who supports us world peace and prosperity. I can’t do that, but I can promise you a place at our table if you come and visit us. Even, if we win, I’ll still be cooking those other 6 nights and our home is always open!

Thanks, friends!

Tina Jobe

I love the fact that Tina turned the contest into a homeschooling activity for her daughter, Christina, who loves to write!

Since Moms always turn fun stuff into school, I am going to write a persuasive essay on Why We Have to Win the CAD (Cow Appreciation Day) Contest. But you know, that’s OK with me because I love to write! The CAD contest is a national contest, held by Chick-Fil-A, where you dress yourself up as a cow, take a picture, and upload it to FB! The contest is judged by popularity, (how many votes you have) quality of the picture, and how well you advertise the Eat Mor Chikin campaign. The prize is FREE CHICK-FIL-A FOR A WHOLE YEAR! We are currently in 1st place but only by a few votes. Would you vote for us once a day (Yes, you can vote once a day!) as best cow look-alikes in the USA?

Thanks so much for supporting us in this contest. It really means a lot to us. Every few hours or so, in our house, someone yells the number of votes we have from the computer room. The tally is followed by simultaneous cheering (even Esther squeals and Tanner howls at the excitement.) This has provided some excitement to what might otherwise be long summer days.

And for all the awesomely wonderful people that have helped give us the 2,800 votes we have so far, THANKS SO MUCH!

We really can’t do this without you, so vote now! And tomorrow! And the day after tomorrow! And the day after that! And the day after that! Please vote every day until August 31st !!!

Christina Jobe
Cow #2 and Chief Costume designer
age 12

So, what are you waiting for? Go vote! To make it quick, you can search for “Jobe,” or sort by “Highest Rated”

And be sure to check out our local Chick-Fil-A’s new website, and facebook page!

Tanner says "Thanks for voting!"

Here’s another taste of summer for me: grilled veggies. They’re so easy, it’d be silly not to at least try them. Of course grilling keeps the heat out of the kitchen, but the real appeal of these vegetables is their incredible flavor.

It’s very easy. You start with fresh vegetables, cut them to the appropriate size, toss them lightly in olive oil or sesame oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, and spread them out on the grill.

Certain vegetables are more suited to grilling. Our favorites include:

• squash–zucchini, patty pan, crookneck, and any other summer squash–sliced long-wise about 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick
• peppers–cut into quarters with the seeds and pith removed
• garlic–in the grill basket
• large onions–sliced 1/4″ thick and in the grill basket
• corn on the cob–either husked or still in the husks

Sometimes I use garlic salt or just stir some minced garlic into the oil before coating the veggies.

Spread the vegetables out on the fill (or put in the grill basket) and cook over medium heat, turning frequently. The goal is to get the veggies cooked, but not mushy or burnt.

One of our favorite quick summer meals is grilled vegetables and grilled chicken tenders. Sometimes I serve the grilled stuff on a bed of lettuce and sometimes I grate a little bit of asiago cheese on the top. The grilled veggies are a nice accompaniment to tomatoes and fresh mozzarella layered.

This is a fairly light meal for those who are counting calories.

I’m constantly trying new veggies on the grill. Some don’t work so well (for instance, don’t bother grilling cucumbers~~eye roll. And tomatoes don’t work too well either unless they’re the little cherry or grape tomatoes.) For anything small or fragile, the grill basket works best.

Please feel free to share any great ideas you have for grilling!

Barb Kelley

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