fondue, shattered glass, crusty bread, the dentist, and a retrocade

i know what you're thinking:

what the heck does fondue, broken glass, crusty bread, the dentist, and a retro arcade all have in common? 

the answer is simple. nothing. except that the brower clan has experienced each one of those things at least once over the past two weeks.

for valentine's day we decided to live on the edge and try something slightly different and little bit exciting. we gave fondue a go and it was a hit!

we read about a fun tradition when someone drops there bite of food in the fondue pot, they have to kiss the person next to them on the cheek. there were tons of giggles and squirms going on all through out the meal! 

can't have chocolate without messy kisses, right?

i have been on a bread baking kick lately. i've never had much luck with yeast, but lately it's been working so i've been baking up a storm! french bread, rolls, and these crusty rustic loaves have been our favorites!

chris took these pictures and we couldn't stop laughing after we saw this one! reeeeeally enjoying that soft dough ;)

i think i made 5 of these loaves last week. it's soon good toasted and then smeared with butter and drizzled with honey.

 other news from the kitchen is that i managed to cause a 9x13 pyrex dish to explode in the oven and then later broke a glass vase. we are now wearing shoes at all times in the kitchen just as a precaution.

also, the kids had their first dental appointment in 3 years last week. i know. I'm a terrible mom. this was charlie's first time seeing a dentist and he's five. FIVE! i know, i know!

luckily the dentist office shows spongebob while their teeth are being cleaned and checked. but even better than that is that between the three kids we didn't have a single cavity! wahoo! i guess brushing and flossing daily really does pay off ;)

last saturday we went up to fayetteville to visit a retrocade (thats a retro arcade for those that aren't hip with arcade lingo). it was $5 a person and you could play hundreds of arcade games for as long as you want. i found an original nintendo and made the mistake of pointing it out to chris. he had to defeat all levels of super mario brothers before he could do anything else.

before the arcade we ate at a grilled cheese restaurant and after the arcade we had to get some frozen custard at andy's. we had to! owen is turning into such a character, and a pretty cute one too!

when he eats ice cream he shakes his head "yes, yes, yes!" between each bite. he approves!

ice cream makes jack do silly things too, like dancing in public without realizing people are watching...

speaking of dancing, here is a little snippet of owen dancing, because i know grandma's like to see. he  just can't resist it, and we love that!