We broke in the new grill today

It was finally time to cook something outside. I bought a Kingsford barrel grill a few weeks ago but we just hadn't used it yet. Ellie went with me to the store to get some fixings but as we were on the way home, she was very perturbed with me that we weren't going to the playground. I told her that we'd try and go after dinner. That kind of placated her but she reminded me several times over the next 5 minutes that we were now going to the playground after dinner.

Jennifer whipped up some excellent onion rings while I got the fire going. Ellie was great at supervising. At one point, she told me that the flames were "hot and high." Fortunately, she knows that hot means stay away. Once we got the coals going, Ellie informed me that we needed to eat right then. Jennifer brought out some veggies and Ranch dressing to assuage her. Ellie devoured some zucchini, cucumber and carrots. She's also fascinated with the sidewalk around to the gate. I'm just glad that the latch is up high enough that Ellie can't reach it (for now.) I'm pretty sure that Ellie was eye balling the gate as a potential escape route.

At this point, I realized that Campbell was just going to keep begging to come outside so we moved her bouncy out. She alternately played with a piece of zucchini and nibbled on it. I'd bet that she'd like some Ranch to dip it in but I'm not sure we'd want to deal with the after effect of that experience yet. Everybody sat around our patio table and we chowed down. The burgers and onion rings (at least the batter) were a hit with Ellie. Campbell was content to eat the mashed up sweet potatoes that I was feeding her. Ellie did the typical toddler thing and ate her burger in stages. She started with the cheese, then the bun and then finally the burger itself. I'm still adjusting to the fact that we can sit outside in the summer and the temperatures are only in the mid 70's. There was a slight breeze and it was downright perfect.

Oh, and when we got done, we cleaned up and went to the playground. Ellie was quite thrilled with that.