Restaurant Review: Hutchins BBQ

It's been a while since we've done a restaurant review, so today I (Brett) will tell you about my FAVORITE restaurant in the Dallas area: Hutchins BBQ in Mckinney.
The rule of thumb with Texas BBQ is simple: The crummier looking the place is, the better the BBQ will be! You can tell from the look of Hutchins BBQ that the food is AWESOME. Now, the front of the building has recently been refurbished, but the BBQ/Catfish sign remains in its original decrepit state, signaling good food inside!

We went a few nights ago with our dear friends from Vegas, the Whipples, and we had a fabulous time. I ordered my usual, the succulent chopped beef sandwich.


My hungry friend Kaid went with the all-you-can-eat platter. He's not very good at holding back when he sees something he really wants.


Kasia got her favorite, the pulled pork, accompanied by a fresh hot plate of fried okra!


The kids were enthralled by the mac and cheese, corn dogs, and fries.


Did I mention that rolls and drinks are included in the price of the meal?


Not to mention free ice cream, banana pudding, and/or cobbler at the end of your meal?


So, while Kaid kept all-you-can-eating . . .


and Maisy licked her second bowl of ice cream clean . . .


And Wilson expressed his newfound lack of mobility . . .


I went off to get the little treat that makes Hutchins BBQ my favorite place to eat in the world. The FREE PEACH COBBLER!

Here's where the magic happens. The cobbler is on the right, under the romantic heat lamp.



Bowl #1


Bowl #2

Needless to say, we left Hutchins BBQ full of food and full of good tastin' memories. If you haven't been to Hutchins, it's time to go!! You'll be glad you did. Comments?

I LOVE the Bumbo!

Who thought up this wonderful creation of foam?

I LOVE IT!

Ahhhh the Memories

So, my parents came to visit this past weekend and guess what they brought me?! Some of my old toys! Apparently they have decided to sell their house in Oklahoma. They had to do some serious cleaning--er--throwing away, I guess. But, they found a few of my treasures. I was so EXCITED! These precious keepsakes are like keys to my childhood. I'm just glad they didn't get hauled off in a dumpster or taken to Goodwill...right Mom and Dad?
This is Stephen and Stephanie, my twin dolls. I got these dolls for my 8th birthday. I LOVED these babies like they were real. They did seem like a true part of our family. Even my brothers felt that way. They were terribly upset the time Stephen's head fell off after they forcefully threw him off the top bunk. He was doing a body slam on Stephanie, they had told me. I cried for minutes while Stephen was in *surgery,* and they stifled hysterical laughs. Well, the years have been good to you Stephen and Stephanie--welcome home.
YES! This is the Barbie McDonald's! Are you jealous? That would be Skipper over there ordering a Big Mac. Love your jacket Skipper, because I had one just like it. I was so happy to see my barbies again. And I have to mention--they were in GREAT condition. They were clean and had no tangles in their hair. I took good care of my barbies.
That's right--I'm about to confirm what your eyes behold and can not believe. It's Jem and the Holograms!! Jem is TRULY OUTRAGEOUS--truly truly truly OUTRAGEOUS. And her earrings still blink.
Well, it's been fun reminiscing. Isn't it funny how toys magically link us to our youth--infusing child to adult? It's pretty special. Oh and for your challenge for the day...who can name the gang in this last picture??

5 love languages

You might be wondering why I would put a picture of tulips on my blog. Well, let's just say it is a manifestation of Love Language #3: Receiving Gifts. If you have read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman--you know what I'm talking about (if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.)

On Friday night, after a long week of car window painting, Andrews Sisters practicing and singing, scouting, dinner making and taking, playground sets together putting, swimming, etc.--I announced to Brett that my LOVE TANK WAS EMPTY! My number 1 love language is Quality Time which I think sometimes is the hardest one for Brett to give me, because we are sooooo busy. He decided that on Saturday, he would do one thing from each of the love languages to help fill my love tank again. I will spare you the cheesy details of the other acts of love, but STILL I thought it was very sweet of him.

Well, here we are on Tuesday morning and my love tank is empty again. Oh well :-)

Gus: The Movie

Sometimes it seems that our life is so crazy, funny, or weird that we could make a movie about our lives. So, we started thinking about who would play the roles of our family if we actually made Gus: the Movie.

We came up with a few ideas, and we want to see what you think. We'll give you two or three choices for each starring role, and you can vote at the end for the actor you think is most suited to play each part.

For the role of Brett:

Would it be Topher Grace?




Or would it be Lucas Grabeel (Ryan from High School Musical)?



And to play of Kasia, would it be . . .

Alexis Bledel?



or Natalie Portman?



For the all-important part of Wilson, would it be . . .

a young Ron Howard?



Haley Joel Osment?



or Rupert Grint, Ron from the Harry Potter movies? (Wil's personal choice)



And to play Maisy, would it be . . .

Shirley Temple?



or

Darla Hood, from the Little Rascals?



And would Baby Ace be played by . . .

Jack-Jack, from the Incredibles?



or

the Gerber Baby?


You decide! Let us know by leaving your comments below. Is there a star that would be better suited to play one of us? Also, who would play YOU in a movie?

Kung Fu Baby

We LOVE our baby! He's so sweet and he LOVES hugs and kisses from all of us.






BUT--don't be deceived by his coos and his smiles...