Aaron met Ryan back in the spring. Ryan went with our Journey group to the Orange conference in April.
Over the summer, Aaron said Ryan and his wife wanted to have us over for dinner as sort of a thank you for inviting him to the conference.
We finally got a dinner scheduled at the beginning of August.
So, we went to dinner. Aaron and Ryan already knew each other. I got to meet Ryan. And Aaron and I both got to meet the rest of the family: Aura (wife), Jesse (oldest girl), Caleb (oldest boy), Leah (youngest girl), Micah (youngest boy), Radar (dog), and Trapper (cat).
Ryan and Aura are very cool people. They're probably our most random friends because they aren't like any of the other people we know in our whole life.
They have four kids. Four. They are all under the age of seven. And Ryan and Aura make it look super fun and easy (I'm sure it's not always easy, but those kids are always fun for sure). We are not parents ourselves yet, obviously, but we sure are around a lot of parents. And it's quite refreshing to come across parents who just have fun with their kids. They don't complain about them. They love them. And it's obvious. Plus, their kids are so dang cute and funny.
They homeschool, which is awesome. They go to Renaissance Fairs. How cool would that be? They are crafty and make monster hats and homemade magnet white boards and they mummify chickens.
Anyway, we feel like they should write a book about their adventures.
Their house is homey and we have enjoyed both of our visits there very much. They tell very funny stories and we sit for hours but it doesn't feel like hours until you look at the clock because it's so much fun.
We went to their house for the second time last Saturday night. They told me they expected to see a blog about our visit. Specifically our dinner that they made us. And I shall not disappoint. So, let's flashback to...
Last Saturday, 10/20/12...
Saturday afternoon, Aaron and I went to the gym. While we were there, Aaron got a text from Ryan: "Do you guys have any aversion to pumpkin?"
He read it to me. "No, I don't think so," I said.
"What do you think he means by 'pumpkin?'" Aaron asked.
"I don't know. Probably pumpkin coffee or pumpkin cake or pumpkin pie."
"Hmmm...I don't know. With them, we'll probably eat like an actual pumpkin or something..."
"Oh whatever. I doubt that. It will be fine. Tell him we like pumpkin."
So he did.
Ryan texted back that they would have a backup plan just in case. Whatever that meant. We continued our workout.
And a few hours later, we got to their house. They were all outside. We hung out there for a bit.
Then Aura said something along the lines of, "We're trying something new for dinner...I hope it worked!"
Hmmm...what could that mean?! We went inside. It smelled REALLY good.
They opened the oven, and there it sat. A giant pumpkin in a roasting pan.
I thought in my mind. Well, by golly, Aaron was right. We are eating a pumpkin. They have cooked us a pumpkin.
Aura went on to explain that she found a recipe for "Stuffed Pumpkin" in a Halloween craft/cookbook. And they had never had it either. So, we were all to be guinea pigs. And if it was awful, they would whip up some tomato soup.
Ryan and Aura have now inspired bravery in Aaron and I for both dinners we've had with them. (The first was a new kind of salad and homemade soup with new kinds of vegetables we'd hardly heard of).
And good grief, if their kids are going to try stuffed pumpkin, there's no good reason for us not to!
So, Aura sliced up some wedges of pumpkin and spooned some of the rice and bean concoction on each of our plates.
We all joked about the carnage. I mean, just look at that thing...
After everyone had their plate full, we all tried a bite.
And you know what?
It wasn't half bad.
It was actually pretty good!
I had never eaten pumpkin before, but it tasted kind of like yellow squash.
And the rice and beans were good too!
I was proud of Aaron for trying it...I know I've told you about his picky eating habits. But, lately, he's hardly been picky!
I don't think I would classify it as a favorite meal, but I will say we ate a good dinner last night! And it was quite adventurous and fun at the same time.
Ryan promised we would have pizza next time...but even if we don't, Aaron and I will look forward to whatever in the world we will have to eat with our fun family of friends.
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