Friday, March 25, 2016

Paisley and her Beach birthday 2014

 Eight is great! Long Beach Wa
 Paisley turned 8 and we celebrated her special day in Long Beach at the time share. We rode horseback on the beach and had a blast. She wanted to shop in the antique stores and she found a highchair for Daisy her new American Girl doll. She saved her money and we chipped in to help her purchase the doll and several outfits. She wanted to collect shells on the beach and we went on several amazing beach combing hikes. We saw whale bones from long ago and had great food in our timeshare kitchen. I took the cake baked and decorated. We got her the kitty cake topper at the timeshare gift shop.
Mema and papa gave her American Girl outfit set

Grandma K gave her a Ukulele

Pink!

All her gifts!

Licorice the new kitty

Paisley turns 8

She saved and paid for a portion of Daisy!

Nicholas took her on a beach horse back ride

Razor clams
Nick and his sticks
We did a lot of beach combing
Ocean is amazing!

Her horse was old and experienced

 Looks like a natural!


We visited the beach a lot that week.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Christmas 2015

Snowflake chose us again! We were delighted. She was pretty nice this year. We had Grandma K Papa and Mema come for holiday. We played games, ate, took pictures, mom played her guitar and we even went for a walk. We had great food and fun times. Here are a few pictures.
Paisley so ready for presents!

Mema
Mom took some great photos that really capture the fun had by each one. These memories  are forever. We had seafood, prime rib, rice and salad. The rice is to die for.  Here is the recipe.

Wild Rice Stuffing
1 cup wild rice
½ pound Italian sausage and/or ½ pound mushrooms sautéed in 1 tablespoon butter
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups thinly sliced celery
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped green chili or pinch crushed red chili
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) or 1 teaspoon dry salt and freshly ground pepper
The night before, rinse and soak wild rice covered in cool water. The next morning, drain and simmer rice in 4 cups fresh water for 30-45 minutes or until the rice is split open, curled and tender. Drain rice in sieve, shake away excess water, return to saucepan, and sprinkle with salt.
Meanwhile, sauté sausage, breaking it apart into crumbles; remove from frying pan. Slice and sauté mushrooms. Set aside. In the same frying pan heat the oil and sweat the chopped onion and sliced celery (cover with butter wrappers). When the onion is tender, add garlic, chili, herbs, and cook until fragrant. Combine the aromatic vegetables with the drained rice and/or sausage/mushrooms. Combine and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as needed.
Cool the mixture thoroughly if using to stuff your turkey, or scoop into a buttered casserole dish with a tight fitting cover. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour or inside the turkey for the duration of the roast. Makes 6 cups; serves 8—best leftovers!

Happy Papa

Mema and Papa, papas idea!

Our family 2015

Kissing under the Mistletoe!

Grandma K and Paisley and Nick

Christmas dinner 2015

First full moon on Christmas since 1977
The last one was in 1977, and that's because of the vagaries of our calendar and a lunar cycle known for almost 2,500 years - See more at: http://www.space.com/31471-rare-christmas-full-moon-guide.html#sthash.zhJ5NSYs.dpuf
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The last one was in 1977, and that's because of the vagaries of our calendar and a lunar cycle known for almost 2,500 years - See more at: http://www.space.com/31471-rare-christmas-full-moon-guide.html#sthash.zhJ5NSYs.dpuf

Jeff opening his gift from the kids.

Mama excited about her Angel earrings from Paisley
Advent tradition, loved by all!
Snowflake
Riding Paisleys car
She brought us a gift!
She was naughty
Snowflake helping with the growler
Hand caught in the Jelly Belly jar!

Paisley and her favorites, mac and cheese and sour patch kids!




 Stuck in the Ice machine, a day without ice was not fun!!




Friday, March 18, 2016

Where did 2015 go?


Kauai 2015
Jeff and I
Celebrating 20 years of marriage in Kauai. We stayed at our time share and traveled the Island by rental car. Jeff did all the meal prep and cooking and we ate out twice. He fixed drinks from the fresh fruit and cooked some amazing fish. We had fun shopping at two local farmers markets. I truly had a vacation!! Mom and Mema came to watch the kids and they had a great week too.
 Our first hike, it had rained the night before so very muddy waters. The mosquitos were alive and ate through my black hiking pants!
 Spouting horn was beautiful  and is on the south shore. There were many roosters. The drive was gorgeous and we had many great stops this day! We did some shopping and had a shaved ice!
 The greenery was lush and clean. We saw many flowers, coffee plants and house plants growing wild.
 This was the west side of island and the most red earth we saw on trip. The road was incredible and would be so fun on a motorcycle.
 Jurassic Falls, breathtaking and huge. The day was overcast so the picture is not great.
 A picnic on our own beach. We saw two people the whole day. It was so fun. We found a great heart shaped coral on our hike out.

 This falls was after our couple massage on the beach. The massage was amazing and I would highly recommend it. My massage was incredible and the setting could not have been more gorgeous. The sound of the waves and birds were mesmerizing. Look up Kauai Couple Massage if you go!
 Aloha and mahalo!



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