Memorial Day Retreat 2015

On Friday, I drove the kids from Phoenix to Ramona, the site of my San Diego church’s Memorial Day Retreat. It took the same amount of time as flying and it was waaaaaaaaay easier than flying with them.  I loved seeing the changing desert scenery. I was listening to podcasts and the kids were happy in their seats. A win-win! I may just be a fan of road trips after all.

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The retreat was just so wonderful for me. I saw lots of dear friends that I hadn’t seen since our wedding eight years ago.

Adele (clearly inspired by our gardening adventures at home) decided to make a garden in the middle of the sand volleyball court. She transplanted some desert plants from the nearby landscaping. I hope they were rescued before they died.

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Adele with her friend A.

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And, Eleanor was reunited with S, her roommate from the Living Education Retreat in Minnesota last August.

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I was pretty busy taking care of the kids so I guess that’s why I didn’t take any pics. =( But it was really the most wonderful, nourishing time for me. I can’t wait to go again next year!

Arizona ~ May 2015

Prepare yourself for an onslought of pictorial evidence from our recent travels. Feel free to skip if you aren’t related to me. =) I promise I won’t be offended.

Kent had his final Medical Acupuncture class in Phoenix, so we tagged along and turned it into a family vacation.

We were completely packed the night before, all we had to do was load up the luggage and the kids in the morning and go. The airport is less than an hour from our house, we didn’t hit any traffic, as soon as we parked in long-term parking and unloaded everything, the bus showed up. It seemed like things were going perfectly. But when we arrived at the ticketing area, with about an hour and a half before boarding, the line was really long. And the line at security was really long too. We arrived at our gate with just a few minutes until the boarding time and they had already given our seats away. Kent got on the next flight (he had to be at his class), but the kids and I we unable to get on the next two flights (it’s hard to get three standby seats on the same flight!). After that, I was pretty much wrecked. The kids had been screaming for a while, I had run out of food for Everett, and I was ready to give up on the whole trip and head home. But then I realized that my carseats were in Phoenix- with my husband and the rest of our luggage. The baggage claim department wouldn’t give me loaner seats because that wasn’t my “final destination” and they couldn’t get my carseats sent back until 11pm that night or maybe even the next morning. So we tried for the 10:45 pm flight into Denver with a two hour layover then another flight into Phoenix. We made it! I had to wear both Ergo baby carriers to get my two non-walkers on and off the plane by myself. Like so:

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I texted that pic to Kent and he says (while relaxing and drinking wine in Phoenix): “nice face”

 

Here’s Everett asleep in my arms while at a restaurant in the Denver airport. This boy only rarely falls asleep when not in his bed. You can tell he was desperately tired!

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I texted Kent the following: “There is no part of me that is even remotely interested in flying with any children ever again. Seriously. Italy is out.”

Well, the journey out to Phoenix was certainly rough, but we actually had a wonderful trip and I am so glad we went. Parts of it were hard, but the other parts were totally worth it.

 

Since Kent read American Pie by Peter Reinhart, we had to check out the wood-fired pizza at Pizzeria Bianco while we were in Phoenix. We took Adele out on a date with us (she was our photographer) while Gary and Nancy watched the littles (who were sleeping).

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Kent’s sister had a Hawaiian luau at her house in Phoenix and Kent’s parents were there too. And, our friends the B family drove down from Prescott. We had such fun! Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures! =(

Eleanor is one!

IMG_0222     IMG_0220Eleanor seemed reluctant to dive in to her smash cake. But, once she got going, she really smeared every inch of her highchair and face and arms!

 IMG_0236Everett was so happy to see Carmel again!   IMG_0245IMG_0235 P1060560Grammy and Grandy came down from Connecticut.

About a week before the party we had 62 people RSVP’d for the party and we got a little nervous that we wouldn’t be able to feed that many people! Kent decided we should make two three-layer cakes – strawberry with strawberry buttercream frosting and carrot cake with sour cream frosting. Yum! We decided making homemade ice cream for that many people would be too much for us, so we bought that from Trader Joe’s. Kent made 15 pizzas in the wood-fired pizza oven. And we bought a few finger food veggies to make the pizza stretch a bit farther.P1060564 P1060557I can’t get enough of these curls! P1060569 P1060575   How about a couple more pictures of my little birthday girl (from a few weeks ago) just for funsies P1060545P1060508IMG_2467

Chalkboard art – around here lately

FYI,I realize my blog is probably pretty boring these days because I just post pics of my kids. But, I do have a project to show you in a few days. Kent built a free-standing table/bar so that we can eat at our island in the kitchen. It’s AWESOME!

In the meantime, can I just tell you how much I like having an enormous chalkboard in my living room? This is a 3′ x 5′ piece of MDF that Kent bought me for my DIY Aquaboard project – which was a giant fail. But, then I had the idea to paint over it with chalkboard paint! It’s large enough to anchor (ba-dum-bum) the living room, balancing our awkwardly-deep fireplace, and it hides our router. This is perhaps my fourth or fifth verse art piece on the chalkboard. I leave it up until I get sick of it and want some fresh inspiration. I use regular chalk and also “Wet Chalk” pens. It’s not super-easy to find the hour it usually takes to climb up there and draw a new verse (usually the kids are run amok as a result), but I’m always happy I did it once it’s done.

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Here are a few others that I could find pics of real quick:

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Remember how sad the mantle looked without art up there?

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I took this picture because it’s pretty unusual. It’s NOT unusual to have to shovel snow, again – but it is unusual to shovel in short-sleeves!

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I love this face!

 

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and this one!

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I’m pretty partial to this one too! (even if it is blurry)

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But this one’s my favorite. Mwah! Love you, honey!

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Christmas Here at The Pantry Book

Adele LOVED her fort kit. And her fort has stayed up in the living room ever since Christmas Day.

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Her fort is pretty awesome if I do say so myself. It has two separate rooms and a shelf for storage. Adele got a princess flashlight and a princess headlamp along with a large flashlight to go with her fort kit (flat sheet, clothespins, rope, and a polka dot bag to keep it all together). They were a real hit!

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Mimi and Adele made a snowman cookie craft from pinterest. My mom is really an excellent grandma. She is always interacting with the kids, doing things that they enjoy, investing in relationship with them. My children are so blessed – and I am too!

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I started reading Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman. It’s motivated me to do a lot more walking and on a variety of terrain. We took a “hike” through a nearby wooded park. Carmel had Everett in an Ergo backpack and I had Eleanor in another one. We even had lunch there in the open air. And it was lovely! The picture below is of the bottom of the roots of a tree that we assume fell over in a storm. Pretty cool!

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Adele hit the jackpot this year – she got to go ice skating TWICE! Once with Daddy and once with Mimi.

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Eleanor is really interested in climbing things. She loves to get up on the footboard of Adele’s high chair and also on Everett’s therapy bench.

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When Mimi took Adele ice skating, they went out for burgers, fries and milkshakes! Yum!

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Today after church we took Mimi to the airport. We all miss her lots =(

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Fondue 2014

**This is an updated version of a planning post I wrote two years ago. We have streamlined the party (less stress) and this post and shopping list reflect the changes. This is mostly for my own use (to refer to in the future).

We like having our friends and family over to celebrate Jesus’ birth. We like Fondue! A lot! And what’s more fun than a bunch of little kids running around with a bunch of open flames on the table? =) This is where I give you all the details to help you put together a fondue party of your very own. Also, it helps me get ready and not make the same mistakes two years in a row! See how it all turned out here.

We own FIVE fondue pots, but that’s not enough so we always ask Kent’s parents to let us borrow one more for our party. I bought a few from Goodwill and Kent and I each had a couple from before we got married.

An easy way to prepare for this party is to order a fruit tray and a veggie tray premade and just use those as the dippers for dessert and cheese fondues. I think it is a lot cheaper to do it myself, but it’s also more work. It’s your party, so it’s your call – I won’t judge (I’ve done it both ways).

First, my shopping list:

  • raw ACV
  • PB
  • kombucha
  • strawberries
  • cherries
  • bananas
  • apples
  • pineapple
  • mandarin oranges
  • pound cake/angel food cake
  • sparkling mineral water LOTS!!!
  • bread
  • horseradish
  • 4 boxes TJ’s fondue
  • coffee ice cream
  • Sherbet
  • sternos

The night before the party:

  • get out the fondue bin from the basement
  • Set up all the pots with sternos
  • Get the punch bowls and cups out
  • Stack up the party plates.
  • Set up napkins and fondue forks

After lunch on the day of the party:

  • chop/slice all veggies/fruit/bread/pound cake and prepare on trays/bowls with several baggies of back-ups to bring out as the party goes on
  • prepare dipping sauces and put in ramekins (with extra in jars to keep in the fridge)
  • slice all the meat VERY THINLY

At the Main Food Table

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We serve two cheese fondues in ceramic pots like this heated by tealights and two meat-cooking fondues (broth and oil) in metal fondue pots like this heated by small sternos. We put raw meat on platters; then we put hot broth in one metal pot and hot beef tallow in the other. Then we put out dipping sauces for the meats.

Fondue Cheese from Trader Joe’s

We started using the boxes of Trader Joe’s fondue cheese and it’s delicious. We usually go through three during the party and have one for back-up. It’s great with any leftover broccoli on Christmas Day!

Cheddar Beer Fondue

1 lb sharp cheddar, shredded (or 1/2 Monterrey Jack and 1/2 cheddar)
1 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
dash cayenne
3/4 cup beer
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

In bowl, combine cheese, flour, mustard and cayenne; mix well. In a regular pan (not the fondue pot), combine beer and Worcestershire sauce. Heat (on the stove) until bubbling; gradually add cheese mixture and stir constantly until the cheese melts and mixture is smooth (about five minutes). Transfer to ceramic fondue pot with tea light.

Sassy Barbeque Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon Braggs raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sucanat
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco® sauce
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk the sauce ingredients with 1/8 cup water. Bring to boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mustard Sauce

3/4 cup strained yogurt or sour cream
2 Tbsp Braggs raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp dry mustard
3 Tbsp hot mustard (or dijon)

Horseradish Cream Sauce

1 cup sour cream or strained yogurt
3 Tbsp horseradish
1 tsp Braggs raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sucanat
1/2 pepper
salt to taste

Mix well and chill before serving. We always have extra from the fondue party, so we eat it with filet mignon at our Christmas Dinner.

Served with:

  • crusty bread
  • broccoli
  • caulifower
  • carrots
  • cherry tomatoes
  • snap peas
  • apple slices

At the Dessert Table

We put this one near an outlet because we put the dessert fondues in two electric fondue pot like this. We use a crock-pot style pot because the sterno flame fondue pot heat is too hot for the dessert fondues – burned chocolate doesn’t taste good.

Chocolate PB Fondue

4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
8 oz (1 cup) raw heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream if you don’t have access to fresh raw milk and cream)

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine chocolate and cream in medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Add sugar and peanut butter; continue cooking until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour into electric fondue pot.

Served with:

  • strawberries
  • cherries (if available)
  • sliced banana (sprayed with orange juice to prevent browning)
  • apple slices (with lemon juice to prevent browning)
  • pineapple chunks
  • mandarin orange segments
  • cubed pound cake
  • cubed angel food cake

Try to make the fruit as dry as possible so that the fondue won’t slide off. Also, the fruit should be chilled, which helps the chocolate to coat the fruit more easily.

Chocolate Fondue

16 oz sweetened chocolate
4 Tbsp Rum
1/2 to 1 cup cream or milk

Melt choc and cream in double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and add rum. Transfer to fondue pot.

At the Beverage Table

I like to serve drinks at parties with my little cut glass punch cups. I have over 50, so that’s enough for most parties. People sometimes lose their cup and take another, so I usually have to wash a few in the middle of the party. If you use regular-sized cups, people will take too much punch, which they will put down and forget about, and you will run out before most of the guests arrive. Small cups make it last for the whole party, even if people get lots of refills. I bought my punch cups at Goodwill for pennies! I also like to put the beverage table near an outlet because I sometimes serve a hot punch in my crockpot.

Healthy and Tasty Eggnog (Triple Recipe)

5 local pastured (don’t eat grocery store eggs raw!) egg yolks (save whites for ginger bread house glue/icing)
1/3 cup maple syrup
pinch of Celtic sea salt
freshly ground nutmeg to taste
1 or 2 Tablespoons whey
1 Tablespoon organic lemon juice
3 cups raw milk (or pasteurized milk if you must, but NEVER ultra-pasteurized milk!)
1 cup raw cream (or pasteurized cream if you must, but NEVER ultra-pasteurized cream!)

You can use more cream and less milk if you like it creamy. Beat or blend egg yolks until thick. Add syrup, nutmeg, whey and lemon juice. Add milk and cream. Beat until frothy. Store in the fridge until right before the party. I usually double or triple this recipe for the party and serve in a crystal punch bowl. We like to float scoops of coffee ice cream on the top.

Cold Christmas Punch

kombucha with sherbet floating at the top =)