Fun in the Sun in San Diego: It was beautiful weather down in San Diego for the week. We had lots of fun staying with family, making memories and eating delicious Thanksgiving food. Tim and Stacey were so nice to let us stay with them both on the way up and the way down so the drives went smoothly. Overall a very nice Holiday week.
Beach Day: We went to La Jolla shores to look at some tide pools and play in the surf. Except for a minor spill that left Grandpa with strained chest muscles and Grandma Peggy with a small cut it was just fun in the sun. Wendy got some amazing shots, one of which is all the grand kids in age order. So cute. Love these kids!
Timmy, Chloe, Dylan, Benji, Blain, Marie, Ruby, Avenlea, and Summer
Beautiful beach and cute kiddos!
Avenlea playing in the sand
Chloe is such a water baby - she would dive into the water as each wave left and swim around.
My best one of the day. Love my beautiful Chloe Rose
Blain kept out of the water true to form but he did like splashing in the little tide pools
Blain looking at a little crab that he spotted just before...
A big wave came and splashed us both. I got this right as the wave came unexpectedly
Thanksgiving Dinner: The kids had their very own table to enjoy some yummy appetizers. I was suprised at how well they all sat there to eat. Dinner was delicious at the grown up table. The turkey and ham were especially good. Nate and I were in charge of the veggie platter so we got off the hook for cooking this year.
The kids table
Blain asked to be put down for a nap around 5 and he slept the rest of the night until we had to go back to Shamene's house. What a sweet boy.
This was a picture taken a couple weeks ago of Blain when he fell asleep on the floor. I can't get over what a good sleeper he is.
Avenlea, Grandma and Ruby enjoying some together time
More Pork: The weekend before Thanksgiving we spent a couple days at Molly's so Nate could work on their bathroom and we did some pig smoking. We did all the bacon, a couple hams and baked the summer sausage. The bacon was WAY too salty after a week of curing so I either need to soak it next time or maybe we can still salvage it by slicing it really thin. The hams got a little charred due to a small grease fire but still look pretty good. I didn't really like the sausage, I'm not sure if it was the flavor or the texture but it wasn't quite my cup of tea. We have about 5 pounds of it so I'll have to be creative with how we use it. We also did some breakfast sausage and Italian sausage in casings this time! It was a pretty cool experience and they look like real sausage!
Smoked bacon
using the sausage stuffer attachment on our grinder
Nate being silly with the breakfast sausage
Happy Wedding to James and Mary: James gave us all a surprise when he announced he was getting married a little over a month ago. The big day came and it was nice to go to their sealing and reception. Congratulations!
Grumpy Chloe who refused to smile for any pictures
Watching others take pictures
Little Sprout and her uncle Sammy
Blain getting ready to catch the garter
Avenlea playing with the disco light
Letters to Santa: Chloe wrote her own letter to Santa this year and sounded out all the names of the princesses she wants. It was like pulling teeth to get Blain to say what he wanted for Christmas but we eventually got it out of him. And for Avenlea, Chloe and Blain decided that she wants something with a zebra. Hope you've been good this year!
Chloe writing her letter like a big girl
Blain's signature on his letter
Mommy and Avenlea
Avenlea's letter written by Chloe
If you can decipher the note - she wrote Elsa, Ana, Rap for Rapunzel, and Jasmine
Sending the letters to Santa through the magic of fire
Bye Bye Astrid: With the freezer overflowing with pork and a couple leftover chickens, we decided it was time to part with Astrid. We posted Astrid up for sale and she sold within the day. We got enough to cover the cost of the feed for both the pigs so that is a nice bonus. The family who bought her came to pick her up today and after about 45 minutes of chasing her around loaded her up in their trailer and took her home to join their herd of breeders. I'm happy that she will get to live out a little more of her life and hope she has lots of babies!
These are the pictures I posted of her in the classified ad
Happy pig digging in the dirt
No comments:
Post a Comment