Muffin, May tulips, monster hat

These are the Ginger Rhubarb Muffins I made a few weeks ago. I thought they were quite addicting and even Sam would have liked them if I would have ground the rhubarb more. He doesn't like "chunks" in his muffins--mom! The ginger isn't too strong and I topped some with macadamia nuts. Here is the recipe. Try them. They really are a yummy Spring treat.

Ginger Rhubarb Muffins

1 1/4 Cup flour

1 Cup wheat flour 

(If using pastry flour (above)cut back on soda and powder slightly)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 (scant) fresh ginger grated

1/2 Cup white sugar

1/4 C brown sugar

1 Cup plain yogurt (I like greek)

1/2 Cup buttermilk

1/3 Cup oil

1 egg

1 1/2 Cups fresh rhubarb (diced) I chopped mine pretty well

1/2 Macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In large bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and grated ginger

In separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, yogurt, buttermilk, oil and egg. Stir in the rhubarb and then the flour mixture. Don't over mix.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Top with chopped nuts. Bake about 12-15 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Adapted from the Woods House Bed & Breakfast

So as you know mom came to help me out in May. I had the 8 Stake Priest/Laurel formal dance and the District Boy Scout dinner. I needed mom's help desperately and I'm so very glad she came. She saved the day. Haley was able to come up for the dance and looked lovely. I felt a bit sorry for her. She didn't know really anyone and she braved it out anyways and pained the whole evening with a pretty good attitude. Carrie did her hair and she really did look lovely.

I'd like to read the 400 plus texts (smile) she must have done that night to see her true feelings. Or not. Maybe ignorance is bliss. I will say it certainly wouldn't have been my favorite night. All except the pre pampering of the evening. Nails done, hair done and chauffeured ride in the Taurus! I remember Kole having a similar evening with a boy (can't recall his name at the moment) at a Prom in Lovell. That couldn't have been all that comfortable either. And she couldn't even text to vent her pains. Oh the misery.  The good news is Haley was by far the prettiest girl there and I was proud of some of our YW for including her. Sweet Alexis Springgay, Jessica Weaver and then the gallant YM Jeremy Dance and Austin LeFevre. I think the dance was a success all in all but I hope they don't sign me next year.

The next video is more of Carrie's expertise with hair. Sam's. He claims he didn't like it-- 

but then he got to thinking he looked like Avatar. 

Now the Boy Scout dinner that was something else. Mom and I slow cooked 80 lbs of pork butt and it still wasn't enough to feed the 250 people. We ran at the last minute to buy 15 lbs BBQ from Whole foods and another 20 lbs of pulled pork. The BBQ beef was good the pulled pork (from WF) was gross. So gross I took it back the following day. We served corn on the cob, chips, Joan's baked beans--yum, and coleslaw. For dessert we served tarts. A plethora--and I mean plethora. Bruce was so proud we kept the cost down (we fed them all for about $3.00 per plate--not too shabby). Mom worked hard. She does that. She works hard and long. I know for certain I couldn't have done it without her. Thanks mom!

So after our work week we decided to celebrate. We went up to Skaggit Valley and looked at the last remnants of the tulip festival. So gorgeous.   

While mom was here the Thompson's gave us their season tickets for the Mariners Friday night game. They played the A's. We were 4 rows up from the dug out. Nice. It was a perfect evening. Who knew they now serve chocolate covered strawberries at baseball games. Also, sushi and phad thai. I'm telling you it was quite the gourmet event. I tried to look for hot dogs and beer, but none were to be found. Kidding of course, I found the beer. Kidding Bob--I didn't want to get mom drunk on her last night with us.  Sam was cute. He was so excited about going and sitting so close. He took his baseball mit and wore his batting helmet. Some may laugh or may be even slightly embarrassed but he wore that helmet with pride. 

We didn't catch any foul balls but the guy sitting on the row right behind us got struck with a foul ball in the head and said he wished he had had Sam's helmet. So then "some" of us weren't so embarrassed by the helmet I guess. The game was awesome. Tied score, last inning, 

bases loaded, 2 outs. 5 fouls later (can't remember the players name now darnit) but he hit a double and Mariners win! So fun, so fun, fun, fun for everyone. Sam loved it too. He carried around the tickets for 3 weeks after that. He said he wants to go to a game every night. SO Dave--take us out to the ball game. Take us out to the park. Buy us some peanuts and cracker jacks........

This weeks Menu

Monday........Shrimp and Mango wraps

Tuesday........Crustless buttermilk and cornmeal pie/roasted asparagus, collard greens 

Wednesday..Halibut with black bean salsa

Thursday......BBQ Chicken Pizza

Friday...........Family Picnic at Wade and Linda's

Saturday.......Goat cheese crisps with smoked Salmon

Memorial Day Hike

So I'm working a little backwards right now. I have a lot to catch up on but wanted to get our Memorial Day hike done. We'll talk Germany (tomorrow). We had a great day on Monday. We set out for a 4 mile hike. 2 miles up and 2 miles down. Specifications: No whining. No I can't walk anymore--please carry me and no quitting. IF we all adhered to these, on the drive home we would stop and get a milkshake of our choice. Mine being peanut butter and Dave and Sam's being chocolate, banana. So above is Dave and Sam at the trail head. You're not going to believe it but we quite possibly were the only ones who spoke english. And that's saying a lot as I'm quite certain a vast majority of the Seattle area, I would even venture to say the whole of Western Washington chose to hike Rattlesnake ridge that very Memorial Monday. Yes, there we were right in the midst of the United Nations. Fascinating as it was Wendy claimed the very same argument. She and her family hiked Little Si. 

Please play Sam's video next. We think we have the next Ken Burns living right under our roof.  

This is his first documentary:

As you can see we had a beautiful day. We've had beautiful days the last couple weeks. But it's near June and Seattle has something against the sun shining in the gemini month. Or as I like to regard it as the month that homes the most celebrated of all holiday's---Flag day. So we bask in the sun's glory in May and must wait until nearly August for us to see the brightest star shine. This is why we vacation July at the ranch or Maryland. We need our vitamin D. 

The hike in and of itself was really a lot of fun. Sam was fabulous (most of the time). We had one mishap and I'm not sure if anyone knows this but if you get an injury (scratch) like this: 

one must scream like you are lying at deaths door. Can you just imagine the blood? No?

Well if you did you have a very good imagination because there was none. However, Sam's screaming was not imaginary. From his agonizingly loud whaling we were thinking we would have to amputate. Fortunately for all parties involved a boy of about 6-7 years of age walked by and the injured one (Sam) had to put on a brave face. He was then back to challenging his poor osteoarthritic mother to race---uphill to dad. BECAUSE Dave, when he hikes has 2 points in mind. That's it. That being point A (point of departure) point B (point of destination) and how fast will it take to get to each point. I should have remembered this from our honeymoon. There is no journey, no stopping to smell the roses, no tip toeing through the tulips. And believe me it is no easy task keeping up with those legs of his. I think next time I'll weigh his pack down with bricks. Hopefully that will slow him down. But we persevered and it payed off. 

We had a great lunch up at the top and Dave and Sam crawled down in some of the crevices. I'm not going to lie. The Viola Davis blood runs thick in my body. It doesn't look daunting from the picture of Sam and I but it was a bit scary for me. Not only because well my balance is not the greatest but there are tons of cliffs up there and scraggly rocks. Sam is a wild man he could have easily fallen to his death. I was a nervous wreck. I had to close my eyes so Dave and Sam could explore. I just sat, didn't move and waited upon their return. 

We enjoyed coming down even better--though I'm not sure my shins did. 

Sam however was anxious to touch sea level again because he was a goal oriented boy that day. He was going to fish. We had bought a cheap fishing pole at Target. Well I had. Unfortunately in my eagerness to make a quick purchase I didn't see that that certain Transformer fishing pole didn't have a hook. Luckily for us as we were down at the lake we found a hook tangled with some old fishing twine and Sam set out to catch dinner for us. But alas once again it was not meant to be. I WILL make sure that boy catches a fish this summer if it's the last thing I do. Here he is casting. I think he'll give Jason a run for his money on his "form".

This is Rattlesnake ridge from the bottom. We climbed to the peak shown. It took us about 2 hours to get to the top--that included the journey, smelling the roses and tip toeing through the tulips. About an hour to get down. There was no whaling or nashing of teeth (except of course for the incidental trip--but Dave and I were forgiving of that) so we stopped in Falls City and bought us a $4 dollar milkshake. It went down pretty good.

Wrapping up the Turks

It's been so long since I've last written but wanted to get something here soon as I don't want to forget things of not so long ago. It seems my memory is getting shorter and shorter. I will need to do the crossword puzzles of dad and Deidra's I guess. 

The above picture is of Sam on the boogy board. As he has virtually no fat on him, Sam always seems to shiver and freeze long before me a woman with considerably more fat than necessary for one, anyone, to survive. Needless to say Sam stayed out for about 20 minutes and then came in to bask in the warmth of the sun along side Val. 

We had one day where it was overcast so rather than go to the cool, breezy beach we stayed at the pool where Sam could alternate between hot tub and pool. While in the hot tub he met Abby. She is the most adorable 6 year old girl. We didn't get her last name but found out she is from Michigan. Sam and Abby were inseparable for the entire day. Below is the picture where it is typical Sam and his powers of authority in play. Notice he carries only one noodle and a drink while little Abbly is struggling to carry 3 and her load is too full for her to even consider having a drink herself. And still when both Sam and Abby arrived at their destination of play Sam I believe ended up with 3 noodles and Abby 1. Fair play is still not in his vocabulary. But as his vocabulary is still limited it (I believe by choice) it doesn't surprise me.

Throughout the day Dave and I stayed planted reading and napping while Sam and Abby went about their play date. As it would seem it was more like a date for they ordered pizza  and drinks for themselves and built a grand raft and didn't argue at all. As Abby left at the end of the day she yelled to Sam, "I don't think we'll ever see each other again Sam" and Sam replies "No I don't think we will--goodbye." And with those closing words we will never see Abby again. I thought about getting her address but the day was so perfect as was Abby it is best to leave that memory alone. Wonderful. 

I love this picture of Sam. He loves to snorkel but I think Dave and I will need to invest in a wet suit for him so he can stay in the water a little longer without suffering from hypothermia. 

We had a wonderful stay at the Turks and Caicos Beaches resort. It's a wonderful place to vacation. I would certainly go again and would do so any time soon. Here we are taking a self portrait on our way home in the airplane. Notice Sam's sharks tooth necklace--he loved it for a day.

 This is a video of Sam and I playing race for the torpedo--it's not too long. One thing me in a bathing suit (the one I'm wearing here) is argument enough for women to consider breast enhancements :-)

Turks and Caicos Day 3

We've had such a great time here in the Turks. Sun burns and all. We took this huge floating bike out in the water and Dave and I got quite the workout trying to peddle against the current heading for shore. Sam steered and was quite the pro. Dave worked Saturday all day but finally got his project done. I think he was just telling me he had to work so he could sneak off to hear Conference. He assured me he wasn't and has actually stayed clear of his computer for the most part. We get the internet sporadically and I must say, that's where it's kind of a bonus being married to a computer nerd because he seems to be quite good at "hacking" on for us. Most the time it's just not that big of deal. It's kind of nice not having to worry about the 10 Stake Priest Laurel dance rapidly approaching. Or the regional boy scout dinner coming just as fast but thankfully a week later. We have been able to eat constantly, sleep sporadically and play non stop. It's almost impossible to get Sam in at night. We're outside at 9:30 a.m. and we don't return to our room until 5 at night. They have this "pirates cove" that has water slides and a lazy river and all the cotton candy a child or really even adult could want. It's a rather large resort consisting of a caribbean village, a french village and an italian village. The food has been impressive for having to feed thousands. Not great but good. It's nice to just go anywhere and just say your room number and voila--food/drink.

I also enjoy walking everywhere. It's so nice to walk at night after dinner. It seems to settle the food so nicely. Grouper (It's grouper...grouper) and red snapper are the freshest fish they have here. I've had grouper prepared 4 different ways and yet the best fish I had was the cod in the fish and chips. The first night I had the grouper it was pretty bad. I was thinking I would never have to have it again however the following night the server promised that it was the best item on the menu. She was right. It was delicious. 

Here is Dave and Sam on a post dinner walk on the beach. We can't touch the water and whoever did lost a point.  Sam won. Hard to believe I know, but when you make the rules up along the way the victory is certain to be yours. That's our boy!

Here is my beautiful boy with a swollen face. This is where I am convinced NEVER to buy a spray on sunblock. 50 proof, waterproof, long lasting--my eye. His little cheeks are burnt and his little eyes are puffed up big time. They don't seem to bother him just swollen. I went scuba diving today and didn't regulate my descent right so I screwed up my ears. I felt like I was under water all day and it hurt bad. I went to the nurse and got sudafed and motrin. She gave Sam some benadryl and zinc oxide. He's looking better today thank heavens. 

While we dive we send Sam and Eli to the kids camp. Eli won't go unless Sam goes with him so Sam can't go to his own age group camp. He's ok with it. The camp counselor (who Sam calls coach Matthew) takes him and shows Sam extra care and he seems to be enjoying himself. They take the kids to the pool so it can't be all that bad. 

After camp and diving (on this day) we went to play at the pool at the italian village. Sam hooked up with some sweet kids. They are obviously older but they took him under their wing and got him involved in their games. Here they are on their water mattress ship. Sam's the one with the sunglasses and spiderman rash guard. He was certainly in his element. It was fun to watch. I don't think he was even bratty. Just had fun.

We went to the beach as well (finally) and were so impressed with an enormous sand castle someone had left from the previous day that we were inspired. So we got to work. It ended up looking and actually being more of a Mayan temple grounds with a water system that kicked butt. That's what you get when you work with engineers I guess. Although Dave kept putting out the disclaimer that he's NOT a civil engineer. I imagine if we would have been their long enough the "temple" would have been lit up--thus our electrical engineer would have showed us what he's made of. But alas, 5 o'clock came and it was definitely shower time. For all parties.

Turks and Caicos Day 1

We're finally here after weeks of snow, rain, wind and a slight teasing of sun. We love Seattle but can't say that we don't love leaving it for a time either. We left Wednesday, April 1st in a light precipitation of snow and headed south to Texas to visit one day with the Son's and have them once again try to convince us how great living with them on a somewhat communal property in TX. We have stood our ground and have declined time after time--except (maybe) this time. This property Val and Stacy have just purchased is pretty hard to refuse. The land is 40 acres on a lake with 2 ponds. It really is tempting especially when we just left the land of the never ending winter. But then all one has to do is ask me if I want to move on a good day in the great Northwest, and I'm not leaving. I guess those 5 sunny days we have a year have quite the pull on me. It would be incredibly difficult for me leave Washington state. I do know that.

So after spending a day in McKinney TX we headed south today on a flight leaving at 5:40 in the a.m. Yikes! Surprisingly, Sam was in good spirits all day and even took a short nap on the flight to Hotlanta. I had to bribe him today which is a bit of a bummer, but if he doesn't start being nicer to Eli I don't know what I'll do. Eli loves Sam--Sam is incredibly impatient with Eli. Sam is 6 Eli is 3--perhaps it's just the age difference. Perhaps it's just Sam acting like an O.C. Pretty sure it's the latter. So he's cranky with Eli a good part of the day--although he would steal a peak to see if I was looking then shower Eli with affection. I am slow but not as slow as Sam thinks. This is not my first time and I'm certain it won't be my last. Then tonight out of the blue he wrote a note to Eli on the Beaches paper pad. (I luv eeuu. Luv Sam) and drew a little heart on it. Go figure. The kid's a mystery. 

He is not a mystery however when it comes to water. He loves it. All kinds. It doesn't matter. He finds great pleasure in baths as well. But I like to watch him in the blue water. He's a fish. I'm bummed and it is with great hesitation I admit this, but he needed a bit of a haircut before we headed down to this little slice of paradise. He'll swim underwater with great ease but when he resurfaces he's almost in a near drown because I'm guessing he doesn't know if he has completely cleared the water's surface and is conflicted on whether to take a breath or not. So he hesitates and has a look of panic until he wipes his hair from his eyes. He can't see--that's the bottom line. 

We had a great day today--We landed in the Turks and Caicos Beaches Resort area at 1:00 p.m. and were down at the beach by 2:00. The water is truly heavenly. Clear turquoise and about 75  degrees. The bummer is as it IS a resort we are having difficulty finding ANY shells. The beaches are pretty cleanly swept. Poor Sam. His collection will lack this year with shells from the Turks. I'm sure he'll get over it. But he does love to add to his collection. Just the other day I found the label to my stove top in there--he's a mystery and perhaps a little cooky. Anyways, as this is an all-inclusive resort we're finding we're pretty lax with our rules on eating. Here's Sam with an ice-cream--just TRY to guess the flavor. If you guessed Superman--you're right. 

Superman's powers it seems are endless. Who knew one of the super powers was staining the enemy? He ate the whole thing--and it showed--for a looonng time. I hope it doesn't stain the sheets.


After we left the beach we wanted to explore the resort. We found the "pirates cove" where they have water slides and a lazy river and a cool body surfing ride. I'll try my hand at that tomorrow as I think we all know my love affair with good board and wave. I've seen no girls on the ride so I'm not sure if the swim suit top is a factor here. Ah heck we're international here--I'll live like the natives. (Yea right)

Being an O.C. it is difficult to share. Unlike the girl in the movie Whale Rider--Sam was ever too keen to take this dolphin for a joy ride and never look back, never sharing it with the 10,000 other kids waiting patiently. He actually fell off it at one point, lost it to a cute little girl who tried her hand at it. She lost control so Sam nabbed it again, she left, pouting a little (as really, in all fairness, she had every right) But it was victory when she glanced back, Sam lost control and fell off that coveted dolphin and her cute grin couldn't be hid any longer. Boys! 

We had to head home and get ready to go out to dinner--we ate at the restaurant Arizona which was average Tex-Mex. Tomorrow we're heading to the Italian village. I think I'll brush up on my Italian in preparation for my trip with mom.

This weeks menu

It's supposed to be cold, rainy and a little snowy this week. We're cooking for comfort:

Monday--chicken vegetable soup

Tuesday--St. Patricks Day--green roasted veggies with green poached egg on top

Wednesday--broiled fish with vegetable curry quinoa

Thursday--broccoli and apple quiche (from Chocolate and Zucchini--new yummy cookbook) and chorizo veggie sausage

Friday--Mushroom casserole (101 cookbooks) (Yea Spring!!)