Monday, November 30, 2009

Introducing our new addition..... Kayda!


We have added a new family member! A precious little girl, Kayda. She is a catahoula, border collie mix. Ty and I drove up to Arroyo Grande yesterday to pick up this little pup. Her freckles were the best thing we had ever seen. She is very fluffy and very cuddly. She loves to play and even had her first bath yesterday too! We are very excited to introduce her to her new home in a few weeks when we move and have more space for her to run! She had a lot of energy, also an early riser. We were both up at 5am this morning.... Ty was a dream and woke up with her so I could sleep a little (i got the sniffles... :( ) I cant wait to introduce her to everyone and update more pictures!!!

Cutest freckles ever!

Very tired from a long day!


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving #1 - Station 30

Thanksgiving started off at Tyson's fire station in Solvang. He had to work on Thanksgiving day so it was only necessary that we spend our very first Thanksgiving as a married couple together :) Ty works with some really great guys so it was great to spend some time with them and their families too. We had soo much food.... Ham, green bean casserole, rolls, double baked potatoes, and lots of dessert!

Preparing the salad a la Ty


Cooking the meal


Washing hands


LOTS of food!

Thanksgiving #2 - The Kent's Home

The fire station followed by lots of laughs and good family time at the Kent's house, better known as Granny and Dave. I just adore my family soo much and Thanksgiving wouldnt be the same without a quick stop and some of Granny's stuffing :) I wasn't able to make it for the meal but that wasn't a problem... I always make it for dessert!

Granny Cody and Dani


Dave and his buddy Oliver


The beautiful center piece


Aunties

Thanksgiving #3 - The Perkins House



After lots of turkey and laughs, there are still plenty to go around! Our third stop was at the Perkin's House for a much needed family meal. Since both Tyson and Sabin had to work on Thanksgiving, it was only necessary to have one all together. We shared sooo many laughs, soo much amazing food and some crazy games :) It got a little wild... Family is sooo important and I am sooo blessed to be part of so many families.

The Amazing Chef


Jeannie and Wyatt cooking


A suspicious hole in the roll.... Sabin


The beautiful bird


Two homemade pumpkin pies a la Jeannie


A Perfect Turkey


The HUGE plate of amazing food!



Speed Eating




Lots of laughs :)




A very empty plate!




A very traditional Perkins game on Thanksgiving is called "Screw your neighbor". The object of the game is to be the player with the highest card on the table. If you have the lowest, you get a check on the score board. Three checks and you have to start doing the dishes! Oh and you cant touch your face or point any extended diget = another check!
Katie -not touching her face with a spoon-


Wyatt itchy his nose...with his feet


Tyson trying to distract Jeannie while playing "Screw your neighbor"


Too much food


Food Coma... only Sabin does this best, along with Ryder

Monday, November 23, 2009

Cheesecake filled Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Vanilla Frosting



Hope you have a sweet tooth because these cupcakes are amazing! They were a challenge to make but really fun if you have the time. The Frosting was insane... 3 sticks of butter! Personally I dont think you need that much butter or frosting to get your fix but they will last you a while!

Ingredients:
* One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 large eggs, plus 5 large egg whites
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups flour
* 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoons salt
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 cup light brown sugar
* Simmering water
* 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled



1.Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

2.In a bowl, whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.

3.Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter. Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes. Let cool.

4.Using the electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, remaining 4 egg whites and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fill a medium saucepan with enough simmering water to reach a depth of 1 inch; place the mixing bowl on top. Whisk the mixture until it registers 160° on an instant-read thermometer.

5.Transfer the bowl back to the mixer and beat at high speed until fluffy; lower the speed and beat to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

6. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag; pipe large rosettes on top of the cupcakes.

Recipe Source: Everyday with Rachel Ray

Sunday at Sister's House



This sunday, I took an adventure down to my sister (Mimi)'s house! Ty is working :( so i had to do it alone.. double :( But I always have sooo much fun with my sister! The day flies by and we really get to do a lot! As you can see below, the day was filled with lots of Christmas Cheer. Thanksgiving has not graced us with its presence yet but that only means that Christmas is right around the corner. So we thought it would be best to fill the house with some Christmas cheer! This consisted of ... shopping for matching skinny jeans (sister needed a pair!), Jam making, cupcake making, dinner making and lots more making! Sister even showed us what true Christmas cheer looks like when you wear it! (Green ensemble). Luckily it was also football sunday so Rich (brother in law) was busy, so our cheer didnt get in his way. We have soo much pent up Christmas cheer, I hope Christmas comes sooner rather than later!!!!

Making cupcakes


Nephew dogs Dax and Milo are helping!










Our matching wallets!




Christmas Cheer of course!


Sister's Christmas Cheer. I had nothing to do with this...


Fantastic roasted chicken from sister!


Making Jam




Mr. Dax


Mr. Milo

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Bocce Ball and Dinner at Arnoldi's



Granny and Dave (Mr. and Mrs. Kent) a.k.a. my great aunt and uncle invited us to join them for some Bocce ball and dinner at Arnoldi's! We sat outside next to the fire and enjoyed some great conversation and played a wonderful game of Bocce ball! Me and Ty hammered the Bocce court.... 12 points for us and 9 for G&D i believe. We have some stiff competition built up for next time :)
Our food was wonderful. I had butternut squash ravioli with sage butter. Ty had spicy spaghetti with an interesting assortment of seafood. Dave had a HUGE plate of ravioli and Granny ordered calamari... the appetizer. As you can see, she got anything BUT the appetizer portion. We had a fantastic time and loved every second <3

Dave and his perfect rolls!



Granny's "appetizer". She had already eaten her portion!


I wish I had gotten more pictures of the Granny and Ty and as a group but its hard when you are the ONLY one taking the pictures. My blogging skills are improving :) Oh, this is me and Uncle Dave!


Our Dining Area...mmmmm



The Bocce court. Ty and Granny are down there, you just cant see them too well :)



The Rules...



Married for over 50 years!!! You are an inspiration <3