Meliza Family Camp

July was a VERY full month! We kind of crammed all our fun activities for the summer unintentionally into one month. It has been so much fun having something to look forward to each weekend and especially fun having time to unplug and be with family.

July started with celebrating the 4th at Grandma Faye's (no pictures) and then soon after that celebrating my cousin Spencer and his new wife Ahnalise at their GORGEOUS wedding.

Amidst all this fun and Strawberry picking and whatnot... we were planning and preparing for my first ever MFC (Meliza Family Camp)! It was a very fun weekend, despite the rain on the first day. I do have a knack for finding the rain on my camping trips, so though a little damp to start, we still had a great time catching up and getting to read by the camp fire. It was Bailey's first camping trip too and she loved romping around in nature.

 

Are we there yet? My little navigator started to wimp out on me nearing Seattle. 

 

Steve loves pictures. Here we are enjoying (can't you tell?) our first morning around the camp fire. 

 

Bailey and Steve exploring Gold Basin Campground. 

 

Splashin' around having some fun. 

 

My artsy photo for the trip. I just thought her little paw print was so cute. 

I think I sound too obsessed with our pup. 

I can hear you agreeing with me, I know. 

But we love her. 

So please forgive me as you endure more :)

 

I LOVE this photo of these two. Don't know what it is but I love it. 

A doggy and her human. 

 

Family photo. 

 

Base camp. Where we all gathered 'round the camp fire.

 

Our separate little site. It was very private and cozy. 

Though the Meliza's are sure they might have scared me off, I'm sure I'll be back for another MFC next year!

Up next: The VERY next weekend, we took off for Black Butte with the Duncan side of the family. 

Summer Days

None of this is exciting, I don't think. Just thought I'd share a couple summertime happenings as of late. Below are some munchies I whipped up for a little get together.
I love munchies. They are my favorite meal.

 

 This is my new addiction. Raw tomatoes have never made me drool. Sure I enjoy them on a sandwich or burger, but never alone. 

This Bruschetta... I have no words. I could eat it every day for the rest of the summer and be 100% satisfied. Fresh. Refreshing. Flavorful. 

I'll stop to spare you boredom. I altered this recipe 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/01/bruschetta/

from The Pioneer Woman (another new blog I ADORE). I couldn't find yellow tomatoes so I used about a 1/2 yellow pepper instead and used slightly less balsamic and cut the tomatoes smaller. Make this. You will like it. 

It's pretty, too.

And healthy. 

And yummy. 

Oh, right, I said earlier I would stop to spare you from boredom. Are you really bored now? sorry. 

Just go make some already.

 I also made this fun Peanut Butter ball. ( http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/26/peanut-butter-cheese-ball/)  It was cute, I thought, and a different dessert than usual. I found it on Pinterest and it was tasty, but I cannot gush about it like I can the Bruschetta.

The dog days of summer. 

 Sorry about the garbage shot, kind of gross. No, really gross. But she is always underfoot in the kitchen.

 See? Maybe it's because the floor is cool.

 

Or she just likes to be close. 

 Which she does. She makes an excellent foot rest on a lazy Saturday.

 Mama, will you please pet me and give me some lovin'?

 Puh-leeeeeeease Mama!!!!! I just can't say no to that face. I love her.

Fresh summer food.

 My herbs, are excellent this year. My dill didn't die off which makes me SO happy. I love dill and when it died last year, it was just a terrible day. This year my basil is the one dying off and it angers me. I love the basil and nurture it, I have 3 plants I love it so much, and all 3 are just not growing, small shriveled things no matter what I do. The basil and I have been fighting all summer. I still have hope, but I expected more from my basil.

 Still, my other herbs are glorious. For instance this warm potato salad with fresh parsley, dill and chives is one of my favorites. Just throw in a a little EVOO, butter and garlic salt and done. I even microwave the potatoes to make it that much easier.

 Easy peezy dinner. Breaded cod from Costco is marvelous.

 More strawberries...

 ...in milkshakes this time. Yum.

 Little ones.

 They make me happy.

 And make me laugh with their silly faces at Auntie.

Oh there's that smile. 

Happy summer. 

I should really post garden pictures as that is growing nicely too. Next time.

Strawberry Sweetness

This post dedicated to the Strawberry.

Steve and I have been waiting and waiting for the Strawberries to become sweet, red, and juicy. Well we almost waited ourselves out of any strawberries at all!  Once we were finally ready to invest at our local stand, EVERY local stand was no longer selling the precious little things. Who knew June was their month and July meant they were movin' out!? Well apparently everyone knew in fact. Everyone, but us.

So we set out on a quest to find the last berries in the universe. We landed at Hoffman Farms who were allowing U Pick if you had the time and patience to peruse the fields. Yay!

 We found them :)
 We were SO pleased.

 Steve-o hard at work.

It may not look like I'm busy, but in reality, I filled my bucket MUCH faster than Steve. We were hoping to be able to find a 1/2 flat for jam. Instead we were able to fill 2 buckets for a full flat and have berries to freeze.

View from the picking position. BeAuTiFuL weather. Gorgeous. Sunny. FINALLY. Warm. Scrumptious Sunny Sunshine. 

Perfect morning.

Found a cute stand in the field for my berries to sit upon for their photo op.

 Fruits of our labor. 

 Fast forward 8 hours from the last photo to this of our flats at home. After leaving the fields, I got paged into work (missing out on the sunshine), I wasn't pleased. Steve mowed the lawn, fixed some pipes, worked in the garden... We were tired! But there was jam to be made. 

 Beautiful berries. Oh how we heart you. Thank you for finding your way to our home. We are happy to have you. 

 Bailey overseeing the work. Getting underfoot of two tired worker-bees. The sweet pea just likes to be close. She looks so innocent.

 Ready for the freezer. 

 Add, mix, add, stir... Saturday night date, Strawberry jam we shall make. 

And the final product. Steve is relieved to not have to face a year without Strawberry jam. 

This post makes Strawberry jam seem to be the center of our universe around here. And it was today. And it's the center of this blog post, so I hope you like Strawberry jam too. 

Haven't posted in a while. Here's a glimpse of what has kept us busy. 

 Painting bedroom, which was always a little too green for me, to a fabulous grey. As well as a bathroom too.

 Celebrating Mom's birthday on May 29th...

 ... and Steve's on May 30th. By the way, this was THE most delicious pecan pie ever. 

 Cuddling with puppy dogs. 

 Spending the day at the zoo with my mom, sister and Brayden and Hannah. 

Jumping around having fun.


Getting ready to install hardwood floors.

Wow, long post. Had lots to catch up on! Are you still awake?

Congrats, you made it to the end.

Celebrating May 3rd for the 29th time

Coconut layer cake with Huckleberry Ice Cream

It's my birthday :) Here's a little snippet of how I celebrated and some of the showering of blessings from such wonderful friends and family. Thanks everyone for making it so fun and special!

Working away in the kitchen makin' ice cream cups

Brayden taking Bailey for a walk in the kitchen

Adding candles to the cake with Grammy

Such a cutie pie. Notice the blur? This was the one millisecond I caught on camera he was still.

Me with my yummy coconut cream layer cake.

Brayden helping auntie blow out the candles

Getting in some cuddle time with Hannah

Bad Auntie! Teaching Brayden how to eat right from the cake! No slicing needed :)

New Lamp! YES!!! No more leaning tower lamp from college days

Way fun signs to stick in my herb garden. Love them

Some of the marvelous blessings from everyone! Thank you SO VERY MUCH!

Ha ha ha Showing off her long hairy legs.