pinata

As promised, here are a few pictures taken at my parents last Sunday.  Not only were we celebrating Evelyn's 9th birthday, but we were lucky to spend some time with cousins from Switzerland.  As the pinata came out and the kids were gathered, we learned that some of our Swiss family did not know about pinatas.  They looked on with interest.  

My dad usually holds the pinata.  The kids must stand behind him so they don't get hit.

Some of us get a bit nervous by the whole idea of blindfolded cousins swinging sticks madly in the air.

Jesse started out blindfolded but quickly found out that was too much of a challenge.

This tinkerbell pinata has seen a few birthdays around here.  Nothing that a bit of tape can't fix.

We had our nephew from the other side of the family coming to stay part of the week with us.  Silas looked on with Nathaniel as Jesse gave Tinkerbell a few more hits.

But it was Silas that had the final hit.  And I mean final.  No more recycled Tinkerbell for the next birthday.

annual campout

It has become an annual tradition to have a summer campout with Andrew's family.  This year the weather only allowed four of us to actually sleep outside in the trailer  (No tents).  But the tradition of playing, celebrating and eating together lived on.

Searching for Waldo.

The birthday kids.

Enjoying the ice cream cupcakes.

Jesse needed some help.

Perhaps your family isn't like ours.  But around here, wrestling means love.

Enjoying the pool.

Silas.

Jesse sauntered over to Uncle Helmut and parked himself until the plate was clean.  Jesse was mostly after the bean salad.

Our beautiful hostess, Beth.

Watching the soccer game.

Needing some wind down time after a busy day.

Ditto.

Andrew was on peach duty for breakfast the next morning.

Enjoying the hot tub after breakfast.

Me being goofy with Jesse.

After our campout we were on route to my family for another birthday celebration.  Will post those pictures soon.

bedtime questions

Nathaniel is pretty quiet.  Sure, he gets boisterous and bounces around the house like many kids, but he's not a big talker.  Perhaps it is the competition with two other siblings that leaves him waiting for a quiet moment with me or Andrew.  I still remember when I first took him out with our trail a bike.  Of course there were no other people around to listen to or wait his turn to speak so he had the uninterrupted attention of the rider in front.  And man did he talk.  It was awesome.  Still brings a smile to my face when I think about these moments with him.

So, although he's not a big talker, I know he is observing.  Sometimes I think he keeps everything stored in his head and finds bedtime the perfect time to process it all.  Tonight I tucked him in and waited for the questions.  Here are some of the things Nathaniel was contemplating tonight.

"What's the highest number?"
"Does each plug have the same amount of electricity?"
"What is the top number for how much gas goes in our van?"
"How many clothes is a person supposed to have?"  "Fat and tall people must have more."

Keep asking your questions Nathaniel.  Daddy and I love these moments with you.

jilienne

Last fall I was visiting my good friend Natasha.  We were talking about photography, creativity and most specifically my growing passion for the two.  What am I meant to do with this interest?  She told me to just put myself out there, ask some friends if I could take their pictures and see if it was something that I enjoyed.  With that advice I asked Jilienne if I could take her picture.  I already have a number of very sweet pictures of her and Abigail (my daughter ADORES her) and I had a feeling she would make a good subject.  I think these pictures will prove that my hunch was SO right!  Not only did I choose a great subject, but the location she took me to could not have been any better.  I am so drawn to this kind of location.  I could go back over and over.  In fact, there were many times during our shoot where we would start walking to a new spot and I would see another cool location.  So, I took many, many pictures.  And because there were so many favorites, I had a tough time narrowing them down.  Here's my attempt at narrowing them down.   

In a field of organic spelt.  

When I started taking pictures at this location, I knew this would be one of my favorites.

Love the dirty country girl feet!

Okay, seriously, is she not a model?  Definitely another fav.

So beautiful!

Jilienne, you were a dream to photograph.  Can you believe she told me that she's not that photogenic?  I hope these photos convince you otherwise.

watermelon lemonade

I'm hosting a meeting tonight and I usually try to make something to snack on.  But it is just too hot to turn on the stove.  So, I think I'll just be serving drinks tonight.  And after a trial glass of this stuff, I am definitely going to be making more very soon.  

Watermelon Lemonade - adapted from Canadian Living magazine

1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1 cup water
5 cups cubed seeded watermelon

In a large saucepan, heat sugar, lemon juice and water until the sugar has dissolved.  Set aside to cool.
In blender, blend watermelon until smooth.  Strain into glass pitcher, pressing mixture.  Stir in sugar/lemon syrup.  Refrigerate until chilled.
Makes 5 cups (I doubled the recipe)

summer pea and roasted red pepper pasta salad

There are some chefs and cooks out there that stay clear of pasta salads.  The noodles lose their "al dente" texture as the salad sits and sucks up the dressing.  They also get dry when sitting for too long.  Personally, I love pasta and have a hard time passing a pasta salad by.  It definitely helps if they are interesting and have a good punch of flavour.  And I think this pasta salad delivers.  The peas give a nice contrast in texture and as long as you don't let the salad sit around for too long and mix in a bit of reserved dressing at the last moment, the salad doesn't need to be mushy or dry.

Summer Pea and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad - adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 pound of small shell pasta
1/4 pound snow pea pods, ends trimmed
1/2 pound fresh summer peas, which yielded about 1 cup once shelled

1/2 pound snap peas, ends trimmed
3/4 to 1 cup Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette (recipe below)

1/2 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

10 basil leaves, sliced thin

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a small ice water bath. Boil the snow pea pods for about two minutes, or until just barely cooked but still crisp. Scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and drop them in the ice water bath. Cook the peas for about 3 minutes (once again, this will be al dente, you can cook them longer if you prefer them softer), scoop them out with a large slotted spoon and plunge them into the ice water bath as well. Boil the snap peas for 3 minutes or until al dente, scoop them out and plunge them into the ice bath too.  Drain the peas. Cut the snow peas into thin slivers and the snap peas into bite size pieces.

Add the pasta into the boiling water and cook it according to package instructions. Drain and let cool, then toss in a large bowl with peas and Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette.  Top with feta cheese and basil. Season to taste.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

Makes about one cup of dressing

1 red bell pepper, roasted, skinned and seeded or the equivalent from a jar, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (and up to 2 tablespoons more if you, like us, like that extra bite in your dressing)
1 tablespoon chopped shallot (about 1 small)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of black pepper

Puree the red bell pepper in a food processor or blender as much as possible, then add the remaining ingredients and running the machine until the dressing is silky smooth. Adjust the vinegar level and seasonings to taste.

nature

I mostly take pictures of people.  I know that's where my passion lies.  When my sister-in-law and I went out for a "photo walk", we were without kids and ready with our cameras to take some pictures.  But we were both at a loss.  There were no loved ones to take pictures of.  I didn't want to take pictures of strangers and the surroundings weren't inspiring.  So, with a week of holidays behind us, I am sifting through the many pictures that I took.  And low and behold there are a few pictures without people in it.  And I like them.  I still don't see myself turning into a landscape photographer, but it was a good way to stretch my creativity.

This one I captured during a morning session on Dragonflies and Damselflies at MacGregor Point.  I still can't believe I got a picture in focus.  Those creatures don't stay still for very long.

The rest are from our hike yesterday.  I was so taken with the texture of this grass.

It was good to step out of the box for a bit.  But I am off for another photo shoot this evening.  Can't wait!

camping

We just returned from our first camping experience with our new trailer.  I'll just give you a peek at some of the pictures that were captured.  These are all SOOC (Straight out of Camera), no editing.   And we had a great time!