Some Favorites From the Weekend

We had some fun before, during and after the cruise.

So I thought I'd share a couple more pictures from the weekend.

Somebody likes their adult beverage.

Can you say delicious margarita!

Like mother,

like son!

My babies enjoying the cruise.

Sunday morning breakfast at the Red something Cafe.

Can you tell we were tired?

Were not used to all that partying.

Hmmm, what to eat, what to eat?

Emerald Bay during the daytime.

This is the area we cruised around.

No boats were present when we were there 

except for the MS Dixie and the Tahoe Queen.

A nice shot of the lake.

We decided to go home through Truckee,

so instead of going 50 we took 80.

And because our most favorite thing to do in the world is eat,

 we had to stop in our favorite  pizza parlor in Truckee, 

Village Pizzeria.

My pizza was so yummy.

It was spinach, red bell pepper, feta and olive oil.

OMG, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

So have you taken any side trips lately?

Mom & Dad's 50th Anniversary

I know I've been absent on the blog quite a bit,

but there is a reason besides summer.

As some of you may know, 

I was helping to plan my parent's 

50th wedding anniversary.

I had posted about a trip that the family and I 

took to Tahoe in order to run an errand...

this was the errand.

My sister and I planned an anniversary party 

on the MS Dixie.

There were about 17 of us, and there was eating,

drinking, laughing, dancing and sightseeing involved.

Everyone seemed to be pleased with the experience.

I thought I would show you some of the pictures

from the evening.

BTW, shout out to Austin who took 99% of the pictures.

Part of the MS Dixie.

My parents, Andy & Cheryl

(the couple who was having the anniversary party).

The delicious carrot cake made by a local bakery.

 

Dennis, Anne and Nancy at dinner.

Sheila and Rick at dinner.

Lynn and Jim at dinner.

We had four options for dinner:

Steak

Chicken

Salmon

Vegetarian

The most popular meal was the steak by far.

I had the chicken and it was pretty good.

My brother-in-law had the salmon and said it was good.

So no complaints on the food.

We were the first sitting, so around 7:30 PM,

we finished up dinner and started roaming around the ship.

Some of the party relaxing and talking.

We got to see Vikingsholm and...

two bears

(look closely at the top of the big fallen log).

  

There were tons of pictures taken -

Karen, Ava, Lexx.

Jim and Sheila

Alexxa, Austin, Me, Todd - family picture time.

Anne getting some chocolates from Dennis.

All the girls on my side of the family.

There was some dancing that went on.

There may or may not have been alcohol involved.

It was a nice time to get to talk to friends and family.

I really enjoyed myself, and if I didn't have to plan it,

I would totally want to do something like this all the time.

That being said...I'm too lazy.

I was so happy my parents enjoyed themselves,

but most important, I'm glad that they have had

50 wonderful years of marriage!

Dad's Day - All Day

The guys in our family had a pretty cool Father's Day.

Bret arranged for us all to have breakfast together 

(and paid for the entire meal - thanks Bret!)

My dad, Todd, Dennis, Lynn, Bret, Robb, Austin and Adam

were all in attendance.

We started off the morning with a breakfast buffet.

I didn't get a picture of my dad because I was too busy

talking and eating, and when I remembered to take

a picture, he had already left - darn it!

Bad Blogger!

The kids and I got Todd a Misfit Shine for Father's Day.

He is loving it because it tracks his exercise and sleep.

It's been a real eye opener as to how sedentary

a job he has, and how little sleep he gets every night.

ANYWAYS,

I did manage to get a picture of Todd's side of the family.

They stuck around a little longer so it was easy 

to round them up and get their pictures.

After breakfast we strolled around and looked 

at cars that were in the car show.

This was my dad's favorite car at the show.

It was a Studebaker Avanti.

Apparently this type is rare.

Really, I have no idea about cars,

but my dad was impressed with it.

Here are some details about the car.

We stood around visiting and looking at the cars

and around noon we headed home.

I made the kids take a picture with their daddy.

Then we all went in and relaxed/took a nap.

Todd had decided earlier in the day that he 

wanted to watch a movie, so  we watched

Edge of Tomorrow

with Tom Cruise.

Apparently all the dads had the same idea and

wanted to watch a movie.

After the movie, Bret had invited us up to his house

to visit and go swimming so we stayed until around 8 PM.

Bret and Todd relaxing pool side.

It was a fun packed day.

Busy 

but fun.

I don't think Todd could have asked for anything more.

So what did you do for your father

or special man on Father's Day?

El Dorado County Fair

Todd and I visited our local fair after work,

but this year we had some company.

The kids are home from college, so they 

decided to hang with ole mom and pop.

Why do we go to the fair every year?

For the exhibits?

No, but they have some nice ones.

For the animals?

No, but again they have some cute ones.

For the food?

Of course.

We love their 20/30 tacos and Old Faire Lemonade,

so we make go every year just so we can have them.

Lame, probably, but that's how we roll around here

(literally and figuratively).

Lexx, Cory (Lexxa's boyfriend) and Austin enjoying some yummy tacos.

Todd and I posing and listening to the Eagles cover band...

love that music!

After we finished eating we headed off to see the animals

(because we don't have enough of our own!).

Todd was mesmerized by this baby pygmy goat.

He just stood there on the top of his little house and stared..

and stared...

and stared.

See, I'm not lying.

He cracked me up.

They had all sorts of animals,

and I took tons of pictures of them,

but I only uploaded a couple of my favorites as not to bore you.

Here is little eyeliner bunny.

It freaked me out and intrigued me all at the same time.

It really does look like it has eyeliner.

See!

Doesn't it remind you of Beanie Boos?

We looked at the cows and pigs and monkeys,

then visited the CSI booth and flower and photography exhibit.

By the time we finished it was

 9 PM and my feet were killing me.

It was fun spending some family time with the kids

and enjoying a fun evening with 

entertainment and perfect weather.

So have you been to your local fair lately?

Sunday With Some of the Family

We celebrated Ole Uncle Lynn's birthday this past weekend.

Todd arranged to meet Lynn for breakfast,

and when we got to the restaurant, my parents were there.

It wasn't planned, but a very nice surprise.

We enjoyed a nice meal and some conversation,

and when breakfast was over, we all headed over 

to Lynn's house to see his new fireplace and floors.

Can I just say IMPRESSIVE!

Take a look for yourself.

The fireplace is beautiful.

Being the bad blogger that I am,

I didn't get a picture of his new floors,

but I did manage to get random other shots.

We all gathered on the porch because it

was a beautiful 100+ degrees.

I think it got to 103, but I don't really want to know

the actual temperature because high

temperatures make me really grumpy!

Here's a random photo of the kids and yours truly.

After a tour of Lynn's house, we headed over to Todd's

dads house.  He just got some Koi, and we 

had heard they were humongous.

We saw the fish in the first pond,

and while the fish were large, I wouldn't categorize

 them as humongous.

Then we headed to the second pond.

This bad boy looked like a whale!

He was HUGE, 

as in massive, as in I've never seen a Koi this large.

Here's a picture to give you a little perspective.

The Koi around him I would consider pretty decent size.

The fish must be like two feet long.

I know you are probably thinking,

"I can't believe she's going on about a fish."

but seriously guys...you have to see it to believe it.

We ended up spending most of the day

with family, and it was such a sweet time.

Everyone is so busy these days,

so it's a real treat when we get to visit.

So what did you do this weekend?

Did you see a fish the size of a whale?

It's Gettin' Cray Cray Round Here

Via

I've been absent from the blog a little more than usual this week.

I'm employed in the education field, I guess you could say, 

(I'm  not about to tell what it is I do over the Internet

so that some crazy can come and kill me in my sleep).

Anyhoo, because it's the end of the school year/

beginning of summer, work has been insane. 

I've been working long hours and some evenings,

so I'm just pooped when I get home.

Plus, we are finalizing plans for my parent's 50th

anniversary party AND the kids are home from college.

Needless to say, I haven't had much time for taking

pictures or blogging.  

Just be patient, and in a couple weeks, hopefully

everything should slow down and my blogging

schedule will be back to normal.

Have a great weekend.

XO

B

Chicken Cordon Bleu

One of the Todd's favorite recipes that I 

make is Chicken Cordon Bleu.

I found the recipe on allrecipes.com,

Original recipe makes 6 servings

Ingredients

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream



1.  Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick.  Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges.  Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks.  Mix flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces (I substituted flour and paprika for flavored bread crumbs).

2.  Heat the butter in a large skilled over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear 


3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a platter.  Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet.  Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken.  Serve warm.