California Trip

My trip to California was way too short! It was super fun though! I went to go to my sister Maren's wedding on a cruise ship. I really, really wish I had been able to go on the cruise! It looked so fun!
I flew there with my parents and my sisters daughter Kiani and my aunt, uncle and cousin. It was Kiani's first airplane ride. Here she is playing peekaboo.

 Waiting to board and so excited to get onto that plain!

 Playing with Grandpa.

 Kiani is one lucky girl! They let her sit in the cockpit and wear the pilots hat. She was so excited and thought this was really where she was going to sit so she started putting her seat belt on. Gotta admit I was a little jealous! :)
 
 Outside the window before takeoff.

 She's so excited! I am excited to some day watch my kids do this.

 I love seeing views this high!

 I lucked out big time on the flight there, no one sitting to my left...

 or right! They were taken when I looked online but guess they didn't show. I had even switched to this seat so I could be up by my family, my previously planned seat and the ones next to it were full!!!

 Sippin' some Gingerale

I loved the clouds.

 We finally met up with Kylee, Matt and Brooke. Brooke was having fun balancing the cup on her head.

 We went to Manhattan Beach Pier and shopped around a little bit before going for a swim. We tried cupcakes from this little cupcake shop (I can't remember the name of it now). They were winners of Cupcake Wars in 2011 so we just had to try a cupcake.

 So exciting! Almost there.

 Kylee forgot to pack a swimming suit for Brooke so she's just in her diaper. She still had just as much fun!

 This is right after she stuck her whole face and head on top of the sand.

Yuck! Kylee, you have a very long tongue!!!

 There were some pretty big waves.

 Love your face Kylee! A huge wave had just come in and gotten them pretty wet.

 We had gone a little too far so the wave was pulling us in. It was fun!

We did actually swim, but by that point the camera was put away. We swam till I snorted the water, which burned for a long time! But hey, I believe it got rid of my cold that I started to get the night before!

 I loved walking by all these houses, looked like a fun place to live, minus the traffic.

 On the pier.

 Lots of people were fishing, maybe I can drag Kerby here after all.

 Grandpa and Brooke walking to the birds.

 This made Brooke a little nervous.

 Cool starfish. We got to touch them with one finger.

 A super long eel.

 Some little sharks.

 A stingray.

 It came over to my hand and kept trying to jump/slide out of the water.

 So cool to see these Jellyfish.

 On the drive to go to dinner the sunset became beautiful and I barely snapped this picture before we turned.

 Brooke was exhausted.

 We stopped to eat at The Habit Burger Grill. I got a Teriyaki Charburger with grilled pineapple and it was very good. I can see people being addicted to those burgers!

 Getting ready for Maren's wedding. Brooke looks so pretty in her yellow dress and pink hair bows. They fell out and one broke so we redid her hair but it was still adorable.

 Looking out our hotel window.

 Here's our view.

Ok we're at the cruise ship. We were supposed to go wait on the Queen Mary for a couple hours but they didn't have us do that. We were a little sad we didn't get to go inside.

 Not sure what that building is but it looks cool with all the palm trees around it.

 Kiani went to Disneyland for the day on Saturday and she got these little cars. While we were waiting to board the cruise ship she was serving them this little salad she created for them with bark and grass. :) So cute!

 Maren and Josh, excited to just get this done!

 There's the cruise ship! I was so excited to step inside one.

 So cool already!

 The view from the deck.

 Part of the water slide.

 There's the Queen Mary we were supposed to hang out in.

 Here is Kylee playing around with the bathroom hand blow dryer! So funny!

We ate the cruise ship buffet for lunch then went to the wedding!
Here is the reason I went, watch the video for lots of pics of my sister Maren's wedding. It was fun and I'm glad I was able to come.  Maren you were gorgeous in your wedding dress and Kiani was so pretty.

Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie

Well since I've been busy packing for California today and working my new thing for the day is something quick and simple. Marlene at work bought a Ghirardelli Intense Dark Midnight Reverie 86% Cacao chocolate bar. She tried it, didn't like it...too dark.  Amanda and Lauren tried it and didn't like it either. They talked me into trying it, even though I already hate regular chocolate, why on earth would I like it when they don't even like it?? Milk chocolate tastes bitter to me, so imagine how 86% dark chocolate would be fore me? Super bitter! Cori tried it and said it was ok. I said Kerby would probably like it so brought it home to him and he tried it and guess what? He didn't like it either, neither did any of my kids. Man, if things don't have enough sugar in them they just aren't good are they? :) Well, now we all know not to buy that again!

Blog post will not be happening tomorrow! I'll do it on Monday when I'm home. :)

J Dawgs

Today I finally tried a hotdog from J Dawgs in Provo. At work they gave them to us for free and they were very tasty. I discovered quickly that I should have put more of their special sauce, which was one of the best bbq sauces I've ever had, a little less sauerkraut and no pickle. I've never had sauerkraut before and honestly was a little surprised that it was kinda sour....don't ask why because I don't know! Hello! That's why it's called sauerkraut! ;) Now I know why everyone loves J Dawgs so much. The bun, hotdog and sauce were really good. I'm a big fan now and will probably be craving that sauce for a really long time. Marlene found a copycat recipe online for the sauce so one of these days I'll have to make it and buy the J Dawgs sauce and compare the two, or have others compare them not know which is which. That will be fun!

Cheesy Bacon Squash Casserole

 

 For dinner I made this Cheesy Squash Casserole again but I added Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces and a little more half and half to it and it was so good. This recipe is already delicious but the bacon made it even more delicious! The casserole dish was scraped out! I ate way too much and was so full after. If you've got squash and/or zucchini and don't know what to do with it, this is what you need to do with it! This or this other recipe I created is very good too Sausage Zucchini Bake.

Recipe:

By Kristi Black

Cheesy Squash Casserole

3 lbs yellow squash, sliced (I used some zucchini too)

1 lg onion, sliced

1/2 c. butter

2 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 c. butter

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. half & half

1/2 lb Velveeta Cheese, cubed

2.8 oz pkg Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 º. Boil squash and onion in salted water until barely tender, drain. While squash is cooking prepare topping by melting 1/2 c. butter in skillet, saute crackers in butter until crisp and browned, set aside. Make a white sauce by melting 1/4 c. butter in a sauce pan, add cornstarch and half & half and mix together. Add Velveeta cheese, stir until smooth. Stir in bacon pieces. Arrange squash and onion in 9x13 baking dish, pour white sauce over squash, top with cracker topping. Bake 25 min. or until hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Strawberry Apricot Jam

 Tina, Collette and I made more jam, we made plain apricot and plain strawberry. Then Tina came up with the brilliant idea to make strawberry-apricot jam. I cringed and said I thought that sounded gross and was very hesitant to do it. Tina kept saying she thought it would be good. So, we tried it and guess what? IT. WAS. SO. GOOD. It's one of the best jams I've ever made or tasted. It has the perfect sweetness with a slight tang. Yum! All that was missing was home-made bread to put it on. It was heavenly fresh and warm. Great idea Tina. I'll be doing that every year! We just combined the strawberry and apricot recipes and it worked out perfectly! It's also a pretty reddish/orange color.

Age Of The Dragons

Kerby and I rented this movie and I've read a lot of bad reviews for it. I actually thought it was ok. It was by far my favorite movie but I'd watch it again. I wouldn't buy it or spend money on it again though. I have to say it made me want to read the book. Ahab went crazy because he ran away from the dragon and left his sister there to die. So he spends the rest of his life hunting the white dragon.  The acting by some of the actors and actresses could have been better but overall it was a movie I enjoyed watching. There were lots of sad, gory parts though which I expected with it being a dragon movie.

Maren's Bridal Shower

 Today Skylar and I went to my sister Maren's bridal shower. We had lunch at Jim's Family Restaurant in Riverton. It was fun to see family and friends I haven't seen for a long time, also to meet more of Maren's soon to be family. One week from today I'll be flying to California to watch her and Josh get married. It will be a fun but short trip. I hope they have a happy life together. The day is almost here!