A day in the life: January woods exploration with Papa

#gooddaughteraward

Eh-hem. Yup, you read that hash tag correct. GOOD DAUGHTER!! No, but really.

Over Christmas break, Hubs, kids, dogs and I made the trek to my parent's house in the Northern Sierras. Think ice, cold and snow. And more cold.

So one thing I have started really taking pride in is my ability to meal plan and prep food for multiple meals. Occasionally such pride gets me in trouble when someone approaches me asking for help to which I stammer and worry endlessly that I'll screw up their food or that my ideas a stupid or some other nonsensical concern.

My parents are on a [fairly] strict diet mainly consisting of Vegan fare, though Vegetarian is ok and occasional white meat still makes it to their plates. Due to various health reasons and life choices, this is what they are up against. My household - as you can plainly see - is not so much in Vegan-world. And that's fine! If it were up to me, we'd go meatless at least once/week but Hubs might would have a small heart attack at the mere notion of something non red meat related.

Meat? Good. Potatoes? Good. Me like meat. 

Ah, but I digress (love you Hubs! Xo). So my big Christmas gift to them this year was to go shopping and give them the gift of food. I planned meals and shopped accordingly, wrapping non-perishables in a   box decked out with ribbon and wrapping paper while stuffing refrigerated items in a cooler and placing a red bow on top. When they opened it, they were ecstatic thinking I had grocery shopped for them. I mean, who doesn't want to avoid the grocery store if possible?? But then I elaborated, explaining that the next day I would prep ALL of the food and put it in their (newly purchased) freezer. Cue #gooddaughteraward.

I didn't stick to primarily Vegan or Vegetarian, but a lot was. Here's what they got:

• (4) Spicy Black Bean Soup (homemade beans and Vegan)
• (4) 4 Bean Chili (homemade beans and Vegan)
• (4) Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce (Vegan)
• (4) trays of Chicken/Black Bean/Green Chili Enchiladas (not Vegan)
• (2) Creamy Tomato Soup w/ Cheese Tortellini (Vegetarian)
• (2) large trays of Garden Vegetable Rotini (Vegetarian)
• (6) Containers of Pinto Beans (homemade and Vegan)
• (20) Rice/Bean/Chicken Burritos wrapped in foil for quick lunch or dinner

Mmmmm...Sauteed veggies for the pasta

Tri-color Rotini tossed with above veggies and topped with Parmesan and Mozzarella. Just need to bake it!

4 trays of enchiladas. Perfect serving size for 2

4 bags of 5 burritos each ready to be heated, 2 trays of pasta and 4 enchiladas

Neatly labeled (thanks painter's tape!)

Fully stocked freezer :)

I will add links to the recipes soon so you can make them at home. Super easy and healthy!

Per mom and dad: The enchiladas were great! Yay!!

Peace Out :)

If the Zombie Apocalypse comes....we're set

The boys got some neat-o gifts for Christmas. "Neat-O" loosely translated means not very exciting if you're a girly girl like me. But, I don't suppose they would be all too thrilled with my Canon or fancy kitchen supplies, so I'm glad they're happy.

SO exciting!

Must have targets

Strategically placing them

SoA fans, this is his best "Opie" impression

"Ok Son, this is what you need to do..."

"Got it. I know what I'm doing."

"See...."

"Oh wait...Is this right?"

Ready? Aim......

Well poop. That arrow went a little further than it was supposed to. 

Barry

Adjusting

Working it through with Daddy

Keep your friends close but your Tomahawks closer

Ya, we're going to go in now. 

Peace Out :)

Post Holiday Crazies

The holidays are finished. Whew. I love Christmas more than any other holiday but for some reason, it was super sneaky this year and suddenly we were two days away. How did that happen? Our day was quiet and reserved and filled with family traditions. The boys GREATLY enjoyed their gifts and by golly, it was SO fun being tricky Santa and hiding Hubs' present under the tree after he went to sleep. His face in the morning was priceless.

"Um, do we know anything about that huge present under the tree?"

Heehee.

"What present? Don't look at me! Santa probably left it there!" Said as innocently as humanly possible. 

 The rest of break was filled with more family time and outdoor exploration of the property and use of the new toys. Pictures to follow:

Christmas Eve festivities at Aunt Mindy's and Uncle Jarrett's 

Heather and Papa on Christmas Eve

Ethan

Kenzie playing with the new camera!

Braden was so excited to open presents 

Miss Leah Belle and Kenzie

After Santa visited on Christmas Eve

Presents under the tree

Allie Bear 

That is one stoked Ethan!! 

It's a longboard!! Yippee! 

Hubs wondering what in the world could be in this huge box!

There are Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in a nutshell. The evening was wonderful. Hubs' parents came down for Christmas dinner and I baked my first ever fresh ham. While it took a little longer than I expected, it was pretty darn tasty. Add some pecan topped sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, homemade parker house rolls and green beans and it was a tasty meal all around.

Peace Out :)