Keeping.... sort of.... busy

I got a great Instant Pot recipe book for Christmas and Marian has been looking for things to try.  She made this beef stew and it was delicious!  I have never purchased a rutabaga or a parsnip before, so that was a new experience.  But again, this was so yummy!!

Callie and Levi, sharing a blanket and snuggles.  And some Netflix.

We went back to hike the Mission Trails with our friends. It was rather chaotic with 6 girls and two dogs, but it was fun.

We tried making donuts.  I really don't like frying food, so we did the baking kind.  I was underwhelmed and unimpressed. I may look up a different recipe, but these were pretty forgettable.

This is my sink.  Dan got me a faucet that is high enough to make the sink more user-friendly.  It is still a work in progress as we need to get a soap dispenser for that empty hole.  I'm just thrilled to have a sink with a faucet that makes life easier!

 

Another Tuesday, another Trail

We went back to the big mountain for our Tuesday Trail. Okay, fine, I finally looked it up and it is the MissionTrails Regional Park.  It just has lots of different paths to take and I am running out of little canyon trails.   The weather was warm and sunny and the sky was glorious.  We had a good hike and I think everyone enjoyed it.  The girls had fun posing for me on the rocks, so I consider it a success!

 

Wisdom Teeth Blues

It was recommended that Callie get her wisdom teeth our sooner rather than later, because the roots on her bottom teeth were growing into the nerve.  Since Rylee and Marian had had decent experiences with the oral surgeon up the road, we took Callie there too.  I will not embarrass her (too much) by mentioning how hysterical (and not the funny kind) she was about the iv. The oral surgeon was awesome and got it done and then she went to sleep.

This is her, right after getting home.  She's giving me a thumbs up so I know she's okay. She had just spent 2 minutes shaking her head and giggling at how it felt like she was on a roller coaster, and then she flopped over.

Levi was very concerned about her and she told him she was fine and that he was a good dog.

Callie was vastly amusing and I laughed so very hard. We got some great videos. When I asked how she felt, she told me she was like a toaster, and you put the toast in and it goes to another dimension, and she's the toast in another dimension. 

She's telling me that she can't feel her tongue, and can't tell if she's touching her tongue or her lips.  I told her that if it felt dry, it was her lips, but if it felt wet, then it was her tongue.  She thought I was brilliant.  

She did amazing, even when the hilarity wore off. She wasn't in too much pain, but she kept on top of the meds.  She was really swollen (all 4 teeth were impacted), and she couldn't move her jaw for almost a week.  But she was great, and she survived!

 

A Great Tuesday Trail

We tied a trail that turned out to be a lot of fun.  It took us into the canyon and had a lot of terrain variety and we had a good time.

We like a nice trail without a lot of rocks.

And look!  Everyone was willing to pose for me!

Fallen logs make it even better.  We like climbing on stuff.

An extra nice feature is that this trailhead is by a park.

So we played there too.  But mostly climbed the trees because they were more fun than the playground.

 

Post Christmas Fugue

I do love Christmas Break, and I love having nothing to do.  But when there is nothing to do, it is hard to remember what day it is and what you maybe meant to do and nothing gets done. Here are the "post Christmas, before life found a routine again" pictures.

I thought this was quite appropriate this year!

Dad sent me glorious photos of the snowy weather he was having and included a gorgeous snow covered tree picture.  So I sent him this.  This is the tree in my backyard, where it was sunny and 74.

Marian and I trolled the Christmas Clearance.  Pickings were slim, but still worth the effort.

Callie tried a recipe from her new cookbook and proclaimed it tasty.

McKenna got these cute pots for the girls.  They painted them and put cute succulents in them.  And now they decorate the window and make me happy.

Marian made lumpia.  I never make it because it is so tedious.  But with two of us, it went pretty well and the results were so worth the effort!