Birthday Party

We celebrated Aunt Katherine & Aunt Sharon`s birthdays on Saturday. Nana made delicious apple pie & mini chocolate cupcakes. We had fun splashing in the kiddy pool, watching the girls do some crazy stunts and ate some yummy food. The girls also picked some strawberries while we tried to fight off the flies. We all moved indoors to cool off and to play a game of canasta.

Edmonds Beach

Yesterday, we spent the day at the beach. Thank goodness for NO RAIN!! Though the seagulls did try to steal our lunch, we had a fun time building castles with seaweed & driftwood. This is a great place to watch the painters by the shore and the sailboats go by. We didn`t see any scuba divers...maybe to cold for them.

Nana`s Roses, Papa`s Garden, & Lazy Days of Summer

 Today was a perfect day to sleep in late, to read while it rained outside, to get up only at lunch time for Nana`s homemade peach pie, to take a long afternoon nap, to wake up with the warmth of sun shining through the bedroom window, and to take a evening walk through the garden with Papa.

 After gettin` some weeds, Papa checked his mole trap.

 Jenna is faithful to follow Papa in the yard. She is his best companion at the garden.

We thank God for His blessings of rest, happiness, and vegetables in the garden.

Chiles Rellenos

I made these SUPER chiles rellenos for the potluck today. Nana found the recipe in the"Great Eats-Darrington Community Center Cookbook". The cookbook was a Christmas gift from our neighbor, Gretchen. It contains alot of good recipes. Nana has been making this delicious dish for a few of our family get-togethers. Aunt Katherine loves it and requested the dish for our 4th of July BBQ. I thought that we could share the recipe. Here it is:

CHILES RELLENOS
1 pound of grated cheddar cheese
(you can also use Monterey Jack but we prefer cheddar)
3-7 oz. cans whole green chiles
3 eggs (beaten)
3 T. flour
Half cup of milk
1-15 oz. Tomato Sauce or Enchilada Sauce (optional)

Wash chiles, remove seeds and pat dry. In a greased 9"x13" baking pan, layer half of the chiles. Then half the cheeses, repeat the layers, but save 1/2 cup of cheese for the topping. In a bowl, beat the eggs, flour, and milk until smooth. Pour the egg mixture over the chiles then add the 1/2 cup of topping cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Then add tomato sauce or enchilada sauce (optional). Let it set for 15 minutes then cut into squares. Makes 8-10 servings.

Mexican Fiesta

Today was a happy & little sad day. At the Y, we are saying "goodbye" to our co-worker & friend...Miss Myra. She is heading off to Europe for a long backpacking trip through Spain & France. When she returns, she will be going back to college and taking a break from working. We will miss her but wish her safe travels. To celebrate our friendship, we had a fun get-together & potluck of delicious Mexican food.

Yard Work & Natural Weed Killers

This weekend, Papa and Nana were busy doing yard work. Nana mowed the lawn while Papa tried to tackle all the weeds along the fence line. He first used the weed eater then Nana read about some natural weed killers...rock salt & vinegar. So we are trying to kill the weeds in the driveway with those two ingredients. Nana first sprinkled the rock salt on the weeds then Papa sprayed them with vinegar. The spray is a mixer of half vinegar & half water. We are hoping for two to three days of sun so the weeds can soak up the vinegar. The vinegar is suppose to kill the weeds all the way to the roots. Jenna seems to like the vinegar. She decided to roll in it after Papa was finished spraying. Now we want to get rid of the crows. They are a huge pest in our yard. Nana calls them a nuisance and she is mad that they have already killed one robin`s nest full of eggs. She yells at them through the kitchen window. I think she scares me more than them. She hopes Jenna will get them. I don`t know...Jenna is pretty comfortable at spending her day laying on the porch.