Beautiful Charleston, South Carolina was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II of England. Stroll the streets with us on our family’s first visit to America’s Most Friendly City. If a trip to Charleston is something that you might like, take a peek at our adventure.Continue Reading
Charleston and Folly Beach Getaway
Folly Beach, just south of Charleston, was our home away from home recently. A lovely getaway from the cold and a special time with family we don’t see often. We were all first time visitors to this South Carolina port city founded in 1670. The weather was mostly perfect for our Charleston and Folly Beach getaway family vacation.Continue Reading
Spooky Halloween Food
read with a slow, deep, menacing accent…
Do come in my friend…
I have prepared for you fiendish and Spooky Halloween food that will send shivers down your spine…Continue Reading
A week with Shaela
We spent a long weekend visiting our daughter in upstate NY while her husband, Brad was in Massachusetts doing a two-week intense study as he works toward his school administration certificate. The five hour drive can become boring but not with a spectacular sunset.
Hawaiian Pasta Salad
Hawaiian Pasta Salad, brightly colored with an abundance of crisp veggies makes a perfect summer salad. It is a hearty one too, with the tortellini and diced ham. I served it at a graduation party as a side dish but it would be a great entrée served with crusty bread (and maybe a glass of wine) for a lovely summer supper.Continue ReadingPotato and Ham Soup
When plans to be out for the day suddenly changed and I found I had nothing pressing to do, I knew immediately what I wanted. I called my sister and was thrilled she was able to come for a visit. We chatted, caught up on family, laughed and ate a light lunch of potato and Ham Soup while Jared, Abbey, Erin and John popped in and out.
Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
I wanted to send my daughter and family and their sweet friends off with a hearty breakfast before their long drive home but I didn’t want to waste moments in the kitchen that could be spent enjoying their visit. A make-ahead breakfast helped out.
Jill, Brad and kids along with their good friends and their three sons drove here from upstate New York, spent the night, then flew to Florida for their dream vacation at Disney. After their return flight, they all stayed over again. Because they are not able to get (real) Philly cheese steaks and pizza at home, their request was to get take-out for dinner from our favorite restaurant. It took a trek through eight-inches of fresh snow and freezing temperatures to pick up three pizza’s and ten cheese steaks to fill up the twenty-four people gathered together.
Breakfast the next morning included Breakfast Burritos, Blueberry Boy Bait cake and Baked Oatmeal.
The Breakfast Burritos, made the day before, were stacked in a dish, covered with plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator. At serving time, I removed the plastic wrap and warmed them in the microwave at 60% power until heated through. 
Leftover burritos were wrapped individually and placed in the freezer. Directions below for reheating instructions.
Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
source: Taste of Home
Ingredients
1 pound Jimmy Dean® Premium Pork Sausage Roll
1-1/2 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green or red pepper
4 eggs, lightly beaten
12 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Picante sauce or salsa (optional)
sour cream (optional)
Directions
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the potatoes, onion and pepper; cook and stir for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Add eggs; cook and stir until set.
Spoon filling off center on each tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up. Serve with picante sauce or salsa and sour cream, if desired.
To freeze and reheat burritos: Wrap each burrito in waxed paper and foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. To use, remove foil and waxed paper. Place one burrito on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 2 to 2-1/4 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165°, turning burrito over once. Let stand for 20 seconds.
Yield: 12 burritos.
Blueberry Boy Bait is a yummy cake any time and it also freezes well. I baked one the day before and refrigerated. Here is the link for the Blueberry Boy Bait recipe.
I didn’t make the Baked Oatmeal ahead but did gather the ingredients together for quicker preparation in the morning. Here is the link for the Baked Oatmeal recipe.
After a long drive, a week of non-stop vacation, running and playing with cousins, the kids spent some less physical time on their devices as the grown-ups chatted. No doubt this generation is connected, comfortable and capable using technology!
After breakfast, they were off on the last leg of their journey. They arrived home safe and sound but not quite ready for…
Family Recap
I have been so busy this past month that I am just now catching up on family photos. These are the posts the little ones love best ~ the ones filled with their sweet faces.
These are my favorite posts too.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
love…
the following photos were taken by a talented young photographer named Rebecca and posted on her blog
She shared a very sweet post (and many more photos) about this family.
It warmed this mama’s heart
❤
Cousins Camp ~ Part 4 Wrap Up
~ DAY 5 ~
After a full and exciting day at the water park, we spent Thursday at a relaxed pace. Ryan stayed over Aunt Jamie’s to be with the boys and Keri stayed here with the girls.
Cousins Camp ~ Part 3
~ DAY 4 ~
John took a vacation day on Monday to join us at Sahara Sam’s Oasis Indoor/Outdoor Water Park.
This place is less than 15 minutes from home so we saved travel time and gas mileage plus we qualified for discount tickets using our AAA card. No one was happier to officially be a senior than John that day as his ticket was FREE! And, FREE makes him very happy 🙂
After the girls had their early morning tea on the patio, we all met at the water park and it was off to cross the crocodile flats on swaying lily pads.
Here Jared convinces his PopPop he will not get drenched along the Lazy River Congo Bongo.
Would you had believed that boy?!?
One of us preferred to stay alert and avoid most of the deluges 😉
For the kids, getting waterlogged was the goal.
Silas, the youngest stuck close by Jared who kindly accompanied him throughout the day.
over and over and over they climbed the steps, hopped into their tubes and zoomed down the winding shoots to be deposited in a pool of water at the bottom
There are four slides and the kids made use of them all. A 350-feet body slide, Snake Eyes for a single person tube or a double person tube and the Kilimanjaro that is family size.
Jared accompanied the girls many times
And you didn’t think he would let me off the hook, did you?
That first curve was quite jolting so I prayed, relaxed (sort of) and looped and swirled to the bottom.
All of the colorful slides wind around the outside of the building.
We saved a bundle of money by bringing lunch. There is NO food or drinks allowed to be brought into the park so I packed hoagies I made in the morning, orange slices, chips, cookies and drinks. We headed to the parking lot to have our tailgate lunch. Not very elegant but the kids devoured it all, even the ones who usually have small appetites!
After lunch, they wanted to return to the inside park. Then they saw the awesome wave pool.
After watching some really amazing people on the FlowRider Surfing Simulator, Noah and Ryan wanted to give it a try. We had to sign a special waiver before they could and we weren’t sure how they would do. We’d been watching a lot of people and it looked quite challenging.
I love their faces of determination as they rode the waves and managed to stay on their boards for the duration!
It was hard to end the day.
“Just once more on the….
just once more?
We stayed to nearly closing.
Cousins Camp ~ Part 2
~ DAY 3 ~
Sunday morning was spent at church with cousins Keri, Noah, Silas, Caleb, Cambrie, Chloe and baby Jet.
Afterward, the girls went with me to Aunt Erin’s Salon to learn some hair styling techniques. Ryan tagged along to hang out with his oldest cousin, Jared.
Aunt Erin showed us great blow-drying and curling iron techniques, gave the girls goody bags and served amazing appetizers
Beee-U-T-ful girls
Early evening, their request was for me to take “TRICKY PICS” of them.
And, here they are being “TRICKY”!
Cousins Camp ~ Part 1
We had an action packed July with grandkids and I know they are looking forward to seeing photos of our adventures together. It will probably take me all of August just to recap July!
I guess I will start with this week and work backwards 😉
Cousins Camp
~ DAY 1 ~
Cousins Camp began by meeting at a halfway point (Clarks Summit, PA) to pick up our New York grandchildren.
We had lunch with their parents then piled the kids and luggage into our car for a week long adventure.
Cherry or Blueberry Fruit Bars
Cherry or blueberry fruit bars are easy and quick to prepare, bake in a sheet pan and are so pretty and appealing. Perfect for breakfast and dessert. I first saw a recipe for fruit bars on Taste of home and then on my friend, Sandi’s blog, Wayside Treasures. My son-in-law’s mom makes something similar. So, I made it for a special dinner with our family.
snapshot
a quick snapshot of busy days and special moments
chubby toddler hands
French braids
surprise 90th birthday party
kids and grandkids visiting
fun with cousins
longtime friends
convo with pop-pop
A Day with Brenna
Last month, I got a text from my daughter, Jill..
I couldn’t say no to a special request like that!
So, I asked my daughter, Jamie, if I could take little Cambrie for company during my drive up north.
The day before our trip, I picked up a very excited little girl. That evening, a less than excited little girl decided she really needed her mom so I drove her back home.
Early the next morning, she changed her mind and so I drove back to her house and we got on the road together.
Because she drank all of her apple juice too quickly and we had to stop at the Allentown rest stop.
When she saw the sign there, she realized she needed Auntie Anne’s cinnamon pretzels for the rest of the journey.
While I spent the next day with Brenna, Aunt Jill took Cammie to Build*A*Bear and then out for lunch.
Brenna-Bean and I boarded the school bus, with lots of other 3rd graders, that drove us to Syracuse and the MoST (Museum of Science and Technology)
I have to say, this part of central New York did not get the memo that it is officially SPRING evident by the cold, the snow and the ice that I had to scrape from the car and drive through.
While visiting, Ryan showed me that he too, like his cousin, Jared has learned the algorithms and can solve the Rubik’s Cube
Before our homeward bound journey, Aunt Jill took us out for breakfast.
(and then she kindly followed me to a gas station and helped me fill my car tank, since this Jersey Girl has only pumped her own gasoline a few times e v e r!)
~Cambrie (hugging Build*A*Bear) and I made the 300+ mile drive home with NO stops~
and guess who cried because she didn’t want to go home
🙂
Last night the phone rang and when I answered, this is what I saw…
Brenna and Shae! A face to face video phone call ~ so fun!
then a text
❤
Thank YOU, Brenna! Mom-Mom loves you!