Claim Jumper

It's been a long time since we've eaten at the Claim Jumper. I really love their food, and of course eating out is always a treat. Jamie's family from up north came to town and we went out both nights they were here. El Zolaco's was our first stop on Friday night. A great place for Mexican food in downtown Chandler. We ate on the patio under the tall heaters. I met Tom's lady, Sue for the first time and she and I had some great conversations. We went on to stay at Papa's Hilton so we could free up some space at home for the visiting relations.

The next night everyone was in town, so since Tom had never been to Claim Jumper it was decided to go there. Good choice. Below, from left to right are Jordan, Nikki, Jamie's nephew and girlfriend, Tom and Sue, Jamie's dad and companion.



Below from left to right is Shannon, Jamie's niece, Chuck and Dawn, Jamie's brother-in-law and sister.



Below and left to right are Summer and Jamie's kids, Jordyn, Taylor, Rylee, Dawn's daughter Jesse (behind the little Rylee who is Shannon's daughter).



Below are Grumpy and Papa K. They really like Claim Jumper too. It was fun for all of us.



And Summer and Jamie right after we ordered Mother Lode Chocolate Cake to go. It makes a great breakfast the next day. You can never have too much chocolate, right?

Ryker's Big Day

Ryker was so excited about getting baptized. He is kind of a quiet kid, around us anyway, but he was wound up pretty good as he looked forward to his baptism. He and his Daddy looked so handsome in their white jumpsuits as they got ready for their turn. Ryker was 1 of 3 boys being baptized in his ward on their stake baptism day. I got to design their programs and had a lot of fun doing that. I am posting what the program looked like since I probably won't keep one around forever. I had a great time doing them, and am always happy to make one more part of their day personal and special when I can. Of course I think he was the best looking kid on the program.



These folded into a trifold with the Order of Services on the front. It's always nice to have the words to the songs as there aren't always hymnbooks out in the rooms where the service takes place.


Handsome boys, and all excited for their day.



Above are most of the men that went to be in the confirmation circle for Ryker. Such a great heritage for Ryker to remember these fine men that were part of his special day.

After the service, we tried to go to the Olive Mill out in Queen Creek to eat. That was not to be. The wind was blowing so bad and the sky was threatening rain any minute, we ended up going down the road to Costa Vida for lunch. I guess I need to tape notes to my forehead to remember to take a few pics, because I didn't. It was a fun group of people and everyone had a good time. I hope Ryker knows how much we love him and are proud of him. He is an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints now. He has wonderful parents that will continue to lead and guide him in his path, and a whole bunch of extended family that will watch, help, and love him too.

I hope you will wear your CTR ring for the rest of your life. I know you will outgrow the one you have now Ryker, but always make sure you have one on your finger to remind you that Heavenly Father is close and will help you make good choices. Grumpy and I love you so very much.

Valentine Cookie Fairy

Every once in a while I get the urge to bake sugar cookies. Not often, so when I do it, it actually seems fun. I remember baking them for the kids to give as valentines in their respective classes when they were in grade school. That was back when Nana was here and always had icing around to do pretty edges with. This year for Valentine's I decided to bake for all my little and big Valentines. I just feel bad that I didn't get them done in time to send some with Taya for all my Valentines there. I guess I will have to bake some for them the next time I visit. I tried a new recipe I got off the internet, and it is a winner. The cookies held their shape well, and are wonderfully soft. I made the same icing I make for chocolate cake, without the chocolate. When you are doing cookies, you have to put it back on the burner every so often for it to stay spreadable, but I love the flavor. I will post the recipe on Nana's blog for the cookies as they are awesome. I was the Valentine Cookie Fairy last night as I delivered plates of cookies to my kids and grandkids. Kind of late in the day because we all know that procrastination is how I roll, but they can eat them for breakfast right?

Meanwhile, Grumpy made my Valentines Day as special as he could while getting ready to leave on a flight at 8:30 last night. Sunday he made me (attempted anyway) a chocolate souffle complete with whipped cream on top and maraschino cherries. He was so sweet to try a chocolate dessert he found in a magazine and wanted to make it for me. The souffle fell, but the piece I had was good nonetheless. There was a sentimental card, a handmade chocolate heart and a bag of York mint patty pieces to go with dessert Sunday night. I thought he was all done by Monday, so was surprised when roses complete with a box of chocolates showed up on the doorstep and dinner at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants was last for the day. He left from there to go to the airport, but called me from the hotel to say goodnight. He does this every night that he is gone. I am so lucky that he fell for me those many years ago. He is a rare catch. I surely love this man.

The Bootie Call

Baby Booties that is. I have done some calling to find out about the newborn need for booties. The Humanitarian Office here in the Valley is temporarily closed, so I called our Stake Humanitarian Specialist and apparently we are being encouraged to get more involved with our local community needs. I could still send stuff to Salt Lake for the world wide efforts, but I guess for now I will check with hospitals, etc. to see if there is a need for hats and booties. I just did the crochet pattern they offer for free at The Fiber Factory (downtown Mesa) and they turned out okay. It has been fun to learn a new thing, so hopefully I will be able to find a good use for them. I now have yarn in many colors and am currently working on a yellow set. It fills my time in the waiting rooms at Doctors offices, traveling in the car (when I'm with Grumpy) and sometimes at home. I like little projects like this I can take anywhere.

Good Stuff.

Mower's Annual Dinner

What a wonderful evening Tawna and Nathan gave to us. They pulled out all the stops and created a gourmet menu and set up tables complete with beautiful tableware to set the mood.



To greet us was a platter of crackers with Spinach and Artichoke dip. I had to be careful about how many I ate as I didn't want to be too full for dinner. Everyone enjoyed crackers and dip upon arriving and I wish I had been a better photographer for the night. I didn't get any pics of all of us attending. I really miss my brain sometimes.



The beautiful tables Tawna and Nathan set up. She went and checked out the dishes and candleabra from Nana's dish closet. It really was stunning to walk in to such a pretty sight.



Prepping the bread baskets and dipping oil to put on the tables for the meal.



Plating the salads to serve. Such a delicious salad. She made the salad we discovered at Lacy's bridal shower that Malea made. I will post the recipe for this and the other dishes she made for this dinner.



Plating the main course. Nathan sliced the Chicken Cordon Bleu while Tawna dished up the green bean bundles and the rice pilaf. A final ladel of the savory sauce over the chicken and the plates were served. I don't think I've eaten in a better restaurant ever! Tawna can really pull off some great feats in the kitchen. She is amazing.

After dinner we played a game of Battle of the Sexes. Very interesting game. The women were ahead when R.B. "accidently" knocked over the game board. Oh well. It isn't who wins, it's just fun to play. But the women won. For dessert Tawna baked her first cheesecake in a springform pan. It was wonderful. She put raspberries over the top and I of course forgot to get a pic of that. Everything was soooooooooo gooooooood. A pleasant evening/night and such a treat to talk and eat and spend time with each other. We missed Kevin this year as work prohibited him coming, but Papa stood in as Taya's date and I think he had a good time.

Thank you for your gift of dinner. They have made such precious memories and we look so forward to it every year now. I know it is a lot of work, but I hope you know how much it is appreciated. I love you guys.

Dinner for Christmas

I copied Tawna's idea for giving a dinner to my siblings for Christmas. Grumpy and I hosted the brothers and sisters on my side last weekend at Papa's house. It was so nice to get together and catch up on what's happening in our lives, and some of what's current in our kid's lives. It was great to have an evening where talk was uninterrupted and easy. I got into the dish closet at Papa's and used some casual but nice black and blue plates with plum, blue and other many colors striped placemats with matching napkins. The cobalt blue goblets were pretty and I love the nice table settings. I am a helpless dish addict, so half the fun for me is picking out the plates etc. for the table.

We tried to keep the food part simple, but not your every day menu. For a start, I made some of Nana's famous Chili Cheese Pimento and served it as a dip with crackers. It is so good, and we all like it. She used it as a sandwich spread for weddings. When she would cut off the crusts of the long bread and put it in a big bowl, we would grab some and enjoy it prior to wedding time. I will post the recipe for it and some of her other sandwich spreads on the Cooks blog. We also had Malea's delicious Spinach Salad that she made for Lacy's Shower, and Wedding. I could eat a ton of that stuff. Love it. We had Martinelli's Sparkling Grape and Apple Juices for our beverage as that is always a hit.
 

I chose to get some New York Strip steaks from Costco, and some Chicken breasts. Grumpy fired up the Hibatchi's (?) that Papa brought back from Japan years ago. It's been awhile since we have used them, so between he and Pop they got it figured out. They kind of smoke the food as it cooks and the flavor is wonderful. We had asparagus, zucchini/crookneck squash and rice pilaf to fill in the plates. It all turned out good and everyone ate their fill. Dessert was a variety of Ben and Jerry's pints to choose from. Some of the flavors were Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Strawberry Cheesecake, Vanilla Heath Bar, Boston Creme Pie and Karmel Sutra. 

The food was good, and I loved that we could sit and visit. We all have such crazy busy lives that we don't find a lot of time to just talk to each other as friends. My family has always been my best friends, so I treasure times like this a great deal. 

Bob and Syd brought us our Christmas present too. Christmas time is so crazy, we don't always get to each other's homes to exchange gifts before the big day. It's kind of nice after - stretches out Christmas a little. They got us some 5-gallon and 1-gallon buckets with some great lids. The lids are like the wonderful gamma lids I love so much, only not as expensive. The concept it the same though allowing easy access, but keeping a solid seal when it is closed. Thanks guys, now to fill them up.




I didn't give people time to smile when I took my candid shots. I just clicked while we were talking, and I wish I had gotten a few more pics. I never remember to pick up the camera. We had fun and I hope we can do more of that in the future. I know there is a wedding coming up in Bob and Syd's life, and Tracy and Kevin are just recovering from one. We are good to help through weddings though, our Mom taught us well.

I love you all, you are precious to me. Merry Christmas.