Lake Cabin

Another day at the lake during our vacation, this time we went to Reflection Lake. John's mom invited us up for the afternoon since Robert & Carmela were in town visiting. She invited my mom too, so we stopped by to pick her up before heading up. John took the canoe out while I stayed inside and visited. Then we all enjoyed a potluck lunch.

Everyone brought something to the potluck. I tried out two different salad recipes.

CHICKEN PASTA SALAD
16 oz package bow tie pasta
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 cup diced celery
1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained
2 cups red grapes
3 green onions, chopped
6 oz package Craisins
1 cup cashews
1 large can mandarin oranges, drained
16 oz bottle coleslaw dressing
1 cup mayonnaise

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl combine pasta with chicken, celery, pineapple, grapes, green onions, Craisins and mandarin oranges. in a small bowl whisk together dressing and mayonnaise. Add to pasta and toss to coat evenly. Chill at least one hour. Add cashews immediately before serving.

GREEN BEAN PASTA SALAD
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted in the oven)
12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 pound thin fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half
8 oz package penne pasta
2 cups seedless red grapes, cut in half
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1 3/ cup red wine vinegar
Dash salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cook the bacon in a skilled until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Cook beans in boiling salted water 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge the beans into ice water to stop the cooking process so they stay crisp. Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Mix together the pasta, beans, grapes, onion, past and bacon in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar and salt. Pour over the salad and toss well. Cover and chill 3 hours.

Hartman's at the Lake

We did take a day to "play" during our vacation by heading to Twin Lakes and spending the day at the Hartman's lake place. Got there after lunch and had fun tubing much of the afternoon. Christopher had a friend from school, so we all would alternate. I went with Audrey once and Christopher once. John went with Richard once. You can see by the photos we were having a great time!

We headed back to the shore where Mary got out their latest toy, some paddle boards. She got on one and I got on one and we went down the lake towards Amy's house and back. I was able to get on without too much issue and enjoyed the time during the "paddle", but it was a little confusing how to get off without flipping it over if you were doing this by yourself. Thankfully there was someone on the dock to give me a hand. It was fun but certainly made my toe and calf muscles "wake up" : )

We hung around for dinner (yummy barbecue pork ribs, watermelon and homemade peach ice cream for dessert) and then played a really fun game called "Cover Your Assets". We played it with a regular card deck though you can buy the Grandpa Beck's specific version. Rules of play:  "Players make pairs of the same asset cards and place them stack, face up on the table. Each player has his own collection of assets, and must keep them in plain view of other players. Pairs are placed alternately; horizontal and vertical, to keep the sets separate. This is how you “Cover Your Assets!” Collect as many assets as possible and try to keep them from being stolen by other players!"   Fun day!!

Vacation - fun times

We all cleared our calendar for the last week of August to be our family vacation. Problem was, we could not decide what to do. We tossed out multiple ideas, but none were interesting to everyone. Finally, Audrey asked John if we should just remodel one of the rooms. First time he replied with any excitement, so we decided on the music room. Besides starting the project this week, we also know how to have fun and scheduled 2 annual physicals, 1 eye appointment, 3 oil changes, 1 vet annual appointment, 1 YM meeting and attended a Court of Honor - all in the last 10 days of August. Wow, do we know how to have fun or what?!  When we first finished the music room 20 or so years ago, the pink wallpaper seemed like such a great idea. We started our remodel this week by stripping off the wallpaper. Fun times....

The cat decided to help us on the music room and made herself at home on my piano. Something she has never done!

Drive Inn Movies

We heard the drive-in located in Colville might be closing if they did not raise enough money to convert to the new required digital format, so thought we'd take a drive up there to catch it one last time. We drove up early on Saturday and spent the day checking out the local shops. We explored a place called Barmans right on Main Street. Had a lunch counter and a soda fountain, antiques for sale and 2 upper floors that are currently being restored. We then went to a scrapbook and antique store (Forget Me Not) and then drove over to where the Colville Fair was taking place. It was rainy so we decided to drive to Kettle Falls instead and checked out a few more antique shops (A Kick in the Attic and Red Apple Trading Post). We drove back to Colville and went to Stephani's Oak for dinner. Ordered chicken fettuccine, a Cajun fish dish and a Canadian Bacon and chicken dish. Way too much food for us to finish!

We stopped at our hotel (Comfort Inn) and relaxed until it was time to go to the movies. Since they don't open until "dusk" we had plenty of time. Tonight's double feature was Turbo and Wolverine.

A lot of the attendees drove up in their vintage cars - it was fun to see all the different cars that had been restored. We felt like we were ruining their groove because we were the only newer car in the back row (for awhile). When it got closer to movie time, it packed in nicely with folks in the back of truck beds and vans full of kids. I slept during a big part of both movies (no surprise to Audrey) so thankfully we had gotten the hotel to stay in. We spent the night and drove home the next day.

Graduation Celebration

Audrey just finished her AA degree from Spokane Community College so we decided to celebrate today. We went to see Red 2 at the Village Center Cinemas and then went to Franks Diner for dinner (well, breakfast for some of us). We absolutely loved Red, so very excited to see Red 2. Did not disappoint! Congratulations to Audrey!

Projects at Mom's

We kind of took over a few things at mom's house this summer. Not sure she really knew how much upheaval it would cause when she first agreed to it - sorry! I wanted to move her movies into one area (from the living room to her bedroom). John built some shelves around her bedroom window and we moved them all there. I also wanted all her books to be in one area. She had some in her bedroom and in a few other locations, so we moved them all into her library. And then when we were looking at her stairway, we offered to peel the wallpaper and paint. So basically we had her home in the midst of projects from the end of May until a high school class reunion she had scheduled for the first part of August. It finally got done with a ton of work from everyone. Definitely a team effort!

Living Room After

Stairway Before and After

Library During and After

Texas Tacos

Tried a new recipe today. They were very good and an easy way to use up leftover rice. We really liked them as a change from regular tacos.

TEXAS TACOS
1 & 1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 & 1/3 c. frozen corn, thawed
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 TB chili powder
Cooked Rice
Taco Shells
Toppings: Tomatoes, shredded lettuce, olives, cheese, sour cream

In a large skilled cook ground beef, red peppers and onion over medium heat until beef is cooked through and no longer pink. Drain grease. Mix in tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce and chili powder. Bring to boil and add rice. Heat mixture through. Serve n taco shells and top as desired.

Homework

Well, this is my idea of homework. Audrey had one last class at SCC, a literature class. Besides reading "The Great Gatsby" they could also see the movie to write a paper comparing the two. Audrey found it playing at the Garland (since it was no longer a first run movie) so right after work I headed over and we watched a movie "for homework". Movie was kind of intense. Definitely had to pay attention to get the entire plot. Later when Audrey read the book and had to list out what was different between the movie and the story, she was able to share with me the differences before turning in her paper. Interesting!

Brianna's Visit - Part 4

August 5 - Monday - Today was Brianna's last day in town. Mariska met up with Brianna and Audrey and they went to Silverwood for the day. They stopped at McDonald's for lunch before getting to the park. They ran into one of Mariska's friends (Brianne) so the 4 of them spent most of the day together riding rides or having fun in the Boulder Beach section (slide, wave pool). They had dinner at Lydia's Restaurant (in the park). They stayed until the park closed and then Mariska drove Brianna to Donna's house, after an errand, as she would be flying out the next morning back to Denver.

Brianna's Visit & Cameron Too - Part 3

August 4 - Sunday  - Brianna and Audrey stayed home from church to spend more time together. They watched Back to the Future 2 and 3. Then (as previously planned) Donna dropped Cameron off in the afternoon. Girls made homemade mac & cheese with hot dogs for dinner, so when John and I got back from church and choir practice (around 5:30pm) we were able to eat and then meet up with Donna at Manito Park. Met at duck pond, then walked to Japanese Gardens and the the Rose Garden and finally the Duncan Garden. Met a cat at the Rose Garden and a dog at Duncan Garden. Enjoyed spending time with Cameron and Donna!!

Brianna's Visit - Part 2

August 2 - Friday - John and I took Friday off and we all drove to Leavenworth. It was still rainy so we did not stop to do the metal horses like originally planned. Got to Cashmere and went to the Aplet's & Cotlet's factory. Saw a fun place to eat nearby, so stopped for a late lunch. It was called the 59er Diner and we felt like were were in the 50's. Besides the fun Formica tables and juke box, they had various games at the table. John was very good at getting the rings together and apart, even while he was busy eating. The girls saved room for dessert - homemade milk shakes. By the way, the food was good but we thought it just a little odd that John's sandwich came with grated cheese instead of sliced...see photo!

After our meal we went to a huge antique mall that was adjacent to the restaurant. Had a good time meandering around but really could not buy much since our car was full of our suitcases and us. Maybe another time. We drove to Leavenworth and checked into our hotel (Bavarian Lodge). Walked to the various shops, many that we had seen before. Thought this sign was a riot.

Then we went to a shop we had not gone to before located in the basement of one of the buildings. The Cheesemonger Shop. He offered samples and samples and samples of various cheeses and meats. So yummy! So we bought two types of cheese and two meats... Applewood Smoked Cheddar and a Dutch Gouda plus a beef sausage and a salami. We originally had planned to sit down for a full German meal, but were not hungry (yet) for dinner after eating all those samples. We did buy some cinnamon sugar almonds at another shop, stopped to listen to a German band playing in the square and headed back to our hotel.

We decided to walk to Safeway to add beverages and crackers to our cheese/salami  from the Cheesemonger Shop and make a dinner out of it. We also picked up some strudel for dessert. Went back to the hotel, ate our meal and watched Back to the Future.

August 3 - Saturday - The next morning we enjoyed a full hot breakfast at the hotel. Checked out of the hotel, stopped to fuel at Safeway and picked up beverages for the road. Stopped at a small farm/shop on the drive home (got caramel corn), then saw a bigger farm/shop about 1/2 mile down the road. It was called Smallwood's Harvest. Stayed there for awhile and played (swings, tetherball, milk bottle toss), shopped (fun store, lots of samples - fruit, dips, salsa), said hi to the animals (bunny, chicken, kitty) and then headed back to Spokane.

Got into town in time to rest, shower and get ready to attend Cheyenne's baptism. Cameron was now in town and came with Grandma Gramlow (as he had been playing earlier at the house with Cheyenne). Dakota baptized and John confirmed. Afterwards we all went to Otis Grill for dinner where we treated Cameron, Cheyenne and Brianna (in addition to the 3 of us). Afterwards everyone came to our house to eat Brianna's cupcakes and to meet back up with Donna.

Brianna's Visit - Part 1

Brianna visited from Denver and stayed at our house for most of the visit. She was in town from 7/30 to 8/6.

July 30 - Tuesday - Brianna arrived. Grandma McMackin took both Brianna and Audrey to Senor Froggy's for lunch and then dropped Brianna off at our house. Girls then went to Grandma Gramlow's to swim with Cheyenne and Mariska. After work, we treated the four of us to Azteca for dinner and then shopped at the Valley Mall. Bought Cinnabons.

July 31 - Wednesday - After work we made burgers, crab salad and corn on the cob for dinner. Watched Red that evening and then John took the girls out for Slurpees.

Aug 1 - Thursday - Audrey and Brianna relaxed today, watched Talespin and took naps. Then they went to Grandma McMackin's around dinner time to fix some tech stuff for her. They stopped at Michaels and Brianna purchased some cake tips/bags and then came back to our house around 9pm and made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Today was very rainy.