So I know that we rang in the new year a week ago, but I'm still catching up. New Years' Eve was the first day since Christmas Eve that we truly had nothing planned during the day...so we stayed in our pajamas until almost noon, relaxing with coffees in hand and letting the kids watch some videos too. My dad was starting to feel a tinge of a cold coming on as well, so we made sure that everyone took a nap that day. That evening, the seven of us went to dinner together at Cheesecake Factory and then back home to get the kids back in their pajamas so they could have some popcorn and watch some TV (Muppet Show, Season 2, that Grandpa got for Christmas) with Grandma and Grandpa while Randy and I went out.
Randy and I had a great time welcoming the new year with our friends Jason and Jane Isaac, Aaron and Christa Wiens, and Adam and Jill Lee. Jill made her fabulous New Years' fritters, and was gracious enough to make 2 kinds...one with apples and one with raisins. We also had two different "toppings"...some we coated with granulated sugar, the others we dipped in icing. You see, I grew up with apple fritters rolled in sugar; Jill's family did them with raisins (like at the
MCC Sale) and had them glazed. The first time we got together for New Years', Jill and I each made a complete batch of fritters the way we liked them, and we had about 40 fritters left over (and they're just never the same reheated). So this year, Jill made one batch of dough and then put apples in half, raisins in half. THANKS Jill! We had a great time eating, playing games, and just enjoying each others' company!
New Years' Day was my parents' last day in Fresno, and it was a full one!
After breakfast we went across the street to the fields behind Hoover High School to test out the kids' new airplanes they got from my Aunt Jane. We had a blast! They're just these little foam planes that you hook up to a charger "gun" for 10 seconds and then shoot into the air. The little motor inside makes the propeller go and they fly around and go all over the place...sometimes pretty far. But they're unpredictable.
You have to watch out 'cause they can come back and fly right into you (Audrey got one right in the stomach)! But they're just foam, so it doesn't really hurt. So after some good time in the "park", we did a little shopping (REI and SurLaTable aren't out in Kansas), and then ate lunch at
In-N-Out Burger (nope, they don't have any of those in Kansas either). Then we came home and Grandma Arlene joined us to make tamales for dinner! The last three times I have made tamales, I have been out in Easton with Mike's mom, Rachel Alaniz, an amazing cook who has made great tamales for at least forty years! But Arlene and my mom wanted to learn, so I attempted to pass on my learnings. We had a lot of fun doing it together (which is really how tamales should be made...as a family)! It was a wonderful finish to a great eight days with my parents!
Arlene, Audrey, and Janice shredding the pork.
Isaac was in charge of soaking and separating the husks.
Audrey and I mixing the masa.
Yummy! Ready for dinner!
Grandma Janice and Audrey
Violet likes them too!
Randy and I had a great time welcoming the new year with our friends Jason and Jane Isaac, Aaron and Christa Wiens, and Adam and Jill Lee. Jill made her fabulous New Years' fritters, and was gracious enough to make 2 kinds...one with apples and one with raisins. We also had two different "toppings"...some we coated with granulated sugar, the others we dipped in icing. You see, I grew up with apple fritters rolled in sugar; Jill's family did them with raisins (like at the MCC Sale) and had them glazed. The first time we got together for New Years', Jill and I each made a complete batch of fritters the way we liked them, and we had about 40 fritters left over (and they're just never the same reheated). So this year, Jill made one batch of dough and then put apples in half, raisins in half. THANKS Jill! We had a great time eating, playing games, and just enjoying each others' company!
New Years' Day was my parents' last day in Fresno, and it was a full one! 
After breakfast we went across the street to the fields behind Hoover High School to test out the kids' new airplanes they got from my Aunt Jane. We had a blast! They're just these little foam planes that you hook up to a charger "gun" for 10 seconds and then shoot into the air. The little motor inside makes the propeller go and they fly around and go all over the place...sometimes pretty far. But they're unpredictable.
You have to watch out 'cause they can come back and fly right into you (Audrey got one right in the stomach)! But they're just foam, so it doesn't really hurt. So after some good time in the "park", we did a little shopping (REI and SurLaTable aren't out in Kansas), and then ate lunch at In-N-Out Burger (nope, they don't have any of those in Kansas either). Then we came home and Grandma Arlene joined us to make tamales for dinner! The last three times I have made tamales, I have been out in Easton with Mike's mom, Rachel Alaniz, an amazing cook who has made great tamales for at least forty years! But Arlene and my mom wanted to learn, so I attempted to pass on my learnings. We had a lot of fun doing it together (which is really how tamales should be made...as a family)! It was a wonderful finish to a great eight days with my parents!
Arlene, Audrey, and Janice shredding the pork.
Isaac was in charge of soaking and separating the husks.
Audrey and I mixing the masa.
Yummy! Ready for dinner!
Grandma Janice and Audrey
Violet likes them too!
1 comment:
You are so good at including your kids in your cooking!
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