Just some of the fun we've had in June since returning from Hawaii...
Lily babysat Wendy Evans one afternoon; what a cutie!
We've cooked lots of delicious things up too. One of Ryan's students gave him a basil plant as an end of year thank you gift. I made pesto out of it, and it was SO GOOD. It makes me (almost) want to figure out how to grow basil so I can make this more often.
We had tostadas one evening. That was the very first meal we tried from Piquant Post years ago, and we all loved it. I still order the seasoning from them and make these because they're so tasty. Ryan made fresh pasta so we could have cacio e pepe; we put the harvest bread like we learned to make in Italy on the side, and oh boy, is it delicious.
We saw on the cruise that they were celebrating King Kamehameha Day on June 10, so I tried my hand at making malasadas at home. They were a lot more dense than the ones at Leonards, but it was a fun effort.
I want the girls cooking more, so I asked both of them to decide on recipes to make, go to Publix, and prepare a meal one night each. They did not disappoint! Lily made a fantastic spaghetti carbonara, baguette bread for oil and vinegar, and a Caesar salad. So yummy.
Mia grilled up some New York strip steaks for us; love this!
In addition to a delicious steak, she made fabulous mashed potatoes, and we each had the fruit of our choosing (I went with Ranier cherries because they are perfect right now). You can't go wrong with meat and potatoes with our family!
She also made some wonderful lemon squares for dessert. What a treat!
The girls surprised Ryan with a Kitchinaid stand mixer attachment to make shave ice and Ululani's shave ice flavors for Father's Day. We couldn't wait to try these out! The attachment worked so well, and the flavors of the mixes are incredibly fresh and delicious. It was (almost) like being back in Hawaii!
Ryan and I have both struggled with adjusting back to eastern time zone and he's had some allergy issues keeping him up at night, so I've slept down in the guest room for a few days so we could both get the best sleep possible. I love when Decker sneaks down while I'm reading in bed to lay at the end!
I love that Mom and Dad are traveling to Europe with Sid and Elaine! They've been in Paris for a few days and are heading to Budapest for a river cruise. I love seeing them having fun together!
Not a bad place to celebrate a birthday, huh Dad?
Liz had surgery on her finger recently. Ryan and I decided to drive over one Friday to check in on her and take her to lunch. She had no idea we were coming which made for a very fun surprise! We hoped she would be at home and available. We took a selfie in front of her door and sent it to her. A minute later the door opened, and she was in absolute shock. It was the best surprise!
We went to Melt for lunch which was perfect for catching up. Soon it was time for us to head back home. What a great Friday!
Mia spent one week at Brylliant Acting Studio's teen drama camp. In five days, they learned and put on the full show of "13." There were two shows on Saturday. It was amazing what these kids were able to do with only a week! Mia was the lead female named Patrice in the afternoon show, and she did a wonderful job! It's always so fun to watch her perform.
I posted a few short clips of a few of Mia's parts to YouTube; they can be viewed here:
The Lamest Place in the World - https://youtu.be/qeNz3Vm_-lc
What It Means to Be a Friend - https://youtu.be/PzZdAbdiAEA
If That's What It Is - https://youtu.be/sH6nOU55N00
What a fun (but totally exhausting!) week Mia had!
Ryan and Lily took a little morning ride up to Buc-cee's one day so Lily can continue to grow her Buc-cee's holiday t-shirt collection; she was in need of a July 4 one.
They picked up a surprise for Decker too; he was pretty happy about it!
I took the girls to visit Amanda Dusseault who is a House of Colour consultant near us. It was so much fun! We learned that both girls are considered Winter season. They each have about a dozen "wow" colors that look really fantastic on them; interestingly, navy is the only one of those that they shared. They also found some make-up that compliments their skin tones so well. It is really cool to see what a difference the right color makes to help their God-given beauty shine through!
I love when we're reading together.
It's nice to have pretty much this whole month at home!
