Rainy days...

Mean lazy days for the pups!

Ellie is showing us how it's done.

Christmas at Bass Pro Shop

On Saturday while up visiting family they asked if we had anything we wanted to do. We were up for anything and would tag along with whatever they had going on. Since they have two younger boys they had planned to go to Bass Pro Shop to do crafts.

On our way in we stopped at the huge Christmas tree to take pictures : ) we also stopped on the way out since Franks uncle wasn't their yet to join in the picture taking fun ha.

While everyone was making reindeer candy canes Frank and I went outside to check out the boats. I fell in love with this huge pontoon boat. It had a sink, and a fold up section for changing your clothes! One day in the far far future... Although Frank and I want different kinds of boats.

Yes Frank and I match... AGAIN! We do not plan this people ha.

Family weekend

Frank and I spent our long weekend up in Manteca with his uncle and his family. In the almost 6 years we've been together this is the only uncle I haven't met. When we were living in San Diego we never really had the time and money (they usually need to go together ;) ha) to make it up their way. And whenever we drove home they weren't directly off the freeway to stay with.
Side note. On our first trip up to Washington from San Diego we stayed with some of his family in Oregon. Didn't seem like a bad idea at first. After an hour drive off the freeway each way to get to their house I told Frank we will not be saving money to stay with anyone unless they live directly off the freeway. And at the time his uncle did not live that close to the 5.

Since we couldn't go anywhere for thanksgiving we drove up to see them Friday-Sunday. It was a nice relaxing weekend and I am so happy I finally got to meet them. We all meshed together so well you'd think this wasn't our first time meeting ha. The kids LOVED Molly and Ellie. And Molly and Ellie loved eating whatever their bird dropped ha.

We're hoping to make another trip up before we leave. It should work perfect because we were trying to figure out what to do with those days.

These are just a few pictures from the weekend. I have a bunch from Bass Pro Shop that I will post tomorrow.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great turkey day? Frank and I had a quiet low key day just the two of us. Minus dinner being completely processed it was a great day. Frank had duty on thanksgiving so we couldn't go anywhere. He had to go muster (go say hi I'm here) in the morning then he came back and we slept in till 9:20ish. Late for us!

After having a lazy morning we took the dogs for a long walk around housing and back towards the horse stables on base. Love seeing the horses :)

Once we got back we laid in bed all day watching the NCIS marathon they had on. After dinner we drove out to Visalia to go to Costco in hopes of getting a new camera on sale. Only to find out that Costco is about the only store left that still opens on time even on Black Friday. I was a bit upset since its 36 miles one way! Oh well.. We ended up ordering one online when we got back to our room. Yay!

Now we are spending the rest of the weekend up north with Franks uncle and his family. Enjoy your long weekend if you get one. Let the holiday season commence! Ha

Black bean and fusilli

Tonight for dinner I tried out an easy quick dish, black beans and fusilli. This is the original recipe...

1 (8-ounce) package fusilli or gemelli pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
3/4 cup thinly sliced oil-packed sun dried tomatoes
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

In large saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 6 minutes. Add drained and rinsed beans. Drain pasta and add to skillet along with 1/3 cup cooking liquid. Add tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes.

Add cheese and serve immediately.

I didn't use onions and I couldn't find sun dried tomatoes in oil. So instead after I mixed everything together I topped it with a little olive oil. It turned out good! The feta was enough to add flavor for me... But then again I love feta : )

Super easy, tasty dish and I am able to cook it in our little kitchenette.

Homemade bread

Back in September Franks mom gave me a bread machine she didn't use. I never got around to using it while I was home, but yesterday I finally put it to use! I mostly wanted to see how it worked and if I want to ship it out when we leave.

I wanted to find a recipe that had limited ingredients so I didn't have to spend much money. I also don't remember the recipe that I used to use since it was from the book of my last bread machine. I figure what is a better place to look for a limited ingredient recipe than 100 days of real food (since I'm on my phone I can't link her site up). I used her whole wheat recipe, I'm hoping to try the cinnamon raisin bread this coming week : )

House tour

I finally get to do a little "house" tour : ) exciting I know ha.

I really like our fold up laundry basket... As to why I took a picture of it ha.

Yay for pictures!!

Just a few pictures to share : )