Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best father we could ask for. 

D aring

A wesome

D ynamite

D ependable

Y oung at heart

We love you to the moon and back!

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday we threw our 7th Annual Easter Egg Hunt. We had about 60 people this year! It was so wonderful to catch up with our friends and watch the kids go crazy tearing down the block hunting for eggs.

And they're off!

Happy Easter!

St. Paddy's Day

Between green eggs at breakfast (courtesy of Daddy) and homemade Irish soda bread (recipe from a dear family friend Allene Kussin), we had a simple, happy day. Plus our very Irish neighbors, the Flahertys, threw their annual Saturday shin-dig.

 

Look at this sweet little baker. What a cutie. Luck of the Irish to you and yours!

The Nutcracker

Selfie in the theatre. Poor Owen had been up puking the night before. He felt better in the morning but we were nervous the entire time at the theatre.

We saw the International Youth Ballet. It was a wonderful performance. The kids loved the first act, especially. All that drama with the party and the Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Their mouths were literally hanging open.

My favorite part is always the The Waltz of the Snowflakes--all that choral music and white tulle, snow falling and long graceful lines. In another life, I would have been a ballerina. In the midst of my euphoric reverie, Owen moaned, "When will it be over?"

When we got home, I thought maybe this would be the year to all watch White Christmas, a tradition from my family (although I think we were all older). Apparently, Jack watched the trailer with Daniel and told Daniel very politely, "But, Dad, I feel like we spent all afternoon watching that."

Christmas tree

This year we cut our tree from the forest near the cabins. It took us a while to find a good one. Faithful, arthritic Bronte was hanging tough in spite of the snowballs hanging from her legs.

The children's tree. We use it for our Jesse Tree ornaments.

Go, Daddy, go!

Oh-Be-Joyful

Third year!

On the drive, we almost ran into these guys on the road. Can you figure out what they are? On the way home, we saw a real, live BALD EAGLE in the trees on the side of the highway.

This year we went back to Oh-Be-Joyful, the first cabin we ever stayed in. Just looking at the picture makes me so happy!

Thanksgiving dinner is served! This year I made Tacchino Ripieno again (delicious!), served with celery root puree (Owen was not fooled; he likes his mashed potatoes Bayles-style), haricot verts, and cranberry sauce.

 And of course, pumpkin pie and pecan pie.

Off for sledding! The boys were outside sledding pretty much all day, every day.

Check out this sweet video.

Meanwhile, in the cabin....

Hard to capture, but there is the most amazing view of the cliffs from these big picture windows.

Every once in a while they came inside for hot chocolate and a little break to listen to The Little House in the Big Woods. (I just had to bring it again, and of course the kids loved it just as much this time around).

Snowshoeing! We found a deer carcass with animal prints all around it (lynx? cougar? bear? coyote? what could it be, boys?) Of course, all three boys got excited but I was kind of ready to find a new trail.

Clearly I had the camera on the wrong setting, but this adorable picture makes me smile.

  

Snow picnic!

Special memories. Sometimes when I'm back home and life feels way too hectic, I like to imagine myself in that tiny cabin. No internet, no phone, no to-do list. Just living in the woods for a while. Ahh. I think I could get used to it.

Thanksgiving cookies

pecan pie bites

Oh, pecan pie. My favorite part of Thanksgiving. Or, wait. Maybe that's the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans all in one bite. Or Aunt Sandy's fresh coconut cake. Or the cranberry relish, so tart and jewel-red. Or maybe it's the apple pie. 

At the end of the day, though, nothing beats my Mom's pecan pie. Daniel craves it all year round, and although I've gussied up her recipe with homemade butter crust, chocolate, bourbon, maple syrup, Lyle's Golden Syrup in place of the corn syrup, you name it--there's still nothing like her classic recipe, straight off the back of the Karo bottle.

But, pecan pie is a guilty pleasure, so loaded with teeth-clenching sugar and corn syrup, and a vat of butter to boot, that I wanted to whip up something a little kinder to the body. Something that gets me in the mood for Thanksgiving without giving me the bloatation-device feeling that comes with it.

Here's what I came up with, and the whole family agrees: they're delicious!

Pecan Pie Bites

makes ~12-16 bites

1½ cups pecans

1 cup pitted dates (if very hard, soak in water, then drain)
1½ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
unsweetened, grated coconut (optional)

Toast the pecans. Do not skip this step! Preheat oven to 375. Place pecans on baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 4-7 minutes, depending on the size of the nuts. Be sure to watch them, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned and very fragrant. Make sure they don't burn. Set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, pit the dates and measure them out. Place the dates, vanilla, and salt in a food processor. Once the pecans have cooled for about 5 minutes, add about ¾ of the nuts and pulse, just until the mixture starts to come together in cookie-like dough. You want the nuts to keep some texture here, so don't overdo it. Add the remaining pecans and pulse a few more times to incorporate, keeping some nice bigger pieces of pecans intact.

If you can squeeze the dough into small balls, it's ready. Otherwise, pulse a few more times.

Shape into small balls. Roll in coconut, if desired. (I love coconut but I'm a pecan pie purist and I don't like coconut in these.) Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!