One of Dallas’s Christmas gifts from Amanda were spices from Penzey’s Spices. We’ve had these spices out on our countertop since then and have been having fun trying them while cooking. They’re very good. And how cute. Monopoly cards that give tips about uses. And I love the papers seals that say “Love to Cook — Cook to Love.”
Tags:amanda·christmas·cooking and baking·dallas·penzeys spices
Brad, Amanda, Dallas, Aunty Gail
Doug, Tyler, Uncle BB, Eddy, Naoko, Aunty Laura
Brad & Aunty Glenna
Rachelle & Eddy
Heather & Eddy
Tommy & Mitch
On Christmas day we always go to Dallas’s Aunty Gail’s house out in Mount Prospect, IL. Every year Aunty Gail makes beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole and her mom’s lettuce/mayo/crab/pea salad. It never varies. Dessert varies because other people always bring different desserts, but Aunty Gail always makes her signature cookies. This year Naoko made a super light and airy cheesecake (usually it’s so dense and filling!), a chocolate cake and cream puffs. Naoko’s desserts are always fabulous, but Dallas and I both commented together about how great the cream puffs were. The custard was so delicious. Heather and I each brought candy trays. Mine should look familiar, since I’ve been featuring all the candy recipes here last week.
Christmas Dinner
Christmas Desserts
Kenji
Kate & Tommy
Kate, Ben, Tommy, Derek
This year there were relatively few (only 18!) people over for dinner. I think it’s the first year that we could all sit at the long table. The first year that I didn’t sit at a kiddie side table! After dinner, many other family members came over and we had the gift exchange. Every year Aunty Gail tells you a thousand times, “$10 gift bag, no junk, no junk!” Ok. Well, what can you really get for $10 that is not junk? This year she finally increased the limit to “$20 gift bag, no junk, no junk.” To be honest, I think I was already spending $15 on the gift bags anyway. And actually, the price increase helped a lot. There were many good gifts, and no junk, Aunty Gail, no junk.
Back: Uncle Neil, Uncle Peggy, Miko, John, Derek. Front: Winnie, Ben, Kyle, Kate.
Uncle BB, Aunty Glenna, Brad, Amanda, Tyler, Aly, Adam
Back: Jeff, Heather, Aunty Gail, Eddy, Doug, Naoko. Front: Chris, Mitch, Kenji, Tommy.
Back: Eddy, Mitch, Tyler, Chris, Derek, Ben. Front: Kenji, Kate, Tommy.
Eddy, Mitch, Tyler, Chris, Derek, Ben, Kate, Tommy, Kenji
Marty, Uncle Sonny, Brian
Siblings: Uncle Sonny, Aunty Laura, Uncle BB, Aunty Gail, Uncle Neil
Siblings: Uncle Sonny, Aunty Laura, Uncle BB, Aunty Gail, Uncle Neil
Uncle Sonny, Aunty Laura, Uncle BB, Aunty Glenna, Aunty Gail, Aunty Peggy, Uncle Neil
Rachelle, Aunty Laura, Dallas
Brad, Aly, Dallas
Trying to get all the cousins in one shot.
May be more difficult than the kids!
Someone with Heather’s camera got this good shot I snagged. Back: Marty, Winnie, Kyle, Brian, John, Doug, Dallas, Amanda, Brad, Heather, Jeff. Front: Naoko, Miko, Aly, Rachelle.
This year all of the golfers were fighting over a package that they thought were a pair of golf gloves. Dallas ended up with it in the end and guess what? It was a Coach key chain. Score for me! When it was Winnie’s turn to pick a gift she let one of the kids pick and they picked a very large box, which is not ideal because she lives in California and would have to travel home. So when it was my turn to pick I took her big box. It ended up being an amaryllis bulb, which I’ve always wanted to try growing, so score again for me! There were a few boxes and tiny gift bags that people thought were going to be bags of rice. Usually Aunty Gail will put a few pieces of rice in a Ziploc and wrap it and then the gift is 20 pounds of rice. Dallas always wants this gift because it’s something he can actually use. Most of the small, light gifts this year turned out to be gift cards. Aunty Gail’s gift was actually a Shake Weight that Aunty Glenna got. I don’t know how there are no photos of her, or the many people who tried it out, but it was hilarious, as you can imagine.
Aly & Eddy
Gift Exchange
Eddy playing with the Potty Putter.
As always, amazing to see how the family is growing every year. And great to visit with everyone!
Previous Christmases at Aunty Gail’s:
Tags:adam·aly·amanda·bb·ben·brad·brian·chris·christmas·dallas·derek·doug·eddy·gail·glenna·heather·jeff·john·kate·kenji·kyle·laura·marty·miko·mitch·mount prospect·naoko·neil·peggy·sonny·tommy·tyler·winnie
This year we went to my brother’s house for Christmas Eve. Originally Amanda was supposed to work until 4 p.m., so we were going to go early to help get dinner ready for when she got home. Unfortunately/fortunately, she hurt her knee and had to take a few days off of work.
I randomly found this blog post about some simple ornaments and thought they would be fun to make. My mom had all of the supplies so she brought them over. Steph wasn’t really into it, but we had fun making ornaments with Jess. Oh, but Steph did like to wear them as earrings.
My brother made homemade eggnog for the first time. I’m not a huge eggnog fan, but I really liked the eggnog he made. It was much lighter than the stuff you buy in the store. We also had some spiced cider and many different kinds of beer. There was one that was spruce flavored and it was not good. Even so, Milo wanted a taste of it!
Even though Amanda was going to be home because of her injury, we still got dinner ready. Dallas and I slow cooked some pork and brought that down. My mom made coleslaw and beans. And we had a ton of sweets that everyone made as well as cheese and crackers that we snacked on all day.
This year my parents gave us each a set of china. They each had one set so my brother and I each took one. My set is smaller with a black and white pattern. My brother’s set had many more pieces, which was good because they also had inherited a china cabinet to display a larger set in, where our storage space is much more limited. Also, when I looked online, it looked like you could get replacement pieces for the set my brother has, so that is good if they plan to use it more. Anyway, the china came out for Christmas dinner and this is the first time it was ever used in 40 years! I was so nervous that I was going to drop a plate or something, but everything went fine.
After dinner we opened gifts. Stephanie and Jessica opened gifts from me and Dallas and my parents first. We got Steph a few small things and a couple gift certificates to shop for clothes at H&M and Forever 21. Stephanie’s big gift was an iPod Touch. She was so shocked!
Jessica got lots of clothes and a games that she dug into right away. Jessica got a lot of Hello Kitty things. She told us that she loved Hello Kitty, so I hope she really loves it, because she’s all decked out now!
There were three gifts that were from Jessica to me, my parents and Amanda. These were all handmade things that Jessica did. Jess made a ton of Christmas snowflakes and drawings for my parents. For me, she made this long wooden stick that was painted like a snowman and wearing a fabric scarf. For Amanda she made a reindeer out of a hanger and pantyhose. So cute! I have a lot of things that Stephanie made when she was younger, but not a lot of things that Jessica has made, so it was fun to get a keepsake.
We each also had a gift from Amanda. Inside were spcial-edition Sports Illustrated Packers books
Next we did our adult gift exchange. We draw names and have a $40 limit, so it doesn’t get too crazy. This year I had Amanda’s name. She has started getting into drinking tea, so I got her a tea infuser mug, some Argo tea and Tazo tea, biscuits and a book. Amanda got Dallas some Christmas Story pint glasses and a bunch of microbrews and a subscription to Wired Magazine. Dallas got my dad two Packers shirts. My dad gave me several books, an oven thermometer, and some Hawaiian treats. Richard gave my mom a Christmas tree made of Lindor Truffles and a gift card. Finally, my mom gave my brother a Packers t-shirt, a video game and a gift card.
Finally, this year was Richard and Amanda’s 10th wedding anniversary. My mom gave them a personalized Christmas tree ornament to remember the year. And she gave Dallas and I an ornament for our first Christmas after getting married. Here’s what it looks like:
I like how the guy is doing a shaka and the girl has a camera! Also, here’s a photo of the snowman ornament Jessica made:
Tags:a christmas story·amanda·argo tea·beer·christmas·dad·dallas·forever 21·h&m·hello kitty·ipod·jessica·lindor·mom·oak creek·packers·richard·sports illustrated·stephanie·tazo·wired·Wisconsin
This is a really easy, light summer pasta. My brother gave me some yellow summer squash that he and Amanda grew. I grow basil on my roof deck. I just happened to have a bag of peas and a lemon, so it all came together perfectly. As you can see, I used whole wheat rotini instead of the suggested gemelli.
Pasta with Yellow Squash, Peas and Basil
From: MarthaStewart.com
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces gemelli or other short pasta
3 medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 2 minutes less than al dente. Add squash and peas; cook until squash is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta mixture, and return to pot.
To mixture in pot, add butter, lemon juice, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. If needed, add enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Stir in basil, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan; serve immediately.
Yesterday we went to Doug & Naoko’s annual Labor Day barbecue. Dallas and I hadn’t seen the Chicago suburbs family since New Years Day! Actually, Aunty Gail was at our wedding, but everyone else… it had been a long time. I don’t know how 8 months flew by, but it was good to see everyone.
Heather & Tyler, Rachelle & Eddy
It was not so long ago that Heather’s kids were the youngest in the family. SO not the case these days. Her oldest Chris is the same age as my niece Stephanie: 15. Her younger boy Mitch is 12 (I think?). I remember saying something to Chris about “when you were 9 blah blah blah.” Then thinking “9? no way!” But it’s true. I have known those kids, this family, for more than 7 years now.
At the barbecue, I met the two newest members of the family. Tyler is Brad and Amanda’s baby and is one month old. Eddy is Doug and Naoko’s youngest and is 8 months old.
Aunty Glenna, Cory, Caroline, Naoko, Rachelle, Aunty Laura, Amanda, Heather
Many of the ladies of the family. Aunty Glenna is celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary with Uncle BB today and is a brand new grandmother. Cory is moving to Vail in a month or two. Her husband Chris is already there. Caroline is pregnant and due February 10th. Naoko has 3 sons – Tommy is 5, Kenji is 2, and Eddy is 8 months. Me, newlywed. Aunty Laura is expecting her second grandchild in February. Everyone thinks it will be a boy. All of the kids of that generation are boys (except 1? Kate?) Amanda just had baby Tyler a month ago. Heather likes to hold babies (holding baby Tyler in this photo).
Sal, Brad, Danny
A bunch of the guys golfed all day. Aunty Gail was with them too. I heard she was the best golfer of the bunch. Probably the most sober too. Coincidence? After golfing I found a bunch of the guys standing around by the grills. Typical. Danny will forever be the designated grill chief now. They know he worked in a vegetarian restaurant, right?
Caroline, Aunty Laura, Aunty Glenna, Cory, Heather, Tyler, Amanda (hiding behind flowers), Aly, Aly’s boyfriend, Naoko manning the stove
From the grill area I took this spy cam photo of the kitchen. I think only Aly saw me!
In the living room Ghostbusters was on. I thought this was a perfectly innocent movie, but the kids started getting all riled up saying there were ghosts in the basement and running after each other acting like ghosts. Some parents were worried their kids were going to have nightmares. A while later the TV was switched to college football.
Another shot of the living room. I can count about 10 kids in this photo. There were even more at the party. See what I’m saying about Mitch and Chris not being the kids any more? In this photo of my first Labor Day BBQ at Doug & Naoko’s there are 3 kids. Joey and Marietta’s two girls and baby Vince (Matt & Jen). If you add on Chris and Mitch, that’s 5. That number has at least tripled, I think. Well, and it’s not all family. Doug and Naoko’s friends have a lot of kids now too.
Even though there were 8 kids on the couch, Dallas and Sal still caught some ZZZZs. Not when Charlotte (Sal & Kim’s) took a liking to Dallas though. She’s the girl laying down on the right side of the photo with the navy and striped dress on. I was sitting out in the screen porch and every time I looked into the living room she was climbing on his shoulders, putting a stuff animal on his head, sticking her fingers in his face, etc. Once she was even giving him a back massage. Who’s this girl?!?! hhaha. Dallas said that Charlotte was calling him Uncle Joey for a while. Because he looks so much like Joey, a tall white blonde. See the 5th photo down, here. When Kim told her to tell Dallas goodbye as they were leaving she said “Bye, Alice!” So funny.
All in all another great barbecue. Noako put out some delicious food, as always! Great to see everyone again.
Doug & Naoko like to have a Labor Day party every year. Here are some photos from years past:
- 2005: we played a lot of horseshoes
- 2006: Jordan brought fresh smoked salmon from Alaska. He’d just been on a trip there.
- 2007: No Party? Or just no photo or post?
- 2008: Lots of kids. First year I noticed that?
- 2009: Also celebrated Aunty Gail’s retirement. One more photo from that year.
- 2010: Doug & Naoko have a new house
Tags:aly·amanda·bb·bbq·brad·caroline·charlotte·chris·cory·dallas·danny·doug·eddy·gail·ghostbusters·glenna·heather·jen·joey·kenji·kim·labor day·laura·marietta·matt·mitch·naoko·palatine·sal·tommy·tyler·vince