UTC Mall Fun

Here are some pictures of the kids playing at the UTC Mall.

Enjoy.

Tea Time

Rowan and Adeline are the cutest tea drinkers I know.

Afton Meme

October Shenanigans

We had a very full October! After our relaxing and much needed Sedona trip, we got into the full swing of Halloween.  Afton went on a field trip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch (Afton thought that was great since Oma is what he calls my mom) where he picked out the perfect pumpkin and had fun playing in a huge pile of cotton. We carved pumpkins; Nippon's was a Pokeball, and Afton and Rowan wanted "happy" faces. The kids decorate the house with spooky cobwebs, and there was lots of dressing up. Afton finally settled on being a ninja. Rowan wore several outfits (that I sadly didn't get any pictures of other than the unfinished Mickey Mouse costume). She was Indiana Jones for Afton's school Fall Festival, Princess Rapunzel, and for trick-or-treating she was a mermaid! I so wish I had a picture of the awesome mermaid costume my friend Barbara made for her. It was shimmery and pretty, with a pearly jeweled "shell" top. 

To sum it up, it was lots of fun!

Sedona 2014

Every October we head to the beautiful red rocks of Sedona. This annual family trip is one of the highlights of our year. Afton has already made lots of memories, and is always eager to do activities he recalls doing from the year before. Hiking, tennis, the toy store, and swimming were on the agenda....and we did them all and more. We even caught a talented and awesome flutist name Jesse Kalu at the resort. A truly talented human being.

Out mornings started with breakfast on the balcony. 

And our nights would end with amazing sunsets.

There is always lots of yummy food cooked up.

And this year we added fishing to the list of activities! The Oak Creek Trout Farm was the perfect place for us to fish, especially since it was Afton's first time....no full day of waiting for a bite, these fishes were nibbling A LOT! That doesn't mean it didn't take some skill to get them on the hooks though. 

Rowan has so much fun running around and telling us where to fish.

Afton was over the moon when he pulled the first one out!

So proud of my boy. 

Afton caught two trout (with a little bit of help) and had lots of fun watching them flip and and wiggle as they slowly died. Ok, that was a little heavy. He was sad when we had to go. Apparently he wanted to catch ALL the fish. We took back our gutted and ready-to-cook trout back to the suite and cook them up for a delicious dinner. 

The rest of these pictures show the amazingness of Sedona. We hiked Sugarloaf and Coffee Pot Rock and Wilson Canyon. 

Wilson Canyon lead us down to Oak Creek where I let the kids dip their toes in and get muddy, much to Nippon's dismay. Ha! I did keep their shorts and shoes from getting wet so that they didn't have to walk back uncomfortable. So there's that. ;)

I took endless pictures of the sky. It was exceptionally beautiful the entire time we were there. The sunsets were killer. I can't remember the last time the sky was this vibrant and active. Clouds made wispy fun designs on a bright blue backdrop during the day, and caught the sun just right in the evenings to set the sky on fire.

We had another amazing stay in Sedona and anxiously await next years visit.

Aarti Paarti

I was fortunate to meet a wonderful lady named Kavita when I worked in the social work field in Arizona. This lovely lady has an amazing sister, you might recognize. Aarti Sequiera is not only a great chef, she is a great storyteller as well. I picked up her cookbook a couple of months ago, and fell in love with the recipes but even more so because it is a history of her life and how it, and the generations before her, have molder her into who she is. Food being the main theme of course.

I have only made two recipes from the book, but I have read it through a few times. 

This is her "Mom's Everyday Red Lentils." I had never made dal before, or cooked lentils for that matter. The recipe was easy to follow, and turned out flavorful and delicious. Nippon, who isn't a fan of dal, even ate the leftovers!

I have made kheema many times but her recipe, that calls for peas and apple cider vinegar, was phenomenal. I will never again leave out the apple cider! It rounds out the flavors and give it that extra layer that makes this kheema much better than my usual recipe.

If you like Indian food, or if you just like mixing things up, I hightly recommend purchasing this cookbook. You won't be disappointed.