New Year's Treats! (from 2017/2018)

The Claxton Cake!

Happy New Year!

Elle on a Ropes Course!

Elle did great on an aerial ropes type course today.  Despite being just tall enough she navigated the obstacles in a determined manner!

Jack’s Holiday Party!

Jack made an art project at his recent school holiday party.  His teacher, Mrs. Blackwood, accidentally photo-bombed the pic!

Ugly Sweater Cookies!

Elle and her friends made ugly sweater cookies at her recent birthday party!

Ready to See if Santa Came!

The kids, Mimi and Grandpa and Petey are poised and ready to see if Santa came... ~8am...

Santa Came!

Santa made it to our house and surprised all of us with Hover Boards for the kids!  As this was Petey's first Christmas, he scored with treats and a stocking of his own.

Steve Visit!

Cousin Steve, Janie and Shelby payed us an enexpected visit from Huntsville!

Holly Jolly Christmas

Jack "nailed" his recital piece and did an awesome job!

Elle - Florida Winters! December 21 - 5:28 - Winter Solstice

Happy Winter Solstice!

Echoing Grandma Patty

It seems like every year, Grandma Patty would give Bill and I a wrapped box of these chocolate covered cherries. When we were kids we were typically allowed to open 1 present on Christmas Eve. I would often choose the Grandma Patty cherries as the early gift to open...

Last year Bill gave me a box and Jack got a kick out of it because I'd told him the Grandma Patty story!

Cone Hound

From when Petey got fixed!  He kind of got used to the cone!

Piano Pup!

Elle’s 2nd Grade Bug Play!

Elle had a part talking about a praying mantis!

Tiger Bait!

2018 Fall School Pics

The kids school pics are in!  2nd and 5th Grade respectively.  This is their last year in school together for quite a while.

Yuki is Curious

Found this old unpublished post featuring Yuki and Bill probably testing / reviewing something. 

Happy Birthday Bill!

Reward!

Enjoying their good grades reward!

Rogue One Scenes!

Jack built out one of the famous Rogue One scenes with legos!

Elle, Tennis and a Freshly Groomed Pete!

Match!

Steph and her tennis partner on team Haile Yeah!

Christmas Can’t Be Too Far Away!

Sam's has loads of the bulk packs of Claxton Fruit Cakes!

Happy Halloween!

And so it begins - at our neighbors - the first treats of Halloween!

Happy Halloween

From a witch and an avid sports fan!

Halloween Haul! 2018 Edition

A strong haul for the kids mostly driven by Jack!  He leveraged his running skills and ran solo through the neighborhood with me trailing behind monitoring.

This is the first year I recall packaged Dove bars (top left).  Twix seem down.  Hershey's, Reese's and M&M's are holding their own.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Piano Recital - featuring Kylo and Rey

Elle, tonight known as Rey, played Spooky Story.



Jack, or Kylo Ren, played In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Happy Halloween!

Drownproofing Class

Dad would often speak of his drownproofing class at GT.  He paid Bill and I to learn the technique and put it to the test.  I've done the same with Jack and will with Elle too!

Nehi Peach!

Steph and Elle Take Petey to the Annual Blessing of the Animals

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni

Steph made this and it was incredible....

What You Need
1 lb. rigatoni pasta, uncooked
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar (24 oz.) CLASSICO Marinara with Plum Tomatoes & Olive Oil Pasta Sauce
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make It
Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
Meanwhile, remove casings from sausage if necessary; crumble sausage into large skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Cook on medium heat until evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cook and stir 30 sec. Add pasta sauce and cream cheese; mix well. Cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted and sauce is well blended, stirring frequently.
Drain pasta. Add to pasta sauce mixture; mix lightly. Top with basil and Parmesan.

Cavachon Puppy!

Our friends got a Cavachon puppy!  Half Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Half Bichon Frise!

Elle!

Jack constructed this Elle themed chain of dominos... it kind of worked but left a huge mess!

St. Augustine Fun!

Fall Risk Indeed!

Pete at school pick up

Watermelon Brew Reviewed

Not as good as I'd hoped. 4/10....

Great Corn Salad

The Summer of '18 might be remembered for a great corn salad that Steph whipped up.  Here's how to make it.

Ingredients

8 ears grilled sweet corn cooled to a comfortable temperature *See Notes

1/4 of a sweet onion peeled and finely diced

1/2 of a sweet red bell pepper diced thin

1/2 cup crumbled Cotija (questo fresco or mexican crumbling cheese)  

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves or parsley, coarsely chopped the juice of 1 lime plus extra wedges for serving

1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon ground chipotle pepper or chili powder to taste. 

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1.  Shuck the corn and soak it in water for about an hour.  Then grill it directly on the BBQ until the some of the kernels on each ear or golden brown - even a few burnt kernels are ok.

2.  Stand a cooled, grilled corn cob on a cutting board, flat end down. Holding the cob steady with your hand, use a sharp knife to cut the kernels away from the cob. Once you've cut away all of the kernels, use the dull, back side of the knife to scrape out any remaining juices or pulp from the corn cob. Discard the cobs.

3.  Stir together the corn, pulp, onion, pepper, cheese, mayonnaise, cilantro (or parsley), lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon of the ground chipotle or chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper until everythig is evenly distributed. Taste and adjust with more ground chipotle or chili powder, and salt or pepper until it tastes just right. You can serve immediately or refrigerate for an hour to let the flavours meld. This is best eaten the day it is made, but will hold up reasonably for leftovers the next day.

Georgia Tech Football!

In Tampa!!!

The Friendly Bird!

The Game of Life Still Has It!

Jack and a friend hunkered down for a rousing game of Life!

Dinner with Pete!

Jake the Snake, aka The Jakester!

Found a few old "draft" posts from Dad he never "published" deep in the blog.  Here's one featuring Jake as a puppy!   Happy Birthday Dad!

First Day of School!

Just as happy after day 1 was in the books!

Jack Amazed by the Grand Canyon!

A few pics from Jack's amazing Grand Canyon adventure this summer!

Pete Comes to Dinner!

The fidget spinner craze has spun out.....

Homework in Home Depot Cart!

The first week of school brings homework motivation!

Elle and Garth

Here's one from this Summer of Elle and her favorite horse Garth!  She wants to go back next year for sure!