This & That

The Last Week

Today my baby is graduating from high school. Somehow, when you're the parent of multiple, multiple children, in the back of your mind you really don't think this day will ever come....and then it does. Weird. I'm not quite sure how I'm feeling about it. There will be graduation celebrating, and the all-night party for The Girl and then tomorrow morning, we're up bright and early heading to Utah, because LB (Lawyer Boy) is getting married tomorrow afternoon. Oh yes, we're just full of milestones this weekend. In fact, we're just trying to cram as many milestones into a couple of days as we can. So you know what you'll be seeing all next week, don't you? :)

I am behind on paper things. I am behind on both my online classes and don't see that changing any time soon, with the advent of family here post-wedding/graduation. I have managed to keep current on Project Life and the 180 Days albums, but that's it. I will photo them sometime for a Paper Saturday.

In the meantime, here are a few photos from The Girl's last week of school.

Last choir concert. I played for the middle school on that gorgeous concert grand in the background. She turned my pages on a fairly wicked number that was annotated for page turns right in the middle of piano-only interludes with runs of 16th notes. I'm wondering how they expected someone without a page turner to accomplish the task.

Dressed up for the senior banquet. She said the food was sketchy, but I didn't expect anything different.

She had the AP English test on her last day of school. The night before, SD Boy and his wife made signs that they put on her bathroom mirror.

 

I Never Would Have Imagined...

There are just some things you never think you're EVER going to see.

I had been hearing over the past few months about the whole Downton Abbey craze. My friends had said how good it was.

Then my sister got me seasons 1 & 2 as a birthday present. I thought it would be an awesome thing for The Girl and I to watch together, but you know what? She's been too busy with end of the year school stuff to watch with me. You'll never imagine who has become addicted to it with me.

This guy. Uh-huh. I KNOW. It surprised me, too...my non-fiction reading, analytical husband. We finished the first two seasons in short order, and he looked at me and said, "So, are you going to get season 3 for us to watch?" Hooked. Addicted. 

You're Never Too Old

During our recent walk to the river, we examined the fallen tree dam that you can see at a bend in the river here:

This dam actually keeps the river from flowing uncomfortably close to the cabin, so we like to make sure there's plenty of dead wood there. We help this along a little by tossing already fallen trees, or parts of trees into the river, aiming for the dam. It appeals to the kids in my family of all ages, although the grandkids are usually much more fascinated with throwing rocks and watching them splash.

SD Boy is good at it. 

Just goes to show that you're never too old to throw things in the water....

Ollie at the Cabin

It's time for an Ollie post. Ollie just loves being at the cabin. You can almost here him yell as he jumps out of the truck, "I'M FREEEEEEE!!!" He loves running around sniffing all there is to sniff and just being in the Great Outdoors. DH and SD Boy took several long Rhino rides up in the mountains and each time they debated whether Ollie should go with them, but almost every time they couldn't resist the pleading eyes of their best friend.

On our walk, we found an elk leg bone that Ollie examined thoroughly. We left it there and have a plan for a very fun something for the grandboys on their next visit in a couple of weeks. Keep in mind that they are still very into dinosaurs. 

I tried to make Ollie sit for a few pictures. Notice that he's not looking at me. He's looking at my husband. He tolerates me...me who lets him out to run in the pasture, me who gives him treats when he comes back when he's called, me who lets him in the house to be with me during the day, me who lets him have the leftovers on my dinner plate. I get tolerated, but the master gets worshipped. I whined about this the other day and my husband looked at me and said, "Well, who takes him hunting?" I shut up.

Ollie craning his neck even further to find DH.

And oh, the joy of being free in the mountains.

 

On Memorial Day...

 

...just a reminder

Seminary Graduation

Seminary graduation for The Girl. For those who aren't LDS, most kids in the church take a religious extra class either early in the morning, or as a release period during their class day for all 4 of their high school years. There's a graduation ceremony at the end of the four years and The Girl was asked to give a talk about her experience. I don't know how it happened, but somewhere along the line she became capable of composing several minutes of speaking all by herself and I realized I'm becoming unnecessary...in a good way, but unnecessary just the same. That's always a moment of reckoning.

Two of her closest friends.

These two are going to be roommates this fall, big girls that they are.

Well, maybe not totally big girls.

He took second in state tennis and is headed to Argentina on his church mission in less than a month.

More of the gang, which a nice photo bomb there.

Crispy Fish Tacos

We have SD Boy and his wife staying with us for a while between college graduation and moving to AZ to start graduate school. We've been having some fun trying some new recipes and this one is definitely a keeper. I made the trip to the local Mexican market to buy fresh corn tortillas for it. SD Boy spent 2 years in San Diego, part of it very close to the border and he developed a taste for really good tortillas and I have to say, they were really good. It was a bit of an adventure for me, though...sort of like that scene in the cowboy movie where someone bursts through the swinging saloon doors and strikes everyone in the place silent when I walked in.  The original recipe comes from Sandra Lee on  Food Network, and while they're a little more work than usual Mom Food, the results was worth it. The sauce was especially tasty.

Crispy Fish Tacos

1 1/4 pounds tilapia fillets, about 5 (depending on the size of the fillets)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Kosher salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
3 cups canola oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot sauce and probably didn't put in quite a tablespoon in...I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to heat)
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoon garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided ( I left this out....not a fan)
Freshly ground black pepper
8 corn tortillas
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded (I used prepared broccoli slaw instead, which was also good)

Cut the fish into 1 1/2-inch chunks. 

To make the batter, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in enough water, about 1 to 1 1/2 cups, until the mixture is the consistency of pancake batter.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat to 360 degrees F.

When the oil is hot, working in batches, dip the fish pieces into the batter and carefully add them to the hot oil. Cook the fish until golden brown on both sides and the fish is cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes total. Remove from the pan and drain on to a sheet tray lined with a paper bag or paper towels.

To make the sauce, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, hot sauce, lime juice, garlic, and 2 tablespoons cilantro in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and microwave on medium for 1 minute to warm. Put about 1/4 cup of the shredded cabbage on each tortilla. Put 3 pieces of the fried fish on top of the cabbage, then top with some sauce. Arrange the tacos on a serving platter and garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro. Serve immediately. Makes 8 tacos.

Critters

Even though we've walked around the cabin countless times, there are always a few surprises we haven't encountered before. This past trip was no exception. 

On the way to the river we saw where the chipmunks had spent their time eating pinecones. This is what they leave behind after they dig the pinenuts out of the cones. It's a little hard to envision it here, but this is a pile about 3 feet in diameter. That's a lot of pinecones. 

Then there was this beaver pond. It's a little hard to distinguish things in this photo, but just over half-way up the picture is a line that has some green saplings in it where the beavers have built their dam. Below that, is mostly reflection in the water from the trees.

And there was this little guy. We went out to grill hot dogs for lunch and found him up near the eaves of the cabin. He flew away when we all came out to stare. 

27.

LS Boy is 27 today. I suppose I'm going to have to find a something new to call him since he is no longer in law school. Maybe LBoy, since now he's a lawyer....or JD Boy since his degree is actually called a Juris Doctor. Thoughts? Feelings?

Anyway, he's been back in Washington DC this week taking in the sights. He had to call me while he was there saying he'd had lunch in the Pentagon...very geeked out about that. :)

He's getting married next week, and I guess I'm going to have to turn the reins over to DDIL #3. (Yes, she's the fourth DIL in order, but she's marrying son #3. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...) She's a great girl and they will be moving here to our town for a year or so while he clerks for a district judge here.

She already has a 2nd grade teaching job at the elementary school all my kids attended...sort of a full-circle thing. 

I'm very proud of this boy and all the things he has accomplished. He is my crusader. He wants to right all the wrongs and get justice for those who need it. I guess he's in the right career, then. 

Happy Birthday to my Collin! I love you more than I know how to tell you!

First Trip In

We have been so excited to get into the cabin this spring. We didn't get to spend as much time as we usually do this winter, because there just hasn't been enough snow to drive the snowmobiles in on. So last weekend, we got in for the first time this spring. 

It was gorgeous, and with low 60's temperatures, a good 10 degrees cooler than where we live. The sun was shining, the river was high (meaning I could hear it through the open cabin windows, and that made it pretty much a perfect couple of days.

We walked in the morning down to the river and back from both directions, across this bridge.

And out to this spot. I am always amazed by the diferences in the seasons here. In this same spot last fall, we saw salmon swimming up the river to spawn.