Snow Hike

We got a pretty good snowfall here in Athens, so Summer invited Lori, Yumi and I out for a snow hike! We hiked through the woods with the dogs and then played euchre all afternoon.









Lori's wedding colors!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Tonight the whole fam plus special guests Uncle Tom and Aunt Sue had a delicious Chinese Takeout Feast to celebrate Mom's birthday! We started with sushi and dumplings.



And then we shared tons of main courses!



Don't mind if I do!



Moo Shu Pork has always been one of my favorites. The Burrito of China!



Presents!! Dad is an amazing present wrapper and he did a great job this year.



Look at those music notes spilling out! Toot toot!



Mer made gingerbread cupcakes with fresh whipped cream.



Make a wish!



What a treat!



Little Kate offered gummy worms to everyone as a treat topping option. They matched her outfit!



Happy birthday, Mom!

Greek Cooking Club

Nancy hosted the January cooking club, and the theme was Greek food! We gathered in the afternoon and it was a delightful day. Nancy and I both made dishes with phyllo dough, and it was my first time cooking with it! So I headed out early and we worked with the dough together. She made the CUTEST little baklavas!!



And I made spanakopita. It's always been one of my favorite things to eat, so I was excited to finally try making it. Little golden triangles of deliciousness!!



Emily made lamb meatballs and tzatziki sauce.



Valerie made pita bread, which she said was quite challenging. The first batch (left) turned out HUGE! Then she made a second batch (right) which turned out perfect!



Oh, hi.



Yumi made a greek salad with fried halloumi cheese. Mmm, warm golden cheese!



What a great spread!



Such a harmonious plate. It was fun to make pita sandwiches full of all the different things!



Baby's first cooking club! Emily's been cooking up this little baby for the past several cooking clubs, and now baby Charlotte was finally ready to join us! She's so cute that she's lucky we didn't eat HER!



Summer made individual eggplant moussakas for us. It was delicious! So many warm and cozy spices in there.



To further celebrate the Greek theme, we had a Mama Mia singalong in the living room! Once the fullness from lunch started to fade we stuffed ourselves again with Nancy's baklava.



I think Charlotte enjoyed the movie!



Handsome Sal put on quite a show of handsomeness for us.



Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! What a great round of cooking club!

Pizza Stone Pizza

I recently got my first pizza stone! Since I love making pizza, I was excited to have another method to try. And especially happy when it turned out AWESOME! Pizza stone pizza!!

Good Luck Pork

Mom and Dad had us over tonight for the traditional Good Luck Pork!! This was the tastiest year yet! The pork was amazing. I hope that means we'll have a super year!



Mer brought a broccoli salad that she made from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook I got her for Christmas. It was awesome!



Happy New Year, everyone! I'm really looking forward to 2013!

Happy New Year!

Last year, Mom, Dad, Mer, Pete and Kate all had a blast at the Jackie O's family-friendly NYE party, so this year Megan, Bob, Ben and I joined them! The party starts at 5:00 p.m., and they do a ball drop countdown to 2013 at 7:30 p.m.! Perfect for people like me who have trouble staying up late! It was wild!



We had the BEST beer. Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition. It was totally delicious. Dangerously strong, though! At 11.5%, one of these little babies will kick your butt. Most of us had two. Whoops!



Pretty whales on the wall!



Grandma, Kate and Grandpa!



Megan and Bob won a door prize. LUCKY!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! This year our celebration was very low-key, because my Mom and I both had colds. We spent much of the holidays texting each other pictures of our cold remedies or thermometer updates of our fevers.









I even had to miss Dennis's annual Cabin Christmas Eve Eve party!! This is the first year I've ever missed it since I met Ben. I've gone the past six years. I totally cried, wah wah!!

But we were able to pull ourselves together to enjoy Christmas Day through the haze of our sicknesses. LOOK at this wrapping paper that Mom found this year!! I took pictures so I could preserve the cuteness for all time.







Dad made cooking utensil sets for everybody this year, using scraps of fancy wood that he's been saving and collecting in his shop. My set is made with snakewood, and it's beautiful! He made Baby a little tiny matching snakewood set. Look how cute!!



Kate got a Log Cabin!



We all got Yo-Yo's!



Kate also got an accordion. Grandpa helped show her how to play it. It will take a lot of practice!





Eventually he changed into a cozy new pair of Christmas pajamas!



We took a break from opening presents to make a delicious breakfast feast. Mer made the same french toast that she made last year, from loaves of her amazing homemade cinnamon swirl bread!



On the griddle!



Plus some delicious lean local sausage.



Then it was back to presents! Merry Christmas, everyone!