4 days of paradise

We are back in the saddle again so to speak. Transitioning from our 4 days in Kona straight to a week of work was tough, but this trip was good enough to carry a ton of great memories for awhile. Everything really was perfect. The kids had a blast with their Grandparents and Aunties enjoying quality time in Santa Barbara, LA, and I'm sure everywhere in between! We had an amazing time getting UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP!(really is amazing how well you feel after 8 hours of the stuff! So good we really couldn't sleep in !) And we also filled all our moments with great trips to postcard perfect hike in beaches with our old friends and neighbors Dick and Lori, a lot of terrific snorkeling, amazing fish-papayas-mangos-bananas-pinapples-and those amazing fruity drinks, an amazing night on a cliff look out watching manta rays, and I could go on and on! It was capped by a peak at a multimillion dollar home where we got to enjoy drinks and a great sunset over the ocean with a great tub to soak our feet in. Yes, epic. It was primarily awesome in that Alex and I now realize how much we really can do and how much fun we have with just the two of us. Our kids are our life, but we're pretty fun without them once in awhile!

First morning in Kona, starting off with some fresh juice??NOOO, Airborne for us. I fought a cold but even that couldn't spoil an amazing time!

Hiking out to Maklavena Beach

Beach shot with our great friends Dick and Lori

Remembering how to boogie board!

Snorkel fun

Such an amazing spot. After our hike in we ate, drank, swam, snorkeled, relaxed, and even took a little nap :-)

 

driving out from Maklavena, we were following the locals...lots of jeeps and surfers...

Alex braving a windy ocean on the paddle board.

calmer waters on our hotel beach

This is just to show HOW windy it can get! This was the next day, on our way to the "green" side of the island. More wind and rain. Beautiful  scenery!

Hike down to Pololu Valley. Great hike even if a bit windy and rainy

Looking away from the ocean on the Pololu Valley floor. Alex said it reminded him of Alaska. Crazy how many different looks the landscape of Hawaii has!

Pololu Valley

There were several rope swings hanging from trees on the Valley floor, most you would not want to try!

This one was great!

My favorite picture of the trip I believe, the valley floor and forrest of Pololu valley was amazing! I love the trees and trail :-)

Gorgeous view looking up the coast from the trail

Rainbow and Mauna Kea

Hiking down to Captain Cook Monument. 1300 foot climb to get out and 4 miles round trip but so worth it!

Snorkeling Captain Cook

Mai Tai!!!

A pina colada a night was on Alex's schedule!

My great morning run scenery. First time in months I was able to run in shorts and a tank top!

Gorgeous sunset!

Hanging out with sea turtles while watching the sunset!

Our hotel was at the start of the Iron Man swim. Though during our stay the Pea-Man event was going on...3 mile run 1/3 mile swim. More my style!

One of our many fabulous fish dinners. Can you say wahoo and ahi!!

 We are blessed to have amazing family that we could entrust our home and our boys to. Lucky pups we are!

If you must smoke, smoke salmon!!!

Or so says one of Alex's shirts. I know the blog has been a bit quiet over here. We've been well though! It's been just a wee bit sunnier so we've been outside more...and between preparing for a certain trip that is suddenly upon us and studying for my boards that I have to retake in one month, it's been busy!
But, it suddenly struck me to share a bit on a tride true Ranch happening that occurs several times a year. Smoking salmon! This is all Alex. I'm learning, as I've been brining our Ranch turkeys when we take one of them a few times a year. This is the first time we used the same brine for the turkey and the salmon.
So, without further adieu....


You start with a salt and almost boiling water solution. We do approximately 1 cup of salt to 1 gallon of water. Don't quite let it boil or the salt can burn, (so says Alex the guru!) You then add twice as much sugar as salt. We use brown sugar and white sugar as our base. This is the base of the brine. This is the 2:1 ratio that is critical. All the other additions tend to change a bit but are fun to play with!

Brown sugar going in the pot after the salt and water have gone to solution

Pepper is always good!

Honey is excellent!

Here Alex is cooling the solution with ice cubes, so it will not cook the fish before it is in the smoker

Now, plenty of people swear by adding alcohol of some sort. Red wine, or whiskey is common. To tell you the truth, we kind of think it is a waste as the taste is lost in the brine, but tonight, Alex was feeling the JD so in it went!!!

 

 Next, that beautiful salmon is sliced up in strips....

The salmon is left in the brine in a bowl for 12 hours. It is then set on the smoker racks. The smoking process takes about 18-24 hours depending on the thickness of the cuts.
And on the other end you end up with delish smoked salmon! Yummmo!!! This is quite a staple in our home as it is an awesome snack, the kids love it, and I love to mix it in to pasta, on top of toast or a bagel with cream cheese, or in a quesadilla . :-)

A fishy frosty weekend

The setting for our inpromptu "date" afternoon on the river :-)

 hoarfrost [ˈhɔːˌfrɒst

 n

(Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) a deposit of needle-like ice crystals formed on the ground by direct condensation at temperatures below freezing point Also called white frost

The above picture of, what appears to be a furry white rock amongst a background of snow is what we've been living in lately, and is actually frost! Hoarfrost to be exact, as my fun factoid of the day, (this term was new to me!) But, it actually does look like we've had snow around our neck of the woods. Places of the ground where the sun never hits during these long winter days has a thick covering of this beautiful crystal ice covering, crunchy when you walk on it, and very frozen.

Amidst hoarfrost and the deep dark days of January, winter steelhead fishing is upon us. Despite the freezing cold temps, the ice that has not left the ground for weeks, and fingers and toes that feel as if they could fall off I've got a husband who is, quite literally, foaming at the mouth to be on the water, the 36 degree water mind you, every day he can!
But, then again, catching something like THIS....

.... would just send that adrenalin through the roof wouldn't it!

We were lucky enough to get a "date" afternoon today. No wonderful little angel boys to bless us with their opinion of the weather, the snacks, and their lack of nap. And, to tell you the truth, it was just plain to cold for them anyhow. And yes, on this rare date afternoon we splurged on NOT the finest meal in town, nor the best movie playing at the theater, but, yes, ice cold steelhead fishing and the most beautiful sunny, but VERY chilly river scenery you could ask for. 

Yep this mama finally dusted off her fish fingers and got into some of the action herself. Despite the fact I have a fish lover husband, I have not actually had a fishing license for two years. Until today! I guess I've been busy training up my wee little fishermen and have let Alex do all the catching :-) I broke the new license in with these two beautiful fish, and lost two others just to make it exciting. It was awesome to say the least. So happy I have a fish guru hubby to take me on these spur of the moment adventures when we can spare a few hours of the day :-)

Sunday town trip

Forrest getting ready to "Go to Mom's work to see the animals ;-)" truth be told sometimes I think of my work that way myself :-)

Today while Alex was guiding on the river, and because I had a few hours of work to do in town, the boys and I had a fun filled town day! Forrest was great at my office, eating more snacks then I ever thought he could possibly stuff in his little belly. A sign of things to come I suppose. Talin had a few hours with his fav daycare lady and then we were off!
We filled the day with our first ever trip to the local Zoo, albeit small, known as California's oldest Zoo!  Red pandas, a barnyard with a whole host of animals, monkeys, and llama's were the boys favorites. The Coast was GORGEOUS. I have very few pictures from this trip, because, well, the boys and I were having a blast! And by blast I mean in a very active way. While Forrest raced around having a blast on one of 6 different slides, Talin also was EVERYWHERE. No fear either which was a bit worrisome. But big brother Forrest did great and both boys were thoroughly tuckered out by the late afternoon.

 Not too tuckered out to eat a bowl of "special treat" frozen yogurt!!!!!

 Yummy!!!!! Happy boys I had. And one happy Mama! We loved thawing out a bit in the lovely sunshine of the coast. Looking forward to more town days this winter :-)

New Year's Resolutions...If I must...

I've been debating whether to do a New Year's post. It is cliche, but hey, I actually enjoy having a date as a way to start a new goal, or several new goals. OR ACTUALLY, new habits if I could be precise. Good blogging buddy and rowing pal Sheelagh has an excellent resolution post so I figured, hey, WHY THE HECK NOT!!!!
Order is actually key to my resolutions. I have now learned, from my first 3 1/2 years of mama-hood, that, well, ORDER is a good thing. Because kids are not orderly, anything but actually. So if the parental figures at least strive to be orderly, the little testosterone filled beings will at least SEEM partially managable. Maybe. Such as, clean clothes to wear, healthy good food to fill their bellys at those key times, and lovely outdoor time to sap some of that endless energy away.
So yes, lots of energy, in the most unorderly way.
Maybe it's the fact I have to be extremely scheduled in my profession. A person scheduled every 15 minutes, sometimes two every 15 minutes. Surgery at 730 am sharp. Call starting at 5pm. Kids picked up from daycare at 530 and no later. You get the picture.
My point. I think on my "home time" I almost dwell in the unordilness because, well, this PA is TIRED! Tired of being on time. Tired of accomplishing so many tasks in a set time. And tired of being told EXACTLY how late she is by the certain patient that loves to remind you of such things, (And I get it, I do, time is valuable! SO valuable...)
The thing is that I am usually known to be on time at work. At home, however, I love to just hang and let the day progress. This is not to say I'm not making breakfast, changing poopy diapers, doing dishes, having morning coffee, etc...often all at once. I just LOVE not being any one particular place at a single time. Maybe it's the fact we live an hour from town, thus I have to leave 1 1/2 hours before I actually have to be at work in order to get everyone to their appropriate schooling/kiddie care/house, etc.
Now yes, there is a point. Despite all of this, This family needs some order. Order put towards laundry, workouts for mama, my medical profession while at home, etc. As I know now, it actually makes things EASIER. And easier for this family is a must so we don't all self combust in disorderly chaos. (Mental image of Forrest's favorite Captain America rescuing us from self combustion inserted here...:-)
But really. More planning, more order=less stress because things are DONE, less time wasted, healthier bodies, etc.
A picture summary of my goals for 2013 follow....

Keep up by staying no more than 72 hours behind. Which means I need to dictate or electronically chart nightly. The bullshit (pardon the words but it is deserved) electronic medical records are here for good. Despite the fact it is awful, it NEEDS to happen on time. This is a must. This is the single part of my job I dread as it builds up so fast. But if I can keep up, my stress level will decrease tremendously! This equals a healthy Mama and Katie :-)

5 loads a weekend during winter months. Summer months are better. Alex will help out during the week I hope! Clean clothes in the correct spot during the week make the mornings SO much better!

This goes in line with me just keeping my body in better shape. Less computer, sitting on my butt, indoor time, more outside, working out, getting on my bike, playing with my kids time. Weather permitting we WILL do it!!!

I need to plan a bit on the weekends. Even if just one late morning activity a day before lunch. This all works so much better when I'm mentally prepared for it.

So there you have it. The cliche loose weight, get healthier, feel stronger are definitely there, don't get me wrong. But the above are my hopes for our household. That and lots of exciting adventures with our two boys, (which is a given....:-)

Oh yeah...and HAWAII!!!!! (One month but who's counting!!!!!)

Getting out in the cold!

Braving the cold temps, yes in shorts, (I think I just REALLY miss warm weather already!)

The name of the game in January in our neck of the woods is just how to brave the cold weather with two littles in tow, one of which hates jackets, gloves, and the sort....
Getting outside is generally just what we do. We have a teeny tiny house, two little energizer bunny boys, and to have us all cooped up on days off inside just isn't an option. Plus, Alex and I BOTH do better and feel better when we get outside, whether it be fishing or going on a run or hike, it's just what makes us tick.

Our little Brother is the better one at getting the warm clothes on!

Blue snow bunny!

So, we're getting out there and doing it! Sometimes only for an hour or two, sometimes for half the day. The boys go with, and they generally have a great time too. Alex's primary solo spot is below where he may or may not have been catching some epic and beautiful steelhead in what we term "the ice box". This hike is about a 1,000+ ft. scramble straight up and down on rain and ice slicked rock. It really is the pinnacle of salmon and steelhead fishing for Alex in this special Trinity River spot. I can stay it really it is his home away from home...

PS....Just 33 days till we get to escape the frigid fun for a few days in the beautiful Hawaii....I'm not counting the days or anything....;-)

Sweet Talin Moments

This little guy will be 20 months in just a few days, WOW! Having missed his big 1 1/2 year old milestone update, which I consider a fairly momentous occasion, I feel like I need to catch up a bit. T baby, no longer really a baby but still is considered such in our family, is growing by leaps and bounds. The biggest development recently has been his vocabulary. Still jabbering like an ewok from a distant land, but those words are becoming more and more clear. His fav is the infamous "NO!" or just a "no???" he uses it in all forms. We're working on "Yes". He also has "All done Mom!" which I love, as he has always done the "all done" sign really well and love that he now has the words with the sign. He also has down "bye bye" usually with a wave and blowing kisses, and of course Mama, Dada, GO! (usually in reference to his older bro), and recently we got a "Love you!" out of him. Body parts are also coming also such as nose and ears. "Tinkey!(stinkey..as in a poo..) is also there too! "Please" and "Tank you" come often as well ;-)

Talin enjoying his new chair from Santa...he's a kid who likes to get some R and R once in ahile!

conked out with Dad

Angel Baby!

Enjoying the sunshine!

walking with Mama

All smiles!

River boy

Getting help from Granny

All smiles with 'Papa!

Talin is in a really smiley phase right now. He'll bust the "CHEEEEESE" out most times a camera is pointed at him which is awesome! In know it probably won't last, but soaking it up while I can. He's pickier than his brother with food, loves, cereal with milk, apples, noodles, and yogurt. Everything else it depends on the hour and he's known for plain refusing things on sight just because of the look of it. I'm trying to ride it out, figuring if he gets hungry enough he'll eat, but find myself and giving in, to say, two yogurts and two apples a day just wanting to ensure he's getting in the calories to prevent the hungry baby breakdown. He still loves his pacifier. By this time Forrest had given up his, but Talin is indeed a different kid and seems to really want it. We're now going to limit it to nap and bed time in preparation for becoming a baby plug fee household!
He is a dancing machine and is SO funny when the mood strikes him. I will work on getting video of these moments!
Speaking of video, one follows. It's a bit long, and really the best part is at the end if you want to skip the enldless jabber and rocking horse riding that fills it ;-) I don't take enough videos of the kids, which is silly, given how easy it is these days on the phone. I actually prefer pictures to videos when looking at other blogs, but I also realize how cute their little voices and and how their little sounds, walks, and dances change so soon and video is really the only way to capture these moments. So, I'm aiming for at least one good video a month of the kids. We'll see!!!!!

We're so loving Talin's sweetness and bubbly personality. He is a cutie to boot too!!!!!