the white house at the right time

Today the kids looked outside and said, wouldn't it be fun to go to Hawaii today, "yes" I agreed. But in place of a fabulous vacation, I pulled out my copy of my mom's ward cookbook. In it is a killer recipe for Kona Inn Banana bread, a recipe from a famed restaurant in Kailua Kona , Hawaii that has been around since 1928. Over the years, I have tried lots of banana bread recipes and this one is still the best. When we go back to Hawaii, I am going to the Kona Inn for their banana bread and maybe some opakapaka (pink snapper) or some ono ( wahoo ). 1 c. shortening (or butter) 2 c sugar 6 very ripe bananas 4 well beaten eggs 2 1/2 c. flour 1 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking soda Cream together shortening and sugar. Add in bananas and eggs. Set aside. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Blend the wet and dry ingredients. Do not over mix ! Bake in greased bread pans at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Insert toothpick in center to make sure it is cooked ...

Our backyard? Maybe. Way back in the back, back is Randy walking and doing our annual survey of "the final resting place", maybe. We bought this property years ago with some friends. We were going to be next door neighbors, share an open fence, they'd build the pool, we'd have the court, and maybe even have twinner dogs with bff dog tags. But change happens. They are in Missouri, we are in Washington. So every year, when we're here, we do "The Walk" and have "The Talk." Where do we want to end up. Where are we planning our lives to take us. Hands down it would be great to not have neighbors right out our back door, but the sagebrush and scruboak just doesn't compare to the pines and rhodies. For now the deer get the pick of the lots. Maybe we'll have my brother build us another house like this. This is one he did for my sister, it is now her rental, maybe her 2nd home one day. A possible place for us to rent if and when we move. I u...

Still working on updating post on Utah visit.... After a night in Boise swimming in the pool, we were off the Meacham, Oregon. I told Randy I wanted to veer off our regular route. So we did, grabbed a bite at the only store which is so remote customer service isn't really an issue. Inside the diner, it had a sign that read, "This isn't Burger King, you can't have it your way, you have it my way, or you don't get it." Big claim to fame is that Pres. Harding came here, and oh, yeah, it happens to be one of the coldest places in North America. Yippee, our wagon, err suburban got us home! Good to be back.

Can't you see each of the kiddos hovering under these? I think I'd pick the yellow for myself. It has been the driest summer in 60 years. No real rain has fallen since the middle of May. The leaves on the trees are already changing colors. At the church, crimson leaves have to be raked away. Today it rained. It is the big news story. Lots of spinouts on the roads, people actually have forgotten how to drive when roads are wet. I thought August was still summer. Here August begins Fall. Our family is o.k. with a dry spell, for a spell. Now what will we do today? P.S. the Space Needle went up for sale, temporarily, $79 million dollars, 14 bathrooms but no bedrooms - so that is why they must call it "Sleepless in Seattle" - no beds! Just a thought.

We've been away the last couple weeks. I need to pull up the pics and write down some thoughts. I need to do the laundry too. But here at this house , we had a chance to re-evaluate what really needs to be done. A house of holiness and peace.

Baltimore Orioles versus Seattle Mariners. Kenzie Koo's first Mariners Game, mine too! Randy has come with the kids a couple times before. Sitting in the cold or rain, even if there is a partial roof with an infant has held little appeal for me. But oh, this game was perfect baseball weather. After finding Cayleb at the guest service booth, who went missing for about 20 crazy minutes, he went out the portal we went up to our seats, we settled down and had famous Safeco Field garlic fries, great for game conversations, peanuts, slushies, and lots of other muchies. However, no matter how many munchies, Kenzie wasn't too interested in watching. So we walked the facilites, I walk the facilities a lot - fyi, the escalator changes directions from up to down after the 7th inning. Makayla and friend Maddie, who made this oh, so cute poster! We came for a couple of reasons, LDS family night, free t-shirts, and to see Ken Griffey Jr. #24, yeah, their marketing works. Randy's fri...

The locals say that summer up here doesn't really start until July 5. In other words, 4th of July is usually wet and damp which puts a bit of a damper of a bbq and fireworks. However, we just keep breaking records up here. The most snow days, the coldest weather, the most rain, and now one of the hottest, driest weeks for the 4th of July in almost 30 years. I love records that break tradition. That is exactly why the boys decided to kick off the 4th by sleeping outside on our bedroom deck the night before. Then it was up, up, up. Randy headed off earlier to start flipping the pancakes for the 8:30 a.m. annual 4th of July breakfast at the church. Rand, Rand, the cooking man! While we waited in line, Cayden showed off his bike decorated with roman candles. Last year, we went all out on decorating the bikes. But this year, the kids wanted the basics, and Makayla who is bordering the kid/tween years decided she would just help with Kenzie-Koo rather than bring her bike. Loyal and tr...