Visitors from across the pond

Last week we had some wonderful houseguests come stay with us...one of my very best friends Jessica, her husband Stewart, and their beautiful baby girl, Bowen.  They flew in from the UK and made our house their first stop before heading to the coast.  It was a whirlwind day and a half, but I loved every minute that we had to catch up, to laugh, to hug, and to reminisce.  I snapped quite a few photos, so get ready.

Their were plenty of attempts at a group shot...I think all the babies were stunned by all the cameras going off.

Top row Ashleigh, Jessica, Suzanne, Me, Jennifer

Bottom row  Peyt, Bowen, Will, Lily, Winston

I thought this sequence was funny.  It was taken over the course of just a few minutes, but you can see Will was definitely on the move, and there is a mushroom toy that changed hands several times.

There were a few tears :(

I love this next sequence with the girls.  Jessica and I have been talking for months about how similar Bowen and Lily seem to be (they are a week apart).  They sure do seem to have some of the same expressions.

PS Meredith, Liz, and Reed...we missed you!

PSS I told you there were a lot of pictures :) 

The sand and the sea

First, the sand...

Lily spent a good part of the day at Grammy and Grandpa's house.  They just got a sandbox for their grandbabies and Lily tested it out this afternoon.  I think she spent most of the time wondering why we kept telling her not to put the sand and the toys in her mouth. 

And...look at those blue eyes!!

Next, the sea...

We finished up swim lessons this weekend.  Lily continues to love the water.  She is so relaxed, likes to kick her legs, and splash with her hands.  I know you might be wondering why I labeled this as "the sea" because we are obviously at the pool.  Well, in this picture, I am holding up Lily's certificate of participation in the "shrimp" class.  I think that is hilarious!

Sorry for the terrible quality of the photo, it was taken on my phone.


I also have a recipe to go along with this post.  It's for Roasted Tilapia with Orange-Parsley Salsa.  This was the first time I had ever bought and prepared fish at home.  I'm not sure why I waited all this time because this dish was easy to prepare and it was awesome!  One of those that you comment on all the way through the meal because it's soooooooo good. (Back me up Timmy!)

Here is the complete recipe from Cooking Light:

3 oranges
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 cups hot cooked instant white rice

1. Grate 2 teaspoons orange rind.  Peel and section oranges over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons juice.  Chop sections.  Combine rind, chopped orange, 2 tablespoons parsley, 5 teaspoons oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl; toss well.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Place fish in an ovenproof skillet coated with remaining 1 teaspoon oil.  Bake at 400 degrees for 14 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Combine 2 tablespoons reserved juice, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and rice.  Spoon 1/2 cup rice onto each of 4 plates; top each with 1 fillet and 1/4 cup salsa.  Yield:  4 servings.

Just opened...

I am excited to share that my dad has started a blog himself - The Secretary.  He has a lot of family history, photos, and memories to share...and he is a great storyteller!  You will have to visit it sometime when you have a chance.

As a nod to my dad's blog, I wanted to share a some before/after photos and a little bit of family history on the rolltop desk that sits in our house.  To the best of my dad's knowledge, the desk originally belonged to my Great, Great Grandfather, John Estes McAllister (November 15, 1854 - May 30, 1910).  In this photo he is sitting at the top left, my Great, Great Grandmother, Olivia Mann is the top right, and my Great Grandfather, William Howard, is sitting on the steps just below his father.

Most likely built sometime after the Civil War, the desk started out in West Point, VA where he lived with his family and worked as a railroad engineer. It moved from Virginia to Durham, NC and then resided at my Grandma Dot and Granddaddy Bill's house in Pittsboro for many years on the back porch.  The back porch was sort of a mudroom/laundry room/office space.  My Granddaddy Bill kept lots of bills and papers in it, and it looked like it was sort of a dropping ground for things before you stepped into the kitchen.  As a child, I remember playing in this room, punching in numbers on my grandfather's calulator (the kind that has the tape that prints out), and tapping on the keys of his old typewriter.  I am sure I also peeked into a few of the desk drawers (I was nosy like that). The desk was missing one of the pencil drawers, a handle, some drawer bottoms, and the desktop looked very tired and worn.  When it came time to move the desk out of the house, it was questionable whether it could make the trip.  Thankfully, it made it, although it's next stop was the shed at my parent's house.  My dad and I had high hopes of refinishing it ourselves.  Needless to say, we didn't get very far.  We did try and take some of the drawer pieces apart, but then it sat in the shed dismantled for a few years.

As a surprise to Tim and I, my parents took the desk to have it professionally restored and refinished, and gave it to us as a gift.  It sits proudly in our living room now and functions as a nice little desk space.  Not only is it a beautiful piece of furniture, but it has such history and meaning behind it.  Here are some before pictures. 

Before

After

I hope this desk is around in another hundred years! 

Serious face

A friend of my mom's came and took some pictures the other week.  We usually have no problem getting Lily to smile, but she brought her SERIOUS face that morning.  These were two of my favorites. 

I love how she is cutting her eyes in this picture.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

What's blooming in your yard?

Is it just me or is the pollen terrible this year?  Last night, as I was making my way to bed, I looked out onto our deck, and in the dark, it almost looked like a light dusting of snow.  But no, it certainly was not snow, it was just the pollen that had accumulated on the deck.  Bring on the rain!

One of the things that I love most about our house is the back deck.  We have three huge blossoming cherry trees that grow right up through the deck.  During the summer, they provide some much needed shade, but for a few weeks every spring they have hundreds and hundreds of beautiful pink blooms.  This is what I see each time I look out into the backyard right now.

Now, the flowers will stay on the trees for a little while longer, then they will start to fall.  And, this is another beautiful sight.  It looks like it is raining flowers and there are petals everywhere floating through the air.  I hope that Lily will get to enjoy the flowers falling this year.  I have been known to pose Jackson for a picture or two in the flowers...it is not a very masculine-looking photo.  Ha!

(this was taken in 2005)

The only downside to all these flowers is the mess they make once they have all fallen onto the ground (and especially if it rains).  Tim might have a different slant on these flowers, as he is primarily responsible for the cleanup.  But, it sure is a beautiful sight for a few short weeks!

"Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms."
- Ikkyu Sojun

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
- Lady Bird Johnson

Easter Weekend

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!  Lily was quite the lucky little girl.  The Easter Bunny found his way to not one, but three houses to drop off some special treats for her!  No surprise, but the first thing she went for was the grass. 

Here are a few pictures of Lily in her Easter dress.  She looked precious!

We had such a nice day!  Everyone from both families that was in town came over to our house to celebrate.  We ate lots of good food, had a few laughs, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

It was fun getting ready for the holiday.  We dyed eggs...now I cannot even remember the last time I dyed eggs.  The egg-dying conjured up fun (and funny) memories of Easter when we were little...the occasional mix-up the Easter Bunny made...or the sibling rivalry created by an egg hunt.  I sewed some patchwork Easter eggs to decorate a tree.  I found the pattern here.  Also, I baked my first carrot cake.  Thanks to one of Paula's recipes, I think it turned out well!

Here is my tree.

While it was fun getting ready for Easter...it was most fun spending it with Lily.