Our Fun Family

Last November, our church hosted a Father/Daughter camping weekend at Camp Penial.  When I was registering for that trip with the church I decided that it should be for Grace and I.  I wasn't sure that there would be much for Hailey to do, since she was only 3.  All in all, it was the right choice.  Grace and I had a blast, and it was a special weekend for just her and I.  We camped in a tent, we rode a zip line and shot a .22, and she also mastered the rock wall.  Truthfully, there really wasn't much that Hailey would have gotten to do.  But it was obvious that her feelings were hurt that she didn't get to go.  I finally appeased her by promising her that she and I would go on our own camping adventure on another weekend. As we got into the holiday season, and the weather got colder, we ran out of weekends to go camping.  Then we had some issues with our camper, and countless other reasons came up that kept me from keeping my promise.  Hailey cornered me

I am sure it comes as no surprise that I like to make fresh salsas.  I have several recipes that I make on a fairly regular basis.  One of my favorites is a tomatillo salsa, another is a smoked tomato salsa.  And summertime is a natural time to make salsas, I use them for tacos (breakfast and dinner), as a salad dressing, or as a sandwich spread.  The fresh produce I use to make my salsas usually comes from the store or occasionally from a farmers market nearby.  But even during the peak growing season, the best ingredients are often hard to find and can be expensive!    I am not characterized by my green thumbs.  I haven't been known for lush landscapes, but I am getting better.  So far, I haven't been able to kill my roses, and my grass is looking better with each passing week of our early spring.  We still have a house plant we received from a friend when Hailey was born, that qualifies as a minor miracle, I am sure.  Now, my mom has a green thumb, she inherited it from my