If it were the first day of school, and I had the assignment to write about "What I did for Summer Vacation," this past week is what I'd write about. It will be my only get away this summer but it was a great get away - very worth writing about. So I'm going to - write about it, day by day, journal style - and for the most part brief. I didn't take many pictures but the ones I have are fun - and I'll try to find some links - links to Newport Beach since that's where we "got away" - with our Hardester family!
We stayed at the Marriott Newport Coast Villas. Very beautiful. http://www.vacationclub.com/resorts/nc/default.jsp
Friday, July 18, 2008
Day 1: Friday 7/11 Hollywood anyone?
We left for our Newport trip on Friday around noon, flying from San Jose to LAX to get a better deal on a Mustang convertible. John Wayne airport is much closer to Newport Beach but we wanted that convertible. As we were approaching LAX Greg commented "watch Enterprise not have our convertible..." And they didn't!. But they promised they would bring it to us as soon as one came available. We decided to take our time getting down to Newport, and drove around Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Driving on Rodeo Drive, Claire announced she felt like such a tourist. I saw someone on a curb taking video pictures - I said "They're really touristy, they're taking pictures." I hadn't realized Claire was in the back seat snapping her own keepsake shots. So, here are some of Claire's touristy pictures (Thank you Claire!)
Rodeo Drive 
Hollywood Hills
Leo DiCaprio's Gate
Sunset Blvd
Guitar Center for Eric and Ryan; In n Out for everyone; Evan has Kevin Costner's autograph from the ProAm - plus one of us thinks he's cute.
After our 90 minute drive to go from LA to Newport Beach (about 50 miles in evening traffic), we caught up with our family: Wally and Judy; Julie, Kaitlyn and Brooklyn; Ross, Emily, and kids; Dane and Liz. We expected Marisha in the morning and Kelly on Tuesday. Taylor wasn't able to join us. We were sad and missed him. We arrived just in time for dinner. We had rotisserie chicken - very, very tasty -from Pavilions (a grocery chain).
Day 2: Sat 7/12 Beach anyone?
Marisha arrived - yay! - so did the convertible. And what else should we do at a beautiful place like Newport Beach but go to the beach, and then to the pool. The beach closest to the Marriott Villas is Crystal Cove State Park. http://www.crystalcovestatepark.com/beaches.htm. Some of us walked. The weather was perfect. But as first days in the sun usually go - some of us got a little "red".
After sun and fun, we had dinner (we took turns cooking dinner). Harrises had Sat which meant we all had a very yummy dinner - tacos with mango salsa - all was delicious.
Kaitlyn's revised version of the Mango Salsa (original from allrecipes.com)
2 mangos - peeled, seeded and diced
2-3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and diced
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt (I put more, just to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice(I use one full lime)
1/4 cup chopped red onion(I use about 1/4 of an onion)
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine the mangos, avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, and red onion. To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.( I dont refrigerate)
Ronaldo's Beef Carnitas (thank you Ronaldo, whoever you are - from allrecipes.com)
4 pounds chuck roast
1 (4 ounce) can green chile peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder (Julie only uses about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place roast on heavy foil large enough to enclose the meat. In a small bowl, combine the green chile peppers, chili powder, oregano, cumin, garlic and salt to taste. Mix well and rub over the meat. Totally wrap the meat in the foil and place in a roasting pan. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until the roast just falls apart with a fork. Remove from oven and shred using two forks.
Julie says she throws everything in the crock pot and cooks it all day or until the beef shreds well instead of wrapping it in foil.
After sun and fun, we had dinner (we took turns cooking dinner). Harrises had Sat which meant we all had a very yummy dinner - tacos with mango salsa - all was delicious.
Kaitlyn's revised version of the Mango Salsa (original from allrecipes.com)
2 mangos - peeled, seeded and diced
2-3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and diced
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt (I put more, just to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice(I use one full lime)
1/4 cup chopped red onion(I use about 1/4 of an onion)
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine the mangos, avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, and red onion. To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.( I dont refrigerate)
Ronaldo's Beef Carnitas (thank you Ronaldo, whoever you are - from allrecipes.com)
4 pounds chuck roast
1 (4 ounce) can green chile peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder (Julie only uses about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place roast on heavy foil large enough to enclose the meat. In a small bowl, combine the green chile peppers, chili powder, oregano, cumin, garlic and salt to taste. Mix well and rub over the meat. Totally wrap the meat in the foil and place in a roasting pan. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until the roast just falls apart with a fork. Remove from oven and shred using two forks.
Julie says she throws everything in the crock pot and cooks it all day or until the beef shreds well instead of wrapping it in foil.
Day 3: Sun 7/13 Church anyone?
We went to church on Sunday. We attended the Harbor Hills Ward, and they meet in a building right next to the Newport Beach Temple - beautiful! http://www.lds.org/temples/main/0,11204,1912-1-168-1,00.html
Amazing, Greg home teaches someone who has a very good friend in the Harbor Hills Ward. Greg remembered, and after Sacrament meeting asked to find this person and he was there - so Greg was able to visit with his home teachees good friend! We spent our Sunday resting. Sunday evening we found out that Kelly wouldn't be able to join us - very disappointing - we missed him. Dane and Liz headed back to Provo on Sunday morning early - we missed them the rest of the week. Grant, Stacey and family arrived late Sunday night - yay!
It was Wally and Judy's turn for dinner - we had yummy, yummy baby back ribs.
The rib recipe-from Judy - "I used baby backs. You can use regular ones but they will be a little less tender, I think. I like to use a disposable foil pan. The ribs we ate cooked for three hours. They may have been cooked a little too long--[a few words from Kathy - they were fantastic and tender and so delicious!]--it is just however you like them: less time for less done, etc.Rub a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder all over the ribs (about equal amounts). Cover or wrap ribs in foil and put in foil pan. Bake or bar-be-que at about 350 degrees for two to three hours. Pour off grease. Cover with bar-be-que sauce (we like the sweet kind--Sweet Baby Ray's was available at Costco and some stores). Otherwise, just get a sweet, mild sauce. Uncover and bake about 20 minutes more. Cut with scissors into serving sized pieces. You can lower or up the heat to time with the rest of your dinner. They are difficult to ruin unless they burn or dry out. This recipe will work for beef brisket only it takes about four hours to bake. It will probably work for chicken only bake about 45 minutes."
mmmm, good!
Amazing, Greg home teaches someone who has a very good friend in the Harbor Hills Ward. Greg remembered, and after Sacrament meeting asked to find this person and he was there - so Greg was able to visit with his home teachees good friend! We spent our Sunday resting. Sunday evening we found out that Kelly wouldn't be able to join us - very disappointing - we missed him. Dane and Liz headed back to Provo on Sunday morning early - we missed them the rest of the week. Grant, Stacey and family arrived late Sunday night - yay!
It was Wally and Judy's turn for dinner - we had yummy, yummy baby back ribs.
The rib recipe-from Judy - "I used baby backs. You can use regular ones but they will be a little less tender, I think. I like to use a disposable foil pan. The ribs we ate cooked for three hours. They may have been cooked a little too long--[a few words from Kathy - they were fantastic and tender and so delicious!]--it is just however you like them: less time for less done, etc.Rub a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder all over the ribs (about equal amounts). Cover or wrap ribs in foil and put in foil pan. Bake or bar-be-que at about 350 degrees for two to three hours. Pour off grease. Cover with bar-be-que sauce (we like the sweet kind--Sweet Baby Ray's was available at Costco and some stores). Otherwise, just get a sweet, mild sauce. Uncover and bake about 20 minutes more. Cut with scissors into serving sized pieces. You can lower or up the heat to time with the rest of your dinner. They are difficult to ruin unless they burn or dry out. This recipe will work for beef brisket only it takes about four hours to bake. It will probably work for chicken only bake about 45 minutes."
mmmm, good!
Day 4: Mon 7/14 Beach anyone?
Gotta love the beach - it was just such perfect weather. We went to Corona Del Mar, just a little north of where we were staying. It's edged by lovely homes. It is fun to drive the streets around this beach - the homes are so fun to look at. http://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-bin/image.cgi?image=4849&mode=big&lastmode=sequential&flags=0&year=2002 This beach had perfect boogie boarding waves - truly the most perfect I have ever seen. One good wave after another, big enough to be exciting but not scary, and the kids glided in over and over and over again.
This night was Greg's and my night for dinner - guess what we served? Starts with H and H.
Emily made us yummy sticky bun something for breakfast - she promises me it is easy - foolproof - we'll see - it is made using Rhodes frozen dough.... (anyone who knows my experience with Rhodes frozen rolls will understand my skepticism)
Monkey Bread
24 frozen dough balls( I use Rhodes, but it comes in pack of 36, save rest for later)
1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 pkg butterscotch pudding
optional... chopped nuts
grease a bundt pan, melt butter and brown sugar in sauce pan until it blends.. .do not boil. add cinnamon. place 1/3 of dough balls on bottom of pan, sprinkle with pudding powder, pour 1/3 of brown sugar mixture. Repeat and finish off ingredients. cover with towel and let rise over night. bake at 350 for 45 to 55 min. (you will want to put a pan underneath incase it overflows... can make a huge mess). Flip it over onto a plate or platter to serve.
This night was Greg's and my night for dinner - guess what we served? Starts with H and H.
Emily made us yummy sticky bun something for breakfast - she promises me it is easy - foolproof - we'll see - it is made using Rhodes frozen dough.... (anyone who knows my experience with Rhodes frozen rolls will understand my skepticism)
Monkey Bread
24 frozen dough balls( I use Rhodes, but it comes in pack of 36, save rest for later)
1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 pkg butterscotch pudding
optional... chopped nuts
grease a bundt pan, melt butter and brown sugar in sauce pan until it blends.. .do not boil. add cinnamon. place 1/3 of dough balls on bottom of pan, sprinkle with pudding powder, pour 1/3 of brown sugar mixture. Repeat and finish off ingredients. cover with towel and let rise over night. bake at 350 for 45 to 55 min. (you will want to put a pan underneath incase it overflows... can make a huge mess). Flip it over onto a plate or platter to serve.
Day 5: Tues 7/15 Timeshare anyone?
Yes, when in Timeshare Land, you get solicited every so often as to whether or not you want to buy a timeshare. Greg took the bait - not to buy, but to get a lovely free gift, to engage Evan in something, and ask some questions the family had in regards to managing timeshare options. Greg, Evan and I went. We learned quite a bit about Marriott timeshares, including the "fact" that "...the prices will never go down...Marriott has never lowered their prices..." Greg brought it up twice so that means Evan was embarrassed once. We came out of the sales pitch with Evan itching for us to buy into Newport, and some prize money in the form of gift cards to spend at a local mall - Fashion Island. http://www.shopfashionisland.com/pressroom.aspx Like everywhere else in Newport Beach, this mall is beautiful. Claire spent the afternoon there with her girl cousins. They ate at Cheese Cake Factory and shopped. Younger girls went to Build a Bear. Very cute new little cuddly friends. Once home in the afternoon, the little boys, who'd spent the day at the beach, decided they needed some cuddly friends too. So after dinner, many of us went back to the mall. It was near closing time so we moved quickly. I spent some of the prize money at J. Jill and let Emily finish off the rest of the gift cards at Build a Bear.
Ross and Emily provided dinner for us - ooooh so yummy tri- tip!
the tri-tip recipe is....
1/2 c soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
It is best to marinade at least a half hour, and up to 24 hours.
Were we having to roll to get around by now? I think so. For dessert we had donuts that Wally, Judy, Greg, Evan and I drove out to find near the Newport Pier in the late afternoon. We drove past the "isles" to get there. Incredible houses on the water with boats and yachts docked out front. This link gives just a smidgen of an idea of what these isles are like. http://www.20lindaisle.com/
Ross and Emily provided dinner for us - ooooh so yummy tri- tip!
the tri-tip recipe is....
1/2 c soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves crushed garlic
It is best to marinade at least a half hour, and up to 24 hours.
Were we having to roll to get around by now? I think so. For dessert we had donuts that Wally, Judy, Greg, Evan and I drove out to find near the Newport Pier in the late afternoon. We drove past the "isles" to get there. Incredible houses on the water with boats and yachts docked out front. This link gives just a smidgen of an idea of what these isles are like. http://www.20lindaisle.com/
Day 6: Wed 7/16 Beach anyone? How about golf?
The adults started their day with breakfast at Ruby's in Laguna Beach. http://www.rubys.com/ Very tasty.
Back at the Villas, Judy rounded up some of us to go to a driving range. Evan, Claire, Kristin, Elly, Greg and I went along. Judy gave some basic instruction then everyone was a pro (I went along just to watch for the most part but Evan let me hit a few golf balls). Luckily, I had camera in hand. After golf we hunted down a milk shake spot - the GPS led us to Fatburger. Were very good milkshakes, onion rings...burgers etc. What a snack! And fun, the place had a free jukebox (CD player - what do you call them these days?) Once back to home base some of us went on to the beach for more water fun. Stacey and Grant made our dinner for us - taco salad - soooo good - with home made guacamole - very, very good - recipes at the end of this post. And for dessert - cupcakes from Sprinkles! So delicious. But I over did on two huge plates of taco salad I really could not eat a cup cake - but I did get a taste of Claire's red velvet and a bite of pumpkin. Very, very yummy. Now Pictures!
Back at the Villas, Judy rounded up some of us to go to a driving range. Evan, Claire, Kristin, Elly, Greg and I went along. Judy gave some basic instruction then everyone was a pro (I went along just to watch for the most part but Evan let me hit a few golf balls). Luckily, I had camera in hand. After golf we hunted down a milk shake spot - the GPS led us to Fatburger. Were very good milkshakes, onion rings...burgers etc. What a snack! And fun, the place had a free jukebox (CD player - what do you call them these days?) Once back to home base some of us went on to the beach for more water fun. Stacey and Grant made our dinner for us - taco salad - soooo good - with home made guacamole - very, very good - recipes at the end of this post. And for dessert - cupcakes from Sprinkles! So delicious. But I over did on two huge plates of taco salad I really could not eat a cup cake - but I did get a taste of Claire's red velvet and a bite of pumpkin. Very, very yummy. Now Pictures!
At the Range
1st - find a club
2nd - Get golf balls
The bucket brigade
3rd - A quick lesson from Grandma
4th - Swing away
Sending 'em to the moon!
Sore tired hands FatBurger
Something easier on the fingersBeach Boys was Grandma's favorite
Claire's pick 
Something to soothe sore handsBack to Corona Del Mar
Grant sending off Evan, Emily and Kristin
Here comes a wave
They all caught it
Riding it all the way in 
Some landlubbers (but not really, I think these kids would live in the water if they could)
Grant's Guacamole
To taste as we have never measured
Smashed avocados (4)
lemon juice (few tablespoons)
crushed garlic (few tablespoons)
Sour cream or mayo (1/2 cupish)
salt and pepper to taste
Pico de Gallo (1/2 cupish) (can buy in the store)
Or the pico de gallo: (found online)
Ingredients1 1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and diced ripe tomatoes
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon seeded, minced fresh jalapeno
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leafs
salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions: Combine all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl and stir to mix. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Day 7: Thurs 7/17 Theater anyone?
This is our last full day. We were sad to think about leaving already. But we made it a good day.
Lunch at Ruby's in Newport Beach. Then to Corona Del Mar for one last afternoon of sand, great waves and sun. But was really kind of an overcast day, but even with it being kind of high fog, it was still very pleasant.
Then back to home base to have left overs from the week. It would take another week to eat all the left overs! And we probably all would have loved to do that had we the time to stay another week.
Then, around 5:30 Grant, Stacey, Greg, Evan, Claire and I headed up to LA to see the play "Wicked"! We bought our tickets from the box office on Friday. Cousin Kelly was having a fun week away in The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza - she came to the play with us. We knew traffic would be bad but we just didn't realize how bad bad really is. It took us for the most part 90 minutes to get to Kelly. We picked her up a little after 7:00. That felt good we had nearly an hour to get to the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. It was only a little over 7 miles away. Well, Yahoo maps gives you 25 minutes to go those 7 miles - and it took us over an hour! Big, big bummer. We were late to the show - but the ushers were so very nice about it and let us in no trouble. At intermission, Kelly, being a "Wicked" veteran, filled us in on what we missed. We all loved the show, despite being just a tad in the dark about the story. I think we can all recommend it. And it is coming to San Francisco - I think we'll have to go. Sorry Greg - but we have to see what we missed!
Was a very good time. And big thanks to Grant for driving us all around. Was along time in the driver's seat.
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/ It's the official site - click around especially on the left corner "The Show" there is video and music.
Lunch at Ruby's in Newport Beach. Then to Corona Del Mar for one last afternoon of sand, great waves and sun. But was really kind of an overcast day, but even with it being kind of high fog, it was still very pleasant.
Then back to home base to have left overs from the week. It would take another week to eat all the left overs! And we probably all would have loved to do that had we the time to stay another week.
Then, around 5:30 Grant, Stacey, Greg, Evan, Claire and I headed up to LA to see the play "Wicked"! We bought our tickets from the box office on Friday. Cousin Kelly was having a fun week away in The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza - she came to the play with us. We knew traffic would be bad but we just didn't realize how bad bad really is. It took us for the most part 90 minutes to get to Kelly. We picked her up a little after 7:00. That felt good we had nearly an hour to get to the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. It was only a little over 7 miles away. Well, Yahoo maps gives you 25 minutes to go those 7 miles - and it took us over an hour! Big, big bummer. We were late to the show - but the ushers were so very nice about it and let us in no trouble. At intermission, Kelly, being a "Wicked" veteran, filled us in on what we missed. We all loved the show, despite being just a tad in the dark about the story. I think we can all recommend it. And it is coming to San Francisco - I think we'll have to go. Sorry Greg - but we have to see what we missed!
Was a very good time. And big thanks to Grant for driving us all around. Was along time in the driver's seat.
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/ It's the official site - click around especially on the left corner "The Show" there is video and music.
Day 8: 7/18 The End
Ooooh, time to go home. Marisha flew home to CO on Thursday afternoon. The Tremonton crowd left early Friday morning to drive back. We packed up and were out the door around 9:30. Check out was at 10:00 so the others were on their way soon after I'm sure.
Having had such a horrendous traffic experience the night before, we left giving ourselves what we thought was plenty of time to get to LAX for our 12:35 departure. And it was plenty of time! Thank you! So much time we didn't know what to do with ourselves, we're not use to getting to the airport at the recommended arrival time. Our drive up to LAX took what a 50 mile drive should take - about an hour! We got the car returned, rode the shuttle to the airport, got all checked in and then waited and waited to 12:35. What to do while you wait? Eat of course...
We were home to San Jose by 2:00.
And that's what I did for summer vacation.
Having had such a horrendous traffic experience the night before, we left giving ourselves what we thought was plenty of time to get to LAX for our 12:35 departure. And it was plenty of time! Thank you! So much time we didn't know what to do with ourselves, we're not use to getting to the airport at the recommended arrival time. Our drive up to LAX took what a 50 mile drive should take - about an hour! We got the car returned, rode the shuttle to the airport, got all checked in and then waited and waited to 12:35. What to do while you wait? Eat of course...
We were home to San Jose by 2:00.
And that's what I did for summer vacation.
Monday, July 7, 2008
What we had for Dinner
We hosted dinner here last night - Sunday July 6th - in honor of Busaths. Laugenours joined us. Was fun. And what would we have? We'd have hamburgers of course. Hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad and macaroni salad, fruit and chips - was yummy! Company was best of all - so what we really had for dinner was a good time!
Come into the Garden
OK - I had to do it sooner or later - post about flowers and the garden. We have fairly new window boxes out front, and the irrigation was just hooked up a couple weeks ago. The boxes were specially made to my specs! I feel so inventive. But they probably are not original in idea at all. My main wish, that they drain away from the house, and they do. I was thrilled to get the boxes planted! I shot for a red, white and blue theme. The plants are small but pretty still. I look forward to watching them fill out.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy 4th of July
We had a nice 4th. Some running around in the late morning, and then friends and family over to swim in the afternoon. Lots of activity in the pool. It is always fun to see the kids out there having a good time. Our street had a block party we kind of visited on and off. We joined the street for dinner around 6:00 - barbecues up and down the street - fancy stuff and lots of potluck to share. We just did our regular hamburgers and hotdogs though. In the evening we hooked up with friends to watch fireworks in Cupertino. We parked near Valco shopping mall - walked about 1/2 mile with the masses to an open grassy field/park. Was quite the community feeling all these people with chairs and blankets spread out over this grassy area. The fireworks were being set off from a near by high school. Was a great show! Back at home we caught up with Kelly and Garry who'd come over to swim. They wondered why we went all the way to Cupertino when we could have just watched the fireworks going off in our neighborhood! They watched from the pool what sounds a very good firework show. Illegal, but good. 
In our Red White and Blue
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)