We had the joy of waking up to a full house this morning. Mom, dad and Tiff arrived earlier this week.
The day started around 5:15 a.m. I awoke to the sight of Donna’s face, illuminated by her iPhone. She had already been awake, texting back and forth with her sister in New Hampshire.
After an hour of just talking, we ventured out into the cold (35 degrees) morning with Buddy.
Below is one of my faovorite nearby views. The Santa Monica Mountains, with the evergreens in the foreground, always make me forget I’m in Southern California. It feels more like Bend, Oregon, minus the snow and freezing temperatures.
After our shorter-than-usual walk, it was time for a quick shower, a breakfast appetizer (cinnamon rolls), family and opening gifts.
And yes, of course, Buddy was allowed a minimal amount of paper chewing and shredding.
Donna was so excited about her new Camelback, I even caught her washing dishes while wearing it.
After the gifts were unwrapped, it was time for brunch:
- Scrambled eggs with cheese
- Turkey sausage
- Tater-Tots
- Salsa
- Flour Tortillas
Sounds like a great recipe for breakfast tacos, right? It is! And that’s exactly what we had — except for Tiff, of course, who prefers not to ‘mix’ her foods and instead opted for a more traditional breakfast plate.
The rest of the day was pretty low key — a walk around the block, a game of Pictionary, lounging, a trip to the dog park with Buddy, and preparing/consuming dinner. The prime rib hadn’t thawed as much as we thought and took about two hours longer to cook than we anticipated, but it was absolutely delicious, as were the scalloped potatoes and brusselsprouts.