5x12 | july

here we are at the end of july.  the days flew by but we enjoyed every one of them.

• our garden grew. 
• we ate the first tomato off the plant, used the zucchini for some pasta, and added basil to sandwiches and salads.
• we realized our mistake with the strawberries and will try again next year.
• jordan practiced and swam and got stronger.
• we bought books for school - ouch.
• we saw 2 fireworks shows - one in a boat.
• we went to san diego for my mom’s family reunion.
• we went to a padres game.
• we hosted my dad’s family reunion.
• we learned how to play flip the cup.
• i laughed harder than i have in a long time.
• we watched pitch perfect for the first time.
• we saw monsters inc.
• i finished book #1 and started book #2.
• jordan zipped through books 1 & 2 and is now working on 3.
• i cut 5 inches off my hair.
• sofia cut 7 inches off her hair.
• andrew cut 2.
• sofia and i went with friends to see aladdin put on by a teenage theater workshop. it was amazing.
• we waited patiently for the royal baby to be born.
• i dared myself to do more daring this month.
• bobby worked late almost everyday.
• we are preparing for time apart.
• we are excited,nervous and scared. 
• we saw an amazing cirque de soleil show.
• we ate peach cobbler and peach pie.
• the kids made jam and popsicles.
• we were quiet and busy and happy.

july, thanks for the memories.

2013 weekly menu: week 31

sopes de chorizo

this week is going to be unpredictable. i don't know what we'll be eating every night so i thought i would bring back a menu from the past to help you out if you're looking for inspiration.

weekend eats: 

saturday: sopes and pupusas  

sunday: pizza, gnocchi and salad
here's a menu from last year week 29.  and i've added a link to the minestrone recipe which i've been wanting to share.

making this week:

monday: grilled halibut with fresh mango salad, corn on the cob

tuesday: minestrone soup, french bread - we love this soup! i replace the lentils with red kidney beans.

wednesday:  shrimp lettuce wraps, chicken shu mai, rice

thursday: taco salad

friday: pizza

hope this helps.  i'll share next week what our weekly menu looked like.

reunion familiar camacho 2013

bobby and i have what you would consider a large family - the five of us.  i come from a family of 6 - 2 boys and 2 girls. bobby is an only child but has gained 2 step brothers and 2 step sisters.  my parents both had 14 in their families and bobby's mom has 6 siblings in her family, with countless cousins and second cousins.  that's lots of people, people.

we colored coded the families for fun.

my dad's family came together in la for the 3rd annual camacho reunion. family came mostly from baja california; ensenada and tijuana.  but he has family in puebla, where he is from, and texas that couldn't attend.  we ended up with 43 people.

we've been planning this reunion since january, coming up with ideas, themes and menus.  my family and my aunt's family met once a month to discuss and plan.  and then the day finally came.

made cousin designed the logo for this year.

we started the reunion at a park by my parents' house.  we set up a volleyball net (we loved playing it so much at my mom's family reunion), pop ups, tables and chairs.  the kids and those of us that were feeling sporty played volleyball while others chatted and caught up.

we ate pizza, chicken, salad, fruit.  we hugged and laughed and celebrated the beginning of a wonderful weekend.

one of the things we wanted to focus on this weekend was the story of our family.  my generation has heard stories about our grandparents, aunts and uncles but we wanted to highlight those stories.  my dad and 2 of his sisters took turns storytelling.

they spoke about how my grandparents met, "dated" and married in secret. they spoke about my uncle, my dad's oldest brother.  i could write a whole blog post novel on this man.  he was an adventurer, an actor, an animal lover - not just dogs and cats, he had tigers, elephants and monkeys as pets. he was a pilot, a radio announcer who owned a hot air balloon. he was a giving, loving, generous human being, both to his family and to complete strangers.  he opened a safari animal park in mexico before he died. his kids now run it.  you can read a little about it here.

my aunt spoke about my uncle who was a bullfighter.  (i know they led exciting lives!)  those stories blow me away.  regardless of how i feel about bullfighting, my uncle led a dangerously romantic life.  she also spoke about my aunt who had a flair for the dramatic and how my other aunt was a social butterfly that attended parties and had an intense love for life - and still does.  there were stories upon stories - and i loved that.  more than anything that weekend, i loved hearing the stories.

we went back to my parents house for more stories and coffee and dessert.

we set up a timeline for everyone to fill in with birthdays and marriages.  it was cool to see the cycles of time.  one marriage leading to births and weddings leading to even more births and wedding and so on and so on.

 then the party continued at my brother and sister-in-law's house for music, snacks and beer pong?  yes, we lived a little of our college days (not that i did that in college) around the table with beer, ping pong balls and lots of laughter.  

we wrangled anyone we could to the table, my dad, my mom, my aunts, my cousins.  and who was leading the way? my niece - who is over 21 by the way.  (we party legally.)  i haven't laughed that hard in years.  it was a blast and not something we do often.  and the next morning i remembered why.

our dj's for the night. 

sunday we went to church and got a special blessing from the priest.

then went to my other brother and sister-in-law's house for hamburgers and hot dogs, and more laughter and stories.  seriously my family is sooooo funny.
 

signing my dad's shirt.

giving out party favors.

and goodbyes.

i loved catching up with everyone and spending the weekend engrossed in family and stories and laughter.  it was a lot of work to prepare for but we didn't want it to end.

gracias por todo familia. los quiero mucho!

currents: 7.25

picking zucchini from our garden everyday.

watching the tomatoes grow.

hoping they aren't perfectly ripe while we are away.

feeling excited about seeing one in vegas.

spending too much money on textbooks - ugh!

wishing they could use ipads instead - books are cheaper.

managing jordan's schedule for the next few weeks.  (his summer is pretty much over.)

scheduling our weekends for the fall.

wondering how early jordan will get out today.

waiting for my travel journal to arrive in the mail.

excited to fill it up with memories.

making plans to visits with family before we leave.

getting used to sofia's shorter hair. (it's so much healthier now.)

deciding whether i will train this fall for another 1/2 marathon in november.

daring to be honest and brave - even if my voice shakes.

finding solutions, comprise and strength.

2013 weekly menu: week 30

salmon with balsamic, orzo pasta

i made lots of changes to the menu last week.   we had my family over for a planning meeting on wednesday and i made spaghetti and meatballs for 11 of us.  we had take out one night.  we went to bobby's last softball game on thursday and ate a quick bite before heading out.

dinners in the summer can be unpredictable and spontaneous. that's what we love about it.  although having a plan for the week is helpful for me, staying flexible and being able to improvise is key.  i've been doing my grocery shopping in little trips throughout the week instead of one big trip on monday and that helps me make adjustments throughout the week.

weekend eats: we hosted a family reunion all weekend and there was lots of food

saturday: pizza, chicken, salad, watermelon  

sunday: burgers and hot dogs

making this week:

monday: grilled chicken and quinoa salad

tuesday: eat out after water polo - last game of the summer

wednesday: turkey-pesto panini, salad

thursday: linguini with vegetables and goat cheese

friday: pizza

this week i'm working on getting textbooks, clothing and supplies for jordan who starts school in less than a month. planning for our family road trip. and putting in time for the band boosters.

hope you have an amazing week. 

our weekend in pictures: san diego

this past weekend we made another trip to san diego for a family reunion.  my mom's family got together to celebrate the second annual palacio family reunion.

once again, claudia coordinate all of the aunts, uncles, cousins and significant others together for a day of food and celebration.  we got to see our family and catch up, laugh and play together.

of course there was food, none of which i captured.  but if you look back at last year's post, it's pretty much the same.  i love that this day is easy.  bring what you want to grill and a side dish.  we had burgers, chicken sausages, hot dogs, salads, chips, fresh fruit and lots of dessert.

there was a "friendly" game of volleyball.  i didn't get a picture of that either cause i was too busy with my wicked serve.  not really, but it got competitive for sure.  san diego vs. los angeles.  i think we played 5 or 6 games of which la won 2.  we are fired up now, getting a volleyball net and ball and we'll be ready to rematch next year.

the port of san diego is the perfect spot for this get together.  looking out at the boats, the kids can get in the water, it is so much cooler than la.  glad we could come back here and see everyone.

we stayed at our cousins house for the night and then got up on sunday and went to breakfast at tyler's.

my brother and cousin recommended this place for their johnny cakes, and we are all about johnny cakes.

and waffles with lots of whipped cream.

to be honest, we were underwhelmed with the cakes.  they were ok.  not enough corn flavor for us and a bit overpriced for a family restaurant.  but we left with full bellies.

for father's day the kids and i invited bobby to see a padres game.  it worked out perfectly that they were in town on sunday and the game was at 1, early enough to get home at a decent hour.

it was family day at the park with blow up rides for the kids.  i love that you can take your picnic blanket and camp out on the lawn to watch the game while the kids run around.  every baseball park should have this.

our seats were on the top level, but this stadium is smaller than la's so they were decent.  we got to sit close to the service men who were being honored at the game.

but honestly, it was soooo hot.  we were literally melting in our seats with the sun directly above us.  we made it to the 4th inning and then thought about leaving but instead moved to the other side of the stadium for lots of shade (and lots of empty seats.)

ahh, much better.  the view of downtown san diego was spectacular.

the kids cooled off with ice cream.

and we cooled off with a shock top.

blow out game with the padres winning 10-1, lots of home runs and errors.  we were bummed to have missed the no hitter the night before. but we were happy to cross off another baseball field from the list.

after the game we walked through downtown to the burger lounge.  how have we never visited this place?  not that there is one close to us but now that we know we will definitely be visiting the one in brentwood, maybe after a water polo game.

it's marketed as an organic, sustainable restaurant.  and the flavor?  outstanding.

the kids had burgers and chicken tenders.  bobby and i shared a turkey burger and a quinoa salad.  both were amazing.  loved this place.

we are savoring our last few weekends together.  making the most of the time we have before he's off on an adventure.  this was a good one!

2013 weekly menu: week 29

grass fed burger from burger lounge

lots of hamburgers/turkey burgers and hot dogs this past weekend.  at a family reunion, at the ballpark, at a great restaurant.

we made our second trip to san diego in the last 3 weeks.  man, we love it there.  even talked about moving there, not that it's even an option. but i think we would if we could.  the zoo, beaches, petco stadium, great food finds, cool shops, awesome weather, what more could you ask for?

looking ahead to this week, lots of work; pto stuff for school, another family reunion - this time in la, getting the house ready for guests, planning for a family trip, of course, water polo and still celebrating all the goodness of summer.

weekend eats:

saturday: family reunion pot luck

sunday: burgers and salad - burger lounge

making this week:

monday: pan seared salmon with balsamic drizzle on greens, orzo 

tuesday: eat out after water polo

wednesday: fresh pasta with marinara 

thursday: skinny chicken cordon blue, salad

friday: pizza

enjoy another beautiful summer week.

our weekend in pictures: fourth of july

i love that our weekend was 4 days long.  you can pack a lot into 4 days - well, you know we can.  and we did.

it started early thursday morning. it's so hard to get everyone up early on a day when there is no water polo practice and we can all sleep in.  but we had a ship to see and if we were going to see it we needed to leave early{ish}.  luckily the kids wanted to see it too, so it wasn't terribly difficult getting them out of bed.

the iowa battleship is on display at the san pedro harbor. bobby is a war buff and andrew is turning into one.

it's amazing how much he knows and was able to share with us on the tour.  tidbits about weaponry, specific battles and presidents' roles and decisions that impacted our history.

my favorite part is seeing the history and reading about the stories that live here.

listening to the veterans talk about their experiences and sharing their knowledge of what went on during this time.

imagining the meals that were shared around this table. the conversations that were had.  were they afraid, determined, confident?  was there laughter, maybe tears, support of each other and our country?  i'm sure it was all there.

bobby's grandpa is a veteran of a wwii battleship.  he was a radioman on the uss cleveland.  you can read more about that ship here. i always think about him when we do things like this. what he experienced and the stories that live in his memory. we've heard some of them but i know there are more to tell.

we try to take the kids on trips like this when we can.  we all enjoy it. you can read more about the iowa here.  visiting on the 4th of july was a perfect start to our day.

after the battleship, it was time for a bbq at my parents' house.  we grilled hot dogs and turkey burgers, the kids got in the pool and i made peach and blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream.  de-li-cious.

we were also invited to a friend's house to watch the fireworks from their deck.

um, what a view. and what a sunset.  and the fireworks were fabulous.

we heard the explosion and saw the lights from the terrible accident in simi valley.  we had no idea what it was at the time but we could see it over the hills.  hoping everyone is ok.

on friday we took a quick trip up to kernville.  it's been a while and we were looking forward to some relaxing time together.

saturday night was their fireworks show.  usually we go in our cars and sit on the side of the road and watch from there.

this year since it was just us and bob and d, we took the boat out on the lake for some fishing and the perfect view of the fireworks.

stunning, awesome, spectacular view.

we were so close.  it was the best way to see the sparkle.  dakes if you're reading this, next year bring the boat.  it's the only way to go.

the kids went quad riding, we ate and drank wine, we slept so soundly - we always do up there. it was a nice getaway.

and i finished reading this laugh out loud funny book.

4 days of fun.  hope you had a great, and safe, 4th as well.