Jamie VanEaton's Oopsie Rolls (Gluten Free bread substitute)

3 ozs. cream cheese (do not soften)
3 large eggs, separated
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Separate the eggs and add the cream cheese to the yolks. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients together.
3. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. If you are using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolks.
4. Using a spatula, gradually fold the egg yolk mixture into the whites, being careful not to break down the whites.
5. Grease a cookie sheet and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly.
6. Bake about 30 minutes and take out while still soft, not crumbly.
7. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool.
8. Store in a loosely closed sack and allow to rest on the counter before use, otherwise they might be too moist.
9. Can be frozen.

*Varation: You can add herbs to the yolk mixture to spice it up or add stevia to the yolk mixture to make a sweet roll.

Cinnamon Coffee Mug Bread (Sugar Free, Gluten Free)

1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp powdered stevia (1 packet)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 tbs butter, melted

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the egg and butter and beat until smooth.
3. Pour batter into a coffee mug.
4. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes or until done.
5. Dump it out of the mug and then slice.

Coconut Muffins (Sugar Free, Gluten Free)

9 eggs
6 tbs butter, melted
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 tsp liquid stevia (90 drops)
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
3/4 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Blend together eggs, butter, coconut milk, stevia, salt and vanilla.
   
3. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps remaining.
   
4. Pour batter into 12 greased muffin cups.
   
5. Bake for 23 minutes or until golden brown, or until toothpick comes out clean.

161 calories, 13 grams fat, 4.9 carbs, 6 grams protein, per muffin.

Spring/Summer Video

I decided to put together a video of short clips from the footage I shot throughout the spring and summer this year. As I looked through it, I realized I actually didn't get all that much on film this year. That's not like me at all! I need to get back into the habit of filming things. Anyway, here's the video.

ZooTunes at Woodland Park

Tonight Regina, Katie and I we went to see Cyndi Lauper perform her Memphis Blues Tour concert at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Betty stayed home with a caregiver. We picked Katie up from school, stopped for a snack and headed to the zoo through all the stop-and go-traffic. Yuck. Made it in time though to set up our chairs on the grass and eat our picnic dinner while listening to the opening act. I didn't take my camera, but snapped a couple of shots with my cell phone. Didn't get any pics of Cyndi though, too far away, but she was the one on the stage with the huge, bright red wig on! Completely outrageous!

Katie enjoying the concert?

First Day of School - First Grade!

Katie's a first-grader now and today was her first day at school. She's going to the same school she attended last year, so she's with many of her same friends and she's actually going to have the same teacher again this year. We're happy about that since she's a wonderful educator and Katie adores her. Katie is especially excited about school starting up again because now she can see her boyfriend every day. They fell in love last year and even though they did not see each other all summer, their love seems to have survived the separation. She's quite smitten with him, as you will see in the pictures below...

Katie "posing" for the obligatory first-day-of-school photo on the front porch.

Katie and her boyfriend found each other within minutes of arriving at school!

Katie sitting in her classroom at her desk.

Katie and her teacher.

Katie LOVES her dogs!

2nd Day at Grandma and Grandpa Finger's House

Wow, talk about HOT! Living in Seattle, we are definitely NOT used to this kind of heat! But, we managed to stay cool by spending the afternoon at the local swimming pool.

Local pool in this small Kansas town. We had a great time!

Katie's favorite activity was to go down the water slide.

Since she doesn't really swim yet, she held on to this "noodle" to stay above the surface.

Tonight we went back to the rodeo again.

And when we got home, we had to play with the kittens before going to bed, of course.

First Full Day at Grandma and Grandpa Finger's

Katie and I arrived at Grandpa (my Dad) and Grandma's (Karone) house yesterday evening. They live in southeast Kansas, so we flew into the Tulsa airport on Southwest airlines. It was an all-day process to get there from Seattle, but well worth it. Dad and Karone were anxiously waiting for us immediately outside security at the airport and greeted us with great big hugs. On the way to their house, we stopped and at Lone Star Steakhouse and ate a delicious dinner.

Here are some pictures of our first full day at Grandma and Grandpa's:

Every morning Rosie (The black dog in the above picture.) woke Katie up by jumping up on her bed and giving her kisses all over her face. Katie loved it! On this first morning, Grandma joined in along with two of their other dogs, Mandy and Dixie. Katie didn't mind one bit. She would have loved it if her room had been FULL of dogs!

It was sooo hot there! In the 90s and even in the low 100s, along with the high humidity, it was quite a change for us being used to the cool Seattle summer. Katie and the dogs ended up in their kiddie pool for the afternoon.




Katie and I really lucked out. They had three kittens who appreciated all the attention that we were happy to give them. They had lost their mother, so Grandma Karone had been taking special care of them for a while now. We spent as much time as we could with them. There were three of them. Katie named them Rose, Olivia and Lucky. Pictured here is Olivia.

Katie with Mandy (I think - Mandy and Dixie look too much alike!)

Tonight we ended up at the rodeo in Sedan, KS. It was Katie's first one and it was my first in probably 30 years or so! Katie seemed to really get into it and enjoyed watching. Of course, she made us all climb to the highest spot of the bleachers...

Swimming with the Dolphins!

Our vacation this year is again with rFamily Vacations and the destination is Club Med, Ixtapa, Mexico. I'll write more about it later, but first want to post this video of a little adventure we enjoyed. We spent 25 minutes swimming and having our pictures taken with a couple of very friendly dolphins. It was really a terrific experience! (Don't worry, the video isn't 25 minutes long! I edited it way down!)

Sparkly Independence Day (Eve)

Because the weather forecast is calling for rain on the 4th of July, we decided to do some sparklers early. So, I put the camera on a tripod and opened up the shutter. Here are some fun pictures we got...

Giddy Up!

As of June 18, school is out for the summer. One of Katie's friends from school has gone to horse riding lessons for the last two summers and asked if Katie would be interested in going with her this year. Katie was excited to try it, so we signed her up. It's just for this week, Monday through Thursday, an hour each day. They learn all about taking care of horses, safety around horses, and of course, how to ride a horse. Katie is really loving it and has already asked if she can have her own horse! Um, no way! Anyway, here is some video of her "Giddy Up" pony class.

Hike and Bike

Katie and I participated in a school event today that included a 3.3-mile bike ride from Sixty Acre Park to Marymoor Park where the Chestnut Hill Academy parent organization (CHAPTER) held an end-of-the-year celebration. After we spent a couple of hours at the park and Katie played with her school friends, we hopped back on our bikes for the ride back to Sixty Acre Park where our car was parked. This was the longest bike ride Katie had ever done and for me, it was my longest ride since childhood. We both had a great time!

Getting ready to begin our ride to Marymoor Park for the party!

Beginning our ride from Marymoor park back to our car.

Sammamish River alongside the bike trail.

Katie was so excited that as we entered the more congested part
of our ride, our trail had lane markers just like a real road!

Katie got a little too close to these protective parents
and one of them hissed at her!

Sammamish River alongside the bike trail.

Katie preferred it when I was in the lead.

But, sometimes she wanted to lead for a while.

Sammamish River, alongside the bike trail.

I stopped to take a picture of the river
and Katie found a slug in the grass.