Loved baby

I am broken record -- time is going too fast.  I feel I was just on here yesterday posting Malia's five month update. Somehow my tiny, quiet, sleepy infant has morphed into a baby.This past month has been exciting with lots of catching up with family and friends, Malia's first plane ride and a baby who desperately wants to move.

We rented a house in Florida with the Great Samoan Hunter's family. It was the first time we had all been together since our wedding. Needless to say, the little girls don't look like this anymore:

Malia watched every move these two made, and since our return, she thinks she's a big lady like them. It was incredible having the family together. We are all scattered across the globe, sadly. Someone needs to invest in a teleporting machine so we can get together more often.  

We also caught up with some dear friends who recently had a baby boy. My ovaries let out a yelp when I snuggled his fuzzy little head. The post traumatic stress from the first six weeks of new motherhood has clearly evaporated. 

Malia's personality has really started to show the past month. She has giggling and squealing down pat, in addition to ear-piercing screaming. She also is my little yoga protege, as she has mastered plank, updog, bow, happy baby! She sits like a champ, and she's rolling like crazy.  She's also on the verge of crawling. Sitting still is not really an option anymore.

She has TWO teeth and loves to bite me. She's drawn significant blood once and thinks it's hilarious when she bites me. I am working diligently to squash this behavior, because once she has top teeth I am in deep trouble.

She drools her body weight daily. We joke that she must be dehydrated with the amount of liquid that comes out of her mouth. The top teeth are coming.  Shutter.

She's started solid foods. So far all we've tried are bananas, sweet potatoes and squash. She seems to think it's okay. She seems to be more interested in whatever we have on our plates, which I understand. Soon enough she'll graduate to finger foods and Tuli will be the happiest dog on the block.  

She loves her bouncer and her car (scooter thing-a-ma-jig). She has only figured out how to go backwards. She magnetically scoots to houseplants where she proceeds to pull off all of the leaves. I swear she goes forward when I have my back to her. A number of friends have warned us about the various bookshelves, plants, decorations, etc that we have scattered around the house. Those all have to go, they said.  Yeah I've got time, I said.  We are no longer in the I-have-an-immobile-baby-in-the-house-stage.  Houston, we have a mover.

She is napping WAY better. Like two naps a day, almost every day. Sometimes for THREE hours. Can you sense my enthusiasm? Napping baby = happy mom. Nighttime sleeping is not as great, but we are working on it. I figure I agreed to lack of sleep when I decided to take on this new role as Malia's mother.  

She loves stroller rides. She loves riding in the baby carrier. She loves being tickled.  She loves cell phones, tv remotes, ipads.  She loves to put EVERYTHING in her mouth.  She loves paper -- loves tearing it, crinkling it, and you guessed it, putting it in her mouth. 

She has faces for days. She is so animated and happy. She smiles at everyone including the checker at the grocery store, the neighbors, the dog, the cat, the ceiling fan, the mirror, her sippy cup, especially her daddy, her grandparents and aunties. She loves smiling. Smiling is her favorite. 

She gets more awesome every day. Seriously, I don't know how I could love her more than I did yesterday but it happens every day. I am nuts about this little person.  

I can only imagine what the next month has in store. I get a lump in the back of my throat when I see how big and capable she has become (believe me I am well aware that's she's only six months old). I still sneak her into bed when she wakes up in the night rather than putting her back in her crib. She will never be this little again. I lay in bed and stare at her little cherub face, her rosebud lips. She often stretches both arms out, one hand resting on her dad and the other on me. I love watching her little belly rise as she breaths her sweet milk breath. Waking up next to her sleepy, smiling face is such a blessing. This life I've been given is the best. The. Best.  

Sweet Malia Grace, I love you.  Happy six months!

Click the upper left corner for tunes :)

Are you mama's bird or mama's baby?!

I realize that it's been four week since I've written. I thought blogging was tough to squeeze in with a demanding job. HA! My appreciation for time grows exponentially daily. The past month has been exciting in our house. The Great Samoan Hunter started a new job, one that he waited very patiently for. While we are thrilled he landed a job that is fulfilling, we miss him very much around here. I've spent more time with him in the last several months than I have since we started dating, and we still like each other.

It's been incredible getting to know our baby together. Malia has had a unique four months exclusively with her parents. It feels like yesterday we brought a tiny little infant home who did a lot of sleeping and eating. That little infant has morphed into a squealing, giggling, delightful little baby who now smiles with such joy at her daddy when walks in the door. I know she would smile at him because he is her dad. However, I am confident that smile twinkles like it does because she's seen him from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to sleep for the past four and half months. Lucky girl.

Now Baby M and I spend our days together just the two of us (three including Tuli, poor neglected guy!). We're settling into a groove of naps (most days), chores, errands, and walks.  I picked up a freelance writing job, which has been great fun writing for $$$! Needless to say, the poor blog has landed in the same category as my yoga practice -- back burner. I write blog posts in my head as I rock her to sleep each night. They are super entertaining! Maybe one day I'll get around to actually publishing them.

Today our girl celebrates her twenty week birthday. I fall more in love with her every day. My little human is a giggling , neck nuzzling, hugging, squealing, eating!, teeth growing baby! She has become interactive with an array of sounds she uses to communicate her moods, needs, wishes, secrets. Each morning she tells me what I like to think are her dreams from the previous nights. She whispers with breathy little coos that are the most charming sounds. This same baby is capable of making bird-like squawks and squeals. I often tease her, "are you mama's bird or mama's baby." Baby, silly.

This past weekend was big!  Her first tooth erupted out of her pink baby gums. That sharp white tooth was disruptive for everyone, particularly for grandma who watched her for the first time while I got a much needed and much appreciated massage (thanks Jules!). She cried while I was gone. This child rarely cries. I thought she cried because she missed me, but it turns out she was teething. We saw this coming, as the past month we've all been covered in gallons of sweet baby drool.

With teeth comes eating. She tasted her first bit of rice cereal and is totally hooked. In fact, I feel guilty eating in front of her now because she looks at me like where's my egg salad sandwich mom? There's no going back now. She landed in the right family -- we're eaters.

More about Miss M:

We've transitioned from bassinet to crib. The Great Samoan Hunter was starting to wonder why we paid for that fancy bed. It took a few nights, but she seems to be enjoying her space. She's not quite sleeping through the night yet. She usually wakes up between four and six, at which time I sneak her into bed with us. There's nothing greater than waking up next to her smiling face.

She's learned to scoot -- backwards/sideways! I place her in the middle of her mat surrounded by her animal friends, which entertains her for a moment, and then the independent little Miss starts to scoot backwards. She moved about four feet yesterday, as was evident by the trail of drool.

Bath time is still the greatest. Well, perhaps daddy's arrival home is the greatest.

Teething hurts. When I say my baby rarely cries, I am serious. She cries occasionally in her car seat or when she's super tired or hungry. I heard sad cries I've never heard before, which broke my heart.  I am sure there will be many more helpless parenting moments like that one to come. Boo.

She and Tuli are becoming increasingly interested in each other. At first he completely ignored her, leaving the room when she fussed. He now sits next to her when she plays on the floor, often licking her face (sweet milk breath!). She seems to like the feel of his fur, patting him with her little open hands. She already gravitates towards his face/ear/eyes. One day soon they will be the best of friends.

She's discovered her toes, she's nearly rolling from her back to her tummy, she's mastered upward dog and superman, and she's in the 90 percentile for height! This little person wants to move so desperately.

Malia loves her family. She's really recognizing faces/people. It's magic to watch her light up when she sees her aunties and her grandparents. We are travelling to Florida soon to meet up with the Great Samoan Hunter's family, and I can't wait for them to meet Malia. We're long overdue for some loving!

I'll stop myself here, as I could clearly spout for days about this girl. Month four has been exciting with lots of changes. I'm certain the next month will bring many more milestones and memories. I'll be sure to post some pics of our Florida adventures when we get home! xoH

Establishing good oral health habits early :)

Sixteen week river dancer

Twelve weeks has come and gone and I'm already late on my sixteen week update!  We spent the weekend in northern Idaho with Heather and Nick.  The Great Samoan Hunter has been bitten by the steelhead bug. He ties wildly colorful flies that look like art pieces to lure the willy creatures into his grasp.  He's has landed one this season, which was a day as exciting as Malia's birth for him, but his fever has not abated.  He and Nick spent sun up to sun down in the drizzly cold weather while Heather and Malia ate ice cream at the WSU creamer, snuggled up to watch Pretty Woman, and baked. Yes, we baked pies.  From scratch. Crusts even. More on that later.

Alas, our road trip waylaid my update on our sweet girl.  She's snuggled into our bed right now, cozy in the covers, her little hands tucked under her face. I'm hoping to finish this post and my coffee before she joins us for the day. 

At sixteen weeks old, Miss Malia already thinks she's a big lady. One of her favorite activities is to stand and squat and stand and squat.  She stomps her legs like she's a river dancer.  If you try to place her on her bum she straightens her legs and stiffens up.  This child is freakishly strong!  She clearly has her father's endurance and strength because I get winded just watching her.

Bath time is Malia's jam.  She loves it.  If I wasn't opposed to the Internet seeing my child's naked body, I would post a video.  (I will gladly share with loved ones so if you would like to see it, please let me know!). She kicks and kicks and kicks and kicks.  And kicks!  There is hardly any water left in her hot pink tub by the time she's finished!  She has this tickled little look on her face that I'm sure comes from moving with the freedom she so desperately wants.  We keep joking that she's going to skip crawling and go straight to walking.  Her little legs want to move!  Bath time is daddy's time, too.  The Great Samoan Hunter bathes her and I gaze over his shoulder as he sings to her, washes her with such delicate care, and Eskimo kisses his baby.  I love that my manly man is such a soft, sweet, loving father.

What else, she's sleeping longer stints, which makes all of us happy (except my rock hard baby feeders). She loves to chew on her giraffe Sophie.  We all get a kick out of the little rubbery sound her gums make.  She's becoming increasingly interested in food.  She watches with great interest as we take bites.  I'm curious if solids are around the corner.  She's enjoying tummy time more and more.  I place a menagerie of animals in front of her and invariably she gravitates towards something non-toy like her burp rag.  I'm becoming keyed into the concept that babies like everything but their own toys.  She's discovered her voice and her giggle and chatters away like she's having a conversation.  Poor kid doesn't have a moment's peace, as I'm constantly narrating my every move.  Looks like she'll be a chatter box just like her mama.

What I'm enjoying right now is she's gets more interactive everyday -- it's less of a one-sided conversation. Baby M gets sweeter and more loving, too.  She snuggles into you when you pick her up. She grasps your arm and neck while holding her.  It's spectacular watching her become a little person!

Everyday I wonder who she looks more like. Some days (most days) I think she is a carbon copy of her dad, but occasionally I get a look that reminds me of myself. I dug out some baby photos of the Great Samoan Hunter and me to compare.  

My food photography has reverted to horribly lit and stylized.  I suppose I am enjoying my new muse too much lately.  I'll have Heather and my pie adventure on soon!

Until then, enjoy the sixteen week slideshow!  Remember, turn on the volume :) Thanks Heather for the cute song inspiration! xo

Love big

Having Malia has reinforced how blessed I am to be surrounded by loving family and friends.  One of the primary motivators for our move to the city was to be closer to family.  We even coerced my sister Julia to live with us.  Living in the same city wasn't enough -- we had to be in the same house.  It's been great fun seeing aunts, uncles, and cousins and catching up properly, more than just a quick hello/goodbye.

Since Baby M was born, we've seen my grandparents three times.  That's more than I have seen them in the last three years.  The first time they visited Malia was only three weeks old. I was elated to introduce our girl to her great grandparents. It was pretty incredible watching my Gran snuggle my baby and reminisce about me at that age.  I was at the height of my battle with breastfeeding (this topic deserves its own post), and my poor nipples were wrecked.  My baby-drunk Granny looked at me with such pleasure and said, "I just want to nurse her!" If only she could have, as I would have gladly accepted her offer. It was such a charming, delightful moment, one that will forever be sealed in my memory bank.  

Sunday night as we were cringing watching the Super Bowl with friends, stuffing our faces eating an array of wild game appetizers -- antelope seven layer dip, chukar and pheasant satay, elk teriyaki  -- my attention was drawn away to a family emergency.  My Granny was in the ER. The last several years she's endured horrendous headaches resulting in several surgeries, facial numbness, loss of balance, among other icky side effects.  My beautiful Gran persisted and toughed out the pain with grace, class and bravery.  

We hustled down to the ICU where we met family bedside.  With lots of hugs, tears and prayers we said goodbye.  I watched in awe as my Grandfather said goodbye to his wife of sixty years.  He looked at her with such peace and love knowing full well where she was headed.  When the nurses made the final call that she was gone, he looked up at all of us, smiled and said, "She's just changed her address."  

Baby M now has an army of grandmothers watching over and protecting her.  I am certain that Granny Laree delighted in telling Grandma Joyce all about our sweet baby. Both of my grandmothers loved big. They reminded me each time I saw them, spoke to them or received a letter/email how much I was loved.  I won't be surprised if Malia's first words are I love you, as I tell her all day/night long.  Thanks to those lovely ladies I too love big.

Life is short and fragile.  Love big. xo

                                I love you Gran. xo                                      

Twelve weeks on the planet

It’s amazing how much your life can change in a year.  Last year at this time I was still recovering from a bullet wound.  How insane is that?  I still struggle with the reality of this statement, “My husband shot me . . . in the ass.”   I gained a little weight after the accident, and I was complaining about my new squishiness to a very wise girl friend who replied, “maybe your body’s getting ready for a baby.” Not two weeks later did I discover that I was pregnant.

I actually took the pregnancy tests at my parents’ house.  I wasn't feeling one hundred percent, and my mom suggested that I might be pregnant.  No way, I remember thinking.  However, we did just return from our honeymoon in Samoa – the land of coconut milk and honey and all things fertile.  I remember feeling like I was in trouble when I saw that little plus sign.  You spend years praying you don’t get pregnant (oops, cat’s out the bag. Didn’t wait till I was married), and then when you see that positive test it’s very surreal. The Great Samoan Hunter was on a work trip in San Francisco.  That was quite the phone call.  Honey, I have something to tell you.  Are you sitting down?

The past year flew by, but the past three months truly evaporated before my eyes.  This little human who was once sleepy and sedentary is now fully awake, kicking and grabbing and squealing. We're reminded daily by friends, family, and strangers (those are always entertaining conversations) how fast time flies.  Twelve weeks has passed since my little human made her arrival into our world.  I told the Great Samoan Hunter yesterday that those twelve weeks have been the happiest of my life.  I never fathomed one year ago that my life could be filled with this much love.    

Here's a snippet of what our little love bug is up to:

• Discovering her voice. Everyday she extends her range, which delights us both.  The changing table seems to be her choice locale for chatting/singing. It's great fun hearing her 'talk' and express different emotions.  
• Discovering her hands.  She will extend her right hand and S.T.A.R.E.  I wonder if she thinks it will disappear if she looks long enough.  She also loves to eat her hands -- she seems to be after her thumbs, but can't figure out how to isolate them.
• Smiling for days.  This child smiles with her whole face -- her eyes, her dimples, her eyebrows. Smiling is her favorite.
• Napping not so much.  We struggle with sleep.  Nighttime is not such a battle.  Catnaps seem to be the rave -- ten minutes here, thirty minutes there.  Occasionally we will get a two or three hour nap, and I seriously don't know what to do with myself.  I go into baby withdrawals and break out in hives. Hello, my name is Hailey, and I am an addict.  I'm addicted to my child.
• Eating like a champion.  She is Samoan.
• Playing on her mat. She loves her hanging animal friends and has started batting and grabbing and swiping at them. She's also started scooting herself around on her back from one end to the other. I am not ready for her to be mobile yet, though she desperately wants to move.
• Delighting all those who are lucky enough to meet her.  

This list could go on for days and days.  It's difficult to write about how much you love your child without overdosing in cliches and cheesy love song lines.  I can't help it, she lights up my life.

I put together a random slideshow of Malia's first twelve months on the planet. I plan to do these updates monthly so family and friends near and far can see her growth.  Notice how the pictures start out really sleepy and then become really smiley.   Be sure to click the upper left hand corner to turn on the music. Last night I previewed the slideshow with the Great Samoan Hunter in bed.  I am pretty sure he teared up too.

Also, here's a video of her playing on her mat last night. Pure delight!

Where is the pause button?

I have to make a proclamation. I miss the blog. I miss writing. I miss taking pictures. I am going to try with all my might to post more frequently. I want to be able to look back in one year, five years, ten years and see what we were up to.

I need to hold myself accountable.  Thus, the public announcement.

My excuse (I am full of them), I still have yet to figure out the very tipsy concept of time management with child.  I always thought babies liked to sleep.  My child fights sleeps, naps in particular, like she's being water boarded. When she does nap, I transform into a maniac with my hair on fire.  I rush from one chore to the next -- laundry, dishwasher, sweep our endlessly dirty hardwood floors -- all the while juggling a piece of toast and cup of coffee.  If I manage the time, I shower and maybe brush my teeth.

But You know what? I wouldn't trade these days for anything.  Each day she transforms into a new little person. I swear she wakes up from a nap chubbier and longer with a new sound in her vernacular of coos and chirps.

This weekend we had a few friends over to watch the football games -- boo, hiss -- and at one point we had five little girls under the age of five.  The Great Samoan Hunter looked at me as they scrambled after one another, "guess this is what birthday parties will be like." I love that he has that foresight.

It's been grey and foggy here in the big city.  We spent Christmas at our cabin that is decking out with it's own natural hot spring pool.  Today I am longing to sit in that hot, steamy water.  Baby M loved her first swim.  She's very much a water baby. Bath time is most certainly a highlight of her day and ours.

Here's our water girl and the family swimming at Christmas.

Baby M turns TWELVE WEEKS old on Friday.  Where is the pause button? I strive to be one of those obsessively cute Pinterest moms who tracks her baby's monthly progress.  Any suggestions for fun ideas? 

It's been nearly two hours without my little person.  I must go upstairs and stare at her until she wakes up. xoH

I get it now

The last time you read this blog I made some claims about regularity and general awesomeness.  I keep apologizing for appearing and then disappearing.  Damnit! I love this blog and want to dedicate time and energy to it . . . but life gets in the way.  Lately life (as always seems to be the case), has been a little nuts. I'll recap (again):

• We moved to the city!  I no longer have to drive forty-five minutes to the grocery store. In fact, the night we arrived, I drove to the nearest grocery store at eleven at night and pranced through the aisles. Just because I could.
• We moved to the city. Moving is about as pleasurable as a trip to the dentist, which is about as high on my enjoyment list as alien abduction. Thankfully we got good and settled before our next big event.
• We had a baby.  We had a baby! Our very own little human who is sleeping upstairs as I type furiously before she wakes up.  

Those events combined have made my previous claims of regularity and awesomeness quite unrealistic.  My kitchen has been occupied by loved ones who feed me as I attempt to eat one handed while nursing without splattering food on my newborn.

I've watched the evolution of my friends' lives on Facebook.  Those who don't have kids post exciting pictures of their adventures, meals, nights on the town. Those with kids, post darling photos of their growing children and profess how awesome parenthood is.  I was a member of the first category, largely ignoring those sweet baby photos (not because I wasn't interested but because I didn't get it).  I GET IT NOW!

Having a child changes EVERYTHING.  Your body, your emotions, your ability to shower, pee, load laundry and unload the dishwasher in less than 15 minutes, your perspective on life, your suspicion of strangers, your relationships with EVERYONE, your conversations with God, your capacity for love (this list is endless).  

I get it now. All I want to do is take pictures of my child. Talk about her in every single breath. Instagram her ever-changing facial expressions.  Hashtag everything with: #babylove.  

So I apologize now if things shift focus a bit here at Hail's Kitchen.  Some day I will cook again.  I will regain use of my hands for something other than changing diapers and burping my little human.  One day my camera will again capture images of delicious food items and adventures other than newborn care.

Until then, you get to see my life with child.  I am fairly certain the meaning of life is found while snuggling the downy head of your newborn into your neck. xoH

Here's the micro version of life with baby:

This is no longer the view from our backyard.  Nor is the the view of my belly.

Can you see how much fun I am having in the tub? So much fun.

This was after several hours of natural labor in the tub, an epidural, several more hours of pushing,

and a baby that refused to come out the way God intended. 

Malia Grace born November 1 at 3:58 a.m. 7 lbs 2 oz, 19.5 in.

Pure baby love.

The Great Samoan Hunter transformed!

Our first attempt at baby carrying. Great success! 

Cutest baby ever.  No bias here.

Pop a cap

I can't believe today is Aug 5.  Where did July go?  I have an unusual Monday off today. My cohort at work is taking some time off this week so I am home enjoying my second cup of decaf coffee and have no plans of getting out of my jammies.  Tuli may ask me to put on some clothes for our walk -- we'll see.

It's already been a few weeks since our adventures into bear country.  We returned from two days without cell service and interactions with humans other than ourselves revived and refreshed. Amazingly, we had the campground entirely to ourselves.  I did get a little nervous when it was time to leave and hightail it back to work that the truck wouldn't start.  No phones. No people within miles. No work!

The truck started.

The Great Samoan Hunter and I had a ball reflecting on our own family camping trips as kids -- the traditions, the meals, the memories.  We each spent summers at Redfish, and I wonder if we ever crossed paths cruising around on our bikes with our Junior Ranger stickers proudly plastered to our windbreakers. I like to think we did.

I also spent a fair amount of energy this trip willing bears away from our camp.  I don't go anywhere these days without a roll of peppermint Tums in my pocket.  The campground was covered in signs alerting visitors to grizzly bears in the area, food storage bins were provided at each site (just days after we left, a biologist was bitten in the area).  Laying in my sleeping bag munching on my Tums, and I asked the Great Samoan Hunter, "do you think bears like peppermint?"  Don't worry he kept repeating, his 44 magnum hand gun resting next to him, "I'll pop a cap in any bear's ass."  Yes, honey, I think you have the credence to say that.  

We ate great food, we fished a ton, napped, explored beautiful country, I pretended like I was on the Lewis and Clark expedition, Tuli ran and ran and ran and attempted to eat every horsefly in the camp.  It was a glorious 1.5 days away.  I can't wait to go back.  You can come with us next time, but we may blindfold you.

This was the view from our camp.  The Great Samoan Hunter crossed a little island and

Tuli could not stand to be away from him.  

Wait for me Dad!

I am hustling!

Careful now, Tuli.

Didn't see that coming. 

Poor dog.

I think he was contemplating a second attempt.

Never mind.

Defeated.

Forlorn.

He eventually swam across. Funny dog.

Bear spray, check.

First, one should never squeeze their arm against their fly rod in any photos - pregnant or otherwise. Not flattering!  

Second, we caught at least fifty of these little brookies and rainbows.  

It was a quantity over quality kind of trip.

My standard fish photo.  

The Great Samoan Hunter lost this exact fish earlier in the day. 

We returned after dinner and he landed him.  My husband is the man.

French press coffee and pastries in the mountains taste divine.

Apres fish.  Keeping it classy with smoked mussels.

Chicken thighs cooked over coals seasoned only with fresh lemon juice. 

Makes for the most tender, juicy chicken you'll ever taste. Try it on your grill at home.  

Tin foil veggies.

Great day followed by a great meal.  I tried to capture the smores (made with CARAMELLOS!).

Sticky fingers + camera = bad news.

I actually have a recipe to post soon so stay tuned. Have a superb week, all!

33 by 33

This afternoon as I was uploading photos, the first shot to come up was this beauty:

I wasn't exactly sure what it was until I remembered the attempt to capture my big rainbow from last week's outing.  It's probably a good thing photos don't come equipped with other senses, because what you don't experience from this shot are the expletives erupting from my mouth.  I swore then I pouted.  Stupid fish.

Each year the Great Samoan Hunter and I write a list of things to do before our birthday the next year.  This year we each have 33 things we would like to do before we're 33.  Our 33 before 33.  Last year, he checked the most monumental off of his list -- killing an elk with his bow.  I think six pack abs were on both of our lists, which both went unfulfilled, sadly. 

One thing that has been on my list each year is to explore the Southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park.  It's backcountry access only, waterfalls and interesting water features abound, and there's fish to be had (in addition apparently to the Park's largest population of bears).  

I am not sure how many people know where exactly they were conceived.  As much as I don't enjoy the thought of my parents procreating, I do love the fact that my entrance into the world was in Yellowstone.  It's one of my favorite places on Earth, and despite the throngs of Japanese tourists each clutching their cameras worth more than my car, I still get a thrill looking at the hot pots and colored pools.  This trip will offer a whole new aspect of the park, one that will most certainly lack the tourists and crowded parking lots.  I can't wait to report back on what we see. 

I have spent most of today prepping for our two night's camping trip.  We'll be camping just outside the roadless entrance with the convenience of bear-proof food storage receptacles at each site.  Since we won't have to pack in/out, our Yeti cooler is full, and I am ready for some fireside meals.  Translation, I am going to eat smores until I am sick. 

The following salad is a summer staple. Forgive me if I have posted it before.  It is worth duplicating, I promise.  Spaghetti squash is by far my favorite squash.  It transforms from a plain, unsuspecting oblong to lovely, little squash tendrils.  This salad keeps great in the fridge and makes a fantastic side dish to anything grilled.  Try it. You will like it.

I am off to pack my bear spray and my marshmallows.  xoH

Cut your squash in half, pull out all of the seeds, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast in a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

Gently pull back the threads.

Shred until you have individual tendrils.

Mix together with about 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup feta cheese, one small minced garlic clove, and 1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil.

Toss all together with a little extra olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

I also BAKED today.  Rhubarb, blueberry, peach cake for our camp breakfasts.  I will post the recipe when I get back.  I 'quality control' tested a bite while they were still hot, and they are delicious!

Here are my goods prepped and ready for the cooler:

curried mango chicken salad, squash salad and tin foil dinner fixings.