We spent the final 24 hours of 2011 relaxing around the cabin. After a leisurely morning and scrumptious breakfast, we curled up on couches and chairs with books and blankets. Morgan, being the cheeky little cutie pie she is, made sure to provide us with plenty of entertainment. She loved to dress up in my boots, and decided Uncle Isaac’s hoody was just what was needed to complete the look…
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Quite the ensemble….jpg "2012NYE04")
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Such a sweet snuggler!
Isaac and I volunteered to organize dinner that night. We were eager to share some of our favorite Chinese dishes with the family. I whipped up a giant batch of dan chao fan (egg fried rice) and then we taught everyone how to make traditional steamed dumplings called jiaozi (pronounced “ji-ow-za”). A fun little fact: Jiaozi literally translates to “pot stick.”
We set up little dough-making stations around the dining table, and everyone gathered around, elbow-to-elbow to mix, roll and fold our dumplings. It was certainly not a formal or tidy cooking lesson by any means, but it sure was a ton of fun!. Cans of soda were used as rolling pins, the jiaozi were made directly on the (freshly cleaned) table top, and hands were covered in sticky dough. Achieving the desired dough consistency proved to be the trickiest task, and as we looked around the table, we saw everyone diligently working and tweaking to perfect their mixture. A little extra water here, a little sprinkling of flour there, a dash of laughing and good natured teasing… eventually everyone’s dough came together. By the time we finished, we had created a small mountain of jiaozi. Using a triple decker bamboo steamer, it took us 3 rounds to steam them all, and not a one was left uneaten… yum, yum, yum!
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Sunlight streamed through the windows on New Years Day. Bright blue sky and whispy white clouds filled the horizon- it was a gorgeous morning! The wind, however, was also out in full force. It whipped across the water, and tousled the waves, sending salty spray high into the air. We took our chances and ventured down to the beach for a bit, but after nearly blowing away, we quickly retreated back to the warmth and stillness of the cabin.
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I love the way the wind blew the sand around the beach- so beautiful!
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Later that afternoon, the wind had died down a bit, so Leah and I ventured out nearby the cabin to take a few photos. She is such a gorgeous model!.jpg "2012NYD20")
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Welcome 2012! We are so excited for all that the year has in store for us!
