Summer Holidays

Well, our summer holidays are officially over and I'm feeling all "Little Miss Pouty Pants" about it. I waited all summer for those 2 weeks and it was over in a flash.

Unfortunately, I don't have any successful culinary adventures in the kitchen to report, but I do have one culinary misadventure. This is what happens when you try to bake cupcakes for your friend's baby's first birthday only to discover the ill-equipped kitchen in the house you've rented has no muffin tins. Or cake pans.

I remembered reading on a food blog that muffin tins were not necessary to bake cupcakes. 

Simply double the cupcake liners and bake on a cookie sheet. So I tried that.  

It was a hot mess. 

Perhaps they meant foil liners. I'm open to ridicule. 

I stressed about their appearance for approximately 0.7 seconds. Then I handed the bowl of icing and the shaker of sprinkles to my kids and said, "Go for it". I was on holidays after all.  Besides, once they mucked them up I could wash my hands of responsibility for their appearance. And I did just that.

Totally not above throwing my kids under the bus when it comes to my kitchen mishaps. And they're too young to understand anyway so they can't even defend themselves. It works out for everyone.

Luckily the birthday boy wasn't picky. Note how my subjects are blurry in this picture and yet, I managed to get the other camera's view finder in focus. That's raw talent. 

So, wanna see what kept me out of the kitchen for the past 2 weeks? 

My son. Terrified of the water. Determined to entice him into the pool, we bought him a Buzz wet suit, Buzz water wings and an inflatable Buzz rocket. It was a great investment, he was thrilled with his new stash of toys. He thoroughly enjoyed them on the living room floor while watching Toy Story for the 104th time. 

By Day 3 or 4 he was willing to sit on the first step in the pool. 

Slowly he graduated to sitting on an air mattress.

And then FINALLY I got him in the pool. He clung to me for dear life. But at least we got him in. Baby steps. 

While he doggedly avoided the pool, the men provided us with hours of gut busting entertainment as they attempted flips off the diving board. That's my hubby.

And here's my brother-in-law, Gary. He also answers to Steve. Steve talks about himself in the 3rd person. A lot. It's a long story. He's all yours, sis. Both Steve and Gary. Lucky you.

That's my girlfriend and her hubby. I won't show you his diving photos because he might get mad.  

I want to thank whoever is responsible for inventing the flotation device that allowed me to sunbathe in the pool while reading a trashy novel and sipping a Strawberry Dacquari - at - the - same - time. We could be friends. 

Only one of our dogs came with us. The flower eating, counter-surfing, furniture-chewing, STILL not house-broken bloodhound puppy didn't make the cut. I think she had more fun with the dog-sitter anyway. I've been sucking up to her since our return.

I'm not sure how the Spiderman mask made it on our holiday. I made a point of not packing it and yet...

This is what happens when the girls are left to their own devices on the deck, with wine, an Ipod, and a big-ass hoodie. Add Eminem's song '8 Mile' to the mix and I think I peed my pants a little bit from laughing. Perhaps you had to be there...

Can we just talk for a minute about how unfair it is that anyone looks this good without any make-up? 

This is what I look like without make-up.  Enough said.

This is me and my sister. Somehow she managed to dodge the camera for most of the trip.

This is what the mommys came home to after an afternoon of shopping and leaving the daddys with the kids. As soon as we opened the door we heard a chorus of "Mommmmm, I'm hungry!" Nice work, men. They were just lucky we still had our shopping buzz.

The kids were still in their P.J.s and their faces were stained from the unguarded Kool-Aid packets in the pantry. The dads were playing Backgammon, completely oblivious.

My little guy crashed from his sugar high as soon as I picked him up.

We spewed our venom for their neglect and then promptly cleaned up the mess. 

We showed them alright.

Week 2 and 'Aunty Kim' came into the fold. By then I'd tired of using the camera and this is the best shot I got. Getting into the spirit of my brother-in-law's new nickname (or second identity), she mistakenly referred to herself as "Kato". As in Kato Kaelin. Unfortunately for her, it stuck. It is said with much affection.

We were lucky enough to get an afternoon away from the chaos back home and enjoyed a wine tour. Then we sat out on the patio at the Summer Hill Winery and enjoyed some wine and cheese. Keeping it light before our steak and lobster dinner shortly thereafter. (Our 3rd surf & turf dinner on the holiday.)

So now we're back in Calgary and the weather is crap and all I have left of my holiday is mountains of laundry that I can't seem to find the bottom of and a few extra pounds around the waistline. It's definitely time to get back in the kitchen and bake something sweet. My next post will be food-related, I promise. I have a feeling that cookies will be baked very soon, I just have to pick one from my long list of "Recipes to Try".