Cooking with the K's - Salted Caramel Buttercream Cake

I'm sorry I don't have more pictures of the making of this cake to share - this was a complicated cake and it was also the first flop we have had during our Cooking with the K's.  Matt made this challenging cake for Cheryl's party, but it didn't turn out quite like he wanted.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great and it didn't look anything like it was suppose to - so instead we opted for an ice cream cake for the party :)

Happy Birthday Cheryl!

Our good friend Cheryl had a birthday on the weekend - we hosted a little get together with friends to celebrate!

Sully - ready to PARTY!!!  (ok really he looks ready to sleep here)

the lovely birthday girl!

enjoying the spring weather

ice cream cake!

there's always someone...

ready for cake!

Sully could have worn that hat all night - he was loving it!

Happy Birthday Cheryl - we hope this next year is full of many blessing - we love you!

Cooking with the K's - Hollandaise Sauce

Matt has made Hollandaise Sauce in the past, but always used a blender.  Our trusty blender died about a year ago and so we needed a recipe that didn't need to be blended...I tried out Tyler Florence's recipe and it turned out quite nice (that's what Matt said - I made it but I didn't eat it - there is nothing healthy or appealing to me about Hollandaise Sauce!)

the finished product - Hollandaise Sauce dripping out of everywhere!

Frozen Yogurt Fun!

Abbotsford has a new tourist destination - Menchies!!!!  It's a self serve/ self top yogurt bar!!!  Yum Yum!!!  I know this is old news for most cities - but we are excited that Abbotsford now has one!

Look at the excitement in these faces!

First you grab the giant bowl...

next you pick which of the eight yogurts you want (or really just put a little of each kind in your bowl - but careful - you pay by the weight!)

And finally you pick from the MANY topping available!

Yum!!!

YUM YUM YUM!!!

Sully had been showing all the signs of needing a little more sustinance in his diet for a couple of weeks now.  However, unfortunetly for him, his mom his a nurse and knows the new quidelines say wait until babies are 6 months old to start solids - Sul is just over 5 months - BUT he needed something more...so last Sunday we took the plunge and Sully couldn't be happier!  He loves to eat!

Checking out his new fancy bib

Here we go...

hmmm this is a new taste and texture

and I LOVE it!!!

 slow down mom!

such a big man

he finished off his bowl and then started licking off the drippings on his bib

and then eating the bib...he is a hungry man!

Ruth

Sully finally got to meet his sweet Aunt Ruth - she was on the west coast visiting all the way from Illinois!  What a treat for us - I am so thankful for the friendship I have with Ruthie - for the years we lived together at Trinity and for the ongoing relationship we have even though we live so far apart!  We are excited to see where God's going to take Ruth and Thomas as they move back to the west coast this summer (hopefully a little closer to us :)!

Getting Our Party On!

Part of the dream of buying our place was so that we would have the opportunity to host different people both for meals and as a place to stay.  We have lived in our house for just over two weeks and have already fed 35 different people, had 3 over night guests and have 4 reservations to stay in the next couple of months - we are living the dream!

Here are a few pictures from our get together this past week - Matt's end of the year staff & family BBQ.

Our next project is getting the guest room painted and organized - you are going to want to book soon the Kaminski B&B is filling up fast!

Walking for Adoption

Ev and I did a 5K walk that helped to raise money for an organization called Abba Canada.  This organization raises money in order to provide Canadian families with grants to help cover the crazy costs that come with adoption - it's a great organization!

It was a rainy morning, but the babies stayed dry!

The walk took place along the Vedder River - very scenic, even in the rain!

If your ever looking for a worthy cause to donate to - Abba Canada is doing great things to help get kids into their forever families AND 100% of what you donate goes towards grants - there are no overhead costs!

One Tooth Wonder...

Sully got his first tooth!  I attempted to get a picture of his sweet little tooth but that turned out to be an impossible feat - so instead a picture of his rosy little lips that house his brand new tooth.  Sully's bottom right tooth made it's appearance the day we got our keys to the new house - March 28 - it's a sharp little guy - he looks pretty cute with his one tooth smile!

 1 down, 19 more to go!

Master Sullivan - 5 months

Sully is 5 months old today - sooo we pulled out the Easter bunny outfit to celebrate!  Isn't he the cutest little bunny!  It's getting harder and harder to take pictures of this guy cause he is becoming quite the mover and shaker!  Sully is rolling both from his tummy to back and back to tummy although never all at once.  He is even rolling in his sleep (and waking himself up a bit disturbed - he forgets at night that he knows how to roll himself back to his back!).  Sully loves to stand with the help of anyone who loves him enough to hold him.  He is constantly kicking and even more so if you get him excited about something.  And his newest move we refer to as the superman - when we put him on his tummy he moves both his arms and legs as if he's swimming with only his belly touching the ground - very good work out...go try it!

This boy continues to eat and eat and eat!  He's back to 5 feedings a day brought on by popular demand - four feedings just wasn't cutting it - aka he was waking up at night thinking he needed more - I'm way better at day feedings than night ones!  Sully still feeds once during the night although we have had the rare occasion that he slept 12 hours straight through!

And those naps...we are now having only 3 naps for the most part and are working at making them just a bit longer :)

Other excitement for Sully this month included moving to a new house, celebrating his first Easter and visits from his Grams, Gramps & Grandma!

Happy 5 Months Sullivan Richard!

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off To Work We Go...

Just as soon as moving was finished the renovations began!  Mom and Dad Kaminski were here for almost a week and my mom for three days so we put them to work and they worked HARD!  We are so so THANKFUL to them for all that they did for us!  We even left them one afternoon to relax and we came home and they had worked the whole time...that's dedication!

We were originally just going to paint...BUT then we decided why paint around the ugly baseboards and trim if we were just going to replace it anyway...AND why paint to the roof if we were someday going to put crown moulding in - if you give a mouse a cookie!  We are very happy with the results and although it's far from finished we have a good start on Sully's room and the main room.

Ripping off the old trim

Edging Sully's Room

someone caught me painting (mostly I was on Sully duty!)

this corner has proven to be a bit difficult...

once you own a home this store becomes a bit like a candy shop - so FUN all the possibilities!

Dad and Matt installing crown moulding - they did a fantastic job!

crown moulding in the scary corner - I'm thankful for a tall family!

Mom cleaned like a boss!!!  You could literally eat off my floors and walls!

You could also eat out of my light fixtures - thanks mom!

and what do you do with a 4 1/2 month old during all this fun...

playing in the kitchen next to the vacuum

much time was spent in the exersaucer watching the adults work

the carrier was used - this way he could feel apart of the action 

helping the men learn how to use their new tools

The week wasn't all work (although honestly - most of it was) 

Mom K and I went to get Happy Birthday Pedi's!

and of course there were time for some Sully snuggles along the way!

Thank you Mom and Dad K and Mom M we are grateful!