Lots of Goings-on

The last few weeks have been craaaaazy!

Since my last post I/we:

1. Finished summer school
2. Moved
3. Had Kip, my mom and Greg, and Elizabeth here to visit
4. Had a bridal shower
5. Watched Camryn turn 1 (live and in person)

Let's take a look.

I'll post legit pictures of the new place soon, but take a look at our (temporarily) waterfront new digs. There was a huge storm the first day we could get into the house and the whole street was flooded. More shots:

The place is dry again and we spent the rest of the week basking in the goodness of our friends and family as they helped us move and unpack. It was as painless as possible and we look pretty much like we've lived here for years by now.

After several days away, we finally had the chance to go back to the beach. Dayna and Elizabeth were in town so it was an extra special super fun time. (Although Liz is mysteriously absent from these pictures for whatever reason.)

Looks like Brynn enjoyed herself more than Uncle...

Don't be fooled by the blur out... this is not Mr. Psimas. My camera got wet. Some better ones:

The fun continued later at the Psimas household during a rousing Game of Things. Raf got to be one of the gals for the night. He took this role a little TOO seriously!

Some of our answers (Besides Things You Would Never Find in the Dictionary... bookmarks or Things You Would Never Play Catch With... a man with no hands):

Karen and Elizabeth deep in thought... Dayna deep in mixing:

The next day was the big par-tay. Karen hosted a couples' wedding shower fiesta at their place and it was aaaaaaaaaaaawesome. I didn't have a chance to take a single picture so these are borrowed from Karen:

Me and Raf:

Our sombreros were sweeeet. So was the decor:

Some of the decor was quite entertaining. Featured below are Aunts Patty and Barbara and Kevin's parents, Janet and Bill:

The guests (male and female):

Next, the entertainment. In addition to "straight up Mexican AM radio", we also enjoyed the featured entertainment, which was corn hole. (Haylie and I needed practice before we go pro in Raleigh this weekend and before the big wedding tournament.)

Proof that it was a good time. Late night:

The next day, Superwoman Psmis hosted a second party. This one was for her youngest daughter, Camryn and was the best beach party I've ever been to! These photos are also courtesy of Karen:

The birthday girl:

Big Sis Brynn and cousin Brayden, my future niece and nephew. (Could these kids BE any cuter??)

Grownup guests:

I wish I could upload more but I can't figure out how to get pictures from Shutterfly. 

After a crazy busy (but sincerely awesome) weekend, we spent the morning at Ocean Breeze and now Tim and Sara are coming for the week. Next weekend is Raleigh. Good times ahead.

You have been chopped.

This post is a "To Be Continued" so check back soon... (If you are confused, check out "Chopped" on the Food Network... new episodes on Tuesday nights at 10 PM)

This weekend we challenged Kevin and Tim to a reverse Chopped championship. We started with dessert. First, let's meet our contestants:

Kevin Raftery began his culinary career in 2002 (ish) when he decided to use his cooking talents to woo women. He won the heart of his current fiancee buy "baking" her a chocolate peanut butter pie that she proceeded to drop, face down, on the couch minutes later. He currently specializes in all things grilled and can spice up any dish to make it taste gourmet. He hopes to win the Chopped championship in order to gain recognition and perhaps even try his hand at one day grilling the perfect "Ryan Chicken".

Tim Heard is well known for his kitchen stocked with unusual and organic products. Dessert and baking are his specialties and he has been known to make himself a key lime pie on a whim. His "favorite childhood crisps" are enough to satisfy this eclectic cook, who also enjoys brown rice sushi and about 57 meals per day. His voracious appetite does not stop him from being a perfectionist in the kitchen, however, and he often apologizes for his delicious dishes before they are even served. Originally from England, this lad would make the Queen Mum proud with his mince meat pie. Becoming a Chopped champion has been a life-long dream of this serious chef.

Round 1: Desserts

The first "basket" contained the following ingredients:

We have: 

1. Buttermilk pancake mix
2. Honey
3. Cadbury mini eggs (chocolate)
4. Honey Teddy Grahams

According to the rules, contestants can use any items in the fully-stocked pantry (Heard and Haylie went grocery shopping that morning), but must feature the 4 ingredients in the basket in their dishes. For this preliminary round, time limits were not imposed (due to cooking space constraints). After approximately 45 minutes of silent and furious cooking (while Haylie and I played Mario Kart on the Wii), here are the dishes our contestants came up with:

From Kevin we have a play on a "Hoodwich", which he calls a "Chocolate Chip Banana Pancake Ice Cream Sandwich". This dish contains Cadbury egg pancakes prepared traditionally, then fried with  honey. Between two pancakes he placed Vanilla Soy ice cream with crushed Teddy Grahams inside. The entire concoction was covered in caramelized bananas cooked in peach schnapps and topped with honey and crushed Teddy Grahams.

From Tim we have a  honey cream cheese pancake "muffin" with a crushed Teddy Graham base. The muffin was served with organic strawberry yogurt and sprinkled with crushed Cadbury egg.

The judges determined the ruling on champion would not be decided round-by-round as it is in the traditional competition (we couldn't decide which of these disgustingly delicious dishes was better), but rather at the completion of the entree and appetizer rounds.

Stay tuned for Round 2!

We're on the lawn!

Let's start with the 4th of July...

We went to a party at Raf's Aunt Barbara's. Karen forgot her camera so she did a Cam photo shoot with my camera. My 2 favorite shots:

Can't believe how old Jacob is!!

A few days later my mom and Greg came to visit... she took most of the pictures that weekend so I might add some more here later, but here are a few highlights. We mostly spent the entire time on the beach or in restaurants.

The Melting Pot (Note my mom's eyes. Wonder where I get it from...)

Senor Fox

Abbey Road (a contender for our rehearsal dinner)

The glove compartment in the Prius... filled with every essential you might need in a motor emergency. Including every possible flavor of Orbit gum. Never know when you might need some car scissors or a tape measure either! And who needs car registration or an owners' manual anyway?!

We also shopped for some floor samples. JP likes THIS one...

Greg's awesome shirt, which says "Beer: Now Cheaper Than Gas"

Unfortunately this next shot was taken a few days after my mom and Greg left, but they would've appreciated this dream come true, so I'll post it with this group of pics. Our only wish is that the cars were close enough together for Kevin to stand on top like he was in roller skates.

Later that week I cashed in my birthday present... a brand-new shiny Jack Johnson/G. Love concert! Seth and Kerrie were here that weekend as well, but I completely forgot to take pictures so hopefully they post some I can add later. Here's Raf tailgating with his "wool" blanket before the show:

Although it was stinkin' hot, it was a freakin' beautiful evening.

Some hippie dancers sitting near us:

This pic is titled "WE'RE ON THE LAWN!" (Just get it, man!)

Enjoying the show... or at least I think that is what Raf is doing here:

Here is G. Love singing "Cold Beverages", one of our top favs:

I love me some Jack.

This video is terrible because it's too dark, but as per usual, I can't resist because the spirit of the thing was good. Excuse Raf and my singing and don't click if you're picky about video quality. (Video isn't uploading right now... I'll add it later)

In other news, Raf and I are moving soon so our appliances are for sale. I posted these pictures to Craig's List and got a reply 2.8 seconds later. (Maybe a slight exaggeration, but it was seriously less than 10 minutes)

Only 5 more days of summer school, then it's back to full time leisure again!