Shootin'

I have always been terrified of guns, so when Russ suggested that we all go shooting one morning at Priest Lake I was super nervous. But as always I was determined to conquer my fears and try something new, so we headed out into the backwoods of Idaho (where else would we go for this type of activity?) for some shootin'.

The boys had been saving "targets" for a couple days so they had a lot of them to set up on the hill before we were ready to get started. But once that was done we were ready to go. BANG! The first shot almost made me jump out of my skin! Guns are much louder in person than they seem in the movies or on TV. My body was coursing with adrenaline and I immediately backed away several feet, and continued to do so with each shot fired. Guns officially freak me out.

Setting up our targets.

Stew went first.

Then Dad took some shots.

And then Stew switched to the big gun.

I was too scared to try the rifle.

But Stew was an awesome shot.

And so was Russ.

I had to let the men folk shoot quite a few rounds before I was willing to try it myself. Russ gave me a detailed lesson on how to hold and fire a weapon before he loaded the gun and let me try on my own. BAM! It's even louder up close and my ears immediately started to ring. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, and I immediately wanted to try again so I could hit the yellow energy drink can I had my eye on. Unfortunately I emptied the entire clip and didn't manage to make contact. Next time...

I was trying so hard not to shake, I was so nervous.

Got my eye on that yellow can... Sadly I missed.

Patty getting her lesson.

Good form!

She nailed it on the first shot!

Mom gave it a try, too.

Stew taking out the last of our targets at close range.

We would have stayed out longer and probably could have used up all of Russ's ammunition we were having so much fun (Mom and Patty even shot some rounds!) but it was getting on toward lunch and it was bloody hot outside so we decided to head back to the lake. But I can pretty much guarantee that this will probably be a recurring activity on our Priest Lake trips now.

Have you ever shot guns before? What did you think?

Cowboy Caviar

Stew actually brought this home from a recipe exchange at the fire station and it has quickly become one of our absolute favorite things to make and take just about anywhere.  

Cowboy Caviar

(Sorry, I have no idea what the nutritional information is...)

• 1 can shoepeg corn
• 1 can black-eyed peas
• 2-3 avocados, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2/3 cup green onion, chopped

Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin

Combine ingredients in a large bowl, toss and serve with tortilla chips.

Cowboy Caviar is just so fresh and amazing, and the flavors come together so well. Plus avocado and cilantro are two of my absolute favorite things of all time, so I really couldn't go wrong with this recipe. Make sure you use a fairly large bowl otherwise it will be difficult to toss everything together. Serve immediately or chill for just a bit, otherwise the avocado will start to go brown and the ingredients won't stay as crisp. For chips we like the scoops because it means we can eat more Cowboy Caviar with each bite.   

Bon appétit!

4th of July Lakehouse Vacation

With the Fourth of July holiday falling mid-week this year, we weren't quite sure how to celebrate it. But eventually we decided that we should just take an extra couple days off work and head to the Alway Family Lakehouse in Idaho.

Stew and I have been going to Priest Lake together since we first met but it never ceases to amaze me how absolutely beautiful it is up there. The weather was gorgeous and it was the perfect way to spent the holiday. My parents came with us and we spend a glorious five days of swimming, lounging, boating, eating, sleeping, drinking, hiking, and even shooting guns! It was really hard to leave paradise and come back to the real world...

Captain Stew taking us for a boat ride.

Gorgeous views from the house out over the lake.

Enjoying the view from the "treehouse" deck.

Hanging out on the dock waiting for dinner and fireworks.

My parents had a great time... how could they not?!

Gorgeous 4th of July sunset.

Our first 4th of July holiday as a married couple.

Bundled up for an evening boat ride. It wasn't cold but very windy!

It's not a lakehouse vacation without a campfire!

Waiting for the sun to go down and fireworks to start.

Campfire fun.

Mom caught us kissing in the dark on the dock!

The one and only picture I captured of the fireworks.

The best way to paddleboat is as a passenger.

Heaven.

We had gorgeous, hot weather every single day.

Our new floating toy, we named her "Lola."

Our home away from home.

Going swimming!

Stew is like a fish.

Surprising Mom...

It was seriously too hot to stay out of the water for long...

Absolutely amazing skies in the evening.

And beautiful sunsets every night.

Once again, an amazing trip!
Happy Fourth of July from the Always!

This was the first time besides the weekend of wedding craziness that our families had spent a significant period of time together, and it could not have turned out more perfect. If anything the trip was simply too short and we all wanted to stay for basically the rest of the summer. I'm still brainstorming how to make that happen... In any case we go back in just 20 days for the Alway Family Reunion and are obviously counting down the days.

How did you celebrate the Fourth of July this year?

Year One

Well, believe it or not, it has been exactly one year since we first welcomed you to Life As Always. And in the spirit of this blogiversary, we'd like to take a moment and look back over the adventure that the last 365 days have been. Here are some of our favorite memories:

• We attended two beautiful weddings in Roseburg and Hillsboro, Oregon.
• We spent lots of quality time with our families for the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Sophia's first birthday, Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day.
• We experienced some new adventures like stand up paddleboarding and flying trapeze lessons.
• Sarah completed an intense boot camp fitness class and we participated in the Gladiator Rock'n Run.
• We spent time at Stew's family lakehouse in Idaho; both a summer trip and a winter trip.
• As usual we spent lots of time camping at Steamboat Rock in both early August and late August, at Sucia Island, Port Townsend, and in Sunland for Labor Day and Memorial Day.
• Sarah read lots of books, and we both saw lots of theater and went out to eat way too much.
• Stew attended a truck academy and joined the ladder crew at Station 31.
• Sarah served jury duty.
• We went all out for Halloween... because we're nerds like that.
• We sent out our save the dates, planned our rehearsal dinner, and chose our wedding colors.
• We continued planning all the wedding details, and got prepared for the big day. This included a craft night and lots of last minute projects.
• We took a trip to Boston to celebrate Sarah's 30th birthday and visit her best friend from college. Sarah's best friends also threw her a suprise 30th birthday party.
• Sarah attempted to learn how to cook.
• Stewart participated in the Firefighter Stair Climb and placed an amazing 147th out of 1,550!
• Sarah had not one, not two, but three bridal showers, and we both had absolutely amazing bachelor and bachelorette parties in Las Vegas.
• Our wedding rehearsal and dinner went awesome and we experienced some fun activities and pampering leading up to our wedding day.
• All of our very closest friends and family members traveled to Seattle to be with us for our wedding weekend.
• We got married on 03/17/12 and took an amazing honeymoon trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas.
• The wedding didn't leave us much time for snowboarding this year, but Stew went up a few times.
• Stewart turned 31 and we celebrated with a pub crawl.
• We became Seattle Seahawks season ticket holders!

We truly can't believe how much luck and love the past year has brought us. We continue to plan for the future and look forward to what the next year will bring. Thank you to everyone who has followed along on this journey with us. Life continues to be a daily adventure and we can't wait to see what will happen next!

*Wedding photos by Jamie Jones Photography

Weekend Update

Well not a super-duper exciting weekend for the Always, but a couple fun things happened. Poor Stew had to work a 24 hour shift on Friday, followed by just 24 hours off before heading back Sunday morning for another 48 hours... ouch. But we made the best of it and still managed to get together with some friends on Saturday night.

Stew really wanted to see Ted, so to make this ridiculous comedy even more interesting we started off with some beers at Buckley's in Belltown before heading to The Big Picture. Whoever thought of combining going to the movies with cocktails is a genius. At The Big Picture you can not only order drinks before the show, but you can also pre-order drinks and snacks that the server will bring to your seat at pre-determined times during the movie... so cool.

Tara and I getting read to enjoy "Ted" - it was hilarious!

Stew went right back to work Sunday morning, so I took the opportunity to get some house cleaning and chores done. I also did a lot of grocery shopping, mainly to get ready for our trip to the Alway Lakehouse this week. We're leaving early Wednesday morning to head over to Priest Lake to celebrate the Fourth of July with Russ, Patty and my parents. So I spent the afternoon making jello shots...

Red, white, and blue jello shots!

Unfortunately they didn't turn out exactly like I had planned. Using Cool Whip for the middle layer ended up being a terrible idea, even though it's what the recipe said to do. When I poured the blue layer over the white layer it just melted the Cool Whip, which ended up floating on top of the red and blue layers. Oh well, even if they aren't as visually appealing as I planned they will still taste delicious!

How was your weekend? Have you already celebrated the Fourth of July or will you be celebrating later in the week? It's so strange to have it fall on a Wednesday this year...

Turkey and White Bean Chili

This is a recipe that I adapted from The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook.

Turkey and White Bean Chili

Servings: Makes 4 (1.25) cup servings

Calories: 260

Fats: 5 grams

Carbs: 21 grams

Protein: 34 grams

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 package lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed Mexican style tomatoes
• 1 cup lower-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add turkey, chili powder, and cumin; cook, stirring often, until turkey is no longer pink inside, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

This was a quick and easy recipe to get some pre-made meals into the fridge for the week. The recipe actually called for cannellini beans, which I couldn't find, so I used white beans. It also used diced tomatoes which I also couldn't find in Mexican style, and turkey cutlets instead of ground turkey. The substitutions didn't seem to matter because it came out tasting fantastic, if a little on the watery side... I probably should have let it sit longer before digging in but I was really hungry. We like it with a little bit of fat free cheddar cheese on top. 

Bon appétit!