To Grandmother's house we go...

♫"Into the airplane and through the sky, to Grandmother's house we go..."♫

On Daniel's 3-month birthday, we whisked him away on his first plane ride to visit the Johnson clan in California.

He loved the "Infant Life Vest" section of the safety
brochure the best. :-D It was very colorful.

What an incredible experience! We were treated like royalty from the moment we left for the airport. CO Grandma Sue brought us to the airport and once we landed on CA soil, Grandma & Grandpa CA gave us their very own bedroom, provided Danny boy with all the amenities he is used to, cooked special gluten and dairy free meals, and planned lots and lots of fun!

Essential vibrating chair.
He certainly didn't care that it was pink!

Enjoying the rest of the night in Grandma & Grandpa's bed.

The five days were packed with visits to friends, visits from friends and family, and a wonderful Sunday with church family.

Wonderful night with the Zellers, Worthys, and Wesolek families.

Uncle Jeff, the Salsa king! (More on that later.)

We enjoyed a very special visit from one of Chris' bosses from the City of Torrence, Mr. Ricks. His brother graciously drove him up to Huntington Beach for a visit. We were very encouraged in the Lord through his testimony! Even while suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig Disease, he remains full of praise for his Savior.

Wonderful time with Peter, Beth, Helen & Ed Esh. 

Peter & Chris, friends since the beginning!

Mom Johnson, Daniel, Chris, Beth, & Peter

Special visit with Scott and Trisha.

Crazy Daniel refused to look at Grandma and Grandpa for the first day, but they soon won him over for

 good! :-)

Daniel also got pretty used to seeing Uncle Mark and Aunt Nika and frequently took naps on Aunt Nika's shoulder.

My little blue camera tried its hardest to record this amazing journey for us, but forgot to step into my purse at key times. That's why there's no visual record of our time at Great grandma and Great grandpa's house, our walk along the beach where Kellie got wet up to her knees (yes, accidentally) and saw a giant sandcastle and storybook made out of sand along with the happy couple who had just gotten engaged. Or how about that encouraging lunch with Pastor and Mrs. Miles. Guess these moments will just have to live on in our heads. 

All the guys enjoying a little down time with their electronic entertainment.
Yes, even Daniel since an electronic song would play when he pulled the middle toy.

Back to Uncle Jeff...

He made such an excellent salsa to go with dinner that I just had to ask him how to make it. He graciously gave me the rundown and told me that I could share the recipe. So, if you need an excellent salsa, try this one. The picture below shows the batch I just made. (Photo from the mother SLR camera...sorry little blue camera!)

                                                                      SALSA

1 White onion

1 yellow onion

8 Roma tomatoes

1 lime

2 jalapenos peppers

1 Anaheim peppers

2 mild yellow chili peppers

1 bunch cilantro

1 7oz  or so of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 28 can of whole tomatoes

2 Tbs diced garlic (fresh is best, however the jarred garlic is easiest)

Salt and pepper to taste

   Set oven to broil. Cut roma tomatoes and peppers in half and put in bowl. I deseed the peppers and tomatoes (optional). In bowl add olive oil to coat. Put oiled items on a cookie sheet, broil in oven until items blacken.

  Dice up onions and set aside in large bowl. (I mince my onions fairly fine)

  When broiled items are cooled they can be added to a blender or food processor. Cut the rest of the items up and put into blender, blend until rough chunks are as small as you like. Add mixture to bowl of onions. Hand stir till completely mixed.  Add more seasoning if needed.

Options: 

Add hotter peppers Habanaros or seranos

To make milder salsa, deseed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and use less sauce from can. (I put all the contents of can in my salsa)