Mele Kalikimaka!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Devan LOVES the car toy from Grandma & Grandpa!! and all the clothes  :)
LOVES the clothes and jammies from Brian & Kasey & the kids!
LOVES the 4 wheeler from Papa/Doug
LOVES the books from me

it took him a few minutes to notice there were gifts to unwrap and he didn't really get the whole concept of unwrapping.  but he is having a blast playing with everything.
here's a few snap shots from our morning.

 making a run for the presents!

 pretty proud of his new 4 wheeler

Merry Christmas!

pretty boy :)

devan gets mistaken for a girl almost daily  :)  he is a pretty boy if i do say so myself  :)

chocolate coconut pie! oh my!

um yea.  going to be making this real soon.
Despite its chic appearance, this dessert is really an uncomplicated icebox pie at heart. And it's gluten-free, to boot. The pie requires only four ingredients - butter, chocolate, cream, and shredded coconut. The press-in crust comes together in seconds in a food processor. After it's baked, the shell is filled with velvety ganache, which sets to a lovely, smooth sheen. 

Ingredients
For the crust

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 11 ounces (about 6 cups) sweetened shredded coconut

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

Directions
1 Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, process butter and one-third of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture and combine with your fingers.

2 Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil and bake until edges are browned, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

3 Make the filling: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour into coconut crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day. 

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Jarom and Kayla 2011

Back to school

Jarom's 11th Birthday

Grandma and Grandpa knows what Jarom likes!

Painting Pumpkins

Jarom's Custom Specialized Mt. Bike

Scary Werewolf

Spooky Witch

devan's 1st Birthday Party!!!

the party was a lot of fun.  there were too many cupcakes-50-and too much food of course, better too much than too little says Doug as he mows the leftover cupcakes :)
Doug rented a 'bouncy castle' which was an excellent idea! it was a MAJOR hit with all the kids (and adults)-the ones we know and invited and some randoms at the park.  Our friends gave devan a ball house that we set up and that was a hit as well with the little 'keikis'.  devan loved watching and playing with all the kids.

                                        HUGE!

 devan & his friend bodhi who was born on 1/4/11 just down the road from where devan was born

                                  Elmo ball house

                                       :-)

 did i mention the bouncy castle was HUGE!?

 not super thrilled with the gluten free, baked with coconut oil, raspberry frosted cupcake :)  that's ok devan, your dad and everyone else enjoyed plenty for you--only a few had raspberry preserves frosting, the others has chocolate frosting btw  :)

happy birthday little buddy!!!

i'm still shocked & amazed that devan is 1 already!!!  the past year has truly gone by sooo fast!!
he loves the truck and car toy from grandma & grandpa, loves ALL the clothes mom buys him! loves the farm-yep, it was supposed to be for Christmas, apparently Doug didn't get the memo:)  and he loves the balls we gave him.
thanks for all the Birthday wishes!  he is my *wish* come true!

a new take on no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies!

we all remember and love the infamous 'no bake' chocolate oatmeal cookies mom and so many other moms made 'back in the day'.  well, here's a new take on those.  NUTELLA and peanut butter or for us almond butter!
mmmmm

No-Bake Nutella Peanut Butter CookiesYields approximately 2 dozen cookies (recipe can be doubled for a crowd)

3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup peanut or hazelnut butter
3/4 cup Nutella hazelnut spread (or 1 cup chocolate chips)
2 cups rolled oats

In a medium to large saucepan, melt the butter over medium to medium-low heat. Add the sugar, milk, and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Stir in the peanut butter, Nutella,  until melted, followed by the oats. Continue mixing until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Reduce heat to lowest setting.

Working quickly, use a spring-form ice cream scoop to shape balls of dough and place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Refrigerate for thirty minutes until firm. Store in an airtight container.

searching for shells

it was a rare treat that doug had a day off during the week-yay! so we decided to go to the other side of the island and look for shells.  we drove a little past napili and spent the afternoon at d.t. fleming beach.  devan LOVES the beach--the sand, the ocean, the coral...it was the perfect day and we scored some nice shells too  :-)

 doug looking for shells.  devan making a b-line for the ocean.

 watching the waves or contemplating another b-line for the ocean?

 apparently the texture of sand in the mouth and coral are good for teething  :)