California magic

The ball was clearly in my court with the number of times I got asked What do you want to do this summer?  I couldn't think of a better place to escape from the exhausting routine of chemo pumps and  days in bed and medicine bottles than the charms of our sister state.  Especially with our beautiful family and having a pool doesn't hurt.  I recently realized that I have felt good on every vacation that my amazing husband has planned.  God has been so good to give me these breaks and build on our family memories.  I am beyond thankful.  And now sit back because I managed to narrow it down to 45 photos of our magical family trip.  Your welcome.

 Elevator selfie.  What is it with ceiling mirrors.  I just can't stop.

 What can I say?  He's a thirsty boy.

So many wands.  So little time.  So much money for a tiny piece of plastic.

Finally (I am not joking with how long this took) the wands have chosen the wizards. 

 Some tattoo fun

 What do you do when your foot is healing from a two inch gash falling on an escalator (cough...Ava) and you can't go swimming?  Go to the movies of course!  What is this, amateur hour?

 Loving the days with my girl

 The nightly show starring stuffed bunnies and impromptu Adele karaoke. 

 Jesus take the wheel.

 Paparazzi

 Sweet love of mine

 I finally got to snuggle baby Koa.  Twenty pounds of adorable squishy cuddles.

 Can you hardly stand the cuteness?!

Big sister Emi looking equally gorgeous

 #squadgoals

 obligatory pool pics

 Serenading us on the porch

 Free slurpees at 7 eleven.  Only took us three tries to find a working machine!

 Family shots

 Getting our adrenaline on!

 Hogwarts!

 Working her magic.  Literally.

 Loved every minute with my little man

So happy to get on the tram and into some shade

 Five happy wizards

Celebrating my beautiful bonus sister!

 She sells seashells by the seashore

 adrenaline junkies and adventurers 

now stand together and look cute!

 Lego land!

 Faster Ammie!  shouted an anonymous onlooker...hee..hee..hee

 Ian could not have been happier

 5 little monkeys sitting in a tree

Two beauties

 Driving through the mini town

 New York City made from legos.  I love how this shot turned out.  It looks like they are in a real city.  This whole part of lego land was amazing.

 Tidepools

 Sisters

More wonderful days recorded in the memory books.  I can't wait to go back and hope we have many more summers giggling, lathering up the sunscreen, screaming on rollercoasters, wielding magic wands, collecting silver dollars, jumping waves, dripping ice cream cones, holding hands, sleeping in, floating on the lazy river, enjoying no schedules, and just BE-ing together.

Rosemary bread

 When I was first diagnosed I was lucky enough to have an army of friends (and total strangers!) show up at my doorstep with food to feed my family.  I was in such a state of shock for so many months that even cooking seemed foreign to me.  As we settle in to this new normal cooking has become a lifeline in a sea of uncertainty that sometimes gets me through the day.  I'm guessing there will once again come a time when I will need a team of people to care for our family but for now the process of cooking on most days is my only creative outlet.  And although I should probably be sticking to organically and locally grown kale salads I'm instead baking up a storm of bread.  Like Oprah on weight watchers I'm a gonna be kneading away in my kitchen with a smile on my face. This recipe has become a Hsieh fav and justifies the bossy rosemary bush in my garden.  Because if she had her way she would occupy all the land.  Its fairly simple, although does require a few steps and the first rise can be done in the morning and finished up while your making dinner at night. Your family will think your a wizard when it comes hot to the table and it might be magical enough to entice elves to come and dance with unicorns in your backyard.  Its that good.

 First, mix 1 tablespoon yeast with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 cup warm water. (between 105 and 110) I used my kitchenaid bowl but you can do it by hand.  If your in a hurry you can set your oven to 200 degrees and then turn it off.

 Let it sit for about 5 minutes and let it get all bubbly and happy.

 Yay!

 Then add 1 tablespoon of soft butter

 1 teaspoon of salt

 and 2 cups of flour

Add 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary and knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes (or knead for 10 minutes by hand)

 If it's too sticky add more flour a couple tablespoons at a time.  I usually add about 1/2 cup more flour.

 Looks good!

 Put in on a mixing board dusted with flour

 And knead by hand for a few minutes until it looks happy.

 Put it in an oiled bowl and cover with a towel.  If you set your oven to 200 and then turned it off you can put your bowl inside and leave the door open a little.  It will rise faster this way.  If your doing this step in the morning you can just leave it on the counter to rise.

 When it doubles take it out of the oven and punch it down.

 If your going the braid route you can divide the bread into two loaves and then divide each loaf into three parts.  Then just braid each loaf.  If you want to skip this step it also works to just leave each section as a loaf or pinch off pieces and put them in muffin tins for the second rise.

 Sprinkle whatever shape you have with the rest of the rosemary and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.  Cover with the towel and let rise for another 45 minutes in the warm oven or on the counter.

 When they've doubled set the oven to 375 and bake for 15-20 minutes until browned.  Make sure to take the bread out of the oven before turning it on. :)

 Brush the loaves with 1 tablespoon of melted butter and sprinkle with a little bit of crunchy salt if you want.

 Serve to your family who is obviously doing the slow clap as you approach the table.  We usually only eat one loaf and I slice and freeze the other one.  Just reheat in the oven or toast individual slices in a toaster oven.

1 T yeast

1 T sugar

1 Cup warm water (about 110)

2 and up to 1/2 cups flour

1 t salt

2 T rosemary

2 T soft butter

Directions:

Place yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl or kitchenmaid an allow mixture to become bubbly.

Mix in 1 tablespoon butter, salt and 2 cups flour

Add 1 tablespoon of the rosemary

Knead for 5-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in kitchenmaid until its smooth

Add more flour if its too sticky

Oil a bowl, put dough in and cover it with a towel

Let it rise for about an hour

Punch down the dough and divide it into two loaves

Either braid the loaves, put them in muffin tins or keep it as a loaf shape

Place on a sheet pan covered in parchment or a silicone mat

Sprinkle remaining rosemary on top and press it into the surface

Cover with a towel and let them rise again until doubled (about 45 minutes)

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned

Brush with butter and sea salt if you want