Family Visit

Well, it was a great weekend. George and I actually both worked on Saturday b/c we took Monday off to hang out with Brian, Terrisa, Brent, Chrissy, and Paisley. Friday night wasn't as great knowing that I had to work the next day, but it was a good feeling on Sunday night knowing that we didn't have to work on Monday. And now, I am just completely thrown off! 

So Brian, Terrisa, Brent, Chrissy, and Paisley came into town on Sunday morning. George and I picked up Chrissy's sister, Carrie, and we headed to one of our favorite places, Porto's Bakery (featured on my blog a month or two ago). After lunch, Brian, Terrisa, Paisley, George, and I headed back to our place and the three of them were ready for a little nap :)

George and I took advantage of our time with Paisley and I managed to snap several pictures of her. There are several more, but I had to narrow it down! We met up with some of Terrisa's family on Sunday night. Terrisa is actually originally from Southern California and most of her extended family lives in the area. On Monday, we hung out at the house and then headed to downtown Claremont - lots of cute little restaurants and shops. OK, now onto the pictures...

George gave Paisley a quick piano lesson (she was a natural) 

Paisley was a bit distracted from the bright flash on my camera

She picked up a new little trick...spitting!! It is cute, but Terrisa says we can't encourage the behavior :)

Doesn't Terrisa dress her so stinking cute?!

Shortly after they hit the road, George and I met up with Hannah and Jeremiah's family at Downtown Disney for dinner. It was great to see Hannah too even if it was just for a couple hours. Today, it was back to work. This work seems to be a little less crazy than last week...which I am very thankful for!

AND I just realized I forgot to post the Zuppa Toscana recipe. It was so delicious and I couldn't believe how similar it tasted to the soup at Olive Garden. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
• 1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I left out the bacon)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 6 potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (I used Kale instead)

Directions

1. Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

ENJOY!!!!!!