Christmas, the Beach, and Splash

Hello, everyone! I hope everyone is having a relaxing post-Christmas day. I am. I am sitting in a bed with a laptop, uploading fun pictures from our stay here in Pismo Beach. Our Christmas was great. There were some rather stressful moments but I tried to get past them and have a meaningful Christmas for my family. We had a big Christmas dinner on Christmas eve because my sister-in-law and her husband were leaving for Hawaii on Christmas morning.

We had prime ribs, homemade rolls (I made them!!), my hub's famous green beans side dish although it's not shown in the picture, twice-baked potatoes, and some jello! Everything was pretty good.

Afterward, we went on a limo ride to see some Christmas lights. It was really fun! There was this house that had beautiful lights and decorations on their front yard. And we were gasping at how pretty everything was and just started busting out laughing when we saw the lights of the house next to them. It said, "Ditto" with an arrow to the house with the pretty lights. It was really funny. I should've gotten a picture but we were driving. But the picture of our family above was taken in the limo. :)

And guess what we did on Christmas night! We went out to the beach and had a bonfire and hotdogs. We had a sad little fire going for us to cook some hot dogs and marshmallows. The kids loved it. I'm still not sure if it was fun or sad to have a bonfire at the beach for Christmas dinner. But it was definitely fun to be out and eat while listening to the big waves of the Ocean. I hope your Christmas was great!!

I got some great gifts for Christmas. My hub gave me a pair of running shoes that I've been asking for. I got my hub a GPS that he's been begging for since his birthday. We got our little boy a few books and toys that he likes. We didn't spend a lot of money this year. We decided that Christmas isn't about gifts. It's more about the birth of our savior, Christ and his gifts to us all.

I receieved some gifts from my in-laws and I was excited to get some new cookbooks. I've already flipped through all the pages and found some good looking recipes that I want to try this upcoming year. I got patry, Italian, Thai, and Better Home and Garden cookbooks. My goal this upcoming year is to try and make homemade pasta noodles!! My hub keeps asking me to make some noodles today but we'll see. I got a cute apron and a bakeware, too. Those are always good to have.

Okay, so the beach.... My little boy didn't used to be so fond of the ocean and even the sand... but now that he's older and more aware of things, he loves them! He was so excited to walk on the sand and he even chased the waves... I had to run and get him! Boy, little kids aren't scared of anything, are they? But the weather has been gorgeous here in Pismo Beach and we've been going out to the beach everyday.

I love taking pictures of my hub and cub walking together. It's really the cutest thing in the world. I love how Matt (that's my little boy) holds my hub's hand so tight as they walk together.

And then this happens... because Matt trusts his daddy so much, he thinks he can just hang on to his hand... literally. It makes me giggle every time he does this.

Afterward, we went to our favoritest seafood place by the beach. It's called "Splash!" If you live around here, you know they have the world's best clam chowder! I am really picky when it comes to seafood. And I've tried so many different kinds of clam chowder and I'm not afraid to say Splash chowder is the BEST clam chowder in the universe! They are not too thin, not too thick, just the right texture. And you'll actually find lots of clams in the chowder, not just potatoes. Splash wins almost every year whenever they do the best clam chowder contest!

Whenever we go to Splash, we usually get a bread bowl. Their bread bowls are freshly baked every morning. What I like about their bread bowls is that they grill the lid part of the bread and when you dip the part in the chowder.... wow, you're in heaven. I usually can't finish the whole bread but always finish the grilled part. It's so worth the extra $2 you pay for the bread bowl. Yum, yum, yum!

We also got some shrimp and chips this time. They actually give you a lot of shrimps for $7 you pay. I also tried their fish sandwich the other day and it was so tasty. So when you're in Pismo Beach, you have to go to Splash and get their clam chowder for sure. I haven't really tried anything that I didn't like there. But their clam chowder is always my top choice.

That's it for today... I'll be back with a delicious recipe soon.

Love,

Sook the Cook