2017 Update: San Clemente Vacation

So, yet again, we have failed to update the blog in a timely manner...Whoops! When you're simmering the summer away indoors, there's really not much to update on.

Thankfully we recently escaped the heat and spent 4th of July weekend in beautiful San Clemente, California!

Can't beat this! Enjoying the view at Uncle Brian's birthday lunch at Strands Beach

We were ecstatic to not only see our usual California-inhabiting family, but also family from all over the States! Catching up with everyone was fun! 

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rick especially make me laugh and smile. We played Hand and Foot at our Airbnb then had dinner with our cousin and his adorable family at a nearby cafe. Also, my brother-in-law and nephew had just returned from a surfing trip in Mexico and were going to leave for Hawaii in a few days. We hadn't seen them in almost a year, so that alone made the trip worth it! 

Playing Hand and Foot

One of the best parts about where we were staying was being able to walk everywhere. There was a crazy pedestrian bridge that was also wheelchair-friendly, where you could roll up a ramp across the freeway and make it to beach in 10 or so minutes. We try to go for walks everyday here in AZ, but we usually have to wait until after 9:00 PM so we don't sweat and die. It was refreshing to explore a new place and not have to wait until after dark to do so. One night we walked through a large golf course and watched the sunset...and dodged sprinklers. 😂 

So happy! 

 

Along with new places, we also enjoyed visiting old favorites, such as Strands Beach and Dana Point Harbor. Strands is especially great because they have a tram that takes you down to the beach, where you can walk on a wide sidewalk to enjoy the waves without going on the sand. It's a perfect beach for my wheelchair! 

Dana Point Harbor 

The trip went by incredibly fast! We weren't ready to go home! I'm hoping we go on more road trips in the near future though, including Flagstaff, Bisbee and Sandy! 

Thanks for reading! I promise I won't wait three more months to post more...😅

- Erik 

Pink Grapefruit Lemonade in Hot Arizona

This past week, we were already sweating and going for walks at night because it was already in the 90° F range! Ugh. TOO HOT for March. 💦

To help us cool down, we made PaleoLeap's Pink Grapefruit Lemonade recipe. We gathered lemons and grapefruits from the trees in our backyard and got to work. 

 

So many! We have to make more recipes like this to keep up with the trees...

The recipe was simple and easy to follow, we just felt that the honey water didn't quite sweeten it enough the first time around. It was still pretty sour! Refreshing, but sour... 

We added more honey-water. 😀 That helped! 

Note our fun, Mario-themed ice cube tray. Thanks, Nikki! 

We did it! If only Ashley would have gotten a picture of my sour face when we first tried it. 😆

Next time we want to try watermelon lemonade! What are some of your favorite ways to stay cool in the summer? 

Thanks for reading,

Erik

Happy Birthday to Ashley and I!

Hi everyone, 

Thank you for wishing me a Happy Birthday on Wednesday! It was a fun day for both Ashley and I. It's pretty cool we get to share our special day every year.

When we were little kids...D'awww.

Usually my mom would bake us a cake, however she's too busy relaxing in Hawaii with my dad and eldest sister's family. 😉 Erin decided to step up and make a two-layer cake in her place! Thank you, Erin! 

Hawaii photos by my sister Andrea!

We made a French Vanilla cake, using applesauce instead of oil in the mix to make it slightly more healthy. The day it was baked, it tasted a little weird with the applesauce flavor...but the day after it was perfect! Just FYI if you ever use applesauce like we did.    

We didn't get a photo of the cake, but here's a slice of it! Mmm mmm! 

There was no short supply of other delicious food this day! 

Ashley, her friend Lily, and Erin went to pick up the birthday goodies from Joe's BBQ - I was especially excited for their macaroni and cheese! It is one of my favorites!

They also went to Joe's Farm Grill to get Ashley's favorite - their Farm Veggie Burger! 

Food = happiness in the Knudsen family! 

My sister's friend and also someone who used to work with me through GMS, Amanda, also came over to join our festivities! She brought her adorable children and we all got to sit and talk before cutting the cake. 

**Will add video later once I have it!**

Last but not least, I got another new game! 

It's extra fun because I'm able to play with my nephew Andin! 

I wish I would have gotten more photos, but we were too busy having a good time. 

So, we're a quarter of a century old! I'm excited for all of the other adventures and experiences to come. 

What are your plans for the rest of March? Anything exciting? 

Thanks for reading, 

Erik 

Parties and Pesto!

Hello everyone, 

Well, February is almost over...Looks like I'm not keeping up with my New Year's resolution of updating more often! I'll try to be better with this. 😅

This month we celebrated my little sister's birthday! I can't believe she's 15 years old!! I remember when she was a little baby...she then grew into a troublesome toddler who would eat sticks of butter and try to breakout of the house and walk the neighborhood when we weren't looking...She's mellowed out for now. 😉 

Birthday Girl at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Nov. 2015

We went to the trifecta of birthday goodies here in Gilbert - Joe's Farm Grill, Joe's BBQ, and Liberty Market. She chose a blueberry scone from Liberty, macaroni and cheese from Joe's BBQ, and a vanilla bean milkshake from Joe's Farm Grill. Of course, we like to support these local businesses while getting free birthday meals, so we also brought home sliced beef brisket, ahi tuna sandwich (featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” w/ Guy Fier), beet salad and chocolate macarons. 

Mmm mmm! Happy Belated Birthday, Hailey! 🎂 🎈

Joe's Farm Grill

Ahi Tuna Sandwich + Beet Salad

Liberty Market Chocolate Macarons

We have also succeeded in cooking more this month. One of our favorite things to utilize is our AeroGarden 7 LED indoor, hydroponic garden. Isn't it beautiful? 

We also bought a plant-based protein shake to make our mornings healthier! We add banana and a little peanut butter. I still don't love it, but I'm also used to scoops and scoops of ice cream in my shakes... 😋 

The dilemma of our household in one photo. 😂 We are lucky to have such an amazing baker as our mother. That's her lemon poppy-seed cake for Hailey's birthday party!

Anyways, back to the planter...We are growing basil, thyme, parsley and mint. The basil is taking over, so we've been making pesto each week! We'll use some throughout the week on pasta (zoodles, actually - zucchini cut into noodles), paninis, salads, etc., then we'll freeze the rest so it doesn't go bad. 

Here's how we made the pesto, adapted from Food Network's recipe here: 

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves (we'll sometimes throw in spinach as well)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup almonds (pine nuts are a bit pricey)
• 2/3 cup avocado oil and extra-virgin olive oil, divided (we will use a majority of avocado oil)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 
• Varying amounts of fresh lemon juice (we have two lemon trees in our backyard) to take away any bitterness 

We throw it all in the food processor and adjust to our tastes! So far, so good! 

Otherwise, we've been enjoying the beautiful weather as much as possible! It has been rainy all weekend, which we also love. We open up a few windows and breathe in the refreshing desert rain air. When it is sunny, we go for walks!

I hope everyone is having a great February as well! What have you been doing? 

Please share! I love hearing from all of you! 

Thanks for reading! 

- Erik 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Wow, the holidays go by fast once they are finally here...2016 ended and 2017 is well on its way! 

Let me catch you up on our holiday experiences:

December 25th - Christmas Day 

We woke up around 8am and began opening presents one by one. We completely forgot about the stockings until after breakfast. Whoops... 

It was fun to see everyone discover what has been sitting under the tree for them this whole time. Many thoughtful and exciting gifts!

I was ecstatic about my new games! I got six new games total! Thank you Mom, Dad, Jamie, Erin, Ashley, and Hailey for these goods! 

Stardew Valley
Beach Buggy Racing
Ori and the Blind Forest
Never Alone
Minecraft: Story Mode

Pokepark 2

Our Xbox One collection is growing! 

I'm so excited to play these new games!

After breakfast and stockings, we spent the day together - playing games and eating delicious food. We had tamales and played Charoodles (basically like charades with different props provided) with my Aunt Jamie. Watching everyone act out their cards was hilarious!

 We FaceTimed with my siblings, nieces, nephew and brother-in-law as well! I was so happy to see everyone. Our FaceTime sessions can be chaotic, but they are fun and always make me laugh.

We also got to open even more gifts once my sister returned from Hawaii with my eldest sister's family presents. They got me a very cool toy that flies up into the air and lights up, we're going to take it to the park tonight to watch all of the colors. I'll have to show you guys asap.

We also opened our new Ticket to Ride game! I played with my boombox while they slowly took over Europe's railways. :P

Ashley was playing too (I know, she actually sat down for a longer game!) and took this photo.

(P.S.: She totally won! Maybe she'll play games like this more often? ;) )

January 2017 (so far): 

Now it's already January 8th! In two months I'll be turning 25!! That is crazy...

My twin and I made lists of what we want to work on in 2017. We made individual ones and one for our whole family to add to that we wanted to work on together.

I want to:

- Update my blog at least once a week and on holidays

- Get in my wheelchair more often (I get in it everyday already, so this should be an easier one :P)

- Update social media more often (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)

- Cook and bake more with my family (and of course I'll share the recipes we try) 

As a family we want to:

- Do an activity together once a month

- Work on family history, pictures, etc. on Sundays

- Have the siblings cook a family meal at least once a week

- Eat outside more often (on the backyard patio, at the park, have picnics) 

- Clean more often, together (surface and deep clean)

Looking up recipes to try (we use Pinterest too!)

Helping clean the 4Runner! 

Lola is ever helpful with my blog. 

Do you have any 2017 goals? Please share! 

Thanks for reading. Have a great Sunday! 

Cheers, 

Erik

It's Almost Christmas!

Hello everyone, 

I hope each one of you have enjoyed the holiday season so far. I can't believe Christmas is THIS SUNDAY!! I can't wait! 

We've been busy preparing and celebrating in different ways - 

We decorated the house a few weeks ago. Check it out!  

Decorating the tree and setting up our village! 

A low quality video of our tree... :D 

All the lights! 

Our house has also been full of baking, baking, baking! My mom made peanut butter bonbons, pumpkin rolls, raisin-filled cookies, sugar cookies and cranberry bars. Mmmmm.


Pumpkin rolls! The best...

We all tried to help as much as we could! She's so sweet to make these every year. 

We have also received so many delicious goods from our family and friends! Too many to post...  

One of my favorites was what my Aunt Jamie brought us - homemade fudge and beautiful cookies! Look at that craftsmanship.

Yes, please. 

My sister Erin was also here for a little while before leaving to spend time with Andrea and her family in Hawaii! Not a bad place to be, especially for Christmas! Build a sand-man for me! :P 

*I know she took some photos, I'll have to get them from her or find them!*

It has been great having my other sisters out of school too. Ashley still works, but Hailey plays games with me while she chats with our cousin, Paige.

Here's a snapshot from our walk yesterday. I wasn't in the mood for the video I guess! :P Sorry, Ash. x) 

So, what are you wishing for this Christmas? I'm excited to spend time with family and to get new video games for my Xbox One I got last year! 

And lastly, for giggles, here's me trying to eat my brace yesterday... >:) 

I'll post more of our festivities - Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, prepping for 2017 - very soon! 

Until then,

Merry Christmas!

Love, 

Erik