When the sun comes out...so do the WA Tuckers.

February greeted us with some absolutely gorgeous days.  We took advantage by going on a nice long hike on Saturday.

See Mt. Rainier in the distance?

The Chehalis Valley

Check out this huge Red Cedar...

 And Connor went out for a fishing trip on Blue Creek on Sunday morning (Marie went to a more traditional church to commune with God...but the river probably would have been better!).  He came home with an empty stringer but he had lots of fun.

We have been cooking up a storm too.  Last weekend, Connor made these delicious Puff Pastry Pot Pies (a Jamie Oliver recipe similar to this) -using his own stout. Marie made dessert - a Swedish Cookie Bar - she used homemade apricot preserves instead of raspberry.

On a sweet/funny note, we keep close tabs on our little nephews in Dallas, Texas.  Looks like little Alex is learning to potty train and he has already figured out the ideal position for the commode.

And here is a breathtaking shot of our gorgeous Leigh Ann with our new nephew, William Samuel Chekanovskiy.

Marie was inspired to make a simple "comfort" food meal on Saturday evening... Consisting of oven-barbequed chicken, baked macaroni and cheese (similar to this recipe), and sauteed asparagus with mushrooms and tomatoes.  Lefty was absolutely howling as she worked in the kitchen... He knew there was chicken on the way.

For SuperBowl Sunday, we (accidentally) got in the spirit of both of the teams playing.  Connor whipped up a traditional New England clam chowder - using razor clams from WA.  Marie made New York style Pretzel Dogs.  (Lefty was clearly interested in our culinary adventures...) For dessert, we have Almond Blondies.

Too much good food... luckily, the weather is fantastic for outdoor adventures.  Our kitties are loving the outdoor days...but they get cozy on their furniture at night... Here they are sweetly sharing the saucer on their new piece of fancy USA-made cat furniture
... Normally they fight for king position. 

Stay tuned... the Tucker House Brewmaster plans to brew a Czech Pilsner next weekend. Lord knows we need it... save us from the Bud Light Platinum sample that Connor brought home from one of his distributors.