Happy Birthday Brad!

Hey Brad

Here's to a happy birthday (even if in your timezone it's already past)! We hope to get the same news from you guys that Caroline and Jeff gave us today. We miss you an hope you are doing well. Happy Birthday!!








We thought you'd enjoy these throwback photos. Oh yeah, and due to my negligence, your present (and Matthew's present) is still in the car, waiting to make it to the post office.

Jon

It's Following Me!

So I got home last night. It was perfect. We went out to dinner, and then we came home and unpacked all the presents I brought back. But the best part about it was that last night @ 7pm it was 60 degrees outside. There wasn't even any snow on the grass or anything. Then this morning, Jon shoveled about 4 inches off our drive way. I thought I have to go out and play in it with Marcella, even though I am getting a little tired of Snow. (It snowed at Jeff and Carolines, the day I got there, let's just say they still have snow.) I want to go to the park and feed the ducks and play on the slide, which is what Jon and Marcella got to do on Sunday. Those lucky ducks!


So in spite of it all, Marcella and I had fun playing in the snow. She actualy left her gloves on so she was able to play int he snow for about 45 minutes, instead of 45 seconds. so it was fun.

This is her atempt at a snow angel, only she didn't want to put her head on the ground.

She loves eating it! Yum!

Here is our snowman. I went inside to get some stuff for his face and Marcella had knocked him over, so after building him a second time. It was all I could do to hurry and get a few pictures before Marcella took his nose and started eating it again. It sure was fun though. It was perfect packing snow. I can't believe it. It has been snowing all day, sometimes harder than others, but yep it is still snowing. Well, I hope you all have a fun day in the snow!

Memories

So as most of you know, my husband is a workaholic. Just kidding, there are just a billion hockey games this month so I feel like he hasn't been home in ages. So as I am sitting here playing my 1000th game of Solitaire (yes I think I am the only one who still plays that game) I thought I would take a minute to reminicse. I started browsing through my pictures and I came upon this one. Look Familiar?

Besides it being blurry, how can you not look at this picture and long to be in Europe. If this picture doesn't do the trick this next one will.


I don't think I have ever gone to another place in the world, (granted I haven't been many places, but...) and seen something as totally weird as this. You can only get away with that in Europe. It is a little hard to tell, but that cart is connected to the bike.


Then I just started remembering the whole trip. What an adventure. Something I always look back on with a laugh and a desire to go again.

This picture got me to start laughing when I looked at it. Yes it is a bit blurry, but It brings back so many memories. First there is the motor home, then Jeff standing in the rain, holding everything so Caroline could find something. Man I just remember when Jon and I decided to take that picture it was such a funny sight that we were laughing the whole time. Maybe that is why it is a bit blurry.


The eating Table/bed for two/clothes dryer/game station. Don't you want to go back?


Man and last of all this picture is actually in my bedroom and I get to look at it almost everyday when I actually pay attention, and it makes me want to go back to Europe the most. I can't wait until Jon and I can go again. It is such a fun place. So different than here, I love it! Maybe we will live there someday and all of you can come and visit. Well, I better get back to solitaire, but I hope all of you have a great evening!

Burn

So yesterday was suppose to be a relaxing day. One where I could sit and read my book and Marcella would magically entertain herself. Then I would take a nap and have my lunch brought to me and someone would feed Marcella, clean up her messes and put her down for a nap. Then I woke up. (Don't you just wish sometimes it could be like this, maybe just one day a week would be perfect!) Anyways, after getting everyone breakfast and cleaning up the Kitchen I decided to waste my time checking my email and the blogs in hopes that someone had updated so i could have an excuse to be on the computer. While doing so Marcella was playing so well in her bedroom. I went to check on her and She was in between her crib and changing table behind her space heater, so I told her to come over here so she wouldn't get hurt and she got a lovely burn on her hand. It was super sad.


These pictures aren't the best, but it blistered up pretty fast and good luck trying to keep ice on it or anything for that matter. So long story short I was able to put a bandaid on it so it won't break open and get infected, cross my fingers.

So here she is today, finally used to her bandaid and not trying to take it off. She is so funny. She now comes up to me and say "owwww" and has me kiss her bandaid. What a cutie pie. Well, I hope that all of you are having a splendid day. PS can you see her second tooth on top! YEA!!!

Pasta e Fagioli

This is something I ate all the time on my mission...it's a sort soup/pasta dish constructed mainly of Beans, Pasta, and Potatoes. It's a true Poor Man's Food in that it can be prepared for around $3.00 (as long as you already own some spices...a bottle of Basil can cost $5.00, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil is pricey, too), it's easy to prepare, and tastes wonderful.

I've used a few recipes since I've been home. This one is the best I've tried, by far. The key is to mash the beans...don't leave that out or it's not the same.



Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans)
Ingredients
-2 cloves garlic
-2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-1 stick celery
-1 Carrot
-1 Large Tomato, peeled and seeded
-2 medium potatoes (or one large), peeled and
diced small enough that two or three can fit on
a soup spoon
-4 C chicken stock (I just use reconstituted
bouillon...but I reconstitute it before I add it
to the soup)
-2 cans small beans (Borlotti, if you can find them)
-200g small pasta (I like ditalini rigati best,
but you can use tubettini or whatever you've got
at home...but a small, salad style pasta works best)
-1/4 t Cayenne pepper, or 1 small fresh chili pepper, chopped fine
-2 fresh basil leaves, or 2 tsp dried basil
-Fresh ground black pepper
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil (again)
fresh grated Parmesan cheese (optional)


Process
Okay....so that's your ingredient list. Peel the carrot.
Chop the carrot, celery, and tomato into small cubes. You
want the carrot and celery really small. Peel the potatoes,
and chope them into small cubes, but larger than your carrots
and celery. Put the 2T olive oil in a pot with a thick bottom,
smash the garlic with the flat side of your knife, and add it
to the oil. Sautee it until it's lightly brown, being careful
not to burn it. Once it's brown, add the rest of those
vegetables. Sautee them for 5 minutes. The tomato will try and
stick to the bottom of your pan...just don't worry about that too much.

Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, and let it simmer for five
minutes. While it's coming to a boil, drain both cans of beans.
Mash one of them with a fork or something. After the vegetables
have simmered for five minutes, add the beans, pasta, basil, and
cayenne pepper/chili. Cook it gently until the pasta is al dente,
about 8 minutes for ditalini rigati...Make sure you don't overcook
the pasta. Pasta tastes immeasurably better when it's been cooked right.
Serve it in a bowl with a trickle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh-grated
Parmesan cheese, and fresh ground black pepper. It's pretty dang good!

Here's a printable version.

We got it!

We finally got some pictures of Marcella's teeth. So here goes.

Here is the first one she got on the bottom.

Then came this one on top.

Still one on top, but hopefully the other one on top comes in soon.

TaDA! Here they are both at once and we got them on Camera! YEA!!!

My Night with Marcella

Can you believe how big Marcella looks in this picture? Her hair looks longer than I think it is. It is CRAZY how much they grow in such a short of time. I was really trying to get a good picture of her teeth, but much to my dismay she covered them with her tongue again. She looks so different when she laughs now that she has a couple of teeth, especially since she has one on the bottom and one on the top. Her second top tooth is coming in so she will have 3 teeth in about a week.



This is what happens when I don't pay attention to her. She is a fast climber. The biggest problem is that when she finally climbs up on something, she likes to stand up, clap, and say, "Yay!!" While doing so she gets a little wobbly and then cries, mainly because she is scared she is going to fall. What can I say though...I am a sucker and keep letting her climb. She actually at this momment is keeping me company while Jon is working th TV feed of the Grizzlies Hockey game. Hopefully she will sleep in tomorrow since it is soooo late (cross my fingers).





So any guesses on what Marcella ate for Breakfast? If you guess right you might win a prize. She even shared with her Baby. (Those of you who already know are diqualified.)



Marcella still loves her baby. She now will put her baby to sleep and then come over to me and say SSSSHHHHH. It's pretty funny. I hope all of you are having a wonderful evening.

I have another recipe I would like to share. Just to warn you, I usually make 2 pans, but like I said last time, I always double it and then wonder why I did because I eat it all. This is one that Jon even likes, so it has to be super good. Jon doesn't like baked goods all that much. I hope all of you enjoyed the popcorn.

Sinful Brownies


1 pkg Carmels
2/3 C evaporated Milk
1 German Chocolate cake mix
3/4 C melted butter
1/2 pkg milk chocolate chips

Mix 1/3 C evaporated milk, 3/4 C butter and the german chocolate cake mix. put half of it in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and bake in the oven @ 350 for 6 min.

Put the unwrapped carmels and 1/3 C evaporated milk in a bowl and microwave until creamy, keep checking and stiring.

When the brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle the half bag of Chocolate chip on top. then spread the carmel. Take the rest of the cakes mix and put on top. I usually do this with my hands and pat pieces and then piece it on the top, because you can't spread it. it doesn't have to be completely covered. then bake for 15-18 min.

These brownies taste the best when they are completely cooled. So if you want to eat them the same day, I put them in the freezer for about 30 min, or sometimes longer. if you aren't in a hurry just wait to eat them the next day. They taste better the longer they sit, and they'll be more solid after a day.

Enjoy!

Our Trip to Gillet Wyoming

So as most of you know Greg got a job with Progressive Insurance and is currently living in Wyoming. This last weekend Jon and I helped move him up there. It was quite fun. Here are some pictures from our trip.




So we headed off around 9 am on Sat. (instead of the 5 am that we wanted to what can I say we were all way too tired.) We stopped in good ol Rawllins just for good times sake. (Really in honor of Jeff and Caroline and we needed gas.) Then from Rawllins to Casper was an adventure. The whole time we had been driving Jon had told me to put in a movie and watch something. So by this time, I finially decided to. I guess that he didn't like the movie though (who wouldn't blame him I was just watching special features of the Sisterhood of the traveling pants.) so he started singing and making up songs. It was quite fun. Then we started passing a bunch of historical sites and cool things that Jon wanted to stop and see. Much to his dismay Gregs cell phone was dead and we couldn't get his attention to pull over. So we missed stopping and getting a picture by sweetwater and Martins cove. Maybe this summer we can make a trip to see it. So when we finally were able to stop to see something and take a picture at Jons request this is what we saw.



Not only did it pose for this picture but it kept staying around, I think it wanted some food.




So not too much of a glorious historical site, but it was pretty cool to see all the oil rigs at work. We took these pictures about an hour and a half away from Gregs place.








These are the only two pictures taken of Greg's new place, so hopefully he will post some more when he gets the internet hooked up. It was a pretty big place, but I think he is going to move because the people below him smoke and so the smell goes up into his apartment. Well, we had a really fun trip thanks Greg and good luck with your new place!

Marcella

Here are a few pictures of Marcella. This one her hair is actually done and I got a picture before she pulled it out. Although you can't really see it. At least I know there are cute pigtails back there.




These ones were kind of fun. When we got rid of our Christmas tree there were pine needles everywhere. So Jon was sweeping our carpet trying to get most of them in a pile. So for the next few days Marcella was opssesed with the broom. She would try to sweep or smack anything she could with it. So here Jon is putting it to good use right before we took it away and hid it. (have you ever been hit with a broom unexpectedly?) She really likes hanging. It gave us a good laugh.





Here is Marcella's baby. I thought yea, she will like this doll for a while, but it will end up like the rest of the stuff she just plays with it every once in a while. Well I was wrong. On Tuesday we played with her baby, she fed her, rocked her to sleep, carried her everywhere. It was rather cute. Well she did it again yesterday so I had to pull out the camera and take a few pictures. She is starting to get the hang of how to wrap her up in her blanket.





Here she is taking a "nap" with her baby. We first had a bed for her on the floor and then she dumped out all her toys from her toy basket and put her in that. I guess that is more cozy than the floor. I missed the picture though.




Here she is putting on her hat. She loves putting that thing on, well trying, but it never stays on for more than a few seconds. So I hear "Hat, Hat, Hat" about 20 times a day. It sure is cute though.





Here she is rocking her baby. She will get in and out of her rocking chair like a billion times. She is pretty good at managing the baby and getting in her chair. I am amazed how many times she will get in and out in and out. She is so silly.



This was my unsuccessful shot at trying to get a picture of her first tooth! Whenever you ask her to see her teeth, she will open her mouth really big and then stick out her tongue and point. I guess we need to work on that a bit. Her second one is coming in on top. Yea! She might be able to chew up some apples now.



Finally here we are snuggling almost ready for bed. Man I sure can't imagine why some people don't have kids, they are the best thing ever! I hope you all have a great day! Love ya!