Almost Halfway There

What I've Been Cooking

2012-01-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to recipes I've tried recently. Thanks to Pinterest of course!

30 minute rolls
These worked great for me except they didn't bake into separate rolls - more like into one big one. I need to find a remedy for that problem. Maybe parkerhouse rolls?

White Chicken Enchiladas
Yummy. I used a store-bought rotisserie chicken and shredded it.

No-Bake Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies
Easy and delicious!

This didn't really have a title...I am going to call it:
Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Easy and very, very rich. My serving sizes were about 1/4 of the ones shown in the picture.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken
I thought this had a good flavor - and the chicken was tender. Just a little dry. Why is my chicken always dry when I cook it in the crockpot? Am I cooking it too long?

Carmelitas
Oh my these were soooo good! Just be sure to let them cool and stand long enough to set.

Ham and Cheese Sliders
These would be perfect for a ladies lunch. Not too kid-friendly. At least not for my kids. Don't mix the sauce together until right before you pour it over the sandwiches.

I have at least a dozen recipes found on Pinterest that I still need to try. I will post the result!

What I've Been Reading and Watching

2012-01-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

A few pass-along titles for reading and watching...

1. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Anyone who knows me knows I hate to run. My family loves to tell the story about how Wes and I were in the car with the kids (just toddlers) when I had to run back into the house to grab something. My kids exclaimed to their dad, "Mom can run!?" Sad, I know. That being said - this book was fantastic! I loved it and I can only imagine that a true runner would only enjoy it more.

2. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.
This is the first book I have read by Morton and I just happened to pick it up on a whim at the school book fair. I rarely start a book without at least one recommendation. But it seemed to fit the mold of books I love - historical fiction, England and romance. Who could ask for more? Well I did enjoy it. I didn't loooove it. But it was very intriguing and entertaining. An escape novel for sure.

3. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.
I have to admit that I am still about 20 pages away from finishing this book. But I am going to recommend it anyway because I have enjoyed it so much. Another genre I love - historical non-fiction. This was absolutely fascinating. It reads a lot like a novel and is filled with so many interesting historical insights. Read this!

4. American Experience - New York.
I found this documentary on Netflix. It has a total of 8 (yes 8!) discs and I am only on disc 5 - I get one every couple of months. It is directed by Ric Burns (Ken's younger brother) and follows the history of New York City from it's very beginning to just before the Twin Towers fell. If you are intrigued by the city of New York as much as I am - you will love this documentary.

5. Between the Folds
My mother-in-law recommended this short documentary on the art of modern origami. What these artists do is simply amazing! My kids were doing origami for a week straight after watching this! (Watch instantly on Netflix.)

Dried Apple Project

2012-01-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

Before Christmas Isaac and Cate decided to make some dried apple faces. I did this when I was a child. Liz and I made the faces and then attached them to a dishsoap bottle that we covered in fabric to look like a dress. It was supposed to be an old woman.
Anyway here are the carved apple faces. Cate's and Isaac's. We soaked them in some lemon juice to prevent them from over-browning.

Here are the apples after having dried 4-5 weeks.

Cate's apple:

Isaac's apple:

I think they turned out pretty cool. They would be fun to do for Halloween - to make them as scary as possible. Anyway - a fun and easy project for kids.

Turtle Trauma

2012-01-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Remember the red ear slider turtles that my parents gave Cate and Sarah for Christmas? Well - it has turned out to be quite a saga.

First we brought the turtles home and immediately transferred them from their little homes to a grand mansion of an aquarium we have had sitting in our garage for months. It came equipped with cool rocks and plants and we thought it would be turtle heaven!

We plopped Speedy and Rosie into their new home and anxiously watched to see how they acclimated. They swam and dove and we called it a success. Except they wouldn't eat. And they wouldn't come out of the water to bask - which we read they were supposed to love to do. They spent all their time in the water (except when they got manhandled by my kids).

My parents - lovers of all animals - volunteered to take care of Speedy and Rosie while we were gone to Atlanta. All was well until the day after we got back. My dad had some bad news - the turtles had died the night before. Nobody had a clue as to why. But my parents had already called our neighbor who was in St. George and asked her if she would bring home two more turtles to replace the deceased. They were to arrive later that evening.

We decided that we would give this turtle thing another try. Wes and I went to the pet store and came home with a few supplies - just to make sure we were providing our turtles the best home. The new turtles arrived - they were assigned the same names as the dead ones. But these new versions of Speedy and Rosy were very different. They would never swim. They would just sit with their eyes closed and bask for hours and hours and never move. If we put them in the water they would swim for a while but then the next thing we knew - they were basking again. And again - they would never eat. It was a mystery to us because we were doing everything that the experts said to do - a basking light, clean water, we even had a thermometer to track the temp of the water, etc. It was obvious our turtles were not doing well.
Here is our set-up. You can see the turtles at the top of the ramp. They must have just crawled out of the water.

One day we came home from some errands and found Sarah's turtle floating in the water. Dead. Ugh. We put the turtle in the freezer and broke the news to Sarah the next day. She cried at first but got over it pretty quick. Immediately we figured there must be something wrong with the aquarium. We removed Speedy to a separate tub to see if we could nurse him back to health. He is still alive but the prognosis doesn't look good.
Poor Speedy.

We have drained the tank - and you can see Speedy's isolation tub.

With one rabbit, two cats and a six foot long boa constrictor - I think we could be considered a "pet family" but I am starting to think that maybe turtles just aren't our thing.

At least the turtles will have some good company in our small but growing pet cemetery. Those buried there include "Streak" the frog, "Cheezit" the gold fish, a baby robin and "Mopsy" our Netherland dwarf rabbit. May they rest in peace.

2011 Home Improvement in Review

2012-01-06T20:04:00.001-07:00

To say that 2011 was a busy year for us is an understatement. Besides the fact that we were majorly involved in church callings and school events and that our kids were involved in many extracurricular activities - we took on some major home improvement projects.

The first and biggest project we endured was a major remodel/uplift to our kitchen and main floor.
To peruse the before and after pictures and see the work in progress, click HERE.

We took a break during the summer while we enjoyed our new kitchen. But it wasn't long before we started getting restless so we turned our thoughts to the backyard. With the canal blocked off - we felt we had many options before us. We decided to have a landscaper install a stone patio in this space.
The digging...

Nice entertainment for the afternoon...

Look at the size of those roots! I hope our trees survive...

Work in progress.

The finished product - view from our back deck.

We will eventually plant some greenery. We can't wait to use it next Summer!

Not long after the dust settled from the landscaping project, we were at it again. (I will admit it - I think we are officially addicted to home improvement projects!) We wanted to fix another major sore spot in our home - the office area or lack thereof. So we called our trusty Ikea specialists - Artisan Installations (love these guys!) - and they designed a media center for our family room. We started the project several days before Christmas (what were we thinking?!) and the final touches were finished yesterday.
I searched and searched for some before pictures to show how cluttered and crazy it looked but couldn't find any. All crammed in this corner of the room was a large computer hutch, a set of drawers with art supplies, a cabinet for DVD storage and a "homework" table that was a constant pile of binders, papers and clutter. It drove me crazy!
Here are the after pictures:

Each child has a drawer to put all of their stuff in. I can't say enough how excited I am about this!!!

I wonder what projects 2012 will bring? Maybe we should just take a year off...

We Raced in Georgia

2012-01-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I really should have divided this into two separate posts but I didn't. Prepare for a lot of pictures!

We just returned from a quick but very fun trip to Georgia. The main purpose of our trip was to participate in the annual Petit BraMans go-cart race. More about that later...
We arrived a day early so we could spend some time at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We didn't think we would ever see an aquarium as cool as the Monterey Bay Aquarium but this did not disappoint! It was fantastic!

This diver was in the huge coral reef tank.

We walked through a huge aquarium as 15 foot whale sharks swam above us!

And giant sting and manta rays.

After walking in a tunnel through the huge aquarium, we were able to just sit at this window and watch. Amazing!

There was a tank of baluga whales.

And a hands-on pool with rays and small sharks.

An albino alligator.

Here we are waiting for the dolphin show.

Back at the hotel...

Later that evening we met up with Dave, Connie, Eliott, Carlee and "C" for a peek at the track.
Here's the scoop: Weston's uncle is a motor sports enthusiast and Grand Am team owner. He hosts a go-cart race each year called the Petit BraMans (named after the Petit Le Mans). It is held in what was once a women's brazier factory - hence the name. There are a couple dozen teams of 4-6 people racing go-carts for 6 hours (yep - 6 HOURS!). Which I guess is short compared to the 10 hour and 24 hour races they used to host. Anyway - we were invited to join the race this year so even though we had no idea what to expect - we accepted.
Here is the track:

Isaac:

Addie:

Grandpa Dave:

They even had a kiddie track for the little ones. They didn't drive these cars, though.

They drove go-carts.

The smallest helmet they had.

Cate was an awesome driver!

Even I got behind the wheel!

At this point it was all fun and games and I still was not anticipating racing the next day.

Here I come!

Wes:

There I go!

When we arrived at the track the next day - I was shocked at how fast they were driving!! I was a little nervous but was assured that our teams' goal was to lose. I could probably manage that.

We got all suited up...

Addie's got her game face on!

Pit stop area.

Team Optimus Prime consisted of Dave, Connie, Wes, Emily, Eliott, Addie and Isaac. We each drove 15 minute intervals for the entire 6 hour race.

The little girls stayed in the kids room to watch movies and play with toys. And occasionally did some laps on the kiddie track.

Wes decided he need to look the part and found some sponsors.

Ready, set...go!

After our first few drivers, we were in 9th place!! (We were known at that time as "Kart 5").

The spectators. There were about 100 people total at the race. And apparently some big names like David Murray and Johnny O'Connell were there racing too!

Connie was awesome! Once the kids and I took to the wheel, we dropped to 13th place where we stayed for the rest of the race. There were a total of 19 teams.

When we weren't racing, we toured the HUGE warehouse.

There is enough equipment, materials and machinery in here to make an entire race car - from scratch. Which is exactly what they were doing.

I wish I knew more about what I was looking at...because I'm sure what I was looking at was incredible!

Weston's uncle has the world's largest collection of rotary engines.

The race finished about 8 pm. We came in 13th place. It was a long day. Our hands and arms were stiff and sore. We were all dirty and reeked of exhaust and gasoline. But we had such a great time!! It was one of the coolest things we have ever done. Thanks to Dennis and Pat and the family for an awesome day!

Christmas Morning 2011

2011-12-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

Notice the matching jammies - father and son.

Notice Addie's face in the background as Cate fills her new gumball machine.

Sarah loves her new books...

...and her bouncer ball.

There she goes!

Millie loved her new cat toys.

Addie made these fun discovery bottles for Sarah.

Here are a few other photos to remember.
First - our traditional puzzle was finished within the first few days of the Christmas beak - mostly by Addie. Her she is putting in the last piece.

We celebrated the official Christmas Eve at Grandpa Dave and Connie's house. It was a luau celebration with tropical decorations, yummy food and a shell necklace for each person. It was such a great party! The cousins did a nativity there as well.

Another wonderful Christmas has come and gone and with the help of my kids - I have already taken down my decorations. Such a good feeling!

The Christmas Festivities 2011

2011-12-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

My family's traditional Christmas Eve:

My mom's Santa collection:

The Guests:

The Program: (sorry for the fuzzy pictures - I have a flash phobia)
A couple of vocal solos...

Tess told a joke...

These brothers did a Santa skit...

I-man did a piano solo...

Addie sang a solo and then the two of them performed a cello/piano duet that they had composed called, "The Fire of Winter." It's pretty awesome - I will try to put in on youtube someday.

She shared some artwork...

The parents had a special presentation for us. They shared a touching true story about a Christmas when my dad's mother was a child - The Story of the Christmas Socking.

They gave each family a copy of the story with a replica of a vintage Christmas stocking. It is truly a treasure.

Then it was on to the Nativity:

SJ took her role as "Mary" very seriously! She held very, very still - which for her is highly unusual.

A couple of lovely angels:

A handsome wise man. There was a shepherd too but his picture did not turn out.

Finally, a very kind and caring "Joseph."

Time for dessert and presents!

The most exciting presents were the red-ear slider turtles that my parents presented to "J," Cate and SJ.

Introducing "Speedy"

And "Rosie"

The kids were thrilled!

Kip also received a very special present - the pocket watch that belonged to his namesake.

It was a wonderful evening - turtles and all!

The Dear Husband's Birthday Blast

2011-12-22T22:20:00.002-07:00

I had something really, really big planned to celebrate my dear husband's birthday. Sadly this event had to be postponed and I will hopefully post about it when it comes to pass.
In the meantime I wanted to do something extra fun to celebrate this special day. So we planned a last minute party - bowling, pizza and laser tag. Right up his alley (pun intended!).
Photos taken by my phone...poor quality.

The party was fun for all - young and old!

I started off with two spares and a strike...and then I completely fell apart and had a poor finish.

Even Grandma took a turn!

The onlookers.

The birthday boy had a pretty good game!

Brian is the expert bowler of the family - he really had that ball spinning!

After bowling it was time for pizza, dessert and presents.

We finished off the party with two awesome games of laser tag. Wes loved every minute of it!
And I love him.

Cate's recital and a Couple Christmas Events that the Kids Planned

2011-12-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

These days my kids do not cease to amaze me. I think part of it is just that they are getting older and are becoming the coolest people ever! And I don't feel like I have much to do with it anymore. While raising little ones is very hands on - now with older kids - I am in a more observant role, sitting back keeping my fingers crossed that what we taught them will stick. And even though we have our bad days and times when I feel completely lost as a parent - most of the time my growing children are delightful.

Here is Cate before her vocal recital.

A few evenings ago we had Grandma Jan, Don and Great-Grandma Eldine over for dinner. They requested that the kids perform for them after dinner and Isaac and Addie were put in charge of the recital. The first thing Isaac did was make a program. He illustrated and colored the front - see below. Look at all the little letters. So clever! My favorite is the baby Jesus in the manger - the little profile of the nose.

Today Addie hosted a little Christmas party that she planned with a few of her friends. I had been hearing about this party for several days and then found out that Addie had volunteered our house. The activities included making and decorating gingerbread men, a white elephant gift exchange and the glove game. I was gearing myself up for playing the role of hostess and helper when I was pleasantly surprised that these 13-14 year old girls were pretty much independent. They had made assignments and arrived prepared with the gingerbread dough, frosting and toppings. They proceeded with their party and had a wonderful time. It felt very odd for me to just sit back and watch but it felt right.

They each made a gingerbread man for themselves and then made some extra cookies and delivered them to the neighbors.

Well done girls!

Now it Begins...

2011-12-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Addie knit this hat. It's for a boy. We'll call him "J."

Addie and "J" have been friends for a while and occasionally email each other. We have heard that they will be exchanging gifts on Friday. We went to Addie's dance concert last night and Addie introduced him to us! He was very polite - shook our hands and looked us in the eyes when we talked (which for a 13-14 year old boy is very impressive!). Then his parents came up and wanted to meet us. We chatted for a while. They are small - like us. They like rock climbing and "J's" dad was a wrestler - just like Wes. Addie and "J" are both gymnasts. They wanted to invite us over for dinner sometime. The whole experience felt very strange and surreal. Am I ready for this? She's not even 14 yet!!

No worries. She assures me they are just friends - and they plan to keep it that way.

Speaking of Addie. This lovely lady has been busy sharing her wonderful talents this Christmas season.
Here is the line-up:
Last Saturday: Sang "O Holy Night" for the family Christmas party talent show.
Sunday morning: Sang "O Holy Night" in sacrament meeting and had everyone in tears by the end. It was a very spiritual experience for her.
Sunday evening: Was the soprano soloist for a 90 member adult choir at the Joyful Christmas Sounds concert. She sang "Pie Jesu" from John Rutter's Requiem.
Monday evening: Sang "O Holy Night" at a vocal recital held at a rest home. Dashed over to another concert to sing with her middle school girls choir.
Tuesday evening: Middle school dance concert (where we finally met "J!").
This Thursday evening: Middle school girls choir concert.
This Sunday: Will sing a duet of "Silent Night" with her brother Isaac.

She will have one last performance at my family's Christmas Eve celebration. And then she will hopefully have a big long break.

Here she is the evening of Joyful Christmas Sounds:

Trimming the Tree and a Very Long Dress

2011-12-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

We are right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Christmas!

After days of begging from the kids we finally got our tree up about a week ago. I have a little tip to share about putting lights on the Christmas tree - we get a live tree each year. But first a little history...in my home when I was growing up it was my dad who put the lights on the Christmas tree. Over time I learned his techniques. Years later I married Wes and left home. It was our first Christmas together when we picked out our tree and brought it home to our little apartment. Wes proceeded to string the lights on the tree as I looked on. It immediately became clear that Wes was NOT using my father's techniques and I let him know it - wrap the trunk first and then wrap each branch, etc. It turned into a big argument and to make a long story short - I have been lighting the tree every since!
Anyway - back to the tip. The two things that really bother me about lighting the tree are the prickly branches (some are more annoying than others) and the sap that gets all over my hands and clothes. Hence - the rubber dishwashing gloves. They make it much more comfortable!

After the tree was finally lit - the kids received their traditional yearly ornaments. And the decorating began! Sadly our tree is a little droopy this year. But it is still twinkly and festive!

This has nothing to do with Christmas decorating but it was pretty funny. Addie is in an all girls choir this year and a few months ago we had to send in her measurements for her choir dress. Somehow her height measurement must have been lost in the shuffle....

If only I knew how to sew!

Pinterest Pass-along

2011-12-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

I found this fun idea on Pinterest. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and my dad used to put little piles of his shaving cream on the side of the tub for me to play with. Wes uses an electric razor so we had to make a special trip to the store for this one.

It was originally meant for the little girls but the big kids could not resist joining in the fun.

It was a great idea except for the fact that it sort of died the white grout. Oops. We sort of have rainbow grout now. But I figure it will bleach out just fine and I really don't care much for this bathtub anyway. Hopefully someday we can replace it.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Kids are back at school and thoughts are turning to Christmas. It was a very nice holiday spending most of our time with family and family and more family. Just like it should be!
The official Thanksgiving was at my mom's house.
The kids' table:

The adults' table:

Tess sharing a sweet Thanksgiving message:

"J" sharing what he is thankful for:

After the dishes were cleared and washed, the kids helped my mom put away the special serving utensils. Isaac spent a few minutes admiring and organizing my grandmother's spoon collection.

This is only a portion of her collection. I remember when I was a child how much I loved looking at my grandmother's spoon collection!

And just like that...the meal is over!

We moved on to celebrating "A's" birthday.

I tried my hand at the waterfall braid - something I learned how to do on my latest on-line addiction, Pinterest.

We then played a round of bingo. I should have received a prize for the most pieces in a row without getting a "bingo."

As is our tradition, in the afternoon we went and saw a movie - Hugo. I really liked it even though it was kind of long and slow. After the movie we headed back to Grandma's for hot chocolate, crepes, sausage and fruit. Yum.
But our Thanksgiving wasn't over yet!
Friday evening we enjoyed a dinner out with Grandma Jan and Don and Great Grandma Eldine.
Saturday the kids went to Grandpa Dave and Connie's for the annual gingerbread house decorating activity and then we all joined for Thanksgiving leftovers.

This is how our "Thankful Tree" turned out:

For Those in Need

2011-11-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood (Stake) is collecting hats for a local homeless shelter and I wanted to find a way to involve my kids in making a contribution. So we invited some friends over for Family Home Evening to make some fleece hats. I found some fleece for sale on ksl.com for $1/yd! My friend (who is the sewing expert) came up with the patterns. It was a great project because almost every person had a job to do.
Here are the cutters:

Here are the sewers:

These girls' job was to cut threads from the finished hats. The red hat is the adult design and the blue hat is the child design.

Here are the little girls who didn't have jobs - entertaining themselves.

Other people helped cut fringes:

Isaac's creative juices were flowing and he decided to fancy up a few of the hats with a flower.

Our pile of finished hats: 43 children's hats and 27 adult hats. That is 70 hats!!

We had so much fun we decided it should be a yearly tradition!

Can't wait until next year!

Cousin's Lunch

2011-11-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday I hosted my lovely cousins here for lunch. We enjoyed the afternoon chatting and catching up with each other. I loved every minute of it!

Thanks everyone for the yummy food and great conversation! Oh - and for the cleaning tips! Can't wait for next time.

The Thankful Tree

2011-11-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Addie and I made a "Thankful Tree." It will help our family remember what things we are thankful for as we approach this holiday season. This is a picture of our tree after the first day.

It has been so fun to see the leaves that appear each day.

This is what our tree looked like after a few days...

Now the leaves are really starting to flutter!

We keep a bowl of leaves close by with a sharpie and some tape - even friends and family who stop by are invited to add their leaves to the tree.

I can't wait to see what it looks like on Thanksgiving Day!

Tree trunk and branches made from brown tissue paper. Leaves are printed off of google images and the kids cut them out.

Flag Football

2011-11-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Another missed post...this time from October

Isaac played flag football this past Fall and had such a great time! A friend of ours took these great pictures.

Rain Shadows

2011-11-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Catching up on a few missed posts...this picture was taken back in July.

My neighbor was driving by our house at the start of a summer rain storm and curiously took a picture of my my kids doing this...

He called me later to find out what on earth they could possible be doing? Making rain shadows of course!

Baptism Day

2011-11-12T09:49:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday Cate was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a very special day for her. I had forgotten how much I love to watch my children get baptized - and what a sweet experience it is for our entire family! After the baptismal service we had a lunch at our home for family and friends. I am grateful to my sister-in-law Carlee for bringing her camera and taking many wonderful pictures.

Our sweet Cate

Our many loved ones.

Lots of hustling and bustling in the kitchen getting the lunch ready.

Addie had to head off to a performance for the Governor! She is a member of the Junior Performing Company at On Broadway Academy and it was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new building. Exciting for her!

I was lucky enough to hold Liz's baby. Oh she is so sweet!

I-man with his football. Of course.

Where is Sarah in the midst of all of this? Tormenting the cats as usual. And this time she has some followers.

Cate opening her presents.

She got her very own set of scriptures from Grandpa Dave and Connie.

With a very sweet note to Cate on the inside cover.

She received a book from Grandma and Papa. This book was given to Papa and his twin sister when they turned eight years old in 1942. It was given to them by George Albert Smith who was the Prophet and President of the LDS church at that time. There is even an inscription inside the cover...

Cate received many sweet gifts including this picture of her Primary class in front of the temple.

Where is Sarah? Oh dear...now they have the other cat.

Her friend gave her a necklace that says "CTR"

This is a very fuzzy picture of Cate with her two Great-grandparents: Grandma Jan's mother Eldine and Grandpa Dave's father Eugene.

It was a lovely day!

I-man's FHE

2011-11-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Isaac gave a Family Home Evening lesson on the Brother of Jarod. Then he had a boat making competition.

We even tested them out in water.

And then Isaac judged the boats and gave out the awards.

There were 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners for "The Most Colorful," "The Most Clever," "Floats Best," and "Best Passengers and Things."

He came up with it all on his own and I thought he did a pretty good job!

The 5th Annual Donuts in the Driveway

2011-11-04T21:26:00.001-06:00

Just for the record. We celebrated our 5th annual "Donuts in the Driveway" last month with not one photo to show for it.
Here are the stats from this year:
30 lbs of donut dough
500 donuts
143 people
...and a few inches to the waistline

We couldn't do it without the help of so many family members and friends! Many, many thanks!

By the way - I recognize that technically I am spelling "doughnut" wrong. But I figure it is an accepted spelling and it's too late now! I had professional signs made this year!

Celebrating the November Birthdays and Introducing Jasper!

2011-11-04T21:16:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we met at Amy's to celebrate Kip and Jake's birthday. Mom wore her traditional Halloween bat earrings.

Sadly, Amy's dog Brumby died about a month ago. It was a very sad time for their family. We were finally able to meet their new dog Jasper. He is a pretty cute dog - with a sweet personality.

The party started with some fun word games.

After a yummy dinner we played "toss the marshmallow in the bucket." Sarah took a bite out of almost every one.

Then we played a game..."What would you do in this horror movie situation?"

Then we played a game Nick created. Thanks goodness they both have their glasses.

And then Amy emerged wearing a pink wig.

And everyone had to take a turn trying it on.

Darling!

We let Jasper in to join the party. Check out Weston's face in the background.

The party ended with some trick candles.

It was all quite random but very fun!

Halloween 2011 - The Costumes

2011-11-02T16:55:00.000-06:00

The Mad Scientist

Walt Disney - an American historical figure chosen for the 5th grade wax museum. (Hence the Mickey Mouse pumpkin design.) He sketched that Mickey himself. And it was his idea to make the photo black and white - clever!

Here he is at the wax museum giving his speech.

Later that day he switched into his trick-or-treating costume - a Little Caesars pizza delivery guy. Thanks to Little Caesars for the free t-shirt and empty pizza box! After last years costume we are starting to think that he should get sponsors every year. He makes some great advertising!

The empty pizza slice is the hole into his trick-or-treating bag. People sure got a kick out of his costume this year!

Queen Elizabeth I. Thanks to some generous friends willing to lend out their costumes! She was as fancy as can be!

Here is the Queen at the school costume parade.

Shhhh! Don't remind her that she was a bumblebee last year! We loved the idea - easy peasy. Here she is handing out napkins at her preschool Halloween party.

Guess who dressed up this year for the very first time? I was helping out with class parties and decided to join in the fun.

See the eyelashes? They are purple!

Wes dressed up as Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as part of an office theme. But I didn't get any pictures. And you know how much he looooves to dress up (not).

Halloween 2011 - The Pumpkins and The House Face

2011-11-01T22:06:00.000-06:00

Halloween has come and gone and I have many pictures to share. First is pictures from this year's pumpkin carving party.

Remember this reference to Walt Disney...we will see him again in future posts.

Isaac's friend joined in the fun.

Addie had something big planned. It was quite elaborate.

Sarah is ready to help Mommy with her pumpkin.

As in years past - Weston's carving usually involves the power tools.

Mommy and Daddy's pumpkins.

The finished products!

Mickey Mouse - designed and drawn by Isaac.

Snacking on Weston's traditional roasted pumpkin seeds.

Sarah's bat. Isaac's Mickey Mouse.

Mommy's cool design. "M's" funny face.

Weston's swiss cheese pumpkin.

Addie's Mini-cannibals pumpkin.

Cate's ghost.

All lit up.

One day Uncle Eliott was looking at our house and said, "Your house could be a face!" Never thought about it that way but those two round windows make great eyes! Wes and the kids put this scary face together for Halloween. It turned out really great!

Next up...the costumes!

Fall Break - Moab Day 3 - Rock Climbing

2011-10-31T09:28:00.001-06:00

It was our last day. We checked out of the campground and stashed the pop-up in a parking lot so we could explore "Wall Street." There are dozens of rock climbs along these cliffs.

We decided to make a quick stop for a climb. First Wes pretty much walked up the side of the cliff to hang the rope.

Cate reached the top of our climb...but look at the sheer cliffs above her. Pretty dramatic!

I-man was next.

Addie. First with the shoes.

Then without the shoes.

Little sister says "I want to try that!"

Lastly...Mom. Yep - they talked me into it. It's been a long time since I put that harness on! Wes bought it for me for my birthday before we were even married!

I guess it's a good thing for my kids to see that I can actually do other things besides take pictures!

Moab is a wonderland of outdoor activities! We only touched the surface of all the things there are to do. But we had a fantastic time!

Fall Break - Moab Day 2 - Rapelling

2011-10-30T15:26:00.000-06:00

I have a distant relative that owns some property outside of Moab and he had given us permission to rappel on some of the routes he has bolted.

Hang on tight! Ha ha. This is a trick photo - the girls are actually laying flat on their stomachs. I just rotated the photo. It was Addie's idea.

We picked an easy route to start because it was Cate's first time. Isaac rappelled first to check things out.

Very interesting white sandstone formation that looks like...Sarah crouched in the fetal position.

Cate was a pro and showed no fear!

Did I mention poor Sarah was sick the entire trip? She was such a trooper!

No big deal for Addie.

Cate was up for round two!

Then we moved to a different cliff - just a bit taller.

I belayed from the bottom so taking pictures was tricky. I was surprised when Cate was the first one to back over the edge!

I-man was really getting some air this time!

Next thing I knew...a second rope came tumbling to the bottom with a request for Isaac to belay. Addie (with a backpack full of gear) and Wes rappelled at the same time on the same rope - counterbalancing each other. Clever!

Turkey anyone?

We were all pretty exhausted after this day!

Fall Break - Moab Day 2 - Fisher Towers

2011-10-28T07:34:00.001-06:00

The hike to Fisher Towers was another first for me! This was a spectacular hike that isn't extremely strenuous. Highly recommended!
This was our view from the parking lot.

I am starting to notice a pattern...Wes and the kids 20 feet in front of me. I think this might be my view for the rest of my life - with the distance separating us getting longer and longer!

This kind of reminds me of the drip castles we used to make at the beach with Julie.

This place is other worldly!

We knew that this was a very popular place for extreme rock climbers and were lucky enough to spot some on our hike.

The height of these cliffs just can't be captured in photos!

We kept track of the progression of the rock climbers as we continued on our hike. We met a man who was scouting out the area for a commercial shoot. He had some extra time and was photographing these climbers. He told us the lead climber was a tiny blonde woman. We didn't get to see it - but their final destination is the very tip top of that farthest Left tower. Yikes!

We thought it was appropriate that we had goldfish and Swedish fish on our hike to Fisher Towers.

The film scout kindly offered to take our family picture. You can barely see them but the rock climbers are on the cliffs behind us.

See my family hiking at the bottom of the cliffs?

The little girls and I turned back early and enjoyed a nice leisurely hike back to the car. Wes, Addie and Isaac hiked on further but ended up back at the car about the same time because they ran the whole way back! (Wes is reading Born to Run right now.)

We finally finished this hike and then ate lunch at Slickrock Cafe. Then we headed to Dry Valley for an afternoon of rappelling...we'll save that for the next post.

Fall Break - Moab Day 1

2011-10-26T16:24:00.000-06:00

We took advantage of this Fall break to get some use out of our poorly used pop-up trailer (something that Weston frequently laments). We headed to the wonderland of Moab. We had a late start so we didn't arrive at the campground until after 10 pm but luckily the set-up went smoothly and the kids settled in for the night without a glitch.
The next morning we hiked to Delicate Arch. Surprisingly I have no memory of ever having hiked to this spectacular arch before!
Within the first 100 yards we spotted these cool petroglyphs!

It might look like we are the only ones on the hike...

But we weren't.

"Cairn" is now a regular part of their vocabulary.

These two can't resist tossing the football at every turn.

Yay! We made it! We sat and waited until the people obstructing our view of the arch eventually followed the unwritten rule: Don't stand for long periods of time under the Delicate Arch when dozens of people are waiting to take pictures of it!

Spectacular!!!

This little guy was anxious to pick up the crumbs of my granola bar.

And then he kindly posed for a picture (see bottom Right corner)

I-man spent a few minutes with his sketchbook.

My boys.

Our few minutes of fame under the arch.

Don't ask me why but the kids wanted to lick the arch. Hmmm.

You can see the arch looming behind us in this picture Isaac took.

Trips with our family usually involve some type of jumping.

Our way back out was through this tiny arch. There is something about the orange sandstone against the blue sky...stunning.

Looking back at the arch see if you can spy Wes and Addie hiding in a small cave...

Addie and Isaac doing "baby freezes" (a breakdancing move) on the cliff.

I just randomly caught this picture of Addie! Hilarious!

After we left Arches, the kids spent a few minutes climbing the big sand dune right outside the entrance.

Back at camp we took a refreshing swim and then started a campfire for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. The cool, crisp evening turned into a cold night and we were happy for the heater in the pop-up to keep us cozy while we slept.

Preschool Field Trip - Nature Walk

2011-10-25T08:42:00.000-06:00

Sarah went on a nature walk for her preschool field trip. Each child had made some "binoculars" for the trip. And each child was assigned a partner. What a cute couple!

I spy some nature!

Grapes from the teacher's yard. Yummy! Keep in mind - it was crazy hair day...hence the blue and green hairdo.

The kids played at the playground and then had a snack.

Crazy Hair Day 2011

2011-10-23T15:05:00.000-06:00

Here are this year's "Crazy Hair Day" results (Isaac and Cate did their own hair completely):

"Struck by Lightning!"

"Clips Gone Crazy"

"Double Ponytail Trouble" (as much as she wanted to participate in the idea - she wouldn't let me do anything too crazy)

What's even more funny than the two ponytails is that her backpack is almost as big as she is!

Braces Be Gone!

2011-10-21T20:14:00.000-06:00

Yep - the days of braces are over for Addie. It seems like just yesterday when she got them on!
Before

After

She was sooooooo happy! Loving her "slimy" teeth and dazzling smile!

Addie was absolutely vigilant about following the rules while she had braces. She didn't eat gum, caramel, carrot sticks or popcorn. The two times I pressured her into eating popcorn ("come on Addie - everyone does it!") her brackets broke off - I felt like a horrible mom! We bought her three big bags of popcorn the day she got them off. She was loving life - loving her new teeth - and then two days later...

Bam! She got injured playing laser tag. It was painful and she couldn't even open her mouth! Poor thing.

I am happy to report she is almost completely healed and looking lovely!
Braces. 1 down and 3 to go.

Isaac the Budding Artist

2011-10-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

One of Isaac's favorite presents was a set of oil paints from Grandma Jan. He was so excited and couldn't wait to get outside and paint the mountains. One Sunday he set himself up outside for a painting session. He did this entirely on his own. It was so delightful to watch him outside studying the mountains and then putting his brush to the canvas. He was so focused! He had just watched an episode of Bob Ross and we were amused when we noticed him drying his brush by whacking it really fast against the side of the table - just like Bob does. He didn't know we were watching him and taking pictures. But many neighbors stopped by to admire his work. One woman even wanted to commission a painting for her cabin!

It's no wonder he wants to paint the mountains! Look at them!

He is still learning. Oil painting is not easy! But he is getting better each time he tries.
I love this kid!!!

A Family Party to Celebrate Both Birthdays

2011-10-19T13:51:00.000-06:00

We don't want to forget that Isaac was celebrating a birthday too!
This year was a "Family" birthday for him.

Notice the cake was covered in powdered sugar.

Big mistake on my part!

Happy Birthday to Isaac! You are absolutely my favorite son in the whole wide world! Ha ha - We love you!

Birthday Girl!

2011-10-19T12:07:00.000-06:00

While I have been posting for the past 3 weeks about our trip to Europe - our lives have been moving full speed ahead so now I have a bunch of catching up to do!

We recently celebrated 2 birthdays - Isaac's and Cate's. This year was a "Friends" year for Cate so we decided to have an ice skating party. And for the party favors I made each girl a simple scarf and rolled it up with gloves, hot chocolate and mentos.

I was a little worried about whether or not these cute girls would enjoy it - but even with a few falls they had a blast! Especially Cate!

Sarah even started skating without a skate aid this year!

Whoever invented these skate aids should be a millionaire!

We had a snack break while they smoothed the ice.

Back to the table for cake and presents.

Cate has a smile that lights up the room! She was thrilled with her party.

Her favorite present was something she has been asking for for a loooooong time: An American Girl Doll.

And she got her ears pierced! Here she is before...

A little bit nervous - as an audience starts to gather outside the store window. Cate is holding a Teddy Bear and Addie's hand for comfort.

Ear number one.

Ear number two.

All done! What a cutie pie!

Happy Birthday Cate! We love, love, love, love you!

England/France - What We Brought Back

2011-10-18T19:58:00.000-06:00

All of the treasures and treats we returned with definitely softened the blow of being gone for 2 weeks. So here is the loot:

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. And an Eiffel Tower key chain for each child.

To remember the Louvre...

Remember the Merci store I loved? I had to get one of these darling necklaces for each girl in our family. I love the cellophane bags they came in. Each gold charm says "merci." I attached a clasp to the end for easier on and off.

At the antique market at Covent Gardens in London we found a seller with trays of sterling silver charms - there were hundreds of them! We chose tiny charms that represented our family's interests: skiing, playing the piano, a cello, a canoe, a bicycle, binoculars and Notre Dame.

This Queen's Guard will be our family Christmas tree ornament this year.

The day we left the Blairs, they accompanied us to the market where Gabby showed us some local goods that would make fun gifts. School supplies, dishcloths, honey and salt were just a few of the things we purchased. Very cool to not just bring back touristy items!

Scarves for the girls and some inexpensive but charming jewelry.

A music box for Sarah Jane - it plays Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. We purchased it at Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop in London.

For Isaac - Knights and a pirate journal (that's real leather on the front!)

The kids were thrilled with their gifts!

England/France - Day 13- Last Day in Paris!

2011-10-14T21:28:00.000-06:00

Just for fun...some pictures of our hotel room. It wasn't anything fancy but it was more spacious than we expected and was very clean.

We requested a room with a view of the courtyard. This is the view of the courtyard. Ha! Oh well - it was quieter than having a room facing the street.

Other views from our window.

The blow dryer.

The bathroom was bright, cheery and clean.

Anyway - enough of that.
On to our last day in Paris! Becca and James decided to spend the morning at the Palace of Versailles. They had purchased a museum pass and wanted to take advantage of it. We decided to spend the morning seeing a few more sites in Paris. We first stopped to visit a store Gabby had recommended called Merci. This store had the coolest and most interesting clothing and home products! And the proceeds go to charity. I wish I knew more about this store but I couldn't really find much on the internet. It was very hip and modern!
Next we visited the Place de la Concorde. During the French revolution this was the location of the infamous guillotine where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded. The very next year there were more than 1300 people beheaded here in 1 month! (Notice our little homage to Rick Steves - we saw many people walking around with his guide to Paris.)

This obelisk stands at the site where the guillotine was. It is 3300 years old and was given to France by the Egyptian government in the 1830's.

Our walk begins down the Champs-Elysees.

Charles de Gualle - French general and Prime Minister during and after World War II. He led the Free French Forces against the Germans who had invaded France.

We stopped by a creperie for one last nutella and banana crepe.

Avenue des Champs-Elysees - one of the most prestigious streets in the world.

We saw these large, ornate iron gates with two very attractive young men in preppy clothes and flip flops standing by saying "hello, how's it goin'" to everybody. We thought...what is all the commotion? What is this place? ...Abercrombie and Fitch.

So we decided to take a peek. After walking down this long, manicured pathway - we found the entrance to the store. There was a handsome young male model standing there without a shirt on and a girl there to take pictures of whoever wanted to stand next to him. Tempting! In the store everything was black - dark - and rock music was pounding in our ears. As we perused the store - everywhere we turned we ran into these hot young models in flip flops asking us if they could help us. And everywhere we walked, someone was literally walking behind us with a dust mop, erasing our footsteps from the black glossy floor. It was quite the experience and made us feel very old.

We stopped in the Mercedes store.

Did you know the company was named after the owner's daughter, Mercedes? Interestingly enough, Mercedes herself never owned a car.

We finally made it to the Arc de Triomphe. This was built in the early 1800's to commemorate those who fought for France during the Napoleonic wars. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I is also located under the arch.

The Arc sits smack dab in the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle - also known as Place de l'Etoile. 12 Avenues converge on this huge round-about making it a traffic nightmare!
We had planned to meet Becca and James here so while we waited we sat on a bench on the bottom of the arch and inevitably fell asleep in the warm sun. Wes even decided to lay down. A few minutes later two policemen woke us up and told us that sleeping was not allowed. Oh well.

Waiting for the metro to take us to our next destination.

The Rodin museum. The Thinker.

Auguste Rodin - a portrait. The museum is located in a mansion where Rodin lived and sculpted.

We then made our way, with the help of the funicular (tram that transported us up many, many stairs) to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica. Located on the top of the highest point in the city - we saw lovely views of Paris.

There was large group of people listening to this man sing and play the guitar. We wished we could have stayed to listen - he was playing U2, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and John Denver!

Instead we listened to the nuns sing inside the basilica. It was beautiful!

We wandered around the Place du Tertre to find a place for dinner.

We decided to eat the Chez Eugene - which seemed fitting since it's Weston's middle name.

We had a yummy dinner and enjoyed sharing our memories of the trip. What an amazing experience it was!

After dinner we wandered around the small shops which were mostly tourist shops. But we found a chocolaterie and spent our last Euros there. So sad to leave. Such a wonderful trip. It was life-changing in so many ways. But our family needed us and we needed them. Time to go home.

Random Memories of Paris:
-The sound of the bells in the train stations
-The sad beeping audio-guide on the steps down to the river
-Our metro tickets only working 50% of the time
-2 drawings done of Poppy from 2 different street artists (one much better than the other!)
-James yelling "nous descendon!" on the crowded metro
-Asian woman with the little stuffed hedgehog who played with Poppy the entire metro ride and then stood by the window waving, chasing the train as we rode out of view
-The two older men, walking outside the hotel early in the morning playing the trumpet and euphonium
-Poppy planking at Versailles
-Deaf and dumb girls trying to get signatures so people will donate money then spotted speaking to a homeless man shortly after.
-Weston's frequent references to Jason Bourne
-James lugging the stroller up and down the stairs of the metro
-The men selling Eiffel tower keychains that would disappear when the cops showed up
-The never-ending meringue
-James teaching us that the most important word to know in French is "machin" which means "thingy." We joked about it the whole trip and then James used it one last time with the hotel desk clerk when we checked in on our last night. It was hilarious!

England/France - Day 11

2011-10-12T21:56:00.001-06:00

The next morning we woke bright and early. It was going to be a busy day.
We saw this clever scooter - very cool!

On the way to the Louvre we saw this bridge with railings covered with padlocks.

I was not aware of this tradition but apparently the locks are placed there by couples as a token of their love.

The Louvre used to be the palace for the king of France from the 12 century up until Louis XIV built Versailles in the 1600s. It is one of the largest museums in the world. And we had to see it in two hours! Thank goodness for Rick Steves and his highlights tour!

The sculptor of the infamous Venus de Milo is unknown. But the statue is considered the epitome of classical Greek sculpture.

The Winged Victory

Of course we saw this famous face.

But only after we pushed through all these people! Incredible!

I loved every bit of everything I saw at the Louvre. Hopefully I can return someday and spend more time.

We were told by several people that we had to eat at the Relais de l'entrecote - a traditional French steak and fries restaurant.

It was delicious! The steak was so tender and the sauce was yummy. And it was endless refills!

Ah the dessert!

Next stop was the Sainte-Chapelle. This cathedral was commissioned by Louis IX to hold his Passion Relics including the Crown of Thorns. What is it the most famous for?

The windows!

We saw this street performer on our way to the...

La Tour Eiffel!

As we walked the long walk towards the tower we saw this man. He and his clear glass ball mesmerized us for a while. He was in the zone. And he wasn't even asking for money!

One conclusion we made after this trip is this: People love Poppy! Especially Asian people. There were multiple occasions where Asian tourists were drawn to Poppy and couldn't stop admiring her!
This group gave Poppy some Micky Mouse ears to wear.

Then they wanted to take pictures of Poppy wearing the Micky Mouse ears.

Then they wanted us to take pictures of them with Poppy wearing the Micky Mouse ears! It was the sweetest, funniest thing!

And darling Poppy was such a good sport through it all!

Anyway - we finally made our way to the tower. We decided to go all the way to the top!

It's a looooooong way down!

For some strange reason, in the last several years since having children I have developed a fear of heights. As the elevator was approaching the top, my legs and feet started to tingle. And I didn't appreciate it when Wes did this.

The Louvre museum is the large U-shaped building right in the middle of the picture.

L'Arc de Triomph.

We followed the throng of people back to base of the tower and decided we would walk to the Musee D'Orsay - the impressionist/post-impressionist museum. We saw this neat building with plants growing on the side. Love that!

Unfortunately we underestimated not only the distance to the museum but our level of exhaustion and sore feet. But we walked and walked and finally made it to our destination. Becca and James were smarter and took the train. We enjoyed perusing works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Gauguin, Van Gogh and others.
At this point we were very hungry and tired. As we walked to the metro we passed a closing boulangerie with some baguette sandwiches sitting on the shelf. James and Wes asked they owner if they would sell us both sandwiches for 7 euros. The sandwiches looked really unappetizing to Becca and me so in the meantime we had located a corner cafe that looked decent. But it was too late - the boys had purchased the sandwiches. We still had a yummy dinner a the cafe but the boys ate the sandwiches anyway because they were so pleased with themselves for getting such a great deal. I think one of the sandwiches was smoked salmon and the other was some type of meat that looked really yucky and questionable. But in the end - it all worked out!
We finally took the metro back to the hotel and sadly realized we only had one more day left in Paris!!!

At this point, things at home were getting a little crazy. Nothing out of the ordinary - just our usual busy lives. And our babysitter - Danielle - had already gone above and beyond what any babysitter should be asked to do! And she did an awesome job. But it was becoming clear that two weeks is too long to be gone! Our lives are too busy to leave the kids for that long. Even by the end of the first week - the older two were really struggling. They missed us and needed us to help them navigate their busy lives. We were looking forward to our last day in Paris - but we couldn't wait to get home to our kids!

England/France - Day 10

2011-10-10T21:31:00.000-06:00

We drove into Paris, checked into the Sport Hotel, dropped off the rental car and walked to the Gare d'Est to figure out what transportation pass would be best for our 3 days in Paris. James approached the woman at the ticket office and asked her in French for some help with figuring out what would be best. She rolled her eyes at us and slid a pamphlet to the edge of the counter. We didn't get any answers from the pamphlet so James went back to ask more questions. This woman was incredibly rude! She started off annoyed and then ended up laughing and mocking James. And he was even speaking French to her!! We were feeling a little offended and wanted to go somewhere else - but James kept his cool and kept going back over and over again to ask her more questions! It was pretty hilarious.
She never did help us - we ended up finding a tourist information office where a nice French woman spoke English and told us what to do. Then we started our site-seeing!
Pont Neuf in the background

The street vendors on the river Seine

On the Ile de la Cite. This natural island is considered the center of Paris - and is the location where the Parisii tribe originally settled when they were conquered by the Romans.

Notre Dame is glorious!

We were lucky to enter the cathedral in the middle of a service. There were recitations and a woman with a beautiful voice leading the congregation in song.

The famous rose window.

Saint Denis is the patron saint of France. He was the Bishop of France in 250 AD when he was beheaded.

We walked down to the river to get some tickets for an evening cruise.

We stopped at a small creperie on the side of the road. Wes got a lemon and sugar crepe and I got Nutella with banana. Yum!

We walked around the tourist shops until it was time for our river cruise. Paris was absolutely lovely all lit up.
Wes was constantly bringing up Jason Bourne being on the roof of this hotel...

And of course...La Tour Eiffel!

After our river cruise we walked back to the metro past Notre Dame. It was hard to believe we were actually in Paris!!

England/France - Day 8 and 9 - D-Day sites and Bayeux

2011-10-08T08:26:00.001-06:00

Our first stop for the day was the The Caen Memorial museum. This museum was brilliant! I could have spent hours there. It traces history from the end of World War I through World War II and even delves into events post-WWII. We had limited time so we only just barely made it through WWII. Fascinating! And it was the perfect preparation for the rest of our day where we would be visiting the beaches of Normandy.

We met up with James and Becca in downtown Caen where they had picked up some picnic supplies - yay! After lunch we drove to Point du Hoc. This site is at the top of 100 ft cliffs that were scaled on D-Day by the U.S. Rangers. They used grappling hooks and ladders to ascend these cliffs to take control of what they thought was a major German artillery base at the top. They knew that from this site - the Germans could do major damage to the other assaults on Omaha beach. Unfortunately the Germans had moved their big guns and cannons two days before. But still - only 1/3 of the 300 U.S. Rangers survived the day.

The area had been heavily bombed for weeks before the attack and the huge craters can still be seen.

Several structures still stand - but were heavily damaged from the bombing.

We walked through these deserted buildings. It was chilling to think about what happened at this site on that horrible day in June.

Becca and Poppy looking very lovely!

We tried to imagine to some small degree the horrors of that day. It was tragic, powerful and moving all at the same time.

We drove a ways down the coast to the American Cemetery and Memorial. Again - we were deeply touched by sea of white crosses and Stars of David.

Sadly we got there right at closing time. But we met a nice American caretaker that told us of another place where we could explore a German bunker and have access to Omaha beach.

Darling Poppy in a darling raincoat.

Weston could not get enough of these sites and wanted to explore every remaining structure.

Omaha Beach.

It was getting late and the weather was getting worse so we drove back to the Blairs where a warm fire and dinner was waiting.

It was another wonderful evening spent with wonderful friends.

Wes looking pretty awesome in his Bear Grylls shirt.

Freshly cracked walnuts and yummy French chocolate.

The next morning Ben made a "pastry run." He brought back croissants, pan au chocolat, tartelettes and fresh milk - straight from a local farm.

Having these delightful children around made me miss mine just a little bit less - not that we didn't miss them terribly!

June and Poppy are just about the same age and both completely adorable!

We spent the first part of the day in Bayeux. And believe it or not - we didn't take time to see the tapestry! Oh well - we couldn't see everything.

It was a lovely little town.

With a beautiful cathedral.

Lunch is a big deal in France - many shops close from 12-2pm. So we decided to take a break and eat at a little corner cafe. Becca and I stayed safe with foods like quiche and a ham and cheese panini. James, on the other hand, asked the waiter to recommend something very French. He ordered the andouillette with fries. When our food arrived - it just looked like a large sausage - just a little more...jiggly. But once he sliced down the middle to expose the contents - oh my - the smell alone just about made me lose my lunch! I don't know what it was filled with but it didn't look appetizing. I am sorry to be so frank (pun?) but it was disgusting. The only person that dared taste it was Wes and he said it was gross. Ugh...I can even smell it now.

We couldn't pass up on a French pastry to redeem ourselves from our lunch experience.

We drove to Caen and visited two chocolateries and some darling children's clothing stores. I have never seen such darling children's clothing as I did in Europe! If only I could justify spending that much money on my kids' clothes!

Sitting right in the middle of the city is the ancient castle of William the Conqueror. We walked around the outer walls and moats.

Notice the skyline - dotted with cathedral spires.

Even though we didn't do as much site-seeing on this day, we completed most of our gift shopping. So that was good! We drove back to the Blairs to spend our last evening at La Cressonniere. We had a few minutes before dinner so I showed Betty how to make hollyhock dolls out of the flowers they had blooming in their yard. Hollyhocks are one of my favorite flowers and I love these dolls - my mom taught me how to make them when I was a little girl. It was a nice compliment to my mom when Gabby posted about these dolls on www.designmom.com. Check it out!

Our last meal with the Blairs was, again, one of the best meals of the entire trip! Simple, rustic and delicious! Chicken with mushroom cream sauce, spinach soup and a fresh baguette. Ben says they key to making yummy French food is - lots of butter!
Oh how we loved staying with the Blairs at La Cressonniere! It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Just a few of the random memories of our time here:
-No microwave!
-Apple tree, walnut tree, raspberries, blackberries, lavender, roses, hollyhocks, wisteria, etc.
-Opening and closing shutters each morning and night
-Big spider on the ceiling in our room! Evidence that we really were in the country!
-"Paris Mix" CDs that Ben lent us to listen to on our daytrips
-Blair kids skyping with my kids
-Yummy drink with peach syrup and carbonated water
-Watching the Blair's episode of International House Hunters
-Watching Ralph's movies on youtube
-Listening to the Blair kids pray in French
-Within 15 minutes of arriving - Wes and the Blair kids belting out the song from Nacho Libre..."Incarnation!!"
-Driving the trash to the local dumpster
-The mermaid bathtub
-Dozens and dozens of stacked empty yogurt jars
-Betty singing little French songs
-Wes climbing up the rock wall and yelling, "Viva La Cressionniere!!!"

Next up...Paris!

England/France - Day 6 and 7 - Paris Arrival, La Cressonniere and Surrounding Area

2011-10-05T21:16:00.001-06:00

I will not be using any accents on French words. I know it is technically incorrect but I still have a week's worth of travel to blog and I don't have time to figure it out! Sorry.

Our arrival to the Gare du Nord was a shock to us in more ways than one. First, the station was busy, dirty and smelly. Second, we were surrounded by people speaking French and all of the signs were in French. Our days of hearing English were over for the time being! And third, once again we were having trouble using our phone. So we just stood there for a few minutes in a daze trying to figure out what to do. We knew we needed to find the car rental office but didn't know exactly where it was. We finally found the car rental information desk and a nice man who gave us directions on how to walk to the place where we could pick up the car. It was a few blocks away from the station.

So we hit the streets of Paris, dragging our suitcases behind us - feeling a bit like fools. Even though tourists most likely frequent this neighborhood often - you wouldn't think so from the looks we were getting from the locals. And the looks weren't too friendly!

After a few wrong turns we finally found the car rental office and picked up our diesel, stick-shift minivan. We were on our own at this point - James and Becca stayed in England for an extra day. We loaded up and braved the crazy streets of Paris. Thank goodness for GPS! What did people do without a nice, patient woman with a British accent telling them where to go? Especially in the city! It was a little stressful right at the beginning. There were tons of cars, very aggressive drivers and oblivious pedestrians. After a few close calls and a few wrong turns we eventually ended up on the Peripherique - the highway that encircles the city. From there we headed West. Our destination? La Cressonniere.

The cloudy day and drizzly rain could not ruin the beauty of the French countryside.

We passed through several small villages.

It was evening by the time we arrived at La Cressonniere. The Blairs were expecting us and were ready with a yummy French pizza dinner.

As we drove up the lane, Gabby and Olive were picking blackberries off the side of the road. Here are Ralph and Maude with the fresh blackberries. We had them on our crepes the next morning.

La Cressonniere. I could not take enough pictures of this lovely home/farmhouse/cottage. The older portion of the home (the Right side) dates back to the 1600s. The other side was added later. But being in this home, in this setting - it was like going back in time.

Two artists restored and decorated this home. It is full of interesting details and charm.
This is the artist's studio. Everywhere I turned - there was something clever and creative! Hence - the many, many photos.

This mural is a miniature copy of one the artist painted on the side of a building in the neighboring town.

Used palattes were displayed throughout the room.

This screen was covered in sketches - each one a work of art.

The kitchen - very rustic yet functional. You can see the drying lavender hanging from a beam.

These floors are original to the 1600s home. And there is interesting and beautiful artwork covering the walls.

The upstairs hallway leading to the room where we slept.

Opening the shutters in the morning and closing the shutters at night became part of our routine.

The view from our window. I loved this roof - the moss growing on the stone shingles.

The artists paid attention to every detail. This is the inside of the door of our room.

And this was a sculpture that seemed to emerge from the wall.

There was a rug painted on the small hallway to our room.

There were many interesting door knockers and latches.

And the yard around the home wasn't any less interesting! I loved this willow bench.

And the tree house is about the most charming thing I have ever seen!

You can read more about La Cressonniere and the Blairs experience at www.designmom.com.

The next day was Sunday. After a breakfast of crepes, Nutella, blackberries, and local honey, we took advantage of the day to let the Blairs show us around the area. There are several chateaux and lovely cathedrals within minutes of their home. So we did some touring.
We ran across these very cool dogs.

Unfortunately it was raining.

We stopped to see the Sees cathedral.

We also visited the Argentan cathedral. This town was in the thick of WWII fighting. They had pictures of the damage done to this cathedral that took 300 years to build. You can see the tank in the picture.

It took them just 40 years to restore the cathedral after the war.

And of course we stopped for some pastries! Pan au chocolat - yummmm.

We also stopped to tour the chateau Medavy. Pretty amazing!

That night Ben cooked us a Greek dinner of chicken and potatoes, tzatziki sauce, Greek salad and of course, yummy bread. We were starting to notice a trend with the meals at the Blairs - everything we ate was absolutely and deliciously amazing!!
We enjoyed an evening by the crackling fire, eating blackberries and fresh walnuts from their tree, reminiscing and catching up on the years past.

(Sadly, James and Becca were actually having an adventure of their own. They had traveled to Paris on Sunday and had missed their train to Argentan. After hours of navigating metro stations and train stations with 2 huge suitcases and a tired toddler in a stroller - they finally decided to spend the night in Pairs. We were so worried about them! We planned to meet them in Caen the next day. Thank goodness for James being able to speak French! We all benefited greatly from this skill he learned on his mission. In a big way!)

England/France - Day 5 - Charingworth Manor, Stonehenge and Windsor

2011-10-02T21:15:00.000-06:00

We awoke to a misty morning and were delighted to finally see Charingworth Manor in the light. What a wonderful surprise!

This house is 700 years old!

Lovely English countryside.

Yummy breakfast.

In addition to the buffet - we were served a hot breakfast off the menu.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to enjoy the fitness facilities or swimming pool because we had a busy day ahead of us. Wes still trying to get used to the steering wheel on the Right side of the car.

We drove through many little villages like this one - Marlborough. I could have spent hours in each village exploring the shops, restaurants and old buildings. But we drove on...

To Stonehenge. (I am listening to the audioguide - not talking on the phone.)
Structures at this site date back to 3000 BC. But these bluestones - which were brought to this site from various sites including 150 miles away in Wales - date back to 2500 BC. There is still a lot of mystery and legend associated with Stonehenge. We will never know for sure what its original purpose was but experts think that it had something to do with the changing seasons and the rising and setting of the sun. It is fascinating!

1/3 of each stone is buried under the ground! These stones are huge! Imagine transporting and lifting these stones using only basic tools of bone, rock and wood.

The horizontal stones weren't just set on the vertical stones - they actually fit together in a tongue and groove fashion - like a puzzle.

There are many mounds of dirt - called barrows - located near Stonehenge and in the surrounding area.

As we continued our drive back towards London - we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some lunch supplies - cheese, bread, fruit, yogurt and chocolate.

We then stopped at Windsor - one of the official residences of the Queen of England. We knew she wasn't there because her flag was not displayed that day.

We toured St. George's chapel - Queen Elizabeth's parents, King George VI (King's Speech) and Elizabeth, and sister Margaret Rose are buried here.

I was very moved by the tomb of Princess Charlotte. She and her baby both died in childbirth. You can see her body under a drape, with just peek of her hand, and her spirit and the spirit of her baby rising up to heaven. The drapes covering the mourners looked so realistic it was hard to believe that it was marble and not fabric.

Me with a guard, yet again. We also toured the State apartments and a doll museum.

Our time in England was coming to an end and we felt we couldn't leave without a meal of fish and chips.

James had to take a business call so we ate our dinner and played at a local park.

A blurry shot of Becca pushing Wes in a swing.

We drove back to Kent for one final night. The next morning we were to take the Eurostar to Paris. I was very sad to leave! I have wanted to visit England for for many years - I didn't want it to end.

Here are some random memories...
"Do you have a transponder on your car?"
"Do you have like, sweaters?" "Yes we have like sweaters."
Wes driving on the Right side of the car, on the Left side of the Road and parking against traffic with the cars going the other way.
James, "Can I get a receipt for that?"
Paid for public restroom in library in Windsor.
Chocolate dessert and custard at B&H's house.
Our close attempt to celebrating an early Guy Fawkes night.
"Do you have sat nav?"
"Mind the gap!"
Fudge in Cambridge.
Children of Kent going to school.
Wes and Becca talking with an English accent.
Charingworth room that looked like James and Becca's chalet.
Waking up in Kent to the smell of cows.

Next up...France!

England/France - Day 4 -Cambridge and Arrival at Charingworth Manor

2011-09-29T16:27:00.002-06:00

The next morning we borrowed our friends car, braved driving on the Left side of the road (well, Wes did) and drove to Cambridge. We stopped at Carluccio's for a treat - it took all my self control to not buy everything in the store!

Wes bought a raspberry meringue that became "the never-ending meringue." He threw what was left of it away the day before we left to come home.

Cambridge is a lovely town!

We ran across an outdoor market. We bought a scarf for Addie. James bought some dates and figs!

King's Chapel at King's College. Started in 1446 by Henry VI, it took over a century to build. This may sound familiar because of the famous broadcast from this cathedral every Christmas Eve.

We spotted the missionaries! Doesn't that lady looked thrilled about hearing the good news of the gospel? Oh dear. We waited around to speak to the missionaries and to make the typical Mormon network connections - but they were too engrossed in their discussion.

And besides...we had an appointment with Martin to go punting on the river Cam!

James, Becca, Poppy and Martin in the background.

Bridge over the rive Cam = "Cambridge"

We stopped for a tour of the inside of King's Chapel. Extraordinary!

King's college in the background. These buildings function as student housing, administration offices, dinner halls and meeting halls.

King's Chapel in the background.

We were losing daylight fast so we hopped in the car and started off towards the Cotswolds where we were to stay the night. We stopped quickly for a peek at Warwick Castle. We also drove through Stratford on Avon to see Anne Hathaway's house (Shakespeare's wife). Unfortunately it was dark by then.

It was completely dark by the time we arrived at our destination - Charingworth Manor. We could see the Manor in the distance - all lit up with twinkly lights as we drove the long and winding road. But we really had no idea what to expect - "B&H" had made the arrangements for us. The house was very old with stone floors and old timbers. We were led up narrow staircases to two rooms at the very top of the house. They both had pitched ceilings with exposed beams. We could tell this place was cool! Even though it was close to 9:00 pm - they sat us down in their restaurant where we had an incredible 3 course meal that was absolutely divine! We slept very well that night. We couldn't wait to see the Manor and the surrounding area when we woke in the morning!

England/France - Day 3

2011-09-28T21:11:00.001-06:00

We woke up the next morning to a beautiful blue sky!

This guard was falling asleep. He eventually turned around and marched away.

Streets of London.

These traditional red phone booths were everywhere!

Westminster Abbey - site of the coronation of kings and queens since William the Conqueror in 1066 all the way to the current Queen Elizabeth; resting place of Elizabeth I, Edward the Confessor and many other royal men and women and also where Princess Diana's funeral was held. We were able to see the coronation chair (which is behind glass under restoration) that has been used since King Edward I in 1300. Up until 1996 the Stone of Scone (legend has it that Jacob/Israel rested his head on this stone) rested underneath the chair.

We then walked the Mall towards Buckingham Palace. Here are the guards preparing for the Changing of the Guards. They are standing in front of the Guards' Museum.

We could not believe the crowds in front of the Palace! We couldn't really get close enough to see anything.

The Changing of the Guards starts with a parade of sorts. First comes the band.

And then the guards come marching with their machine guns and bayonets.

Then came the horse guards. We couldn't actually see any of the ceremony so we wandered through the park on our way to river Thames.

We saw some very interesting birds.

Wes and Big Ben. We learned that Big Ben is the name of the bell - not the clock.

We took a river cruise to see the sites.

Poppy just being her cute self.

A peek at St. Paul's cathedral.

We picked up some shawarmas and falafel at LebanEats.

On the steps of St. Paul's - the cathedral where the royal weddings take place (and "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins).

Self-disinfecting public toilets - I actually never used them.

What would we have done without James, Wes and google maps?!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the British Museum.

We spent most of our time in the exhibits from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. This cuneiform tablet dates back to 1700 BC and describes how the gods sent a flood to destroy the world. Hmmm.

This Egyptian man dates back to 3400 BC. Yep - you read that correctly - 3400 BC! And we thought the buildings we were seeing in London dating back to the 1200s were old! His amazing preservation is due to the harsh desert climate of that region.

This Egyptian woman was mummified around 600 BC.

Mummified cats.

Many of the sarcophagi have been left unopened. But CAT scans have revealed human remains inside.

This trinket made of pure gold is about the size of a quarter.

After the museum we went back to Covent Garden for a yummy Italian dinner. Wes and I hurried to the Haymarket Theater for the evening performance of The Tempest with none other than...Ralph Fiennes! Oh my - it was brilliant!

Another wonderful day in London!