Pajama Party

We had Blynn's birthday party today. A week early due to scheduling conflicts, but that will always be the problem with a birthday in the month of December. A couple of months ago, she came up with the idea (all on her own) that she wanted a pajama party where everyone comes to her party dressed in pajamas. And by everyone, I mean everyone. She has been inviting everybody she sees for the last 2 months. She also wanted a cake with pajamas and donuts on it. So we had it this morning and served everyone breakfast. This has to be the easiest set up for a party. All of our guests were gone and our house all cleaned up from the party by 11:30am. Fabulous.

This is the invitation, which I'm very proud of myself for since I don't scrapbook. Blynn is a very detailed person and had very specific instructions for what she wanted on her cake. The grocery store did a great job.

"ZZZZZZZZZZZ"

Growing Pains

Starting before Rusty was born, so for a year and a half, Blynn will sometimes wake up in the middle of the night complaining that her feet or ankles hurt. It took us awhile to figure this out, because at first she couldn't really articulate what was wrong. She would be relieved by us wrapping her ankles with ace bandages. Sometimes it is every night, but it has been less frequent lately. She did need them the other day and I took the picture. I think Blynn is starting to get annoyed that I am taking pictures of just everyday things around here lately.

Christmas parades and Flashers

The local Christmas parade is always the day after Thanksgiving. It is a lot of small town floats and groups. Todd was amazed at how anybody can be in the parade. His goal is to see how absurd of an entry we could have. Not gonna happen! Rusty also thought the parade seemed a little boring for those sitting around us, so this is his idea of livening up the crowd. He has such a servant's heart.

Really?!?

Some of you may be familiar with the Saturday Night Live sketch with Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers called "Really?!" I love this sketch and usually have a running monologue with myself when I'm driving around town, shopping at WalMart, or watching the news. Well, this is a monologue I've had with myself regarding how cheap my husband is. Look at these pictures of this tube of toothpaste that he has been milking for almost 3 weeks now. He claims he is still getting toothpaste out of it, but this is my question. "Really?! Are you really saving money by squeezing this tube to oblivion? How many cents do you think you are really saving by doing this? Is it going to be enough to pay for the arthritis medicine you will require after years of squeezing your toothpaste tube like that? Really?!"

Æbleskiver

My Grandma on my dad's side is Danish, and Æbleskiver has been a family tradition that my Dad now carries on. As many of you know, "Todd loves breakfast." So this is one of our favorite special things we do. Blynn and I both love to eat ours with snow (powdered sugar) on top.




The recipe handed down in the "Brother's Cookbook" that my aunt gave to my Dad when he left for college.


The special pan.


The cook in action.

Blynn enjoying her ball pancakes.

Farmers Market in Winter

I received my first basket from the local CSA (community supported agriculture) group that I signed up with. It is amazing. This is actually their smallest basket and I will receive it every other week. They delivered it right to my doorstep and all of the produce is locally grown. I was so excited yesterday when it came that I was giggling. I love my local farmers. My grandpa would have said "Farmers are out standing in their field." So corny! (pun intended)

Dentist

Blynn went to the dentist today. She did so good, way beyond any of my expectations. She let them do so much more to her this time than last time. Somehow, I don't think it will be like this when we start taking Rusty to the dentist. They kept saying how good her teeth are, so we know that she has not inherited Todd's teeth. I've been praying for that for a long time!

Things we love about Grandma & Grandpa's house

Well, this is probably more of a list of my favorite things, as the kids could care less about old door knobs.
A real working and used mail slot.

Beams and detailed finish work.

Original doors and door fixtures. I love them!

This is the slot that the milkman used to put the milk in from outside the house and right into the kitchen.

The view!!

This is one of the kids favorite parts, that the planes fly right over the house.

Grandma was nice enough to do surgery on George before we left. After being in the car for about a minute, Rusty was sound asleep. We made really good time on the way home and the kids did great sleeping away from home and in the car. What more could we ask for?

The reunion

Here they are. The offspring of my good college friends. Here we have Spross, Powers, Hong, Michaelson, and Martin kids.

Today was the reunion and a really great time. The kids did so good and were very accommodating. We had such a good time visiting with old friends and seeing their kids.

We also got to go to the dedication of Smee Hall which is where there is a memorial to Sherri.

Another great day in San Diego

The reason why we are in San Diego is for my 10 year college reunion. Can you believe that? Yesterday we hung out with some of my close college friends and their children. It was a wonderful day that ended with Adal's, Fashion Valley, The Office, and 30 Rock. I am loving this vacation!! Today is the actual reunion, so I will get more pictures.