tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68919015114161602412011-11-17T03:48:52.255-07:00Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.comBlogger1531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-25124033722152745292011-08-18T22:18:00.002-06:002011-08-18T22:28:13.498-06:00

This will be short and sweet. I don't like long goodbyes. In fact I don't even like short goodbyes. I prefer a "see-ya'-later", or "until next time". In the past couple days I've found myself saying more often, "We WILL see each other again!" in a rising, high-pitched, oh-my-goodness-I'm-about-to-cry pitch. If some people don't make it down to our new home for a visit, we'll eventually be

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-46160159609035555152011-08-12T23:39:00.020-06:002011-08-13T09:59:05.491-06:00

When we were in Lloydminster for lacrosse provincials last month, one of the most unique things about the town was that it's split down the middle, half in the province of Alberta, and half in the province of Saskatchewan. We were VERY excited to visit one more province. There were four large red markers at the border that we visited. One the left is the crest of Alberta, on the right the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-16096299568803485362011-08-09T22:23:00.005-06:002011-08-09T22:54:37.800-06:00

Pretty much every Wednesday morning for the past three years (during the school year), I've been hanging out with the same group of gals. Some have floated in and out, but every six weeks there is a Mom's Night Out where anyone who has ever been in the group can gather for dinner. Sandra, one of my friends who I met a couple years ago there, threw me a going-away luncheon last week. Wednesday

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-30305577751649973322011-07-25T23:06:00.015-06:002011-07-26T00:41:00.369-06:00

Andy and Sam participated in lacrosse this spring. I was going to sign them up for soccer, but a friend mentioned she was signing her boys up for lacrosse, and it was indoor. I thought about how cold soccer had been a couple years back when Sam had participated. A couple of the games were relatively warm, but most had been chilly, or cold and rainy, or cold and windy. Indoor sounded REAL

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-69037252210026623982011-07-19T22:32:00.016-06:002011-07-19T23:26:05.871-06:00

School ended at the end of June here, so I'm tardy in getting a few of these pictures posted.Track & Field Day was a lot of fun, and we had GREAT weather, but I didn't take my camera.With Sam's class we went to Old MacDonald's Farm. This is a popular campground that's about an hour away, where there are lots of kid-friendly things to do. Some of the families went up the night before with their

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-84894432994679691572011-06-08T12:14:00.005-06:002011-06-08T12:30:40.656-06:00

About once a month Andy and Sam's school has a special dress up day. Yesterday was TWIN day.Andy and his friend went for a red shirt with jeans. I think they ended up with a more "fraternal" look.These two were a bit more identical. Funny enough, Sam's buddy in this picture has an identical twin brother in the same class, but they didn't want to be twins with each other. I guess they get

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-50773482269398594222011-06-02T10:45:00.007-06:002011-06-02T11:06:33.339-06:00

I made this creation a couple months ago for my friends at the mommy's group I attend on Wednesday mornings. It all started with this recipe for thin, Swedish-style pancakes. Which turns out are very crêpe-like, but without the pressure of making crêpes.One of the comments on the blog post had the cake suggestion, and I thought it sounded pretty tasty. I think I ended up with about 24 layers

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-69896652645330529792011-05-13T21:01:00.011-06:002011-05-13T21:33:21.158-06:00

Andy turned nine a little over a week ago, and we had his party a little early, as his birthday fell on a Tuesday. He's not a huge cake fan, so we went the giant cookie-cake route. We have no All-American Cookie Companies here (go figure), or anyone else that I know of that make cookie cakes, so we did it ourselves.The boys played, ate pizza, and watched one of favorite all-time movies, The

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-4234201220824716962011-05-12T09:50:00.001-06:002011-05-13T20:56:50.766-06:00

Earlier in the trip, Mom and I and the boys were driving around, and decided to go by the Board of Trade to show the boys where the big party was for Mommy and Papi's wedding. It was a little tricky to get in. The wrought-iron gates were locked to the courtyard, but we found a hotel down the street that had a door that led to the alley, and voila! I had forgotten just how HUGE the doors were

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-82718914303429238702011-04-27T21:10:00.020-06:002011-05-03T12:17:28.403-06:00

Before we start with round two, here's a shot that Mom took the evening we arrived. Dad picked us up from the airport and brought us to Mom's house, where she had set the table so prettily, and made a nice meal for us, Auntie Claire, Bill, and Dad. I love all the green in this picture! We're a bit color-deprived up here at the moment. The snow is almost gone, and there is brown everywhere.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-66752281374743554632011-04-13T21:55:00.023-06:002011-04-17T22:00:15.499-06:00

Andy, Sam, and I went to New Orleans for their Spring Break a couple weeks ago. As in past trips, I neglected to take out my camera to commemorate each visit, getting carried away by the visit itself. In some instances, Mom was with us and would think to take a picture. So the images that follow are a good representation of our visit, but there are gaps.On this warm, sunny day the boys and I

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-67735245214990693172011-03-25T13:52:00.003-06:002011-03-25T14:10:39.203-06:00

Andy made these at school. The original image was drawn with toothpicks into a rectangular styrofoam plate.There is another redder one that's hanging on the wall of his classroom. He presented these to us at his parent/teacher conference last night. :o)From Andy, to whoever is reading this:I hope you like them a LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-29960112466830579722011-03-22T21:26:00.011-06:002011-08-04T21:52:09.605-06:00

Andy, Sam, and I have also tried cross country skiing this winter. Downhill skis scare me. Cross-country skis I can handle.There were some FAT snowflakes falling on this particular day. Golf courses transition nicely to cross-country ski areas in the winter up here.These were taken on the last day of Jackrabbits, which is a cross-country ski program for kids that meets for about 8 weeks.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-68808563319771668352011-03-17T22:35:00.004-06:002011-03-17T22:41:25.893-06:00

I pass by this house every morning after dropping the boys off at school. At Christmastime they turn the lights on the wreath over the door. It looks so quaint and cozy. I keep thinking I should knock on their door and tell them how much I like it; maybe ask for a tour. Or not.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-16006689317367639012011-03-07T21:19:00.012-07:002011-08-06T20:53:49.834-06:00

We're winding up our third year of skiing (Otto and the boys) and snowboarding (me). If we hadn't moved up here, I'm 98% sure I never would have tried this sport. When we lived in Victoria, TX, many of our friends would go on an annual ski trip. Otto always wanted to go, and I always resisted. Vehemently. Feelings of "NO WAY!!" stemming from a bad ski experience in high school, where a group

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-8303640036245517912011-03-02T21:22:00.005-07:002011-03-02T21:35:06.953-07:00

It has been exceedingly cold up here lately. Last week I took a couple pictures of the sundogs that were out. See the rainbow on the outer edges of the sun? These are technically called parhelia, and it's generally PRET-TY cold outside if you see them.This was on the way to school one morning. Nice windshield scuz at the top.This I took from our back door on another morning.There are some

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-66198208183044264592011-02-17T21:22:00.015-07:002011-02-18T06:53:07.690-07:00

Let the party begin!One of these days I hope to take the kids to Mardi Gras. But, alas, this will not be the year. Again.We actually got some real, genuine King Cake when we briefly passed through New Orleans for my grandmother's funeral a couple weeks ago. A fellow Southerner also living in Red Deer passed this recipe along to me that she found on the net which uses crescent rolls to make

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-41608033017615417342011-02-11T09:40:00.001-07:002011-02-11T09:44:01.458-07:00

She left a toonie for him! I REALLY thought you had to have the actual tooth. Live and learn.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-28593977615990877862011-02-08T21:31:00.031-07:002011-02-08T22:50:51.902-07:00

Mamaw died a week and a half ago. Here's a picture of her and Sam when we visited her in Illinois in 2009.I took Andy and Sam down to Alabama for her funeral this past weekend.It was, or seemed, sudden. She wanted to go quickly, and it was so.Papaw died nine years ago, and she was the last of her brothers and sisters to go.I do believe she's having a great time catching up with them all now.But

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-18988037506312030152011-01-27T21:10:00.014-07:002011-01-27T21:55:04.249-07:00

One of my favorite things are sweet potato pancakes. We had some left-over roasted sweet potatoes in the fridge the other morning, so I decided to whip some up. I took the peel off before mashing, as large pieces of peel in my pancakes aren't appealing. (Peels on my roasted potatoes for dinner, however, are VERY desirable, and very nutritious.)I used about half the potatoes I had left; I think

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-55294863973680089602011-01-19T22:22:00.021-07:002011-01-30T10:20:11.663-07:00

Sam turned six years old earlier this week.We had his party at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, where they have lots of interactive sports activities, and reasonable birthday party prices.I spent a lot of time in the front area, where the cake, presents, snacks, coats, and more importantly, my purse were. But I ran around a few times to take some pictures.Waiting patiently for a turn.Climbing

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-82861538064717474212011-01-09T15:12:00.004-07:002011-01-09T15:18:27.751-07:00

I printed this large picture of Sam out on 8x10 paper from his Christmas concert and glued it on to some cardboard for strength. Then I taped it onto the little drum that he used as they sang Little Drummer Boy, and sat it on one of our speakers. It looked like him standing there with his drum around his neck - so cute! But, alas, he did not like it. At some point I'll tape this picture back

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-31207203992253979512011-01-09T14:53:00.016-07:002011-01-09T15:12:09.547-07:00

We've been getting a LOT of snow the past few days. The boys decided to try their cross country skis in the back yard yesterday. I think Andy stuck to the side of the house; here was Sam's attempt.At this point he looked up to me in the window and informed me that it wasn't working very well.There has also been a good deal of snow-shoveling.I got to stay inside to un-decorate the tree. You can

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-36332056109921892412011-01-04T21:23:00.004-07:002011-01-04T21:26:37.960-07:00

Cheese!CHEESE!!He likes sticking his tongue in the space and saying, "Look! I have a pink tooth!"

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-81628076214428209502010-12-30T09:52:00.015-07:002011-08-06T20:54:24.563-06:00

We went to Banff and went skiing at Sunshine for two days this week. It was pretty crowded, but there was lots of fluffy snow, and it wasn't too cold.Andy and Sam took a lesson the first day, and Sam was very excited that his instructor said he should get some poles to start getting a feel for them. So the day after this picture was taken, he had poles, too.Me taking a rest at the bottom of

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-35825378266418396682010-12-23T17:17:00.018-07:002010-12-23T17:46:24.400-07:00

Sunday we went on our first skate of the season. Andy, Sam, and I did. Otto still needs to practice and decided to help get people geared-up, and keep on his boots.Then Andy and Sam talked me into going again on Tuesday. Before we left I gave them an early Christmas present from Papa Rex; REAL hockey sticks and pucks.We had much fun, and went back this afternoon, hockey sticks in-hand

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-2404276355489090442010-12-19T09:37:00.002-07:002010-12-19T09:41:13.080-07:00

with NO VOWELS!! Argggghhhh! :o)(Me killing time while Otto fields a phone call from work.)

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-31739221745219717632010-12-17T23:20:00.006-07:002010-12-18T12:11:48.364-07:00

Here are my uber-handsome boys before we headed out to their Christmas concert last night.Sam came back with a different tie on than what he left with. These were little matching ones that all the kindergarten boys wore as they sang the French version of Little Drummer Boy. Andy's class sang a Spanish song (Campana Sobre Campana). I had never heard it before; it was nice. And Sam showing me

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-43978292974151754862010-12-01T21:18:00.021-07:002010-12-01T22:27:50.480-07:00

We put up the Christmas tree last weekend. A few years ago we bought a fake, pre-lit tree. Love it! Mostly. You, of course, don't have the lovely pine smell, but the frustration saved by having the lights already evenly-spaced on the thing is spectacular. No dead needles to vacuum. No dragging it to the street. I'm not saying we'll never have a real tree again, but I'm sure happy with

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-23765628602201587842010-11-24T21:34:00.034-07:002010-11-24T22:56:16.440-07:00

I took a quick trip down to the Atlanta area to visit my family this past weekend. Solo.The primary target of visitation was my Mamaw (Dad's mother), but my dad and sister drove over from New Orleans to visit, and my Aunt Mary Jane (Dad's sister) and Uncle Alan, Uncle Steve (Dad's brother) and Aunt Gail also live in the area, so there were lots of people to hug!Here we were sitting in Mamaw's

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-66901927207578685042010-11-08T21:34:00.023-07:002010-11-08T22:15:05.026-07:00

Otto's mom and dad came up for a visit in (ahem) August. (I've also neglected to post pictures from out trip to British Columbia this summer. Hopefully that will come soon.)Probably the most exciting part of their visit was our trip over to Banff/Canmore/Lake Louise. We hiked the 2km hike from Lake Louise up to the Lake Agnes tea house. There were some BEAUTIFUL vistas to behold along the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-36729693522221204182010-11-08T21:12:00.013-07:002010-11-08T21:33:21.171-07:00

A couple days before Halloween, we made our first pizza of the season.And remember, one of the main reasons we make pizza up here is to warm up the kitchen.We're trying a few new dietary restrictions (again) to try and help with the boys' allergies. So this pizza crust was half whole wheat, half oat flour, and no yeast (along with some oregano and basil thrown in). Not bad, but it doesn't

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-54933864586756681022010-10-25T20:53:00.004-06:002010-10-25T20:58:45.202-06:00

Andy, Sam, and Otto carved our jack-o-lantern last night.And an image from Halloween past... 2006.I don't think I'll ever top that costume combo!

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-87243143317136265572010-10-19T12:25:00.005-06:002010-10-19T13:14:04.569-06:00

We had a quick, and somewhat spontaneous, trip down to Disney World a couple weeks ago. Otto had the opportunity to attend a conference there, which he had known about for several months. But we weren't sure if he could actually go until about a month before hand. And for us, one month before hand to plan a trip to the Southern U.S. is pretty much as spontaneous as we get!The first day Otto

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-52215424838849770572010-09-29T17:42:00.011-06:002010-09-29T21:10:52.206-06:00

I made a point to take my camera with me today to try and capture some colors before they fade away. Top of the mornin', right after school drop off.Mid-afternoon. Sam and I headed out after lunch to Heritage Ranch and around the neighborhood, eventually ending up at the grocery store.Late afternoon. Andy came home from school, and we went to Bower Ponds.Running to the playground.Almost there!

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-13293483684371474262010-09-22T13:22:00.006-06:002010-09-22T13:32:22.840-06:00

Last week Sam decided not to eat his lunch as served, but rather to pile it all together. Cheese, crackers, bread, and clementine. I think he eventually had to disassemble, and eat the components in a more traditional fashion.And today was CRAZY HAIR DAY. This is what we came up with.Little did they know they were supporting my high school. Go Falcons!! :o)We'll see how the "wash out" phase

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-41769086676688357162010-09-06T21:14:00.021-06:002010-09-07T14:26:37.487-06:00

We took a little side trip over to Lake Jackson and Victoria, TX. We first stayed with Brian, Brenda, Madison, and Allie, and they were nice enough to take us to Surfside Beach for the day. Andy and Sam had TONS of fun in the waves. It was nice and warm, no rain, and no seaweed or jellyfish. We all had fun - it was a good day. And I was impressed at how much Surfside had recovered

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-74814519379957898152010-09-01T16:28:00.005-06:002010-09-01T16:36:08.471-06:00

Today was Sam's first day of Kindergarten with Madame Terry, and Andy's first day of Grade 3 with Madame Meadows. Aside from Sam, enrolled in the every morning half-day program, not being happy that he didn't get to stay all day like Andy, they both seemed to have a good time.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-8284877446356337222010-08-29T09:06:00.019-06:002010-08-29T21:44:30.461-06:00

On Wednesday (free day!) we went to The New Orleans Museum of Art with Mom and Bill. I'm not sure if you're supposed to climb on this sculpture. There were no signs indicating you shouldn't. And they were determined - took them a while to figure out how to do it. Outside in the sculpture garden. The next morning I left the boys at home with Mom, picked up Rick at the coffee shop (where I

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-84404152405682622142010-08-22T21:15:00.032-06:002010-08-29T10:20:42.763-06:00

While in New Orleans, we drove over to Abita Springs to visit the Insta-Gator Alligator Ranch and Hatchery.The first hands-on experience.Andy and a turtle.After an introduction and some background information (for example, did you know that all alligator eggs hatch in September?), we were brought to the area where the alligators grow up, en masse, and we fed them marshmallows.Better angle if you

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-7654533068561998402010-08-10T22:29:00.037-06:002010-08-29T10:20:21.985-06:00

Andy, Sam and I traveled down South at the beginning of July, and had a great time visiting with family and friends. We weren't able to see everyone that I would have liked, but I think we did our best with the time we had. The first place we headed after Mom picked us up at the airport was Morning Call for beignets (at eleven at night). And the last thing we ate before Dad took us to the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-20527699030027549622010-06-20T21:16:00.008-06:002010-06-20T22:49:05.676-06:00

We've gotten some great summer weather here this weekend. Finally. It has been raining a lot the last few weeks. Here are some shots from the backyard this afternoon.Playing in the back of the truck with the sprinkler on. The backyard won't be nearly as fun when we get the truck sold.Showing the peace sign in a picture is the big thing to do here in Grade 2. Though they usually have it

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-14629525956174690142010-05-24T21:18:00.028-06:002010-05-25T07:12:38.088-06:00

It was a drizzly, gray morning on Friday. The boys had off from school, and Otto had taken the day off, and we headed for Calgary. I checked the weather and it said it was partly sunny. Partly sunny is better than no sunny! First stop: The Calgary Tower.Here's Sam running away as I try to snap a picture of him and "Royal Mountie Bear" at the base. I'm not sure if that's his real name; in

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-29213027413725753382010-05-07T22:27:00.013-06:002010-05-07T23:21:00.297-06:00

Andy chose a John Deere cake this year. Sobey's was kind enough to make it for me.And the party was at LazerForce, our local lazer tag facility. I didn't take any pictures of them playing lazer tag, because it was pretty dark, and only those playing were allowed in. But here are a few shots from the cozy party room that we were assigned upstairs.Having fun with party favors.Andy and Sam

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-38291377816812218312010-04-29T13:31:00.020-06:002010-04-29T14:23:40.494-06:00

Easter lasts 50 days, so technically I'm not late. :o) Here are Andy and Sam working on Easter eggs. Voila! Bowl full-o'-colored-eggs. They turned out more vivid than I thought they would. And a couple days after that we made some pretty Italian Easter Bread. Funny-face Sam kneading the dough. Rolling out the pieces that will be twisted together. Breads twisted up, ends met,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-47887764124707785402010-03-29T10:49:00.029-06:002010-04-07T12:13:30.869-06:00

Kim, Lupe, Isaac, Nathan, and Gabriel came to visit us from Texas a few weeks ago. They also came up last summer, so they're regulars around here!We kicked off their trip by meeting them in Banff and skiing for a couple days at Lake Louise. Here's a shot of everyone suiting up. The camera was then tossed back in the car so as to focus on skiing (or boarding), so no action shots. I think all

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-86855442188446600122010-03-12T09:51:00.003-07:002010-03-12T11:43:56.462-07:00

Here's a poem that Sam learned at school.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-44772520669081883442010-03-08T21:47:00.008-07:002010-03-08T21:58:40.105-07:00

A few pictures from a mini-photo shoot after they had their hair cut a few weeks ago.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-78465567290696850592010-03-07T21:28:00.012-07:002011-06-05T21:20:03.127-06:00

Welcome the newest members of our household. Two crested geckos:Phoenix (male)and Izzy (female).Crested geckos don't have eyelids, so they use their tongues to clean off their eyes.Their little feet are so cute.Phoenix is pretty laid back.Izzy hangin' out. She likes to jump. And she was lingering at the top of the cage for a while this morning. Planning her escape, I'm sure.I think I could

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-86742901099266975012010-03-07T20:49:00.005-07:002010-03-07T21:21:49.052-07:00

This week I participated, for the first time, in the Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim To Win contest. I was at my friend's house when I rolled up my first rim, and she captured a few shots from the moment. (Thanks, Mel!)Here I am peering into the unrolled section.... did I win???I DID!! I WON!! Wow - my first Roll Up The Rim, and I won a free cup of coffee!By the time I went to play last year,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-28229162997969925382010-02-27T22:03:00.052-07:002011-07-13T10:08:09.443-06:00

We began our trip by spending the night in Calgary since we had an early morning flight. The only room they had left when we checked in was a 2-room suite with jacuzzi tub IN the master bedroom. Oh, if we must! The boys thoroughly enjoyed the tub, with a small container of shower gel added.Watching the Olympics in luxury.After taking an extra day to get down there, first due to taking a long

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-34178468695891695472010-02-14T21:36:00.006-07:002010-02-15T07:45:20.310-07:00

Here's some pretty pink popcorn that Sam and I made for Valentine's Day parties at school on Friday. It was very tasty; caramel popcorn with cherry jello powder mixed in. I didn't really taste cherry, but I tasted something different than regular caramel popcorn, and it was GOOD. Also festive for any pink-colored occasion. Might I also draw your attention to the headline of the newspaper

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-39514872383414195652010-01-22T21:30:00.014-07:002010-01-22T22:11:48.021-07:00

We celebrated Sam's 5th birthday with a party at the gymnasium. Everyone had much fun, and got lots of energy out running and climbing and jumping.Here are the kiddos listening attentively to the coach's instructions.And then the mayhem began!Foam pit.Parallel bars.Jumping over...... something.A snack to refuel after all that exercise. (Present-opening followed this, but we have no photo

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-34680439983089985662010-01-03T13:48:00.012-07:002010-01-03T14:09:12.879-07:00

No, not sure why it's called hoarfrost, but it sure is pretty. Here are some shots I took last week when it was EVERYWHERE!!

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-26374174327441216022009-12-31T10:01:00.009-07:002010-01-03T13:48:53.397-07:00

Andy had his first guitar recital the week before Christmas. It was a pretty laid-back affair, and he played three versions of Ode to Joy. Here's the first version with his teacher, Shannon, accompanying. He did very well throughout the performance, despite much nervousness the week before. I was hesitant to push him to perform given my first (and about last) recital experience in fourth

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-81253206624855998372009-12-31T09:57:00.003-07:002009-12-31T10:00:43.919-07:00

is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, oh my two front teeth!

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-75969583880721068682009-12-30T21:46:00.049-07:002009-12-30T23:54:08.586-07:00

We took Dad to Bower Ponds for some sledding on Christmas Eve.Dad even took a turn down the hill! Apparently the ready-team accidentally sent him on a collision course with a little girl, so he created quite the trail of poofy snow behind him as he dug in his heels to try and steer away from her.Otto heading back up after a run.Snow-covered Sam.Ready?Later that evening, Dad and Andy enjoyed

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-22675400253304535492009-12-21T21:41:00.015-07:002009-12-21T21:58:22.488-07:00

The tree has been up for about three weeks now, so I suppose I should post some pictures. Andy looking into the ornament. And Sam, too. Our neighbor outside, shoveling snow. There was LOTS to shovel on this morning. In fact, here's Otto shoveling now! The boys got their gear on and headed out, too.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-53591501611899011002009-11-28T14:38:00.026-07:002009-11-28T15:21:55.408-07:00

Well, in this case, gingerbread IS the house! The boys were off from school yesterday, and we were invited to our friends' house to decorate gingerbread houses. This is a kick-off Christmas tradition in their house, and they were off school, too.Sam and I went over the day before to pre-assemble the houses, so everything was ready to go when we got there. Judy, their mom, said she didn't know

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-79209564127809595302009-11-23T10:41:00.017-07:002011-08-06T20:54:58.312-06:00

I haven't been very good about posting to the blog lately. I think now that we've been here a year, things aren't so 'new' anymore, and don't seem as 'new'sworthy.Sam and I made some zucchini muffins a few weeks ago. Here he is grating the zucchini.And mixing the batter. They were very tasty - I think the lemon zest in the recipe made them particularly good.One evening Andy was doing his

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-17636448305110212942009-10-31T20:49:00.017-06:002009-10-31T21:28:10.877-06:00

The festivities started at Andy and Sam's school parties yesterday afternoon.Here in Andy's classroom we were carving jack-o-lanterns.Checking out the finished products.Snack time!Then I ran down to Sam's class for a while to see what was going on. Here he was getting instructions on how to make a spider web.Then it was on to the decorate-your-own-cupcake station. His head was getting hot, so

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-11657437856067773662009-10-12T21:54:00.018-06:002009-10-12T23:28:36.842-06:00

The weather has been a bit chilly the past couple weeks. (After one super-hot day; like Texas-hot.) And there was rash of me volunteering to make snacks for one thing or another. So, the oven has been on!But before we get to that, how about some nice blueberry banana buttermilk pancakes?With warm homemade raspberry syrup to go on top? Are there too many flavors going on here? They tasted

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-25756153867631282852009-09-27T20:54:00.022-06:002009-09-28T07:08:30.981-06:00

We went to the zoo today. The feeling of driving to the zoo and needing to remember to call my sister felt familiar, and sure enough, I just looked back and went went to the zoo last year on her birthday. So a Happy 25th Birthday to Claire. Wow - she's getting old! :o)A quick trivia question to get things rolling. This is how I started the day; where was I and what was I ordering? "Yes,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-5662885965518319312009-09-22T20:54:00.037-06:002011-08-04T21:54:47.341-06:00

We went on our first official tent camping trip this weekend to Two O' Clock Creek campsite. Otto had been tent camping with a group of people when we still lived in Victoria, TX (and before kids). I don't remember ever camping in a tent. In Brownies and Girl Scouts we had cabins, although setting up the tent and sleeping in it seemed vaguely familiar.We headed out Saturday morning with our

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-10912625148450045622009-09-18T21:54:00.007-06:002009-09-18T22:21:05.184-06:00

Andy started Grade 2 a couple weeks ago. Here he and Sam are before we headed to school that day.And Sam started Pre-K (at the same school Andy attends) a few days later. He's showing off his purple rock.It was a little cooler this morning.So far, so good. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Sam has Pre-K in the afternoon three days a week, and on those days he starts asking if it's

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-50488904010541168592009-09-06T21:38:00.043-06:002009-09-08T14:00:25.385-06:00

After all that fun in the sun, we took a day and headed inland, to the towns where Marta and Pupy grew up. They didn't know each other in Cuba; they didn't meet until both had immigrated to New Jersey! Cifuentes, a suburb or Santa Clara, was the first stop. Marta's maternal grandparents lived in this house.A random street, with a cart and horse.Many of Marta's relatives from her mom's side

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-22143459768925826252009-09-03T20:48:00.016-06:002009-09-03T22:14:54.678-06:00

And so the next morning we were back at the beach, and found that during the night the sea had partially swallowed some chaise lounges. Look at that poor chair in the middle.Marta suggested to Andy and Sam that they should try and free one of the chairs. They were never able to dig it out completely because, as you can see, the water kept coming back on them and depositing more sand. A

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-11237942977542972552009-09-02T09:54:00.032-06:002009-09-02T14:38:53.873-06:00

To start the trip, we flew from Edmonton into Toronto. You would think by the amount of HSBC Bank signs in the Toronto airport that they actually own the place.But the really cool part about this airport was that it had express people movers. We, on the EXPRESS people mover, zoomed right by the ordinary people standing on the regular people mover. It was awesome! I had never seen such a thing

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-87185730179819953852009-08-21T17:04:00.036-06:002009-08-21T23:48:55.348-06:00

We spent several days this past week with our good friends Steve, Rhonda, Stephen, and Sarah that came up from Texas for a visit. Andy, Sam, and I joined them at the Athabasca Glacier one day. Here we all are looking purty.And one a little sideways.This is what the vehicle looked like that took us up (from a trip last fall).And here are Andy and Sam standing next to the tire of the one that

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-76794980808980473722009-08-20T14:12:00.028-06:002009-08-20T15:16:40.602-06:00

We continue our journey with a visit to Bishop's Castle.Jim Bishop built this castle all by himself. It's pretty impressive. And he seems like he would be interesting to talk to, as there are signs like these positioned here and there throughout the property:A large chair in front, fit for the giant that could live there??The ins and outs of the ballroom? And that IS a giant silver dragon's

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-23763453574742263842009-08-18T11:12:00.022-06:002009-08-18T12:21:44.384-06:00

I'm a little behind here. Busy summer!! So continuing our Colorado story....After our friends departed, Mom and Bill arrived for a visit. The first morning they were there, Otto had 20 tons of rock delivered to work on the landscaping in front of the house. The rock arrived from Florence (Colorado, not Italy) in a big ole' dump truck.As he was leaving, the driver lifted the bed all the way

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-35426649951785017772009-08-10T22:56:00.022-06:002009-08-11T08:16:27.913-06:00

We returned last Thursday from a two week excursion (including two days driving there and two days driving back) to Colorado. Our friends Brian, Brenda, Madison, and Allie met us there from Texas for the first half of our trip. We arrived in Westcliffe within 15 minutes of each other the first evening - good timing! The next day we went to Lake Deweeze for a little fishing. First things

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-36394334478626018712009-07-16T21:37:00.042-06:002009-07-16T23:42:11.394-06:00

We had a visit down (and over) to Illinois last week. After flying through O'Hare to Indianapolis, we arrived in Sheldon, IL to my grandmother's house. Dad had arrived that morning from New Orleans on the train. Andy was still recovering from the stomach virus that Sam shared with him, but he made the trip without incident. The only point of interest was the sobriety check point in Indiana

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-32144996644454017302009-07-04T20:14:00.005-06:002009-07-04T21:02:41.670-06:00

The three Grade 1 classes at Andy's school had a writing assignment a few weeks before school ended (this past Tuesday!). It tied in with their field trip to the zoo. The title, first two sentences, and last two sentences were the same for everyone, and each child came up with the body. Title: My Bedroom is a Zoo My name is Andy. My bedroom is a zoo.Come see, it's exciting! The snake does

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-74148348910790450272009-07-04T19:41:00.007-06:002009-07-04T20:08:53.222-06:00

Here are a couple of recent pictures that I thought were cute. This was from nap time a few weeks back.And this one is from today. He curled himself up in some blankets on the floor in the office. It's not usual that he goes and takes a nap with no prompting, but he's been recovering from a stomach virus that hit him early this week. That Andy now has. And remember those plants that Sam

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-4120493437299590462009-07-01T14:26:00.018-06:002009-07-01T15:11:26.681-06:00

We visited Drumheller for the first time last weekend in The Badlands. And even more exciting was that Kim, Lupe, Isaac, Nathan, and Gabriel came up all the way from Texas to meet us!Here is the head of the giant T-Rex in town. If you look reeeeeeeal close you can see me, Sam, Kim, and Gabriel up there.I didn't think to take a long shot of the whole body, but it's a nice view from inside

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-23126543176844382132009-07-01T14:04:00.004-06:002009-07-01T14:26:02.012-06:00

We had a nice Father's Day this year. I made lemon blueberry ricotta pancakes while Otto and Sam read the paper. He received hand-made presents, and some shirts and jeans. He returned some of the clothes, and came back with a couple pair of new swim trunks, destined to be modeled on a Cuban beach later this summer.Here's the pre-dinner picture. We went to the local sushi restaurant. About

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-86307442454964928952009-06-18T21:44:00.011-06:002010-05-01T09:31:47.569-06:00

The last time I wrote about plantains, I made tostones. The other main way we prepare them is to make fried plantains, or platanos maduros. While the tostones are salty, these are sweet. You wait until the plantains are very ripe for these. I didn't think to start taking pictures until I had already started slicing them, so here's a picture of the peel that I dug out of the garbage.These

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-78366987052576190932009-06-11T09:26:00.008-06:002009-06-11T13:35:42.592-06:00

Here are some shots of Andy from the his two baseball games. In the first few pictures, it was quite chilly; I had on my long underwear, a scarf, gloves, and winter coat! I think this was a swing and a miss.He got a piece of that one, but slapped it down.Eventually he did get on base! Yesterday was much nicer. Otto took these, as on Wednesday nights this season Sam has his soccer at the same

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-13370504140997493082009-06-04T09:23:00.011-06:002009-06-05T09:26:02.557-06:00

Sam is into his sixth week of soccer now. The first few practices were so cold that he was wearing his jacket under his team shirt with pants. The last week it has been warm enough to wear shorts! Here he's running towards me for some water. All the teams are sponsored by Tim Hortons (among others, but apparently they are the MAIN sponsor), and they all have Timbits on the back. Tim Hortons

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-43964174431204820722009-06-01T14:14:00.006-06:002009-06-01T14:39:07.255-06:00

We went out for dinner last night. I had a salad that had apples, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and some yummy spiced pecans. Otto and I finished our meals well in advance of the boys (as is usually the case), so as we were sitting there waiting, I flagged the waitress over and had a back-and-forth that went something like this:Me: Could I please have a few more of those pecans that were on

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-10083414113372093852009-05-30T21:33:00.022-06:002009-05-30T22:10:48.280-06:00

I accompanied Andy's class a few weeks ago to Sunnybrook Farms. We came here last summer with my mom, but this experience was different because the students were included in a tour of activities, and last year we just roamed around. First stop was in the kitchen of the old homestead house to make bannock on the wood-fired stove. We used wheat flour with lard, water, and salt, and I volunteered

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-14841272982485116512009-05-17T21:45:00.018-06:002009-06-04T14:39:33.096-06:00

I normally cut the boys' hair myself, on a weekend due to having to drag the stool up from the basement, put it back, and the time it takes to vacuum up all the hair. We ran out of time last weekend, and I just couldn't take another week of their wild hair (mostly Andy's wild hair), so I took them to Beaners. It's a place just for kids to get their hair cut, where they can play in a ball pit

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-42558142957545151362009-05-10T21:34:00.010-06:002009-05-10T22:32:08.951-06:00

Does something look odd here?How about here?Look reeeeeeeeeal close.Just who is this 'Mr. Christie' person (if that's his real name), and what has he done with Nabisco?! There is something innately wrong to me about a package of Oreos without 'Nabisco' in the corner. This is the first package that I've bought since we've been here, and I did a double take when I picked it up. They do taste

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-90143410655695906312009-05-06T22:05:00.008-06:002009-05-06T22:59:41.914-06:00

A few weeks ago, to celebrate Earth Day I believe, Sam planted some seeds in cups with his playgroup. Last week they started to sprout up out of the dirt and he was astonished and elated.And look at them today! As much as I complain about this being the cold, dark side of the house, there appears to be adequate lighting to cajole seeds to come out, and flourish!The really fun part is that they

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-2327995452002419872009-05-03T21:59:00.016-06:002009-05-06T23:01:11.161-06:00

Wow - Andy turned seven today. I rolled over as Otto and I were going to sleep last night, right about midnight, and reminded him that seven years earlier we were heading to the hospital so that I could be induced. What an exciting time that was - and what a great day when we had him! He was pretty cute. And I knew instantly, and was completely shocked, that he looked like my side of the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-6393623821632474012009-05-01T10:17:00.010-06:002009-05-01T22:31:46.569-06:00

Happy Birthday, Me! I turned 35 last Friday. Here's a family shot before Otto and I headed out to a dinner theater with some people from Dow. The boys stayed home with a babysitter, Rebecca. It was a fun evening for all of us, as the next morning Sam sighed and said, "I love babysitting." Andy agreed.We fixed buttermilk blueberry pancakes that morning. Plain 'ole pancakes I can pass up,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-33973123094535219222009-04-23T14:24:00.012-06:002009-05-06T23:01:35.913-06:00

Sam and I went to Andy's K-Grade 5 assembly at school this morning, where his class sang a song for the other students and parents.Waiting patiently for assembly to begin.Handing out the puppets that accompany the song.Andy's partner for the song was the skunk; his name is Oreo.Madame explaining something before they sang. I was busy taking pictures and didn't hear what she said. I do know she

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-14673314071705720662009-04-21T20:49:00.011-06:002009-04-21T21:26:08.654-06:00

We went to Bower Ponds after lunch on Sunday, with half a bag of stale bread in hand.There were a few geese out, fewer ducks, and lots of seagulls.While feeding the geese, I noticed a rippling in the water coming toward us along the edge of the dock area. It was a little disconcerting as I didn't know what was causing the ripple. I mean, I knew it wasn't Jaws, but still. It turned out to be a

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-33114882568564079142009-04-13T15:32:00.015-06:002009-04-13T16:15:21.179-06:00

And I walked out to investigate yesterday afternoon just as Sam was trying to pull his leg out, but instead managed to pull his foot out of his shoe and land his sock in mud; still stuck. I had told them they could go in the back to blow bubbles. I didn't know our neighbors had a mud pit in their back yard; apparently an area that hasn't been sodded where the melting snow made some mighty sticky

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-23108254078803558062009-04-06T21:09:00.013-06:002009-04-07T11:19:57.309-06:00

Sam's buddy Owen had his birthday party on Saturday, and his mom emailed this picture over. There was another kid in the picture that I didn't know, so I cropped him out. No only because I didn't know him, but he wasn't looking at the camera either. Anyway, it's a cute picture. Thanks for sending it over, Mel!The next evening Otto made dinner. Lamb roast stuffed with feta, prosciutto, and

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-90294419876187523382009-04-03T10:11:00.009-06:002010-06-01T21:08:16.339-06:00

For you non-Cuban readers, I thought I'd share a picture of a fairly common side dish that we make called tostones.You take very green plantains (the large looking bananas, which thankfully they sell up here), cut them in ~1.5 inch slices, and fry them for about 5 minutes in 375 degree oil (we use our Fry Daddy). Take them out, smash them with a tostonera (this is the name I just found on the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-44831477128819956032009-03-29T21:21:00.042-06:002009-03-29T23:14:36.442-06:00

We were in New Orleans last week for Andy's spring break. At least Andy, Sam and I were. Otto stayed behind to work and save up vacation time, but he did get to go skiing both weekends!The rest of us had a great time. It was too short. But we did manage to visit family and many friends; always wish we could have seen MORE friends, but I think we did pretty well for mainly only being there

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-62637409613325560762009-03-20T15:21:00.015-06:002009-03-20T18:31:39.496-06:00

This is all Jaime Oliver's fault. I've caught his show a couple times now on Sunday evening with him gallivanting around Italy's countryside, getting cozy with the locals, them cooking for him, then him cooking for them.In the last episode I saw, he made a wild boar ragu for the town's festival, and was entered into a pasta-making contest with many of the local grandmothers (nonnys?). So I

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-56991295230935646232009-03-16T14:38:00.007-06:002009-03-16T15:00:32.626-06:00

Here's some good info from my friend on fairly easy and important computer maintenance. You can see this post on his blog here, but to save you a click, he gave me permission to copy and paste! (It seems the screen shot below is being truncated due to my formatting, so you may want to go over to his blog anyway.) From Derek:A couple of months back I installed Google Analytics on the web

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-55138098310902370712009-03-15T20:51:00.000-06:002009-03-15T21:05:01.085-06:00

Our 11th anniversary was this past Saturday.(Photo cred: Andy)We started the day with buttermilk banana pancakes. Sam helping to stir the batter.They were REALLY good. Both Otto and I forgot to get the other a card, but since it was even Steven, neither of us was upset about it. Besides, those pancakes were so good it was hard to be upset about anything. Let's see, I picked up the house and

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-805877949510681802009-03-11T21:36:00.000-06:002009-03-11T21:49:47.005-06:00

Otto's birthday was last Friday. He turned 35 - wow! He spent the day on the annual Dow Social Club ski trip (this year to Lake Louise) so we didn't celebrate until he came home at around 8 o'clock that night. But once he did come home, he was treated to some fabulous cake!This is the same cake I made for him last year. He liked it so well that he requested it again! Yellow cake with

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-1840065543311408232009-03-03T11:40:00.001-07:002009-05-06T23:02:10.849-06:00

Sam started entertaining himself (and me!) with his string cheese a moment ago. I also forgot to post this picture the other day when we went sledding. It was before they got their snow bibs on. We went to church that morning, and they were still wearing their nicer shirts. (Too cold to change when you get home up here, at least in my opinion. Once I get dressed, or them dressed, it's for

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-63175951846394537512009-03-01T22:13:00.001-07:002009-03-05T15:21:21.737-07:00

During our dinner conversation this evening, we were talking about Penelope Cruz because Otto and I just saw "Vicki Cristina Barcelona" last night. Otto said that Penelope must not be her real name because it isn't a Spanish name. I countered that Marta isn't in the German/Swedish background of my mother's heritage, but that's her name nonetheless. Maybe Penelope's mom just liked the name

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6891901511416160241.post-24361618307600524182009-03-01T21:27:00.002-07:002011-08-06T20:55:47.701-06:00

We checked out a new ski spot on Friday - Nakiska. It's between Calgary and Banff on HWY 1, and one of the great things about it is that it's close enough that we can drive over for the day. It was very nice, and back when Calgary hosted the Olympics, apparently a few of the events were held at this location. I still prefer Marmot Basin in Jasper where we went a few weekends ago, but that's

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00776044886872007434noreply@blogger.com0