Our Weekend.

(Brian teaching Victoria the world, and where she will be shipped to next. He said Abu Dhabi was last time so lets see where next. He's so mean.)

Brian and I didn't do much this weekend. It was so nice to just stay home and relax. Right now we are watching the Packer-Cowboy's game. I can't beleive I'm sitting down and actually watching football. It's something to watch, I guess and brian is going for Dallas so I think I will cheer for the cheeseheads.

Brian and I were thinking of going to a movie this weekend but it's so expensive to go and we just decided to rent some old movie's. We rented "Some Like it Hot," with Marilyn Monroe and jack lemmon, "Citizen Kane," with Orson Welles, and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." We really liked to first two movies and I just might ask for them for christmas or just buy them. I really liked "Some Like it Hot." It was really funny. The last movie that we watched was "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and that movie is aweful. It's was really long and dragged out. I didn't even finish it, I went straight to bed and brian stayed up to watch the rest. But, we still went the cheaper way by renting three movies, because it was still cheaper than one ticket at the theater!

Today I was getting caught up on cleaning and getting some errands done. I'm finally feeling so much better and I can actually breath! I don't remember having a cold so bad before. I hope everyone else is getting better or not sick.

Yesturday I wanted to make Kneopla soup so I went to the grocery store and low and behold I happened to look in an odd isle and there was the Knorr Vegtable soup mix packets for spinach dip! And there was only a couple left so I took the rest of them to stock up. I was so excited. I came home and whipped it up really quick and then snacked on that until the soup was done. Yummm.

Well, not much else going on. Pretty boring here. Oh, brian and I will be home for a week over Christmas but not sure the exact date we will leave from here but I will of course let you know.

This and that

I wish I had some photos to post, but my digital is giving me problems. I can't get the flash to work right so you'll just have to wait until I get film developed.

This week has just flown by. Last Saturday we went to a birthday party at the Ramkota. Now Rion keeps telling me he wants his birthday there. They have a pretty nice waterslide there. At first the boys were afraid to go, but once they did there was no stopping them. We brought so much stuff with us and Fred told me I didn't need to bring the life jackets but I'm glad I did. Most of the kids there had them on so the boys weren't the only ones. It was just an added comfort when they were coming down the waterslide. Fred caught them at the end, but it was nice to have the life jackets too. Rion took one break from swimming and during that time shoved food down his throat nonstop. The little boy worked up an appetite!

I am feeling much better, but still have a wicked cough. Cordelia and Torii have it as well. It's funny that the kid that goes to school doesn't have it. The cough started for Cordelia on Sunday night. She had a hard time sleeping and I laid on the recliner with her until we both fell asleep. Then my back started to hurt so I put her in the crib, but she woke up. So I took her to bed with me and she slept there. She coughed a lot that night and I didn't get much sleep. I was so tired the next day that I went to sleep at 8:30 that night. And I slept until the alarm went off the next morning.

I've been working on some onesies for Kelly. I like what I've come up with so far. Well, one was Laurie's idea. I think they will turn out really cute.

This weekend is going to be busy. But fun. On Saturday we are going to the pumpkin patch. Then that evening Fred and I are going to a dinner and movie. On Sunday we are having a fundraiser brunch for MOPS. We each are going to make a soup for it so I will have to get up early to do that Sunday. Although I am making an easy crockpot soup. Which now that I think about it, I better go grocery shopping tomorrow. We were also going to go to GG's and pick apples, but between being sick and busy we just haven't gotten to it. She did bring some over yesterday, but she said she had a lot more.

Funny Show!

I started to watch the CBS show The Big Bang Theory. It's pretty funny. It reminds me of spending an evening around brian's friends. Ha ha. The show is about a bunch of geeks going to college and they all room together in an apartment and a girl they know lives acorss the hall from them. Everytime she trys to talk to them, they need to explain everything in scientific form and go into a long detail and sometimes they argue about what's correct and what's not. There's one character, Sheldon, who reminds me of Brian. :-) He's the one in the group that explains everything or just about everything in more detail. Brian and I were watching the other day and I was laughing so hard because Brian kept saying, "He's got that right," or "He's totally right on that."
So ya, when Brian wants to start explaining anything in detail, I just say "Ok, Sheldon."
I think it's pretty funny and you should check it out sometime. :-) Here's a website for it and on the site it says new episodes start Monday Sept. 22nd. Oh also, the girl in the show is played by the blonde from the show "8 Simple Rules," with john Ritter.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_bang_theory/bio/

Becoming educated, playing in boxes, and working

Hi everyone! I finally have a moment to sit down and type up a little update. I've been pretty busy working the past week plus school, so I've found little time to do much recreationally. Work is good. I got complimented by a few people at work yesterday for being a really good floor director, which made me feel good. One person was the assistant general manager for WGVU too :)

School is flowing nice. I have a good mix of things to learn. Anthropological Theory, Perspectives on Globalization. Audio I, and Scriptwriting. Fun! haha. The readings for my Anthro. classes do get a little overwhelming though. Not only is there a lot of it, some of the readings are extremely dense and sometimes difficult to understand. Oh well, I'm enjoying what I'm learning, which is a good thing. I also have really great professors this semester. If everything goes according to plan, and I stay motivated expect a happy sister in December :D

Eric and I are doing good. He got a new laptop the other day, which was delivered to my apartment because he's in between housing, so he had fun playing with his new toy, and I had fun playing with the boxes :P Can't remember the last time I played in a box HA! We are also on the look out for a tandem bicycle... It's going to be awesome when we find one :P

I'm not looking forward to Wednesday. Sarah Pallin is going to be speaking at the community college in Grand Rapids, which is 3 or 4 blocks from where I live. I expect utter madness. I might stay on campus in Allendale a little bit longer that day. Last week Wednesday there was a movie being filmed 3 blocks from my house, but I didn't find out until two days later. Kind of disappointed, but oh well. The movie is named, The Steam Experiment and stars Val Kilmer.

Not too much else going on... I hope to call everyone soon now that I have a little extra free time. Take care :)

This picture was practically taken in real time... This was taken today as I typed out this entry (thanks Eric). And by real time I mean eastern time. One hour ahead for you central timers and two ahead for you mountaineers :P I'm sitting on the third floor of the library with campus behind me. I like this spot :)

Mark it on your calender.

Ha ha, it's probably just me as the crazy ice cream lover but I have it marked on my calender. Sept. 25th, from 5pm-8pm, Cold Stone Creamery is giving away 3 oz. mix of ice cream for Make a Wish Foundation. I mean, who am I to pass up free ice cream??

http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/promotions.html

I found this ad in our Sunday's paper with the coupons. So here's the website if anyone is interested. Mom? :-)

Home Sick # 2

So, whatever stacy and mom had, I think they sent it through the phone! I feel aweful. It all started on Friday while I was at work and my boss wouldn't let me go home. So on Saturday I was suppose to work 7am-3pm and I called my boss at the Super 8 around 6am and told her that I'm not coming in today. She said she can't cover for me and I needed to find someone or come in. I called her back and said someone will come in for half the day and then it's up to her to cover the rest because I'm not leaving the house. She wasn't happy. But I don't care.
Today I called the Super 8 and said I can't make it in again. I'm feeling a little better but still weak and very tired. On friday and saturday, I think I had morning sickness with a cold and everytime I would cough hard (which was often) I felt like throwing up. But, like I said, my boss didn't care when I was working friday. I'm so glad to get away from this job, she's just to much to deal with. What's funny is that my last official day at the Super 8 is on Monday and I don't know if I will be in then either. We'll see.
Anyhow, Brian is taking care of me and last night he made a nice spicy chilli that soothed my throat and it tasted so good! Brian wants me to try to get outside today to get some fresh air for baby and me and we might go to the zoo to relax with a picnic. That is if I can get up and get myself moving. What stinks is that my doctor isn't available to ask her what cold medicine I can take now, so I think I will see the doctor tommarow.
I start my new job on Tuesday and I hope I feel a lot better by then. How is everyone else feeling now? I hope everyone is feeling better because being sick is not fun at all.

S.O.S!

I have mom's wonderful Spinach recipe that she uses with the Knorr season packet. Only problem is that I can't find it anymore! Aaaahhh. If anyone can find these packets, I would love some sent. Brian loves this dip and we both craved it awhile back and I told him that I can't make it anymore until I find another recipe because the packet I use has the recipe on the back. Poor guy was upset and I haven't found another recipe I like. I looked at just about every grocery store around here and it's no where to be found. If anyone can find it, I will send money. Ha ha.

Oh also, Mom I have to bug you again. Can you send the Kneophla soup recipe? I should have the recipe put onto a plaque because I think this is the 2nd time I lost it and brian and I love it so much. Crazy.

Home sick

I didn't go to work again today because I'm sick. I actually feel a lot better, but I'm a little achy from all the coughing. Another day home from work can't hurt.

We had our rummage sale this weekend and it went alright. Any money that I have now that I didn't have before is a good thing. It seems like I sold a lot of kids clothes, but I still have a lot left.

Today I finished another onesie order to go to Australia. She order 12 onesies! I didn't realize it when I first checked the order then I checked my Paypal account and thought something must have gone wrong. I guess I better order some more blank onesies today.

Kelly-I forgot to tell you we got the puzzle note. Fred Rion really liked putting it together. He's learning a lot in school. He knew the first line said "Hello all".

It's nice to be home and do nothing. Although I'll probably do some Etsy stuff today and some things around the house.

Monday night football

We are starting a Monday Night Football tradition of sorts. I saw this from a reader's tip in a magazine and thought it was a great idea. On Monday nights we (and I really mean me) are planning our dinners around the home team of that night's game. They usually show food from the area during games and we always say that sure looks good. So this might end those mouth watering moments. I've been trying to figure out some of the upcoming games and it's been fun looking for new recipes based on a city. Tonight there are actually two games for opening weekend, but we are going just with the Minn/Green Bay game. Since it's in Green Bay we are having Brats (Johnsonville Stadium Brats) and Deep Fried Cheese Curds. I wish I could really make it authentic and wash it down with a Miller Lite, but I still have a few weeks before that can happen. Next week is Dallas I believe so we are having Tex-Mex, but I haven't decided exactly what.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds

2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb cheese curds
oil for frying

Mix milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Coat the cheese curds. Deep fry in the oil until golden, taking care to only fry a few at a time.

Pina Colada Cheesecake bars

These were soooo good. I of course had some slight modifications. I was half way through the recipe when I realized I didn't have egg substitute so I used two eggs. I also used regular sugar instead of turbinado sugar. I don't have a food processor so I used my blender and it worked great. You could actually make a couple of batches since you'll still have leftovers from a lot of the ingredients. I hate using only part of a block of cream cheese because I never seem to use the rest so I'll have to make another batch.

Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons coconut flour or all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon water
Cooking spray
Filling:
1 cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
3/4 cup egg substitute
Remaining ingredients:
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare crust, combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add butter, oil, and 1 tablespoon water; toss well. Press mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare filling, combine cottage cheese and the next 7 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add egg substitute, and process until blended. Spread cheese mixture over cooled crust. Bake at 350° for 33 minutes or until set. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Top with pineapple and coconut. Cut into 16 bars.

Gross Family trip

Cute old looking bus for yellowstone tours.(we didn't go on it)

We hiked to the bottom of the Upper Falls. I think there were over 300 stairs to walk down to, and then we of course had to get back up. My legs hurt the next day but it was worth it.

Lower falls in Yellowstone with pretty rainbow.

This is the start of our rafting trip in Jackson.

One of the 4 bald eagles we saw along the river.(you click to enlarge)

Floating along the snake with the teton's in the background.

This was our starting point of the rafting tour.

Another fun time with family and we are all so tired. We did so much while Joe, Meredith and Jennifer were here. These pictures start with our trip to Yellowstone park and to some of the falls we went to see. We did see some wildlife of course and had to take pictures of the buffalo and elk; like we haven't seen them before. But it was neat to see them in their natural habitat i guess. The weather the whole week was so great! Just perfect to be outside and not to hot or cold.

We also went to Jackson Hole again and went on a rafting tour. We traveled on the snake river for 15 miles and we made a pit stop for a dinner along the river that was included in our fee we paid. It was a wonderful dinner and everything was worth the price we paid. It was so gorgeous the entire trip on the river and so relaxing. The tour guide was telling us about the area the whole time and where all the stars live and what the houseing market is around the area. But the best part was learning about the birds we would see; there were some unique birds around and any other wildlife we would ask about, he would know. He was a great tour guide. We even saw 4 bald eagles during our trip. One of the bald eagles was flying over us and the tour guide said it was a baby so we will see the parents along the way because they stick close together.

We went to Crater's of the Moon again and we got there pretty late because the park does events in the summer called "A Star Party." Basically a bunch of people who can afford big telescopes will fill one side of the park and star gaze all night. Some friends of ours camped there overnight and we drove home that night. Anyway, we met a few people from N.D and met another guy who knows quite a bit about the constellations and galaxy's to look at and it was fun to look at some things in the bigger telescopes. Very neat! Plus, Craters of the moon is so far out in the booney's, the sky was lit up in stars, we saw so many shooting stars and a slight meator shower. But, before the whole star party started, I wanted to show Joe, meredith and jennifer the Indian Cave before it got dark so we walked to it just in time and as we were walking through the cave, I said"Oh look Jennifer, there's the swallows or pigeons we saw last time!" So, jennifer and I are doing our "oh so cute" thing and then we paused a bit because these birds were swooping down to our heads like we were close to a nest or something. Brian said "ummm those aren't birds, those are bats." What???!!. So, we ran to the one side of the cave where brian and dad went out and we went to explore that area to get out. As we were just about out, I heard a russeling sound again, and brian said he made that noise, then once again the bats were flying right above our heads and flying in front of our faces. I could only think of Goonies movie when they were walking through the cave and yelling "Rabies, Rabies!" Anyhow, it was fun but the bats I really didn't like. They are just ugly and annoying.

Well, I better quit before this gets to long. I have to get to work soon and I will call everyone soon to catch up.

Pictures from the lake

These pictures are from a couple of weekends ago. I think we are also going to the lake tomorrow for the day. It so much fun out there. We took a ride on Dave's pontoon. Rion kept looking over the side as we went, he thought it was neat. Cordelia didn't like it because she had to wear a big life jacket. Later the boys fell asleep on the pontoon. Cordelia and I only stayed for the day but the boys stayed the night. Rion said that was too long to be there. He missed me and the computer. I told him we are going to the lake tomorrow and he said he didn't want to go because he would miss me again. Cordelia liked splashing in the water and eating sand. The boys were also getting on top of the surfboard and Dave would tip them in the water.

Rion is enjoying school and on Friday they have their first field trip. They are going to the Powwow. His favorite thing at school is of course recess. I think he is getting used to the long days.

Torii had a good birthday. On his birthday he got to pick out what was for dinner and he picked ice cream. We finally talked him into something else, which was McDonalds. Then we had ice cream cake from DQ. We let him open our gifts and he was so happy for a Max and Ruby video from Rion that he said, "Ohhh thank you Fred Rion" and gave him a hug. The next day we had his birthday party. He played Mortal Combat with Nathan and daddy.

Today we went to the Shaumburg playground. It was such a beautiful morning and I wanted to get the kids out before it got so hot. I love that playground because it's so big and there is also an infants area. Cordelia had fun crawling around there and she loved the swing. I will have to bring the camera next time because she was laughing so much.

A day late...

Happy Anniversay Kelly and Brian! Hope you had a very nice one.

Go-Karts

Finally, some go-kart photos! I've had some trouble using the Internet and what not. Anyways, I had a blast at home. Hanging out with the High family was the best! :D I can't wait to come home for Christmas and see Cordelia run around! I enjoyed seeing everyone!! Much love!
Classes start on Monday. Wish me luck this year! It's a pretty laid back year with only 12 credits each, but I think I'll have my work cut out for me with my culminating Anthro. classes. Exciting, but not haha. :P Not much else going on, just trying to find that second job, and getting my stuff organized before Monday. Hope everyone is doing well :)

Campfire pictures

Last Tuesday we had a campfire while Laurie is here. The boys were playing with water toys and Cordelia got in the pool. Then towards the end of the night, Cordelia just took off and started crawling in the grass. Then she went on the walkway. She almost made it all the way up.

Duck Race on the Snake River.

I think there were about 18,000 adopted ducks? I don't remember, but there were alot.

Volunteers to swim with the ducks to get them out. The guy rowing had to get the plastic ducks the kids kept throwing over the barrier that held them together. Darn kidz.

The real ducks and geese kept checking them out.

(some strays)

On Saturday we went to the Duck Race on the Snake River. We had fun walking around to see all the kids play with the ducks along the shore and there was crafts and food vendor's around also. It reminded me of art in the park in Bismarck and it was perfect weather to have it. The Duck race is a fundraiser to help support the Greenbelt (park area) around the snake river to keep it up. Anyone can "adopt" a duck and then however many ducks are adopted, they toss them over a certian area of the falls and race to the finish line. The proud adopted parents of the ducks that won, are winners of some big prizes around town like a new car, $1,500 gift certicate to jewelry stores and so on. We just missed the race beacause I had to work but the food vendor's and craft stuff was still going on, plus it was just to nice of a day to stay inside.

More bumps and bruises

Today was a normal Saturday in that we didn't get going very fast. I wanted to get to Wal-Mart before the rain, but we didn't make it. We hung around the house awhile, but the rain continued all day. And it was a nice rain, which we really needed. So finally we loaded up and went to Wal-Mart. As I was getting Cordelia in the cart, Torii slipped and fell. I didn't see it, he was already getting off the ground when I looked back at him. I thought Rion had pushed him because they were so wild today, but he wasn't by Torii. There was water on the ground, but Torii wasn't running around or anything so I'm not sure how he fell. Anyway, he bit his lip really good. He didn't want to show me, but I could see blood. My first thought was, "Oh no, I'm going to the ER with another kid with a broken tooth." We went to the bathroom and he didn't want me to wash it either. He kept telling me "Don't look at me." Tonight it swelled up pretty good. It's even a little black and blue. And his chin is black and blue. I hope it still looks like that when Laurie comes in tomorrow. He looks pretty rough. (And all that other stuff on his face is just chocolate he didn't wash off after his treat tonight).

The other picture is Cordelia climbing. This was the pre-tooth incident. I had to take the picture fast because I was sure she was going to fall straight back. Her tooth accident hasn't stopped her any. She's still climbing.

Favorite pictures of mom & dad's trip.

Dad and Randy were being waiters for the lady's. Randy was being a french waiter. Ha ha

Watch out for this Grandma! Ruth & one of her many guns she owns.

In the middle of the craters lava flow.

Just about to walk around a spatter cone. The hill in the back is what we climbed"The inferno"

Jackson Hole arch of antlers.

My enormous slab of all you can eat BBQ ribs. (took 2 days to finish)

On the old tow bridge in idaho falls, above the snake river.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of mom and dad's trip. We had sooo much fun and it went to fast for me! There's two pictures of when they were in Oregon and I didn't get to go, but I wish I could have taken the time off of work to go. But it sure looks like they had fun. Laurie-I don't know if mom and dad were able share some of their pictures with you by email, but here's a few for you to enjoy. Take care all! Oh Stacy, have you tried the fry sauce yet? MMmmmmm.

More pics

I was showing mom and dad some of the other frames on my camera at soccer last night. I love that she is crying in this picture. She looks like the spoiled princess that didn't get her way.
I found these great boxes at a rummage sale for $2.oo earlier this summer. I finally got around to making the cushions for them. I have some touch up to do and have to attach the hinges, but I was so excited I had to take a picture. I'm thinking I should stain the boxes now because it doesn't look right with fabric. I'm not sure. This box is filled with our winter stuff which I didn't have a place for before. The other box is full with other random stuff that didn't have a place. It was also a good excuse to buy some really fun fabric that I wouldn't normally buy. It's also nice to have a place to sit when we put on our shoes.
Mom and dad got the boys some dinosaur eggs on vacation. You can see the one in the jar starting to hatch. They looked right away the next morning to see if they had hatched. Then we had to go to Wal-Mart and Rion was concerned about leaving because he didn't want to leave the dinosaurs alone.
I told Rion to stop throwing his penguin in the house.

No pictures from soccer last night because I took video. It was a very good night for video though. Torii always tells me he wants to be on the purple team. Well last night we played the purple team. And Torii cheered for them. I have him on video celebrating when the purple team scored. Even when I'm shooting the game, you can clearly hear Torii in the background cheering for the purple team.

PIctures

These football pics are from a couple of weeks ago. Seems like the perfect sport for a couple of rough kids.

I was at a thrift store the other day and wandered into the Digger's Delight (stuff a bag for a $1.00). There was a bag of broken toys, but when I looked closer I noticed a bunch of Legos in it too. I had to grab that up. Rion played with the Legos all afternoon and evening. He built a cool lookout tower. It was by far cooler than anything I have ever built with Legos. I told him the only thing I could ever make was square cars. He thought that was funny. There was a bunch of Lego guys in the mix too, a lot of them from Star Wars sets.
I was just playing with the digital camera, trying to get some better closeup shots and remembered there were frames on the camera.

Grilled deli sandwiches

I bought a magazine the other day that you have to get if you see it. It's a Taste of Home magazine and it's called Fun Food. There's cookies decorated as people at the beach on the cover. It is filled with really good recipes. If you don't get it, I'll just have to fill the blog with recipes. This is the first one I've tried from the magazine. It was so good. It tastes like something from Quiznos. The only differences I had was I didn't use red pepper and I used Provolone instead of Swiss because I had some Provolone on hand. I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I'm sure you can sub lots of other meats and cheeses and it would still be really good. Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

1 medium onion, sliced

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup julienned green pepper

1 cup julienned sweet red pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 slices sourdough bread

1/2 pound each thinly sliced deli ham, smoked turkey and pastrami

6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

6 slices process American cheese

6 slices Swiss cheese

In a large skillet saute the onion, mushrooms, and peppers in oil until tender. Layer six bread slices with ham, turkey, pastrami, bacon, vegetables and cheese; top with remaining bread. Wrap each sandwich in foil. Grill, covered over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until heated through.