Jack's Birthday Bash

The one nice thing (and maybe only nice thing) about Jack's birthday being so close to Christmas is there is lots of family around to help us celebrate it. We had two parties over the break with each family. The theme was cars of course because he loves wheels so much. We had cupcakes, homemade chocolates, slush, and chips and dip. Yum! Jack was spoiled with many gifts from family. Happy Birthday Jack!

The cupcake.

Part of his loot.

Treats!

We had a combined birthday part for Lafe's 16th birthday. His birthday is worse than Jacks- on the 24th.

Proof that I was there

We played pin the Lafe in the mini-van.

An Ode to Samson

We called him Samson. He was a good dog; hyperactive, but a good dog. We should have known he was different from the start. He was the only puppy eating flowers out of the flower bed instead of playing on the grass like the other dogs. Nonetheless, he was our one and only dog and so he shall always have a tender spot in our hearts. We found out he had cancer in his leg and so it was necessary that we put him down to avoid a slow painful death. So over the break Staci, my dad, and I took him out to the vet and gave our final farewells. It was especially hard because he was so happy to see us and it seemed as nothing was wrong with him. He lived a good life though and was about 10 years old. And now a few memories with Samson:

Staci and I got him when I was about 14. We had to walk him everyday because he spent most of his day in the kennel. He was such a ball of energy that he just pulled us around town. I got sick of hearing "you walkin' that dog or is he walkin' you."

He would escape a lot and we would have to chase him down in the Station wagon.

I think I attempted to take him running once but he swept my feet right out from under me and I fell to the ground. That was the end of that.

Staci had him on his leash to take him to the vet. It was icy and cold. Samson took off, Staci slipped and he dragged her along main street. Unfortunately I didn't see this, I only hear the legend retold.

Chopped!

So for the brief moment that we had television there, I got hooked on The Food Network show Chopped. Thanks Jenna for introducing me to Food Network. And the ripple continued when I got Staci hooked. So naturally a contest was born. While we were in Gunnison for Christmas, Me, Staci, Scott, and Logan dueled our skillets and spatulas to see who the Master Chef was. For those of you who don't know how Chopped works, there are three rounds: appetizer, main course, and dessert. Each round a contestant is "chopped" and eliminated. Now here is the twist- there are secret ingredients in each round that you are required to use in your dish. For our version we had to tweak the rules a little. First we all went to the grocery store and each person picked out a secret ingredient which were then later revealed to everyone. We decided to just do two rounds: main course and dessert. We also decided to score by points and to not eliminate anyone the first round because we were all so excited to cook and we would feel bad if we were kicked out. What a bunch of pansies. And so the competition began! The first round's secret ingredients included: hash browns, hot sauce, mushrooms and croutons. We had 30 minutes to make our main course and have it on the table for judging. My mom's kitchen is really small and its a miracle no one was stabbed or burned. We were running around like crazy chopping this and frying that. My parents were the judge which was both hilarious and frustrating. My dad's motto is "Meat, Potatoes, and Gravy". They haven't experienced much in food and different tastes. But I can't complain because they were troopers for being willing to eat our interesting mixtures of food. We were all scored and the dessert round started. At this point Staci, Logan and I were tied at 6 points with Scott at 2 (he got carried away with the garlic salt. The secret ingredients for the dessert round were vanilla wafers, coconut milk, chocolate chips and Tampico punch (thanks for that one Scott). We had 20 minutes to complete our dessert. I fashioned a delicious molten chocolate raspberry cake with whipped topping and raspberries. Impressive I know! Yet somehow, Staci came out as the Master Chef with her mandarin orange pudding. It just doesn't add up. It was so fun though and we would love to have a rematch. The winner was to receive their meal paid for at El Mexicano...yet somehow we forgot.

The contestants

The secret ingredients for the main course round

The secret ingredients for the dessert round. Scott picked the tampico and Logan picked the coconut milk. Come on boys!

Our main courses. They weren't quite as grotesque as they look.

My awesome breakfast burrito.

The judges. They look thrilled don't they.

The desserts

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Chopped Champion and Master Chef Staci

The winning dish. I remind you I made a cake in 20 minutes. I am pretty sure that outdoes pudding.

We made a huge mess.

Penn and Michigan

We had an awesome Christmas surprise. After not hearing from any more schools for over a month, we found out we were accepted into the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan. I am so proud of Logan. My vote so far is for Michigan. Although it's cold, Ann Arbor seems very family friendly and small townish. Philly would still be fun though with lots of history and things to do. We still have more schools to hear back from. I can tell our decision will be tough.

He's One!

Jack was born one year ago on December 19, 2009. Oh how we love and adore this little boy. Jack was in some ways a surprise baby after our difficulties getting pregnant. Just when we couldn't take it anymore, along came Jack. He is a jolly little boy and also quite determined when he wants something. His favorite things right now include: being chased, reading books in his room on his chair, wheels, gears, cars and anything else that spins. He also loves to wear my scarves and necklaces (daddy doesn't love this). He loves other kids, being outside, and his stuffed rats. We love you Jack! Happy Birthday!!

Sold to the Lady in Red!

We had a Christmas party with some friends at our house. We decided to add a fun spin to the White Elephant Game and do a Christmas Auction. Gifts were purchased by Santa Bucks. You could earn extra Santa Bucks if you were a winner of the games before the auction. We played Bill Jones. I am not sure the real name of the game but you have three rounds of acting, and describing people. My favorite was Kym's paragraph long descriptions of the people she wrote down because she didn't know their names. As you can imagine, this made it quite challenging to guess them. There were some awesome white elephant prizes won including a custom t shirt to Big Nate's Gym, a 7-11 slurpee machine, and a doll from China. Jack and Riley were good little boys and played with each other for most of the party.

Nate, Dani, and Jack. As you can see, Jack sampled the gifts to make sure each one was delicious.

Nolan, Erica, Kym and Riley playing games.

I was the recipient of Big Nate's custom t shirt. Paid 22 Santa Bucks for that thing. I wore it to the fieldhouse to workout the next morning.

Jack

The group.