Done? Done?

Last Sunday the kids and I went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Obert (Ben had a work emergency). Grandma and Grandpa read the scriptures for the Advent wreath. Because of that we were sitting near the front. The kids were doing great with the singing and everything. Then came the sermon. I ended up taking Odin out and Adelyn wanted to come with. So the three of us went to check out the Sunday School Class.

After the service was over, the Pastor chatted with us. He said that my kids had been so well behaved and there wasn't a reason for me to rush them out. It's then that I told him that Odin kept pointing to him and saying (loudly), "Done? Done?" That is when I thought we should leave. We all had a great laugh. 

No Problems, Only Adventures

Shortly after arriving in Jamaica, we were told, "There are no problems in Jamaica - only adventures. That is why we say 'No problem' here." We were told this by the Delta employee that was helping us find our missing bags. Turns out, they never left Minnesota. The soonest our bags would arrive was the next day in the afternoon.

After our arrival to the Half Moon Resort, we drove a golf cart over to the "shopping" area. We found the gift shop and bought the things we needed: swimsuits, flip flops, t-shirt for Ben, dress for me. $200 later, we had what we needed for the next 24 hours. Ben was decked out in Jamaica gear... his shirt was the right colors and said "Jamaica", his swim trunks were the right colors and said "Jamaica", his flip flops had the Jamaican flag on them. He so looked like a tourist!

So those were our "uniforms" for the beach party the first night, the business session for the first day, the trip to Chris Blackwell's farm, the pool party with Pato Banton... needless to say, we were happy when we returned to our villa to find our luggage.

Bathroom Humor

Odin is definitely showing interest in using the bathroom. Several times he has grabbed my hand, said, "Poo!" and has gone potty in the toilet! My little man is growing up too fast!

A week or so before we left for Asia, the kids and I were in the bathroom. We had just gotten up, so I was changing Odin's diaper. Adelyn was going to the bathroom too. Or at least, that is what was supposed to be happening. I'm not sure exactly what happened since my attention was on Odin. All of a sudden there was a splash and a scream! Poor Adelyn somehow fell into the toilet! She was so upset. I was trying hard not to laugh out loud. I got her calmed down, dried off and we went on with our day.

Sing a Song of Singapore

On Monday (a week ago) the four of us headed over to Singapore for a few days.

We flew JetStar. I really don't like them. I tried to book our flights online. Well, my credit card was declined. I called the CC company and they said a request never came through, so it wasn't them that declined. I tried another card. And another. Same thing. So I got on live chat. They suggested I try again. I ended up having to call. But since I was calling, I was charged a convenience fee. When we got to the airport we were over our 15 kg limit. We were charged $15 per kg. I was shocked at how much they charged! For our flight home I tried to add more weight to our reservation. But of course, their website wouldn't take my cards. Their phone number didn't work. But the helpful live chat person said they could add it to our reservation. At the end, they said their systems were down but when they came back up in an hour, I would get an email conformation. Yep. That didn't happen. But thankfully, the guy at the counter didn't charge us.

Anyway.

We had a great time in Singapore. We were still dealing with jet lag, so we had to be a little flexible with our plans. We started off staying on the island of Sentosa. We went to the butterfly garden and rode on the cable car. At night we went to the Henderson Waves. It was a nice and relaxing time. At the butterfly garden, Odin got to hold a butterfly. It was so cute!

On Wednesday we moved to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. It was spectacular! The views were amazing. The first afternoon we had tea on the top floor. Adelyn thought it was pretty cool to have a tea party. Then we hit up the pool. That evening we walked over to the Garden by the Bay for their nightly show. The show wasn't too amazing, but it was neat.

Thursday we were back to Manila to continue with spending time with family. I will admit that we had the sterile version of Singapore. But I would gladly go back! It was clean, friendly and fun. I was so happy that we went.

Cleared for Take Off

On Wednesday we "left" for Asia. I put that in quotes because instead of being in Asia at the end of the day, we only made it as far as Detroit. Michigan.

We flew from Vegas to Detroit. When trying to board the next plane, we found out that they really were serious that we needed the paper tickets for Odin since he was an infant in arms and we needed to pay taxes since we were leaving the country. We explained that we had just moved so we missed the tickets somehow. No problem. You just have to buy them again. But don't worry - when we find the original ones, we can just call and get a refund. Ben sent Adelyn and I onto the plane so we could try and get some overhead bin space. Odin and Ben got the ticket thing figured out. They got on the plane. We left the gate. Sat around for a while. Then we got an announcement that during their final check something came up. We had to go back to the gate for maintenance to get on and fix whatever. After a while, they announced that they hoped to have it fixed in an hour. So we sat some more. The children were great! They were busy entertaining themselves. They didn't seem to notice we hadn't moved at all. An hour passed. "It shouldn't be too much longer," we were told. After some more time, we were told that we needed to switch planes. As we left the aircraft we scanned our boarding passes to get vouchers. Odin and Ben got off before Adelyn and I did. When I got to the boys, Ben asked where the boarding passes were. I said that I had mine and Adelyn's. Did he remember to get his and Odin's passes and passports from his seat back? ... No... So, I went to the ticket agent and told them what we forgot. We had to wait for the entire plane to deplane before someone would go look for them. Finally, we got tickets and passports in hand. Then was the tricky part to figure out how to spend the vouchers. The lines were long and we didn't have a whole lot of time. And our stroller wasn't given back to us so we were carrying everything, including an occasional kid. We ended up with McFlurry's and a new travel pillow.

We got to our new gate and new plane right before boarding started. We got back on the plane. Got settled again. It was a bit chilly because they were loading up the plane with food, etc. right near us. We were snuggling with Mr. O and his blanket and the Delta blankets as the 30 degree air kept blowing around us. Well, they had loaded everything up, but there was still cold air blowing. And we were past our new departure time. Hmmm.... Yep. Sure enough, a little while later another announcement: they couldn't get one of the doors closed. Maintenance was coming. Great. So, we continued to huddle against the cold as we waited. And waited. A few more announcements and apologies later, we were getting off the plane. This time for the night. They were handing out hotel vouchers with your boarding pass. Ben grabbed as much as he could and got off as quickly as he could since we had heard that sometimes the first few off get a better hotel. I was left with the children. When we finally reunited (no cool hotel for anyone) I realized we didn't have my backpack. Back to the gate agent. By now we were on a first name basis. They were able to get my backpack for me. Then we got to wait outside for the hotel shuttle. After a few minutes, we decided to just take a taxi. There were so many people waiting that we were at least waiting for two more shuttle runs before we would get on one. And it was late. Almost 11. So we took a taxi so we could get settled in and try and get more sleep. Before we went to bed, we found out our new flight was at noon.

The next morning, we put our clothes back on and went back to the airport. Got on the airplane. And waited. But this time, the plane actually took off! The kids did great on the long flight. We decided to just let them do whatever as far as sleeping goes. Those with kids know that to keep them awake or get them to sleep is sometimes just not worth it. We got off the plane in Japan and got right back on. But for our last leg they upgraded us to business class! Adelyn was in her own little pod and she did great. She thought it was pretty cool that her seat turned into a bed. Odin slept most of that flight.

And finally, we were in the Philippines. Hooray!

All's Well

The other day Odin had his 18-month well check. We found a highly recommended pediatricians office not too far from us. Lucky for us, they were accepting new patients. Everyone was very nice. And Odin continues on his big boy schedule. He weighed in at 31 pounds (99 percentile) and is 34 inches tall (92 percentile). He got two shots. He was a very brave boy.

Side story - I can't remember if I posted about this yet or not, but shortly after moving to Vegas I was moving the coffee table and managed to nearly rip off the entire nail on my toe. So for months I've had a band aid on my toe to keep the nail from snagging on stuff.

After Odin's shots he got a band aid on his leg. He immediately tore it off and wanted me to put it on his toe. So we left the office with only one shoe on because he was so proud of the band aid on his toe. We went out for lunch after his appointment. Halfway to lunch he started crying and screaming. He kept holding his foot out. It took me awhile to figure out he was upset because the band aid fell off! 

Ah, Cars

Sometimes I hate how dependent we are on cars. But today I'm just thankful for the timing of an oil change. I made a routine appointment the other day for an oil change. While they were going through their multi-point inspection, they found a leak on the steering column. Thankfully, it is still under warranty. And thankfully they found it before it actually caused an issue. So, so thankful! Especially since Ben has been gone. I can imagine the kids and me stranded in the middle of Vegas... just kidding. Everyone here is super nice. And I've been to the dealership before, so they know me. Sort of. I would have been fine. But thankful again, that I didn't have to deal with a broken car.

Speaking of being thankful, a few years ago I started posting something I was thankful for every day during November. Last year on Thanksgiving, one of my friends posted on Facebook that she was thankful that it was Thanksgiving so that people would stop posting thankful posts. I was hurt. I liked reading what people were thankful for. And I think it is a great reminder to be thankful. Stop and think about it... when was the last time you said you were thankful? I know how easy it is to get swept up in life and not even realize all the good around us. Our trip to Haiti helped bring things into perspective. And "forcing" myself on a daily basis to find something I am thankful for only makes me happier.

Back to my friend. Part of me was unsure if I should post this year. I began to wonder if I was driving other people nuts. I talked to Ben about this. He was quick to say "Her, her." (An inside joke sort of thing that basically means, who cares what she thinks). He encouraged me to do it. He even suggested that I tagged her in every post so she would not only read it every day, but get notified. I laughed at the idea. But I'm not that mean. :)

Lost Vegas

While on our road trip, we told the kids we were on the way to Las Vegas. Adelyn thought we said Lost Vegas. She was very concerned about what was lost. It took several days and several explanations before she finally understood that it was Las, not lost.

Our last week in Vegas we decided to do something fun each day. That would force us out of the hotel and be something to look forward to.

Monday Odin was sick. So we only managed to get to the hotel pool.

Tuesday we went to Silverton Casino. They have a 117,000 gallon fish aquarium. They have several different types of stingrays in the tank. A couple of times a day they have feedings. We got there just in time for the 4:30 show. It was pretty cool. The SCUBA lady was hooked up with a special helmet that had a two-way radio in it. She could hear any audience questions and could talk back to us. They also have mermaids in the tank. Unfortunately, they are only there during the weekends, so we didn't get to see them. After that we headed over to the one Steak n' Shake nearby. Adelyn only ate the whipped cream off of her shake. Lucky Daddy helped her out with the shake.

Wednesday we decided to check out the Farmer's Market in Summerlin. On the way there it started to rain. (Did you know that Las Vegas has a monsoon season? Me neither. But it has started). I'm not sure if the rain or the time of year made any difference, but we were underwhelmed at the number of vendors selling produce. There were plenty of food stands and other stands though. And we did manage to find figs, strawberries, and beefalo. Yep. Beefalo. A crossbreed between cow and bison. Supposedly it has the nutrition of bison with the taste of beef. We made it into chili, so it's hard to say.

Thursday we went to Crystals at City Center just to walk around. Ben had been there before so he knew there were a few things the kids would find interesting. Odin wanted to keep walking into the stores. It was pretty cute. We all spent some time looking at these cylinders that had water tornadoes in them. It was pretty cool. While walking back to our car the kids spotted the monorail that runs from Monte Carlo to Bellagio. So, we hopped on that and rode that around.

Friday we went to our friend's house again. The kids ended up in the pool this time. We had a nice visit and Ben made some delicious burgers for us (Mike was out of town).

Saturday we went to Boulder City to check out Hemenway Park. I had heard from a guy at the dealership (we had our tire fixed the day before) that at the park Bighorn Sheep are known to graze. Sure enough! There were probably about two dozen that we just hanging out at the park. They didn't seem to mind that we were there. We could get pretty close without them walking away. When a big tour bus came though, they did kind of huddle up a bit. It was so cool to be so close to wild animals with nothing between us. Not sure if I would have thought it was so cool if it had been a pride of lions though.

Sunday the kids and I let Ben sleep while we tried out the local Dunkin Donuts. We enjoyed our donuts and then we went to a local park. It was pretty nice. We were the only ones there. That wasn't too unusual to me, but it was at a community center and I thought it a bit odd that no one was there either.

Monday we headed over to the Flamingo to see the flamingo habitat. There were different types of flamingos, ducks and swans swimming around. And some of the most active koi I have ever seen.

Tuesday Adelyn woke up under the weather so Odin and I went to get a trailer hitch installed on our car while she rested and Ben worked.

Wednesday we went to the DMV to get our drivers licenses. It was pretty slick. We were even able to register to vote. In case you were wondering, we could use the hotel's address as a physical address and our new PO Box as a mailing address. Seems strange to me, but according to the DMV that is typical in Vegas. We spent the rest of the day packing up because on Thursday morning we flew to MN for a visit.

Cute Little Odin

Before I forget, here are a few cute Odin stories to share.

Living in close living quarters, we often times don't have very much privacy. Especially in the bathroom. Odin has become fascinated with watching daddy go to the bathroom. So much so, that when he hears daddy go in the bathroom, he will stop whatever he is doing and run into the bathroom. And then whenever I change his diaper, he likes to run to the toilet and stand there like he's going. It's super cute.

Years ago when I was a babysitter, one kid that I would watch brushed his teeth by saying the vowels. For instance, "eeeeee" was to brush his front teeth, "aaaaa" for his back teeth. It is an easy way to get kids to have their mouths open in a good way to get to their teeth. I thought this was a useful tool, so that's how my kids learned how to brush their teeth too. Odin has become obsessed with brushing his teeth. Just about every time we walk through the bathroom he runs to the sink, jumps and waves his finger around and goes, "Eeeeee!!!!"

Our Next Move

We have been talking about our living options here. While living in hotels can be nice (housekeeping), it also isn't all that practical. So, we've been talking about what we want and need in a place. Here are some of our options:

Renting/Buying in Henderson
Henderson is a lot like Maple Grove. It's a newer city with a lot of really nice housing options. Our friends live there and say that the schools are the best in the area. It also has the typical local parks and shopping and dining options that we are used to. But, one of the reasons we moved out here is that a lot of our friends end up in Vegas from time to time. So the problem with Henderson is that it's about 20 minutes away, so it would be a lot of back and forth when we're hanging out with people.

Renting close to the Strip
Ben likes this option so he would be close to the action. And, as mentioned before, it would be very convenient when people come into town to see them. This would be the first time for me living in an Urban area. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that.

Renting in Downtown
Tony Shea of Zappos.com fame is working on a project to revitalize the downtown area (think the original Vegas). They are doing a lot of really cool things there. We went and visited one of their properties the other day. They have work areas set up so that anyone can hop in and work. Ben likes that a lot. They are planning out the community to really be a community. In a lot of ways it will be like our Utah place. I like that idea because it should be very easy to connect with people (we have already received a list of families with children of similar ages). Down sides of this option is that some of downtown is still a little sketchy. While our building would have security, the greater area might not be the best. And we would be away from the strip.

Our days of hotel living might be coming to a close as we gather more info and figure out exactly what we want in a place. I will say one thing, after living in hotels for so long, I have realized how little space we actually need. While I would love a little more space in some areas, like the kitchen, having a smaller space isn't as bad as I thought.

I Miss My Kitchen

I know that I am incredibly blessed. I know that some people don't have a roof over their head or know where their next meal is coming from. But, I really miss my kitchen. Both places we have stayed in Vegas have had kitchens. But very limited kitchens. The other day I thought it would be a nice treat to make cookies. Then I thought about how I didn't have a mixer. No problem, it would be a good arm workout. But then I thought about how I would have to buy sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, etc. Without any canisters or anything to store the excess ingredients, this sounded like a pain. But then I remembered that there is refrigerated cookie dough all ready to go. Perfect! Except... when I got back to the room I discovered that we didn't have a cookie sheet. Or any bakeware for that matter. Grr.

I guess one benefit of my limited kitchen is that I wash dishes after every meal. Sort of have to given we only have 4 spoons, 4 forks, 4 plates, 4 bowls...

Kitchen items purchased:
Cookie Sheet
Pitcher
Cheese grater

Little Fish

Since coming back to Vegas, Adelyn has asked to go swimming. I've been too scared to brave it alone with two kids that can't swim. Yesterday we went to a friend's house for a visit. They have a pool. While I was talking with Lexi she said that her one daughter they had little floaties and a life vest for. She said it wasn't long and she was swimming on her own. Of course, I have thought of this before. But I have been hesitant since when I was a lifeguard those things were highly discouraged because they gave the kids a false sense of security. But then I thought about how much my kids love the water. And how even when Ben comes "home" he won't be able to go to the pool all the time with us. So, the kids and I went to target and got these:

We tried them out right away. Adelyn LOVES it! It didn't take her long and she was letting go of my arm and swimming and floating on her own. Odin wasn't too sure about it, so he still wanted to be mostly held. But I thought it was great! We all had fun and I was able to relax a bit. We also discovered that until 11 or so, the pool is completely in the shade. That means we won't have to get all "sun screamed" up before hitting the pool in the morning. Hooray!

Change of Plans, Sort of

One of the items on Ben's Bucket List has been to go to Burning Man. Not sure why. Camping in the middle of the desert for a week does not sound like fun to me. But since thousands go every year, and we have friends that go every year, I guess others don't think like me. A few days before this year's Burning Man started, Ben found out that one of his friends had an extra ticket and a spot in the RV. Since we were already here in Vegas, Ben and I decided that maybe this was a good time for him to go. We spent the next few days frantically trying to buy supplies for his trip. I am so thankful that my mom came into town and was able to watch the kids while we did some of the running. Finally, on Monday he was on his way!

We were on our way too. We all were supposed to go to San Diego. Ben had a conference and my mom and I (and the kids) were going to go visit my great uncle. Ben and I were going to stay in San Diego and my mom and the kids were going to stay with her cousin. Well, the hotel wouldn't let us cancel the reservation, so my mom, kids and I ended up staying there instead. We stayed at the US Grant. I have to say, it would have been so awesome to stay there with Ben. So fancy pants!

Tuesday we started off our morning with a donut from the Donut Bar. They were huge! And yummy. Then we went to La Jolla to see the seals. We ended up playing in the sand a bit too. It's interesting to see the differences in the kids. Adelyn has always loved the sand and ocean. Even though she freaks out if a little something gets on her outfit, all those cares disappear when she's at the beach. She would be happy to be at the beach forever. Odin... well, he isn't too sure about the sand in his toes. And he didn't know what to think about the waves getting his toes wet. Sometimes he was all smiles and other times he was crying. Silly boy. After La Jolla we went to visit Uncle. It turns out that his daughter, Mary Jo, was also in town. She comes in every month for a few weeks to make sure he is doing alright (should mention that he is 95). Anyway, long family drama story, my mom hasn't seen her since they were little girls! They had a fun time catching up. The kids loved picking figs from Uncle's tree and eating them. After that, we got a little tour from cousin Connie as to the properties that Uncle owns. Then we went to Connie's place to chill out and wait for the traffic to clear.

Wednesday we headed to Coronado Beach. Once again, Adelyn had so much fun dashing in and out of the waves and playing in the sand. Odin started to get the hang of it. We grabbed lunch along the main drag in Coronado and then headed to the cemetery to see where my recently deceased great uncle Vincent was laid to rest. My mom's grandparents and other uncle and aunt are also buried there, so we got to visit all of them. Then it was back to Uncle's. Mary Jo asked Adelyn if she wanted some ice cream. She said, "No thank you. I would like some water though." Seriously, who is this kid? But after some water and a fig or two, she decided that ice cream would be good. While the kids were eating ice cream, I got an almost instant mega-migraine. I've never had one come on so fast. And so severe. I asked for something and went to rest. It didn't take long and I was running to the bathroom. Thankfully everyone was still outside, so the kids didn't see that. The cousins and my mom took the kids to the park while I rested. Adelyn came back with a flower for me to make me feel better. So sweet! I still was feeling pretty useless, so they went out to eat with the kids so I could rest some more. Then we headed back to the hotel.

Thursday we packed it up and headed back to Vegas. I should mention that a good portion of the drive to San Diego and parts of the drive to Vegas we hit rain. Pouring rain. Pouring so much that it was hard to see. But we made it safe and sound. And now the kids, my mom and I are settled into our "home" for two weeks, the Platinum Hotel. So far I like it. Much roomier than our last place. And we have a balcony. 

On the Road to Nevada Part II

We made it!

A quick Adelyn story: While we were on our hike at Arches National Park, Adelyn was walking ahead of me with Ben. She said that she needed to talk to mom, so she came back to walk with me. She said, "Mom, I want to get a tattoo." "Oh? Of what?" I asked. "Um. A purple flower on my tummy. Did we bring my paints so I can get a tattoo?" Ben and I had a good chuckle at this exchange. As did some people who were walking by.

Here's more of our journey.

Monday we had a low-key morning while Ben worked for a bit. Then we met up with our friends again for lunch. After lunch we headed to their place. They live on top of one of the mountains near Denver. Such a pretty view! From there we went straight to Lucky Pie Pizza to meet up with some other friends. We didn't go for their pizza. But their short ribs were very yummy. Right next door was an ice cream place, Sweet Cow. Both places were connected outside with a little park like area. It was astroturf with benches, flowers and gardens. Perfect for the kids to run around while the adults continued chatting. It was a very fun night. I was sad when it was time to say goodbye. After that, Ben brought the kids and I back to the hotel. We were beat. He went off for one final visit. I was sad that I didn't go see Jeff and Beth, but I did appreciate the little extra sleep I got.

Tuesday we went for a swim at the hotel pool. After that we packed up and headed to Grand Junction, CO. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the drive was amazing. So many pretty colors. Strange rock formations. Mountains. Truly breathtaking. We got to Grand Junction and tried out Il Bistro Italiano for dinner. Our favorite was the mushroom pizza, although, I thought the pesto gnocchi was good too. We brought home a piece of fresh peach pie and chocolate cream pie for dessert. YUM.

We decided to take out our stop in Utah. We didn't hear back from the people in Eden, so we didn't know if we had a place to stay. And our friends there were out of town. So, we decided to skip that part and plow through to Las Vegas. So Wednesday we packed it up and hit the road. Once again the route was beautiful. Just when you thought that we were leaving the mountains, some more were there. We decided to take a detour to Arches National Park. It was nice that the road got you pretty close to a lot of the sites there. We did do a short little hike. The kids did great considering the heat and distance (maybe a mile) that we went. It would be a lot of fun to go back and spend more time there and do some more exploring. In a few years, I know the kids will love it. From there it was just a lot more driving. We got into Vegas around 10.

I did forget to add to the packing list that we brought one of our juicers. Today Ben and I decided to get back on the healthy bandwagon. We had mean green juice for lunch. My body was very excited to have some real food.

Now we just need to figure out where we are going to call home.

On the Road to Nevada Part I

We are on our first family road trip. Given the ages of our children, we decided to take things slowly. So, we are taking a week to get to Henderson, NV. Right now we are in Denver. This is how we got here.

We packed up and hit the trail Thursday. We meant to leave by 10. We left at 11. And had errands to run. So, we didn't actually get going until close to noon. But on the bright side, we were pretty well organized and fit with room to spare in the car. We made it to Des Moines without any stops. We checked into our hotel and then we were off to dinner with some friends, Chuck and Michelle. We ended up hanging out with them until after 10. Not too surprising, but what was surprising was that our kids were awake for the whole visit!

Friday Ben was going to hang out with another friend. But we decided that we wanted to hang with Chuck and Michelle some more, so we did that instead (it did help that he hadn't heard back from the other guy). While they worked, we found a nice park (Crossroads) and played there and had a picnic lunch. Then we headed off to their place for dinner. Around 8:30 we said our goodbyes and headed off to Omaha.

Saturday morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed to my cousin's house. He has his wife and new baby live just off of I-80. Unfortunately, his wife had to work. But it was nice to chat with Ryan for a while. Then it was off for our longest drive. Across Nebraska. What fun. Insanity hit just before North Platte. Ben and Adelyn were singing some made-up silly song and we were all laughing at nothing. We stopped for gas and a few necessities. Then continued on to our destination - Scottsbluff. I was so excited to see Chimney Rock. I loved playing Oregon Trail as a kid and Chimney Rock was in that game. On our way to our hotel we passed it. So we stopped. The visitor center was closed for the day, but we were still able to drive up to the scenic overlook. It was everything I was expecting. For dinner I made us go to Runza's. My friend Heather, is from Nebraska and she had me go there a few years back. I thought it was good. I'm not sure if he appreciated the cultural experience.

Sunday we were planning on going to Chimney Rock. But since we had already seen it, we decided to check out Carhenge up in Alliance. The kids were entertained. It was interesting. Before hitting the trail again, we stopped at Scotty's for lunch. The sign we saw outside of town said that it was the best burger in town. And it was pretty good. Then back on the road. We got to Denver around 5:30. We got to our room and then met up with our friend Chris and his three kids. We ended up in Golden, CO. There is a very nice walk along the river that ended in a nice park. The kids had fun along the way and then, of course at the park. Then it was pizza dinner.

I guess that's about it for now.

Packed
One suitcase for our trip with clothes, toiletries
Two backpacks with laptops, chargers, etc.
Two kid backpacks with books and toys
One roller bag with camera gear
Pack n' Play
One roller bag of toys
One cooler
One box of snacks
One box with plates, silverware, and other picnic goods

Funny Gas Stations
Pit n' Spit
Loaf and Jug

I'm an Addict

I have always known that I have a major sweet tooth. Brownie for breakfast? Sure. Ice cream for dinner. You bet. But this past weekend while Ben was away, I realized that I'm kind of addicted to sugar. Granted, I was very tired and that makes it worse. But, I was still having a hard time convincing myself to read more of my book instead of finishing off the carrot cake. It was then that I realized that I might have a problem. I hate to call it an addiction, because for the most part, it isn't. Not really. I can go without goodies for days and not really think about it. And I know that there are plenty out there that truly are addicted to something. And I know that they struggle. So, maybe I shouldn't call myself an addict. But anyway.

I decided to go on a sugar fast. Absolutely no sugar. Which does mean no bread or peanut butter. Or strangely, a lot of our crackers. But I can eat fruit. And veggies. And other stuff that is actually good for me. I had decided to try this for a week. But then Ben's birthday came. I made it 33 hours before I had a giant cookie and ice cream with him and the kids. But now I'm back on track. Here's what I've had today so far:

Eggs
Bacon
Orange Juice
Carrots
Green Beans
Fritos
Mean Green Juice
Saltines

I'm eyeing up the peaches, but we're about ready to go to the farmer's market, so maybe that will be dessert tonight.

CSA Week 4

We went out of town last weekend, so we had a friend pick up our CSA. This time we lettuce, eggs and strawberries! The berries were good, but since they had been sitting in our fridge the whole weekend, I ended up freezing most of them so they wouldn't go bad.

I did forget to mention that Week 3 we got beets too. Haven't done anything with them yet. I'm looking forward to trying out a recipe that I found. Just have to figure out when!

Recipe Reviews and CSA Week 3

It occurred to me after my last post about CSA goodies, that I probably should have let you know what I thought of the recipes I tried. So here goes.

Rhubarb Pickles
This recipe I got from a magazine. It was ok. A little heavy on the cloves for my taste. But it was a nice change of pace from the usual rhubarb goodies. If you want the recipe let me know and I will get it for you.

Rhubarb Crisp
I LOVED this recipe. A lot of sugar, so of course it's good. :) I liked that there was the crumb topping on the top and bottom. I made this recipe again this week with our newest batch of rhubarb. This time I used coconut oil instead of butter and added 3 T of ground flax seed. I know that doesn't make this a health food, but it doesn't hurt to sneak in some good stuff.

Lettuce Wraps
This was ok. I didn't have mushrooms or water chestnuts,  but I doubt that made a huge difference. It tasted basically like teriyaki. Not exactly what I was going for. But it was fine.

This week we got lettuce, rhubarb and eggs for our CSA. I miss the asparagus already. As I mentioned, I used the rhubarb in another crisp. The lettuce... well, I've been meaning to eat it, but it's just been pretty busy around here since we got it. But I will be eating it soon. I'm sure just as salad. But if you have a tasty recipe that you would like me to try out, I would be more than happy too.

Chicago, Maverick Style

This past May we went to Chicago for a Maverick event. It was awesome that it was in Chicago because I got to spend some time with my sister while Ben attended the work sessions. I joined in on the fun stuff though.

Wednesday night was so much fun! And we almost missed it. Ben met my mom, the kids and I at the airport and went with us to my sister's. We left on the train to head back into the city. Well, there were signal issues on the tracks. The engineers had to manually change the switches, which took a long time. It started to get frustrating. We were literally 200m from the station, but we couldn't get off. And by the time we got to the station we had to RUN to the hotel to make the event. Luckily it was one where we were supposed to wear comfortable clothes. So glad we made it! It was a roller derby event. And since it was Mavericks, it was us doing the derby. We spent some time doing drills and learning how to safely fall and stop. Then we split into teams and had a few rounds. So much fun! I would almost think about joining a team. Almost.

Thursday morning I headed back on the train to my sister's to spend the day with her and Asher and my kids. I had a fun time with them. After dinner, Krys brought me to the station so I could head back into the city for some more Maverick fun. As we were approaching the station, I saw that the arms were down. Uh-oh. So I raced from the car, ran around the arms, raced towards the station, tore open the doors to the train and launched myself inside just as the train started to leave the station. Talk about excitement! But I made it.

Thursday night we were instructed to show up in costume. Usually there is a theme. Not this time. It seemed like you could dress up like anything. When we were dressed up (me in a school girl costume and Ben as a coach) we headed down to the lobby. And there the theme was revealed - zombies! They had hired make-up artists to come and make us all into zombies. Then we hit the town. It was so much fun! A little freaky, but fun.

Friday we had a lake tour and then went and played whirly ball. Another fun day. I love Maverick trips.

CSA Fun Weeks 1 & 2

For years we have been saying it. Now we're actually doing it. This year we have joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). We picked one that had a pickup at our local Farmer's Market. Not only is that close to us, it will also help us to visit the market weekly.

This year has been a slow start for farmers here in MN. Therefore, our CSA boxes have been pretty light so far. But it has been yummy! Both weeks we have gotten asparagus, eggs, rhubarb, and lettuces.

Here's what I've made with our goodies:
Rhubarb pickles
Rhubarb Crisp
Lettuce Wraps

Asparagus and eggs we have just eaten as usual.

Happy 2013!

I realized the other day that I really should blog more. Not for the handful of people that might still be checking in on me, but for myself. I have journals for both kids, but I haven't been recording anywhere what I'm up to. So here I am.

New Year's Eve found us without any plans, as usual. We are so bad at NYE plans. Every year we wait until the last minute to start thinking about what we're doing. This year was no exception. So, I got things for lil smokies in BBQ sauce and chili cheese dip. Figured I'd call that good enough. Well, Ben didn't think that was good enough. So, he went to the store. He came home with shrimp and cocktail sauce, gourmet carrots, French bread, lobster tails, chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne. Not just any champagne, but the good stuff. I am so spoiled by him.

We ended up making the chili cheese dip as an appetizer. As I was getting the kids to bed (after watching Toy Story 2), Ben went to work in the kitchen. He even set the table with candles. When I came downstairs, everything was ready (again, I'm spoiled). After a delicious meal, we headed down for a movie (Coming to America). I lasted about 1/2 hour. I woke up when Odin started to cry. Poor guy has a cold so he's on a bit of a weird schedule. Anyway, he ended up being up with us for a while. Once he was down again, we only had 15 minutes to go before the new year. We turned on the TV and watched the ball drop. Then we went to bed.

It was a very nice evening. Sure, it would have been fun to go out or something, but with all of our travels, it was nice to just enjoy our family together.