Fall, football, Suzanne's visit, scouting, food......

I love fall. Fall in Michigan has made this my favorite season. I love watching football especially if one of my kids are playing, or if Michigan, or Utah is playing.

This is Andy playing flag football, he had a really great game. He made three touchdowns, one was after and interception. The picture below is Dan coaching Andy--and leading the team to their victory!

After the game the three of us with Estee in the stroller and Jake on his bike all went for a 3 1/2 mile run. It was the most perfect weather! Look at those beautiful leaves--I love it!

In this picture below we are trying to show off our matching Asics shoes. We could sell these because we all love how comfy they are. Ever since Andy bought his first pair we are all fans of the Asics! We are also trying to see who has the best calf muscle. I also love when there is lots of time for baking! Fall and sugar cookies go hand in hand. Estee loved these "skooky" Halloween cookies. This is Abby's spooky ghost.

I also made this triple berry almond chiffon cake.

While I was cooking one day last week I looked out my kitchen window to see this cute little chipmunk eating this little berry off the bush. You have to admit it's kind of cute, even for a rodent. Then as I was taking his picture he turned and stuck his tongue out (see picture below).

I was just watching him for a minute and thinking how cute he was when along comes a big, ugly squirrel. I am sure it was one of these annoying creatures who ate the wires in my garage, ate all my tulip bulbs, and ate all the padding off the handle bars of Dan's expensive road bike (see old post for more details on my hatred of squirrels). So anyway, he comes bounding up the bush and steals the berry away from the cute chipmunk and eats it! It might be time to get my squirrel trap out again (see old post for more details on the squirrel trap).

UPDATE** Abby is climbing trees again! Apparently the big fall and seven stitches didn't scare her at all.
Estee taking my picture. She is pretending she has a camera too since I kept trying to get her to look at me while I took her picture.
My good friend Suzanne came to visit from Japan!!! I was so excited to see her and catch up. It was fun to spend a couple days with her and for Jake and Brand to get to play again (they are great friends). Max (her other son) and Estee played really good too! It was fun to eat sushi with her and our old favorite--Indian food. Thanks for coming Suzanne--we had a blast!


And, last but certainly not least, Jake had his first scouting pack meeting. He got his bobcat badge. I can't believe it! He is growing up too fast. In this picture he is telling everybody at the meeting about his favorite activity, visiting the rabbit sanctuary. I couldn't be prouder of all my kids and I am so glad I get the chance to be their mom.

Sister's Trip

I have the best sisters. I have so much fun with them and I love being around them. I am really lucky that I got to go on a fun four day trip with them. We started this fun tradition last year with a trip to the windy city. This year, we invited our mom and she picked the city. San Diego. We actually stayed out on Coronado Island and spent a lot of our time there. If you have seen how beautiful the views are--you know why we just hung out there the whole time.



First things first, when we got into our hotel room we had to take pictures! We ALL have really great husbands who really don't like taking pictures. So, we were like kids in a candy store and snapping away with all four camera's for way, way too long. Poor mom just kept taking them for us and going with the flow. She's so great.

After staying up way too late and having a great time chatting away we needed to get to our next priority--food. We of course wanted some ocean view seating, it's not everyday you have the chance for ocean view seating! After this it became a priority to see the ocean whenever we ate.





We all ordered lobster. This is this first time I have ordered lobster. It was good and looks really cool on the plate. We loved taking pictures of our food almost as much as ourselves :)


Next on our list was the Temple. The San Diego Temple is so amazingly, take your breath away beautiful. I love the many spires which are equally impressive both inside and out. It is one of the most inspiring places I have ever been. It is really spectacular. Lucky for us we got there when it was light and did a session then it was dusk and getting dark fast when we came out. So, we got to see it in the daylight and the beautiful glow the temple gives off at night. It really is striking, and we enjoyed it lots of times from the freeway because we kept getting just a little turned around and passing it again and again! No blonde jokes.

Me, my mom, and Julie.

It was so neat going to the temple with all my sisters and mom. All of us sisters look alike, and people kept asking if we were sister's and we would say yes and this is our mom. She was always just glowing with pride to be our mom! She is the greatest. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease almost a year ago and her short term memory is really fading fast. But, she kept remembering how neat it was to go to the temple! She kept forgetting how often she told us about Robert Harris. He is our ancestor who was in the Mormon Battalion. The Mormon Battalion visitors center in San Diego, this was a big reason my mom chose San Diego as our destination this year. She was sad to find out that the Mormon Battalion visitors center is closed for renovations. Anyway, she kept forgetting she had told us 45 times already and telling us literally EVERY chance she got that we needed to come back and go the the MB visitors center and that Robert Harris was our wonderful ancestor. None of us will ever forget Robert Harris, I am sure.

Next, we had to check out the Hotel Del Coronado. Man, oh, man what an amazing place. It was built in 1888 and has tons of character and historical charm. The grounds are meticulously cared for and expansive. And to top it all off, it all looks out onto the Pacific Ocean! Oh, and the restaurant is to die for! Yummy!

This is the lobby of the Hotel Del. This picture doesn't really give it justice. We were just heading out for a bike ride and wore scroungy clothes and no make-up so don't look too close!

I really loved this tree, I don't know what kind it is but isn't it cool. This is Josie and Julie. Josie is my sister who is 50, yeah 5-0. I know, she looks younger than me. In fact, it's really not fair because all my sister's look younger than me. I happen to be chatting it up with some guy while waiting around at the airport and told him that my sister's all look better than me AND I am the youngest and should look the best. He told me it just means I have good genes and will look great as I age! I think he's smart! That was totally what I wanted to hear.

Oh, the surrey bike!! We had so much fun on this big bike. My mom (who is taking the picture) sat in the middle on the back row and didn't have to pedal at all. It was so fun to ride all over the island talking and getting a little exercise all while enjoying amazing views. I don't know how I lucked out, but I had the privilege of driving the big-rig bike. We only had a few little mishaps along the way (it's harder than it looks!) No blonde jokes, please. Again, our husbands probably would never do this with us, but we all loved it!

The spectacular Hotel Del Coronado from the beach at dusk.

Julie and Jill with a gorgeous sunset behind them--aren't they beautiful. I LOVE this picture of them.

My mom looked like this a lot of the time! We kept handing her our FOUR different camera's. She was a great sport, as always, she is the most patient person I know.

As you can imagine with four girls plus one mom we gabbed the days and nights away and had lots of important updates from everyone. I can't wait for next year!

Thanks to a great hubby and friends for taking over my mom duties so I could enjoy this very memorable time with my sisters and mom.

Guest Chef

I am very excited to say that I was asked to be a guest chef on a food/cooking blog (please hold the congratulations for later). My friend Kristin (aka chef extraordinaire) has her very own cooking/food blog, which I must say she is very good at posting delicious menu's week after week. She is an excellent cook and I am excited whenever I am invited to her house because I know I will eat well. So, you can imagine my excitement when she asked ME to be a guest chef on her blog. See, she thinks she doesn't really DO desserts, but I have had her cream puffs and apple cake and I am telling you she DOES dessert. Nonetheless, I was more than happy to oblige when asked to come up with a Halloween menu dessert. There is so many to choose from, but this is like a staple at my house, we always have all the ingredients and I KNOW it will turn out yummy every time. This recipe is from my sister Julie, thanks Julie!
Here is the link, you should check it out asap! http://efnrecipes.blogspot.com/

Abby actually can't fly....

I got a phone call today from Andrea:

Janie: Hello

Andrea: Abby fell out of a tree and is bleeding from the back of her head.

Janie: (freaking out)

OK, that's all I really remember of the phone call. I was scared and couldn't think properly until I saw Abby and she seemed to be her back-talking, feisty self. She was bleeding from a big gash on the back of her head.

Dan, luckily, was at a tailgate party at the stadium and was able to get back home just as Abby and I were getting home. He washed the wound out, styled her hair in small ponies (see picture), and calmly put seven stitches in the back of her head over the kitchen sink.

So, today it's worth it. The years and years of training. It was REALLY great to have Dan take care of everything and know Abby was getting the best care! OK, I guess most days it's worth it because Dan loves what he does at work every day.

I am so glad Abby is OK--and no more using ladders to climb trees! Mom's #1 rule is:

If you can't get into the tree by yourself--you can't climb it.

Thankfully Abby is doing just fine, after unsuccessfully testing her anti-gravitational abilities.

A weekend away....and Chicago tribute

For our 14th Anniversary (and Conference for Dan) we decided to make it a long weekend in Chicago--with no kids! Since I didn't get the camera out once to share the trip that way I decided to do a tribute to one of my favorite places to visit--here goes;

Say what you want to about the Midwest, but Chicago is a seriously hip oasis smack dab in the middle of the Midwest. If you haven’t been to the windy city in a while or ever, check out your frequent flyer miles, gas up the car, but just think twice before you take the train. Amtrak's scheduled four hour ride was 8 1/2 hours long--which made me happy I had a book, and I had left the kids home! (sorry Elizabeth!)

Back to the main point, plan a trip now before the weather changes to a subzero frozen ice cube. I am sure you have heard about the wonderful museums, they are world famous, and everything you have heard is true, so I won’t waste any more of your time there. I'll head strait to the best shopping and food! When you get to the streets of Chicago, go straight to Michigan Avenue and Chicago's world famous Magnificent Mile. Michigan Avenue is crammed full of excellent high-end shopping, including; Bloomingdale's, Tiffany's, Saks, Neiman Marcus, pretty much you name it and you will find it there. My favorites which are a little less pricey include;
H&M (Love this store--great kids and adults clothes)
Crate and Barrel (started in Chicago and, if you don't know how great this store is--I feel sorry for you)
Apple Store (fun to check out, sometimes they have refurbished things like ipods at the back at huge discounts!)
Lego store (great Lego sculptures; Star Wars characters, Ronald Reagan, giant spider and more--very cool, plus they always have something we don't have on clearance!)
American Girl (if you have a daughter--you already know this store)
Garrett's Popcorn (best popcorn you will EVER eat! Get the Chicago mix which is caramel and cheese. I know it sounds weird, but just trust me)
Ghiradelli Chocolate when shopping and tired, chocolate will help! Ghiradelli is always waiting with a free sample right when you walk in!
Aldo has great bags, purses and shoes. I know they have these all over but I like to go to this one on Mich Ave.

Now that you have run up your credit cards, it's time to eat! Chicago has so many great places, but here are some we never want to miss.
Signature Room--95th floor of the Hancock Tower. The view is to die for and windows are the walls on all sides. Don't forget to use the ladies room girls, the view might be the best in there! Oh, and the food is probably better than the view--you should make a reservation if you want to go for dinner.
Grand Lux Cafe (right on Michigan Ave, fairly inexpensive, soooo good. Go for breakfast and get the beignets, actually just get them anytime you go! I am salivating just thinking of them)
Giordano's (best pizza I have ever eaten, and that is saying something. Must get Chicago style! Uno's pizza is also very tasty and a Chicago original)
Walnut Room at Macy's besides it being an architectural landmark for nearly 100 years, and having traffic-stopping window displays the food here is also a 100 year classic! At Christmas they have a giant tree which you eat "under" very fun!
Baisi Thai (Thai and Japanese Cuisine, this one is a little hard to find unless you know where it is. It's on the 6th floor of a shopping mall right on the Magnificent Mile. Ask to sit at the back where you will have a view of the Lake and the bustling street down below. I consider this to be a hidden gem b/c it is very inexpensive, food is very good, never a wait--even on Saturday night at 7, plus the view is awesome. Shh, don't spread the word!

Some people don’t bother looking past Michigan Avenue, which is a shame since Chicago has much more to offer. I have heard there is a first class music scene, Broadway shows that rival, well, Broadway (I really wanted to hit one while on our childless weekend, but we ran out of time). The much talked about boat tours, I have only been on the Architecture tour and I highly recommend it. I have heard they have a pretty good night club scene but I have no personal experience since I am an old married woman and a practicing Mormon. We did, however, check out the piano bar that was in our hotel--DaddyO’s Pub. I have to say it was really good! I love live music and you could request all the tunes you wanted. Along with my Diet Coke--it was some good clean fun!

On this trip to Chicago we stayed on the Chicago River and Michigan Avenue. We enjoyed a somewhat romantic walk on the river walk over to Navy Pier and walked to the end of the pier where a live band was playing. We listened for a while and left before the fireworks which happen every Friday and Saturday night.
We ran along the lake front the next morning and encountered the AIDS run/walk. We joined up in the cause for part of our run then broke off and ran around the Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium, which wound us along the water and made for a much more peaceful run. At one point Dan and his superior lung capacity left me in the dust--how's that for romantic? But then again, maybe he was just showing off for me?

All in all we had a super relaxing fun weekend. Thanks so much to Elizabeth (and Andrea, Telia and anyone else who helped in any way) for watching my big crew of children! Friends are the best!

What the......14 years!

I am not sure how it happened, but I have been married for 14 years today! I know you're really shocked, because I pretty much still look like I'm 20...right?!?!
I am so lucky to be married to such a great guy who has made the past 14 years fly right by! He also is so great that he made me want to have 4 babies--and they are all pretty great too, just like their dad! Try not to be too jealous of my, oh, so perfect life...

I just want to tell Dan (and whoever else happens to read this) that I am really happy to have him and look forward to the next fourteen years (and in the immediate future, I am really looking forward to going to Chicago!!) Thanks Elizabeth for watching the kids :)

Who doesn't love a guy with a moustache?? It's sexy, I know.

So, this is right after we got done listening to a 3 hour presentation on why we should buy a condo! We were celebrating the end of medical school and Dan finishing a marathon the week before. I'm surprised we were able to smile here, because after the high-pressure sales tactics from the condo sales people, we felt like we had both run a marathon that day.

Abby's baptism day. I am so happy that Dan has been able to baptize two (almost three) of our kids. Gosh, what a great 14 years--love you!

PS--probably should post some wedding pictures but I hate them, so...sorry!

Blueberries!

I went blueberry picking FOUR times this season. I just can't get enough of these things. I recently read an article in the Parade Magazine about "foods that make kids smart" (click on link to read) and it went on and on about blueberries! I had to go blueberry picking again the very next day after reading the article. I forced/bribed my kids into coming with me to help me pick the brain power and memory enhancing, antioxidant rich, great tasting, little blue balls! After all, it is for their brain power benefit! I think my kids are probably so happy to be back at school--but I am missing my little helpers!
After eating so many blueberries I was about ready to pop I started mixing them in my smoothies, pancakes, muffins, yogurt etc. I still had a lot of blueberries, so I tried out some new recipes. I made, pie, tart, cobbler, salad dressing and salad. My favorite was the blueberry salad dressing with blueberry Cobb salad. With my history of taking pictures of my food I, of course, have some pictures of some of these things!

Salad:
4 cups spinach or mixed greens.
1 large fresh tomato, diced
1-2 ripe avocado, diced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cashews or other nut of your choice
1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4-1/2 red onion, diced
can also add or replace other ingredients with boiled and diced eggs, sunflower seeds, grilled chicken, diced, grilled shrimp or whatever else you like on Cobb salad and what you have available.

Dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lime or lemon juice

1/3 cup splenda or sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon olive oil

a few grinds of pepper
Mash up blueberries with a fork or in a blender if you want it finer. Add all the other ingredients, mix and enjoy!

Blueberry cobbler

with ice cream--yum!

Blueberry Tart was a yummy creation of cooked and fresh blueberries.

Fresh Blueberry Tart

Crust:

1 cube butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour

(you can add some chopped nuts or oatmeal)

press into a tart pan and bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until very lightly browned.

cool completely

melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and spread evenly over crust (this prevents filling from making crust soggy)

Chill until ready to use

Filling:

3 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp cornstarch

2 1/2 tbsp water

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the fresh blueberries with 3/4 cup sugar in a medium sauce pan. Whisk together water and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir into blueberry mixture. Cook, over medium-high heat, until berry mixture comes to a simmer and begins to thicken. Stirring occasionally, boil for about 1 minute. Transfer berry mixture to a large bowl to cool to room temperature.When berry mixture has cooled, stir in remaining fresh blueberries. Pour blueberry mixture into prepared crust and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Go Blue!

Despite the fact that their team is much better than ours this year and we are most likely looking at another loss again, we still firmly believe Michigan is better than Ohio State. This, of course is supported by the fact that we have a much better overall record (we have the most wins and the highest winning percentage of any team) and a much better record against Ohio State. In celebration of our superiority both on the field and off (we are much better academically, we don't burn couches when we lose, we don't throw things at opposing fans, and we don't dress our children in clothes that say F*** Michigan), we will publish a series of posts to demonstrate these claims to the outside observer.

Buckeye fans, enjoy!


The following post was originally posted on michiganzone.blogspot.com. We have copied it here, but edited it to make it more family friendly.


The Best D*** Copycats in the Land!
Now, we all know how those Bucks just love their band. When they're not throwing things or spitting at ours, they're praising theirs. Geez, they're so proud of these folks, they call the OSU squad, ahem, "The Best D*** Band in the Land."But let's take a closer look, shall we? I think you'll find it's hard to call yourselves the "best" when you're not even the most original and stole the thing you're most known for. Let's start with their uniforms, shall we?



















Here they are, the "the OSU" marching band. Look at those uniforms, huh? Woo eee! Clean, crisp......Sporting those distinctive red and black hats with the red patches near the shoulders.






















What style, what class...hey, what the...!? I've seen that look before. Is it just me or do they bear a striking resemblance to the guy standing outside the mall ringing the bell:

























Yes, apparently the Best D*** Band in the Central Ohio Region Not Counting Most High Schools (BDBCORNCMHS) obviously got their fashion sense from the Salvation Army Band (SAB). Unless of course they're one and the same. Sort of like Clark Kent and Superman. I mean, has anybody every seen the BDBCORNCMHS and the SAB in the same place at the same time? I dunno. Looks to me like they're forming a "Script O" around the little red bucket below:




















Speaking of which...
Now let's talk about the thing the Best D*** Salvation Army Band in the Land claims to be known for -- the "Script Ohio." Yes, it truly is one of the great traditions in all of college football: When these young musicians, after putting in hours at the mall helping raise money for the poor, prove they know how to spell four-letter words then honor the fattest guy on the squad by letting him run out and dot the "i", usually getting it right on his very first try.
In fact, here is a picture of the very first time the Buckeyes ever performed "Script Ohio," way back in 1936. Impressive, huh? Only problem is...























...That's four years AFTER the University of Michigan marching band did the first "Script Ohio" in the 'Shoe in 1932! (picture below). Even worse, the OSU band director in '36 was also present at the '32 game but claimed he got the idea somewhere else! Yeah, riiiiight. This guy is the Scooter Libby of band directors!Sad to say, looks like the thing tOSU band is best at is copying the originality of the Wolverines.





















Gee, I wonder how Buckeye fans feel, knowing their band is "best" known for something they copied off Michigan? But then again, maybe trying to be like us is a good thing. Heck, maybe someday their fans will copy our class and bring that back to Columbus as well. But I doubt it.



Go Blue!

Bittersweet-ness

Utah won Michigan. I am a huge Michigan Fan, but I really loved seeing Utah win this game.We had so much fun with our friends, Chris and Lisa, who came for the weekend and to watch the game with us.
I did wear red for the game and here we are at the Utah tailgate party. Dan went neutral which I think is a little wimpy--pick a team man.

What's a game without food! More bittersweet-ness. My kids started back to school this week. I was really looking forward to having part of the day back to myself, or at least as much as it can be with a 2 year-old. I was surprised how much I miss and worry about them all day! I am getting soft.
I managed to get Jake's picture while he was riding his bike to school. Andy and Abby have to leave so early and in a mad rush that we haven't been able to get a picture of them yet. I hope it gets easier!