Happy Birthday Camille Rae

Today is my sister-in-law Cami’s birthday. Cami is one of my favorite people on the planet because she makes me laugh. Hard.

After attending my brother-in-law Lance’s wedding I went home and downloaded the dozens of pictures from my camera. As I was scrolling through them, the picture above popped up on my screen. I laughed until I cried. I don’t remember taking this picture, I don’t remember her striking that pose, but it is so Cami, and it’s what I love most about her. She has the absolute best sense of humor, and it can just come at you from nowhere. Check out that bicep too!

Cami is one amazing person. She is super smart (she has a Masters degree in Mathematics of all things), she’s athletic, plays the piano like a dream, has the best sense of humor, makes a mean peanut butter cookie, loves to eat radishes, has a major soft spot for animals and her adorable, precocious children, and is a perfect sister-in-law. The only bad thing about Cami is that she lives too far away. I have to rely solely on her blog to get my Cami fix.

Years ago, before she had children of her own, she and her husband Peter lived close to us. We had some great times. Back then Mary Kate was just 3 years old and Cami was her all time favorite person, and for good reason, Cami was aunt extraordinaire. Then she and Peter decided to move back east to further their educations. I’ll never forget the day they came to say good-bye. As they got in their car and drove away, Mary Kate’s eyes filled with tears and she turned to me and said, “Mommy, my heart hurts.” With Cami gone there was certainly something big missing.

We miss you Cami, and love you to death. Thanks for all the laughs, and every other wonderful thing that you add to our lives.

Happy Birthday!

Cami with her lovely daughter Bryn

Ode to Teachers 2010

I’ve been so incredibly busy these last few weeks that I haven’t had time to breath, let alone post on this blog, but I realize that I’ve missed it. I enjoy chronicling our lives here on my computer.

Our chronicles just wouldn’t be complete without paying tribute to the wonderful teachers that our kids have had this school year. I’m all about teachers. They rank up there with my favorite people in the world. That may have something to do with the fact that I was raised by educators, and am an educator myself by trade, or at least was, so I love teachers. Love them.

Let’s start our tribute with the teacher that Mike and I have voted as person of the year for 2009-2010….

….Miss Stacey, the best pre-school teacher ever!

Let me tell you why we voted this women person of the year. First, she taught my boys to read. They’re reading! Second, they are more than prepared to begin kindergarten next year. Third, they loved going to Miss Stacey’s on preschool days and would in fact cry when they were sick or had to miss for some other reason. And last but not least, my boys received green stickers every single day of preschool, indicating that they were always on their best behavior. Every time I talked to Miss Stacey she told me how wonderful my boys were and how fabulously well behaved they were. I rarely hear anything like that when it comes to my boys, and it was absolute music to my ears. Miss Stacey worked miracles and made me feel like a competent mother. I will love her FOREVER for that.

Seriously, is that the cutest picture ever? My two green sticker earning boys. They’re angels, right?

Then we have Mary Kate’s incredible 5th grade teachers…..

…Mrs. Jensen…

…and Mrs. McAllilster.

Mary Kate was lucky enough to have two teachers this year who team taught her class. She had nothing but great things to say about them all year. She loved these two and so did I. They were wonderful teachers and are two women that I would love to have as friends. (Well, I kind of feel like they are my friends) It was so great to get to know them over the course of the year.

The kids will be taking swimming lessons from Mrs. McAllister this summer so we will be seeing some more of her. (Hey, Marianne, if you are reading this, Jeffrey and Jonathan loved the airplane and Nerf gun. You are now the person they talk about all the time and they can’t wait to see you at swimming lessons)

Even though I don’t have pictures, this post would not be complete without mentioning Mary Kate’s math teacher Mr. Miner, who really helped Mary Kate feel competent in math, she got a B+ in the highest math class and we are so proud of her. And then we have to mention all the many teachers who helped with the school choir this year. Mary Kate had a blast with that. It was a highlight for her.

We really had a positive experience this year when it came to school, and we feel very blessed that our children had such wonderful teachers this year.

I heart teachers! Hooray for teachers!

Tulo

Introducing my absolutely adorable, new, and furry nephew Tulo, my brother’s brand new puppy, named after Troy Tulowitski, shortstop for the Colorado Rockies. (My brother’s an avid baseball fan)

There’s almost nothing I like better than a brand new puppy. I’m a sucker for them, and this one, as you can see, is the cutest little guy ever. We’re all smitten in fact. My entire family, all in town to celebrate my brother Eric’s birthday, sat around and fawned over this little furry bundle all afternoon. Tulo is a miniature Golden Doodle, just like Winnie, so our family is extra in love. Best breed ever!

Cuddling and scratching little Tulo made me want to march right out and get myself another puppy. Tulo does have a little sister still available, but alas, I’ve talked myself out of it. One dog is plenty for our family. And as cute as puppies are, they do need to be housetrained, which is a process that stinks (no pun intended) and one which I will gladly leave to my brother. Good luck Jeff! It’s a pain, but in the end, so worth it. Having a dog is the bomb.

Hey, I’ll babysit any time.

Tooth Number Two

We lost another tooth this week. This time it was Jeffrey who was the loser. About the same time that Jonathan lost his tooth a couple weeks ago, we discovered that Jeffrey had a permanent tooth growing behind his baby tooth so that’s why you can already see another tooth where the hole should be. The dentist says his tongue will help push that new tooth forward. Let’s hope he’s right or, can you say “braces?”

Jeffrey put his tooth under his pillow and the next morning he ran into our room very distraught because the tooth fairy had forgotten to come. Oops! Daddy quickly came to the rescue with a thorough search of the bed while he had Jeffrey looking under the bed. Miraculously he found two quarters and two suckers. Way to be quick Mike!

My Mama Turned 60

This is my gorgeous mother. Isn’t she beautiful? Seriously, who looks like that? This gorgeous lady turned 60 on Friday and we threw her a fabulous birthday bash befitting one of the best and most incredible persons on the planet.

I asked her several months ago what she would do on her birthday if she could do anything her heart desired. She said she would have  Rob, her youngest brother and chef extraordinaire, fix her dinner. I went straight home and called Rob, and of course, since he and his wife Mary are two of the most generous people that ever lived, they agreed to host a party and cook the meal.

I got busy planning and delegating the rest…the guest list, table decorations, side dishes, entertainment, etc, because I think someone who has spent most of her life making a fuss over others, should have a fuss made over her every once in a while. 

It was good, creative fun planning the tablescape (okay, now I sound like Sandra Lee) but it really was fun. I decided on colors of greens and browns, with a tiny touch of pink. A classy look for a classy mom. My favorite touches were the framed pictures of mom through the years, and the individual sparkling ciders (from IKEA) by each place setting. The placemats were just pieces of 12x12 textured cardstock. They added just the right touch of green and I could just throw them away when the dinner was over.

Yes, the tables did looked nice, but the food, oh the food!

First we started with appetizers brought by my sister-in-law Laurie, who’s life’s ambition is to be a caterer. She brought an antipasto platter, all different kinds of olives to sample, and the best artichoke dip ever created (not pictured unfortunately). We also enjoyed various flavors of bread such as artichoke sundried tomato, and garlic cheese, that were freshly baked by my uncle Paul.

And then we had the glorious pleasure of enjoying Uncle Rob’s fabulous cooking. He really outdid himself this time. I haven’t had such amazing food in like… forever. Here he is preparing to work his magic. He looks very serious, because he is a seriously good chef.

The menu:

• Orange and Candied Almond Salad (made by Emily)
• Fresh rolls with sweet cream butter (made by Costco)
• Shrimp Portofino with lemon crowns (a delicious pasta dish with shrimp, mushrooms, pine nuts, and spinach all swimming in a lemon butter garlic cream sauce)
• Aunt Mary’s cooked carrots
• Sparkling cider….

and for dessert…well, last the best of all the game….I tell you about dessert later.

After dinner we had some excellent entertainment.

Several weeks ago I snuck into my parents house when they were out and sorted through and borrowed all the pictures of my mom that I could find. I scanned them all in and fixed them up in Photoshop, then let the professional take over. My brother Eric is the best movie maker ever. He put all my mom’s pictures together with music and quotes from various family members. The result was a beautiful presentation of my mom’s life. It was so perfect and meaningful. There wasn’t a dry eye. I’d share it will you all, but it’s a bit long and somewhat too personal for a public blog, so I won’t. Just believe me, it was excellent. After the presentation some speeches were made, gifts were opened, lots of visiting, and then it was time for dessert. Are you all ready for your mouths to start watering if they aren’t already….

….we had Crème Brule stuffed crepes with fresh berry topping. Yep, you heard right, tender golden crepes filled with perfectly creamy, rich Crème Brule, drizzled with a sweet, homemade berry sauce, and finished off with a pile of fresh blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Amazing! Seriously the best dessert I’ve ever tasted. All through the room you could hear groans of delight as people enjoyed their birthday dessert.

 

It truly was a terrific party for a terrific lady. Thanks to everyone who added so much to this celebration. It was most certainly a joint effort. Thanks again Rob and Mary for opening your home to and feeding 26 party guests. You’re the best. And thanks to everyone who took the time, and traveled so far to celebrate with us. The best part of the whole night was the company of friends and family.

Happy Birthday mom. We love you so much!

Outside My Window

 

These are two pictures I took from my kitchen window, both within a month’s time.

Trees covered in white. First with snow, and then blossoms.

I love the changing of the seasons. Spring is my favorite. I’m taking care that I don’t take the blossoms for granted this year. Tree blossoms are my favorite things about spring. I especially love this tree….

It stands just on the corner as you turn into our neighborhood, a vibrant, cheery greeting every time I turn the corner to come home.

And this little baby…

Newly planted last year in my neighbors yard,, she and her mini purple blooms provide glorious eye candy each time I walk the boys to preschool. I can’t wait to see what she looks like next year.

The blossoms on the trees outside my kitchen window are already being replaced with new green leaves. Spring’s blossoms will soon be gone, so get out there and enjoy!