Christmas Letter 2008

December 2008/January 2009

Greetings of the Season, Dear Friends and Family!

We’re still writing from Colorado, and it’s hard to imagine a place we’d rather be. The sun, the mountains…with some more of you and a large body of water, it’d be perfect. We’re excited that the kids can do a bit more on their own, and last summer we enjoyed some hikes and swims at Bear Creek Lake Park. A few weeks ago, we even went to so far as to purchase a four-pack of ski tickets for Scott and me to use. It’s been a years since we’ve really threaded the slopes, so this little toe-dip back in is pretty exciting.

We feel blessed that 2008 was rich with visits to and from family. We greeted the New Year in balmy Fargo celebrating my cousin’s nuptials. The youngest guest at the wedding was my sister’s one-month-old baby, Kacie Clair, sweet girl! Then both sets of grandparents visited Denver in February, March, and April, able to help us celebrate Olivia’s big, first birthday and Zach’s Spiderman cupcake third. In July, we drove back to MN for Olivia and Kacie’s joint baptism at the church where my grandma served coffee for 30 years. The kids (and we ‘rents) enjoyed time at the lake, and Zach caught his first fish. We should have just kept the car packed because in August we headed up to Montana to see Scott’s uncle, grandma and parents. Again, Zach was thrilled to operate the hay-baler. We welcomed Nana and Pop back to Denver as they headed west in October and back through in November. The kids love all the time they get to be spoiled by grandparents!

It seems impossible, but Zach is going to be four in March. He continues to amaze us with his learning. He must be the smartest child on the planet! He played in a fall soccer league and started at a new T/Th morning preschool up the hill from us. Trucks and outdoor play remain high on his list of favorite things, but he enjoys “projrecks” like painting and making potato stamps. It’s hard to find him happier than when he gets to spend time “working” with Daddy, but he sure does love to play with Olivia and celebrate her new words, “She said ‘bus!’ Mama, she said ‘bus!’”

As you’d imagine, Olivia remains fascinated with her big brother and everything he does. She started a morning daycare program one day a week, and I love to read her report cards, which usually mention cars and trucks. She’s at “that active stage,” and every once in a while we can spy the little horns sprouting out of her bean. It’s been a big year for Olivia, as she learned to walk, or rather run, at about 14 months. She’s definitely our climber, and has so far focused most of her energy into the physical development, though recently she’s started speaking two-word sentences. We know, too soon, we’ll be wishing she were a little less verbose. We’ll enjoy it all as it comes!

And what of the parents? Scott continues to find (not enough) time for his two-wheeled pursuits. The big rides this year were the Triple By-Pass (120 road miles over 3 mtn. passes) and the Breck 67 (67 miles of beautiful but grueling off-road terrain), which he finished like a champ. His job with Square D takes him to Phoenix almost every month, but not for too long. We’ve set up a great babysitting exchange with some neighbors, so we even get some date nights in.

I remain entertained by and committed to book club, shuttling kids, and various crafty projects. I ran the Bolder Boulder 10K with some friends in May and tried to play some softball until I had a season-ending ankle sprain. As I managed to procrastinate on this letter long enough to take us into the new year, I can share that I “plunged” into 2009 via the Evergreen Polar Plunge! What a fantastic cleansing moment it was. We’re thankful that Scott is still employed and I’m able to stay home with the kiddoes.

Though our house doesn’t have lavish guest bedrooms, we always welcome visitors and would love to show off our haunts and hikes. In the mean time, you can keep up (sort of) with our daily stuff via our blog: http://thewallacesonline.blogspot.com. Please keep in touch!

Much love to you,
Kjirsten, Scott, Zach & Olivia

Cookies

Yummmmm.

Life is flying, was this the 6th annual cookie exchange?

Going-for-Coffee French Toast

Okay, if I'm going to be really, really honest, this is called:

Going-for-Starbucks-Because-I-Was-Up-WAY-Too-Late-Reading-Twilight-Last-Night French Toast.
Here it is:

• 3 slices of bread, on-its-way-out-the-door bread is great for French Toast, especially if it's a Caffeine Now! Morning and you haven't had a chance to go grocery shopping in a while.
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/2 - 1 c milk, or more, if you want to make more toast
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, that's probably more than you need, but I always like a lot of vanilla
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 dash cinnamon - do you like how I use these technical terms? It's because I never measure any of this except maybe the egg and the bread.
  

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Butter or Spray-Pam a smallish baking pan with 1-inch sides. Place the bread in the pan. Depending on the number of pieces I cook, or my concern about the appearance for guests, I tear the bread in half, so I can smoosh it all in there.

Mix all the remaining ingredients together, and pour over the bread in the pan. It will seem, unless you've really whacked it out of proportion (coming from one who's never had to add a little milk on top), like there is much more liquid than you need. But just be patient, and the coffee trip will do its magic. In fact, if you're adept enough at delaying your departure with where-is-that-other-boot, seriously-can-you-please-not-have-just-pooped-right-now-ALL-over?, and what's-wrong-with-the-d*&$-garage-door-that-makes-it-necessary-for-me-to-be-pulling-out-of-the-driveway-before-realizing-it's-just-not-going-to-close-from-the-car-and-I'll-have-to-go-back-in-and-come-out-the-front-door-s, you may get an extra trip or two inside the house, and you'll see that the way too much liquid has, in fact, already been sopped up by the thirsty bread!

Now, you deserve it, go get a BIG cup-o-joe. Go through the drive-through, because you haven't gotten out of your PJs yet, though you may have put on jeans over them, and a scarf. Oh, and the kids are barely clothed, unless pre-heating the car and putting boots on them counts as clothing.

Come home to find the cat sequestered in the basement because the timer you set for 30 minutes was already 10 minutes down before you came back in the house to head out the front door before someone drove off with your kids in the car you left running so they didn't freeze, and it's been going off for about 15 minutes because everyone else in the neighborhood apparently stayed up reading Twilight too long last night too, so the drive-through line lasted long enough for you to hear just the lead-ups to several interesting NPR stories before one of the kids started screaming about something or another. Turn off that timer. Thank goodness for high altitude and low temperatures.

Pull out the pan of French Toast. It may look a little brown on top, but brown's okay because underneath that brown is a moist, egg-y piece of toast, begging for some syrup and butter.

Slather it up, slice it, and suck it down with your cup-o-Ahhhhhhh...

Let me know if you have any questions while trying this. I tried to put in a few tips, but you never know when someone might need a little extra direction.

Women

There are so many women with whom I'd like to

*and with whom I get to* do this.
Thank you to all of you!

Text on the art reads:

Each year the women gathered to renew their spirit,

nourish their souls,

and earn their laugh lines."

Item found: http://www.femailcreations.com/products/sku-143702.html

Charitable Giving

We've been talking about wanting to do some volunteering as a family. Mostly as a note to myself, below are some ideas listed in Colorado Parent magazine.

We're hopeful that giving time can help as much as giving resources. Some of the challenge will be to find a place or organization that will allow us all to participate in some fashion. Have you heard where they might need the assistance of a LittleCrazyGirl? Or a Yackety Zach? Before I saw this list, I thought maybe we could make cookies and sing carols for the folks at the assisted living center near us. I'd love to have helped with a dinner at the Ronald McDonald house too, but I don't think bringing our germies in there would be much help. We'll see.

1. Brookdale Senior Living http://www.brookdaleliving.com/
2. Dumb Friends League http://www.ddfl.org/
3. Food Bank of the Rockies http://www.foodbankrockies.org/
4. The Gathering Place http://www.the-gatheringplace.org/
5. Goodwill Industries http://www.goodwill.org/
6. Mercy Corp http://www.mercycorps.org/
7. Metro Volunteers http://www.metrovolunteers.org/
8. Sacred Heart House http://www.sacredhearthouse.org/
9. Samaritan House http://www.samaritanhouse.com/

Some more ideas from CO Parent:

1. Host a Potluck with a Purpose - Invite friends and neighbors to a potluck, and ask them to also bring a nonperishable food item and two personal care items. Deliver these to an agency in need.
2. Hands-on Help - Volunteer at a local retirement community: set up movie hour, play board-games, or just visit residents. Make a "grand-friend."
3. Mercy Kits - Make a global impact, sending out a mercy kit that fits your budget ($20, meals for children, $35 grow a garden, $40 help women start a business, $ 100 provide farmers with goats to suppport their families, all the way up to $1000) http://www.mercycorps.org/mercykits

Do you have any ideas? Places you've always wanted to, or have volunteered? Please post suggestions!

Love to you all this holiday season!

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a wonderful day! The Ives came up and the Meinerts walked over. It was so fun to have a couple of full tables.

A little bit late, way too much food was served. Lucy whispered our grace, and we forgot to recite what we were thankful for. But we all know we're thankful for friends and food and family and safe homes.

The kids played, for the most part, well together. Katie practiced her cartwheels. Zach played the Star Wars theme a few hundred times. Quinn and Tommy and Gracie played some computer games. Olivia buzzed around like a little bee. Lucy was a super trooper.

Oh yeah, and later the booze came out. And the pictures of Sarah Palin. And the wedding video...gosh, then it was about time to send people home before we really got rowdy.

Pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=4ntipq5.700ub115&x=0&y=-3ca8b3&localeid=en_US

Thanksiving Prep, Real Time

Running Log of Questions for Mom
- Can you please send the recipe for Barb's Butterhorns?
- What's the next step in the roll recipe, after letting dough rise?
- When you make pecan pie, are the pecans on top in addition to the ones the recipe calls for?
-


Menu
* Turkey
* Stuffing
* Barb's Butterhorns with Honey Butter
* Cranberry sauce
* Kristen's Root Veggies
* Mashed Potatoes (for Tommy)
* Sweet Potatoes
* Sweet Corn
* Green Bean Casserole (for something green)
* Pecan Pie
* Pumpkin Pie (from Steph)
* Pumpkin Cheesecake (from Carey)
* Vino, Biere (from the Meinerts)
* Sparkling Ciders (from the Ives)
* Egg Nog

Blessing

MAY THE SUN bring you new energy by day,
MAY THE MOON restore you by night.
MAY THE RAIN wash away your worries,
MAY THE BREEZE blow new strength into your being.
MAY YOU WALK gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.
-Apache Blessing

Say Thanks

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com , you can pick out a thank you card and message (or compose your own personal message) and Xerox will send to our troops serving around the world. It is FREE and only takes a minute or two!

Der's a Ploblem

This afternoon:

Zach, from the yard: Uh, Mom. I neeeeeed you.
Kjirsten, in the kitchen: Okay. Just a minute.
Z: Der's a ploblem out here.
K: Okay. What's going on?
Z: Der's a little rat in my playground.
K: What?! Okay. I'll be right there. (grabbing a bag and rushing outside)
Sure enough, there was a little mouse in the woodchips under the slide.
K: Yep. That's a little mouse. (scooping up the mouse, which, thankfully, wasn't extremely mutilated.)
Z: Yep. I sink he's not moving.
K: Yeah, he's dead, honey. I think Patches (our outdoor adopt-a-cat) got him.
Z: Yeah. Cats like to chase mouses, right?
K: Uh huh.
Z: Well, dat's kinda sad because where's his family? I sink day miss him. Der might need to go to dah hospital.
K: (thinking time for a subject change) Thanks for letting me know about this, Zach. Let's go get ready to go inside now, okay?
Z: Okay.

Zachisms

A few I wrote down from this afternoon:

To Olivia:
You’re da liddle train. And I’m da fastest diesew engine ever.
zooms off across the room

In reference to who knows what:
Hey Joe, whaddaya know? Hey, Joe! Whaddaya know?

About the bird outside our front door:
Oh, der flying west because it’s ohmost gonna be winter. It’s ahready winter at Grandma Marty’s house.

If only I had a better memory, or a constantly recording mini-recorder.

The "Pro"

The Pro of dumping the cake on the deck after letting it cool out there is that you can just scoop up the pieces, heap them into a pie pan, and pour the icing on top anyway. The icing seeps into the cracks in the cake, and you get icing with a little bit of cake.


It seems to have disappeared, despite its "ruttiness." Maybe we're onto something: Deck Cake, featuring little bits and pieces from whatever's been tracked in from the grass. That's what fiber is, right?

In the Fruit Bowl

Of course that's where I found my key, after a morning and afternoon of searching.

If not out of Civic Duty,

...then for a FREE cup of Starbucks coffee (or donut, or something else), but for goodness' sake, please just

GET OUT & VOTE!

How Do They Learn this Stuff?

Flash back with me to January of 2008.

That's only 10ish months ago, right? Wow, has a lot changed since then.

I opened my My Pictures folder, and found this little mug muggin' at me. Really, who teaches these kids that this is a "smile?" Somehow they learn because, not even just when it's mine, whenever a camera comes out, our kids bring out the crinkle-your-nose-squint-your-eyes-bare-your-teeth-almost-puppy-like smile. It's often accompanied by a sound that's presumably a version of "Cheeeeeeeese" but without the "ch" and the "s." So basically, "Eeeeeeee."

I'll dig up some of Zach's cheesing, but for now, here are a few of Olivia in January, at almost 11 months. Please excuse the terrible linoleum and especially the flakes of whatever she's scooting over. Maybe it was just something on the camera lens. Let's go with that.

"Eeeeeeee"

Check out those CHOPPERS.

"The view down here's the cat's meow, almost literally, if that were possible!"

Most Dangerous Chocolate Cake

I haven't tried this, but I'm up for a challenge! I'll post again once I've taken the plunge.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

Most Dangerous Chocolate Cake in the World
(serves 1-2)

1 coffee mug
4 Tablespoons plain flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
3 Tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well with a fork.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and continue to mix well.
Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake might rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

ENJOY!

P.S. If you try this before I do, let me know what you think!

10/22: Turn Off Your Cell

I didn't read this in time to turn it off for the duration of the boycott, but it's off now.

Big Girl Bed!

At almost 20 mos., Olivia began climbing INTO her crib, so we decided, we'd better pull the front barrier off and make it a big-girl bed before she decided to climb OUT.

These pics were taken her first night in her "new" bed.

She had a rough time at naptime, earlier in the day. She cried and climbed out, and pulled the wipes out of the container, and moved the garbage behind the rocker and unloaded the blanket drawer and cried and played with the monitor, and cried. And, finally, after several visits and an extra lullaby, she fell asleep.

At bedtime, she cried a bit, and climbed out of bed a bit, but she did fall asleep much quicker, probably also due to the short nap earlier.

Big Girl! Sweetly sleeping.

No front barrier to keep her confined!
"Woudja stop with the flash, Mom?"

Also, last night - 10/19/08 - she successfully used the toilet for the first time, for both functions! BIG girl. I wish that meant we were going to be done with diapers, but I am a realist, and we came home from the store with another box. But we're getting closer. Yay!

(I didn't provide pics of this milestone. Sorry.)

A Night with Anne Lamott

Our book club, thanks to Sarah for the heads up, got tickets to listen to Anne Lamott speak at the Belmar Center. Knowing Lisa was a fan of Anne's, I invited her to join us, and it turned out to be the beginning of her membership in our Radical group - welcome, New Radical!

We started out at the Baker Street Pub for dinner and a few *sigh* sunset libations. Sitting on the patio, we sipped and chattered away the end of a Colorado fall day. Anne's speech was just a short walk from the restaurant, so after our meal, we made our way to the auditorium. It was full!

Anne let us know that tonight was her last speaking engagement for this year and next. She was light-hearted, practiced, humorous, and very ProBama, which sat well with most of the attendees. As she finished up and headed to the book signing table, she even gave Kristen's beautiful Emerson a little love, proclaiming that it was great that he had come to this event. His brush with fame came so young!

Theresa, Lisa and I waited to get books signed, then met the rest of the Radicals at Whole Foods for a little sweet stuff to stretch the evening just a little longer.

And Ketchup

I'm sitting here, having lunch with my favorite girl. She's adorable today, if I may say so.

Not always does she make choices I agree with. I suspect this will be true for quite some time, right? Like right now, she's eating her dino chicken nuggets and ketchup. And some roasted fries (if I call them "roasted," do they sound healthier?) and ketchup. And sliced Colorado peaches and -you got it- ketchup.

Ick.

But she's still really cute, contemplating each bite, savoring the flavor. Maybe this indicates there's too much sugar in ketchup? Probably. But I'm not concerned, so I hope you won't hold it against me.

P.S. And cucumber and ketchup.

Have anything else I should see if she'll eat with ketchup??

Mom takes a phone call...

How do YOU eat your DQ?

A Quick Reassurance

Phew!

(Yes, LOTS to catch up on. Will try really hard to do that. Some day. When I'm not too busy gabbing.)

18 Months?

Where did the time go? Wasn't she just born?

And just the

cutest

little

thing

ever?

Oh, she still is.

Always my baby.

Happy 1 1/2, Olivvy-Doll! I Love You!

Things-to-Come?

Lots to blog about, but all that action has left me drained. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to comment on the kiddos' expressions here, though:

"Really, Mom? Couldja just put away that camera?"

or, in a few years:

"You're really not cool, Mom. Could you just drop me off 5 blocks away, and I'll be fine."

Car Wash Kids

Every once in a while, I do actually get the car washed. Not often enough, surely, but that can be said about a lot of things. Maybe it's because I don't do it enough that the kids are still a little wary of the experience.

(We won't talk about the fact that my 3.5 year old is still terrified of the vaccuum cleaner.)

Quilt Giveaway!

I'd love to win this quilt!! Isn't it beautiful?

Sorta like winning the lottery, my chances are slim, but I'm doing what I can to get my name drawn. :) If you'd like to try too, visit the Old Red Barn Co. blog and leave a comment on her quilt giveaway entry. If you don't need a quilt but think I do, visit and leave a comment and give me the quilt if you win!

It's a fun blog to read all the time, so keep the site bookmarked. She has great, crafty ideas; beautiful photography; and a fun sense of humor. And, she sells sugar scrubs that I'm hoping to try some day too!

Mothers

Mama Friends - you must pick up a copy of this book at the bookstore or library, let the kids enjoy books of their own, and settle in for a delicious read. My friend Theresa recommended it, and I can't love it more.

Someday by Alison McGhee (with absolutely beautiful illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds) is a treasured part of my library now.

Most of the book speaks to mothers of sons or daughters, but some thoughts are especially touching for mothers of daughters.

If you can't wait to get to the library, you can listen to the story as read by the author. Be warned, however. If you're even a little bit of a *sweet* sap, this may induce tears.

Good-bye, Plate

Oh goodness! You are now privy to one of the For-Tax-Purposes photos I take of the treasures I take to Goodwill.

In an attempt (ha!) to functionalize, I've been trying to clear out some of the "stuff" in our house. One such piece was this beautiful (ha!) tray depicting a vacation to the Mayan Riviera back in that far-back era known as "Before Kids."
Do you remember those days? I think I have pictures (and trays) to remind me of them. Twice, BK, Scott and I visited a wonderful all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. At one time we thought (ha!) that we'd make the trip an every-other-year event. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Maybe some day.

For now, I'll just gaze at the digital photo of the tray of our past vacation and be happy that it takes up far less space. And savor the thought that the resort we visited is family friendly, and maybe soon we'll all go back and paint more pottery together.

Evergreen Evening

On the Sunday after Scott's Saturday Triple Bypass, we headed 15 mins up the mountain to meet up with friends at the Evergreen Lake picnic site. It was a perfect potluck picnic.

The kids busied themselves flying kites, playing soccer and frisbee, canoeing, and just enjoying the evening. This was the kind of night I always loved as a kid - having the freedom to run and play with friends, staying out a little bit too late, and heading home filled with fresh air and a renewed spirit.

Triple By-Pass, Anyone?

Lots - o - Pics: click here!
Scott rode the 2008 Triple By-Pass today!

Yes, that's one hundred and twenty miles! And ten thousand, three hundred ten feet of climbing. On a bike, in one day, without taking a nap or getting a tow, or any of the other things I'd do.

And Scott LOVES it. Every time he does it (yeah, who in his right mind would do it year after year?), he says, "It's a great ride...yada yada yada." The comments that stand out in my mind are things like, "Climbing's not for everyone," and, "Yeah, it's not for those who don't enjoy a little pain."

This year, he went above and beyond, taking on the photojournalist role too. Not just stills, but video as well. Eek. That requires taking one hand off the handle bars, and not tipping over, right? Stay tuned for some beautiful illustrations of the ride. It does look beautiful! If you're going to ride up over three mountain passes and gain that much elevation, better darn well have something pretty to look at (and cute chick bikers don't count!).

Does that not look like a kid in a candy shop?

Triple By-Pass Video Log - Loveland Pass Love

1. 10 AM update past Georgetown, headed toward Loveland Pass

2. Heading up Loveland Pass

3. Loveland Pass 300-400 yards from the top

4. 1989 Loveland Pass passing bikers, working hard above tree line

Triple By-Pass - Middle

5. Cheering noise (not much to see!)

6. Cruising @ 30mph into Keystone (sideways, sorry!)

7. Along the Dam Road

8. Trail between Frisco and Copper Mtn

Triple By-Pass Final Stretches

9. On the trail approaching Copper

10. Vail Pass Rest Area

11. The Finish Line

Radical Luncheon

Our "Radical" book clubbers met for a lunch to celebrate the impending arrival of Kristen's #2. It's always a small miracle when we can all be in one place, given our school schedules, our kids' school schedules, parenting responsibilities and summer activities. On this day, it worked out for almost all of us to be there. Hallelujah!

Turns out, we were just in time. Little Emerson was born just 3 days later.

After lunch a few of us were able to spend some time letting the kiddos expend some energy at a park too. It was a hot day, but that didn't slow them down.

Improve Your Vocab, Donate Free Rice!

Date Night

It was a hot, hot Thursday, and we had scheduled date night. What fun it was to debate which Italian restaurant we should visit. In the end, Scott made reservations at Maggiano's downtown at the Denver Pavilions. Yummmm...

We had the perfect table, off to the side, where we had privacy and a candle and could people watch and have time to ourselves.

Scott carbed up for his race with pasta, and I ordered a tenderloin dish that was to-die-for. The strawberry mojito was also amazing.

We debated whether or not to go to a movie, but when the timing seemed to lead us upstairs to the theater, we went for it. (What was the last movie we saw?) Now, we can say it was Hancock. It's funny, too, because we thought we were going to see a different movie, but when the action unfolded the way it did, it became apparent we weren't at the show we expected. It was cute.

Afterward, we walked out into the Pavilions, and it was happenin'! A vendors' market was still in full swing, and we caught the last couple songs of the Matthew Moon Band. It was fun to experience the "night life" again, for a bit.

Happy Feet

Happy Feet - sitting on Daddy's lap, warming up after some splashing in the pirate ship pool

(And, Happy Hairy Legs - all sweaty and greasy from a hard morning's ride on the 4th of July)

(I hope you all know that's Olivia and Scott!)

Happy 4th!

Many more pictures to come, I'm sure. But here's one, wishing you a fabulous, action-packed, ooh-and-ahh-filled Independence Day!

Introducing...

..."MisCHIEF" and "MISSchief!" Guess who's who?

These are two new labels, by which I'll periodically categorize posts. Just wanted to clear up what they mean! BOTH are mischievous.

O Likes COTC

Good thing she's got some choppers.