Circus World

I took the kiddos to Circus World today - our first time of the season.  I got an annual pass last summer when we moved here and came a few times, though I wasn't thrilled about the show (a few risqué moments).  But because there aren't very many playmates around and very few activities for 3 year olds, I decided to try it again this summer.  And it was awesome!  The show was much more family-friendly and we all had a ball.  Last year I had to watch Solei like a hawk because her little 2 year-old legs would want to run away when she got bored, but she sat there like a trooper, cheering and laughing the whole hour-long show.  And Forster??  I don't know how on earth we got this lucky, but when a baby is mobile and knows it (and he's taken a few steps and keeps trying to take MORE) they don't sit in a mommy's arms very well for very long, but dear Forster loved all the attention.  He flirted with the people behind us, danced to the music, giggled at and babbled on to me the whole time, never getting cranky.

I wondered while I watched the show if I was spoiling my kids - taking them to the circus all summer whenever we wanted.  That just sounds extravagant, right?  (Although it's pretty dang cheap, kids 5 and under are free and my adult pass was $14.95, with an additional $10 for the annual pass, so our summer of fun costs a cool $25) But as we walked across the bridge over the Baraboo river - gorgeous view, by the way - it occurred to me that it's not very often a kid gets to live 3 minute drive from the Circus World museum.  And we won't live here forever - so might as well snag some awesome memories while we have the chance.

So if y'all come to visit, we're totally taking you.  Although there is one snag - the clown this year is a GIRL.  And Solei is head over heels for her - can't stop talking about her hero, Jessi the clown.  It's only a matter of time before she decides SHE could be a clown and tries to run off with the circus.  Not a far fetched notion either, what with the circus being just down the road...

A few random snaps

Oh, our kids.  Solei spends most of her time railing at the injustices of not enough snacks, and Forster spends his time giggling at everyone.

It's hysterical - he's within seconds of walking and he knows it.  He's just so perma-happy, he cruises around the furniture or climbs on people all day long, laughing hysterically.

The weather has turned humane the last few days, so we ventured outdoors for FHE tonight and took a walk in the scenic Wisconsin countryside.

Speaking of scenic, we live one house away from the edge of town.  This was the view that greeted us as we pulled into our driveway this evening - and no, we did not use the zoom:

We moved!

It was intense, I'm shocked no one came out of it with a hernia, and even more shocked at Alex - he missed his calling.  The man does not STOP.  He moved everything like a man possessed, and then asked if he could mow the lawn.  MAN.  But  we managed to have some fun along the way - we rocked virtually:

And literally:

I have to post more of those vids - that was a Cinco de Mayo party for the ward that we kind of hijacked in the name of getting to play with the coolest drummer ever.  Ignore the part where I forgot my mic is attached 3 inches from my mouth and yell anyway.

Moving was so much dang fun!!  We enjoyed every second of having so much family around, and we love the new digs!  I'll post some pics of the new house once it's not covered in boxes :)

A parting gift - the view of Baraboo from our chapel.  And some weirdos who were hanging out on the lawn.

Waffle heaven

We all know that Solei entered this world a picky eater.  There are very few things that I can get her to eat consistently, and I've jsut given up mostly.  Things get better when I'm not freaking out.  She won't eat dinner, but the next day she'll eat a whole place of carrots, and then refuse to eat carrots for another month.  So I've learned to pick my battles, and food isn't one of them.

But one thing I CAN get her to eat consistently every day is breakfast.  It's amazing, really.  Every day she wakes up and asks for the same thing, and then eats it.  A few months back we were visiting Sarah and Alex and they put green food coloring in the waffle batter.  Solei flipped.  So when we went back home, I'd let her choose the color of her waffle.  Woohoo.  Until one day she couldn't choose, and asked for all the colors.  And this monstrosity was born...

First, I take a box of waffle mix, dump a bunch in a bowl and add water.  I eyeball it.  And then I dump a few spoonfuls for milled flax seed in there for good measure.  She doesn't know it's in there, and it's chock full of Omega 3.  Whatever that is.  But my mom says it's good. (Sometimes I add an egg for protein too).

Then I divide the mix into 3 bowls and add food coloring.

I actually don't do it, it's one of Solei's favorite parts of the day.  She mixes it up and loves to find out what colors make what and experiment every day.

Then I drip the 3 different colors all over the iron so it looks all Sydney Pollack.  The messier the better.  (I know it looks gross and neon, but to a 3 year old it's AWESOME)

That's it.  And then to mix things up, she asks me to cut them up in different shapes, letters or numbers.  Sometimes I don't have time and they all end up in triangles, but sometimes I get a little creative:

Every day I can't believe she just ate it all, but she does.  She loves it.  And I love that I KNOW she'll get at least one meal in her and I snuck something healthy in it.  Woot woot.

Solei's First Post

I love Gamma Gamma Very much. This is a picture of Gamma Gamma and me at the airport hugging gamma gamma.

I like my new haircut because I like the way it feels and the way it looks. Mommy and Gamma Gamma gave me beauty salon. Daddy helped cutted my hair.

I love my haircut. I like this picture because I love going outside with mommy and daddy.

I like buddy buddy (Forster's nick name). I love when I hug him and hold him. I love when I play with him at Easter.

Rocketgirl's Fondue Recipes

I’ve gotten a trillion requests for my awesome fondue recipes. So instead of e.mailing everyone I know, I’m going to post it everywhere. For you, for Valentine's Day, because I’m just that awesome. You’re welcome.



This first one is my all-time favorite, friends from college will remember this at my many Fondue/Sushi parties. Husband doesn’t like it so much because he says I smell like onions for days afterwards, but it’s so tasty, I take the hit and forgo smooching for a few days. Since it has french onion dip in it, it tastes awesome with any bread, and any veggie.


Sharp Cheddar and French Onion Fondue
(I usually double this, but this is the singular version)

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 cup sharp cheddar (I usually use more, just throw a bunch in a see how the consistency is)

8 oz french onion dip (since I usually double this, I use 16 oz sour cream and a packet of onion soup mix since it tastes way better than premade french onion dip, but if you do the singular, I’d use 8 oz sour cream and half a packet of onion soup mix, though I will add more for uber flavor)

a squirt of mustard

I suggest green peppers (and the red and yellow and orange ones), cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and sourdough bread, but anything goes, seriously.



Tomato Cheddar Fondue

1 can Italian Tomato soup ( or any Campbells tomato soup that is all flavored and yummy)

cheddar cheese - I don’t know how much, I just add until the consistency is nice and not too thick)

Super easy, super delicious, great with veggies and breads, I like fancy focaccia breads with cheese all over the top.



Easy Swiss

1 can chicken broth

Swiss shredded, tossed with flour

(optional, add some pressed garlic to the chicken broth before the swiss)
This is really easy get the chicken broth boiling first then add the cheese, but I have to do it slowly and make sure I don’t add too much or too little swiss because it gets too thick or too runny. But it’s so simple and delicious.


Then there’s this new aMAzing Fancy Gouda/Fontina Fondue Jane posted a few weeks ago here: http://isnowagoodtime.blogspot.com/2010/01/in-spirit.html - she’s been trying for years to perfect a fondue that does the Melting Pot justice, and it TOTALLY does!! I skipped the green onions and used a squirt of mustard instead of powdered and it was still awesome. I won’t repost it so you have to go and check her out, but rest assured, with Gouda and Fontina, it tastes so decadent and fancy, and I’ve made it twice now without screwing up up. That means it’s TOTALLY foolproof!!

Easiest Chocolate Fondue EVER
1 jar Nutella
3/4 cup milk
dash cinnamon
Yeah, that’s it. So easy, has that Nutella hazelnut goodness, and goes with anything you’d put with chocolate fondue. I love rice krispie treats, brownies, any fruit, and angel food or white cake.
So if you don’t have fancy plans or anything else, nothing make sa normal meal a party like fondue. Take my word for it, I may not be a cooking expert, but I know how to throw a par-tay :)

Yeah 5

Our 5th anniversary, seriously??  It was down to the wire on this one - it usually takes me 2 weeks to make the video, but I couldn't find the right music didn't think it was going to happen until yesterday.  It took a few hours, is a bit sketchy, but it captures the year nicely I think.

Phew.

PAGET FOR PREZ

The family got the best present ever - campaign shirts for Jared's 2012 Presidential Bid!!!  Thanks Florida Pagets!!!!  See, he writes him name in on his ballot every presidential year since he's pretty sure he's better than whatever candidates there are anyway.  But 2012 is the first year he'll actually be legally allowed to "run" since he's old and stuff.

Don't you love the mirror effect there, the duplicate smiles?  And see that belt around his middle?  That's the "Jared" belt Anna and Danny got him for Christmas a few years ago, and the new Mr. T belt buckle he got this morning from the Florida folk!

Show your support, get your Paget for President 2012 shirt today!!!

Awesomeness explained.

Fine. Y'all aren't interested in the fact that there are crazed murderers roaming our neighborhood. You just want happy fuzzy posts. Fine. But we don't have to be happy about it. Here's what happened while we were off having a way-cooler life than YOU:

Halloween. Fun party at the church. Candy was consumed. Solei threw up all over mommy that night. Mommy has now earned her mommy degree.

Living in the Middle Of Nowhere has a few perks, involving an adorable parade of kids down Main Street, trick or treating all the businesses. This time we ate less candy.

Pascal came to visit us. Because we are that awesome. Forster was thrilled.

Then we went to Atlanta to SELL OUR HOUSE. *cue choir of angels and gasps of shock and awe* While we were there we hung out with these people and ate sushi. Did you? Didn't think so. Chalk another point in the Us=Awesome column.

We had a sleepover with these friends. Words cannot express how much cooler they are than your friends. They can cook, entertain, play fiddle and somehow we left their house with enough clothing to fit Forster until he is 2 years old. Yup, we know how to pick the awesome friends.

And we hung out with Nana. She totally rocks the name Nana better than your Nana.

Created world-class art with Nana too.

Headed to Colorado to hang out with my family for Thanksgiving. Can your mom pull off this ensemble? No? Yea, my mom is just that awesome.

We ate Thanksgiving dinner. Did you? Oh, you did? Well, you get one point then. But we're still leading.

Then I got a surprise party since I lived 30 whole years. They served sushi and friends. We definately got some fabulous cool points there.

Oh yeah, and then went to see New Moon. It was Jared's idea. Yeah, he heckled most of the movie, but was your husband willing to brave an angry theater of Twi-hards?

Then we came home and got a Christmas tree. Okay, you probably did that too, so another point for you.

It snowed approximately 1 inch and we freaked out. Jared had to shovel.

Solei wanted to play outside, but even though these was virtually no snow out there, I still made her wear her entire snow get-up.

Forster continued to beyond adorable and easy-going. I have no idea hwere this baby got his temperment, but I totally dig it.

Last thing I did today was spend WAY too much time on Picnik.com messing around with this picture. Yes, I'm aware it looks like photoshop threw up on it.

Now you are all informed on why were too busy being awesome to post. You're welcome.

Men with Guns

On our way home from Chicago we ran across two men climbing out of their truck and heading into a field. They were looking to shoot something. This is called hunting.

This is all fine and good. We all know people who "go out" hunting and I really don't have an issue with them doing so. Usually people talk of trips where they travel out into the middle of nowhere to hunt, camping by the river and waking up at the crack of dawn to take something down.

My problem with these two particular hunters was this: They were getting out of their truck to go hunting just two blocks from my home. This may not be a big city, but I know how far a rifle bullet can go and I'm pretty sure a poorly aimed round could rip right through my wall.

So, dear hunters, please stay away from my home...

Forster

Turning 3

This week was eventful. Three years ago, our firstborn daughter was brought into this world. Looking back, I don't know what I would have done without her.

We had a wonderful birthday party planned and executed by her amazing mommy.

Solei REALLY loved the suprize visit from her cousin. It was AWESOME.We also went to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate the aforementioned Mommy's 21st birthday (again). We went to eat at a Chicago Hot Dog legend called Portillos. We took a picture of ourseleves to capture the moment. It ended up catching the moment perfectly.

This perfect moment inspired me to capture 60 seconds in the life of our Daughter. This is totally unscripted, unrehearsed, unplanned and our very first take. This is just 60 seconds of Solei being Solei. - Note that this does not include her putting greasy handprints on the window or exiting the booth by climbing over the seat and jumping out of the booth next to us. -

We love this little girl like nothing else!

Twisted FHE

Last week, our Family Home Evening was beyond awesome. First off, the new Nursery manual is FANTASTIC and the lessons and activities are so blasted easy and quick, perfect for a almost-3-year-old-going-on-24. We did the 3rd lesson on prayer (Solei is really good at asking for blessings, but not so quick with THANKING Him for our blessings:) and the opening activity was just perfect. You should try it - I just colored some pictures of things we should ask for or be thankful for (food, home, family, scriptures, car) and she had to chose what bag to put them in - the We Ask Thee bag or the We Thank Thee bag (there were some repeats, like food and such). It went over so well!

Then for our activity, we dug out the Twister game we got for our wedding, put stickers on Solei's right hand and foot so she'd know the difference between left and right, and played Twister. She loved it!

photo dump

I still have no idea how to bring y'all up to speed, so instead I'm posting a crapload of pictures that might tell something about our lives now.

Here's Jared and I meeting Forster for the first time:

The boys in our family:

He's got the "seriously??" look down pat:

He's kinda sweet. I think he looks like my side of the family.


This is what he looks like most of the time:

This was high-larious. The dudes just hanging out.

His first sink-bath with dad - he was quite kind and trusting for most of it. I love the look he's giving dad - "Um, I trust you - for now."

Afterwards he didn't cry (like he does at every bath now), he just clung to daddy, all confuddled.

All him:

Solei has been pretty dang good with him. he doesn't interact much, but that never bothers her, she can carry on both sides of a conversation anyway :)