Fall 2011: Double Holiday Fun

Who wants to read about events that are no longer relevant or interesting because they happened a really long time ago? You do? Good.

The holidays were a little crazy this year. They started with double the fun at TWO Halloweens and TWO Thanksgivings. I know, we're pretty special.

As you may remember, Matt and I have hosted a Halloween party at our place for the last couple of years. Usually, we kick out the little ones in our family as it gets late (trying to be responsible and all that junk), which is always a little sad because kids LOVE Halloween. This year, my family decided that the kids deserved a party that was more designed for them. Cue my mother and her insane enthusiasm (which is awesome).

She decided a MURDER MYSTERY was just the ticket. Except it was really a ROBBERY MYSTERY, because murder is a little dark for kids. Anyway, we got to planning. I was responsible for side games (we did a Halloween song identification and a competitive dance party - fun!) and a couple of snacks.

Snack table.

My favorite of my treats. I contributed with a mummy cheese spread, eye of newt eggs, and sugar cookies.

The robbery mystery required each of us (except for the lame-os, who refused) to play a part; I was Ms. Pheasant. We were given clues about our character, and we tried to learn more about our castmates as the theft unfolded - while eating snacks and taking mini-game breaks.

Who stole the diamond-encrusted dragon egg???? (It was Hannah - I mean, Ms. Crimson)

At the end, we all gave away our final secrets until the thief was revealed. The whole night was a little silly, but also really fun. And the kids got a kick out of it, which was the whole idea.

The following weekend, we continued the Halloween fun with our annual party. This year's theme was video game characters. We had lots of family and friends gather in silly costumes, and it was a really good time.

My first focus in hosting these parties is always the food. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my spread. I had pumpkin puke (guacamole), tapeworms (hot dogs and ketchup), vertebrae (tortilla rolls), dirty bath water (punch), test tube goo (blue curacao and sprite), chex mix (chex mix), and store-bought cookies (store-bought cookies).

Food.

Fun, yes?

My second focus when hosting these parties is finding an awesome costume. This year, I pretty much chose the theme to fit the costumes I wanted for me and Matt, which was: Link and Princess Zelda! I, of course, was Link! Matt was really only half a Princess Zelda because I didn't want to make/find a full gown that he wouldn't wear for more than a half an hour. But he wore a wig with pointy ears!

Some of the fun video game costumes.

Of course, we covered our house in fun decorations, and the mood lighting created a creepy atmosphere.

Hanging out in my mood lighting.

It was definitely a good time. I always get stressed when having parties, and I think that I don't want to do it again. Then a couple of months go by and I start to forget the not-fun parts. So, there's a possibility that we could be having our 4th Annual Halloween Party next year.

Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday, was double-the-fun, too! We had a nice meal with my family at my parents' house, and we had a meal with one of my good friends a couple of days later. That meant lots of food and, for me, lots of cooking.

Some of my supplies.

For my family Thanksgiving, I made macaroni and cheese (of course), apple cranberry sauce, salted caramel butter bars, pumpkin chocolate swirl cheesecake, and mud slide pie. Other members of my family made a ton of stuff too, so we had lots of food. We even fried some sweet potato chips for fun!

Just the appetizers.

The big meal.

Thanksgiving was on the little one's birthday this year, so we had to give her a moment to be the center of attention (as if she isn't usually).

Happy Birthday!

Then we devoured desserts.

My pumpkin chocolate swirl cheesecake and mudslide pie.

For Rachel's Thanksgiving a couple of days later, I made a cheesy squash casserole and another pretty cheesecake. We gathered at her newly purchased home with some of her family and friends. It was a very neat experience because a couple of the guests had never been to an American Thanksgiving before (they're here from the Middle East). It was great to share part of our culture and learn about others' traditions. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures, but we had a lovely dinner, pleasant conversation, and a little Apples to Apples thrown in at the end.

Double holidays are tons of fun, but I'm not sure I can handle it every year. At least not if I plan on making as much food.

They Grow Up So Fast...

First, a story:

Nearly 18 years ago, on a hot summer afternoon, I sat down with my sister to play a board game. This was a rare occasion, as my sister was ten years older than me and generally thought I was only there to be picked on. But, while she still spent a lot of time telling me I was adopted and randomly singing White Christmas to make me cry, Salem seemed a little more willing to tolerate my presence since she had become pregnant. Maybe she wanted some practice before she had a little kid of her own following her around and bugging her, or maybe she was just growing up. Regardless, there we were: playing Guess Who, the awesomest of two-person kid's games (after Connect Four, of course).

Unfortunately, our game was interrupted when Salem started acting weird. After a couple of trips to the bathroom, she went into the back bedroom to call my mom. I was initially pretty annoyed that she was letting pee breaks and phone calls get in the way of our oh-so-important game, but it didn't take long for me to realize that something was going on. A short time later, my mom came home (in the middle of the afternoon!) and whisked Salem away to the hospital. Apparently, Salem was in labor. And we hadn't finished our game!

Hours later, after all of the hubbub died down, I stood on our back porch with my dad. We looked at the stars and breathed the cool, summer air, while he talked to me about the important role I would have in my new niece's life.

"Someday," he said, "When she's your age, you can tell her all about the day she was born. Tell her that it was overcast and a little chilly. And you can tell her what you were doing and what you were thinking when you found out that today was going to be the day you would become an aunt."

My little mind started going crazy with thoughts of the future. I was determined to be a cool aunt. I would help her learn how to put on makeup, and give her advice about boys, and watch as she reached the important milestones of life. It didn't matter that I didn't know how to put on makeup, or that I still thought boys were gross. I would grow up, and then I would help her grow up.

Well, I don't know how much help I really was over the years. It turns out, my sister is a fantastic mom, and my niece didn't need me to teach her about makeup, boys, homework, or any of those other things. She didn't need a "cool aunt" because she had a really cool mom. But I was fortunate enough to get to watch her grow up. It was so much fun to be around as she went through all of the awkward phases of childhood and the teenage years, and to see her come out the beautiful woman she is now. And I was thrilled to be there, a couple of weeks ago, to see her reach the first of many milestones of her adult life.

Belle graduated from high school!

It was a very emotional event (especially for Salem), but it was certainly a joyous occasion! So we will move away from all the sappiness above, and present the happy events in my more typical blog format! Enjoy:


The whole family gathered to watch her walk with her class and receive her diploma.

Graduation! Belle trying to keep her hat from blowing away before she walks across stage, the kids throwing their hats!

It was very exciting!

After the ceremony, we gathered for food, cake, and presents!

The festivities! I made potato salad and baked beans to go with the spread. And I made Belle a little robot purse and tucked a little graduation happiness inside.

I'm so proud of the woman Belle has become, and Matt and I are excited to be around for the next milestones! Love you, Belle, and good luck at CSU! Go Rams!

Aunts: we're important!

Mundane Things

It's been a while since I've graced this blog with my presence. There's just not been much going on. Of course, we've continued our frequent ski trips:

I'm still awesome.

But other than that, we've been pretty boring around here. A few weeks ago, Matt had a couple of business trips to Aspen and St. Paul, MN. I spent my time alone baking, watching Gilmore Girls, and catching up on my Better Homes and Gardens subscription, so that was a productive week. I've been sick a couple times, which meant more Gilmore Girls and magazines. Awesome. And sadly, my Spring Break has come and gone. I got some cleaning done, had a can't-wait-for-summer trip to Oskar Blues, baked some more, and spent a lot of time reading my books. We also bought a chest freezer.


What thrilling lives we lead.

But baking and watching TV and reading is fun. In fact, after spending all of my February free-time practicing for Salem's wedding, I've found myself wanting to bake all the time. Usually with Gilmore Girls on in the background.

Some of my yummy baking. Raspberry-filled shortbread cookies, and chocolate-chocolate chip cookies.

I've also been utilizing my wonderful ice-cream maker more often, now that I have a giant chest freezer where I have room to freeze my ice-cream maker's core. This means I can spontaneously make ice cream whenever I want!

Yes, my ice-cream maker is sitting on a washing machine. We put it in the laundry room because it makes too much noise.

So that's been our exciting life for the last month. Awesome, I know.

One somewhat exciting piece of news is that I am ridiculously close to being done with my student teaching! Unfortunately, the stress of finding a teaching job has kind of put me in a funk these last few weeks. My funk has, of course, led to more Gilmore Girls, magazines, and books. But I'm trying to remain optimistic about job prospects. It's only April, after all!

Finally, we can't seem to go more than a few weeks in my family without a birthday to celebrate. This time we had a little joint party for Matt's and George's birthdays. We planned to barbecue in the beautiful sunshine, but Colorado decided to give us typical April weather: while it was 84 degrees a mere 24 hours before our party, it was snowing and 30 degrees at barbecue time. Of course, that didn't deter us.

Snow. Not much fun to cook in, but totally worth it.

Birthday festivities, kids decorating cookies, and playing Apples to Apples.

It's always fun to get together with my family, and it helped to get me out of my funk for a little while. If I keep doing fun things like going out with family and friends, I can hopefully stay chipper and make it to summer!