Winter Randoms

Winter has always been my least favorite season. I'm usually ok with the cold weather as we head into the holidays because it puts me in a cozy mood, but then I pretty much think winter should just end. Since Matt and I started skiing and snowshoeing, I've been able to tolerate the cold months a little more. In fact, skiing and snowshoeing (though mostly skiing) are really the most fun things we do in the winter (see upcoming blog post with ALL our fun skiing pictures for the entire season). But we managed to throw in a couple other mini events over the last few months.

1. We've been pretty big fans of the Discovery show Mythbusters for years, so the thought of seeing Mythbusters Live: Behind the Myths was pretty exciting for us. Of course, we really had no idea what to expect from a live version of a show that usually blows up at least one thing each episode. Sadly, there were no giant explosions during the show, and the whole thing was a little weird...


Basically, the whole thing was just very gimmicky. No real myths were tested and it was mostly demonstrations of basic physics. I imagine the show would be really awesome to most of the kids at my schools, and in fact, there were lots of young'uns there having a blast. What made it a little odd was that it wasn't marketed as a kids' show and they didn't completely buy in to the geared-to-kids idea. Instead, it felt like a weird meld between something for adults and something for children.

But I got to stand two feet away from Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, so that's super cool.

Jamie and Adam doing silly things.

Yay Mythbusters!

It was still a fun night, and we're still completely in love with Mythbusters.

2. There's usually some sort of Super Bowl gathering in my family each year, and it's frequently hosted by us. As usual, I failed at taking pictures of anything other than the food. But it was just another football-watching party, and you know what watching football looks like.

My food was rather delicious, if I do say so myself. It included bacon-wrapped smokies, pretzel bites, jalapeno popper dip, guacamole, corn dog muffins, and brown-butter rice krispie treats. Plus some frozen chicken wings and fruit salad.

Yum.

My husband would hate to hear me say this, but I can't even remember who won the game. I spent most of the time eating and talking. So it was a pretty good day.

3. As I'm sure you've seen on my blog before, my dad is in an Eagles tribute band called The Long Run. We like to get out to see him play every now and then, so a while back we went out to see a show at Nissi's, a restaurant/concert venue. Other family members were there, too, so it was a fun time.

Talking, dancing, and acting crazy.

Dad playing.

4. And finally, it wouldn't be winter without at least a little snowshoeing. Our snow was so bad this year so we didn't get out much, but we managed to get in one good snowshoe up Squaw Mountain.

There it is! We had a little bit of a climb ahead of us.

It was a super windy day, as many of our days have been this year. Because it was a summit hike, there were some points where we were pretty exposed to the giant gusts. It was crazy!

On the hike. Someone lost their car under all the snow!

Pretty views from the top. We somehow managed to not get blown away!

We had a couple of other fun things going on this winter (posts coming soon), but mostly just lots of skiing (that post coming soon, too). And now winter is over. Hooray! Bring on spring!

Christmastime is... Gone (Part, the Second)

After a very short stop home, we were off again. My family rented a house in Estes Park where we gathered for New Year's Weekend. We get to see each other a lot more frequently than Matt's side of the family, but it was still nice to sequester ourselves away for the weekend. And it was awesome that every member of our family was able to be there.

We had our big "Christmas" dinner on New Year's Eve, followed by our gift exchange.

The whole family at dinner.

For presents this year, we did our traditional pooling of money, with each person receiving one gift. But because a lot of the money pot went to renting the house, our gifts were less lavish - which is definitely ok by me! I like giving big gifts, but I also like remembering what Christmas is all about! And the kids got lots of gifts, of course.

Presents!

Though the theme was certainly "Christmas" up to that point, we still had a new year to ring in. The start of 2012 involved lots of football, food, shopping, games, and Christmas Carols.

Happy New Year!

We had to acknowledge a little one's birthday:

I'm sure she was happy to get some attention in all the craziness.

And then we just hung out. We ended the weekend with a rousing game of Telestrations, which was hilarious for those who played and highly obnoxious for those who heard us laughing from the other room. That's a pretty typical situation at Krause gatherings.

Best. Game. Ever.

And so, another Christmas has come and gone...

Christmastime is... Gone (Part, the First)

Christmas? In February? That's craazy!

We had quite the Christmas adventure this year, which led us through three states and to five different gatherings. Our first stop was El Dorado, Kansas on Christmas Eve. For the first time in years, the three Krause boys (my dad and uncles) and their wives were able to gather with my grandparents for Christmas. We felt a little bit like kids crashing the grown-up party since there were no other younguns around, but it was nice to see everyone.

After a beautiful dinner made by my aunt and uncle, we sang some Christmas carols and exchanged a few gifts. While Matt and I just sat and watched while the older generations opened their gifts from their draw-a-name exchange, we participated in the fun of the white elephant. Lots of laughter and fun was had!

On Christmas morning we got up early to make the drive to Bella Vista, Arkansas. Matt's immediate family stayed in a nice lake house so that we could have our own little Christmas before the big family gathering at Oma and Opa's.

At our little lake house.

Most of Matt's extended family was able to get together to celebrate, and we had quite a crowd.

The whole clan.

The few days we spend in Bella Vista were full of lots of visiting, playing games, and eating tons and tons of delicious food.

Too soon, we were off to our next stop: Marshall, Arkansas. This portion of the trip was much more subdued, as it was mostly just sitting and chatting with my other grandparents (and a little time visiting my aunt and uncle).

With Granny and Grandpa.

We felt so fortunate to be able to visit all of our 6 living grandparents over the course of a few days - and so fortunate to have these wonderful people in our lives.

But we had to continue onward - to fun times with good friends. We had a reunion in Ark City with our little group of Matt's best friends from high school and their wives. It was the first time in years that all of us were able to gather at the same time, plus we had the addition of Ruby (John and Anna's little one).

The night began with a giant box of beer:

Dac's mystery box of 24 different beers.

And the night continued with hanging out, watching Birdemic (if you have Netflix, you should go waste 2 hours of you life on this movie), and generally acting ridiculous.

We love getting to see so many people in such a short time, but it's definitely exhausting. We were excited to head home to our own bed for a short time. Then we were off again for more Christmas craziness...

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.