Weekly Favorites

Jaana suggested to put up some weekly favorite pictures of Jorel... which is pretty hard because they are all my favorites! So far in 2008, these ones would be my weekly favorites: as you would notice there has only been almost 9 weeks of 2008, and there are more than 9 pics... but you'll just have to deal with it :) They aren't in any particular order either, but anywho.

From: us two

Mom's working world

Have you ever...worked 130 hours in a 9-day period? I have done that twice now and I must say it is enough to make you want to retire EARLY! Unless you die before that! I have done this crazy schedule in the hopes of getting some time off to visit all my kids. The problem seems to be getting the time off. My work place is like a trap - if I go in I cannot get out! However, maybe it is a good thing to have a job so I can pay for all those vacations I will take when I get the time off. Right!? I still have fun from time to time at work with my coworkers. Today Ms. Jean came to my office to tell me something and accidently bumped into an extra chair that had my beautiful black coat laying on it. She jumped because she thought it was a big black cat. I told her that I keep it on a leash so it will not get away or bite her. Ms. Sherry heard us laughing and joined us and our conversation went from cats to goats, specifically Mika's. We decided all goats should have a broomstick stuck on their horns so they could not get through holes in the fences, or doorways at work. Needless to say we all were laughing till we cried and finally Ms. Jean said we all should have goat convertibles. I was wondering what those were. She informed me that of course they were broomsticks to fly on. Well, you had to be there! I think we all have worked too hard and too long and brains have gotten a bit soft! Advise to my children: go get a goat and keep your big black cat on a leash! I love you all!

Crazy Bird

So... our bird IS officially insane. Recently, Killer aka Flashlight has decided to do some home repairs... or should I say dissassembles. He apparently doesn't like the food that we give him because he pushes the tray out of the holder. He also has been wiping his beak on the stick that he stands on and. But the mother of all this renovation is.... are you ready? He has decided to eat the rungs off of his ladder! Well, he's only done one but who knows where this is going to go. Mom said "does he have a difficency of wood?" Which was rather funny. What a crazy bird! Okay, enough of the bird. Jorel is getting cuter and cuter everyday. He is starting to get his laugh down and likes to hold things in his hands. He doesn't quite understand them yet so he gets a little frustrated when they don't work, but he's starting to get it. We enjoyed a nice day outside the other day and I took him to a high school basketball game last friday and he really seemed to enjoy it... I wish there was more places I could take him to get him socialized, but when it gets warmer out, he can come to the softball games :). Anywho. Hope everyone is doing great! Love you all!

-Krista and Jorel

Mom's French Silk Pie

I am going to post this recipe, since it is the best pie in the world:

YOU WILL NEED:
3 egg whites beaten stiff
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
11 graham crackers (crumbled)
1 cup chopped pecans

Fold eggs, sugar, baking powder and pecans into graham cracker crumbs. Bake @ 325 for 20 minutes.

FILLING:
1/2 cup margarine (or butter)
3/4 cup sugar
1 square chocolate
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar, blend in melted chocolate, and add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes after each additional egg. Turn into baked pie shell. Chill 2 hours and top with whipped cream and grated chocolate.

DEEEEEE-LICIOUS!

Thanks Markus!

So I will start. Last night, I was talking to Markus and he mentioned that we are going to need to start having Immediate Family Reunions since we just don't get to see each other very much. Even when we do get together, it always seems like someone or other is missing. I thought these "IFRs" are actually a brilliant idea. (IFR is short for Immediate Family Reunion - if you didn't get that.) I think that if we plan in advance to have some sort of family vacation every couple years, it will give us something to look forward to and a definite way to spend some time together - ALL OF US! I don't think we should have to wait for a Wedding or a 90th Birthday to have an excuse to get together. Just wanted to see what you guys thought.

I know money is tight in certain circumstances, so it’s not like we are going to plan a trip to Hawaii or anything (yet). But I’ve been doing some research and to make our first IFR as cost effective as possible, I came up with 2 options. If anyone else has ideas - PLEASE throw them out there. These can be up for discussion.

Option #1 - The Lake Havasu Family Vacation - we can rent a house in Lake Havasu, AZ and just play on the lake for a few days. The home rentals are not that expensive, the lake is huge and the area is beautiful. Most of the rental homes have a pool, they do fishing trips, boat tours, and you can rent any water toy that you want. Plus we would be going somewhere new and exciting.

Option #2 - The Southern Utah Family Vacation - this would be the same idea except we would stay in Southern Utah. They have Sand Hollow and Zion Nat'l Park, so we would definitely find things to do. But there will be certain restrictions - Mom & Ron won't be allowed to WORK, and we have to plan some actual activities! No just hanging around the house. It is supposed to be a vacation.

Let's talk dates. Does everyone think they could do something later this year? Or do we need to plan more in advance? I was looking at either late September or early October. The weather is still warm, but it's off season. I just wasn't sure if it would conflict with the kids' school so that's one thing to think about.

I also looked into flights for the Missouri people. Either way, you guys would fly into Las Vegas and hitch a ride the rest of the way to Havasu or Utah. You can fly from Kansas City to Las Vegas for about $200/person, round-trip. To fly from Springfield will be about $400/person. I don't know if that's worth it to save on drive time, but that's up to you guys. And of course these prices are dependent on what time of year we have this shin-dig.

Also, just to give you guys an idea of the rental homes in Havasu, most of the places that have a pool and grill and sleep 6-10 people are about $135 a night. Again, this is dependent on the time of year that we go. But if we stay 4-5 nights (I was thinking a long weekend) and split that between all of us, the cost would be about $85/person for a whole 5 days - not counting Jorel or Luke. They are free. You can't get that rate at a hotel! Keep in mind that if we rent the house, we will have to bring our own food, but since we'll have a fridge and everything we can buy at the grocery store and have cook-outs at the house to save some money.

I may have gotten ahead of myself, because I am REALLY excited about this. So I hope it is something that we can work out. I guess the info we need to discuss is:

a. What dates will work for you & your family?
b. Do we want to try & do this in 2008 or plan for 2009?
c. Which vacation destination to you prefer?
d. What can we afford?
e. How long do we want to stay?

So let's talk about it and get this thing rolling!
Love you guys - Jaana

Let's Start Here!

Hello Family! I thought I would create this blog for all of us to keep in touch. Anyone can post at anytime, so we can see what everyone has been up to. Have a funny story? Post it. Have an idea for a get-together? Post it. Want to just share some thoughts? Post it. Have a good recipe (Mom)? Post it. I think you are getting the idea here.