Fun Outside

I have been potty training the Prince the last couple of weeks, which has curtailed many outings. (He is doing great, by the way.) So, it was great to go outside and be in the sun. It really made all of us much happier and likable. I had forgotten what a difference it makes to get outside with the kids. Of course, usually I can't get back inside without a major fight, but this time the Prince's hand got covered in snow and he didn't like it. Thankfully, he wanted to go back inside.








The Prince has started saying, "It's awesome." I don't know where he picked it up.

Cicada and Murray have a baby!

We waited and waited for him to come, and finally on Jan. 8th, a new little Canadian was added to the family, and not by me. He is the first cousin for my kids on Fabuloso's side of the family. We are very excited for Cicada and Murray.





























Cicada tried to keep busy as she waited and waited for the baby to come. As part of that, we all went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.

Just some Christmas photos

We had a great Christmas. It was fun having the Canadians here staying with us. The two gifts that were the biggest hit were the Prince's star wars guys and Grandpa M's photobook I made for him from all the kids. Fabuloso's aunt Mary Moo scanned lots of old photos for the album, which was only fitting since, as Grandpa said, she "swipped" them all from him. We really are grateful for all her help. It was a huge hit. The Prince spent the whole Christmas morning silently playing with his guys and Grandpa was entertained with his book. Little V slept through most of Christmas morning. All this made for a very enjoyable Christmas morning for Fabuloso and me.


























We also had a lot of fun with my side of the family. My brother, Funny Little Guy, was in charge of Christmas this year. He did a great job deciding on the meal and entertainment. We had waffles, ham, potatoes, rolls, banana bread, etc. It was so yummy. Then we had a talent show put on by the kids and ended with gifts. It was a great time. (We took a couple of photos, but they didn't turn out great. We will have to get pictures from everyone else.)

Little V was so tired all the time. She had to sleep in our room. It was a disaster. In the end, we kicked Richie out of his own room and put him in the downstairs family room. He didn't sleep as well, but V, Fabuloso, and I were much much better.

It's Time for a New Post

I know it has been so long since we last posted. You may think we don't celebrate any of the Holidays after Halloween. Here is a quick update:

The week of Thanksgiving was great. We had a baby shower for my cousin on Monday. It was great to see all my cousins. My cousin, Coyote, has a beautiful house that can accommodate our big group. He is always very generous in opening it up to us. We loved celebrating the soon arrival of Bad Fox's first baby. On Tuesday, Fabuloso and I went out to dinner with friends. This may have been even better than Thanksgiving for me. It made me realize how little we get a babysitter and go out with friends. It was such a treat to go during the week, too. Really. It was so fun. Thursday we had Thanksgiving at out house with my parents and brother's family. It worked out perfectly. My mom is a great cook and she brought most of the food. My sister-in-law brought the pumpkin pies. We make Pumpkin Chiffon pies in our family. They are so much better than the traditional pumpkin pie. I just love them. Here is the recipe:

PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE
(Rose Family Recipe)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground mace
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¾ c. milk
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 egg whites
1/4 c. sugar
¾ c. heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 9-inch baked pie crust

Combine first 8 ingredients in saucepan. Stir in milk, egg yolks, and pumpkin. Cook and stir over medium heat till mixture boils and gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and chill till partially set. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold into pumpkin mixture and fold in whipped heavy whipping cream. Pile into crust. Chill till firm. Top with whipped cream, whipped.

Try it next year for a change. You will love all the spices and extra flavor.

And on Saturday we had Thanksgiving with the Canadians at our house. It was a little bit smaller affair foodwise, particularly because my sister-in-law, Cicada, has gestational diabetes. But it was still delicious. We hit all the highlights and had lots of pies. Yum.

Then we launched right in to the Christmas season. It was a whirlwind of parties, yummy food, and company. Fabuloso's parents, grandpa, and brother all came to stay with us for about two weeks. We had a great time. I will post pictures and more specific stories in a bit. I have to get pictures from my mother-in-law. For some reason we took a lot of home movies, but not as many still shots. Here are a few of the pictures we do have:












Here we are decorating the Christmas tree. We bought a fake tree this year and a pine scented candle. It worked out great. Kian was so excited about the Santa Clause ornaments. He carried them around for days.


















This is the picture we used in our Christmas card. It will probably be the best Christmas card for our family for the next . . . what . . . ten . . . twenty years. The last picture is of Fabuloso and V at the Ward Christmas party.