New Cousin Jack

Aidan, Leo, Ethan and Riley have a new cousin, Jack Michael Peryam. He was born at 4:39 this morning (AK time). He weighs 8 pounds, 1 ounce and he is 20.5" long. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. Oh boy, is he ever going to be loved by many!

I'll post a picture as soon as I can. I'm so thrilled I can barely stand myself! I'm an Auntie for the third time.

Rushell kindly started a blog to share information about her and Jack's lives in AK. The link is on the side bar to the right!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Family and Friends!

Although we are not with you at Easter we are thinking about ya all so much.

Marc and Cindy are here visiting us for Easter and our friends Becs and Jake are coming over so we are getting to spend the holiday with family and great friends.

I'm cooking today. Here is le menu:

Porchetta


2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 5 1/2- to 6-pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), excess fat trimmed with thin layer left intact
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth


Stir fennel seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until slightly darker in color and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill and cool. Add kosher salt, peppercorns, and dried crushed red pepper. Grind to medium-fine consistency (not powder).


Place pork in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Rub garlic all over pork, then coat with spice mixture. Loosely cover pork with waxed paper. Refrigerate overnight.


Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large rimmed baking sheet with oil. Place roast, fat side up and coating intact, in center of sheet. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons oil. Roast pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 190°F, about 3 hours 15 minutes longer. Transfer pork to cutting board; reserve baking sheet. Let pork rest 15 to 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, pour all pan juices into 2-cup measuring cup. Spoon off fat that rises to top. Place reserved baking sheet across 2 burners. Pour wine and broth onto baking sheet and bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until wine mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Add degreased pan juices and whisk to blend. Pour pan sauce into small bowl (sauce will be thin).


Thinly slice roast. Serve with sauce.


So, the porchetta has a special place in my heart. Not only do I heart pork, when I went to Italy I discovered the delicious goodness of porchetta. I had dinner at a friends house while I was in Rome. We went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and they had samples of porchetta. I fell in love, right then and there. The next day we went to this little sandwich shop and they made me a porchetta sandwich with arugula on a nice crispy fresh piece of bread. It really doesn't get better than that!


We also had:

Acorn Squash


1 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


Turn acorn squash upside down onto a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven until it begins to soften, approximately 30 to 45 minutes.


Remove squash from the oven and turn onto a plate so that the flesh is facing upwards. Place butter and brown sugar into the squash, and place remaining squash over the other piece. Place squash in a baking dish (so the squash wont slide around too much) while baking.


Place squash in the 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven and bake another 30 minutes.

Spinach and Orzo Salad
Courtesy of Rebecca "Economists in the Kitchen"


1 (16 ounce) package uncooked orzo pasta
1 (10 ounce) package baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar


Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in spinach, feta, onion, pine nuts, basil and white pepper. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Refrigerate and serve cold.


Note: This makes a ton, but the leftovers keep really well.
 

 
Scallop Potatoes: Very Good!
Courtesy of Pam Cooney
 
1 half stick Oleo or butter melted
1 pint sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup (can also use cream of mushroom)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 medium onion chopped fine
2 lbs. hashbrown shredded potatoes frozen
 
Mix melted butter, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese and onions together.
Pour over hashbrowns.
Toss until potatoes are well coated.
Put in baking dish (13x9, spray with cooking spray).
Top with breadcrumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
 
These potatoes make the house smell delish and they taste amazing.
 

Finally, the piece de resistance Bec's almond pound cake, strawberry, vanilla pudding, whip cream trifle. It was absolutely delish!!! We also had easter cupcakes which were oh so good!
 
Happy Easter!! We love you!

10K Race and Cherry Blossoms

Before the race

This weekend we went down to Richmond because Jason was running in his first 10k (Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K). We drove down on Friday after work and school. Doris came with us but she ended up driving on her own. (We tried to get her to ride with us but she wanted to drive on her own.) It was a sad, sad, day for Doris. She couldn't get into the HOV lane and spent hours miserable on the highway. We met her 1/2 way down, about an hour away in Fredricksburg VA at the Red Robin. We got down there about 1.5 hours earlier and entertained ourselves at the Target and Five Below store (Aidan really, really wanted a basketball--who knew?!?). We had dinner and Doris' stress level went down by a thousand points. I rode with her the rest of the way and we got into Richmond at about 9:45pm. Marc and Cindy were waiting for us and they were so kind to put us all up and show us a super good time!

Jason getting ready to give five to Uncle Marc

Marc and Jason ran the race and their supporters (us!) were trying to catch them near the finish. Marc finished in 49 minutes and 19 seconds and Jason finished in (an amazing!) 59 minutes and 18 seconds! Marc came in 2,901 place and Jason came in 9,999 place. On the face of it one might think that is not so good but there were...wait for it, wait for it...41,314 registered participants!! We saw Jason about 200 yards from the finish line and when we saw him he was looking really good! He was running, and fast, and he had a smile on his face!!! He did amazing. Afterwards, he and Marck took a nap (as did Leo...to be fair he did get up really early) and Jason's knee was really aching. Today (Monday) he said it was feeling good. He even went to the gym today.

After the race

Later in the afternoon Cindy, Doris and I went to Careytown and shopped a little and when it started to rain we finished the shopping and went to Cafe Caturra for wine (great bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio) and snacks (breads and spreads). It was such a nice, nice weekend.

Right now is Cherry Blossom season so at work I took a nice little walk down to the tidal basin to see the beautiful, beautiful cherry blossoms. My new office is just about 5-7 minute walk from the basin. It's wonderful. In the second photo, you can also see how crowded the tidal basin is!

Better Late than Never

Here are a few more pictures from the cousins visit. We went to the Natural History Museum and saw the dinosaurs and the big elephant and then rolled to Georgetown, we went to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport (on a side note, this is Leo's ultimate favorite museum and he wanted to take everyone on a tour of the museum. He was so excited to present the space shuttle to Auntie Heather, Ethan and Riley), on Saturday we Thanksgiving and on Sunday we went to the Baltimore Aquarium and saw the cool sting rays, sea turtle with one fin, sharks, and a super Dolphin show.

Here are a few more pictures from our visit.

Here is a picture of the boys getting ready to head out for the day. We rented a small car during the visit so I usually drove the big boys and Jason usually drove the little guys. We rocked it in the rental car.

 The boys at the aquarium. The Baltimore Aquarium is pretty fun. The Dolphin Show is the best part of the Aquarium. I also really love the sting rays pool. Ethan and Riley were excited to see the Sharks.

 The boys played out on the tennis courts and the playground that are in the back of our house.
 They played soccer, rolled cars down the slide and played on the swings.

 We went to this restaurant in Baltimore before we went to the Aquarium and apparently they thought it was a good business plan to open a restaurant where the waiters are rude and treat customers badly. It was pretty funny and we had a great time but I thought this was kind of risky. What if people don't want to be back talked by their waiter, get their own food, and where a hat that says "I'm a world champion booger-eater".

 This is a side ways picture of Ethan, Riley and Leo at the Aquarium. Just lean your head to the left.

 Here is another picture at the Aquarium. We are waiting for the Dolphin Show to start.

At the end of the trip we were all sad that they were leaving. We had tears a few times but we had a really great time and look forward to their next visit.

We were happy that Riley's black eye and Leo's goose egg had faded and they made it home safely. Their trip sounds like a bit of nightmare since they came home to snow, snow, snow. It took them hours to get home from the airport when it should have only taken 20 minutes. I told Heather please don't let your travel home affect your decision to travel to DC again!

Auntie Rushell in Pakistan

Auntie Rushell left for Pakistan last Tuesday (August 31) on a Humanitarian mission to help with the flood relief efforts. She is going because the army is sending 18 helicopters and she repairs helicopters. The Department of Defense (DoD) has posted a briefing on Rushell's deployment and I have copied and pasted it at the bottom of this post. Also, here is a map of the flood areas in case you are interested.

I couldn't be more proud of Rushell. She will help people that have lost their homes, don't have food, clothing, or medical care. So far, the US military has transported over 3 million pounds of humanitarian relief supplies and rescued over 11,000 people.

Rushell left in a C-17 and we heard from her when they landed in Germany. In true form Rushell posted a picture of an Audi on her facebook page (it was on the base in Germany). She also included a photograph of her and her colleague (what's the right word?) on the C17. I thought it was really informative because I wondered what it looked like on the inside. How do you sleep on a plane like that for what must be a 15 hour flight?

She sure has had a very different experience traveling to Germany than I ever had. I get to fly commercial and get felt up at the Frankfurt airport traveling through security. It's the kind of inspection that you feel like you should have gotten a promise ring before that type of interaction-at least a nice dinner and glass of wine.

We haven't heard from her since she left Germany (Dad and Joan: if you have please let me know) but I have been watching the US Embassy Pakistan website.  On September 1st two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters arrived in Pakistan on a C17. They arrived at the Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala, Rawalpindi. On September 2nd, the Embassy posted the arrival of 4 additional helicopters (it sounds like these are Marine helicopters). They note that the 18 additional helicopters from Alaska will arrive over the week and will arrive at the Chaklala Air Base and will eventually be moved to Ghazi Air Base. Chaklala Air Base is in Rawalpindi which is in the northern part of Pakistan. The map shows it in the Northeastern part of Pakistan, below Islamabad.

So, I know very little about Pakistan except that coincidentally when Rushell called last Saturday to tell us that she is leaving I happened to be reading a book called Three Cups of Tea which is the story of an American mountain climber who has devoted his life to building schools for Afghanistan and Pakistani children. After attempting to climb K2, unsuccessfully, he spends time in many small remote villages in Pakistan. Because he was a climber, the book talks a lot about the geography and natural environment in Pakistan-he even talks about the River Indus which is where there is significant flooding. I was happy I happened to be reading the book when she called to tell me she was leaving. I really recommend the book. I am more than two-thirds into the book and really enjoyed it. Joan is reading it too.

I'm not thrilled that Rushell's first trip out of the country is to Pakistan. I wish it had been to Italy. But I am in awe at what she is doing and I imagine that the next few weeks and months will be tiring, exhausting, and truly challenging and a really good reason for us to go to Italy when she gets back!

Additional U.S. Helicopters to Deploy to Support Pakistan Flood-Relief Efforts

The Department of Defense announced today the deployment of 18 additional helicopters to Pakistan as part of the expanding U.S. contribution to flood-relief efforts.

The aircraft, which include 10 CH-47 Chinook and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and associated personnel are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The unit will operate in partnership with the Pakistani military throughout flood-impacted areas.

These helicopters are expected to begin flood-relief efforts in Pakistan in mid-September.

This is the latest in a series of deployments in response to Pakistan's urgent request for flood-relief assistance. Approximately 15 U.S. military helicopters and three C-130 aircraft already supporting flood-relief efforts in Pakistan have transported more than 2 million pounds of humanitarian assistance supplies and rescued more than 7,000 people, delivering much-needed aid and providing transport to people who urgently need emergency assistance.

Since the floods began July 29, the U.S. has provided $150 million to support immediate relief efforts and has allocated an additional $50 million to assist with re-establishment of communities impacted by the floods.
For information on the supporting unit for this deployment, please contact Army Alaska public affairs at 907-384-1542.

The latest information on U.S. government support to Pakistan's flood relief is available on the U.S. Embassy Islamabad Web site at: http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/flood_relief_assistance_2010.html .

Weekend Entertainment

Over the past couple of weekends we really have tried hard to do nothing and we have succeeded! Work is so incredibly draining that I have absolutely zero energy by the end of it. Thank goodness the rest of the family is on board.

On Friday, I got my haircut. I had rescheduled the appointment twice. Jason had a horrible migraine. I took the metro to Grosvnor and then a cab to the White Flint mall. Doris picked up Aidan and Leo and they met me at the mall and we had dinner at Bertucci's. Apparently when Doris picked up the boys Jason barely even acknowledged that they were leaving. While Doris and Aidan are fumbling around trying to figure out the car seat thing Jason was throwing up he was so nauseous. Poor Jason. Meanwhile Doris is cracking up outside putting the boys in the car. We tried to stay out as long as possible so Jason would have some peace. Aidan, Leo and I slept downstairs so we didn't bother Jason.

On Saturday, Jason felt much, much better. Even still we did absolutely nothing during the day except I went to the grocery store with the boys quickly to pick up the needed ingredients to make dip. For Bec's birthday she was throwing a dip party. It was so fun. Bec's and Jake always throw the best parties. The party started at 5pm but at 2 o'clock Leo said, "I'm ready to go to Becs and Jake's house now." Becs made a delicious Moroccan carrot dip and a spinach dip, Doris made her 6 layer dip, Sarah made delicious spring rolls with a peanut dip sauce, there was edamame hummus, warm bean dip, shrimp dip and to top it all off there was a beautiful and super yummy big bowl of peach, strawberry, vanilla, coconut ice cream. Leo especially loves their house because of "Reggie" the cat. Leo loves Reggie. He wants to constantly watch him and follow him around. And I love Liam and wanted to constantly watch him and follow him around. Liam is Sarah and Kevin's adorable 1 year old son and he is always so super happy, curious and loves everyone. I taught him about light switches and "on" and "off". He's fantastic.

Today Sunday we all woke up after 9am. I got up at 6am with Aidan and Leo sleeping in our bed. Leo was close to me with his head near my feet and his feet near my head. I was worried about kneeing him in the face so I went downstairs to sleep some more and woke up at 9:30! I couldn't believe it. I have not slept in until 9:30 since I had kids. It felt glorious. Right now, we are all watching iCarly, I'm making dinner and we are relaxing.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

DC United versus Seattle Sounders FC

DC 0 - Sounders 1

Sad.

Jason and I went to the game last night. We weren't sure who we would root for but as it turned out we wanted DC to win. In the 89th minute Seattle scored their one and only goal.

Doris babysat the boys. She is nice to help us so much. We are so lucky to have Doris in our lives. When we got home at 10:45pm she was sleeping on my side of the bed, Leo was sleeping close to the bottom and Aidan was sleeping on Jason's side. They made a triangle of sorts. The TV was playing Princess and the Frog. The were so cute!

It was so hot at the game even though it was at 8pm. We were sweating just sitting. At 10:45 at night it was still 77 degrees. Feeling hot, hot, hot!

Weekend Fun

It's Tuesday and it is shaping up like a crazy week. Last night I left the office at 7pm again. By the time the boys picked me up it was close to 8pm. Leo didn't have a nap (Jason doesn't consider sleeping in the car for 5 minutes a nap-go figure) so when they picked me up he was already asleep. Aidan was awake but it was already time for bed by the time I scarfed down a piece of meatloaf, some mashed potatoes, and a salad. Of course everyone had already eaten.

This week I have decided to bring my little netbook to work and take some time at lunch to eat a place that has free wi-fi (love Starbucks!) and spend some personal time blogging and searching the job announcements. Right now as I type I am at the Potbelly's close to work and using the Starbucks' free wi-fi (Starbucks is right next door to the Potbelly's).

This past Friday I left work early and after we picked up Aidan from school we headed down to Richmond for the night. Once we got down there we met Thotlady and Bogey at a local pizza place for beer and pizza which was really fun. After dinner, Jason and his brother, Bogey, went to the Alice in Chains concert. Jason's Dad is cousins with the father of the drummer so that makes Jason the second cousin to the drummer (I think). In any case, Dennis called his cousin and they got free tickets to the concert. They really wanted to meet their second cousin (the drummer) but it just didn't work it. I can't believe the drummer didn't want to meet Jason and Bogey! The boys and Cindy and I went back to their place and got the boys ready for bed and we all watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was a lot of fun.

In the morning Cindy went and got bagels from Einsteins (which we love!) and around lunch time we went Careytown Teas which has some super amazing tea choices. We bought a couple of different kinds (my favorite is vanilla rooibos (an herbal red tea grown in South Africa)). After that we had lunch at a sub shop and then we went for a nice walk downtown along the river. It was a beautiful day. I think we all enjoyed being outside and the boys loved throwing rocks in the river. After that, at about 4:30, we left and headed back up to DC. We had a great time and enjoyed the time away and the wonderful hospitality.

On Sunday, we had an appointment at Target to have Leo's four year pictures taken. If you recall from last year, Leo hates getting his picture taken and we barely managed to get a 3 year photo of him where he is not crying. This year, after a bit of preparation, he was all ready. The photographer managed to get 5 shots of him and that was it. Three shots were great and the other he had his eyes closed or he was on the verge of tears. She took a couple of pictures of him standing up, with his hand in his pocket, he smiled his ever charming smile with dimple, and after that he was done. She asked him to sit on a stool and he started crying. Thus ended the photo shoot.

After the photo shoot picked up a few things for Aidan's room. After a terrible night Saturday night of getting Aidan to sleep we offered to help Aidan redecorate his room to something that he loved. He was complaining and crying Saturday night that he didn't like his room so I calmly offered to help him on Sunday redecorate it. Don't get me wrong, I was not calm during the whole escapade. He wanted to change his desk and dresser around and we got him a small cube of shelves with baskets to store some of his things. He did a great job cleaning and organizing. By 8:30 we had to order him to stop cleaning and when he woke up on Monday morning he jumped out of bed and went straight to organizing his desk. He is so cute!

All in all we had a fun weekend. We hope yours was great too.

We also hope you all have a great week. It is sunny and 60 on our side of the continent.

THANK YOU Auntie Rushell!!

Auntie Rushell sent Leo a package with his birthday present. It came in a gigantic Disney box and Leo was so excited to get it. We couldn't torture him by not letting him open it. So even though it was a little early (his Birthday is on Tuesday) we let him open it. Inside the box was a Disney Cars tool set (did you know Leo loves Cars?) with an electric paint sprayer and electric drill with different drill bits. He was so excited he said, "This day just keeps getting better and better" and "I love it so much." He has also been walking around the house saying, "Now I can fix our car." I don't think we will let him at the Saturn any time soon as it is our only car but maybe, just maybe, he will grow up knowing how to fix cars and other mechanical things. We should be so lucky as no one else in his immediate family is that talented. Let's just say the car repair shops love it when the Holma family drives up!

Leo is so excited for his birthday it has been hard for him to contain the excitement. He is also very anxious for it to arrive. The other day he started crying a little bit saying "It take so long, it take so long." It's tough being almost four. Aidan is having a little bit of a tough time with all of the Leo Birthday talk but he is managing very well also. Originally we planned on staying a night or two at a hotel for his birthday. He wanted the hotel instead of a party. I told you...the boys love staying in hotels as does their Mama! But given all the snow and the weather issues past and possibly in our future we just didn't think it was a good idea so instead we have put together a little impromptu birthday party of very kind and wonderful friends. We will have a little brunch and cake and ice cream. Leo picked out an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins that has Iron Man on it. He loves Iron Man. We also picked up a few Spiderman plates and we got a few balloons. I hope he likes it.

Auntie Rushell also sent the boys two totally awesome t-shirts from Hawaii. She got them at an ice cream shop and they are super cool. The boys tried them on immediately after opening and wore them for the rest of the day. THANK YOU Auntie Rushell!

Snow?!?!

So, I hear we are supposed to get some snow this weekend. Sometime mid-afternoon through the evening it should fall. Apparently only 2-4 inches but areas South of here (Thotlady and Bogey) are supposed to get upwards of 10 inches. Why can't the winds change to bring a lot more here? And can you please, please tell me why the snow always comes on Friday or Saturday and not during the week where I could possibly get the day off or at the very least I would settle for a "2-hour delay". I mean really is that too much to ask for.

Not a lot planned for the weekend. Jason is supposed to work tomorrow (not too long) and Doris may come over to scrapbook Saturday evening after the boys go to bed and other than that no plans. Tonight I didn't get home from work until 8pm (I know) but when I got in the car Leo asked if we could sleep on the blow up bed so we are going to sleep in the living room tonight.

Today, Aidan took another spelling test and got 100% correct (10/10). Hello! Look at that penmanship. He studied really hard and it paid off. We are searching for a preschool for Leo that is affordable (not an easy task) and hmm...what else? That's about it.

Still no doggy.

Ahem, where is Jason's movie review blog?

(Extended) Mother's Night Out

Thanks to Allan's generosity, Marcia and I enjoyed an extended Mother's night out. It was only Marcia's second time overnight without the children and it was my second or third night away not on business. On Saturday, we road the (Acela!) train to Philly arriving at about 2:00pm. We headed straight to hotel Sofitel (Bonjour!) where we were staying and while we were waiting to check in and waiting for our room to get ready we spent about 40 minutes with the hotel Concierge planning our trip. He arranged our dinner reservations, evening entertainment and spa treatment for the next day. He was the best!

After we checked into our room and tested our our super comfy beds, we did a little window shopping. We had a wonderful dinner at Sampan where we tried many different (not so small) modern Asian dishes. You are going to drop dead on the floor when you read this but one of my favorite dishes was the brussel sprouts. I know! I also loved the Papaya and Kobe beef salad and the lobster goyza.

After dinner we went to a play called Becky Shaw which was a 5 person cast show. The playwright is Gina Gionfriddo who is a producer/writer of Law and Order. It is a funny and serious story about a date set up and the date is a little wacky and sets in motion a number of events that the family then has to deal with. I have to admit that when I first sat down and the show started, I was expecting them to break into song. Musicals are the only shows I have seen recently. Also there was quite a bit of swearing in the show. I kept thinking "what's with the swearing?" and Marcia and I would keep looking at each other thinking "what with all the swearing?". I think it's because we both have this heightened hearing for swear words...whenever their is swearing on the TV or radio we change it so the kids don't hear and I haven't been to an adult play/musical for a really long time. After dinner and the play we went back to our hotel and had fresh, homemade ginger ale and an apple tartin with cinnamon ice cream in our hotel bar. Yum!

The next day we went to the Spa, Marcia got her hair cut and I got a facial. After that we did some more shopping and then had a fantastic late lunch at the Continental restaurant. It was delicious and probably the best meal we had. I had the veggie burger and french fries and Marcia had a corn, pablano and cheese omelet. For dessert we shared the "liquid" chocolate french toast which was totally to die for. After lunch we headed back to the train station for our 4:12 departure and we got into DC at about 5:45pm. It was a really nice and relaxing trip. We had such a great time.

While I was in Philly the boys went to see Princess and the Frog and ate dinner at McDonald's. They totally love it when I go away because they get to eat at McDonald's. The next day they were home most of the day because we were getting Direct TV installed. Sadly, our run of free cable has ended. Over the last year, the channels kept dropping and dropping. It was a good five year run!

Today we went over to Becs and Jake's house for a wonderful lunch of butternut squash lasagna, salad, baked ziti, roasted cauliflower and garlic bread and for dessert Bec's made the most delicious pumpkin chocolate bundt cake. It was such a wonderful meal and amazing company. Doris was with us and Kevin, Sarah and beautiful Liam. He (Liam of course) was so amazingly good the entire day we were with him. He sat quietly and content in his chair while we ate and he was happy to let us all play with him and hold him. He's a fantastic baby. (I'm going to try to add the cake and lasagna recipes on the sidebar of our blog too!)

Aidan and Leo love Becs and Jake's house because they are super nice, let the boys play Wii and because they have two cats, Reggie and Dewey. The loved watching Reggie jump in and out of the cat window/door, they also loved playing with him and his toys!, and they thought it was super cool that Reggie likes to play with (real) mice. They were mesmerized by the (real) mouse split in half in the front yard. Gruesome, I know, but boys like that kind of stuff. Leo was funny and got some toilet paper to pick up a dead bug for Becs and he used toilet paper to get a stink bug for her too! Bugs and mice how cool!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! We had a very fun New Year. We rented a cabin in Belle Isle Virginia State Park. The State Parks actually rent cabins! Actually it was called a guest house because it was next to a mansion that could also be rented. The cabin slept 8, well actually, probably 9 but we had 8.5. Barb and Dennis, Thotlady, Bogey and Bramwell (cute dog in the pictures) and us 4. Thotlady found it and it was a bit of a risk because none of us had scene it before but it was fantastic! It has a well stocked kitchen, big family room and big dining room. It had one bedroom with double bed, one with bunks beds with the bottom bunk a double bed and the two couches in the living room folded out into beds (our room). It was right on the water. The back of the house is literally 5-10 feet from the water. Belle Isle is bordered by Deep Creek (where our cabin looked out on to), Mulberry Creek and the Rappahannock River.


As you can see we work up to beautiful views out on the creek and in the distance beyond we could see the enormous Rappahannock River. There were a ton of birds surrounding us and we went for walks every day. The last day, January 2, 2010 was freezing cold, unbearably cold but the other days were cold but great.

We took walks in the State Park which we pretty much owned because there was no one else staying in the park while we were there. We played cards, a little old maid, 31, and phase-10. We had lots of snacks (I love snacks) and ate great meals. We each took a meal time. I made chicken enchiladas and rice on New Years, Thotlady made Monkey muffins (yum-o), Barb made Lasagna and Jason made pancakes in the morning.

The cabin had a DVD player and direct TV so we watched Night at the Museum and started to watch Harry Potter, Half-Blood Prince and to my chagrin but in Crow's honor Sponge Bob.

When I asked Aidan what his favorite part of the cabin was he said the "shells". We found some really pretty oyster shells and other shellfish. We saw lots of birds but not a lot of other wildlife but we did see evidence of their existence including deer droppings, deer tracks, and other four-legged animal tracks.

December 31, 2009. Arrival at the cabin. It was quite foggy the day we arrived but beautiful nonetheless

Jason and Leo on our nature walk

The boys searching for shells

Amy playing solitare

Happy New Year everyone! We wish you a wonderful, peaceful, healthy and happy New Year!

Christmas Day

Our Christmas Tree

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had fondue and lots of white wine. We opened presents from family that we would usually spend Christmas Eve with, the Fosters and Ritualos. The boys had a great time. Later in the evening, we set cookies out for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. In the morning, they were gone and stockings were filled and Santa left presents for Aidan and Leo. They must have been very, very good. On Christmas morning the boys woke up around 7:30am--a respectable hour--and ran downstairs to see if Santa had come. He did!!! Leo got a RC Jumbo Jet and Aidan got a Nintendo DS. After Aidan opened his DS game Oma asked, "Did you ask Santa for any games?" Aidan's face went long and serious and he sadly said, "no." No matter because his family came through for him and Grandpa Russ and Grandma Joan and Pa and Crow got him some new games so he was set.

Aidan and Jason playing the DS

Leo was very excited opening presents. Every time he opened a toy he had to take time to open it and play with it. The first toy he opened was Mater the Greater from Grandpa Russ and Grandma Joan--which required lots of assembly--but he loves playing with it. Uncle Marc kept teasing the boys that they were going to get underwear and socks. When Aidan finally opened the underwear that crow got him he couldn't believe it and he yelled "Uncle Marc, look I got underwear!" When Leo opened his underwear (Thomas the Train) he threw them down and said he hated underwear! Little do they know that getting underwear from Pa and Crow is a tradition!

Aunt Cindy looking a her new cookbook and Bramwell sniffing around for something exciting.

After we opened presents from the Holmas we took a bit of a break to have Cinnamon Rolls and pumpkin bread. We make Cinnamon Rolls because Grandma Joan always made Cinnamon Rolls for us in the morning. Oma loved the house sign mom found at the Puyallup fair that says, "Oma and Opa's house"-they couldn't believe you found it and look forward to putting it up on their house. I got a new camera which was exciting and these pictures are from my new camera. I still have a lot to learn about using it. On a side note, the users manual comes on a CD and not in paper which means I am much less likely to learn how to use it! The camera was one of the last presents I opened which is why I have so few pictures of opening presents! I also got an Edward and Bella "New Moon" fuzzy blanket. Good one mom! Aidan hates it!

Christmas Dinner at the grown up table: Jandan (our neighbor), A. Cindy, U. Marc, Oma, Jason and Opa

We had a wonderful dinner of spiral honey ham, Aunt Pam's yummy potatoes, Unyun's Green Bean surprise and salad. We had good music, good food, and good company. We had a lovely Christmas. I missed so much the rest of our family. The boys really, really loved opening your presents and I wish you ALL could be here to watch them open them and see the excitement. We are so lucky to have such a large and loving family. Thank you so much!! We are forever grateful for your love and kindness.

Christmas dinner at the kids tables!

Busy Week

We have had a busy week and a half with Crow here. The boys have been having a great time with Crow or as Leo calls her "Tow". Crow has been teaching Aidan how to play Lego Indiana Jones or wait, maybe Aidan has been teaching Crow. They have been playing Candy Land, cards, dominoes, Legos, ball, reading books and they worked outside raking leaves. Most importantly, we had a super great Thanksgiving dinner. I forgot how much I love a really good turkey dinner.

On Friday, we went to the Aquarium which was great fun! When we first moved to the DC area, Jason and I were never really impressed with the B'more aquarium. We thought it was way overpriced and overrated. But we have changed our mind. They have added a number of new exhibits including a jellyfish exhibit, Dolphin show and Australian exhibit and it is fun and impressive. Crow even liked it.

Crow has done some serious Christmas shopping which has been great for me as well because I have gotten a lot of my Christmas done as well! I still need to make a list but I don't think I have much left to buy. How great is that?!

Today we ate a delicious lunch at Mario's (don't be jealous Pa and Sarah!). Crow and I split a "Lefty's special" and the boys had pizza. For dinner, Crow made us chili which we now have frozen for dinners later in the year. And today we put up a lot of Christmas decorations. We put up just about everything but the Christmas tree. It was great! Crow, Leo and I put the decorations up outside and Leo had a great time. He is really getting in the Christmas spirit and excited. Leo made us go to the other side of the street and admire our handy work!

Tonight we are going to play Wii. I'm going to show Crow how tight rope walking is really done!

Tomorrow is a very sad day in the Holma Family household. Crow is leaving tomorrow in the evening. We will all be so sad but will be awaiting her return in April (& Grandma Jackie!)

Happy Labor Day Weekend

I'm not in the mood to blog, maybe it's getting back to the ol' grind after a long weekend, I dunno but here are some pictures with a few comments.

Saturday evening and Sunday morning...

Cousin Ryan, Cheryl, Aidan and Leo

Amy, Ryan and Cheryl sitting around talking. Jason is taking the photo and can you guess where Leo and Aidan were? Yep! Riding their bikes!

Aidan and Leo in the trunk of cousin Ryan's Porsche.

We also visited Connie and her kitties, Nat and Ana, on Saturday morning and ate lunch at a great place called Kiwi in Arlington.

On Sunday Jason finished putting the shelves up in the storage room and Sunday night, we went to the Doris' Parent's (Mommy and Daddy's) house for dinner and had great burgers and hot dogs and puerto rican beans and rice (yum!). On Monday we went to the Aquarium in Baltimore.

Jellyfish Invasion Exhibit

At the Dolphin Exhibit (super cool!)

Sting Rays