Anniversary Roses

It was our anniversary yesterday, and Panod came home with a dozen beautiful roses last night. Unfortunately, I had a horrible A&PII exam today so I ended up focusing on that instead of the celebratory day at hand. But, we're being treated to an evening of Blue Man Group this weekend (thank you UrbanPlanet!)- that will be a blast!

Snow & Bunnies

Taylor & Ian hugging a snowman they made on the parkway today

We have had more snow in the past couple of days than we have had nearly all winter. The greatest part about getting the snow in March is that it always melts within several days.

Today was a day to enjoy an Easter egg hunt, and make a snowman. The Easter egg hunt was held at the Java Train coffee shop - just down the street from our house. Last year the hunt was outside, but this year the eggs were hidden inside of the shop because of the snow. Half of the shop is currently being renovated, and it was a nice open space that worked out well for the kids. The best part was that grandma was able to join us - and she brought the kids bubbles! We all stayed at the coffee shop after the egg hunt, and we ate lunch together. It was nice to hang out with our neighbors, their children, and my mom.

When we got home, the kids and I didn't even go inside. I snowblowed our driveway, the neighbors driveway, the sidewalk - really anything I could find. I have this sick love for snowblowing. My neighbors don't understand it, but they benefit from it so they try not to make too much fun of me. While I was doing that, the kids were busy playing in the snow, and making sure that all of the snow I had just gotten off of the driveway, ended up right back on it, again. When the snowblower finally ran out of gas, we decided to make a mad dash for the parkway and build a snowman. Panod had to be summoned to come and help us get the middle and top pieces on because they were too big for us to lift up.

And here is the easiest pie recipe I've ever made. I gave it try tonight, and it is sooooo good! The recipe calls for a piecrust that is already baked, so I just grabbed a graham cracker crust.

Sugar Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups half-and-half cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix cornstarch and sugar. Add 4 tablespoons butter and half-and-half. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy. Add vanilla.
2. Preheat oven broiler to high.
3. Pour mixture into piecrust. Drizzle 2 tablespoons butter over top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Put under broiler until butter bubbles--watch it carefully as it doesn't take long. Refrigerate.

I got this lovely recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Cream-Pie-I/Detail.aspx

New Babies, Great Dachshund Video & Snow

I have got to stop drinkin' the water around here! Seriously! Our neighbors across the street had a baby boy last week, and our next-door neighbors had a baby girl early this morning. With all of the other little ones running around here, there is going to be a large group of kids ruling the neighborhood in a couple of years. Many congratulations & sleep vibes going out to the happy new parents.

Panod and I felt it necessary to share this dachshund video on the blog. This is the coolest thing I've seen in a while - and I now want to spend my spring break trying to build one.


I was in touch with our family down in the Atlanta area during the storms over the weekend. The tornado that hit the city was close to them, but everyone is O.K. It sounds like they have shut-down the city today and asked everyone to stay out so that the clean-up can begin. Now that we know the family is O.K., the next question can be asked: is the Varsity still standing?? It is right there near the Olympic Village - ack!

While we are on the topic of the weather, MN is getting a good old fashioned March storm today and tomorrow. It was supposed be mostly rain, but it looks like NOAA has just issued a snow advisory for us. With 3-5 wet inches possible before tomorrow afternoon, that can only mean that chicken and dumplings are going on the stove this afternoon. I'll try and get some pics up tomorrow of the snow, before it all melts away.

Today @ 1:30pm

2008 Minneapolis Auto Show - Lori Breaks a BMW M5 Worth $83,000

I don't know how Panod managed to get it on video, but I seriously tried (not really) to damage one of the sweetest cars on the floor of the 2008 Minneapolis Auto Show this afternoon. I love the BMW M5, and I deeply respect this vehicle and all of its technical glory. That being said, I went and did this....



O.K. - the car is fine. I had gone and hit a button on the roof that popped out and folded down - scaring the crap out of me. The thought of breaking something in that car just about gave me heart-failure! I jumped out and Panod jumped in - only to laugh at me, because I hadn't actually broken anything.

And although Panod and I took two hours to comb through all of the cars together this afternoon, somehow we didn't even make it halfway through the cars on the floor. We had a great time and we got to see most of the cars we were really looking forward to seeing, but I will make sure that more time is set aside for next year. Here are the pictures:

Spring in Como

I know that I had said that I was going to post about the auto show on Wednesday, but WOW - I didn't realize that today was going to be so beautiful! I have to post these pictures a little early. It was nearly 50 degrees out this afternoon! So, the kids and I hit Como Lake for snack time and some mud-stompin'. Panod even joined in the fun when he went for a run around the lake and we all bumped into each other on the path, near the pavilion. I know that in the pictures it looks cold, but believe me - it's a heat wave! Enjoy the pictures....

Spring in Como

Books Galore

It has been unseasonably cold this week here in MN. I had planned on starting to ride my bicycle to school by now, but the cold weather is just lingering. That also means more illness is also lingering in our house. So far, Panod hasn't been graced by this horrible cold bug, but the kids and I have been down and out for the better part of the past week. Ugh!

The kids and I had Friday off of school, so we spent most of that day at the Roseville Public Library. We learned that they are planning on renovating and adding on to the library, which we couldn't be more thrilled about. The kids and I also got some books on how to build tree houses. We are going to try and build one in the biggish maple tree that is in the back yard this summer. That should prove to be fun!

Taylor has been busy writing her first novel in her writing class. She's doing it on wolves, from the perspective of a wolf's daily journal. She has already been able to type up the first three chapters this past week, and we have really been impressed with her ability to convey what she has pictured in her mind.

Ian is really excited about an upcoming trip to the Minnesota Institute of Arts with his class. He has also been enjoying the Magic Tree House & Junie B. Jones series of books. For those of you who know about the school choice thing - we have finally made a decision for him. Ian will be headed to our neighborhood school in the fall. The test scores are wonderful, and we couldn't be happier with our decision. We do wish we could have the kids in the same school for the next two years, but that just wasn't in the cards.

My next post should be about the auto show. I'll be headed out there on Wednesday after class - with the Nikon in one hand, and a thermos of tea in the other. Panod may even join me this time since I'll be headed out there while the kids are still in school.

These pictures are from our day at the Library....