2017–week 16

sunday: easter! we actually remembered to take a family picture!

after church, we came home, put the ham in the oven, gathered some wood from the clearing for the fire, played some corn hole, drank mimosas and hung clothes on the line for the first time this year! it was a totally gorgeous day. very unusual for easter in western washington!

layla helped get the apples ready for applesauce, and she and micah took turns hiding eggs for each other and for grandpa. they thought it was hilarious that they hid one egg in a pair of micah’s underwear that was hung up to dry. then we got the back porch all cleaned up so we could eat outside!

this was definitely a first. we’ve never had an easter warm enough to eat dinner outside.

as usual, micah pouted about the food.

then we invited bailey and her family over for a fire. the wood was a little damp and stubborn to get going. dave was determined to try all sorts of crazy ways to get it going. he and shane took turns blowing through a broken broom handle to try and fan the flames without burning their faces. then they tried taping the hose of a bike pump to it to pump air in. neither worked particularly well and i went across the street to get a pallet from eric. sure way to get a roaring fire!

monday: bonus day of spring break for me. the kids went back to school and i scurried around trying to get all the rest of my to-do list done. didn’t quite make it, but it wasn’t totally pathetic either.

wednesday: we are so sad that this is the LAST elephant and piggie book!!!

thursday: layla decided she wanted to bust out the electric marshmallow roaster grandpa gave us last year and make herself a s’more after dinner… it actually worked decently!

friday: walking the dog on the warmest day so far this year! after this, she grabbed a book and went and read on “the rock”.

also friday: getting warmed up for a late starting baseball game. start time 7:30pm. it didn’t end until after 10. crazy late.

saturday: another baseball game. we had amy’s boys with us, so they tagged along, and made friends with my dad at the game.

also saturday: i really, REALLY did not have any motivation for cooking dinner. and so, instant oatmeal for all!

Comments

dear to do list,

i hate you. actually, i loathe your existence to my very soul. and i refuse to have anything further to do with you. you can consider our relationship OVER. please do not try to contact me, as i will be unavailable. do not stalk me. do not try to make me feel guilty for abandoning you. YOU SUCK! sincerely, rachel

christmas day at barb & paul’s

(otherwise known as “ana and elsa’s” to my kids.) after breakfast, quick showers, packing up clothes, jammies, and gifts, we loaded up in the car and drove south to my cousin, barb’s house. we got there around 3. my parents and aunt marilynne were already there, as well as my other cousins, lynne & jim. there was chatting, and munching, and drinking of spiked cider going on. soon, mike and marie showed up with baby liam, and everyone applauded! LOL. gotta love having a baby around! after that, caitlyn and her fiancé, danny arrived and that was everyone. we had traditional hedvall family (my mom’s mom’s family) swedish christmas dinner of halibut and sausages, along with other yummy fixings. then we sang carols (which was both beautiful AND hilarious), paul lit the candles on the tree, and finally opened presents. we got gift cards and the game, qwirkle (which I’ve wanted for the last 2 years!), layla and micah got some toys and accessories for their rooms, shane got an awesome r...

the zoo

yesterday, the last day of spring break (well, weekday, at least) and shane had had enough of not doing anything expensive interesting. so we packed a lunch and went to the zoo. it was a little cold and rainy when we left, but by the time we got there, the rain had stopped and it turned out to be relatively warmish. layla was determined to see some fish. i guess we should have gone to the aquarium, but we did manage to find her a few fish. i think her favorite was the super huge reticulated python that actually moved while we were watching. well, the top 3 feet or so of it moved. the remaining 5 or 6 feet of it stayed coiled up where it was. we probably spent the bulk of our time in the “zoomazium” which is a fabulous indoor playground type area. there’s a huge tree that layla and shane spent time doing laps through. you climb up the inside (think mcdonalds playland climbing structure) and then slide down a big twisty slide. there wa...

white wine marinated pork chops recipe

this recipe comes from the weber’s REAL GRILLING cookbook and is my family’s recent favorite way to have pork chops. shane thinks these are the best food he’s ever eaten, and will generally eat 2! i think layla asked for seconds as well, and micah pretended they weren’t on his plate… which is typical. we’ve made them on the grill, or broiling in the oven, and both are equally good. 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh thyme (I have used dried as well, and it works fine) 1 tbsp minced garlic (think I used a clove, maybe two) 2 tsp kosher salt (this was a little much. I think the second time I made them I reduced it to 1.5 tsp.) 1 tsp freshly ground pepper pork chops (4 or 5) whisk ingredients together in a bowl. place pork chops in a large ziplock and pour in marinade. seal and turn several times. refrigerate for 2 hours, turning once or twice. allow chops to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before gril...

the saga of layla's ankle

on Monday morning, layla got out of bed and complained about her ankle hurting. I looked at it, and not seeing anything or figuring how she could have injured it in her sleep, I dismissed it. she didn’t complain about it the rest of that day, even through walking to a friend’s house for a playdate, playing all afternoon, and walking home again. that evening, during dinner, she started complaining again. I thought she was being dramatic and trying to get shane in trouble, because the two of them had been horsing around. when she didn’t want to finish her dinner and crawled down the hall to get her jammies on, I went to look at it. lo and behold, it was crazy swollen! the first picture is the bad ankle, the second is the good ankle, just for comparison… so we put some ice on it and chilled out for awhile. I wrapped it in an ace bandage and put her to bed. she did not sleep. she whined and whimpered and moaned and cried. dave got her up and had a look. we put some more ice on it. we dis...

rachel's continued ramblings

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