happy december

i don't know why it takes me a month between posts....wait, i do know why. our desktop computer can't upload my pics and i have to wait until evan brings his laptop, who we call lappy home. and i never remember to post pics, or by the time i do, i'd rather get some sleep!

hope you are all enjoying december!

we are enjoying a white december thus far! it snowed about six inches this week and if it weren't in the negatives we'd be out enjoying it. instead we look out our windows in the car or from our house and admire the glorious white stuff.

we have a pot of goodness simmering on the stove. it's a winter must at our house. it simmers all day long and adds the most amazing smell to our house. try it:

4 cups water
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1 t nutmeg
1 t whole cloves
1 t allspice
orange peel

you can add what spices you like...i like to get it bubbling then turn it to low for the rest of the day. add water as needed.

hope you enjoy it!

10 years

10 years ago this month that we started dating.
So happy my life is with him.
Love waking up to his face each morning.
Love our life together.
Love his desire for adventure.
Love his happy optimistic attitude.
Love him.

Brynn

My most favorite picture as of late of this little lady. She has a mouthful of teeth now, stands and even walks a little. She is a people person, lights up when her Dad is in the room, hates to have things taken away from her-and lets her sister know this, says 'ma ma ma' and 'da da da' with gusto, and LOVES LOVES LOVES animals of ANY kind. I want to remember this stage forever. Love it.

halloweenie

I had every intention of putting away the halloween decorations this week, but just couldn't. We found this little halloween decoration AFTER halloween and so we have had to light it every night at dinner and eat in the dark, per Maya's request. So the decorations are sitll up, and we have been eating all things fall. We have made 'mother lode pretzels' at least 5 times in the last month. So delicious. Dip pretzels in caramel, then rollin chocolate chips and nuts. Absolute heaven. But don't make it early in the day, you'll eat most of the tray before your husband comes home. And I can't blame it on Maya, she only wanted half of one. Boo.
This year Maya was Thomas the train. I had the bright idea to be vikings. You know, we are now considered 'minnesotans' and I think that we have tried to acquire the accent whole-heartedly so I thought it would be nice to represent our heritage here, however I just didn't have the time to try and glue fur everywhere and get Evan a long blonde wig. We dress up every year, but this year we just didn't make it, so next year expect big things from us.

The best gift=people come to visit!

Carly, Parker and Maya on a walk

Chad the 'cool uncle' who plays trains with Maya

Chad and Val

Parker and Carly

My brother Chad and his wife Val and my little sister Carly and her boyfriend Parker came to visit us! THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY THING I LIKE ABOUT LIVING FAR AWAY FROM FAMILY...they come to visit you. We had an extended weekend and it was not near enough time, but we had a fabulous one. We took them to Punch Pizza, the best pizza in Minne, and then had hot chocolate after to celebrate Chad's birthday. We made lots of pumpkin cookies, and went trick or treating, went on a glorious fall run, watched movies, and just enjoyed it. Thanks so much for coming out here you guys, it was the best. Funny thing-I hardly took any pictures, so looking back I have just a few pics of the peeps visiting....oh well, there's always next time right?

A fine fall day

Today was a miracle, really. The sun was out and the temperature was 65! That NEVER happens in November in Minnesota. We had millions of leaves to rake in our back yard, but instead we put on our chaco's and headed out the door for a fine fall hiking adventure. We ended up in one of our favorite little towns Stillwater. We stopped and hiked by the river where Maya found ladybugs and spiderwebs and 'fished' with her stick in the river. Brynn had a few helpings of sand. We ate at our favorite little cafe called Shane on Main, had our turkey, cheddar and apple panini's and then climbed up the 157 steps to get a gorgeous view of Stillwater and the St. Croix river which borders Minnesota and Wisconsin, and visited our favorite stores there; Pulp Fashion-a paper goods store full of all sorts of funky things that make me wish I had loads of sweet cash to spend in there, and of course 45 degrees, one of the best outdoor stores in Minnesota. What a great day.

The man I call 'Sexy Marty'

If any of you would like to hear some good music, check out THIS man.

In October of 1997 I was a high school junior looking through our local paper. I found an ad for some live music at the Lyric Theater in Logan. The theater was featuring Martin Sexton. I called up a good friend of mine and we went and saw him.

One of the best live performances I've seen, EVER!

I bought his cd that night, and loved it. And I shared it with people, and through my friend Annie, he is now known as 'Sexy Marty.'

His music is timeless. He's part funk, party soul, part folk, and you won't be disappointed. Today I was listening to him and it always makes me think of that fall day when I saw him live. What a good day.

thanks amy!

my cute sister amy sent this to me the end of september. i love love love the idea for a halloween advent calendar, and she saw the look-a-like on pottery barn, and came up with this. she is amazing, and it took her only an afternoon to do this. thanks so much amy for our calendar, we love it!

these boots are made for walkin'

the lady loves her boots. the top pic is her favorite outfit as of late-tank top with not much else. she insists on wearing a tank top in the morning....did i mention it snowed this week? but the tank top is accompanied by boots. so sassy. the second pic is of maya in 2007.

for grandpa and grandma

found these cute pics from yellowstone this summer. it was after the drowning accident of camera 3, so we just found these pics. love these of my parents and brynnie.

and then there was this.......

and i'm just not ready for it! we got a little skiff of snow on saturday morning. couldn't believe that we had snow. on our walk on friday, i put hats and mittens on the ladies, but i didn't expect this the next day. i'm just hoping for a few lovely days of fall to come.....

maya + ava

dear ava bava,

i wish that you lived next door so that we could party like this all the time. i miss you!

love,

maya

*picture taken summer 2008

dad

just came across the coolest picture of my dad. ever.

north shore

the pics never do the beautiful views justice, but oh well. it was such a beautiful sight to see lake superior-so amazing! i can't get over how large it is. it really does look like the ocean. a rare sight before brynn started to scream because maya was holding her too tight. love the look on both of their faces in this one. and look at those little toes. could nibble them right off.

the north shore

in september we finally made it up to the north shore of lake superior, which to midwesterners might as well be the ocean! we've wanted to do this since moving up to minne and caught the perfect weekend to go. we camped and the girls were absolutely fabulouso. they adore being outside and we love that they love it! we hiked all over on saturday, to the beach, to waterfalls, and maya got wet up to her chest. had the time of her life. and we brought home about 30lbs of the most beautiful smooth rocks from the beach, don't worry everyone does this. :)

evan's blog

this is evan's new blog. it's all about ridiculously good music. check it out.
http://evanfetters.blogspot.com

sweaters

apparently no one saw my 'funny' link on my last post.

check this out: SWEATERS

my favorite is the navahoe brave. what is yours? happy fall!

fall

reasons we know fall is here:

*the geese have returned to the cemetary across the street
*i can't wait to get out halloween decorations
*long sleeve shirts are required for running now
*maya wants to make ghost cookies every. single. day.
*and it's chilly enough for........SWEATERS!

photo by tswainphotography

electronic devices+ the fetters=not so good

i'm sweeping in the kitchen brynn is in her highchair and maya is on the counter. this is normal, she loves to count spice jars or play with the knives (seriously).

maya: "mama, can you get the phone?"

i look over and there is a distinct burned smell coming from the microwave.

maya: "it's too hot."

i pull out evan's phone. it's a lost cause with burning on the screen, outer edge, and sim card inside.

so, when we get phones today it will be our 5th and 6th phones, and we just bought a camera this weekend that was the 3rd in a year. good times!

if brynn had a twin

this is brynn's cousin lizzy, with her daddy richard. she is a year older than brynn, but i swear these two are twins. when i see lizzy's face i am reminded of brynn. check out their twinner noses and eyes.

missing virginia

lately i've been missing virginia. it was a fantastic place to live for 3 years. if any of you get the chance to visit lexington virginia, i highly recommend it.

first thing in the morning, you could go trail running behind washington and lee university. or you could bike up the blue ridge parkway. after a nice ride or run you'd have to stop by blue sky bakery. you'd meet the owners mike and brenda who would give you a drink of water and something delicious like a cinnamon roll or scone. and their hot chocolate is to die for. you would see betsy in the back. she's mike's mother and still comes in at 4am to bake. i'd tell you to go to walkabout outfitters on washington street. you could meet my old boss kirk who has through hiked the appalachain trail. and then on for lunch-you would have to go to joyful spirit cafe. they make the best panini's in the world. nothing like it. you could take a walk around washington and lee university, and get to see where the famous war general robert e. lee was buried. you could walk up jefferson st. and see the beautiful old colonial homes. you could go stop by and see my friends don and claudia, where you would sit on their front porch drinking fresh lemonade.

ahh, virgina (pronounced vuh-gin-yah).

siblings

this is 1980, the year before i was born.
my brother chad is 2 1/2 and my sister amy is 4.

chad was obsessed with dirt.
amy was obsessed with bossing chad around.

then i came along, and they bossed me around. they used to tell me to go ask my mom and dad for m&m's after we were supposed to be in bed. as i ran down the hallway they'd say "there she goes, down the dair-i-o." mom would tell me to go back to bed, i usually got a spanking, and i'd get put back in bed, where amy and chad would pretend to be asleep. after mom was gone, they'd start all over. i was just so gullible. i was really hoping that those m&m's would appear!

now we are much older, but chad has the most addictive laugh, and does the best impersonation of my dad's 'less than amused' look. he also has my little brynn wrapped around his finger.

amy is not so bossy anymore; in fact she is the most giving person i know. and she does this without any thought of getting something in return.

seeing these old pics reminds me of watching slides and i wish that i was home on a sunday night to watch them with everyone.

things i love as of late......

since i don't have a camera, you will be having random posts.

but here are a few things i am loving:

*a husband who puts the girls to bed! it's like magic when he puts them to bed-they go to bed quietly and and happily. he gets a million gold stars for this.

*this lotion. go get some. it's heaven in a bottle. the smell is not too fruity, and it lasts.

*this little scent. it's my favorite fall smell, and has made me happy each time i enter my house. it's delicious.

*trail running. just today i went on a long trail run and decided it's much more fun than pavement running. wahoo!

*the opportunity to stay at home with my girls. my little ladies don't wake up at the same time, and i'm so grateful for this, it allows me one on one time with them. it's a little piece of heaven. i'm thankful that evan works so hard for me to be able to do this. i feel so blessed.

*fall is coming........saw the trees start to change across the street from my house. and the geese have returned-it's officially fall.

TAKKA TAKKA

I just can't get enought of this song today. Enjoy!

Takka Takka : Beware Beware from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

watermelon in yellowstone

this little one would have eaten a whole watermelon had we let her. this kept her busy for a good 20 minutes.

daddy and maya at the lake

this is where she wants to be; every minute of every day.

ice box key lime pie

happy sunday.

you will love this recipe-very simple and oh so delicous. my sister in law amanda gave me this recipe. check out her blog-it's amazing. she has two beautiful daughters, a husband in the army, is a fabulous cook, incredible seamstress and a fantastic writer. you'll love her.

ICE BOX KEY LIME PIE

CRUST: 350 degrees 8-14 minutes.
8 whole graham crackers, crushed
2 T sugar
5 T butter, melted

FOOD PROCESSOR: 30 seconds
1/4 c sugar
1 T lime zest

ADD FOR 30 sec. in FOOD PROCESSOR:
8 oz cream cheese

30 more SECONDS:
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c vanilla pudding

MIX IN BOWL, THEN MICROWAVE FOR 15 seconds:
1 1/4 c gelatin
2 T lime juice

PROCESSOR 30 seconds:
3/4 c + 2 T lime juice
1 t vanilla

POUR in pie filling, and chill 2 hours before eating. Top with whipped cream. (real whipped cream people-not nasty cool whip or anything of the like.)

the summer

hey y'all (as heather vaile would say)! i have realized that it's nearing the end of summer-although here in minne i wouldn't say we really had a summer; we had 90 degrees for one week, and that is all. boo. we enthusiastically bought a pool pass and only used it half a dozen times in nice weather. the other times were, for example: barely 80 degrees. what is that? but alas, we have had a great summer. i have lots to report, and someday, when we:

a. have a different computer
b. have a camera (this would be the 3rd camera our family has broken in 13 months)

i will post some lovely pics.

until then, i will attempt to fill you in.

*we are still in minne and loving it. although i'm not ready for winter yet, the summer has been beautiful, and we have loved the milder climate. we have enjoyed camping and are headed up to the north shore of lake superior (this is basically an ocean to mid-westerners) in two weeks as a last hurrah for the summer. let's just hope we don't freeze to death.

*evan is still liking his job. good thing, we only have 37 years and we will be out of debt. sweet!

*maya turned 3, which is more like 23. she is sassy, and talks non-stop. she is tom-boy completely and wishes she could be outside all day everyday. she is a rad (i think this word should come into more use) little helper, which i love her for. and she i love the conversations we have.

*brynn is 9 months. she is crawling, which means SCARY for me. i have to pick every little thing off the floor lest brynn eats it. she wants whatever maya has, and says so verbally by screaming a high pitched ear-piercing scream, whether happy or sad. she loves her sister and wants to be where everyone is. she is so happy and content, which is heavenly.

*i'm lovin' life. it's a good one, can't complain. i've still been running a bit, and it's good. we tried a little garden of tomatoes and basil this year. too bad our backyard gets not much sunlight. we didn't get much of a yield, or any for that matter, but i'm still hopeful that someday i'll have a garden. :)

oh, if any of you have cameras that are stellar, give me the word. since this is our 4th, i'm hoping we can keep it awhile!

the four of us

notice the bandaids on maya's legs. she has about 7 bandaids on-all spiderman bandaids. i love it. i wanted to remember this phase of life where she is in love with bandaids.

photo courtesy of melessa paynter

brynn at 7 months

photo courtesy of melessa paynter

Utah Concert Reminder: Avett Brothers

Just a reminder that the Avett Brothers are playing at Red Butte Garden tomorrow night.

August 25, 2009
Red Butte Garden
7:00
$30

Well worth the price.



P.S. Hopefully we will have some pictures and updates up soon. Unfortunately our home computer (circa 1995) is operating so slowly that Amber can't post any pictures. Heck, she can't even look at any pictures. So, until then, you get only my concert notices. Sorry.

Another Concert for You Utah Folks!

XAVIER RUDD

(If you don't like the beginning of the song, jump to 2:00 and it becomes more representative of Xavier's music)




August 15 (This Saturday)
The Depot/Salt Lake City
Tickets: $16


If you enjoyed the song, make sure you look him up on YouTube and listen to "GBA" (Warning: He says S*** a couple of times).

the Avett Brothers cont....

if any of you peeps in utah would like to see some amazing music, go see the avett brothers in salt lake city. they're playing august 25th at red butte gardens.

and check out this link for another great video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlSZzKcoFp0

The Avett Brothers

Amber and I got away this weekend to attend a fabulous concert. It was wonderful to leave the girls home and enjoy such a beautiful, fun evening. We saw the Avett Brothers at a small outdoor amphitheater. We first saw these guys in Virginia four years ago with about 15 other people. We saw them again in Charlotte, NC on New Year's Eve when Amber was pregnant with Maya. We were surprised they were coming up to Minneapolis, and we jumped at the opportunity to see them again. The show was amazing. You can't watch these guys play and not feel intensely happy. Amber had so much fun that she wanted to touch them afterwards--unfortunately she didn't get the chance. But we thought we'd share some of the fun with you all. Enjoy.

It might be better to double click on the video to open it in its own window; the right side of each video appears to be cut off. Sorry.

rootbeer

i'm pretty sure maya would have drunk all the rootbeer we had, if we let her. i love how brynn is wrinkling her nose in the first picture. she had a grand old time slobbering all over the top. nothin' like a sweet sugar fix when you are camping.