A Little Swim

Brent headed for the gym and I popped in to take some pics of family time in the pool. Gwen's doing great and she was having a wonderful time.

Gwen doesn't really like to get in her eyes, so throwing the ball and splashing each other is a great way to get her accustomed to it without much trauma. She was having fun throwing the ball in front of grandpa and splashing him.

She didn't put on her goggles until she decided to jump into the water. I was so proud of her.

You've come a long way, baby!

My Grandpa Will Do It

We kept Kylie while Trav & Allison had a date night. Allison made us a wonderful dinner with baked salmon, oven baked potatoes and fresh veggies. What a treat! Kylie ate a few potatoes, but was really focused on butter. Not her bread, but the butter on her bread. After scarfing the butter down, she wanted more butter for her bread. Yeah, fool me once......I was wise to her tricks! Is she cute or what?!

We played some games, and Kylie seemed to enjoy the Disney potato head we brought back from WDW. We made some crazy critters then Ky decided the potato head belonged on her dresser. Hope she didn't have nightmares!

The DVD player was broken so the computer genius - that's Kylie - showed Grandpa how to work the Mac so we could watch one of her cartoons. Kids and computers - just amazing.

I suggested we put some jammies on and Kylie ran to get them. I grabbed a diaper (she didn't have anything on - she had apparently removed her day-time pull up before we arrived) and she accepted the fact that her Mommy said she needed a diaper. What she didn't accept was Grandma changing her clothes. "No Grandma. My Grandpa will do it."

Heheheh. Yeah. Deer caught in the headlights. Grandpa has only ever changed 2 diapers in his life. I have to give him credit though, he did a good job. He really enjoyed being the favorite grandparent of the night.

Let Me Entertain You

We like to invite friends and family for dinner. At Christmas Brent brought home a lovely 3-rib standing rib roast that he found on sale at a stupendous price at the Weis Market. We popped it in the freezer and finally had time to make it a few weeks ago. We invited Mom and Dad along with Matt and Kim to enjoy our little feast.

We started with a really simple appetizer I found using prosciutto and feta cheese and crescent rolls. Nothing fancy but pretty yummy. I also found a recipe for a layered cobb salad. I put it in a clear bowl and it looked nice and was a big hit. I couldn't believe Matt went back for seconds, and then finally just gave up and emptied the bowl. Brent grilled the rib roast to perfection. Brent paired this with a Joseph Phelps Insignia, a great California bordeaux-style blend he'd been keeping "down cellar" for some time. Kim made a fantastic potato tart, and Dad made his famous chocolate chip cheesecake (with just the right amount of chocolate chips in it). It was a fantastic meal.

Of course, then there's always the morning after.

Valentines Day Weekend

What a great weekend. A fancy dinner out with my Valentine, gifts, and scrapbooking. Who could ask for more?

Brent and I went to the What If Cafe on Friday night. We've always had fantastic meals there, but we were both a little disappointed with our entrees. I have to say though, they have the best crab dip I've ever had.

Saturday, I went to the Miller Resort to scrap with Sandy and Kim. I seemed to be having a scrapping block because it wasn't really going so great. No great ideas and even worse execution. But, dinner was great - better than the What If, and the company was wonderful too.

Sick of Being Sick

My Dat gave me a hard time last weekend because I haven't been posting to my blog. "If you're not going to post to the thing you should just give it up." Yadda yadda yadda. It's not that I haven't wanted to post exactly. More like my PC is giving me fits and my husband, the electrical engineer p.e., I can do anything with computers, apparently can't. Hmmmm. Then, I've been sick since we got back from Disney in the middle of June. Now I'm healthy and Brent's sick. Holy moly, I'm sick of winter and I'm sick of being sick!

Superbowl mania

Finally. Here are the videos I promised an entire month ago. Do you see the craziness? It starts with insidious silence while twirling small towels over your head. Then, it erupts with crazy screaming. Was it insanity, or was it Superbowl Mania.

Football Mania

I know it's probably sacriligious to say this, but I am not a football fan. I feel that, living deep within Steeler country, I risk limbs, if not life, to say so. But, I just don't get it. Those of us not really interested in the game, gather around the tube just on the off-chance that there will be a commercial we find funny enough to discuss over the watercooler at work the following day. And I have to say, the Dorito commercials were pretty darn funny, and who doesn't love the Budwiser Clydesdales, but even those were a bit lackluster this year. Most weren't very funny, they didn't really pull off the 3-d stuff (although watching a room full of adults wearing silly glasses was entertaining!), and did you notice there were no American car manufacturers ads (...and would they dare such a public expenditure after the taxpayers gave them billions?). The entertainment was all very politically correct: a beautiful country singer living the American dream, a talented up and coming African American who just experienced horrendous personal tragedy, and an aging old rocker who thinks we're all on the edge of our chairs awaiting his next political statement. Definitely a commentary on our lives in 2009.

Having said all this though, I'm going to do a complete 180 and say that I love being invited to watch the games with friends. Good food, gathering of friends, and just the camaraderie of it all make it an enjoyable event. And while I wasn't dressed in the appropriate Steeler attire as Matt & Kim,I didn't fly the Steeler colors,

Nor create a Steeler Shrine in my home,

But who doesn't love this? Even a non-football fan like myself can get caught up in the moment and scream like a crazy person.