Let there be Pie

So Dave is always up for a challenge, and he usually conquers them with ease. His newest feat was to make a pumpkin pie. Doesn't sound too hard. Not to those of us who use a pumpkin pie mix anyway. But Dave had other plans, to start from a pumpkin. Yes you did read that correctly, he wanted to start with a pumpkin and end up with a pie. So it began. He first researched pumpkin pie AND pie crusts online for days making sure he found the perfect one. He decided on the recipe labeled How to make a pumpkin pie... from a real pumpkin. It seemed to fit since that is what he was attempting. He printed off the instructions and headed for the store.
Making the pumpkin puree was the most difficult part, but I think for dave getting the pumpkin apart was the hardest part. It seems those small sugar pumpkins were harder than expected to cut in half.




Once it was finally apart he scraped until it was clean of all the seeds and other mess and it was time for the fun part, the power tools of the kitchen, the food processor. Thanks to Galinsky we received a food processor for the wedding, it came in perfectly.
After the pie was put together, at 1am, he put it in the oven to cook, for 75 minutes! I woke up from the couch and stumbled to bed as he was busy in the kitchen. I don't remember him coming to bed but I do remember him being extra tired in the morning.



Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the finished product for reasons I will explain in its own post! But I can say there was only one piece left over. He got some feedback and will probably try to top it next year. I will say that I am very lucky that I have a husband who will actually put so much time and effort into making a pie. Great job Dave, I can't wait to try pie number two because I know it will only get better!

Let give thanks.. for the food!

I love thanksgiving, and you all can probably guess why. Good people and great food. There are so many dishes we get to enjoy only on Thanksgiving. I have never understood that, why do we have to wait all year for the deliciousness of stuffing, green bean casserole, all the good turkey over mashed potatoes and all covered in gravy? Dave and I started our day off with my families get together at Ben and Kyra's. They hosted a house full with such ease it was amazing. Dave even commented that we have never been to a Thanksgiving dinner and actually eaten on time! Way to go Ben and Kyra. We were able to enjoy three options for turkey, two baked and one smoked along with every side dish ever thought of for this wonderful day. My favorite was the smoked turkey and Anna's corn casserole, they both were amazing.

(To Anna, Dave requested that we have your casserole at his family Thanksgiving as well so you will have to tell me how to do it for next year!)

On the drive over Dave said he was not going to eat that much because we had a second dinner to go to a few hours later. As we were dishing up I was forced to start piling high. As I looked over at dave, he is quickly eating while dishing up. Why you may ask? He said he was making more room because he didn't see the cheesy potatoes and the green bean casserole. I guess he forgot that he "wasn't going to eat that much." Thanks for such a fun party Ben, Kyra, Avery, and Fischer!




Then we were off for Turkey day at Elaine's. They had all the same fixins and also made more than one option for turkey. They had the traditional baked turkey filled with all that delicious stuffing, and they had Tofurkey (Toe-Fur-Key), also filled with stuffing. Elaine requested Michelle sneak a Tofurkey on the plane from New York so they could enjoy a turkey-like dish on Thanksgiving. I did try a slice, and with a different texture it did have a turkey like taste to it. Although it doesn't taste as peculiar as it's name I will still be eating turkey next year, all white meat please!


It was a nice end to the day being able to sit around a table and have conversation with everyone. This is a luxury that at the Williams' functions we don't have as we are scattered about and cannot all fit at one table! Jaxson had a great time being passed around like a hot potato. He was a little upset that he couldn't test drive the turkey smothered with gravy but I promised him I would eat a little extra for him.

Jaxson working on his new game that Aunt MiMi taught him. You may have heard of it before?

Its Peak-a-Boo!

Pregnant Turkey

Disclaimer: This is not my sister or mother, although my sister is a blonde. This is just a funny story about someones sister that I enjoyed and thought you all would too!

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my

sister's house for the traditional feast. Knowing

how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to

play a trick. She told my sister that she needed

something from the store.

When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of

the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen,

and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the

turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the

turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the

Stuffing.

When her serving spoon hit something,

she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother

exclaimed, 'Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant

bird!'At the reality of this horrifying news,

my sister started to cry.

It took the family two hours to convince her that

turkeys lay eggs!

Yep...................

SHE'S BLONDE!

Finally.. HDTV!!!

Today was a good day, it was our new tv's two week birthday.  In honor of this grand event I had Directv come over and hook us up with HD.  Over 100 channels of pure, crisp, brilliant display of amazing high definition goodness!!  

I started off the celebration by watching the Hawkeye basketball game and followed that up with some cheeseball Mario Lopez christmas movie.  He probably should've just retired on a high note after Saved by the Bell.   After the movie I got the remote back from Jamie and managed to catch the end of Sunday night football.  

I have got to get to bed, watching all this tv is physically exhausting!!!  

Party X3

All week we come and go from work, plans that would only consist of going to the grocery store, then Saturday comes along and we have three functions to go to, all pretty much at the same time. AND during the Iowa game against Minnesota.

The first party we went to was at Sara and Chris Coleman. She is a high school friend of Michelle, Dave's sister, and became good friends with everyone in the Barry family. Jaxson always is the smallest at the party but not today because they just had their little girl, Essix. Little Essix joined the world a little early, and on the day of her baby shower. Talk about crashing the party! I guess she just heard about all the good food and people and wanted to be a part of it in a bigger way. Essix is 6wks old today, and she weighs about 8lbs. That is what Jaxson weighed when he was born. When holding Essix it is hard to imagine Jaxson being that small. Besides the babies I think it was mandatory to have a child when attending the party. There were sooo many kids running around. Dave and I decided later it had to have been 2 children per 1 adult. Boy did they have fun! On to the next party............

Sara, Essix, Jaxson, Me

Welcome home Ben. Ben arrived home from his year long trip to Iraq. He is home safe and sound, and with a little less hair. He was shaved bald in all of his pictures from Iraq! He was starting to get a little fuzz back. He will need it because it is starting to get pretty chilly around here. Remember Ben, you came home to Iowa, its much colder here! Fifty or more people joined at the Fireside grill in Altoona to welcome him home. It was a good time, and jaxson was a hit, as always. Unfortnately I don't have any pics of Ben, he had so many people to talk with. We will be so lucky to have him join us at Thanksgiving, so I can get a picture then! Off we go...........

His Aunt Kyra, who named him Little Dude while he was cooking in my belly, found an outfit that says Lil' Dude. He finally fit in his outfit and had to take a pictures with Kyra! Although not so little anymore, he will always be LD to us!

Family shot at Welcome Home Ben!

The third and final function ended up being at our house. We were planning on going to Holcomb and Leah's but the Big Ten Network put a detour in the plan. (They didn't have the network to watch the Iowa game) We came home to a house full of people, all trying to figure out how to on our new T.V. No worries, I can still barely work it with the three remotes and ten buttons just to turn it all on. Tyler joined the party this time and Jaxson thought Tyler was the funniest person ever!! With a huge win by the Hawkeyes our day was finally over...

Tyler and Aubrey

Jaxson could barely contain himself playing with Tyler!

LOL....

The funniest thing ever... Jaxson's new trick. The video speaks for itself. Unfortunately it isn't as funny on video as in person but I think most of you will at least get a chuckle... enjoy!

Auntie Anne Barry

Dave and I enjoyed a movie on Sunday evening thanks to Anne who watched our little guy for a few hours. We went to Role Model, a very adult, but very funny movie. We used to go to a movie once a week or so, and have only been to one other movie since Jaxson was born so it was great to do something that we used to have the luxury of doing anytime.

After the movie Dan grilled chicken from Gateway Market with fettuccine noodles. He also grilled some very good bread with white cheese on top, it was really good! I am always a sucker for the bread! Thanks again guys and have fun in Portland. (Dan and Anne are taking a trip to Portland leaving in the morning)

Blue???

It can surprise you what makes a baby laugh sometimes. I was just talking to little Jaxson and he started to crack up everytime I said Blue, or bloo, or boo, not sure what exactly I was saying. I missed some of him really cracking up, but caught him laughing pretty good a few times for all of you to enjoy. Those baby laughs are so addicting so watcher beware, you will probably want more after you watch!

Also, as another disclaimer, the video may make you sick because I was jumping around trying to get him to laugh and videotaping. Those two things don't go together very well. Sorry to all those who get motion sick.

Anything for dessert?

No thank you, no dessert for us tonight! Dave had a poker night on Friday so I joined Carol for dinner, reservation for 2 and a half at Biaggis. We cruised the menu, I chose something that can be eaten with one hand strategically, we played with some keys and chewed on fingers. Jaxson made eyes with all those around him, and he soon had a fan base surrounding our table, in the MIDDLE of the restaurant. Luckily for us, everyone thought he was so cute that nobody minded when he began to fuss, then cry, then scream. Carol and I traded off through salad and dinner, I had to take a few breaks and walk away to calm him down. Wonder how many dates were ruined as they thought, hmm..... do we really want to have one of those?? If they were to ask I would quickly answer yes, just maybe not at a restaurant!! He usually is so good but those darn little teeth are turning our angel into an angel with an attitude!

Hey, Mom, is Farfalle Alfredo something I can drink?"

Movin on up.....

What a cold, cold day for the last Iowa game to finish the season home games. Dave was planning on having a friend go with him and I was going to sit this one out and stay warm but unfortunately nobody was able to free up their schedule. So we layered and layered... again.. learning from the mistakes from last week against Penn State. This week we added a couple more layers and the hand and feet warmers, as well as a couple of blankets.

Two plays into the game Dave gets a phone call and by the next play we were taken up to the sky boxes with Ross Mulcahy. We had to un-bury ourselves from the 10 layers we were wearing and enjoyed our choice of the menu. It was hard to choose between italian chicken sandwhiches, lasagna, manicotti, two types of chili, grilled vegetables, and pumpkin cheesecakes. I also noticed a load of pizzas being brought in for all the picky eaters too! Dave's favorite was the jalapeno chicken wrapped in bacon. Anything you would want to drink and/or eat was available and a waitress to boot! It is amazing how quiet those booths are, when the windows are closed you can't hear a peep from the 70,000+ fans screaming just below you. It was a very different way to view the game.

We lived the good life until the 4th quarter. We decided to bundle up and go back down to our seats to enjoy the excitement that you get from being out in the cold with all the other cheering fans for the end of the game. It was a little too close for comfort at the end but luckily Iowa pulled through for the win.

Just wanted to give my sympathies to all the guys that Dave invited and weren't able to go... you missed out on some good Chili and a warm sky box!!! :)

Splish Splash

Jaxson loves baths! Dave hopes he will be the next Micheal Phelps winning tons of gold medals in the Olympics. I am just happy he loves taking baths, as many moms don't get that luxury and have a screaming baby during bath time. He will play with the water coming from the faucet for as long as you will let him and will occasionally be interested in his yellow ducky. More than anything he will kick and splash his arms around so much there is water half way across the room and until you are completely soaked. As you stand there dripping its hard to not think its the cutest thing you have ever seen. I thought I would share some bathtime fun!

stop...drop...and ROLL

So we haven't been able to catch much on video, it always seems that nothing is funny when the camera is on, but I was able to catch a roll today. For those of you that don't get see little Jaxson everyday, this is what he is up to all the time now. He rolls back and forth and can actually move around pretty good. He is working on crawling pulling up his legs and sticking his butt up in the air. He does this a few times and then begins to cry, I think it is cries of frustration. I would be frustrated too if I couldn't get up and go. He is quickly becoming mobile... aaaahhh!!!!!

And the winner is............

So this pumpkin carving year came and went and let me announce the winner of the pumpkin carving contest..........

Jamie!!!



Thank you to everyone who voted, thank you to my pumpkin carving kit, it wouldn't have been possible without you. Thank you to the creators of Halloween and pumpkin carving because it will always make this time of year special. I feel honored to be in competition with dave, who is so talented and wish him all the luck next year....

.....music starts......

Thank you, thanks to everyone!!!!

BRRRR.............

Forgotten how cold it is after watching the win!

Getting colder....

Cold...
This is the guy that sits next to me, after a season you get to know the people next to you. He was giving us lessons on how to prepare for a cold game... a sleeping bag!

So it begins.....

The Heisman pose???? Maybe....

The very good girlfriends! (I guess I'm a wife now... I keep forgetting that!)

Humphreys, Josie, me, Dave

Two long johns, jeans, three pairs of socks, one tank top, one thermal shirt, two more long sleeve shirts, sweatshirt, winter coat, another sweatshirt, two pairs of gloves, ear band, stocking cap, and a scarf...... and was still cold...

The drive up to Iowa city...

What a game! It was a long ride up to a game that had a very improbable victory for the Hawkeyes. But that improbability didn't keep any of the 70,000+ fans from staying outside in the 30 degree wind and snow. Although the claps were muffle through two layers of gloves you could feel the excitement, and it was fun, even for me. If we had lost, I might not have thought it was as much fun but watching that game winning field goal made the numbing coldness feel far away and the excitement that we just beat the number 3 ranked Penn State take over. Luckily, I had decided it would my last game and decided to bring my camera along so we have our own photos to remember what some people are calling "one of the biggest victories in Hawkeye history."

From start to finish.........

President Obama!

This is a week overdue but we are so excited about having Obama be our new president. Dave said it best Tuesday at midnight after we watched all the votes get tallied and his speech in Chicago. he said he is excited to see what will happen over the next four years. As many others we haven't had a feeling of excitement watching what the president will do next over the last eight years. I think that this country has made a great choice for president. It is one that will show the world that they can be excited about what is to come in their future relations with the US as well and that will hopefully be the turning point that we need as a nation. I am proud to say I voted for Obama, and for any of you that didn't, you will hopefully be able to say you are proud that he is your president sometime over the next four years.

Babysitting

While Grandma Elaine foot heals from foot surgery we have pieced together a montage of people to help relieve her babysitting duties two days a week. We have had Carol, Leah, and Gina all help.We appreciate everyone's help so much!

Leah was so brave watching Jaxson along with Aubrey for two days. Thank you guys for helping out. Elaine is in a walking cast now, although she still can't "walk" she is going to try to get back to babysitting Jaxson. He is excited because he LOVES his grandma.

Thank you again to everyone that helped babysitting our little man!

Gina and Jax after a big bottle

Bittersweet

When they are born and you have to help them do everything it seems it will always be that way, and you secretly want it to stay this way. But soon the days begin to come and go faster, maybe because you aren't awake for so many hours at a time, but then one day they do something on their own and they don't need your help. This day happened for Jaxson at the young age of four months. We all know he loves to eat, we can tell every time we pick him up. He loves it so much he figured out how help out during feeding times by holding his own bottle. You are excited to watch them grow and look forward to tomorrow for all the new things they will learn, but you miss the day that passed knowing that you can never get those moments back when you had to hold the bottle. Bittersweet.

Tic-Tac-TO-Bama

Make sure you get your vote in today if you have not done so yet!!  Looking forward to being glued to the TV tonight as the results come in!

A day in the life......

Although Dave had a very difficult day watching the Hawkeyes lose another game, Jaxson loves the company and attention. His day was as follows.....

Little Miss Aubrey practicing her top model pose
PJ's all day for me!
Aubrey found the Halloween candy so we thought we better send some home with her! I am sure she will share with her big brother Tyler.


Aubrey was showing off her skills walking around my jumper. I can't wait until I can do that! She stopped for a minute to play.
Then I sat with this guy........he wasnt very funny

His girlfriend was much better!
Then Dad showed me some of his standing up techniques....
And then we watched the Hawkeyes lose......

There is always next season.... right Dad??