Wrapping up 2015

Before we get too far into 2016, I figured I'd better sum up how 2015 wrapped up for us.

December started of rather wet in our neck of the woods... and when I mean wet, I mean ongoing downpours that were so forceful at time that we had rain leaking into the house. Not pretty, but we were grateful to realize it was Mother Nature causing the problem and not the dishwasher leaking (which was our original theory). Even with the deluge of rain, we Olsons braved the weather and went out into the elements (aka Home Depot's outside tree area), got soaked to the bone, and found what we've all deemed to be our favorite Christmas tree ever. It was perfectly sized for our house the ideal tree shape. Annika gets credit for finding it ... way to go, cute girl! After letting the tree dry under our carport for a day or so, we brought it in (still damp, but no longer with rivers of water running off of it) and got to decorating it and the rest of the house for Christmas.

Conor decorating the tree

Annika hanging ornaments

Eric helping Conor find the perfect spot for an ornament

Annika putting the finishing touches on the tree

In early December, we also hosted another one of our "we're the only ones who don't speak Spanish" dinner parties and had such a fun time! Eric has two co-workers who live in Mexico, but come up to Seattle a few times per year for some company face time; we've known them for years and consider them some of our dear friends. In addition to "our Mexicans", we had our friends who are originally from Venezuela here to join in the fun. We've had this group together for dinner a few times now, and it never fails to be a fun event for all involved... and has sparked a bit of a friendship between "our Mexicans" and "our Venezuelans". I love it when ripple effects of friendship happen! The kids love it when this group gets together because because their friend (Annika's former pre-school friend and one of her dearest friends) attends with her parents AND the kids get to stay up late. Bonus for them!

About mid-December, the kids' school had its annual Christmas concert, which (I'm impressed to say) is a very well-organized and paced event (1.25 hr total). The entire school performs... each grade sings a song and the two bands also play a couple of numbers. Our kids' classes did a lovely job and it was such fun to see the students in their Sunday best for the performance.

All dressed up and somewhere to go

It is important to practice one's bow and/or curtsy before a big event

Leading up to Christmas, our home was a whirlwind of baking and preparing.... yes, I was in my element!! We decorated cookies galore and made sure to continue with our annual tradition of decorating a gingerbread house together.

Perfecting the broken arm decorating technique.

Yes, sticking his tongue out does help!

Mr. Engineer on icing patrol

Mo candy, mo better

 

Even Mama got in on the candy action

I tried a new technique for adding snow to the trees ... it's needs some work, but not too shabby for a first try

Coooooookies

Some of the BIG non-holiday news to come out of December is Annika got her cast off. Woo hoo!!! It was such a big deal, that all four of us went to the appointment and to the celebratory lunch after. The x-rays showed that one of her bones wasn't completely healed yet, but it wasn't bad enough for the ortho group to put her in another cast (WHEW!); instead, they put her in a brace that she was told to wear for the next 4 weeks, but could remove it to bathe and sleep. She was also given the green light to return to many of her normal activities ... jump roping, swimming, bike riding, etc. The only things she can't do are play contact sports (ummm.... yeah, not a problem!), climb (especially on the playground equipment), go tubing in the mountains (we are itching to get up to the snow, but are working on being patient), and anything else that could jar her arm. That said, she's greatly enjoying her freedom and being able to bathe without a Hefty bag covering her arm.

Ready for the cast to come off

Conor was happy to don some ear protection once his eyes locked onto the saw

Tickly saw

Freedom!!!

The brace model

When our niece Abby, who had a 24-hour layover in Seattle, asked if we could make some fancy cookies while she was in town, Auntie was all too happy to oblige. It was such a treat to have Abby here with us! She lives too far away for our liking, so little visits like this one mean a lot to us! In addition to a cookie decorating session, we chatted about almost every topic under the sun, Abby played with Annika and Conor, and all of us had lunch with my brother and his family on the shore of Lake Union. Can't beat that!! The only downfall to the 24 hours was the INSANE holiday traffic at the airport the night Abby arrived.

Abby, the cookie decorating apprentice

So proud of her tree and flowers

Fun to decorate the cookies, more fun to eat them!

Cookies for Abby to take home

Silly cousin time

Christmas was such a treat for us! We were surrounded by so many loved ones and good times. My mom came up on Christmas Eve in time to go to mass with the kids and me. It was standing room only... and we stood, but were grateful to be there and among so many like-minded souls. The kids were real troopers and didn't complain about their seating arrangements (aka the floor) or the fact it was incredibly hot in the church. After mass, we returned home to have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner: breakfast! This year, we had baked French toast casserole... yum!! After reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and leaving out treats for Santa, we went to bed knowing the next day would start bright and early ... actually, dark and early.

Eric's folks arrived around 6:15 AM so they could participate in the chaos that is children on Christmas morning. Around 7:30, Conor couldn't stand waiting to open presents any longer, so Eric went downstairs to wake up Annika, who promptly asked if she could sleep a little longer. Her plan of getting some extra sleep failed once she realized it was Christmas morning and there were presents waiting for her. Unfortunately, soon after opening presents, my mom opted to go home because she wasn't feeling well. (We keep telling ourselves it wasn't really because our presents were terrible!)

Annika and her Frozen gloves

Bestemor and Bestefar showing how well they know our boy well

Mermaid puppet from the Frisches

Dragon puppet from the Frisches

Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots.... DUDE!!!!!!

Annika and her new Elsa doll

Eric working on mastering how to pilot his new drone

My brother and his family arrived a little after noon, bringing more holiday cheer and chaos. (Hey, is it really a holiday without a fair amount of chaos?? I say NO!) The kids got a renewed sense of energy when big cousin Ian arrived... they wanted to play and show him all of their new things. He was a wonderful sport and showed lots of enthusiasm for all of the toys and fodder that they paraded in front of him.

As the afternoon progressed, two more of our friends arrived to share Christmas dinner with us. It was such a large group that we wound up setting up two card tables in addition to our kitchen table ... it was (in my opinion) an ideal holiday dinner... lots of stories, laughter, and smiling faces. We were all sure that it was close to 10 PM because of how tired we felt, and were rather floored to look at the clock and see it wasn't even 7 yet. (We're so old!)

Nicole modeling her AMAZING elf outfit

Staci and her very happy pizzelle (until it fell on the floor, that is)

The day after Christmas, the Olson Four trekked across Lake Washington to watch the UW Huskies play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl with my brother and his family. My brother borrowed his friend's turkey fryer ... as if we needed that much incentive to come over for a visit!! The turkey was delish and the Huskies won the game ... what more could we have asked for??

Eric and Annika snuggled up watching the UW game

To wrap up our holiday season, a few days after Christmas we ventured out into the cold to walk through the Wild Lights exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo. We've been going to the display for a few years now and have made it a bit of a tradition to go with Eric's best friend (aka Uncle Dave) and his little girl (Anne). The six of us had dinner at a little restaurant in Ballard (where Eric and Dave go to trivia night every other week, in fact) and then made our way to the zoo. In 2014, we learned the hard way not to go to the exhibit on a weekend, so this year we really course corrected and went on a week night after Christmas ... the crowds were much more manageable. We were able to enjoy the lights much more than the year before when we were more focused on keeping track of the kids who insisted on darting here and there.

Hello, Woodland Park Zoo@

Anne (6), Annika (8), and Conor (5)

Anne taking it all in

Anne and Conor watching the fish "jump" into the drain

Pablo the Peacock

Annika and the Komodo Dragon

Conor checking out the lights

Annika

Happy Wild Lights visitors!

For New Year's Eve, the kids and I journeyed to our friends' house to celebrate. Gratefully, the Minnichs adopted our "Nova Scotia New Years" party idea, so the party started (and ended) early ... perfect for young kiddos!! The grownups mostly sat around talking about schools, politics, and current world events. The kids played and played and played ... they even treated us to a few impromptu concerts using the Minnich kids' karaoke machine. It was a hoot! Unfortunately, Eric missed out on the fun because he wasn't feeling well thanks to a bug that's been going around... one that I succumbed to a day or two later.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our holidays so special. We are grateful to have you as part of our lives!!

Daring Bakers Challenge November 2015: Cheesecake Crumble Pie

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was completely new to me, but seemed like a "how could this possibly turn out anything but yummy" kind of challenge. We were asked to do our own take on a cheesecake crumble pie. When I first read the challenge brief, I thought "they want us to make a what??" Lo and behold, this "cheesecake crumble pie" is really a thing and quite a popular thing. Who knew??

We were given quite a bit of leeway when it came to the flavor profile, so I opted to fill my go-to pie crust recipe with a pumpkin cheesecake recipe that I've been meaning to make for YEARS. Plus, it's fall ... no better time for something flavored with pumpkin! Based on the cheesecake recipe given in the challenge brief, I decided to half the cheesecake recipe I decided to use and I'm glad I did ... it was the perfect amount for my pie. I followed the crumble recipe that was provided in the brief (YUM) but easily could have halved that amount, too. I wound up with a bit too much on the pie and still had plenty left in my mixing bowl. That said, always better to have too much than too little when it comes to a crumble topping! :)

 I served the pumpkin cheesecake crumble pie as the dessert for our recent family dinner and everyone gave it a big thumbs up! I wasn't sure if our kids would think much of it, but from the pictures below, you'll see that I shouldn't have wondered. :)

Taste test

Future food critic's official verdict

Crumble face

Here are the recipes I used:

Butter Pie Crust (from a pie-making class I took a few years ago- amounts below make 2 crusts)
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 c cold butter
1/2 c ice water

Pumpkin Cheesecake (I halved all of the amounts listed below when I made the pie)
Four 8-oz packages regular cream cheese (room temp)
1 1/2 c sugar
5 eggs (I used 3 when I halved the recipe)
1/4 c flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
14 oz can pumpkin puree
Pinch of salt

Directions: Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly ad sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add everything else.

Crumble Topping (from challenge brief)
1 cup scooped and levelled / 140g all-purpose (plain) flour
½ cup / 75g rolled oats
1 cup / 200g white sugar
⅔ cup / 135g brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
½ cup / 1 stick / 113g cold unsalted butter

Directions: Mix all dry incredients together in small mixing bowl. Add butter and crumble together until it resembles a coarse meal (pea-sized).

For this challenge, I made and pre-baked the pie crust. When the crust was cool, I filled it with the pumpkin cheesecake filling, baked it at 500 for 15 minutes (10 would have been enough!), dropped the temp to 200, topped the pie with the crumble topping, and baked for 1 hour more. I should have followed my gut instinct and covered the crust with a collar before the 2nd bake because it got too dark, but oh well! No big deal... just a slightly darker crust than I otherwise would have preferred.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Pie

Yum!

 For the month of November Krista & Nicole of "Two Cups of Sugar" challenged us to make our own version of cheesecake crumble pie.

Fabulous Father's Day

Wow! What a day this year's Father's Day turned into ... fun, but non-stop!

Eric suggested that we take the kids to the new Pixar movie "Inside Out" as part of our weekend plans. Great! We figured getting to the first show of the day made the most sense and getting there 25 minutes before the start time would be plenty of time ... we were so wrong! We wound up sitting in the 4th row of the theater, which was MUCH closer than we normally sit. Fortunately, it all worked out and we all enjoyed the movie. It was funny, touching, goofy, and insightful... what more can you expect from a Pixar movie??

After the movie, we went home for lunch, caught our breath for a few minutes, and then high tailed it to the pool for Annika's diving class and then swimming lessons for both kiddos. As soon as the kids were done with their lessons, we bolted for the family changing room, where we had the kids quickly shower and get dressed to have dinner at my brother's house. WHEW!!

Because there were MANY moving parts to the day (including our nephew and brother-in-law going to the Mariners game and my sister/nieces driving back from a wedding in Pullman), we initially weren't sure if the timing to have dinner together would work out, but it did! Everyone arrived within 20-ish minutes of each other. In fact, my sister and nieces pulled up to my brother's house just as we did. An added motivation to make the dinner plans work out was me being able to retrieve my car from my sister. Bonus. :)

We had a lovely and very relaxed dinner as an extended family. It gave my heart such joy to see our kids playing with so many of their cousins. I can't help but wonder if any of the day will stick with our kids as long-term memories, but I truly hope it does. As my parents' grandchildren grow into more and more independent people, getting everyone together will become increasingly difficult. We know they love our kids and vice versa, but having the ability to share air and take up the same space is the icing on top of the proverbial cake.

Troy, Emily, and Eric ... the guys are sharing a beer that Emily
brought home from her recent 3-month stint in Europe

Conor and Eric getting in a little frisbee time

Mama and Annika

Conor and Emily

Annika getting a big hug from Uncle Randy

Cousins!

Apparently, Robert still isn't too big to sit on his big sister's lap

Suzanne and Randy chillaxing

Mellow Anna sporting her dad's hat

Howdy, Kat!

"Conor, what're you doing?"
"Oh, just hangin' around with big cousin Robert."

Before I close this post, I am going to take a moment to tip my hat (please assume I'm wearing one) to my amazing partner in crime and a truly magnificent father. From the moment we found out that Annika was on her way into our lives, he has worn the "dad" badge with honor, integrity, and a wonderful sense of humor.

I couldn't ask for a better man to teach us what it means to be a dad and act as a role model for what a truly caring, responsible, fun, and loving man can and should be. Knowing that Conor has Eric to look up to as he grows into a man in his own right gives me great hope for his future. Likewise, having Eric show Annika what it means to be a reliable, loving, father and husband on a daily basis gives me courage as she develops into a woman who will (one day looooooooooong from now) will look at potential life partners of her own.

Our children are incredibly blessed to have Eric as their dad, and I feel beyond fortunate to share the journey of parenthood with him by my side.

Eric and newborn Annika

Eric and newborn Conor

Annika and Daddy... he'll always be there to lift her up

Daddy = Horse

Eric teaching Annika life skills

Daddy is so much fun

My favorite trio in the whole world

Daddy smootches

Daddy teaching Annika more life skills (aka beer brewing)

"Once more around the lake, Daddy!"