Sequestering the Grinch

Christmas Eve's Eve

In keeping with this year's theme of "sequester the Grinch" I offered (with B's suggestion) to host Christmas with my dad. The two youngest brothers, Nik and Alix, have been working out of state/town and miraculously they were both home on the eve of Christmas Eve.

Pulling from the decorations already placed around the house and a great clearance table cloth from Target, I very inexpensively created a festive table. Madison cut snowflakes and made place cards with them.

For dinner I made pork loin which was brined over night then stuffed and rubbed with a garlic rosemary paste and baked in a bath of white wine. It turned out devine! For sides we had sage sweet potatoes and pan roasted Brussels with bacon and pine nuts, and rolls. I had made the sauce for my favorite green beans the night before and completely forgot about that dish. For dessert we had applesauce spice cake and cheese cake. I think it is safe to say no one left hungry.

After waiting very patiently through dinner and the after dinner conversation Maddox prompted us to move on to gifts. Machelle gave Madison a plethora of scarves- which she loved! Maddox got a razor 360 bike that he had been asking for, and Megan and Nik got the kids this great puzzle game that we have been playing with all night and this morning.

We all enjoyed watching Maddox ride his new bike in the frigid night just to show off the sparks it emits when he pulled the emergency brake.

Alix and his wife ended up not coming- revealing I have a double standard, and causing me to reevaluate my own attitude of Christmas and the "required" visits. Giving me all the more reason to continue my quest to "sequester the Grinch".

So here's to the beginning of a very merry Christmas- spent with FAMILY.

Fall Festivities

Celebrating the fact that soccer is over for the season (don't worry, winter trainings will start up soon an reclaim soccer's prominent time commitment in our lives) and Maddox is in a lull between flag football and wrestling, we decided to spend our Monday evening enjoying the beautiful fall weather by getting lost in a local corn maze.

Studt's is much more than just a corn maze, and has so many activities that kept us all  entertained until the twilight hour fell.   From a petting zoo with vocal piggies (my favorite), baby goats (Madison's favorite), skittish alpacas (B's favorite)and the Thanksgiving Turkey fattening itself in preparation for next months feast (Maddox's favorite) ,
to GIGANTIC air trampolines,
 
 and even a hay bail tower with a massive slide


- getting lost in the maze soon became the side attraction!

Once in the maze we stuck together for a while, but being the competitive family we are we split off into teams with the challenge being the first to find our way out. 

B and Madison hurried off in one direction wile the boy and I ran in another.  Maddox was so intent on winning that he just took off in the lead; I finally had to tell him that mommy would break her ankle if we kept running over the furrowed field at our current pace.  His panic set in when I received a text from B and Madison saying they have made their way out.  I finally had to tell him that I appreciated his competitive nature, and wanted him to always try his best and want to win, but right now he was so worried about winning (loosing) that he was making a fun activity not so fun.  (I am sure this is a conversation I will have on a regular basis with him.) He pulled it together, and didn't even complain to his dad and sister when we made our own way out of the stalks a few short minutes later.

Before leaving we made sure to have some fun pumpkin head photo ops...


And my favorite photo of the evening...
 

As we headed out of the parking lot the harvest moon rose above the bookcliffs, providing a picturesque ending to a fabulous fall evening.

Pumpkin Carvin

It is becoming a tradition for Brian's siblings to gather our families for an evening of jack-o-lantern creating. All the grand kids haul their pumpkin patch finds to their grandmas kitchen. Each jabbering their creative concepts above the voices of the other.

Tastey treats and a warm pot of chili, do their part to tame our bellies.

The aroma of spiced cider hanging heavy in the air in stark contrast to the crisp autumn cross breeze cooling as they work.

Wrinkled noses, oohs, and giggles accompany the removal of innards. Next Sharpies are wielded marking one of a kind designs.

Carving tools, from butcher knives, to battery operated mini saber saws, scattered across the tables are ready to do their part in the metamorphosis from pumpkin to art.

Our final products this year: Harry Potter, Zombie Brains, little Myla Face, a ghostly ghoul, and a Peyton Manning Bronco.

Revisiting a Tradition: 4th of July

Over the years we (the Caster's) have spent many of our 4th of July celebrations with Allsion.  Most of which have occurred in the mountains just East of us at a family cabin, where we would roast marshmallows, delight in how amazing beer tastes while camping, and honestly not care that our children were covered in the black earth for the duration of the trip. Before the sun got too low in the sky, we would load both families up in the truck and trek down the hill to enjoy "the bombs bursting in air". We had the perfect perch on the hill just outside Collbran, all of us in awe of the spectacular show that always exceeded our expectations.

It's been a few years since we have celebrated our country's independence, so this year we planned a grand return to the once vibrant tradition. A multi-day camping trip just outside of Gunnison.  As will all grandiose plans, the seem great at the time but when reality sets in, you begin to see the flaws:  First- the fire ban across Colorado (this year nearly the entire state was burning up- from Ft. Collins to Colorado Springs and even in our own back yard of Debeque.)  And what fun is camping with no camp fire to enchant the evenings and warm the mornings?  Second: required portable toilette - no more outhouse on the property, instead the new covenants state we have to have a septic or transport our poo out.  Third: the remembrance of Allsion and I attempting a week long camping trip with the kids that ended MUCH sooner than anticipated. We had expected a week of non-stop friend time knitting, relaxing, chatting, and perfectly behaved children.  What we got was quite the opposite, and just remembering was enough to scare me out of committing to what possibly could be a repeat of that.

The Revised Plan: Collbran pancake breakfast, parade, and a trip up to a quiet little stream to splash the afternoon heat away.  This was actually a perfect replacement.  Besides the long line for the pancake breakfast, the whole days was a nice little escape.  The parade is one of the best I have ever been to, not for the amazing creativity level of the floats, but for the uniqueness and plethora of treats that are thrown to the children lining the sidewalk- can you say OTTER POPS.  Yes we were abundantly supplied with frozen otter pop popsicles and the kids loved it.  After the parade we made our way up and around my favorite lake, Atkinson, to the inlet stream.  The kids, even though it was cool and cloudy, spent the rest of the afternoon splashing in the creek and exploring, while we adults sat and enjoyed the scenery and company.  Our afternoon came to a beautiful close when rain clouds rolled in and had mercy on our dry parched state. 


I have never in my life been more happy for a downpour.