Christmas 2013

Rikki loved sleeping at Gma's feet

Gma and her new Barn Coat from Stan and Bea

Christmas has come and gone for another year.  It always seems as if there is such a big build up and then it is over far too quickly.  This year was a little different.  Arn had to work on Christmas eve and so did Meredith.  Meredith and Tim didn't arrive until close to midnight.  Val and Eric came down Christmas morning and spent the Christmas day and the 26th with us.  Chris and Maren also were her for the 24th and 25th.  The prime rib and cioppino both turned out really well this year.  It was a little quiet since a few people were sick (head colds). After everyone left I realized I didn't get any pics.  It's nice having all of the kids back in the same state too.

Happy Birthday Valerie!!!!

Val is 30 today.  Happy Birthday to You!! It seems like it was just yesterday when we went to the hospital and came home on Christmas Eve.  Arn ran out and bought a special Christmas ornament but didn't think about what we would be eating for Christmas eve or Christmas dinner.  We had mac and cheese out of a box.  Also being a new mom I had gone thru all of the newborn clothes before Gma and Gpa got there so help (I wasn't getting the diaper on well enough to control the flow).  We're proud of you and happy that you are back in Colorado.

Christmas Favs

The tree is up and decorated.  Presents are wrapped and I think I am finally almost ready. 
I've always enjoyed my mom's popcorn balls but haven't really helped her make them before.  This past couple of weeks we made four batches.  My dad used to help her by popping the corn.  The process works best if you have an air popper with someone in charge of it and someone in charge of the syrup (candy thermometer is a must). Also it works well if you have 2-3 ball makers available.

Gma's Popcorn Balls
2 cups white sugar
1 cup white Karo
2 sticks butter
1/4 Brer Rabbit Molasses
Melt butter and mix altogether and bring to a boil.  Cook until hard ball stage. 
1 big dish popcorn (I use my huge aluminum bowl)  If using an air popper I think it would be about 2-3 fills.  Estimate - 16-20 cups.
Use rubber gloves or baggies on hands since it is very hot. Shape into balls and put in baggies.  Tie with ribbons.  One batch makes about 25 balls.

One Car - 3 Trees 2013

Today we braved the frigid temps and went to get our Christmas tree.  We bundled up and drove into the tree cutting area.  Of course we had to drive to the far end of the area (13 mi.) and quickly found two smaller trees for Val and Ty. Ours took a little longer but we made a choice faster today due to the temp.  We like the tall and skinny ones as you can see.  We had two trees inside the car and the long one on top of the car.  Ours is much taller looking in the living room than it looked outside.

Boise Road Trip............

Meredith and I just returned from a short road trip to Boise, Id.  She wanted to check out a school there and did come away with a few answers.  We made the drive there in one day and checked out the town.  An artic storm was on it's way so we did not get to stop in SLC but decided to head home and did get to experience the storm in rural windblown Wyoming.  It took us two days to get home and the weather and roads finally got better when we hit Laramie. We spent the night in Rock Springs after I had a spaz attack. We also spent over an hour and a half sitting on the highway due to an accident caused by stupid people going too fast.   We've decided we now have a couple more towns that we don't care to visit again.  Rawlins, Wyo. and Rock Springs.  It was cold, long, and treacherous but we had some good bonding time. 
We did get to  check out Boise, Camelback Park, the Basque area of town, try some new food (basque), and also saw a herd of pronghorn trying to keep warm in the frigid temps.


Just  little info on the basque people...........They are from.a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.
They usually are sheep herders and ranchers which explains why Boise has one of the largest Basque populations.  We had lunch at a basque bar and tried a lamb grinder and croquettas.  They were delish............

Bar Gernika

Boise, Id.

Camelback Park Trail