Saturday

Yesterday was a great one. It began with a bowl of rice pudding. (Just had to get it in one more post.) Then Jonny did the grocery shopping for me! (A week without visiting Walmart - heavenly.) Later Jonny and I enjoyed a much-needed afternoon nap while Julia slept. Then with the tickets Jordan got through his Jr. Jazz team, we four headed down to campus to cheer on the Cougar basketball team. Our seats weren't too bad and neither were the Cougars. They beat the Lobos 83-66. (It's kind of nice to be out of the student section. Did I say kind of? It is really nice to get to sit through the whole game. And it was a lot more fun with Julia on the outside this year.) We aren't sure yet if Julia enjoys watching basketball, but we now know she loves popcorn.
After an eventful afternoon, we came home and made Emily's Chicken Cordon Bleu-Wiches. Oh man, these are so delicious and easy to make. We use those yummy square breads from Costco, chicken (shredded or half-breast), sliced ham, and pepper-jack cheese. Em suggested putting spinach and fresh tomato slices. Boy, are we glad we did! Don't forget the mustard and you have it made. If you ever need an idea for dinner (or dessert), check out Emily's Experiments. You will not be disappointed! (This is the second time we've made the the broiled open-face sandwiches since Em told me about them a few weeks ago. Jonny wants to have them again for dinner tonight. Ha!)

To finish off this festive Saturday night, we made pizzookies with some froze cookie dough I had stashed for such an occasion. We thouroughly enjoyed our dessert as we watched the first episode of Our Mutual Friend. We can't wait to finish the miniseries, rented through Netflix.

And to top it all off, Julia slept the night, only waking for her early morning feeding. (She's been waking up at odd times lately. So that was very nice.)

That's all. Just a good day.

P.S. Marianne, imagine you and Paul were at the game with us. You could even photoshop yourself next to a picture of Julia at the game.

Fun Understood?

Jonny has been dying to go sledding all winter. With work off on Monday and all the beautiful new snow, we figured it was the perfect opportunity to borrow a sled and go for it.

We had a great time, and I think I can speak for Julia too. You can't be sure, though. She smiled for the pictures, naturally (she's been trained well). But I don't know if she quite understood that going down the snowy hill is fun and exciting. She heard us laughing as we went down, but the expression on her face was completely blank. I guess we can't expect her to fully appreciate fun when she experiences it at this stage. Oh well, maybe next year, huh?

P.S. Jonny LOVES to play. Before we had Julia, we referred to our future kids as "our little friends" and made a list (ongoing) of the fun things we'd do with them. Now that Ju-Ju is here, he is ready and anxious to begin the fun! But maybe he and she will have to stick to shoulder rides, peek-a-boo, and "Bop-It" for a little while.P.P.S. Come to think of it, Julia cried in the car after leaving the sledding hill. You tell me, was fun understood? Or did she have some melting snow underneath her clothes???

The Moonstone, Rice Pudding, and Julia's New Hat

These are three things that have been on my mind this week. First of all, The Moontstone by Wilkie Collins. I loved this book. I had borrowed it from Mom months ago and finally sat down to begin it last week. I do love to read, but it's not usually my first choice leisure activity - unless I am into a very captivating and worthwhile book. Needless to say, I finished this one in a week, reading during most all of Julia's naps and other spare time. I laughed out loud (ask Jonny) at the witty writing and was amazed at the character development that can be done through first-hand accounts. Read this! And then call me and we'll talk about how a movie must be made of it starring Ewan McGregor as Franklin Blake.

And now, Rice Pudding. This may just be my ultimate comfort food. But of all the varieties I have tried, I love my mom's rice pudding with raisins the very best. (Although, the pudding you made with vanilla soy milk, Matt, is a close second! Can I get that recipe?? And I have been to that Pudding on the Rice place in Provo. It is fun and yummy, but I am still partial the homemade stuff that is more rice than pudding. See picture.) Maybe it's the nostalgia of it, I don't know. It just makes me feel at home. Anyway, I finally made it myself for the first time this morning. Why did it take me so long to get around to it? Well, I guess I just never had the confidence that I could make it like Mom. I remember in college I asked her for the recipe. "Oh, you just put some milk, an egg or two, sugar, a little cinnamon..." Well, that didn't help me much! (At least, not for my formerly nervous-cook self. Now I am willing to take more risks and I am getting over the reliance on recipes for everything.) Anyway, I followed mom's "recipe" this morning, adding other ingredients that seemed fitting, and it turned out to be delicious! I can't wait until Julia looks forward to rice pudding just like I did as a kid. (Jonny says she doesn't like raisins. Ha! We will see about that.)

And lastly, Julia's new hat. The pictures speak for themselves. Thanks Matt, Cortnie, and Jack! She is stylin' now. (Oh, and thanks to Great Grandma Rejholec for the pink dress.)P.S. What is the matter with Mary Jane? Rice Pudding for dinner again??! Bring it on! (If you aren't sure what I'm referring to, see A.A. Milne's poem "What is the Matter with Mary Jane?)

Back by Popular Demand

This post is in response to my brother Matt's comment on the last post. As Julia's adoring uncle, he requested more pictures of her and, I quote, "more info on what she does that is cute and or darling." Well, it has been a while since we wrote a post dedicated to Julie-Baby. I guess I can scrounge up a few pictures and think of something to tell along the lines Matt requested.

Um...lately Julia has just gotten into the habit of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance while doing a little tap-dance. Okay, maybe not. But, she does give a "token smile" (as Amber dubbed it) to anyone and everyone she sees. Then she continues to smile. (Although a few weeks ago she burst into tears every time Lili started to sing to her. Hmmm, we think she may have just been tired??) She laughs like crazy when her rooster puppet talks to her. (His name is "Pup" short for puppet. Jonny named him.) She seeks out tags on blankets, dolls, and anything else and searches for them if you take the items away. She LOVES her daddy and the sound of his voice. It is nearly impossible to nurse when he is anywhere in the vicinity. At the slightest sigh from him, she jerks away and searches for her daddy. She has just gotten into the habit of sucking on her bottom lip, as shown in the first picture below. But probably the most "cute and or darling" thing she does lately happens when I get her from her crib every morning. She lifts her head up and peeks between the slats, giving me her biggest smile and sometimes a giggle. Naturally, I snatch her up and kiss her repeatedly.

And here are a few pictures. We were playing on the bed a few days ago and I just
happened to have the camera on hand...Above: Reaching for the camera strap.

Below:Her response after mean mommy wouldn't
let her have it.

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

For those who don't know (like me, until a few days ago) LASER is an acronym for the phrase in the title. I love learning new things like this. And just as Lili would, I first asked Dad, then checked Wikipedia.

Anyway, some of us went laser-tagging the other day. This is always more fun than you think it will be! We went to Laser Assault in Provo. If you go there, make sure to bring a coupon (buy one 15-min game, get one free - can be found online, in those calendars, starving student cards, you name it) and request the big room. We were in the small one which was so dark and extremely maze-like that I never found my bearings. Plus, the charge stations were nearly impossible to find! Other than that, we had a blast. Lili and Jeff dominated, with Jonny and Dad placing after them. Let's do it again soon, you guys. Jonny said that Matt said we should try Boondocks. Let's check that one out when Jeff gets home. Oh, and thanks to Mom for watching Ju-Ju. Next time we'll get a neighborhood sitter so you can play!

Three in One

As I was putting together a slide show of the recent holidays, I realized I never posted about the lovely Thanksgiving we spent in Durango. So, here is a rather long slide show of the past three holidays (well, five, if you count Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as their very own). Below the pictures there are a few notes about each holiday.



Thanksgiving...

It's always nice to spend a few days in Colorado with the Rejholecs. We don't see them as often a we'd like so we love any time we get to just hang around with the fam. Jonny and I ran the 5-mile Turkey Trot that morning and were quite surprised by the new course, which was mostly uphill. Yikes. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the exercise and worked up an appetite for the turkey dinner, complete with the traditional potato dumplings. Thanks to Daddio, who was so willing to share the sauerkraut with me!

Christmas...

It seems like we had more family parties than usual this year. With Em and KC in town, we can't help getting together at every possible moment! We loved having them here - it was especially fun when they slept over in our little apartment. One of my favorite parties was the family sleepover at Mom and Dad's. (Perhaps I enjoyed it more than others because Jonny, Julia, and I slept in our own room on a bed? Everyone else was sprawled out on various couches or a floor of mattresses. Hope you guys slept well enough!) Anway, as the smiles in the slideshow indicate, we had a very merry Christmas. Julia specifically loved the wrapping paper and the tag on everything and anything.

New Year's Day...

On New Year's Eve we partied at the Peck house. Since we are all suddenly into puzzles, we took an idea from the movie Dan in Real Life and had a puzzle race. (In the movie, however, they race with crossword puzzles. By the way, we loved the movie - check it out when it comes out on video.) Mom bought two identical 300-piece puzzles. We split up into boys and girls teams and went at it. I am proud to announce that the girls won by a long shot. Maybe next year, boys.

The next morning I hosted a crepe brunch, facilitated by Jonny's Christmas gift to me - the very crepe maker I have had my eye on for years. (Thanks again, my love.) Maybe when we live in a slightly larger space, we can invite even more friends and fam to the brunch! Good times.

Phavorite Pastimes

Tonight we had a pleasant time with the parents. Melody was pleased to phind rice pudding on the stove, and Jonny nibbled at phew pistachios. Besides the phood, we watched a couple episodes of the Twilight Zone--the one about Pip and one about the pig-nosed people.

Later we played a plethora of "p" games (unintentionally and the inspiration for this silly post), namely: Pit, Phase 10 dice, Password, and a puzzle.

Phun. Oh, and this is Jonny.