Way to Go Nana!

Okay, before I blog about why I'm saying "Way to Go Nana" I have to explain a few things about Nana. She's not really one to toot her own horn....ever. She is an amazing cook. She'll cook something & everyone at the table is drooling over it & she'll say "Well it was okay I guess". That pretty much sums up how she is about these kind of things.

Her friend Claire asked her if she had something crocheted that she would submit to the fair. Nana swore that she didn't have anything but Claire said "What about that sweater you made? It's really nice." Nana said "Well it's okay I guess"....see a theme here? Well she submitted it and it won First Prize & Most Outstanding in the Crochet division so join me in saying "Way to Go Nana"!

Since she didn't pose with her sweater, I'm adding a picture of her with Evan. :)

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Summer Fun

Today we went to the Summer Fun Extravaganza at mine & Dewey's work. We have the kids this weekend so it worked out great. There was a bbq, a jump house, a petting zoo & a visit from 2 firetrucks. What more could you ask for?!?! The kids had a blast & I got to catch up with some of the people from work. A great day for everyone! Hover over the pictures for captions.

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Evan Goes to the Zoo

Evan and I met our friends Jody & Jocelyn at the Calgary Zoo on Friday. It was a first for both Evan and I b/c neither of us had ever been to the Calgary Zoo. Friday was a beautiful day so it was great to get out and about. Not sure how many more great days we are going to have before we're in the throws of winter. Drat!

Evan is still a bit too young to really look at the animals but I enjoyed it. He pretty much likes it wherever we go as long as I keep moving. If the stroller stops he starts fussing so we have to keep moving!

We also ran into our friends Mark, Christie & Georgia. They were taking advantage of the beautiful day, too.

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What's Cooking Wednesday - Zucchini Bread

Nana gave me a couple of zucchinis from her garden so I decided to make Zucchini Bread.

Zucchini Bread
Adapted from a recipe on About.com

2 cups shredded raw zucchini
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce (I used the kind mixwd w/pineapple b/c it was what I had)
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Remove excess moisture from the zucchini by placing it in a strainer & pressing/squeezing it with your hands. Beat eggs, sugar, oil & applesauce together. Add flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & vanilla. Mix by hand.

Add zucchini to the mixture. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased & floured loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

***Changes I made that are reflected above: substituted 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup of oil, substituted 1 cup whole wheat flour for 1 cup flour, baked 45 minutes instead of 55 to 65 minutes. ***

This recipe makes a wonderful spicy cake. Even Dewey the zucchini hater loved it! 5/5!

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Evan Pictures

Don't forget that you can look here to see pictures of Evan. Some have been included in blog posts & some haven't. This is a web folder that I keep adding more photos to. You can also access the same folder by clicking on "Evan Pics" on the left side of the blog under Photo Albums.

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Work Baby Shower for Evan

The girls at work threw a shower for Evan last week. Due to vacations, etc there weren't that many women that got to attend but we had a great time none the less. Evan & I have been very spoiled by all our friends. The highlights of this shower (by Evan's vote anyway) were the books he received. He loves it when I read to him. He waves his arms and legs and coos at the books. It is soooo cute! His favorites are "Five Little Monkeys Jump on the Bed" and "Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb".

Thanks everyone!!!!

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Will & Nicole's Summer Visit 2007

This year we decided to stay close to home when Will & Nicole came to stay for two weeks. With the new baby it just didn't seem like the best plan to try to go far away. In hind sight, it would have been fine to go somewhere but you have to book vacation houses, etc. so far in advance there was no way to know. Oh well....next year.

For the first week they were with us, Dewey still had to work. I was more than a little worried about having all three kids at home for a week w/o him so we decided to send them to camp at Butterfield Acres. This is basically a working farm near the city where kids can go to learn about farm animals & farm life. They LOVED it. Highlights included baby bunnies, milking goats & making the milk into ice cream & visiting the sheep, pigs, donkey etc. They came home COVERED in dirt every afternoon.

For the second week we headed out to Nana & Papa Don's for the week. During our visit we went to Drumheller to see the Royal Tyrrel Museum. If you are ever in Drumheller, AB, you have to go to this museum. It is FULL of dinosaurs. The kids love it even though they've been there tons of times. It was my second visit & I'm always shocked at what a first class museum is stuck out in the middle of nowhere Alberta. :)



The rest of the week went by with a visits to the neighbors to play with their kittens, rides on the quad & running through the sprinkler. Their grandad even brought over a wagon for them to have a ride in. Overall it was a fun, if busy, two weeks.


You can see more pictures here.

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Evan's Newborn Pictures

Here are two of the newborn pictures that we had taken of Evan when he was 2 weeks old. It's amazing how much bigger he is now. These pictures were taken by Danna Bowes, the same photographer who did my pregnancy photos. Isn't Evan a cutie?!

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6 weeks!

Evan is 6 weeks old today! Time flies....I can't believe how fast. Today we had his 6 week doctor's appointment. Evan now weighs 11 lbs 4 oz & is 23 inches long. He's growing like a weed!

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Will is Kickin' Butt Tae Kwon Do Style!

Recently Will passed his test for his yellow with green stripe belt. We are so proud of him! This is his 3rd new belt since he started. Hopfully he'll stick with it & get his black belt.

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Heritage Day Weekend at Nana & Papa Don's

This past long weekend we went to visit Nana & Papa Don. This was Evan's first overnight trip away from home. It was also the first weekend of Will & Nicole's two week visit. We packed up the car with all 2 tons of our stuff for the trip. Of course, I had way too much of some things (bibs & baby washcloths) & not enough of other things (diapers). Thankfully I had accidentally left a pack of diapers in the car after a shopping trip so we were okay.

We all enjoyed the time together. Evan enjoyed hanging out with Nana & Papa Don. He is getting more active & alert every day. He now likes to "talk" & he's started waving his arms and legs around lots. He has also started looking around & smiling. Nana got her first smile this weekend!

Dewey & the kids spent the nights in a tent in the backyard. That's as close to camping as we're going to get this year! Nicole only spent the first night out there. The next night she decided that the bed in the house was much more comfortable (I can't blame her). I kept trying to get Dewey to let Evan stay out in the tent with them but for some reason he didn't think that was a good idea.

Nicole shelled peas for the first time & determined that they are much tastier raw than cooked. A weenie roast rounded out the weekend.



Here are some pictures of our visit.

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