So, there's lots of pictures here, and a lot of time to cover, so be patient and go with us. Also, Morgan, I am including the recipe for that Mexican Salad we had at the Olympic Party towards the end, so keep reading. . . .
Gabe and I spent an evening making our own ornaments for the Christmas tree. They didn't turn out too bad. I still have some of the salt dough, and I'm not quite sure what to do with it.
This is one of Gabe's friends from the ward. We were at the Ward Christmas Party with lots of good food and fun times. The only problem for Gabe was that Santa Claus did not make an appearance.
But, you know how Mom and Dads are -- they sometimes have the right connections, and a few days later, we had a special visitor at our house!!! Gabe was downstairs when our he arrived. When Gabe heard the sleighbells and the laugh, he practically flew up those stairs! It was so fun to watch. . .
Even Madi got to sit on Santa's lap. . .
That same evening we made our yearly trip to the Moffat's house to see their trains. This is truly quite the experience!
This is Gabe's friend Henri. His family also went to enjoy the trains.
This is the Christmas tree before we opened everything.
Before Gabe even went to look at the tree, he looked out the window in the bedroom. Out in the back yard were these trails in the snow. Gabe came running out, "Mom! Dad! Santa's been here! You can see the reindeer and sleigh tracks in the backyard!" I had to take a picture of that, for sure!
It was a quiet Christmas for us. Everyone else was in Castle Dale and the Lodge. But, we had a great time. Christmas Eve was spent at my brother's house, and all their family was there. Family get-togethers in the Piep house are just as big and riotous as the Jorgensens!
This whiteboard/chalkboard easel was given to Gabe by my nephew Michael. Gabe has really enjoyed that. It is one of those gifts that Gabe still uses.
Here's some of the great gifts we received: We can't wait to try out the sno-cone machine! And we have already used the pottery pitcher. Thanks, Sara. The little griddles and mini cast iron "Skookies". They are quite fun to use.
Christmas dinner was wonderful. We had lettuce wedge salads, prime rib, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and cauliflower. It really tasted good! I don't get a lot of chances to use my china, so it was nice to have such a pretty table-setting, too.
A few days after Christmas was Leslie's farewell. Here are some parting pictures of Les before we went home.
At the end of January, Gabe's new cousin Alex had a birthday. This is Alex's little sister, Elizabeth eating one of the very colorful birthday cupcakes! The kids all had black or red mouths.
That's Alex in the blue shirt. The party was at the Living Planet Aquarium.
Gabe got to pet a giant sting ray. He said it felt slimy.
Now on to February: This is my attempt at being creative with a Valentine's heart cake. 
Back-track: This was New Year's Eve and all the streamers that came from the fireworks. Gabe wanted to take it all home and keep it! Luckily, we talked him out of that. . .
Before Sara went down to Castle Dale, she brought us this beautiful amarilys. The blooms on it were beautiful. We actually got two sets of blooms on it.
Every year, on the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the car show comes to town. Here are some of the cars Gabe really liked:
Unfortunately, the camera on my phone doesn't always focus. But, you get the idea.
This is a real Transformers car -- Bumblebee, of course. It has the name on the black part of the hood, and the logo on the side.
You can see that Gabe isn't the only little boy who likes the Bumblebee car.
We're nearing the end -- are you still with me? So, here's the salad we made for the Olympic Opening Ceremony party. Morgan suggested I put the recipe on the blog, so, here it is:
Mexican Chopped SaladRomaine or red leaf lettuce
canned corn
black beans (we used red kidney)
jicama
jalapeno peppers (seed well, or it will get HOT!)'
tomato, fresh
fresh lime juice
olive oil
garlic pepper
Combine the first 6 ingredients listed above in the quantity that you desire. Squeeze the joice from a fresh lime, the olive oil, and the pepper over the salad. Toss and serve.
To this recipe, we also add some cumin, chili powder, and salt to taste.
We're glad everyone seemed to enjoy this.
Gabe's favorite tree at the park, even in a snowless winter.
Honor Choir Weekend: 380 junior high students on stage at once!
Well, that's 3 months worth of catching up. Hopefully, it won't be that long before the next one. Especially since Gabe is having a birthday this week! We hope to see you at his party on Saturday at Sara's (around 5:30 p.m. -- eating around 6:00)
2 comments:
It sounds as if you have had a very busy winter. I'm so sorry Gabe is sick, hopefully he will be better in time for his birthday party.
You crowded all that into just three months? I'm happy that you took the time to catch us up on all your doings. I like the picture of Gabe by the Bumblebee. What a cute kid.
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