Lefse!

Where I come from, in northern Minnesota, Scandinavian traditions are part of the culture because there are so many people of Scandinavian heritage.  I don't know who figured it or how it was determined, but apparently my hometown, Thief River Falls, is the town in the U.S. with the largest number of people of Norwegian heritage.  People in and around Thief River are very proud of their Norwegian heritage, to the point that every year the town celebrates Norwegian Heritage Week around May 17, which is Syttende Mai (Norwegian Independence Day). I fit in quite well there, as one of my grandparents was 100% Norwegian.  Some people I know from Thief River continue to honor their heritage in many ways, by speaking the language, practicing some of the textile and craft arts, and producing some of the traditional foods.  I don't do much to honor my Norwegian heritage.  I only know two phrases in Norwegian:  "mange tak" ("thank you") and "velkommen" ("welcome"  I only know this phrase because of the signs people put up outside and inside their homes as decoration).  I don't do hardanger or eat lutefisk (if you aren't from Minnesota, you may have to google those :) ).  BUT, I have become a lefse maker! (Lefse is a flatbread made from cooked potatoes, flour, butter and cream.  Picture a tortilla.) 

Elise prepares to eat a piece of lefse, putting on
butter (and then sprinkling it with sugar).

Anja enjoys a piece of lefse, rolled-up and ready to eat!

A few years ago I decided I would like to carry on the tradition of lefse-making and have been practicing since then.  I only practice about once a year, so my expertise is progressing slowly.  My lefse is definitely tasty, but it is not pretty, so I don't let anyone outside my immediate family have any.  My grandma made lefse, but my mom never learned (so she says, but she grew up helping my grandma and can do every part of the process, so I'm not sure I believe her) so I asked my cousin for some tips, did a workshop on lefse-making (at the library!), and have asked several people what they do. 

Since they've been old enough, the girls have helped in the lefse-making.  Now that they are 8 and 6, they are able to do quite a bit.

In my family, the time before Thanksgiving is usually when lefse is made, so there will be some to serve at Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.  We didn't get it done before Thanksgiving, so decided to do it before Christmas. 

Elise took a turn with the rolling pin and did a
great job!

She was so excited, Anja did a lefse dance.

Anja takes a turn with the rolling pin. 
These girls did a great job!

Some Little Monkeys

During the lead-up to Christmas, we also took some time to just monkey around.  The girls LOVE being outside, and we have had some delightful temperatures in the last week (in the 60s, and at least one day into the 70s), so we hit the playground several times.  The girls had to show off a bit on the monkey bars.

Gingerbread Houses

In the week leading up to Christmas we have been having fun with some traditions.  One of those was making gingerbread houses!  I cheat and buy the houses pre-made, then the kids add their decorations.  Each year as they get older, their decorating becomes more involved and they do more of the process all by themselves.  It is still a little tough for them to squeeze the packages of icing onto the house, but with a little help they do a great job!

Elise gets started on the roof.



Little sisters sometimes try to photo bomb!



Mmmmmm, that icing is GOOD!



Grandpa Joe was pretty helpful with putting on the icing,
then Elise and Anja added the decorations.

These girls get more and more creative every year.

I helped Anja put some icing on her house.

Ta-da!

Great job, girls!

Girl Scouts Winter Awards

Both Elise and Anja have been really enjoying Girl Scouts this year and have been very busy with Girl Scout activities.  This week their troops had an awards dinner where they received badges they have earned since the Fall.  They were very excited!

Elise and Anja waiting to be called up to accept their badges.
These two girls love each other and sometimes
they even show it, like this night, when Anja sat
 in Elise's lap and Elise let her.

Anja and her very first Girl Scout badges!  These were
for learning about animals and how to care for animals.

Elise earned quite a few badges and she was pretty
pleased!  Her troop earned badges for learning how to
care for themselves and be healthy, and a dance badge.

Breakfast With Santa

Eileen's Bakery is one of my favorite places to eat in Fredericksburg.  It is in an old church and they have outstanding sandwiches, salads, bread, cookies, cakes and pastries.  We discovered Eileen's one of the first times I visited Jason.  After we moved here and I started working for the library, I realized the Headquarters Library is just a few doors down, and have eaten at Eileen's several times when I'm working at HQ or have training there.  A few weeks ago I saw an advertisement for an event there called "Breakfast With Santa," a breakfast buffet with Santa as a guest for the kids to visit with.  I made reservations and this morning was the big event!

Eileen's had this event pretty organized, there was a seating chart and our table had a sign that said "Caswell."  As soon as we were seated, our table elf brought our drinks and after we got our food another elf came to tell us it was our turn to visit with Santa. 

Elise and Anja visit with Kat the elf.

Santa was delightful, the food was delicious (the BEST pancakes I have ever had), and the environment there is always quaint.

The girls!

My dad, mom, Anja, and Santa in the background.

Me and my sweetie.

Elise & Jason

With her arms crossed, Anja looks a
little stubborn, but I think she was
just a little nervous with Santa. 
I think.  She doesn't usually get
nervous, though, so I don't know
what was going on here. 
Maybe she was cold.

I would like a toy cat and...

Elise is displaying the cookies the girls got from Santa.

Grandma and Grandpa are looking good!

Fun Times

Jason's mom, Dolores, was here for a visit over Thanksgiving, and all of us were off from school and work for most of the week.  We mostly hung out , getting ready for Thanksgiving, playing with the girls, and playing tourist (see the post on our visit to the Alpaca farm). 

Here are some pictures of those fun times:

Pumpkin Pie
The day before Thanksgiving I made pumpkin pies.  Elise LOVES pumpkin pie and had been waiting and waiting for these pies.  I ended up with more filling than would fit in the pie shells, so I baked it in small dishes without a crust.  They are like mini-pumpkin pies, we call them pumpkin custard.  Elise asked if she could have one and I said "sure!" Then she asked if she could have two.  I said she could have as many as she wanted.  She dug as soon as I took them out of the oven, they weren't even cool yet.

A happy girl with her pumpkin pie!



I came back into the kitchen to find Elise
had eaten all the mini pumpkin pies!

FUN & GAMES
Time off at home gave us lots of opportunity to play games (Battleship was a favorite this week), do some projects, and read.

Dolores and the girls make
friendship bracelets.

Jason and Anja reading before bed.

This silly kid LOVES sucking on lemons!
We went out for lunch and she begged
everyone for the lemon from their glass of water.

SNOW

We saw our first snow in Virginia!  It had been raining all morning, and it was a little chilly outside, but I didn't believe it when Elise said "it's snowing!"  I looked outside and to me it looked more like freezing rain so I went off to do something.  A minute later the phone rang and it was mom.  "It's snowing!"  she said.  And I said "are you sure?"  I looked out the window and sure enough, it had switched to snow.  It only lasted about 10 minutes and it melted as soon as it hit the ground.  But we were all pretty excited!

Alpaca Farm

Yes, that alpaca has antlers.  No, alpaca don't really
have antlers.  They were put on just to get a cute photo.

Black Friday.  Did we spend it crushed with crowds shopping?  NO!  We spent it hanging out together, playing games, going out for lunch, and visiting an Alpaca farm!

Jason's mom, Dolores, was searching online for things she might like to do in Fredericksburg while she was here, and came across a website for an alpaca farm about 10 miles outside Fredericksburg that gives tours.  We called Friday morning to see if they were giving tours that day, then headed out.

We learned a lot about alpaca, and I think we were all convinced of how environmentally friendly alpaca are (they don't eat much, they clip the grass they eat rather than rip it out, they are efficient with their digestion, their poop can immediately be used for fertilizer, and their wool requires much less processing than sheep wool).  Plus, they are really cute!

The owner giving the tour held the baby, James,
so we could see what the Alpaca foot looks like.
Look at that face, so cute!

Alpaca are related to camels, which I think can really be seen in
this angle of the Alpaca's head.

After getting a lesson in alpacas, we got to feed them a little treat and pet them (did I mention they are super soft?)

We ended the day with a group photo op with an Alpaca.  This was such a fun place to visit!