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!

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we were very fortunate to be able to have Jason, his mom, us, and my mom and dad all around the same table.  This is the first time that has happened!  This is the first Thanksgiving we've shared with Jason and the first time his mom met my parents.

The day before Thanksgiving we did some advance prep of food. I baked cornbread for the stuffing, Elise and I made pumpkin pies, and I made a new recipe:  Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie.  At one point early in the day, Elise came in the kitchen and said "what are you doing?"  I told her I was making cornbread and pies.  She said "I thought it smelled like Thanksgiving in here!"

Elise LOVES pumpkin pie and was a great help
mixing up the pies for Thanksgiving.

We had a little too much pumpkin pie filling
and it wouldn't all fit in the pie shell,
so I baked the extra in little dishes...

which Elise promptly polished off. 
She ate all four of the mini pies. 
That girl LOVES pumpkin pie!

The Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie.
Baked and served in a cast iron skillet.
My dad said "this is the best pecan pie
I've ever had."  Of course, he is prejudiced,
but this pie was REALLY good.

The girls, Jason and I made most of the food (except the turkey), but we ate at mom and dad's because their place is bigger.  So, some of the food was made at our place and transported to mom and dad's, and some we made there. 

Mom and dad working on getting some food on the table.

The girls, particularly Anja, love going to grandma and grandpa's because they have Wii.  Anja was quite excited to introduce Jason's mom, Dolores, to Wii.

Thanksgiving dinner was delightful.  The food was plentiful and delicious, the company relaxed and entertaining.

Anja and Elise and the Thanksgiving feast.

Our pickle girl.  She had emptied the pickle dish before
Thanksgiving even started and we had to refill it before we
sat down to eat.  By the end of the meal she had eaten
a whole jar of pickles.  We aren't surprised, though, since
it is kind of a family tradition.  I used to do the same thing
when I was a kid.

Thanksgiving Feast at School

This was a pretty short week for the girls at school, just Monday and Tuesday, then off the rest of the week.  Tuesday at school, there was a Thanksgiving Feast for Kindergarten through 2nd grade.  Parents, grandparents, and other family members were invited to have lunch with the kids and enjoy a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and green beans. 

Anja, decked out in her Indian costume.

The kids had made costumes to wear, some were Pilgrims, some were American Indians.  Jason and I were really lucky that our schedules worked out so that we had gaps in our work day to make it out to the school.  The kids were adorable and the food wasn't bad!


Anja's class headed to the Thanksgiving
feast.  Anja is the line leader, with her finger
over her lips to remind herself and others to
be quiet in the hall.

Anja's family crew, ready for lunch!
(Grandma & Grandpa Caswell, Jason).

Me and Anja. 

Say "Turkey"!

It Smells Like Thanksgiving in Here!

Jason's mom, Dolores, arrived last night from California, and the girls have been playing with her all morning.  While they were in the girls' bedroom talking about dragons and drawing, I was in the kitchen baking pies, making cornbread for stuffing, and making cranberry sauce.  At one point Elise came out and asked what I was doing.  I told her everything I had made and she said "I thought it smelled like Thanksgiving in here!"

Elise did a great job helping out making pies!

A New Job!!

I have a job!  A real, full-time library job!  Since August I've been working at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL), floating as an Adult Research substitute between five branch libraries.  Over that time I got a positive impression of the system, of both the way it is run and the people working in the system.  Everyone made me feel welcome and appreciated and I could see that the employees are very good at what they do.  In October I was trained to sub in the Youth Services department and started subbing in Youth Services at the beginning of November (again, floating between five branches).  About the time I started subbing in Youth Services, a position came open at the Salem Church branch for the Department Head of Youth Services.  I knew that my previous library experience in Minnesota made me perfect for this department head position, but I doubted that I would be hired because the folks at CRRL don't know me very well yet, having been there just three months and brand-new to the Youth Services department.  But I thought "what the heck, you never know until you try" and applied for the position.  I was called in for an interview (which went very well), and got the job!!!  I am super excited.  I will be supervising and managing all areas of the Youth Services Department at the Salem Church Library:  programming (story time, teen programs, summer reading program, and special events), research requests from children and teachers, and selecting books and other materials for children and teens.  This library is large and is the busiest library in the system.  The children's and juvenile section of the library is separated a bit from the rest of the library, so it is almost like a library within a library.  The teen section (which I will also supervise) is another separate section, with it's own selection of books, a lounge and teen "hang-out" space.  This is such an ideal job, I don't know how it could be any better!  Salem Church is the library that is closest to where I live, and my commute will be about 10 minutes; working with children, promoting education and early literacy is one of my passions and being able to have a job focusing on those areas is just perfect.  I will officially start in this position January 1 and I can't wait!

Tae Kwon Do Testing for a Green Stripe Belt

Anja has been involved in Tae Kwon Do for a little over a year, and since we moved to Virginia she has become really determined and focused during class.  She is fun to watch when she is so focused.  Her moves are sharp, and her punches are strong.  Of course, all students look forward to testing and progressing to the next belt, and recently Anja tested for her green stripe belt.  She gets so excited about getting her next belt!

Getting ready for testing:  sparring pads, sparring helmet
and mouth guard.

TOTALLY ready!

Sparring

 

After sparring, performing her pattern,
and breaking a board with a sidekick,
Anja answers some questions about
Tae Kwon Do terms (they need to learn how
 to say Tae Kwon Do terms in Korean).

 

All done!  Old belt off, and waiting
for the new belt.



Master Kim helping Anja put on her new belt.

With the board she broke

A very happy girl!