Making Apple Butter

Yesterday we got the opportunity to participate in a wonderful Tenney family tradition. Every late October Patrick's grandparents, their siblings and families come to Ralph and June's (Patrick's grandparents) house to make apple butter.

Making apple butter is a LONG process I learned. First, you start off with 10 gallons of applesauce and a copper pot. Well, I guess first you need to make the applesauce, which involves peeling and coring apples then running them through a grinder. But we didn't have to do that part because June had done it already.

Next (or simultaneously) you build the fire.

Then you bring the applesauce to a boil (it took about 90 minutes to bring it to a full boil) while stirring the pot constantly with a weird-looking utensil that can be likened to a fork.

After you bring the applesauce to a boil, you add 6 pounds of sugar (or more to taste). You continue stirring for another 45-60 minutes.

To make the apple butter red, you add cinnamon dots (red hard candy), and continue to stir for another 30-45 minutes, until it "looks right" and is thick enough. At this point you keep cooking the applebutter at a boiling rate until it has cooked down to the thickness you like.

Next you take the pot off the fire and add 6 vials of straight cinnamon oil and stir the heck out of it.

Finally, you set up an assembly line and fill jars, cap, and seal as fast as you can so the heat of the apple butter will help seal your jars. Only then can you lick the wooden stir stick!

We ended up making 84 pints of apple butter in about 4 and a half hours. Everyone took a turn stirring (some more than others), and we all helped out with canning it. I was mainly on kid patrol because stirring the apple butter REALLY hurt my back. But I am really glad that I was able to participate in this fun family tradition and look forward to doing it next year.

If you are in the market for a free pint of apple butter, let me know. My grandmother-in-law has a TON from as far back as 2004, and she says the longer it sits the better it is!

Keeping Creative Kitchens---Fabulous Pumpkin Mousse

This week, in honor of our visit to the pumpkin patch, I am sharing with you the best pumpkin dip/mousse I have ever eaten. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of pumpkin, as far as my food goes. In fact, pretty much the only other pumpkin item I like is pumpkin roll (and that's hardly considered something pumpkin-y). This mousse truly IS fabulous, and is best served with graham cracker sticks.

Fabulous (and I do mean fabulous) Pumpkin Mousse

2 small packages sugar free vanilla pudding (instant)
2 cups milk (skim preferably)
1 cup to 1 can Pumpkin (depending on your taste)*
½ tsp Pumpkin pie spices (or cinnamon & nutmeg)
1 cup Sugarfree Cool Whip

Beat pudding, milk, pumpkin and spices with a whisk. Fold in Cool Whip. Refrigerate for at least two hours (longer if possible, overnight is best).

Keeps 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator. Yields 4 servings of 2 Weight Watchers points each. (Very big servings). Can also be used to make pies. Use a baked pie crust or graham cracker crust. Makes 2 pies for 2 points at 1/6 pie.

*I use a whole 15 oz. can of pumpkin.

Enjoy! And be sure to check out Alaina's (the host of Keeping Creative Kitchens) website!

Sleeping Angel

Even though I didn't submit an entry in the Sleeping Angels contest (to win a bedroom set for your baby) because I didn't find out about it soon enough, I still wanted to post a couple pictures of my sleeping angel. Doesn't it look like she just dropped from heaven?!

To see some of my friends' sleeping angels, check out Catherine's and Alaina's kids' blogs!

Help Wanted Ad

If I could have published a help wanted ad last night, here is what it would have read:

Single Mother with Migraine seeks someone to look after rambunctious, rather cranky toddler for the evening. Must be able to administer medication shot to mother and tolerate continual whining from both child and mother. Ability to clean up medical waste is a MUST (in case mother's head explodes from pressure. Pressure may be caused by migraine, or by toddler's constant disagreement with mother.). Someone who will work for free preferred. Don't bother sending a resume, just stop by NOW!

I have always held single mothers in high regard, since they must contend with everything that is thrown their way while taking care of their babies. I don't know how they do it. I thought I was going to die last night! Thankfully Morgan was in a better mood this morning, and my migraine has retreated into a more tolerable headache. So now it's Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Off to Work I Go!

Kid's Day at the Farm

Today was our second annual trip to Rich Farms and their pumpkin patch. We want to make this an annual tradition, and enjoyed our visit. The weather was unseasonably warm (83 degrees by the time we left the farm!) but gorgeous. There were many activities for the kids to do, including a petting zoo of farm animals, hay ride (which was mysteriously void of hay), haystack mountain (plenty of hay here!), tire trampolines, see-saws, a corn stalk maze, and the biggest hit, a giant dinosaur bounce house.

Morgan was working on a short nap, so she was slightly cranky for the day. She did really enjoy picking her pumpkin from the patch and decorating it in the barn. We stopped for ice cream cones on the way home, which was the perfect end to the day. Make sure you check out Morgan's site for videos and more picture of the day.

30 by 30

Pounds to go: 21

Months to go: 5

Keeping Creative Kitchens--Quick Cake

One of my bloggy friends, Alaina, has started hosting a weekly post on keeping creative kitchens. I'm not a cook, by any means, but I hope to be inspired by posting some new things on this blog. That being said, here's a new twist on making a cake:

Here is a VERY simple recipe for cake that takes only 2 ingredients, and if you or anyone else is doing Weight Watchers, one cupcake counts 2 points. I make this all the time and it is delicious!

Quick Cake

1 box cake mix (any flavor)
1 12 oz. can diet soda (any flavor...sprite works best, I have used lots of different sodas and have never been able to taste the soda in the cake, unless it is a strong flavor like Cherry cola or root beer)


Mix the cake mix and can of diet soda together in a bowl until smooth. Bake according to cake mix box directions, adding 5-7 minutes to the cook time to allow for a denser cake mix. **You do NOT add any other ingredients (i.e. eggs, oil, etc. Just the mix and the soda)**

Topping Options:

powdered sugar OR 1 container of sugar free cool whip (which works great with food coloring)

This cake is so simple it is scary, and it tastes great. I made a strawberry cake with Diet Pepsi last week and they were yummy. One good harvest/Halloween variation, if you use a yellow cake mix and diet orange soda, you get BRIGHT orange cake/cupcakes, which is always fun for this time of year. I love this recipe for when my husband calls in a panic needing cupcakes for a bake sale the next day, and I am (always) out of eggs. As long as there is at least one can of diet soda in your house, you can make this cake. I hope you enjoy!

I want to be a fire fighter when I grow up!

Today as I was returning to work from a day trip to Elkins, WV I was required to do one of those "other duties as assigned" that I never thought I would have to do.

It was raining and quite miserable outside. As I stepped out of the car I sniffed the air and thought to myself, "What stinks? It smells like something is burning." Thinking I was just smelling things, I popped the trunk of the rental and prepared to get my display materials out of the car. As I started toward the door I saw the plastic cigarette disposal container on fire (flames coming from the top about 3 feet above the disposal and on both sides) right next to the building! I panicked for about 5 seconds, then quickly went inside (past the fire) to find something to put the fire out. I passed the fire extinguisher and thought, "I think I can put it out with water", plus I will admit that I don't really know HOW to use a fire extinguisher. I was able to put out the fire using water (making 3 trips with 1 big bowl and one pitcher full). I was afraid that every time I opened the door that the smoke from the fire would come in and set off the fire alarm IN the building. Thankfully the only thing it did was make me stink.

Upon dousing the fire, I was finally able to see the damage. The plastic on the disposal container was completely melted, and the wall behind it was charred. The plant which sits right next to the door was fine, but I do believe if it had not been raining the plant would have caught fire and done a lot more damage. I think I have earned a right to pass the buck next time one of those "duties" comes along!

My Football Boyfriend

Most people in the USA have at least one "popular" person who ranks in the top five people that you would date (given, of course, that you are single and available). My Fake Boyfriend comes from the NFL. He's not someone you would immdiately think of when you think of football, but every time he's on I will tune in. Patrick loves to yell "Your BOYFRIEND (while rolling his eyes) is on TV!"



Can you guess who it is?





I bet you'll never get it.





OK--here's the answer. Played college ball at University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). Got into the NFL in 1990. Been to 2 Super Bowls. Number 85.

Head referee Ed Hochuli.

By now you should be hearing that cheesy romantic music that you hear on movies when the guy sees the beautiful girl and the music gets all sappy. That is what is playing in my head right now! To use a line from South Park, he is total beefcake!


Now some of you good football fans are probably saying "But he has been involved in some controversial calls this season already". Yes he has. And yes, he is old enough to be my dad (in fact he is two years older than my dad). But no one can be perfect right?!?! I'd want to have my picture taken with him if I ever got the chance to meet him. AND he's a lawyer in his "real" life. He's got SIX kids, but unfortunately is on his second divorce. I always tell Patrick that should he meet his maker early in life, I'll be marrying Ed Hochuli and Morgan and I will be well taken care of. HAHA. I am sure that is a HUGE comfort to my hubby, who I have noticed has been inspecting his food recently :)


Just thought I'd share since he's the head ref of Monday Night Football tonight as the Vikings battle the Saints (who are currently up 7-0 at home enjoying both Reggie Bush and the return of Deuce McAllister). We will now return you to your regularly scheduled football game.

Taking one step back for all womankind

Today I had one of those moments where I was totally embarassed and thought "This is why car dealerships/mechanics think women are dumb!". For a couple of weeks the dome light had not been working properly in my 15 month old car (which, by the way will roll over 36,000 miles by the end of the weekend!). I could turn the light on manually but would not come on when the doors were opened, with the switch set to DOOR (yes, I did think to check that first). So after a couple weeks I finally remembered to call the dealership to have it looked at before my car went out of warranty.

I was 15 minutes late getting to the dealership this morning due to normal morning routines being thrown off by a sleepy toddler. I rushed in and was quickly ushered to the "Quick Lane" side of the Ford dealership. The technician asked if I was going to wait on the car. I asked how long it would take, and he replied about 15 minutes. I said I would gladly wait on the car. Now I am glad that I did.

I handed him the key and told him where I had parked. Less than 3 minutes later he returns to the waiting room and hands me the key. Noticing the quizzical look he said, "It's all fixed!" I said "What was wrong with it?" He replied "The dimmer switch on your dash was turned all the way down. I turned it up and the light works fine." DUH. I was so embarassed! Not only had I wasted my time that morning, but I had pulled the ultimate stupid woman driver move by making an appointment for a mechanic to turn up the dimmer switch for my interior lights!

I quickly, and quite red-faced, asked if I owed anything. The technician replied no, which I was relieved about, and I walked as fast as I could out of the waiting room. After I got in my car I spent about 45 seconds (but it felt like an hour) looking for the dimmer switch on the car. I finally found it and remembered that my daughter had been "driving" my car the other day while I was cleaning it out. The elevator went all the way to the top floor at that second, and I drove off the car lot shaking my head and wishing that, just once, I wouldn't be a stereotypical woman driver.

Regression

As I am sure most of you already know, we are currently working on the final stages of taking Morgan's pacifier off of her. She now only has it in bed (not even in the car anymore) and she will willingly hand it to you in the morning to get out of bed. I have been noticing that she has been hoarding BeeBees in her bed (I found 5 in there the other day) and she will occasionally climb into her crib to get a BeeBee.

Today, however, I realized that we might be taking a few steps backwards when I walked into her room and saw this...

I totally laughed my head off!

Best Friends

Morgan and Lydia

Yesterday Morgan and I took Aunt Linda and met up with our friends the Wamsleys for the Mountain State Forest Festival. This was our first visit to the Forest Festival, but we will definitely be making this a traditional trip. There were a lot of kids rides and Morgan and her best friend Lydia had such a great time! It was nice because the carnival rides for the smaller kids were seperated from the carnival rides for adults, so we didn't have to worry about the girls wanting to go on rides they couldn't go on, and conversely all the kids who were on the rides were little, like the girls.

I drooled over the funnel cakes and cotton candy, but that will not put me closer to my goal I had to let me nose do all the eating. We spent nearly 3 hours at the festival, which was topped off by being locked out of the rental car because the battery had gone dead in the totally keyless remote system (grrr), a frantic call to AAA, and a feeling of overwhelming relief when we figured out that there was a hidden metal key in the remote and we were able to get in the car.

Our Niece is TWO!

Big TWO year old!


Aunt Jen and Julia (2 days old)

Today my precious niece, Julia, turns two years old. She had a lovely party yesterday with 7 kids, a bounce house (the highlight of the party), yummy Hello Kitty cake, and lots of neat presents.




Julia is such a boisterous little girl. She is already wearing big girl panties (I am SOOOO jealous) and loves to play with her babies. We try to see her as much as possible but it is not nearly enough for Aunt Jen. Morgan also loves Julia and is always asking if we are going to Julia's house!



Happy Birthday baby girl! We are so happy we got to spend the day with you!

Dreaming for 2 years about....

PIGTAILS!

Finally, after over 2 years of waiting and dreaming and hoping, Morgan's hair is finally long enough for two very small piggies! My reaction...elation, excitement, and ooohhhing and aaahhing over my most adorable daughter.

Morgan's reaction...

Thus begins the process of convincing my stubborn, bull-headed, tomboy, most definitely opinionated 2 year old that pigtails really ARE cute and fun to wear! Sigh....

Toasting Marshmallows by the Fire

This weekend we were in Webster Springs, WV visiting Patrick's grandparents. Patrick's sister and our brother-in-law and niece were there. We had such a great time relaxing and letting the girls play together. Morgan just LOVES her cousin!

On Friday evening we built a "kid sized" fire and let the girls roast marshmallows. It was their first experience with it, and they had a ton of fun. Morgan loved to put her marshmallow in the fire and let it catch on fire. She also greatly enjoyed eating them. Julia loved roasting the marshmallows but wasn't so keen on eating them.

They were funny to watch together, and even would feed each other! It's nice to have a place to let Morgan and Julia experience these "firsts" together.

When God closes one door....

He opens another! We found a new washing machine last weekend. It was a closeout model and they only had the floor display left. It was over 1/2 off the original price of $1,500 (for a washer?!?!) just because it is last year's model and color. I didn't originally go looking for a front loading washer because I know they are expensive. But we were able to afford this washer with the huge discount and 24 months no payments no finance charge, which made the price and payments comparable to a traditional top loader.

It's a 4.0 cubic feet capacity high effeciency washer. It can hold a TON of laundry (and advertised that it will hold 27 bath towels) and is supposed to only use up to 13 gallons of water, versus the 40 gallons used on large load for my old washer. It also has a sensor that detects load size and puts enough water in. I no longer have to guess if the load is a "medium" or "large" load.

As an added bonus, when the washer was loaded on the truck it had the pedestal attached (we didn't pay the extra $100 for the pedestal) and when it came to the house no one said anything, so we now have the pedestal too! It helps a lot with my fibormyalgia not to have to bend over to load or unload the washer.

Thank you Lord for answering prayers far beyond what we asked for!

Christmas Decorations Already?!?!

While shopping in K-Mart on Monday evening I noticed that CHRISTMAS decorations were already out for sale. What was slightly more disturbing were the Halloweed decorations right next to them....something Tim Burton-esque like Nightmare Before Christmas. But with less than 100 days to go (98 to be exact) I guess it is time to start thinking a little about plans for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas). I found this on my computer under "things to post later" that I thought I might drag out and post. I invite you all to post your answers on your own blogs and be sure to let me know you did in the comments so I can see how much we are (or are not) alike!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, mostly

2. Real tree or artificial? I like real, but we have Artie #3, the artificial tree (predecessors include Artie the Christmas Stick, and Artie Jr).

3. When do you put up your tree? Weekend after Thanksgiving if at all possible

4. When do you take the tree down? No later than New Year’s Day. The year Dad was overseas during the Gulf War we had it up until he came home in February

5. Do you like eggnog? No. ick

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Tough one….the one that immediately came to mind was a stuffed bear I received from my grandmother the Christmas after she passed away (she passed November 21st)

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes, of course.

8. Hardest person to buy for? D-A-D!!!!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Any of the girls…Morgan, Julia, Amy, Janet, Mom

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Honestly, I can’t think of anything.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Hand addressed cards!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? The Muppets Christmas Carol

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as the stores open the day after Christmas for next year…yes that means I have some of you done already!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yeah, last year I gave the mail lady a gift we had gotten in a work exchange the year before. Hey, if I am not going to use it, might as well pass it along right?

15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? COOKIES

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, O Come All Ye Faithful (in Latin) and Carol of the Bells (instrumental)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel. I’d like to stay home, but that means we don’t spend Christmas with as much family, and I’d rather spend it with family.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course, I am an American!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Depends on where we are really. Patrick’s family opens them Christmas Eve. Mine opens them Christmas morning. Really, we start Christmas the weekend before we travel by opening gifts at home and finish around New Year’s Eve with my mom’s family. It’s usually a week-long Christmas celebration

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Hmm....annoying crowds in malls, those vendors who want to show you how their hand cream works, people who are rude, shoppers who yell at store clerks because the store is out of the “in” thing for the year.

23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? Again, I really can’t think of anything. I love our Christmas traditions and look forward to doing them with my kid!

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Those air-blown lawn ornaments—so trailer trash tacky (sorry if you have one, I mean that in the nicest way possible)

25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? Themed look nicer, but homey makes it “feel” more like Christmas

26. What does Christmas mean to you? Christmas is a time to celebrate Christ’s birth! Christmas is a time for family, love, and rejoicing in the blessings of the year. And on a secular side, it means 2 weeks off from work!

A quick skip down memory lane...

My brother has been in touch with one of his friends from high school, who sent him a couple pictures of some past pieces of our life. It's been 10 years since I last saw (and 11 years since I last attended/lived in) our little community in Casteau, Belgium. It doesn't seem like much has changed!

The "common" room for the US part of the school, most aptly named The Green Room! The "senior" hallway and school office were to the right. The main part of the school and all classrooms (save the library and computer room) are straight down the hallway. The school had approximately 400 students, grade 7-12, when we attended. I graduated with a class of 52 students from 11 different countries.

The street that we lived on at the Supreme Headquarters for Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE) military compound. I graduated with the deputy supreme commander's son.

A view of our house and cul-de-sac. We all lived in duplexes. Our garage is the third on the right. We shared a duplex with the Kennedy Family.

Sometimes kids say the worst things!

When you hold a precious newborn baby, you have dreams of the day your child will be able to make coherent sounds and eventually start speaking. We get excited at "first" words, sentences, and so on. I have enjoyed every "first" regarding language development milestones that Morgan has reached.

Until today.

This morning, around 12:10 AM, Morgan was throwing a HUGE fit. We had arrived at my sister-in-law's house around 9:00 that evening and my niece, Julia, was asleep at the time. Around 11:00 Morgan and I attempted to go to bed. I had to get a drink of water to take some medicine. At the same time Julia had woken up and Amy was in the kitchen trying to get her to take some medicine. Of course Morgan immediately said "Julia crying!!" and needed to go see if her cousin was OK.

At this point both girls were up and wanting to play. Amy and I tried to get them to sit quietly on the couch and hopefully go to sleep. At midnight when the girls were still wide awake I decided that it was time for Morgan and I to go to bed.

My toddler was NOT happy with this decision.

She screamed, cried, wailed, and generally made a rather loud scene with me in the bedroom. I just remained in bed with the lights out and let her throw her fit. I am thankful now that the lights were off, because in the middle of this fit she said the first thing that has ever hurt my feelings. She screamed "Mama, I don't like you!" My lip started to instantly quiver and my eyes welled up with tears.

I can't imagine how her little brain strung those words together, and I know she didn't know how hurtful it would be. I am glad she couldn't see the result of her words, because I honestly hope I never hear that again. Now I know in reality that there will be a time when she is older that she will say worse things to me and about me. It's just hard to hear your two year old precious child say something like that.

Sigh, it has only just begun!

Transmission Trouble

About two weeks ago Patrick had gone downstairs to switch over laundry from the washer to the dryer. He came back up about 10 minutes later and said that the washer wasn't spinning out the water from the clothes. *Sigh* I really wasn't sure what was wrong with the washer either, so after about 3 days of debate, we called the repair man to look at our five year old washer.

Fast forward to Wednesday, when the repair man came to the house. He spent about an hour with the washer. Then he dropped this bomb....the TRANSMISSION in my WASHER is BROKEN! Transmission?!?! I didn't even know washing machines had transmissions! Apparently the washer was unable to shift from agitation to spinning. Then there was more bad news. The transmission was 2 months out of warranty! The total to fix my machine? Almost $500! Needless to say, we decided just to purchase a new machine that will be cheaper than fixing our current washer.

I can't believe that I have to replace my washer after only 5 years. What does that say about us? Are we super dirty? Do we have to many clothes? I don't know. This really couldn't have come at a worse financial time, but thankfully both Sears and Lowes are having 12 months same as cash financing and I am thankful that God allowed that promotion to be going on when I need a new machine. Unfortunately it will be Tuesday before I am able to get a new machine, so to the laundromat we go today. I thought those days were over when I left grad school!

30 by 30

Pounds to go: 24

Months to go: 6

2 year anniversary

Today marks 2 years since I returned to work after having Morgan, and 2 years that she has been going to the same babysitter. Ellen is such an amazing woman, who treats Morgan as if she were her own granddaughter, and loves her just as much. We've been through some rough times with Morgan, some medical rough times with Ellen, and other things along the way, but I will never regret our decision to have Ellen watch our precious angel.

Morgan took Ellen roses (Morgan's birth flower) today that she actually picked out herself at the grocery store and proudly carried them around through the store and to Ellen's this morning.

Thank you Ellen, for all you have done and continue to do for our family God has truly blessed us with you!

Somtimes 1 head is better than 3

Here's a quick ancedote from my lunchtime at work. For those of you who don't know, I work for a department within a university that assists people with disabilities in all areas of life. Today I was attempting to turn one of my 2-page brochures into Braille. Yes, we have a machine that embosses Braille on paper, and yes it is cool. However, today while I was attempting to do this, the machine ran out of paper. No big deal, I thought, I can simply put the new paper in and get it started again.

NOT SO.

Apparently the paper has to be lined up in the printer JUST SO or the Braille will print over multiple pages and page breaks will not happen where they should. I spent a couple minutes fiddling with the paper alignment before calling in a couple of colleagues from the Assistive Technology lab for advice, thinking that they would have more knowledge about the machine. Apparently this is not the case. According to them only ONE person in our building knows how to align the paper correctly, and she was out for the day. Not to be foiled by a machine, we all decided to try to align the paper. To no avail.

After about 30 minutes of working on it together, the other two decided they were going to lunch, and I was going to write a note to the secretary who knows how to align the stupid machine and ask her to call me in the morning. Then I thought that, darn it, I am smarter than this machine! I have a Masters degree (which is completely irrelevant, especially when dealing with machinery, but at the moment it was fuel for my fire)! I can do anything I set my mind to!

20 pages of wasted Braille paper and 25 more minutes later, I had done the impossible! I realigned the Braille machine! I was a success!! Whew. I just walked back into my office and my ears are still ringing from having my head stuck inside the embossing machine for over an hour trying to align the paper, for a mere 15 brochures.

I am going to send an e-mail to the office now explaining how to align the Braille machine properly so no one else has to waste their entire lunch hour getting the pages straight!

A day at the zoo

This past weekend my dear friend Melanie and her husband came up to visit for a long weekend. Melanie and I have been friends over 20 years (wow!) and have been able to stay in touch through many years of being long distances apart.

We had an awesome visit, spending time at the house, going to a party and a WVU football game, and we made a stop at the Pittsburgh Zoo. It was my first visit to the zoo in 10 years. We had a great time!

Morgan had a lot of fun looking at all of the animals. We saw a baby elephant (so cute!), bats (kinda creepy, and very smelly), polar bears, a kodiak bear, penguins, and an assortment of other cool animals.

Probably the funniest part of the day was when Morgan was looking at a lazy leopard sleeping in a tree. She kept shouting "Big kitty, COME DOWN!" Surprisingly, the leopard actually DID come down after a few demands from Morgan. It was so funny, the four adults just laughed and laughed.

We are looking forward to seeing Melanie and Patrick in December when we stop at their house on our way to Mutti and Papa's for Christmas.