the good

Does anyone recognize this? Mmmm.....its just a a few pieces of coconut heaven. My mom just got back from a two week trip to Brazil and she brought me back some homemade bala de coco - translation, coconut candy. If you like coconut like I like coconut than this is the candy that tops them all. These delectable tidbits are melt-in-your-mouth bliss. Thank you, thank you Mom!! I'm going to have to control myself so that I don't eat them all tomorrow.

I'm also really excited because she brought back really cute children's books for the boys. We're going to have so much fun reading our books in Portuguese!!

the bad

I made Dr. Oz's green drink that Oprah called a cup of "fresh" this morning. Yikes! I thought "fresh" would taste a lot better than it did. Steve and I couldn't stand it. I forced myself to choke 3/4 of this cup down but only after I added some yogurt to it and tried blending it some more. But it turned into an experiment. I took it to my parent's house tonight when we got together for family dinner and told everyone about it. Only the brave tried it....Dad, Mae and Clay. Clay actually said he liked it!!

Sorry Allen

I won't spell your name wrong again. But you really should get on Steve's case that he didn't even notice his brother's name was spelled wrong....that's a little fishy eh?

Short list of junk

1. Decided to train for 10k Turkey trot so I've been running three miles at the track and my times are 2 minutes faster than last year's....so cool! 2. Went for my long run, 5 miles, yesterday and ended up with moderately severe dehydration. I felt dead all day long. Mental note: stock Gatorade at home. Steve really stepped up to the plate and was superdad and superhusband! I want to be like him when I grow up. 3. I'm going to do the OC half marathon too...no more dehydration episodes. I want to beat my 2:37 of last year. 4. Ethan was doing really well with #2 in the potty....until this morning. I guess we're not through the woods yet. 5. Luke and Ethan miss their Grandma Powers who has been in Brasil since last Monday but they had a blast hanging out with Grandpa Powers on Friday night while we went to celebrate Clay's birthday. Still jumpy Clay? :) 6. I think we're all finally adjusting to the time change. 7. We (or I) are still going strong with our use of Deceptively Delicious recipes. Our favorite Deceptively Delicious recipes so far are: 1. Pasta with Bolognese sauce 2. Spaghetti Pie 3. Chicken Nuggets 4. Macaroni and Cheese 5. Brownies 8. We are trying two new ones tonight: Beef stew and Mozzarella sticks....I'm excited!!

Slideshow of Gramma's 80th

I know you all have been anxiously awaiting the post with the pictures of the birthday party...haha. They all turned out so well. The photographer did a great job. I'm so glad I have these pictures. Of course, these are only a few of them and yet I think its the longest slideshow I've ever made.

Powerful video

One of my old friends from college emailed me this video today. I watched it and was really touched. If you know me, that means I was crying. :) I wanted any of you who are interested to have a chance to see it too. Its message is powerful. It filled my heart with gratitude and humility. Check it out, you won't be sorry you did. http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/570/99-Balloons

Rasmussen Halloween

We had a great Halloween! The festivities started out early at the Joy School Halloween party. All the kids had fun dressing in their costumes, trick-or-treating inside my house, making witches, and having their pictures taken. Then we jetted off to WSA for the office party. I know I might be biased but I think Steve had the BEST costume! I was so glad he wore it. He even won the office contest. After nap time we had the family over for the traditional chili and breadsticks. I was so relieved that Ethan and Luke ate all their dinner (it was a requirement if they were going to go trick-or-treating). Steve, James, Mae and Clay took the little ones door to door and I got to spend some quality time with my favorite Amerie....she's a cutie patootie. Ethan and Luke topped off the night with a sleep over at Vovo's house! Lucky boys.

Pictures galore

My parents with their grandkids: Amerie (2 mos.), Ellie (2), Luke (2), and Ethan (3)
Our family!

Gramma Jeanne and I

Slide isn't letting me make a slideshow right now so I'll be changing this and adding more pictures later. These are my favorite right now. Thank you Ryan for sending them on to me!

Grammas are wonderful people

My paternal grandmother has reached a milestone in her life, she's turning 80! The family got together at her house on Saturday for a birthday party. I had so much fun seeing my uncles and aunts, cousins and grandparents. I loved how my boys got to get to know that side of our family. As I watched Ethan and Luke playing with their cousin Noah and Ellie and it took me back to the days when I was their age playing at Gramma Jeanne and Grampa Mort's house! I love my Gramma Jeanne. She is a wonderful woman. She has a laugh that tickles you. Every time she has ever looked at me I see how her eyes sparkle. I remember piano lessons at Gramma Jeanne and Grampa Mort's store. I remember the piano recitals and the first piano they gave us. Oh how I wish I wouldn't have let that talent fade from me. Then there was the flute they gave me and those performances. Happy Birthday Gramma Jeanne! You are so wonderful.

That's me walking infront of Gramma Jeanne, who is carrying baby Evelyn.

Now that I've been thinking about my Gramma Jeanne it got me thinking about my maternal grandma. We've always used the Portuguese title; Vovozinha. I love my Vovozinha too. She has always showered us with love. She used to live in Brazil and I fondly recall the many trips to Brazil we made to visit her and all our other family members. She would buy us bala de coco (coconut candy that melts in your mouth....mmmm). She drove my sisters and I crazy forcing us into dresses in order to be properly displayed to her friends. She has always been a hard worker. I can hear her voice in my head saying "I love you, Milla" in her thick Portuguese accent. I was the first grandchild therefore the most spoiled for a time. Vovozinha was baptized and temple ready by the time Steve and I were married. I even got to witness her getting sealed to her husband, Jerry, a few years later. Te amo, Vovozinha.

Mom, Dad, Vovozinha and Jerry at their wedding.

Jack-o-lanterns and super heroes

Yesterday we had fun getting ready for Halloween (its about time huh?). We cut out construction paper bats and ghosts and taped them to our walls and windows. Then we carved our pumpkins. Luke would not put his hand inside the pumpkin but Ethan dug right in! I bet you're wondering why my boys are pantless? Well, its been pretty warm down here because of the Santa Ana winds and fires so when we're just at home I let them cool off a bit. That's the beauty of being a kid huh?

Today we got a very special package in the mail. Grandma Rasmussen mailed the Batman and Superman capes to us. She worked so hard making them and I have to say they look better than ANYTHING I have seen in the stores. Ethan was so excited he went to sleep with his on. And I can't forget to mention that as soon as the capes went on I could only refer to the boys by their super hero names thus it was "Good night Superman Ethan and goodnight Batman Luke." Thankgoodness for Grandmas, she's the real super hero today.