sunday sunny sunday

this weekend was all glory and sun and fun.

my friend carol's bridal shower on saturday followed by dinner with the girls at toulouse petit, a new restaurant on lower queen anne. FANTASTIC food! the parmesan grits will change your life.

and this afternoon brought peter and mandy for sunday dinner. the menu:

• beef stroganoff with noodles
• lilo's do ahead salad with avocado
• trader joe's par baked bread
• mandy's famous yellow cake with chocolate frosting
• and lemon water served in the trusty gurgle pot

how lovely it all was.

be aggressive, be be aggressive

superbowl sunday is not usually a big deal in my house. I don't love football.

but I do love "football food" so party it was.

cindy and margaret came over to share in the bounty of new recipe attempts.

the view from the couch

the food table, it's small but it can hold A LOT.

the menu of champions:

guacamole - simply avocados with lots of fresh lime and salt
taco dip - recipe from my friend mandy
steak bites - recipe from pioneer woman
olive cheese bread - recipe from pioneer woman
warm chocolate chip cookies sundaes - cookies via classic toll house recipe

and we were stuffed and happy.

(but not with the game outcome, we were all rooting for arizona)

but all was well with the hour long episode of the office after the game.
dwight, you make me laugh...and cringe...and laugh some more. thank you!

the norwegians were here

fourth and final installment: weekend two
north bend, twin peaks, family time

sunday was as bright and sunshiny as saturday, thank goodness. breakfast was at noah's bagels which is quickly becoming a tradition in our family. seems that mom and dad (or katie for that matter) can't come to visit without going at least once. it's that good. thankfully, the norwegians were equally impressed. I'm not sure what we would have done had they dissed noah.

it was just the fuel we needed to start our journey. we were headed for downtown north bend, home of twin peaks the television show. it was very popular in norway and the last time kristin and rune were here visiting in 1991, they double exposed all their photos of the twin peaks landmarks. thank goodness for digital this time around!

we also took in the grandeur of snoqualmie falls which is really beautiful. it is located very near the salish lodge which is where we did lisa's birthday brunch last year. there is a nice park with paths and hiking trails along the lookout point. great place to visit if you are ever in the area.

upon our return to seattle, we did a little shopping and headed back to my apartment. I took johanne and sofie to get their first pedicures which, of course, they loved! then it was just hanging out, organizing pictures and spending time together.

I said most of my goodbyes sunday night because I had to go to work and they flew out monday afternoon. dad was nice enough to drive them down by my office so they could stop on the way to the airport so I could kiss on everyone and tell them a proper, rushed, goodbye. at least doing it on the street made it easier not to cry. ugh. goodbyes are sad.

the saving grace was my promise to kristin to somehow figure out a way to meet them in paris sometime next summer. her dad has an apartment there and they want to meet me there for vacation. doesn't that sound divine? oui!

the breakfast of champions.

the falls.

twede's cafe, home of the famous twin peaks cherry pie.

goofing around with einar.

the massage chairs were a hit. as was the pink nail polish.

just hanging out.

goodbye my dear family. I relinquish you back to your country as long as you promise, promise, promise we don't go another nine years between visits.

love you.

the norwegians were here

third installment: weekend two
buca di beppo and a volcano

now it was time to head to our celebration family dinner at buca. besides celebrating the norwegians, we also had three birthdays among us. lisa, ashley and einar. we sat at the pope table which was pretty great. it wasn't totally private but we were off the beaten track a bit which was nice.

besides the fact we love this place, our experience this time didn't start out great. the group before us were VERY delayed in their exit which put us quite late in getting seated. about 6o minutes late. to be honest, I was disappointed in how the restuarant handled the situation at first but they made it up to us and I'm back to being a buca lover. who knew some cheesy garlic bread and a massive dessert platter is all it would take.

we were totally stuffed but we're a family that knows how to celebrate with food.

now it was volcano time.

this is a tradition my aunt started with the grandkids long ago. there is ice cream and many toppings. instead of making single personal sundaes, everything gets piled into one communal bowl and we all grab spoons and dig in. I think the kids are more about the gross factor and not so much into the actual eating of it. it actually wasn't too bad.

hey, don't knock it until you've tried it.

the group at buca. eddie was there, he's just hiding off to the right.

one of the birthday girls we were celebrating.

these two little boys had a blast playing under the table after dinner.

our dessert platter, compliments of the buca owner.
the cheesecake was my favorite.

this stuff is pretty good.

the pope. on the pope's table. funny and creepy at the same time.

einar and his birthday balloon.
they don't have balloons for birthdays in norway. it was a special treat!

these boys became fast friends.
who says you need to speak the same language to fall in love?!

the infamous volcano.

this was a long, fulfilling day. what could we possibly do tomorrow to top it? stay tuned.

to be continued...

the norwegians were here

second installment: weekend two
pike place market and seattle center

saturday dawned bright and sunshiny and wonderful. we started the morning with a walk to kerry and marshall parks and then slowly made our way down queen anne hill walking residential streets and picking out our favorite houses.

we hopped on the bus and rode to downtown. we started at the north end of the market so kristin and rune could get their morning coffee at the original starbucks store. like all the other tourists, we stalked the store so we could get photos of them as they came out with their drinks. they loved it!

we strolled through the market, admiring the fall dahlia's and shopping for treasures. johanne got some jewelry and kristin and rune got some artwork to remind of them seattle. we watched the fish being thrown, rode the pig and ate the best corndogs EVER. and followed those up with a couple dozen of the mini donuts. who goes to the market without getting those mini donuts?

my advice of the day, always, always, always get the cinnamon sugar mini donuts when visiting the market. you can watch them being made and the guy working there always does these tricks and throws the donuts way high up the air and still makes it in the bag. they are a market must. you can thank me for the tip later. :)

after taking the monorail back to the seattle center, we spent the new few hours having the time of our lives at the amusement center. I have never before gone on any rides or spent any time in this part of the the center but it sure was fun. the lines were pretty much nonexistent and einar had the time of his life! totally worth it. but doesn't look like anyone was suffering does it? I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

us girls at marshall park overlooking magnolia and elliott bay.

very happy people.

I never tire of the market. ever.

a boy and his pig.

my norwegian family.

johanne and einar posing for me.

einar is just getting warmed up on the kiddle bumper cars.

for this! now he's prepared to kick it with the big kids.

these guys were hilarious to watch. so much fun!

kristin isn't a fan of "rickety" rides so I was her stand in with rune on this.

look at einar's face. priceless.

einar is really in that dragon near the window even though you can't see him very well. I just thought it was a cool photo.

last time kristin was here, she went down and tried to touch the dome in between songs without getting wet. she was not successful. she opted not to try again this trip. :)

but the afternoon is still young.

to be continued...

the norwegians were here

my posts on the engedal's visit will center mostly around the two long weekends I spent with them. they were in the u.s. for almost two weeks but much of their time was spent in pasco. I spent the first weekend of their visit in tri-cities and the second weekend took place in seattle before their flight home. (sob)

so, without further adieu...

first installment: weekend one

I took friday off which was great and gave me two full days to spend with everyone. it had been nine years since we'd seen each other but it was like no time had passed. well, at least with kristin and rune. the kids on the other hand, it was like the twilight zone. when did my sister get old enough to have such grown-up children? sofie was 3 and johanne 1 when I last saw them. einar wasn't yet a glimmer.

here are the stats:
kristin and rune
ages *ahem* contingent on high school graduation around 1988 (ish) :)

sofie
(pronounced *so-FEE-a*)
age 13. she is smart and techie and my favorite instant message buddy.

johanne
(pronounced *yo-HA-na*)
age 10. she loves high school musical and hannah montana and makes the best funny faces.

einar
(pronounced *A-nar*)
age 7 (just turned!). he LOVES, seriously LOVES, legos and star wars...and bumper cars.

that first friday was the day we introduced the kids to toys r us. it was like einar had died and gone to heaven. we spent like two hours going down all the aisles and trying out the hula hoops and guitar hero and buying lots of lego sets. it was really fun to watch their faces light up!

nothing better to follow up a little shopping spree than with a burger from red robin. the milkshakes and guacamole burgers were the biggest hit.

kristin and I spent the afternoon touring our old high school. it had been 20 years since kristin graduated and I hadn't been back in over 13. there have been so many changes since then...and more to come. it was really fun walking down memory lane and getting the juicy tidbits from our second mom (or my mom's "very best friend in the whole wide world") laurine while she walked us through. one thing never changes, it still smells like school. not in a bad way, just in a olfactory, good memory kind of way. I could walk in that school blindfolded and still know where I was. how does that happen? weird.

it's kind of the end of an era in pasco though. I realize that the school is overcrowded and they need more space, I do not dispute this fact. but I am sad that a second high school will divide my hometown. not all of pasco will be united by the shout of "go bulldogs" any longer. I am a little sad about it.

give me time, I'll come around.

saturday was the day of the open house. we had invited some friends over so kristin would have a chance to introduce the kids and visit with people. some she hadn't seen in almost 20 years! it was a really lovely time.

afterwords, the kids introduced me to a norwegian tradition called saturday candy. kristin said that when she was growing up, kids weren't allowed candy or sweets except on saturdays. it is less strict now but still something a lot of people follow. we had taken the kids to the bulk food section at the grocery store so they could pick out whatever they wanted. we saved it for after dinner but it was sure fun to share in this sweet tradition!

let me tell you a little something about my soul sister, sofie. she loves mexican food almost as much as I do. maybe even more, actually. to be specific, enchiladas are our favorite thing on the menu. oh, we try other things but we always come back to our safety net of cheesy goodness, the mightly enchilada. I love that girl!

kristin had remembered eating at casa chapala (el chapala) now so that's where we spent a chunk of our time on saturday night. jamie and nathan (family friends and my parent's neighbors) joined us for our mexican food outing. although it might not have been exactly as kristin remembered, the service was great and the food pretty darn good. dad and sofie spent most of their time playing hangman. that was pretty fun to watch. ever saw a norwegian speaking granddaughter play a word game with her english speaking grandpa? not all the words translated perfectly but it was really endearing. those two developed quite a bond.

alas, sunday came too soon and I was headed home again. but not without the promise of seeing everyone again in a mere five days. thank goodness because this weekend was not near enough time.

red robin family shot

burger bonanza

ah, the thrill of school lockers.

mom and kristin by the hall of fame.
why is the cool norwegian girl not up there? :)

our official entrance onto the school grounds. I think kristin saved hers.

wish we could have made it to a home game.
the bulldogs were playing out of town that friday.

this is the new phs "mall" or cafeteria to us old people. how fancy?!
I took this shot for johanne...doesn't it look like it could be a scene from high school musical?

johanne dishing out her saturday candy. treasures await in tiny plastic bags.

einar's saturday candy included a kitkat with batman on it (another love of his) and a star wars something or rather. he was in candy heaven!

our mexican family photo. this is what brings a family together.

the pefect hangman for a perfect evening.

mexican food creates a very sleepy boy.

to be continued...

super oreos

otherwise known as "better than the real oreos" as some people have called them.

really. they are that good. but don't take my word for it. make them for yourself and tell me what you think.

here's what you'll need:

ingredient photo ala pioneer woman

super oreos
1 cup oil
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
combine oil, brown sugar and eggs. beat well. add remaining ingredients. let stand in refrigerator for 30 minutes. dough should be stiff enough to scrape off spoon. I put the dough back in between cookie sheets so it keeps the right consistency. smallish cookies (half dollar size) bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. larger cookies bake for 10-12 minutes.

super icing
1 envelope knox unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup water
1 cup shortening (or 1 cup butter)
1 lb plus 1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dissolve gelatin in water. cream shortening with powdered sugar and salt until creamy. add gelatin until fluffy. add vanilla.

sandwich 'em up and enjoy.

these have been a staple in my family for years and years and years. they are my favorite cookies. of all time.