Genevieve's First Love

Elmo is now one of Genevieve's favorite words. Second probably to "No!".

She LOVES Elmo!

My Mom

Mothers Day has become bittersweet for me the last few years. I remember the first Mothers Day after my mom died, I couldn't even go to church. I didn't feel like hearing about how great moms were and how thankful everyone was to have theirs in their lives. Fast forward 4 years later and Mothers Day has become such a joyful day. I am blessed with a thoughtful husband and wonderful children who pour their unconditional love on me. I am so grateful for the example my mom gave me on how to be a good mother. I remember what a magical quality she had when we would play together when I was growing up. She could play hide and seek, draw pictures and make me beautiful clothes. Her absence is missed, but I can always feel her spirit when I'm playing with Gabriel and Genevieve and we're lost in a story or cuddling together.

Happy Mothers Day to my mom and very best friend, Jo.

GOAL!

So far this soccer season has been so rainy! Gabriel had his first game last Saturday and scored 2 goals! His first goals ever and he was so excited. It's been so fun to see how aggressive he and his friends have become and really good little players. Enoch was sad to miss it, but they had a make-up game this past Wednesday and Gabriel scored another goal just for him! I don't think Enoch could have been more proud.

 For today's game the weather was beautiful! Here's hoping the rest of the season in just as nice.

Hoppy Easter!

Easter Morning in Columbus!

Easter Celebration in Piqua!

Gabriel & his best buddy, Stari

The Easter Bunny even made an appearance!

Found lots of eggs and a sonic toy @ Papa's house 

Genevieve was finally in better spirits once it was almost time to head back to Toledo :)

Definitely a long weekend, but it was so nice to see the whole family and celebrate together.

O - H - I- O

This year the OSU Spring Game was on Easter Weekend so we had a whirlwind trip to Columbus, Piqua and back to Toledo. We stayed w/ Jake's family while we were in Columbus and had a fun time with them at the game. The kiddos were so cute in their buckeye gear. We tried to get pics of them at the end, but Genevieve wasn't feeling very well that day and was not cooperative at all.

The Spring Game has definitely become one of my favorite annual traditions.

Parks

One of the things I really like about Toledo is all the parks. We have quite a few with great jungle gyms and lots of fun things for the kids. Here are some pics of the kids at a few of our favorites.

These are at Fort Imagination in Perrysburg. Their jungle gym is huge and they have a gated off area for kids 5 and under.

Here's Gabriel @ Anderson Park in Maumee. It's nestled in the middle of a neighborhood so it's perfect when we want to take a walk too.

We went to Walbridge Park last week and the kids had a blast. They have that rubber playground turf so we can go there even when it's a little soggy out. I love Genevieve's static head when she gets off the slide :) Unfortunately, this park is also a little near the hood, so we got to witness a fight while we were there too. Thankfully, the kids were too enthralled w/ new friends and the slides.

And for when it's too rainy or cold out, we have Sylvania Playland. They have bounce houses, playground equipment and a toddler area.

Even with all the slides and bouncies, Gabriel's favorite thing is this roller coaster toy in the toddler area. We build tunnels w/ the big blocks and the kids love to crash through them.

Now we just need it to be consistently warm so we can hit all these parks!

Contribute to Maria Victoria Lamiel Benefit Fund

Happy Birthday to Gabriel

Gabriel turned 5 this year! We had a Cowboy Birthday and had a Rootin' Tootin' good time! 

Merry Christmas Season

We've been having a fun Christmas Season. Gabriel loves everything Christmas and has wanted to do all the traditional activities. We've had Christmas music on nonstop and are bursting with Holiday Spirit. Genevieve loves the tree, or rather loves removing all the ornaments and tearing off the beads. I've had to redecorate the tree almost daily and I'm definitely looking forward to next year when maybe she's a little less handsy with everything. 

We took the kids to the Botanical Gardens for their winter festival and it was FREEZING. We didn't last very long, but managed to get some pictures of the kids all bundled up. 

Gabriel was so excited to see Santa. He loves to smile for pictures. 

This is Genevieve saying, "HI!"

Our Primary kids did a Nativity scene for our Ward Christmas Party and Gabriel was Joseph. His friend Kiersten was Mary and they have told us they're getting married.

  

Genevieve was much more excited about her candy cane than Santa, but we were just glad she wasn't crying. She hadn't slept very well that day and was definitely getting cranky at the party. 

Part of the Christmas Party was a display of family traditions. This was the picture to go along w/ ours. When I was little my mother made a small manger and next to it put a basket full of straw colored yarn. All through the month of December, anytime we did something nice for someone or someone did something nice for us, we would place a piece of yarn in the manger. By Christmas Eve the manger was full of yarn, making a nice bed for the Baby Jesus. We would place the Baby Jesus in the manger full of good deeds. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

What's For Dinner?

Shrimp with Baby Penne and Baby Arugula

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

· 1 pound baby penne

· 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling

· 2 pints grape tomatoes

· Salt and freshly ground black pepper

· 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

· 24 medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined

· 6 scallions, green and white parts chopped on a bias

· Zest of 1 lemon

· 3/4 cups basil, thinly sliced into ribbons

· 3 cups baby arugula, roughly chopped

PREPARATION

Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

Bring a large pot of water over to a boil over high heat for the pasta. Once the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of the starchy, pasta wa

ter.

While waiting for the water to boil, place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet, drizzle them with EVOO and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place tomatoes in the hot oven and roast until the tomatoes just start to burst, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, smash them lightly with a fork or a potato masher and reserve.

While the pasta is working and the tomatoes are

almost ready, pre-heat a medium size skillet over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic to the hot skillet along with the shrimp.

Cook the shrimp on both sides until firm and pink, about 2 minutes per side. Add the scallions, cook for a minute or so, then add the pasta, a ladle of the reserved pasta water, lemon zest, basil, arugula, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Give it a good toss and pour it into a serving bowl.

Add the reserved roasted tomatoes; toss to combine and serve.

I've made this w/ shrimp, or just vegetarian. Enoch was actually the first one to try it from his days as a stay-at-home dad. Tonight it was w/ only tomatoes, basil, lemon juice & garlic. I love the smashed grape tomatoes w/ garlic bread...delish!

Here's ours:

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=98

Wannabe Crafty

Tonight some friends and I got together to make hair clips and ribbons. Everyone knew how to make different kinds and it was so nice to learn some new tricks. I make bows and flowers to go with all of Genevieve's outfits, but I usually make the same kinds of headbands all the time.

Here are the ones I made tonight:

I think Genevieve will definitely be excited about her new variety of hair accessories. I have new patterns for some more involved clips that I'm excited to try. I'm so lucky to have such crafty friends who are so patient in teaching those of us who are still learning. Can't wait for our next craft night!

Favorite Restaurant Meal

One of my favorite restaurant meals is without a doubt the Salmon w/ Orzo & Rice Salad at J. Alexander's. I had been wanting to try making the salad for a long time now, but the long list of ingredients in the recipe had turned me off. I finally decided to take the plunge and try the recipe out. It is amazing! It is so flavorful and while the prep does take awhile, it is definitely worth it.

J. Alexander's

ORZO AND WILD RICE SALAD
(copycat recipe)

DRESSING: (Makes 1 cup)
4 1/2 tablespoons balsamic white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/8 cup ( 1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup) canola oil
3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
FOR SALAD:
2 cups cooked orzo
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/4 cup diced red onions
1/4 cup currants
1/8 cup fresh corn niblets
1/4 cup toasted almonds
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3 tablespoond diced red peppers
3 tablespoons diced yellow peppers
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup dressing (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/8 cup cut fresh basil

FOR DRESSING:
Dissolve vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and sugar with a hand whip (three minute stirring). Fold in the mustard, basil, salt and pepper. Slowly add oils, while whisking vigorously. Refrigerate.

FOR SALAD:
Place all other ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Serve ice cold.

Hot Potatoes!

Here are some pictures from our ward Trunk-or-Treat. I don't think we have any of Enoch and I both in our full costumes.

Enoch isn't big on dressing up so I just added felt faces to brown t-shirts and we wore white gloves. I had a flower hat and Enoch had a bowler hat.

At first I was having a hard time finding a shirt for Enoch, so I told him he could just go shirtless and I would tape the face to his chest since he was already brown...he was not big on this idea :)

I also got to wear my costume to Gabriel's preschool when I helped out with their Halloween Party. I was surprised they knew what I was right away, they got a real kick out of it.

I told Enoch we should all be The Incredibles next year, but I don't think I'll be able to sell him on head to toe spandex....we'll see :) :)

Happy Halloween!

This year was the first year that Genevieve actually dressed up since she was so little, so I knew I wanted to do something w/ the kids together. Gabriel had his heart set on being IronMan, but it didn't take much to get him on board w/ Woody and Jessie costumes. It definitely took some planning to find all the pieces of their costumes, but I love how they turned out and the kids had so much fun wearing them. My glue gun skills only took me so far, so Enoch's mom came in and made Gabriel's vest and the top of Genevieve's shirt.

We had so many opportunities to dress-up so the kids definitely got some miles out of their costumes. We had lots of trick-or-treating, work parties, school parties and our ward trunk-or-treat. For the trunk-or-treat, Enoch and I also went w/ the Toy Story theme and dressed as Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head.

It took lots of practice to get Genevieve to wear her hat, but once she was sold on it, she loved wearing it. I think it will be a permanent staple in our dress-up clothes.

So Happy Happy Halloween to all! Gabriel is already talking about what he wants to be next year, but I think we'll at least give till July to get started on that costume :)

Falling Into Fall

We have been having a wonderful fall! Gabriel loves all the leaves and he's taught Genevieve how much fun they are to jump in. Last week was very windy and it created huge leaf drifts all around our house.

It's now impossible for us to walk off our back porch w/o one or both kids diving into the leaves. It makes leaving the house very interesting. Thank goodness I have one hand for each child. Anymore kids and someone would be left in the leaf pile :)

To Eternity & Beyond

Our family was sealed together on September 5, 2009.

When Gabriel walked in to the sealing room he went. "Mom! What are you doing here?" He and Genevieve were absolutely precious in their white clothes. Margarette made Genevieve white dresses for both the sealing and her blessing the following day

You might think the handsome guy below is Gabriel, but it's really Spiderman all ready to shoot his webbing at you.

Genevieve's Blessing was beautiful and it was so nice to have our dads and brothers there to participate. It was such a busy weekend, but so much fun and so memorable.

A cute family if I do say so myself!

Future Firefighter

Today our playgroup went to the Holland Firehouse. Gabriel loved it and kept jumping up and down shouting, "I'm so excited!" He's also decided that he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.

He tried on the fireman's helmet, but about fell over from the weight. Too funny!

Those Oliveros Cuties

We've been having a very busy fall. Gabriel is loving preschool and it's so fun to see him learning so many new things. He's learned the Pledge of Allegiance and it's so cute hearing him say "indivisible." Here are some new pics of the kids together. Gabriel loves cuddling Genevieve (sometimes too much!)

We went to the opening of Lucas County's new arena and they had it set-up so that the kids could take shots at the goal on the ice. Gabriel really liked it, as long as the Walleye mascot kept his distance. Gabriel is not a fan of any of those big costumes. If that cow is ever outside the Chic-fila @ the mall we have do do a big detour around the food court to avoid it.

We've also gotten to go the Zoo a couple of times. They have a new exhibit, Nature's Neighborhood w/ a jungle gym, stream and lots of hands on fun.

Here are some pictures of our little butterflies. One is obviously having more fun than the other.

I'm trying to take more pictures, but it's so sad how picture crazy we went on Gabriel and Genevieve isn't nearly as documented. I'm trying to keep up with her though. It's amazing how much she changes each day and she is getting so long! I think her eyes have almost settled on a color. They're looking more green these days so we'll see what they end up. I was sure she'd have brown eyes, but I think she will take after her Grandmas. She's a very happy baby and we all have fun making her laugh. The other day she was cracking up whenever Gabriel would say "football." Too cute!!

That's all for now!! Love you!