Luka "Star Student" at School

Luka's is currently the "star student" in his Kindergarten class. This means you get to make a poster about yourself and it hangs outside the classroom for a week or two. Luka came up with all the biographical information himself, and Mommy and he worked on the poster. Here it is!

Luka's stats:

• Favorite movie: Jungle Book [where did that come from?]


• Favorite colors: green, red and blue


• Favorite toys: My teddies (Snakey, Diego, Beary - see drawing above)


• My family: Luka, Mommy, Daddy, Axy (see drawing above)


• My favorite Books: Les Pyjamasques (see pictures pasted above and check out these great books at Amazon.fr)


• What I want to be when I grow up: Pilot


• Favorite places to visit: Alaska and France


• I am so good at: running


• My favorite animals: lion, tiger, cheetah


• My favorite food: chocolate and vanilla ice cream


• My best friends: Billy, Connor, Haley, Abigail, Kristin, Cody

Even though Axel was not star student this week, here are his current interests, says Mommy:

• Favorite movie: Polar Express in French (the "princess movie" - go figure)


• Favorite color: yellow


• Favorite toys: garbage truck from Santa - yeah!


• My family: Luka, Mommy, Daddy, Axel -- Grandma, Jean-Claude and Annick. He loves to talk to his grandparents on Skype! (Luka is sad Grandma only has a phone and no computer!)


• My favorite books: Les Pyjamasques as well as L'imagier des engins


• What I want to be when I grow up: garbage man? construction worker? engineer?


• Favorite places to visit: Alaska and France (of course!)


• I am so good at: skiing of course - 2-year old prodigy that I am!


• My favorite animals: monkey?


• My favorite food: I like all food, but today I did, in fact, enjoy a yummy choc/vanilla ice cream cone at the mall with Mommy. Messy, but yum!


• My best friends: Luka, Mommy, Daddy and my friends at school: Anna and Ahlias

No more TV at our house!

Well, sort of. We took the big step--we cancelled cable! We never even had cable till around three years ago (late technology adopters in this case), but it does start to feel like a necessity, doesn't it? We still kept discussing the fact that we did not really need it and finally kicked the habit.

Goodbye DVR, my one-time love, goodbye on demand! I thought I needed you both, but did not realize that for $0/month in TV fees compared to the $85 (!) we were paying, we can get pretty much anything, anytime we want to watch ONLINE. The DVR requires you to remember to set up a recording, and also that something is on the tube that you WANT to record. On demand worked pretty well for the kids shows, and I liked the idea, but there is just no way cable can match the content available online.

Also, for now, we must say goodbye to HD programming. :( This is because Denver is the only major market without "over the air" access to HD programming. However, the Denver area is now on track to make the Congress-imposed 2009 deadline for all channels to be HD (and not require cable or satellite as is now the case), so another year won't kill us. (And the quality of online network shows is excellent.)

What do the kids think of all this? Well, they are too busy watching French kid video shorts "on demand" on youtube to even realize they don't have television receiption in the house. We think this is innovative, but by the time they are 10, I am sure it will be passé. The love it! Their current favorite is Trotro (the same person voices Trotro the mischievous donkey and T'choupi, but I don't think they have noticed that yet!). They also like dancing French penguins, and of course, T'choupi himself. T'choupi à la ferme has them laughing their heads off. Here is one of their favorite Trotro episodes--check it out:



While you are at it, you may as well check out Axel's all time favorite show, T'choupi's Premier Bal. Learn the T'choupi Cha Cha Cha so you can dance with Axel next time you visit!



I actually should specify that we do get one channel that we pay for: the French channel available to US residents: TV5. We pay $15/month and enjoy watching French news, movies and game shows (well, Reynald likes the latter).

Since I am not 20 years old (yes, it is true), I do like (American, I mean) TV shows like others of my generation. But, I now realize, no actual TV is needed--we should have done this ages ago and saved almost $1,000/year in cable costs! We have a fast Internet connection that supports streaming excellent quality videos/shows even through wifi. Check out the sites of all the networks like ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. Fox is in beta and the shows I have watched so far have had NO commercials. I am sure that won't last, but the commercial breaks the others take are limited compared to actual network-aired TV, and not that bad. (Someone has to pay for this, I guess!) AOL Television also offers thousands of shows, in full, for free.

If I were an executive at the TV networks, the cable companies or the satellite companies, I would be running scared. In less than five years, surely the current landscape will have changed even further, and the traditional delivery models will NOT be leading the pack.

With youtube, network shows, kid DVDs, and things still to be discovered online, we are sitting pretty using our Internet connection. I am watching more "TV" than I was before we cancelled cable! Who knew?! We have not even signed up for Netflix yet, and we can't forget that we can always buy previous episodes on iTunes if needed, for two bucks a pop!

This is a lot different than when we chose not to have TV for 2 years from 1999 to 2001: we just went cold turkey and that was it--and we didn't miss much! But long term, hopefully, we will again have more time for reading and relaxing and be better able to resist the pull of the tube/computer and save money at the same time, and when we can't resist, at least watch things we like, of our own choosing. What a concept!

Drawing by Luka

Luka's drawing of a "tigr", "cheta", and "liyin" (lion). (Click to get a larger view.)

He did this a few weeks ago and just looked at it now and said, "Mommy, I left out the "e'' in "tiger", the "e" in "cheeta" and the "e" in "lion"." (OK, well, we have some work to do on lion... ;)

Happy Holidays - Joyeuses Fêtes !

We have had an exciting November and December, with fun in Steamboat for Thanksgiving, Christmas presentations at school for Luka and Axel, Luka's first time skiing for the season and first time skiing at Copper, and getting ready to go to Alaska for the holidays.

Click here to see our Flickr page to see our photos from November and December. Click on the "November and December" set.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année !

Eve, Reynald, Luka & Axel

Recipe: Christmas Vegetarian Meatloaf

Christmas Vegetarian Meatloaf

I made this for our vegeterian guests (and the rest of us) for our Christmas party on Dec 22.

Red Pepper Sauce:

1-3 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained or 1/4 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic
3 oz. silken lite tofu
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the Lentil Loaf:

3/4 cup dry lentils, cooked in veg broth
3/4 cup dry wild rice combo, cooked in veg broth
1/2 cup dry quiona, cooked in veg broth
1 small yellow onion
2 large stalks of celery, diced
1 cup carrots, chopped finely
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
8 oz. - 16 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. good quality salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a loaf or other pan with nonstick cooking spray. Make the roasted red pepper sauce first by combining all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and pureeing until smooth. Set aside.

Mix the cooked lentils, wild rice and quinoa in a large bowl. Set aside and let cool if needed.

Cook onion, carrots, celery and mushrooms till onions are soft.

Add onion mixture to the grains. Fold in half of the roasted red pepper sauce, the mozzarella cheese, eggs, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese over the top, and dot with butter.
Bake 30 minutes or until the loaf is firm and cooked through. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve with the remaining roasted red pepper sauce on the side.

Serves 6.

Recipe: Green Salsa with Tomatillos

My friend Jill brought this to our Firetruck Santa Christmas get-together and it was soooooooo tasty! It is not too spicy for the kids (Axel loved it!) but it is very flavorful.

8 tomatillos, husked (or canned, whole tomatillos)
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
¼ cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
salt to taste

In a food processor, place tomatillos, shallots, garlic, green chilies, cilantro, jalapeno, and salt. Using the pulse setting, coarsely chop. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving. Yields 16 servings. Good with tortilla chips, fish, tacos and burritos.

Recipe: Quinoa & Mixed Rice Salad

From the newspaper (modified a bit).

For the Salad:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups Lundeberg Wild Blend (wild and whole-grain brown rice)
1 bunch of radishes, sliced thin
3 green onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup cilantro (optional - I personally detest cilantro)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Note: If you make this as written, it is a very large salad, for a party. I have made it with the 1 cup of quinoa only, all the other ingredients, and most of the dressing and it was delicious and everyone at a party loved it. With the rice is good too, but it will be a lot of food.

For the Dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2/3 cup olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves, pressed
good quality salt to taste
2-1/2 tablespoons curry powder

Directions:
Cook rice blend according to instructions (or 4 cups water to 2 cups rice), and do not add salt or oil. Cook quinoa (3 cups water to 1 cup water), do not add salt or oil.

Let cool and fluff with fork.

Combine cooled rice and quinoa. Separatelt, combine radishes, green onions, raisins, walnuts and cilantro if using, then add to rice-quinoa mixture.

Combine all the salad dressing ingredients in a jar/tupperware with tight-fitting lid. Shake well and make sure curry powder does not clump.

Pour dressing onto salad mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Refrigerate for several hours and bring to room temperature before serving.

Kid Update

Axel's favorite books: Cromignon; Les deux goinfres; Chewy Louie; Big Book.

Luka's favorite books: Junie B. Jones series

Axel's favorite TV show: T'Choupi Tch tcha tcha (really called Premier Bal). He is crazy for this and has seen it at least 100 times...probably more. I wish I could the audio. He loves dancing to it. I set the DVD player to loop to avoid manually playing it a zillion times. Then, we dance together at the dancing part, "Mommy, dance with me!"

Luka's fav TV watching: he has not been watching a lot of TV lately, but L'age de glace 2 is still up there, with Le mystère des jouets, and he liked Polar Express that he saw at school and we bought for him (French version at home). Pretty intense flick.

Axel's favorite song: I'd have to say that is "The Witch Doctor - oo ee ah ah". Yes, I have been privileged to hear that at least 100 times as well....in the car, in the house, walking the kids to school singing it, in my dreams... :) But they have so much fun with it. Axel loooooves dancing to this and T'Choupi (above) and any song he can.

Luka's fav song: not really a song, but "scary" stories from a Target Halloween CD: The Graveyard Dare, The Ghost with One Back Eye, Pirate Captian John, and The Slithery Dee. He also likes "The Witch Doctor" and "Dem Bones."

They both are really into drawing now too. Luka likes making "books" by drawing on pieces of paper, adding text, and stapling them together.

Luka loves doing his homework and learning to read. He read his first book all by himself. It is called "Penguins On Vacation". Pretty exciting. THe second one he is working on is "Don't be Afraid, Monster".

Luka's 5th Birthday

It was a big birthday weekend. Luka's birthday was Friday. He took mini chocolate chip pumpkin muffins with organge frosting and Halloween sprinkles to school to share with his friends for snack. He got a special card from his teacher to celebrate his special day. He also took muffins to French class later in the day. When he entered the room they all sang "Joyeux Anniversaire" to him (in French, obviously). All the kids, as well as Miss Marie, had made him cards. He was very pleased.

His official birthday party was at Pump It Up - indoor inflatable jumping kid utopia. He had invited his entire class, plus some non-school friends and was very excited. There were about 20 kids there. He had a great time and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. He had Zarkan invitations, a Zarkan cake and a Zarkan t-shirt. Plus, he received thoughtful and fun gifts from his friends. Axy had a great time at Pump It Up too; this was the first time he seeemed to really like the jumpy castle environment. We can't believe Luka is already 5!

School Pictures

Here are Luka and Axel's school pictures for this year. Luka is in Miss Melissa's Kindergarten class and Axel is in Miss Nancy's Toddler Class.

Luka's 6th Birthday Countdown

Since we just had the big 5th birthday bash, of course, we must now start thinking about birthday party #6 next year-- just kidding. Well, I am sure Luka will ponder it all year, but Mommy and Daddy will take a break of at least 10 months... :) Just for Luka, no matter how far off it still is, is a count down to #6:

Kid Update: October 2007

Luka

Learning to read at school and doing a great job. Lots of "sight" words and getting used to sounding out new words. Loves Kindergarten and his teachers, Miss Melissa, Miss Laurel, Miss Jessica and Miss Carina. Field trips and lots of fun activities (green frog, mystery can, star student).

Fav book(s): Junie B series, Abricot magagine (French), especially the back page.

Fav movies: Le mystère des jouets and L'age de glace (yes, still!)

Playing soccer, riding his scooter and his bike, likes music class and French class. Loves drawing, playing with his little safari animals, and making stuff (books, cutting up and gluing stuff, etc.). making up stories and games.

Axel

Doing well at school, but still misses us (cries) when gets dropped off :( Loves his friend Emeline (French babysitter), great at imitating us and loves to sing and draw. Loves playing dumpy and "riding" his brother's bike (!) (this means Mommy pulling him - ouch, my back!).

Fav book(s): T'choupi - especially T'choupi et les transpots. Loves big machinery and trucks, buses, big cars. Loves balls. Had a greating time painting at the Children's Museum.

Saying more and more words and a sweet little talker. We will miss him saying, "Luta, Uka, Uddle". Now, he loves to say "Mister Luka!" after Mommy. Another fav is, "Shut the door!"

Photos: August (and one from October)

Photos - These go with the text in the post below "Long time, no blog"
[For more photos, go here: Flickr Sets]

August

Axel's birthday celebration

VBS

Luka and Faith

Fun in Boulder

Children's Museum Denver - Grace and Luka

Reynald on White Rim Ride (October)

Photos: July

Photos - These go with the text in the post below "Long time, no blog"
[For more photos, vist Flickr Sets.]

July

Reynald's view from ferry in AK.



Steven, Luka, Axel

Family Camp

Long time no blog...

Long time, no blog! Here is a recap of our activities since our last posting:

JULY

- We have fun with our neighbors fireworks and Luka piggy backing on mommy for the city display.

- Axy starts day care. He is in Toddler 3.

- Reynald to Alaska to do a solo ride of the 200 mile distance in the Fireweed 400: Sheep Mountain Lodge to Valdez. Included a ferry/train trip from Valdez back to Portage and visiting with the in-laws.

- See Uncle Steven, Aunt Angela and her parents at crepe restaurant in Denver, on their way to new home in LA.

- Reynald starts his new job!

- Eve gets her hair cut short (really!)

- Family church camp 5 hours west: Grand Mesa United Methodist Church Camp. Highlihts include paddle boating, crafts, new friends and Luka singing Le Bon Roi Dagobert for talent night, in French, with Eve and Reynald singing our on-the-fly English translation (Axel helped too) and then we lead a sing-along of Frère Jacques (everyone knows that!).

~ JULY PHOTOS - CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW ON FLICKR ~

Le Bon Roi Dagobert / The Good King Dagbert

[Verse 1 - French]

Le bon roi Dagobert
Avait sa culotte à l'envers.
"Ô mon Roi, Votre Majesté
Est mal culottée."
"C'est vrai, lui dit le roi,
Je vais la remettre à l'endroit."

[Verse 1 - our English version]

The good King Dagbert
Put his underpants on backwards.
The great Saint Eloi said,
Oh my King, your Majesty has your underwear on wrong.
That's true, said the king, I'll put it back on the right way.

[Verse 2 - French]

Chassait dans la plaine d'Anvers.
Le grand saint Eloi lui dit :
"Ô mon Roi, votre Majestée
Est bien essouflée."
"C'est vrai, lui dit le roi,
Un lapin courait après moi."

[Verse 2 - our English version]

The good King Dagbert
Was hunting in the fields of Anvers.
The great Saint Eloi said,
"Oh my King, your Majesty is really out of breath."
"That' s true, says the king, a rabbit was running after me."

(That song is not a positive comment on the ruling classes!)

AUGUST

~ AUG PHOTOS - CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW ON FLICKR ~

- Axel turns 2! Birthday bash with four litle friends (Kylie, Sean, Riley and Connor for Luka) at Lakeside's awesome kid area. Motorcycles, planes, cars, boats, wigwams, ferris wheel and more! The party was Doudou-themed: Axy's fav character from T'Choupi. We had Doudou invitations, a Doudou cakeand a Doudou tshirt for the birthday boy (yay, Mommy!).

- Weekend VBS -lots of fun for both Axel and Luka. Mommy is "tribe leader" for group of kids.

- Ride the Divide: Rollins Pass - Reynald rode up with the "tougher" group on Saturday and Eve rode the Winter Park - Nederland direction with Corinne and Anne who were the perfect team mates for this challenging ride.

- Luka starts Kindergarten at The Academy!

SEPTEMBER

- We start teaching Axel's two-year old Sunday school class once a month.

- Emeline, Axel's French nou nou (really, his buddy) comes twice a week to play with him and help him use his French speaking skills.

- Luka starts French class for French-American kids in Boulder. Great success!

- Luka starts soccer. Fun with team and Luka likes hugging his friends on the opposing teams as well as doing cartwheeels around the field during the game. But, a good introduction to team sports.

OCTOBER

It is not over yet, but passing by fast. Luka's big 5th birthday bash at Pump It Up is fast approaching. Zarkan invitations, Zarkan t-shirt and Zarkan cake - Luka's fav character from his fav movie: Le mystère des jouets.

Pumpkin and Halloween fun (nightly ritual of lighting candles, turning out the music and dancing out to Halloween songs). Costumes chosen for Halloween: Luka - black spiderman; Axel - red spiderman (and/or a bee, a monkey, a fireman or a pirate - take your pick!).

Reynald rode the White Rim outside Moab with our friend Dan. A 10+ hour ride in the Utah desert--go, guys!

Axel's 3rd Birthday Count Up

Update on Kid Photos

Some new photos of our guys!

~ And Video of Axy below ~

Luka had a fun time watching fireworks set off by our neighbor, as well as the city's fireworks from down the street. It was very windy, but they still went off as planned and were a great display. Axy was in bed, asleep, despite all the noise of firecrackers and home-based firecrackers popping and cracking. Luka is doing well and very active, having recently ridden on the tagalong bike for a strenuos bike ride from Nederland to the Hessie town site trail stream crossing with his friend Ada (and her parents, of course).

He took to the bike like a natural and really appreciated being able to pedal and ride like a big person (as opposed to being in the trailer/Chariot). Then, for 4th of July, he and mommy rode together with the tagalong to the EB Rains park in Northglenn (about a 45 minute ride) and met Axy and Papa there (who had come by car with the picnic lunch). There were bouncy castles and other festivities along with the normal fun playground and kid water fountain at this park, for Independenace Day. We can also say that it was VERY hot!

Axel is talking a lot, and saying a lot of French words too (being that Papa is his most favorite person on the face of the Earth, that makes a lot of sense). He says so many words now, I can't think of them all. A new one that we all thought was funny (albeit in English), was downtown. It is too cute when he says it. He went downtown with Luka and Mommy last weekend for church and started saying this on his own. Oh, yeah, and another fav word is also in English, and it is out. As in, get me out of my crib, let me out of this shopping cart, etc. He also loves to watch and say oiseau(x) and loves to talk, even when we don't catch all of what he is saying. To hear him saying some of his fav words, go to our video site by clicking on the image below.

VIDEO OF AXY

Telluride, CO to Moab, UT Bike Tour

June 17 - 24, 2007: San Juan Hut System Bike Trip from Telluride, CO to Moab, UT - Eve, Reynald, along with Luka & Axel, the biker champs!.

I would not say this trip was "fun", but we will never forget it, that is for sure! To see more pictures from our trip and Reynald's commentary, see our photos online at Flickr (http://flickr.com/photos/bodeux/sets/) and then click on BIKE TOUR SUMMER 2007, watch as slide show, and click on any photo during the slide show to see the commentary.

For additional info on the bike tour, see the San Juan Huts System site at:

http://www.sanjuanhuts.com/bike.html.

LVC weekend

Eve, Renato, and Dr. Norton: Norton Endowed Book Fund Presentation

Eve had a great trip to PA (June 7 - 10) to receive an award from the Lebanon Valley College Alumni Association for her contributions to her profession, and to also participate in presenting the an endowed book fund to a favorite professor, now retired. My friend/fellow alum Renato and I worked on the project for a few years. Also, appreciated seeing some other old (as in long-time, hey, we are not old!) friends (including Laurie and her new baby, Karen, Greg). We had a good time doing it these last few years, and the weekend was a great time.

See another picture of us presenting the book fund here and other LVC weekend photos:
http://www.lvc.edu/alumni/alwknd07/photos.aspx?bhiw=1259
Eve, Renato, and Dr. Norton: Photo #2.

Know your food: alert, alert, alert!

I heard an NPR story the other day about food that comes in to the US from China. Any food that is even slightly processed has a very high chance of having products from China in it: asorbic acid, garlic granules, various other chemicals used in mass food production.

In light of the recent pet food scare when public authorities assured us it would not turn up in human food, but instead it turned up in pork, shrimp, chicken, farmed fish food and more, this is a very important issue about which we should all get more educated. Read this article, or listen to the archive, and if it does not scare you into buying local and organic, then I don't know what will. But, I wonder if the organic brands out there (Safeway, Whole Food and Wild Oats organic and non-orgnanic brands) also use food products from China. If so, I guess I have to move to the boonies and grow my own food. (I am not joking...!)

My immediate reaction to this story is, I am going to contact various food manufacturers and ask them where their ingredients come from. If they say China or that they do not divulge this information, I will never buy their product again. It is not an issue of trade protection, but a straightfoward issue of food safety. It is also an issue of cultural differences in that Americans assume they are getting food that has been prepared and sourced in a way that is culturally and acceptable to them (and from a cleanliness standpoint). Most of the time, although we are not aware, this is not the case. And, it seems we are eating what I'd surely call non-food products (petroleum, lead, plastics). Even in doses that are "not harmful to humans", I have to say, 1) I don't believe it, and 2) even if true, sorry, but I don't want to eat plastic. Very, very scary.

I am also going to hook up with a local, organic producer of fruits and vegetables who delivers door to door, whatever is in season, on a weekly basis. When it is that easy, we really have no excuse not do it.

I wonder if other cultures (France others in Europe) have these types of problems with their food sources. Probably to some degree, but I don't know if it is this bad (?).

Find the NPR story text and audio file at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10410111

Recipe: Southwest Rub for Grilled Meat

Southwest Rub

2 TBS chili powder
2 TBS packed brown sugar
1 TBS ground cumin
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce OR bottled BBQ sauce
1/4 ts ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Press rub evenly onto beef. Trun occassionally to avoid burning. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Almond-Lemon Tart

From Denver Post and "Mostly Martha"

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 cup unsalted butter

Filling:
1 cup almonds or hazelnuts
1/2 cup almond paste
1/2 cup sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Place flour, powdered sugar, extract and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly drop in the butter about 1 TBS at a time. Process until a ball of dough forms on top of the bade. Remove from the processor and press into a greased 12-inch removable bottom flan pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven just until the crust sets, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place almonds, almond paste and sugar in a food processor and process to grind the nuts. Stop the machine and add juice, zest, eggs, cream and extract. Process to blend well. Pour in the cooled crust and place ni a 350-degree oven.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting and removing a knife - if it comes out clean, the filling is done. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Spring Update

We have been too busy for me to keep up my normal pace of writing on the blog, so here is an update from the last few months!

To see sets of photos from the last few months, go to our Flickr site and click on the sets of photos called:

- JC/Annick Visit Part I - Trip Out West
- JC/Annick Visit Part II (various photos of the family)
- JC/Annick Visit Part III - New Mexico Trip
- JC/Annick Visit Part IV - Great Sand Dunes

Select "View as Slideshow" to see each in slide show format.

(Scroll down for bonus photos!)

In March and April, for 5 weeks, Reynald's parents visited us and we had a great time together. It was truly wonderful to have them here with us for those weeks and we were able to do a lot of things together. They helped me A LOT at the house with watching Axel and making lunches, and cleaning the house. They also gave us good ideas for some improvements we could make (they have great taste). And, Jean Claude worked hard being Mr. Fix-It around the house, fixing things we didn't even know were wrong (you can tell how "fix it" we are - not very!). Annick and JC took Axel on lots of "bike rides" after they bought him a new push trike and lots of walks. They took Luka to school every day and picked him up. With all this busy-ness, we still were able to get in a few good trips.

Reynald, Luka, Annick and Jean Claude took a memborable trip March 11 - 18th to points "out west" such as Capitol Reef, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and the south side of the Grand Canyon, and Monument Valley. They saw other great things too, but Axy and I stayed home, so Reynald will need to edit this to put in more details! See more pictures from this trip here and select the set of photos called "JC/Annick Visit Part I - Trip Out West " to see the slide show.Their good friend, and ours, Edith, also came for the last two weeks of their stay. She was the perfect house guest too and we had a wonderful time with her as well. The last week of their stay, we went to Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. We rented a great house (over the Internet!) in Taos and stayed in the well-placed TraveLodge (yes!) in Santa Fe. Everyone seemed to have had a good time exploring all the artists' displays in these towns, having fun meals together, and visiting museums. Axel and Luka even spent a few hours as the Georgia O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe! On the way back from New Mexico, we also spent a night/day exploring the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the southern part of CO. We had an adventurous hike on the dunes as our last hurrah. See more pictures here and select "JC/Annick Visit Part III - New Mexico" or "Trip - JC/Annick Visit Part IV - Great Sand Dunes". We also had a lovely Easter dinner with Eve's brother Steven, his father-in-law, and Uncle Jack visiting for the afternoon. (JC's birthday below.)During their visit, Axel also made a lot of progress. He went from "barely walking" to walking just as well as any other almost-two year-old. Walking seemed to have opened up a whole new world to him and he is very excited about exploring it! He also was weaned by the week before they left (so around the end of March). I was sad, but it was very helpful to have them here during this time to distract him, and now, I know it was the right thing to do: he is a big boy now!

Axel says a lot more words now. He tried to say "Jean Claude" before they left, and he would practice with Annick pointing to Annick, himself, Jean Claude, etc. He also currently says many French words, despite Reynald's fear that he would speak much more English than Luka did at the same age. Luckily, this is note the case! He says: eau (water), propre (clean - yes, like father, like son on this one...!), doudou, hi (in English), Yay! (in English), Mom, Mama, Dad, Dada, Papa, Uddle (that means Luka - go figure), balloon (lolo), and other fun stuff.

Axel's favorite book is "T'Choupi fait du vélo" (T'Choupi rides his bike) - that he can pick out from all the other books (that look exactly the same to me!); he also likes other T'Choupi books and still really likes all the Coco books too. Luka's new favorite book is the ABC dinosaur book his grandmother bought him at the Great Sand Dunes book store. I am learning more about dino's than I ever thought I would!
Axel also skiied for the first time - yes, it's true! - on May 4, 2007 at just two days shy of 21 months old! Every time he saw Luka on skis, he wanted to try them on. So, this time, at A-Basin (still open!) we made sure to bring Luka's old skis (strap on boots, scales on the bottom, no edges) for Axel to try. He didn't like it for the first 10 seconds or so as I strapped them on his boots, but after that, he loved it and got mad when we took them off at the end of the day! He skiied around between our legs at the bottom of the mountain and he was also able to shuffle along without falling, on his own, at the end of the day. Go, Axel! Olympic champion in the making! Luka is a true little skiier. We were so impressed with his skiing abilities, taking him to A-Basin two weekends in a row. We had not really seen him in action since he had completed his Eldora ski lessons on February. It is a sight to behold! He is totally in control and has a great time skiing down either doing the pizza (snow plow) or french fry (parallel). He has no fear and just skis along with Mommy or Daddy, though he may take on the persona of Spiderman or Superman to get down the hill! He went on the bunny hill at A-Basin with Mommy April 28 during Daddy's randonnée ski race, and then, we took him on the greens the next weekend (May 4). Those greens are the toughest I have ever seen, and are pretty steep. So, I'd say Luka is good for blues at most other major ski resorts! Go, four-year old ski man!

Both Luka and Axel love riding their bikes around. Axel on the push-trike (he can't reach both pedals at the same time yet to pedal himself) and Luka on his "big boy bike" with training wheels. Mommy is happy too, because she finally got her "comfort bike" - a 7-speed, upright black and white Giant. We still need to pick it up from the shop in Boulder, but I can't wait! Reynald also got a new fancy-schmancy mountain bike. He deserves it, though, after all these years on his old one. What adventures does he have in store for us on that thing?

Here is a blog bonus. This is Luka's drawing from the Mother's Day Tea at school. He said it was "Mommy on the couch watching TV" - you know, that activity I often do during the day (NOT!). Maybe that was his dream for me - "relax, rest a bit and watch some TV!" ha ha.

Luka and the Beanstalk, oh no, that's "Bead"

Today, Luka stuck a bead up his nose at school. Yes, we have now experienced that legendary event in parenthood when your kid sticks some weird object up his nose. It was a bright blue bead that was just out of our reach. Luka also has trouble mixing up "blowing" his nose and "inhaling" so that was pretty tricky!

We'd already had "the talk" about how he is not to stick stuff in any of his bodies "holes" or any of the openings in Axel's body. You know - nose, eyes, ears, belly button and other unmentionables.... But, to no avail, I guess. (However, I think this incident may have cured him, at least for the next few years.)

We called our doctor. They were booked for today (!) and told us to go to the emergency room (!). We then called urgent care run by a Children's Hospital clinic near our neighborhood and they were not open till 5 p.m. (it being 2:45 pm at the time). It just seemed ridiculous to go to the ER for this (not to mention quite costly), so I, luckily, remembered the walk-in clinic at (hold your breath, are you ready?)....Wal-mart!!!!! OK - that will teach me to be a snob. I had noticed it the other day on one of my few forrays to Wal-mart. Luckily for us, it turned out!

There was not much waiting (compared to the ER, anyway), and the nurse practictioner was able to reach in there with a special tool and get it out for a mere $65 (no sarcasm here - the ER would have been over $500 I am sure)! That was a real relief and we were sooooooooooo happy to avoid the ER.

So, I ask you, what is wrong with our healthcare system that I am thrilled to get care at a clinic in Wal-mart? I know the healthcare system needs fixing all right, and if I knew how, I bet I could be president (oh, now that I think about that more, I guess not...). All that matters right now is that Luka's nose is in good shape and bead-less for the time being and hopefully forever into the future!

Axel man is growing up - or is he?

Today, I took Axel to the grocery store and thought I'd let him walk next to me like "a big boy" - he is now 21-1/2 months. He is walking well and loves to do "big guy" stuff. However, he also likes to be a little imp and sometimes run or walk away on purpose and start giggling when we say, "Come to Mommy/Daddy, Come back here!" etc. So, today, he runs down one aisle away from me and then starts pulling bottles off of the bottom shelf and throwing them hard on the ground! I don't think he did that part to be a stinker, I think he just thought it was fun to grab and toss them, not realizing really what it all meant. But, of course, out of the four bottles he threw down within about 5 seconds, before I could get to him, two of them broke! He was just happily grabbing them and tossing them! In any case, the guys who worked there thought it was funny and were really nice about it, but I was horrified! He had salad dressing on his shoe afterward, but otherwise, he was okay! ...Those crazy kids!

Recipe: Zucchini Pancakes

The kids like cooked zucchini with a bit of salt and pepper a lot (yes, it is true!), but we were getting a bit tired of that this week, so I decided to use our zucchini for a different and quite tasty purpose. We ate them for dinner with some sausage and Axy and Luka agreed that these pancakes were very good too! You could, however, eat them for breakfast too.

4 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS olive oil
4 tsp baking powder
butter for the skillet

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, add shredded zucchini and mix well with fork. Add flour, sugar, salt and olive oil and stir to blend well. Finally, add baking powder and mix well using a large spoon, scraping sides with spatula as necessary. Do not overbeat.

Spoon batter on to cooking surface. Cook until there are no longer bulbbles forming in the pancake--about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook for a few minutes longer. Serve with butter and maple syrup if desired. Sit back and think how smart you are for getting zucchini into your kids unnoticed. :)

Luka's Show & Tell Presentation: Movie!

A few weeks ago, it was Luka's turn to be the "star" student at school and he wanted to talk about pilots. He had decided that he wanted to be a pilot during "career week." The kids had a great time with that. Even today, Luka got very excited when we saw a plane in the sky and said, "Hey - that is what I want to do - fly planes!" Well, that must be in his blood - just like his grandpa!

He did a version of his presentation at home by narrating the slides I made for him. You can access the movie and his narration by clicking on the image below. I am not the greatest at editing sound, so be aware that the sound goes from soft to loud. But, Luka is a real star! Have fun viewing his 2-minute masterpiece.

Axel and Mommy Party Down

Well, not really... We were holding down the fort for a week (yes, a whole week, from Sunday to Sunday!) while Reynald, Luka, Jean-Claude and Annick went on a trip to visit various national parks and other interesting parks in Colorado, Utah and Arizona (the Grand Canyon). Tonight, they went to the South Rim when they heard the North Rim was closed for the season. They have also been to Zion, Bryce, Colorado National Monument and other sights. We will have to get the full scoop from them when they get back and post their pictures. Sounds like Luka is having a great time with them.

Axel and I are "riding" his bike a couple of times a day, going to the park, sometimes eating out (the Mediteranean place at the mall and Noodles), and just hanging out. Not so bad, but we miss our guys! :)

Laura's Banana Bread

(by way of Laura, Silver Palate and Margaret D)

8 TBS (1 stick) butter - softened
3/4 cup sugar (or substitute Rapadura)
2 eggs
1 cup of white flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of whole wheat flour
3 ripe bananas - mashed
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup of chopped pecans

350 degree oven. Use greased loaf pan. Cream butter and sugar (with wooden spoon). Add eggs one at a time (with whisk). Mix white flour, soda and salt together. Then, stir in whole wheat flour to the dry mixture. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir only till combined. Fold in mashed bananas, vanilla and nuts. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until done. Cool for 10 minutes on rack. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Variations: Add 3/4 to 1 cup of (frozen or fresh) blueberries or raspberries with the bananas. Will take a little longer to bake.

Oh Madeleine, oh Madeleine

Reynald's parents brought us two big bags of Madeleines de Commercy (and often send us these in packages). These divine little cakes are coveted at our house. I make a pretty good recipe too, but the "real deal" are these from Commercy which are reputed throughout France as being "it". See this article on Wikipedia for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelines

This article does not mention though that they likely were created for Stanislas, the exiled king of Poland, who was living in Lorraine, and then made for the French king as well. See
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/Madeleine.htm.

Here is the recipe I use:

MADELEINES

(Makes ~12 and recipe doubles well)

- 1-1/4 cups regular flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, plus some for dusting
- the grated rind of 1 lemon or 1 orange
- 1 TBS lemon or orange juice
- 6 TBS unslated butter, melted and slightly cooled

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 12 cup madeleine pan. Sift (yes, sift) together the flour and the baking powder.

Using an electric mixer (preferably a stand mixer), beat the eggs and confectioner's sugar for 5 - 7 minutes (even with a standmixer it still takes a while) until thick and creamy and the mixture forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted. Gently fold in the lemon or orange rind and juice.

Beginning with the flour mixture, alternately fold in the flour and melted butter in several batches. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then carefully spoon into the pan. Tap gently to release any air bubbles. e

Bake the madeleines for 12 - 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Tip out on to a wire rack to cool completely and dust with confetioner's sugar (optional) before serving.

Note: if you do not have madeleine pan, you can use a mini-muffin or other such pan. They will still taste great even though they will not be in the traditional shape. Adjust the cooking time as necessary.

Luka's Birthday Count Down

Yup, it is still a long way off, but the minute he got in the car after his 4th birthday party, he asked, "When is it my birthday again?" But, he is "mature" now and happy to give his friends their gifts in the meantime, rather than wanting to keep them for himself. :)

In honor of his upcoming special day (no matter how far off still), here is a count down just for him:

Grandparents arrive and new photos

Jean-Claude and Annick arrived earlier this week from France for their 5-week stay in the US. The kids enjoy them and we are glad to see them as well as appreciate their help. Some pictures below from the past two months. More of the grandparents as their visit progresses.

Luka in the "baby" swing at the park.

Axel on his new "bike" - with push handle to protect Mommy's and grandparents' backs!

Axel having fun at the home improvement store.

Go, Horsey! (Favorite activity of the boys, unfortunately for Papa!)

Luka qui fait le fou dans le jardin.

Luka, Axel, Annick, JC in Eldorado Springs (cold day for a hike!)

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I have not made this recipe, but the Chocolate & Zucchini food blog is awesome, and I love flourless chocolate cake, so am putting it here so that I can whip it up when I have time.

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Source: http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2005/08/announcing_wbw13_like_wine_for_chocolate.php

Flourless Chocolate Cake

- 2 sticks minus 1 Tbsp) butter
- 7 oz dark chocolate
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- a rounded TBS flour

Note: best made a day in advance (or at least in the morning if you plan to serve it in the evening).

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper (don't need to if using a non-stick pan).

Melt together the butter with the chocolate (in a double-boiler or in the microwave slowly and for just a few seconds at a time, blending with a spoon between each pass). Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl. Add in the sugar, stir with a wooden spoon and let cool a little. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add in the flour and mix well.

Pour the dough into the pan, and put into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the cake inside for another ten minutes, then put the pan on a cooling rack on the counter to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour before serving. Garnish with whipped cream, raspberrry coulis, or other.
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Axel's First Steps

Yahoo! Axel's long-awaited first steps solo were today. It was at the doctor's office for his 18-month check up showing her he really COULD walk! Now, we just have to get him to do it more on his own... stay tuned!

Axel's current stats:

Height: 32-3/4 inches
Weight: 22 pounds and 7.5 ounces
Head circumfrence: 19 inches