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

Axel/Luka Update

Axel stood up for the first time (that we saw, anyway) on his own today! I turned around and Axel was on top of the wooden kid table, standing up all by himself, just looking at me! Look, ma! No hands! Then, he was all excited at me taking his picture, so would then again balance on his two feet (no hands) and smile proudly for the camera.

He has a new word too: "Encore". Papa was very happy he has a French word as one of his first ones. He loves saying it and says it over and over (but does use it appropriately). He also says "Luka" pretty clearly now and is very proud of that too.

Speaking of Luka, this week he pretty much stopped wearing "slips spéciaux" to bed and now just sleeps in his underwear like a big boy. Yipee! He has done at that at nap at school for years, but I think he liked wearing the PullUps at night because sometimes he was too scared to go potty in the dark! Now, as long as he goes wee wee before going to bed, everything is fine.

Picture below of Luka in the cowboy hat and boots he made at school the week they studied the Stock Show (big event here in Colorado in January). He was very proud! (He's holding a basket of safari animals!)

Galette des rois - 2007

Here are pictures of the kids this year celebrating Epihpanie French style. Axel and Luka both got feves and they played with their crowns for weeks. Luka decorated his and Mommy made Axy's. Next year though, I am sure he can do his own.

Go here to see the recipe I have been making for the last two years.

If you read French, try this one. Or, this one. These look pretty easy too and I notice that they use more eggs than the one I used above, and use powdered almonds instead of almond paste. If I remember to look this up next year, I will try one of those.

And, some history about the tradition of the galette des rois and epiphanie in France to be found here (my blog) and here (a well-known French recipe blog).

Axel's new words

Tonight as the tub was filling up for Luka and Axel's bath, Axy looked at it and said (unprompted), "Bubba" for all the bubbles that were filling it up, and he said "aught" for "hot". Then, we kept asking him repeatedly to say those words and he thought that was great and smiled while he said them for us several times. He was kind of shy, but repeated them for us and we all had fun laughing together.

Luka/Axel Update

Luka's favorite song (still even though Christmas is over): 12 Days of Christmas, all of which he can sing all by himself! He also considers "Ne pleure pas Jeanette" his "favorite" song and has me play it over and over on the iPod. I knew we'd like the easy repeat feature!

Axel's favorite song: any of the ones in the three French song volumes with fun pictures; any song to which he can boogie down (movin' to the music!)

Axel's favorite book: Any Coco the elephant book (Cocol Vole, Coco et les autres, Coco et Sidonie, Coco Mange, Coco tout nu). Actually, of these, his definite favorites at Coco Vole and Coco et les autres. He loves the part where Coco, Gigi, Nana and LuLu dance (see below) and the all of Coco Vole - that plane is just so cool!

Axel's new words: he likes to say l'hippopotame ("pippopa" or "popopo") and "tralalalalala" as in "Coco, Gigi et Nana dansent...tralalalalala!"

Luka's current favorite game at school: tag!

Luka's first day of ski lessons!

Luka getting ready to ski - first day of lessons!

Saturday was his first day of ski lessons at Eldora Mountain Resort. It was a family affair with all of us there. The wind at Eldora was crazy -- the closed the lifts - but the kid lessons went on anyway and Luka got to ride the "magic carpet" and do the pizza move! He really liked it and we are looking forward to more skiing fun.

Axel having fun at Eldora too

Learning to Walk and Art work

Axel learning to walk - happy man!

Luka's artwork from school when they studied health and safety. He dictated the text to his teacher. It says, "I was running on the street; after I hurt my thumb so my mom picked me up and said "What happened, Luka?" and she got me a bandaid." (See picture and band aid below.)

Jill's Buttercream Icing Recipe

Buttercream Icing

(Jill's notes below.)

2 lb. bag of powdered sugar
1 ½ cups Crisco (butter works great too)
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract (I use real vanilla unless I want really white icing, for that you need this clear stuff)
7 Tbsp. water or milk

Put Crisco, water and extracts with a small amount of powdered sugar in large bowl. Mix on medium speed and gradually add the rest of the sugar. Mix for 10 to 12 minutes (this is why I use a stand mixer) until fluffy.

Axel Talking

Axel is very discerning about the words he says and repeats sounds that he thinks are fun. Ask him to repeat something, and sometimes he will, but he may just laugh mischeviously and choose to say it later when he is good and ready.

"Words" he said on his own with no prompting include "Wahoo!" after Mommy said it to express excitement. Today, after reading "Coco et les autres" he also said "Coco" on his own and also "Tralalalalalala" after the part where Coco, Gigi and Nana dance together and sing that. He really liked that word!

He says his famous word "ooos" (or however you spell it) less, but here is a funny video of him saying it for us at Disneyworld.

Nouvelles en Français

Salut à tous les français !

Tout va bien au Colorado, et les fêtes se passent sous un metre de neige. On a eu une grosse tempête de neige juste avant Noël qui a littéralement paralysé le Colorado pendant prés de deux jours. On était coincé à la maison, mais c'était mieux que de devoir laisser son vehicule sur la route et d'essayer de rentrer a pied, ou bien d'être coincé a l'aéroport comme beaucoup l'étaient. Il y a deux jours, une deuxième tempête est arrivée et nous sommes de nouveau coincés à la maison depuis, ce qui nous fait des vacances ! Ce qui est surprenant c'est que toutes les grandes surfaces n'ont presque plus de produits frais depuis une semaine et que les gens se battent presque pour acheter les derniers cartons de lait ou des fruits. Un manque de preparation totale qui a de quoi inquieter si on devait un jour faire face a qqchose de plus serieux qu'une tempête de neige.

Ces dernières semaines, on a fait quelques periples, avec un trip à Omaha dans le Nebraska pour retrouver le frère de Eve et sa maman a l'occasion du long weekend de Thanksgiving. Un weekend sympa et reposant, mais parcourir les routes du Nebraska en plein hiver n'est pas conseillé (on a vu des dizaines de voitures dans le fosse à cause du verglas et on a mis 12 heures pour rentrer au lieu de 8).

Histoire d'aller chercher le soleil, on est allé passer une semaine de vacances en Floride (Orlando) debut décembre. On etait en fait invites pour assister au lancement de la navette spatiale Discovery. Ce fut un évenement plutôt special car nous connaissons le pilote de la navette qui est un ami d'enfance de Eve (ils sont allés dans la même école a Anchorage). C'est le seul astronaute d'Alaska.

Le décollage de nuit a ete très spectaculaire avec une lumière éblouissante (meme a 5 km) et un bruit infernal. Vraiment une expérience unique, pour Luka aussi qui n'en revenait pas et qui j'espère ne l'oubliera pas. On en a aussi profité pour aller à Disney World et le "Royaume Magique" de Mickey pour une paire de jours. Beaucoup de monde à notre avis meme si c'est la saison basse, mais les manèges étaient sympas et on a pu emmener Axel avec nous a peu près partout. Luka a aussi vu Cendrillon (dont il est un grand fan) dans le château.

Pour Noël, nous sommes allés passer 3 jours dans un chalet perdu au fond d'une vallée à 3500 metres d'altitude ou l'accès se fait en raquettes ou à ski. Ce fut plutôt une aventure (10 km en plus de six heures pour y arriver) avec des chutes de neige toute la journée et des temperatures approchant les -15 degrès. Les enfants ont eu froid par moment mais heureusement qu'on avait des "hand and toe warmers" sinon on aurait du faire demi-tour. La remorque les protège assez bien, mais il y a tout de même des limites. Eve et un ami ont du souvent etre derrière la remorque pour m'aider. Le chalet était bien équipé, avec des lits pour 20 personnes, il faut juste amener sa nourriture et son sac de couchage. Le sauna chauffé au bois était un plus appreciable. Et je ne parle pas de la poudreuse qu'on a pu skier aux abords du chalet sans se bousculer.

Pour Nouvel An, nous avons simplement prevu un petit diner avec des amis, et on sera surement couché avant minuit. Les temps changent...

Samedi prochain, Luka va commencer a prendre des lecons de ski pour 6 semaines a une petite station pas trop loin. On espère qu'il sera bientôt autonome... Pour 2007, on n'a pas prevu grand-chose. Mes parents seront chez nous en printemps. Ils voudraient aller vers Yellowstone et aussi le Grand Canyon et les parcs nationaux de l'Utah. On espère aussi que ca permettra a Luka de pratiquer son français.

Pour voir quelques photos de nos derniers periples, cliquez sur "Trip to Florida" à gauche - il y aussie une vidéo du décollage de la navette. Tous nos meilleurs voeux pour la nouvelle année et à bientôt !

Reynald

Janet's Cabin Hut Trip

Luka in the snow cave that he and Ada made at the hut.

On Christmas Eve morning we left to go to Janet's Hut -- a cabin in the 10th Mountain Division Hut System. It was 6 miles skiing in, pulling the kids in their special sled. It was quite the adventure! The trail starts at the boundary of Copper Mountain ski resort. We started there with our friends Ann and Michael and then met our friends Corinne, Dan and Ada at the hut. They ended up being right behind us. Going in, it was pretty cold and snowing. Coming out, the weather was more mild with a tiny bit of snow here and there, but some sun too and mostly clear. The kids slept most of the way back. Pulling the sled was hard work for Reynald and I was behind a lot of the time keeping it in line behind him.

Janet's cabin is a luxurious backcountry cabin with indoor composting toilets and a wonderful kitchen. Water is melted from snow on a huge container on the wood stove. Wood is provided as is propane for the burners. The beds were comfy with pillows and the rooms had 5 or 6 beds to them, with bunks included. Our room included Luka on a bed, Axel between Mommy and Daddy on a bottom double bunk bed, and Michael and Ann on the top bunks. One wall was a window with a great view. The hut also had a sauna that was relaxing.

Luka and Reynald on porch at hut.

Axel and Luka did well with the trip and with the high altitude. We had plenty of water and lots of good food and snacks to eat. I made a spaghetti dinner one evening from my dehyradated sauce that I had prepared, as well as dehyrated organic beef for those of us who are not vegeterian. I dehydrated that plus our lunches to save weight, as you have to pack everything in and out (including any uneaten food, garbage, diapers, etc.). Corinne made very tasty burritos the night before. And Ann had great snacks for all and diversions for the kids.

I skinned up and skied down for the first time in the area around the hut with Corinne. I used Reynald's skis and it worked well. We wear the same shoe size! For the trek into the hut, I used snow shoes. These worked well for the most part, but when the snow was really soft, I sunk often up to my waist. That was more a problem going in than coming out, and it was tricky at times.

Axel had a great time with the toy car Santa brought him on Christmas Eve at the hut and really loved the ball there for kids to play with. Ada and Luka had a great time playing in their rooms at "prarie dog," slap Jack (or Ace or Queen or King or Eight or Nine), Go Fish, Don't Eat Pete and other various kid fun. Reynald had a good time skiing too and also checking out the trails around the hut.

Quite a Christmas adventure!

Reynald going to the cabin, pulling the kids - notice the snow falling!
Our friend Michael behind.
At the juncture of the Colorado Trail and the trail to Janet's Cabin

Top picture is Eve on the way out, and bottom picture is Reynald on the way out, with what we had covered behind him.

For more great pictures of our hut trip and an interesting summary by our friend Corinne, go here: http://www.translatewrite.com/main/janetscabin.php

Christmas came early!

Fore more Christmas photos go here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bodeux/sets/

and click on Christmas 2006 and then Slide Show.

Santa came last night (two days early). Looks like he knew we'd be at the hut for Christmas morning so he brought the kids' presents early. He left a note saying he realized it would be hard to carry all the gifts back down the moutain, and he said we might see him yet again this year (!) - at the hut maybe?! We started opening gifts on Thursday so as not be overwhelmed, Friday and then finished with Santa's today. But, more are coming from Alaska, so it will go on next week...!

I remember finding years later a list that my dad had made of what we all asked for Christmas when one year when we were kids; his Santa list. I found it in a dresser and I think it was after he was gone. That was fun to see the notes. I recall that what I had wanted included paints. I also remember that we basically got whatever we wanted. Santa was a nice Santa. As I recall, we asked for reasonable stuff, but it was a big deal to get all those toys and gifts for 7 of us!

One time, I sent a letter to Santa. Usually, I gave them to Dad so he could "post" them. But, one year, I thought I'd save him some trouble and actually mailed it. I remember him saying, "Oh, darn, you should have given to me to mail from work" or whatever. Funny. I am sure he thought of some way to get out of me what I had asked for. I also remember one year accidentally (really!) going in the back room and seeing gifts (Laverne and Shirley game included).

So, in case Luka and Axel have fun reading this years from now, here is a list of what they got this year (so far, that is):

From Santa:
big puzzle map of the world - Luka
"teddy" (Curious George stuffed animal) - Luka
Playmobil pane with little guy in it - Axel
110 Wooden blocks - Axel and Luka
Plastic fish container for snacks - Axel
socks for hut trip - Axel
high-tech mittens - Luka

From Mommy and Dada:
wooden articulating worm - Axel
additiona train tracks for his Thomas set - Luka
Playmobil astronaut (as in shuttle launch and astronaut class) - Luka
Bath toys - Axel

More gifts!
Wooden doll house with furniture and moving garage from Grandma for both of them
Bozo the clown punching bag - Luka from Uncle Charles and Aunt Mona
French letter, number, picture blocks - Axel from Uncle Charles and Aunt Mona
Gift card for Barnes and Noble - Luka from Uncle Steven and Aunt Angela
Stuffed Snowman that he hugs and kisses - Axel from Uncle Steven and Aunt Angela
Two fun books - both of them from Aunt Mary Healey
Matching Yellow Shirts from Gymboree - Jim, Di, Emma and Julia

Update on December 27

We are still opening gifts! When we arrived home from our hut trip, we received packages for Uncle Vernon & Aunt Tammy, Jean-Claude & Annick, and Uncle Paul and Aunt Jahna

Updated list

Monkey play house - Axel - Aunt Tammy & Uncle Vernon

Stuffed monkey Axel - Aunt Tammy & Uncle Vernon

Cooties game - Luka - Aunt Tammy & Uncle Vernon

2 sets of French DVD's and activity books Luka - JC and Annick

Book and talking book - Axel - JC and Annick

penguin wool slippers - Axel - Aunt Jahna and Uncle Paul

doggie wool slippers - Luka - Aunt Jahna and Uncle Paul

Big Snow Storm! Blizzard of 2006!?

For more pictures of the snow storm, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bodeux/sets/
click on Blizzard 2006 and then on Slide Show.

We had the big snow storm of the year (or maybe not?), starting on Wednesday, Dec 20. 2+ feet total? I was just complaining last weekend that we don't get much snow in town anymore, and then on Wednesday, we got a big blizzard. Pretty much everything was was closed down Wednesday and Thursday, and still some stuff on Friday (today). We could get out of our garage (as opposed to the big blizaard of March 2003, which we all think dumped even more snow than this one) because our neighbor helped snowblow everyone's driveway.

This morning, Luka's school was open again (but between PreK1 and 2 they only had 10 kids) and I took him and Axel to school in the red sled. That was funny! It was hard in the deep snow (they kept falling out), so I pushed it from behind while walking in the deep stuff. Then, we got to the main street and it worked perfectly. Axel laid on his brother, and on the way back, I laid him down in the sled and with the warm sun, he fell asleep. Here are some pictures of our latest snow adventure.

Update December 27

Maybe there will be two "Billzards of 2006"! They are predicting another storm for tomorrow, between 2 inches and 3 feet. Quite a wide spread - we will see what we end up getting!