Thanks Uncle Fal!!

Thanks Uncle Fal for the awesome hat! For those of you who don't recognize this infamous creature, it's Punxsutawney Phil-- who saw his shadow yet again this year. Uncle Fal went to the ceremonial Forecasting on Groundhogs day and bought us this cool hat. I was quite disappointed to hear that Phil lives in the local zoo and was brought out for the 30,000+ visitors in a CAGE! What a let down in my opinion.

Happy Valentines Day!!

In honor of this special day, here are some of the things that I LOVE...
--My little family...they make me SOO Happy! I LOVE YOU Theron, Karsten & Morgan
--My big family--Mom, Dad, Kenny, Gina, Ambie & Ash...and then all the nieces, nephews and in-laws!! Too many to name, but you know who you are :)
--My wonderful friends from high school, BYU, Dental School, Ther-Rx (job), Iowa City & Cincinnati
--Ice Cream (well, really low-fat frozen yogurt)
--The sun & the beach (with me on it)
--The fact that T will have a REAL job in about 15 months...YEAH!!
--Projects
--My double jogger
--Karsten's smile
--Homemade Bread
--Morgan's squeals
--Health
--A CLEAN HOUSE
--Planting flowers--I do this often since they usually don't live long :)
--Fruits & Vegetables
--Theron's sense of humor
--Playing outside & going on walks on a nice day
--Traveling (Especially to the beach, see above)
--Dominican Republic (Wonderful Beaches...do you see a trend??)
--Big Blue Eyes (T, K & M...I'm the odd one out)
The list goes on and on...

Trader Joes..will never let you down!

Last night we went to a potluck dinner with Theron's co-workers. We were in charge of a veggie tray. I didn't feel like spending two hours running to the grocery store, so we stopped by Trader Joes which is just blocks from our house. We have been trying a lot of new things from there recently and have NEVER been disappointed in our purchase. We tried something new for the party and loved it. I don't know if any of our blog readers live near a Trader Joes [if we even have any blog readers :)....], but if you do, I thought I would post some of our top 10 favorite picks:
1) Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (this was what we brought to the party--so good with fresh snap peas!)
2) Sweet Potatoes. They only sell organic ones. They are SOO sweet (Karsten, Morgan and Kari's favorite!)
3) Nothing But Bananas Flattened (Karsten & Aunt Ambies favorite!--it's just dried, flattened bananas-like fruit roll-up consistency).
3) Joes O's (Knock off Cheerios Reg price 1.99 and we like them better than Cheerios)
4) Frozen sliced mixed peppers (Red, Yellow and Green, already sliced--1 lb for $1.29-That's way cheaper than buying them fresh and they are already sliced and ready to cook)
5) Frozen Pot stickers--chicken, veggie or shrimp. Low-fat. YUM!
6) Salsa Fresca Chips --I found these thanks to my dad. We went for a visit and I ate the whole bag. I don't even eat chips, but these are lower fat and have apple, flaxseed, and all sorts of nutritious stuff so I don't feel guilty eating them myself or giving them to Karsten.
7) Blueberry Museli-I mix it will regular oatmeal, cinnamon, bananas and raisins for a wholesome packed breakfast for the whole fam.
8) Chewy Peanut Butter granola Bars- Theron doesn't like granola bars but he likes these.
9) Sauces--We've bought Indian, Thai, Japanese and Chinese cooking sauces and dips and have enjoyed all of them. If you are interested in specific flavors, let me know.
10) Handmade 100% Fresh Fruit Bars-- (Again similar to a fruit roll-up only it's only fruit and fruit juices in all sorts of flavors)

A Classy Read...

Has anyone ever read this book?? We were at Barnes and Nobles yesterday for "Story Time." We missed story time (it must have lasted no more than 5 minutes..) so Karsten browsed the shelves and came up with this book.... Well by the sounds of the cover you can only guess what you're gonna get. I sat down to read it with Karsten and two sweet little sisters perfectly dressed with little bows in their hair. I read the first few pages and asked their mom "do you want your girls to hear this"? Personally, I thought it was pretty funny but it was quite foul for preschoolers....I was curious what others thought of the book for their children so this is one of the reviews I found online:

The most testosterone laden picture book ever conceived and executed...A rip roaring celebration of the joys of sanitation ....Acting more like an Oscar the Grouch in garbage truck form, the dirty monstrosity exhibits its own forms of belching before launching into the ABC's of its morning diet. A word of warning: don't read this book too early in the morning. You may find yourself growing nauseous (even as your kids howl for more) reading about fish heads, ugly (stained) underpants, and year-old yams. The authors aren't squeamish about defecation either. Here we can clearly see dirty diapers, kitty litter, and puppy poo (there ARE pictures of all of the aforementioned)...this disgusting, smelly, filthy book is a class act through and through. Kids love it, grown-ups (that aren't prone to sickness) really get into it, and the world is a better place for it. Garbage workers rarely get their due. Now, they're not only commended for their work, but lauded as well.

Overall, 5 STARS! It was highly rated, even for parents of 2 year olds. If you're anxious to read it, you can get it on Amazon for $3.14 or stop by your local book store.

Honestly, I'd recommend it as a one time read for PARENTS...stop by Barnes and Nobles on your next date night for a good laugh :)

Has anyone else read any good books lately?

National Air Force Museum

Yesterday we went to visit the National Air Force Museum in Dayton. We had heard if you love planes, this is the place!! And they were right! We spent over 2 hours and didn't even touch the surface. For anyone that lives in driving distance, it's worth a trip. And the best part is it's free, so if you are disappointed (which you wont be) then it's not such a big deal. Our pictures didn't turn out so great, but here are a few somewhat decent ones. Also, check out the Jesus statue we see en route..this is especially for Uncle Fal

So you think you have bedhead.....

I think Morgan has you all beat! We have to take out her barretts before she goes to sleep because if they fall out, she'll try to eat them. Check out her harido after waking up from a nap last week.....You may want to enlarge the photos to get the full effect.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hello Family and Friends! Perhaps you have received or will hopefully shortly receive our Christmas greetings...which turned into New Years greetings since we were so late. We hope your new year is off to a GREAT start!! We received an overwhemling amount of Christmas Cards this year! We had so much fun hearing from all of you and seeing your families grow!Thank you everyone for keeping in touch!

2007 has been a wonderful year for our family. Everyone heard the most exciting news which was the birth of Morgan Adaleen on April 28th. She is just delightful and the most squeally little girl ever. She definately knows what she wants and is actually very good communicating those wants to us. She sleeps great, loves to eat, play, and splash in the bath and LOVES attention! Her favorite things to play with are cords, cell phones, paper, door stops, Karsten's toys.......basically, everything she isn't suppose to play with. She is very active and I forsee her getting into EVERYTHING...

Karsten (3 1/2) is FINALLY pottytrained! I think that is our biggest accomplishment this year (and biggest stressor too--can you relate?)! He started preschool in September and LOVES it (and so do I)! He still loves trains, firetrucks, tractors and building things with blocks and tinker toys. He is very ticklish and loves to laugh. This season he became a little obsessed with The Polar Express movie and talks about it all day long. He is now telling us that when he grows big, he wants to change his name to Santa Claus and wants to have his own elves (and one named Buddy...he saw the movie, ELF, last week too). Karsten is always making us laugh.

Our kids keep us busy and our lives revolve around them. We wouldn't have it any other way (except the potty training thing). Hopefully in the next edition of the Waisath Christmas letter we'll be able to tell you where we'll finally be settling down!

We think of you all often and hope you have a healthy & happy new year!