Friday, February 16, 2007

Happy Valentines Day

Once again, Valentines day was wonderful for us. The day started out like any other with the exception of a gift left for me in my car. A (PRODUCT) RED 8G iPod Nano loaded with a Valentines playlist of 140 songs lovingly placed in the iPod by Brent. My single cynical office mate Jared especially appreciated the playlist filled with sappy love songs. Knowing that part of my gift was a gift to somebody else made it that much more special. I encourage you to check out the other (PRODUCT) RED products and support this important cause.

When we got home from work there was a gift on the counter from Shayna that said "por mi familia". It was all wrapped in tissue paper and covered with rose petals. Inside was an assortment of heart-shaped chocolate covered pretzels, and chocolate peanut clusters. Awwwww.

Brent got each of the girls a cute little heart shaped pillow, a chocolate rose, a peanut butter cup heart and a card.

Brent then opened his gift from me, a Playstation 2 and two games NHL Hockey and Grand Terismo 4. His face lit up like a small child it was classic. You see I get super annoyed with video games mostly because I suck at them but there are always other things that need to get done. It took a lot for me to get him this gift, but I wanted to see that look on his face. His first question was "so you aren't going to yell at me when I play this are you". I laughed and said "just because I bought it for you does not mean I don't get to yell at you" (silly boy). It will be fun for he and the kids to play together once we get some family games.

Brent had also arranged for us and the girls to dine at our favorite restaurant in Virginia City called the Cafe del Rio. (These pictures are just some I found on the internet posted by a random stranger, good shots though.) I can not say enough about this place it is just incredible. Brent had two chicken tacos, I had the blue corn chicken salad, Madison had the fried chicken special, and Shayna had a dang bbq chicken case-a-dilla. Wednesday is fried chicken night and it is so wonderful. They give you three pieces of breaded, seasoned, and fried boneless chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and corn on the cob for $9.50! I think our favorite part of the place is that they remember us when we get there. They always put us at the same table, and know what we want to drink. The service is what some in this day and age of fast food think is slow but it really gives you the time to talk and relax before your meal. They bring your drinks and chips & salsa so it is not like you are going to die before your dinner arrives. Believe me when you taste the food, it is well worth the wait.

After dinner we headed home to put on our PJ's and play some PS2 while we sipped on our favorite Chocolate Amore port while the girls enjoyed some chocolate of tbe non-alcohol variety.

Valentines for us has not so much been about romantic love but has been about spending time as a family and expressing how much we love each other. One of my most favorite days of the year!

She Blinded me with Science

Last week Madison had her 4th grade science fair. She was so excited that day when I picked her up from school as soon as she got into the car she told me she was one of the 3 kids in her entire class to be picked to be judged. Evidently, they take the good projects to the Library for judging and leave the crap in the cafeteria. I wonder who decided what gets to be judged and what does not, is that not a form of judging?

Madison's project was called "Pop Bubbles Pop". She filled three containers with water and then each container with a different additive before adding the foaming soap. She then measured the depth of the foam. She thought of the question herself, and did almost all the work herself. I helped with some of the cutting, and typing but not much really and only helped because she enjoys doing it together.

The judge noted that it was a good project but was lacking a journal. We got the scoring sheet last night and she got 100% - an A!!! Funny thing is that she got 5 points for the journal that she did not have...

Next year, we will invite Kevin over to help - he is an actual real life scientist.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Maggie is a Lover not a Fighter....

Our cousin Robin somehow ended up with a standard poodle. The poodle's owner had died and she was being bounced from house to house so Robin took her in. Her name is Maggie but we call her Magnadoodle.

This is a picture of Robin I just found while looking for a pic of Maggie, I posted this because the have the same look on their face! OMG that is just funny!

Chili dog is a lover, he just wants to make friends where ever he goes. Maggie is a sweet dog, but is super protective of her toys. When she and Chili met for the first time they did fine as long as they were in the back yard far far away from Maggie's HUGE box of toys.

About a week or so ago Chili-dog got a package in the mail from his friend Maggie. Maggie only lives in Reno but with all of our schedules, Robin mails stuff to us.

Here is Chili getting the present out of the box...

And here is what it was, a super cool skull and cross bone toy for him to carry around. It also squeaks. He tried so hard to take it outside but we would not let him.

Here is what the card said on the inside. How freaking cute is that?

Head over Heels

Once again, I have crashed my bike. This time, I am physically in one piece but the bike is not! You can read all about my crash at my lunchtime bike club blog.

Last night I had Brent rub me down with Tiger Balm and I feel a bit better today, my left shoulder is still pretty sore. I felt the best yesterday after my noon ride though so I will be doing that again today - for pain relief of course.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

And the Winner Is.....

So last Thursday I get an e-mail from our friend Kevin who needs some pointers on how to make Brent's salsa. I ask him where he is going to get the chili's since that is the key ingredient. His response, Raley's. I say oh no, you should just come for dinner, it's taco night. Then after dinner, you and Brent can make some salsa together.

Kev shows up with some beer and ice tea, always nice. We eat some tacos, have some laughs and then Brent makes him some salsa. Kev has me take some photos of him making the salsa for "evidence" at work.

Here is the e-mail he received at work announcing the winner of the salsa contest:

The Dip Maker Extraordinaire title
and the winner of the $40 is…

(drum roll please)

Mr. Kevin O’Donnell

This is Kevin’s second winning salsa that he has been gracious enough to share with us! Congrats Kevin! Come to the front desk to get your prize money!



The second time????