A little of This, A Little of That

Mmmm...November is one of my favorite months because it starts to get really cold and without much to do inside, I start to get creative with my cooking. This first photo is one I took last week of a simple, yummy, healthy breakfast. Two poached eggs, fresh tomatos, Tillamook cheedar cheese, and organic seven grain bread. 

  Last week when I was grocery shopping I spotted some persimmons. I have never eaten them before, but heard they are tasty, so I bought a few and have been perusing the Internet looking for recipes to try them in. If you have one you love, feel free to share it!

 My goofy kids have been dreaming of summer apparently. Ella can't get enough of Nicholas's sunglasses and wants to wear them constantly. She also lets brother wear them too, albeit upside-down and not covering his eyes. At least she shared. 

 Last Friday evening, I met Jeff's sisters at Cinetopia to see the final installment of the Twilight series: Breaking Dawn Part 2. Usually I think these movies are so-so. There's nothing too special about them, but I like the opportunity to hang out with my sister-in-laws. I will say, however, that this movie was by far my favorite and the ending was very well done. I read the books awhile back, way before any of the movies were made and I kept wondering how the last movie would play out since the last book was so anti-climatic: (spoiler alert) there is tons of build-up to some amazing battle which never really happens. But the director did a much better job with the movie than the author of the books did and it leaves the audience feeling fully satisfied instead of yearning for more. 

 After the movie we stopped for a drink and to chat at this little beer pub in our town. I wasn't sure what beer to try, so Jami suggested I get a sampler. Most of the beers were amazing and the pear flavored one was my favorite. 

Uncle Brett was in town from Florida this weekend and the kids were super excited to see him as its been nearly a year since he was last home. He spent hours playing remote-control cars with Nicholas, and Nicholas was one happy kid!

 We had dinner at my folks' place this weekend and Ella really enjoys helping Gramme in the kitchen. She stands on a chair and helps with everything from tearing lettuce for the salad to cleaning up spills. 

 My mom is so patient with her and lets her participate as much as she wants. What a sweet Gramme she is!

 That's it for the Gustafsons for now. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving next Thursday! Gobble, gobble. 

All Aboard the Polar Express!

Last Saturday, Nicholas finally kicked his cold to the curb, so our family was able to go on the Polar Express train that Make-A-Wish Oregon organized. The kids were super excited to see a real train and kept saying, "Choo-Choo!" They also thought it was pretty cool that mommy & daddy let them wear their pajamas in public. 

We entered the train station and were happy to see Santa Claus was there. The kids were really shy, but at least Ella didn't cry and run away. 

Nicholas and Ella got beautiful golden train tickets to hold onto while we waited to board. Nicholas said it made him feel very special. 

While we were waiting in the train station, the wondering hobo came and said hello. He made Nicholas laugh every time we saw him on the train. 

 Pretty soon it was time to board the train. The conductor yelled, "All Aboard!" and we went to find our seats. Make-A-Wish was very generous and gave us a lot of space. We had a total of ten seats for just the four of us. It was great because Nicholas could lay down comfortably and when Ella started getting restless, she could wander between both sets of seats. 

 Amanda, the very sweet Make-A-Wish coordinator, snapped this family photo of us before we departed for the North Pole. 

 The train windows were a bit foggy and dirty so this photo isn't the best, but Hood River truly is such a beautiful, serene place. 

Ella was a dancing queen! She loved all the Christmas carols we heard. 

 Santa entered the train when we reached the North Pole and he handed out silver bells to each of the children. The kids thought that was pretty great. 

 Here is a short video of Nicholas and Ella. They both really loved this experience and we are so grateful to Make-A-Wish for inviting us to this fun family event!!

Little Sickies

 November 1st was All Saints Day. Ella dressed up as a toddler version (not very accurate, but the best we could come up with) of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Saint Elizabeth was a queen who worked with the poor. 

 I made Jeff pot roast with potatoes and vegetables last weekend. He was one happy fella!

 Ella has been more crazy than usual lately, probably because we've been mostly cooped up at home. She's not one for sitting still and likes to be on-the-go, so I know its been tough for her. I have been trying to come up with creative new activities for her to try (thank God for Pinterest) but none keep her attention for very long. I have a feeling it's going to be one long winter. 

 Our sweet Nicholas has not been feeling very well the last several days. He's not doing awful, but definitely has some sort of cold virus. Ella has it too and runny noses are in full force around here. You would never know Ella is sick, but poor Nicholas has periods of the day where he needs to be on bi-pap (and sometimes oxygen) for several hours because he has so much excess mucus in his nose. Boo. We hate it. If you all could please pray that he gets to feeling better by Saturday, we would really appreciate it. Saturday is the Polar Express train ride that Make-A-Wish Oregon invited our family to attend. We really, really, really want to go because we know both kids will absolutely LOVE it, but we won't take that risk if Nicholas isn't back to baseline. 

Doesn't his sweet face just capture your heart? We love him immensely. Go away, yucky cold!

Also, today is election day. Did you vote? I did. I have to work tonight so I will probably miss most of the campaign coverage, but I have faith that the right candidates will be elected and the next four years will bring good things to the American citizens.