Bowen James Reich

Bowen James Reich

Born at 10 pm on Easter Night - April 8th, 2012

5 lbs and 18.5 inches

My little nephew, Bowen, decided to come a little early... actually a lot early... due towards the end of May but he decided he'd rather be an Easter star!  He's a small bundle of joy and has to remain in the NICU for three weeks but all in all is doing very well.  Geoff and I have affectionately deemed him "Bowie" after the great Ziggy Stardust...Mr. David Bowie himself.  Personally, I think it's perfect as he made such a rock star appearance!

Can't wait to snuggle with the little bugger!

First Time Smoker Experience! (and first time blog experience for Geoff)

just out of the box

let's see....how do I build this thing?

the smoker

assembling

viola!

the ingredients

the rub

rub on the ribs

rubbed with much love!

the wet

into a pan it goes to warm up

ribs on the grill

what a sight!

and we're off! ...now to wait 4 hours

 

 the lid comes off for the first time

i want them now!

but back in they go for longer

this is the bour-b-q sauce

slather it on

now wrapped in tin foil for the final cooking stage

looking good!

all of this...

...is wrapped up in this...

....and the final product looks like this.

soooooooo GOOD!
"St. Louis cut" Bourbon Glazed Ribs

Christmas Quiz

My dear friend Jamie posted her answers to this Christmas quiz and I thought it was a great idea... so here it goes!!

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot Chocolate with a splash of egg nog! :)
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He wraps them, of course!!
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Both colored and white on/around the house and only colored on the tree (and not the LED colors either - the classic colors!)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the when we get back from the cabin after Thanksgiving.
6.What is your favorite holiday dish? I love Geoff's families Christmas Eve tradition of getting Fat's (the BEST Chinese food!!) take out and I love my mom's Broccoli Casserole.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? My dad waking us up early in the morning to Christmas music... the rule was you couldn't go down until you heard the music - good thing he's an early riser!!
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Hmm... I think I was 7 or 8? My older cousin told me he saw his dad building him a train track that "Santa" gave him... So I asked my mom and she had to tell me the truth. Luckily, we all kept the secret alive for my brother!!
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We switch off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our families (one year we're at my parent's house on Christmas Day and Geoff's parent's house on Christmas Eve and the next year it's the opposite) so we always open presents on Christmas Eve. However, Geoff and I always exchange gifts on Christmas Day.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With a vintage colorful flare! We use both small and big colored lights (not the LED kind) and I include my Grandmother's bubble lights. Our ornaments are colored balls and our "special" ornaments that we've collected on various vacations. I also include glittery things sprouting from the tree. I love our tree!!
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I'm pretty sure I would dread it if I had to deal with it everyday.
12. Can you ice skate? Hmmm... probably not well.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have a favorite from each year. But my favorite of all time was probably the hotel beautiful hotel room my parents got for me when I was in Paris for Christmas. It was so nice to be in a beautiful room instead of a hostel for Christmas!
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? The magical feeling.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? My sister's Red Velvet Cake - YUMMY!!!!!!
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Looking at Christmas Lights and driving through my parent's neighborhood every Christmas Eve to look at the luminaries....it's magical!
17. What tops your tree? My Grandmother's antique star... though it's not shaped like a star ...it's more a pointing bulb that lights up in the center.
18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely giving.
19. Candy canes: Yuck or Yummy? Yuck
20. Favorite Christmas show? Oh there's too many!! The Grinch, Christmas Vacation, Charlie Brown Christmas, Prep and Landing...
21. Saddest Christmas song? There's a county song about Christmas Shoes and it's about a little boy wanting to buy a pair of nice shoes for his mom to go to heaven in....it's so sad and every time I hear it I have to change the station.
22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmas Time.

Introducing Sadie

With the loss of my two childhood pups, my parents were lonely... extremely lonely. Our family has always been a dog family and my dad is retired so the pups were his companions while my mom was at work. After several days of loneliness ...my parents decided that they needed a dog and they got a puppy. Another little golden just like Quin and Riley.

I am pleased to introduce Sadie...

That face has done a remarkable job of easing all of our broken hearts...

Playing Catch Up: July and August

July


July is filled with several birthdays...

6th: My brother Micah
9th: Geoff
11th: Jayde
16th: My mom
20th: Me
25th: My sister Shannon

It's a crazy birthday month and so this past July we celebrated... a lot. Sadly, I don't have pictures to document the occasions but they were filled with joy. We headed up to the cabin for Geoff's birthday and we headed to my favorite bar downtown for mine.... great times!


August

This month marked the culmination of a big event... my baby brother's wedding. He and his wife (Jayde's mom) were married in Sonoma on August 27th.

my handsome hubby at lunch the day before the big event.

Amy and I parting after the rehearsal dinner.

The boys with their last shot of the night (after the rehearsal dinner the night before)

My brother and I

the wedding party

Spoil Day

Yesterday we treated our favorite four year old to a "spoil day." This day consisted of lunch, the movies (Arthur Christmas), and trip to Toys R Us. I think after this day we may have secured the titles of favorite aunt and uncle :)

While waiting for our yummy food Hannah watched a preview of Arthur Christmas on Uncle Geoff's phone and got even more excited.

Waiting for the movie.

Loss of Loved Ones

Today is a sad day.

I feel as though I am still swimming in that cloudy shocked state of mind. I just received a call from my mom telling my that our childhood pup, Riley a.k.a Big Boy, had to be put down. This comes only a month (almost to the day) that I received a similar call from my mom telling me that my dad had to put our other childhood pup, Quincy, down. With Quin, I was prepared... I knew she wasn't feeling well - she just wasn't herself. With Riley I just didn't expect it, at least not so soon.

When I heard the news about Quin I was at home - today I am at work though I wish I wasn't because all I want to do is gather my pups close and hold on tight - just as I did that other sad day. To some it may seem silly to love an animal as much as a human - but not me. Our dogs are members of our family and I morn their loss as any other family member.

That night Geoff and I spoiled our boys rotten with love and treats. And tonight we will do the same.

My parents house will not be the same without these two loves...

Quincy

Riley "Big Boy"