National Bundt Pan Day

This Monday we celebrated Bundt Pan Day, which may be among Ryan's favorite holidays. This "Too Much Chocolate Cake" was a real success.
Jane and I have been doing some serious bonding while she fought a cold then worked on growing her second tooth. Luckily she is a connoisseur of fine literature.

Nebraska's "Official" Veterans Day Parade

This Saturday we bundled up to watch our last Veterans Day parade in Bellevue, and we're going to miss them. If Iowa parades are known for their John Deere tractors, I would say that Bellevue has a lot of marching servicemen and women. I think that nearly everyone from the base turned out for the occasion. I tried to get Helen to march in place along with them to help her stay warm.

 

Is there anything as cute as a little kid waving a flag on her dad's shoulder?

Gingerbread Wonder

We finished our Polar Express Train this week, just in time for the 2010 Gingerbread Parade at the Kanesville Tablernacle. Ryan's adjective of choice is "awesome." We thought that we would post all of our creations so that you could vote for your favorite one and determine whether or not we have improved.

2010 Christmas Stories, Movies and Songs

2009 Christmas Memories2008 Christmas Around the World

Helen's Gingerbread House

Making a gingerbread house with a two-year old is a really good time. It also gets rid of all the less desirable Halloween candy. Ryan wouldn't let me put out any of the chocolate. But in retrospect, the chocolate would have melted in Helen's hot little hands.

Swedish fist make a great Japanese garden pond. Those fine pine trees were made out of ice cream cones with royal frosting.

Gingerbread Continued

Ryan has been working long hours this month and we haven't been able to work on the train as much as we would like. We made great progress this weekend. As a warning, if you use black food coloring in any appreciable amount it will turn everything (fingers, countertops, kitchenaid mixer attachments, towels) all sorts of lovely colors.