Happy Birthday, Boopie Bear

Today, the boopie bear turns 6! If you don't already know, the boopie bear that I'm referring to is my nephew, Kieran. I gave him that name about two days after he was born. And sadly for him, it has stuck. I'm totally going to be that crazy Aunt when he's 16, in front of his friends calling him 'boopie bear' :) Oh well, what are Aunts for?!

I can't believe it's been 6 years since he was born and turned the Visperas/Llarena world upside down. But the time has flown by so fast and now he's this super funny, loveable kindergartener who sings, spells and kicks our butts at Uno!

Here are some pics, old and new. But they don't even do him justice.

I love you boopie bear! Happy Birthday :)

Awesome.

"Big Bay? What are you guys doing going to Big Bay? Even us yoopers don't go to Big Bay" -- Guy at Da Yooper Tourist Trap store

Don't worry sir, we asked ourselves the same question :)

Trolls

Learned lots of things from the 'yoopers' in the upper peninsula last weekend. Mainly that everyone from 'under the bridge' (Mackinaw) are TROLLS. And that they hate us. Ok, that's a bit dramatic, they may not hate us, but they certainly have some UP pride up there.

Also that the delish 'pasty', rhymes with nasty, although it is NOT nasty by any means.

Here are just a few pics from the 9 hour drive up to Ishpeming / Big Bay, Mich.








Lots of memories made up in the UP: My sister almost bought a lighthouse overlooking Lake Superior; Jenny's appointment with the ditch; Fooooseballll Puleriiiiiii; and witnessing the nuptials of Tim & Sarah!

Here's a blurry one of the bride and groom but I like it. I think it's fitting. The whole weekend and wedding was a blur. A wonderful blur! But it went so fast. Congrats again and again Tim & Sarah. xoxo.

More weekend shenanigans...

Luda and I took part in some major gluttony this weekend. We stuffed our faces at the Fuji Buffet. If you haven't been to the Fuji Buffet, you're missing out. Yes, it does cost a bit more than your average buffet, but it is totally worth it. They have a wide selection of your standard buffet staples--dumplings, crab legs, fried rice and a frozen yogurt machine. But they also have a fantastic sushi bar and fresh vegetable and shrimp tempura. I know what you're thinking...fantastic, fresh, sushi and buffet do not all fit in the same sentence. But I also was a skeptic and have become a Fuji fan. Don't knock it until you try it. It's the ultimate buffet.



On Sunday, me, bolivia and the kiddies went to the Arts and Apples Festival in Rochester. It was a great day for supporting the arts, I must say. Below are some snap shots of the kiddies and their crafts!

Tan Tan and her bunny hat (the back had a cute cottontail!)





Kieran and his spaceship hat!

First Day of School!

Today was Kieran's first day of Kindergarten (and Tanith's first day of Pre-K) :) And it was totally bittersweet. I'm super excited for him to go to school. I think he'll like it and he'll get to meet new friends, but I can't believe he's already 5 years old!

Liv and I went to have a 'first day of school' breakfast with the kiddies. After that, we met them up at school and got to walk in to his classroom. It was kid-tastic!

I know one thing for sure, no matter how old he gets, he will always be boopie bear to me :)


Kieran and Tanith show off their new lunch boxes!

For cuteness sake

My dad is having surgery on his back tomorrow, so Liv had Kieran and Tanith draw up some artwork for his stay. Super cute :)

Ocean City or Bust!

I just got back from Ocean City, MD where we celebrated Trish's 25th birthday!! I got beat up by the ocean, ate too much and soaked up the East Coast sun. I'll post more pics later, but here's a taste...

Pictured here, "F'Real" smoothie, milkshakes and frozen cappuccinos. Bought at the WaWa gas station, sounds weird, but seriously one of the most convenient and delish concoctions created. You choose your frozen selection (Yay picked the chocolate milkshake, Trish selected the strawberry banana smoothie and I picked the frozen cap) out of the freezer; put your selection in the blender, choose your thickness and ta da -- tasty frozen treat in mere seconds. Mmmm I want Speedway or Mobil to purchase one of this amazing contraptions.


Photo Credit

We didn't start the fire!

Here's a Craigslist Ad my sister sent me...hilarious!!

"Here's a free couch perfect for all those returning Michigan State students. This prime example of Ethan Allen craftsmanship from the late Nixon Administration has been lingering in my basement for the last 5 years after picking them up from a friend's garage sale.

This couch is HEAVY for what it is and was difficult to maneuver around my small house until I got it stuck on the landing where it wouldn't go up or go down. I sawed the legs off to get it out. It'll sit evenly with a couple of custom made 4x4 legs.

Or you can just burn it in the alley behind your frat house. It's all up to you. Pick up only. 1st Come 1st Serve."


(Photo Credit)

Sparty On and happy friday :)

Flat Ray

Ray (My bro-in-law's, bro-in-law) just celebrated his 40th birthday. His wifey, Mia, threw him a surprise party and decided to make him a nice slideshow. With the invitation she included a picture of him (flat ray) for us to take around town and get creative. The purpose was to send him 'well wishes'.

Well we took it to another level, of course.

Happy Birthday Ray Ray :)

Wednesday Confessions

**They look innocent, but that's what they want you to think ;)**


I have a little bit of my dad in me -- I always double check to see if I unplugged my curling iron, hair straightener and whether or not I locked the doors and closed my garage.

I resemble my mom when I re-clean, what I just cleaned; use my bare hands to wash dishes; or think that I can handle hot pots and pans with no oven mitt.

I’m a mirror image of my sisters when I laugh so hard, I cry.

I search for something sweet after every meal.

I love chewing gum.

I have a habit of buying books at a faster rate than reading them.

I’m a sucker for free shipping (see confession above).

In addition to free shipping, I love sales. Buy one get one free, 40% off, 75% off…really any percentage off, I’m totally in.

I think I have a shoe addiction.

I love the moment, right before I fall asleep. I get the feeling for a brief moment that everything is going to be ok that isn’t.

I hate when in dreams you’re crying and it feels 150% real. I confess sometimes I’ve even woken myself up from literally crying.

I love my niece and nephew more than life itself. But when they’re crank-tastic, they instill a fear in me like no other, of having children in the future.

happy wednesday, all :)

Easy, Breezy, Summertime Fun

I've known these beautiful ladies since middle school! A lot has changed since then, but every time we get together it feels like nothing has changed at all.

Love you ladies! xoxo.

Hospitality

Linda, our Korean marketing rep at work, came in to town this week as part of her annual trip to the U.S. She is originally from Michigan, but has been in Korea for 15 years on assignment. Linda came bearing gifts for our department, as many of our visiting guests do.

Below are the gifts she brought: Korea's version of Starburst candy, a beautious business card holder and rice crackers! So asian-tastic, I love it all!!!



Can I tell you what we gave her? Company wearables. Or as we call it, 'trinkets and trash'. Not exactly our best gift, or gesture of being hospitable. Now, we did bring in breakfast for our morning staff meeting...and we did bring her out to lunch. Does that count? Usually we like to get gifts that are true to Michigan -- Pewabic pottery, Michigan wine, Sanders chocolate, etc. But since Linda is originally from Michigan we didn't think our gift would fit. I'm thinking we're regretting our decision. Because let's be clear, we totally got the better end of the bargain with the gifts she brought us!

I don't know what it is about our global counterparts, but they bring the best gifts. I just hope that we don't totally offend them with our 'hospitality'!

I'm lobbying for a trip to visit her in Seoul. My guess is not so much. But here's to hoping!

Bundt-tastic

In honor of Hatton's birthday, Bolivia is hosting a dessert party tonight. I made these deeelish mini lemon bundt cakes, recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson! Here's the recipe doubled. The bundt itself isn't too lemony and I would even add another zest of lemon to make it tart-tastic! Even so, I had to stop myself from eating them all, but they're just so mini and easy to consume! I'm sure we'll see lots o sweet treats tonight.

Happy Friday!

Bake-tastic

Grab some milk folks, because I was on a baking frenzy this weekend. On the menu: pillow cookies (cookie with a brownie inside!), pie on a stick (apple and strawberry) and Hawaiian delight (my sister Debbie's specialty). Perhaps it's the bigger kitchen in my new diggs that makes me want to bake. But it was a lot of fun making these goodies and I think peeps thoroughly enjoyed them! I got all the recipes from bakerella!! I pretty much want to try all the recipes on her site!

Here are the pillow cookies in raw form.


Brownie center, surrounded by cookie, mmmm


They're pretty much a meal in itself...



Pie on a stick...




Moral of the story, I like to bake. Cooking not so much. I like precise instructions, directions and temperatures to follow. The best part about baking is that stuff taste THE BEST right out of the oven. Perhaps you're more of a cook, than a baker? Have me over and we can work something out!!!

Happy Birthday Sta!

Happy Happy birthday to Krista!!

Krista is one of the strongest chicks I know, no joke. But besides that, she's a loving mother to Luke, caring wife to Jimmy and a wonderful friend to all. It's been so awesome getting to know her in and out of small group over the past three (!!!) years. I'm so blessed to have her and the rest of the Jahnke clan in my life. Cheers to you sta on this day, I hope it's awesometastic! May all your wishes come true :)

The artist formerly known as Tanith

My niece has this obsession with taking pictures. At a whopping 3'2, her perspective comes up to my elbow, which makes for some interesting pics. I just thought I'd share because it's hilarious. My sister, Liv and I tease about making a blog entirely dedicated to her photos.

It would be a day in the life of a 3 year old. I mean, I'd read it. :)

Here's the sassafras in all her glory...


And a sneak peak of her portfolio...

Albasian

I have friends who are very near and dear to me that are Albanian, Luda and Vicki. We've all been friends since 7th grade and over the years, Trish and I have attended many Albanian functions. We've been exposed to the Albanian culture, including the language, food, music and dancing. Trish and I were dubbed 'Albasian' longggg time ago by Luda's sister, Tonya. And the term pretty much stuck. And let me tell you, two asians in the midst of a sea of Albanians, we stick out like WHOA. Our most recent event was Luda's wedding in NY. And her cousin commented that us 'Albasians' were better dancers than some Albanians she knew!



Here are some beautious pics of Luda on her wedding day. The first one up top is when we snuck in during her make-up appointment and the second is her walking down the aisle with her parents. It was a really emotional day for everyone, but I'm so happy for you Luds!

I'll post the video of Luda's night wedding entrance soon...it's a special treat, let me tell you...

In the meantime, here's a shot of the albasians...holler!