Memorial Day Picnic

At the ward Memorial Day picnic, Liesel played with Grandpa Wuehler on the swings:



Ireland ate her first watermelon:

The girls mugged for the camera:

Then we all tried out the pool at the clubhouse. All in all it was a lovely day!

Cuppy Cake

Long ago I bought the book Hello, Cupcake! and ever since then have been dying to try out one of the adorable creations on the glossy, color pages. All I needed was an occasion and a little help. Our ward had a Memorial Day picnic so I signed up to bring a dessert. It just so happens my in-laws were visiting for the weekend as well. I knew I could enlist my sweet so sweet MIL for some slave labor. Of course, Liesel wanted to join the melee so I was all set. Memo to me, memo to me: I really need to get her a little apron of her own!

This was the easiest part of the entire process; frosting the cupcakes.

Liesel's no brown-noser... that's frosting that somehow missed her mouth!

The cupcake design I picked was far and away the most difficult. It required the most candy, different colored frosting and intricate piping. But it was SO cute, I just couldn't resist! My MIL was a doll and patiently worked, chatted and entertained Liesel. All of us were sneaking bits of candy. Even so, the sugar high had run out by the time we finished several hours later.

Jeanne diligently working on the signs. She did ALL of them!

Liesel proudly displaying the finished product. I'm glad we snapped a photo; they didn't last long!

I love the idea of eating veggies for dessert! These are vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting, dipped in crushed Oreos which makes up the dirt. The radishes are red Starbursts dipped in white chocolate with leaves made of cornflakes covered in green frosting. The peas are green M&M's wrapped in watermelon Airheads with Twizzlers curled around them. The carrots are orange Starbursts covered with a little cinnamon (to make them look like they've just been pulled out of the dirt) with green piping. The lettuce has a green M&M center with the cornflakes arranged around them. The signs are graham crackers covered in white chocolate and then piped with different colored icing. A pretzel on the back holds them into the cupcakes. Oh, and pretzel and gum shovels with bits of different colored Twizzlers cut to look like seeds.

Yeah, I picked the most difficult one in the whole book. But don't they look adorable? And it was a lot of fun putting them together. Thanks Jeanne!

Tutu True

If you can peak around the sippy cup, you'll see her shirt says, "Tutu Cute" on it. Now that the weather is warm and humid, I've been dressing the girls in their tutu skirts a lot. They're just as cool as shorts but easier for changing diapers. Liesel has thinned out a lot but Ireland's pretty much bum and belly which makes her tutu puff out all the more in the back. So sweet!

The Chicago Down and Dirty Mud Run

Yesterday I ran my very first 5K. Not just any 5K, but a mud run. And not just a mud run, but a mud run with military-style obstacle courses thrown in. Did I mention it was at night? I trained for months. When I began, I could barely run for an entire song on my iPod much less 3.1 miles. I remember the day I actually ran a whole mile, without stopping. I called my little sister Whitney (who happens to love running) and she said, "If you can run 1 mile, you can run 2." Irritated as I was at the time, she was right. I worked my way up to 2, then 2.5. I ran my first 3.1 miles on April 18... the same day as the Boston Marathon. It's the farthest I've ever run in my life.

Every runner I know chastized me for sticking to a treadmill for my training because it's so boring. For an out of shape asthmatic, it gave me the chance to build my confidence and focus on my form. A couple of days before the mud run I came down with a horrible cold. I tried to ease up on my training and get myself well again but to no avail. I went into the mud run sick as a dog. Even so I felt confident in my running abilities, and according to the website map, there were only 3 obstacle courses. I decided to just enjoy the experience.

So clean, so innocent! So unaware of the pain that awaits her...

The mud run had wave starts and I was of course in the last wave. I noticed the people in previous waves were super slim and in head-to-toe professional gear. They had deep sea diving watches and a calm confidence. There wasn't a lot of socializing going on between them although there was a lot of jostling for the front of the line. As the time ran down for them they did some last-minute stretches. The people in my wave were a little different. They were dressed a little more, let's just say festive. There was a lot more juiciness in terms of physique. Everyone commented on how our headlamps were attracting bugs. Some people even started square dancing to "Cotton Eye Joe" which was playing over the main stage speakers. Then it was our turn.

Even with my cold, I hit a pace that felt really good and stuck with it. I easily passed a number of people. A couple of athletic looking guys stopped and walked after only 0.5 miles! So I was feeling good. Then came the first obstacle course. I watched the group of people in front of me start moving funny and couldn't figure out why until I hit the mud. My feet slid in odd directions and I had to slow down or risk breaking an ankle. The Marines were manning each obstacle and they were yelling really mean things like, "No walking! RUN!" and "Move! Move! Move!!!" The first obstacle was a ladder-like structure made of planks. No big deal, right? Try doing one that's now been covered in mud from all the previous runners.

Afterwards. Don't I look a little crazy? You can see Liesel in the right corner staring at me.

I stupidly stupidly stupidly thought the obstacles would be a chance for me to catch my breath from running. After this first one, it was clear my already low energy level would be depleted by the end of it all. So I went from the ladder, to under the net (nota bene: army crawling is no joke, I just about died), to the chest high wall we had to jump over, to the tubes we crawled through to the first mud pit. Oh the mud pit. It was a series of trenches with flags running over the top. The Marines barked at us to get on our bellies and stay under the flags. It actually felt rather cool and refreshing and I thought I did fairly well at it until I tried to get out. All that mud clung to my clothes and I was suddenly 20 lbs heavier with the weight concentrated around my feet. After that there was a net climb and then the final obstacles at the very end of the race.

Hosing off. Mom asked if the water was warm or cold and I honestly told her I couldn't tell. My whole body was numb.

At the end of the race we were met with a mud pool and then a rope climb. Oh not any rope climb! It was basically a billboard set at a 45 degree angle with ropes dangling from the top. Again Marines barked at me to get flat on my belly and pull myself up by my arms alone. As if that isn't challenging enough for those of us shaped like a T-Rex (huge bootie, tiny arms), they decided to cover it with soap and vegetable oil. When I finally got to the top, I was shaking from the exertion and exhaustion. It was just one more mud pit and then the blessed finish line.

Liesel gave me the same funny look she did after I had Ireland and she came to see me in the hospital. She knew something important had happened, but something was clearly off. "You're dirty Mom." was all she had to say to me when I crossed the finish line. She's still talking about it! I have to say seeing my little family cheer me on during that last set of obstacles was a beautiful thing. Mom and Dad drove up for the occasion which means more to me than I can possibly express. As I climbed out of the mud pit Mom yelled, "You're there! You can see the finish line!" I looked up and indeed, it was just about 25 feet away.

I can't believe I did it. Had I known how many obstacles there were and how sick I would be, I never would have signed up for it. My legs reveal new bruises by the hour and they're basically a patchwork of scrapes. I got a dog tag, t-shirt and 'do rag type thing. That dog tag is definitely becoming a Christmas ornament. Even though orange isn't my color, I'm going to wear that t-shirt with pride. As for the 'do rag, I'm giving that to Brent (secretly I think he really wanted it anyway). I just still can't believe I did it! I didn't finish first, but I didn't finish last and most importantly, I finished.

I now have infinite respect for our men in uniform. And for Ireland who army crawled for so long. On that last stretch, I thought of my Grandpa Nielsen storming the beach at Iwo Jima. Even with an exhausted body, mind and soul, that was enough to get my muddy feet moving and finish as strong as I could. I hope I can do it again next year!

LOL!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

A Little Off The Top

Lately a lot of people have commented on how long Liesel's hair is getting. Although she rarely has it down, the ends were dry and frayed enough to warrant a hair cut. We decided to venture into the city and take her to Snippets. She got to sit in the police car chair and watch Elmo while she got a trim. In my humble opinion, all hair stylists should start their career at a kid's salon to earn their stripes. If you can do a good cut with squirming toddlers with next to no attention span, you can do anything. I really liked Liesel's stylist. She took one look at her hair and immediately knew what I wanted. Just a trim to keep the ends healthy and a little tapering and layering for texture.


Every other little girl in the salon was getting a chin length bob with bangs. One girl had raven black hair with adorable ringlets past her shoulders. All that loveliness fell in heaps on the floor per her mother's request. Logically I know a bob is probably the easiest cut for this age, but I'm in love with Liesel's locks. Doing her hair in the morning is part of our routine. When I get her ready for bed and take out her pigtails or braids, her locks fluff out. She runs around the house with her hair flying behind her and it's the most adorable thing and I just can't bring myself to cut it short.

Ann Sather

This restaurant is suggested in just about every Chicago book I come across. Most importantly, it was in Chicago With Kids and Chicago Free and Dirt Cheap. Since we were headed downtown for Liesel's haircut, we decided to tie in a budget-conscious lunch.

Ann Sather is a Swedish restaurant famous for their cinnamon buns. As promised, it was very kid-friendly. Any noise or mess the girls made was lost in the hustle and bustle. I've never been big on cinnamon buns, but when they come appropriately sized, warm, with sticky sweet icing who can refuse? We were delighted to find it may be the only thing on earth Ireland is NOT interested in eating!
Although breakfast is served all day, I had to try the Swedish meatballs. It was a good choice (and yes, much better than IKEA). The plate was steaming and somehow stayed that way down to my last bite. The girls were more than happy with their scrambled eggs and chocolate milk. There didn't seem to be a kid's menu but our affable waiter didn't even flinch when I asked him to split an order into two plates.

There are 4 locations and we went to the Wrigleyville one. I loved this sign over the door. In case you can't read it from the photo it says, "May the road to Wrigley rise to meet you. May the sun always shine on your back. May the wind blow out to greet you and may the Cubs find the winning track." Love it!

Next time we go, Brent is planning to get the waffles with lingonberries and I want to try the crab cake Benedict. Since the girls get up at the crack of dawn and they open at 7AM that may be sooner rather than later! As we were leaving a sweet old lady told me how beautiful the girls were. She said she had two little girls once, but they grew up and went away. Liesel and Ireland gave her a smile and a wave on our way out the door.

Compromise... Again

My 3 loyal blog readers may remember the quilt I made for Brent out of his high school t-shirts. In my continuing quest for order and Brent's continuing quest to keep all of his stuff, we came to another crossroads: his BYU Study Abroad stuff. Brent is very, well, let's call it sentimental. He kept everything: playbills, pamphlets, maps, plane, train and boat tickets, currency, coat check ticket stubs, restaurant receipts, candy he'd forgotten about that was rotting, etc.. I was a little surprised he hadn't collected hotel towels and natives from each country he visited, but I guess even Brent has his limits.

A few years ago I purchased the necessary supplies to make a scrapbook and even made it through Berlin. Then life got in the way. Work. A new baby. Moving. For 3 years I set it as a New Year's Resolution but it got pushed to the side. With our new apartment in order, I pulled out all my scrapbooking supplies and worked my way through the rest of Berlin, Prague, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stokholm and finally London. I was delirious when I mounted the last photo.

I can check this resolution off my list! Another box down, another day of marital bliss!