This weekend...

We decided to get out of town on Friday night and head up to Stillwater and visit my grandparents.  We took them out for dinner when we got into town and when we got back to their house my grandma, mom, and I went through pictures of my grandma in her "more youthful" days.  I swear I'm starting to think that Katy Perry ended up with most of her vintage outfits (they were so cute)!

Saturday morning we were woken up to grandma's breakfast (always the best).  Then Blair and I got to go on a date to the Science Museum to check out the King Tut Exhibit (I am obsessed with Egyptian history).  Thanks Mom and Grandma for babysitting!

Aren't mummies hot?!?

I was in heaven right about now...

...and its also when Blair started saying he was going to puke.

He liked the fossils much better.

On Sunday I woke up early and made the usual big family breakfast.  Blaise came out of his room around 8 (this is sleeping in for him) with a big smile on his face.  I knew it was going to be a good day. After breakfast we headed outside and had some fun making snow angles, digging tunnels in snow drifts, and riding Blaise's snowmobile!

Perfect angels, right?

He definitely did after the morning we had!

Hold on tight, B is a crazy driver!

Yep, we tipped it...

...which Blaise thinks is hilarious!

This looks like trouble.

Happy parents!

Brotherly love...

Poor Petey!  He looks like he could care less!  We seriously have the best dogs in the world!

Is It Spring Yet?

Here it is Sunday evening and we are confined to the house because of a snow storm... again!  Why does spring have to be such a dirty tease?  I was really enjoying 40 degree sunny days last week!  I was just starting to think Minnesota winters weren't too bad.  I should have known!

I made my Sunday trip to the grocery store.  The drive wasn't bad... if you don't mind freezing cold wind and drifts!  Does anyone else find it odd that when there is an impending snow storm a large amount of people find it necessary to get to the grocery store to stock up on a months worth of canned food "just in case" they wont be able to get out again?  This is Minnesota.  NOT Antarctica.  My question is:  Do they seriously think that they will actually have to rely on the 25 cans of creamed corn they just purchased?

I'm getting cynical.  My Minnesota nice must be wearing off...  My trip to visit my sister in Texas can't come soon enough!

This weekend we decided we weren't going to do much of anything.  Friday night I made Blair and Blaise a big steak dinner complete with  white chocolate mousse for desert!  Then we decided to stay in and watch some movies.  Which always results in me watching the movie by myself when Blair and Blaise fall asleep (I swear, its a special occasion when they make it half way through).

Saturday started out early for me.  Blaise, Marley, and Petey were wrestling in the living room by 6:45 A.M..  Lucky for Blair I'm used to getting up this early anyway, so he gets to sleep in.  We decided we had a few things to go to St. Cloud for and I was dying to see "I am number four" (a book which I highly recommend reading).  The movie was also very good!  Blair actually made it through the whole thing and was even on the edge of his seat at times (if you ask him he'll deny it, but I promise it happened.)

Besides my adventurous trip to the grocery store today we didn't do much besides watch the snow drifts accumulate in the yard.  Such a beautiful sight!  We did go over to my dad's house for dinner.  Since Blair and him have been catching fish all week they decided we needed to consume some too.  Fine by me.  I love fish.  Especially when my dad makes it!

All this fishing has sparked a desire to learn how to fillet my own fish.  My dad passed one of his fillet knifes on to me today with plans to come over Tuesday night to teach me to use it.  Blair has a pale full of crappies outside that I don't think will make it that long.  I might be watching some YouTube tutorials tonight.  I'm hoping I can dazzle my dad with some amazing skills.  He already told me he doesn't think I have it in me yet...  I guess I'll have to step up to the challenge and prove him wrong!

Hope your all enjoying your winter confinement as much as we are!

Good Morning...

I had some bananas that were looking pretty ripe so I made these last night.

  Blair and Blaise LOVE these (so do I, when I make them G-Free)! A few weeks ago I made these before bed only to wake up in the morning and find 4 left.  Thats right...  Blair's late night binge eating at its best!

I even had some help!

Vanilla White Chocolate Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Combine all dry ingredients.  Mix in egg, oil, and yogurt.  Fold in banana and white chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.



Enjoy!

A Pretty Good Week...

I'd say we had a "pretty good week" in the Brandl/Ballantyne house.  It started out slow (but don't they all?).  Blaise and I spent a few nights together couching it, watching movies, and eating cereal for dinner while Blair was out ice fishing.  Then, Wednesday came and brought us this:

Isn't he a little peanut?!?!

Yep, we are loving life with Marley (or Mars or Mar-Mar as Blaise likes to call him).  He is such a good little puppy.  He usually lets us know as soon as he has to go potty so we have barely had any accidents!  Blaise is totally obsessed.  Maybe a little too obsessed?  But he has been helping out with him, so I'm hoping that sticks.  Petey has been a little jealous, but I have been making sure to give him some extra attention (and treats) so he is slowly warming up.  Marley already loves Pete and will find the courage to try to do anything that he does.  Good thing Pete is a lazy English Bulldog or else I would be in double trouble!  Ellie is coming around too (she is finally starting to come upstairs!).

We did more last week then just obsess over our new puppy though...

Saturday night we headed out to Dunn's Lake for "Shake the Lake".  Its a fishing competition that one of my dad's friends organizes on the lake that I grew up on.  Guess who came with?

Yep, Marley!

My dad convinced Blair to enter the ice auger races.  It was hilarious to watch!  My dad would have won by a landslide but he forgot to shut his auger off after he drilled his holes (it was pretty awesome to watch my 60 year old dad school all the twenty-somethings).  Blair actually did end up getting 2nd place by default.  Next year he says he's getting a better auger to work with and he is going to dominate!  He also caught the second biggest crappie (it was a night of mediocre winnings for Blair).  I think we caught more of a buzz then any fish, but that's how it goes sometimes.

On Sunday Blair finally got to hit the Minnesota trails on his snowmobile with his friends.  Blaise and I spent that time baking sugar cookies for his Valentine's Day party at daycare.  But when dad got home he took B out for some fun.

Before....

...After

Yeah, we had a "pretty good week"!

Oh, and by the way, Happy Valentine's Day!

Marley & Me

We are LOVING our new addition!  He is seriously the sweetest little puppy ever.

The Fish House is...

Our second home as of late.  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to on the lake:

The proud carpenter

Blaise is the Minnow Man

He takes his job VERY seriously

Waiting for a BIG one...

                                                                              

...Persistence pays off!

Coming home Thursday...

Yep, its official!  Meet our new puppy!  We are all really excited, especially Blaise!  He spent the whole weekend making plans for the little guy.  We arent sure on a name yet.  The breeder sent us a picture of him with a nuk in his mouth and since B just got rid of his this is what he is choosing to focus on.  When I asked him if he wanted to go to Petsmart and pick out a bed and some toys he told me that we only needed to go to Target to get a nuk and a "mankie" (a blanket) because "he's a baby and only babies need nuks and mankies!"

Is it Thursday yet?

The weekend is upon us...

Ok, so, Blair built this amazing fish house last winter and we finally got a trailer for it this year.  Last Sunday it took its maiden voyage out to Lake Richardson and "we" actually caught a few.  When I say "we" I'm talking about Blair, my dad, and even Blaise.  I guess I was down on my luck that day...  Good thing I brought a book!

I dont say this often enough but Blair is extraordinarily talented!  When he builds something he pays very close attention to detail.  I have this beautiful bookshelf that he built me and its probably one of the first things anyone comments on when they come into our home.  Dont even get me started on his birdhouses...  I'm so proud of ALL of his accomplishments!  I have friends that beg Blair to build them things! He didn't slip when it came to the fish house either.  He even built a custom bench and cabinets.  At least we are fishing in style!

So, can you guess what we are doing tonight??  FISHING!!
I'm grabbing a pizza after work and heading out to the lake to spend some quality time with my boys!  I'm pretty sure this is how friday nights are supposed to be spent during winter in Minnesota.

I have some exciting news...

Our family might be expanding!  Blair actually called a breeder to set up an appointment to look at a puppy on saturday. Its a French Bulldog and its EXTREMLY cute!  Blaise spent most of last night looking at pictures of it and trying to think of a name.  He's pretty stuck on Marley.  He even says its going to be his dog and he is going to feed it, let it out to go potty and its going to sleep with him in his bed.  We'll see about that!  I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet.   I mean, of coarse I want a puppy (this is me we are talking about).  But the stress of training a puppy sounds a little daunting to me.  I know exactly who would be caring for a new animal... ME!  I guess we'll see what happens when we go to "just look" after I get my taxes done on saturday morning.

My favorite Sunday of the year is here!  Thats right, SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!!  I'm kind of disappointed in the teams playing this year.  As a true Vikings fan I could NEVER cheer for the Packers!  So, Go Steelers!?!?!  I think we'll end up going out to the fish house early in the morning.  We are hoping to include the fish we catch this weekend in our Superbowl food spread.  Pretty sure I'll be cooking and baking the rest of the day away until game time.  Blair is hoping to get Blaise out on his snowmobile. I just love watching B tear it up!

It all sounds perfect to me!

We hope you all have a fun but safe weekend!  Stay warm!

2011 Spring/Summer Fashion

The new spring/summer fashion lines are out!  And, let me tell you ladies:  spring/summer 2011 does not disappoint!  These are just a few of my favorites.  Now, if only I could afford some of these amazing fashions...

I love Karl Lagerfeld.  This man is THE most brilliant designer!

Chanel

Father/Son Chanel?!?!?!  This is amazing!

Gucci

Vera Wang

YSL

Prada (These are so rad!)



Can you believe that this...

Has become this?!?!

So, there I was going through family photos attempting to create a "2011 Blaise Calender".   I was noticing that I barely had any photos from this year...  I am currently kicking myself!  I cant even begin to imagine how many special events that I didn't capture.  Needless to say I didn't end up finishing my project.  I couldn't even find an appropriate picture for every month.  How sad!

When Blaise was a baby I used to take a picture of him every day to e-mail to various family members and friends.  Looking back, I'm so glad that I chronicled the beginning of his journey through life.  I can't believe how much he changed that first year!  Which is nothing compared to far he has come now.  This blog is my attempt to make amends.  Hopefully now that I have a reason I will keep up with taking photos of him.

I'm very inspired by music, literature, and baking.  In this blog I will also be sharing some of our favorite books, music, and recipes.  Also, if there is any family or friends that are curious about what our little family is up to this would be a good place to catch up.

We hope that the first month in 2011 was as good to you as it has been to us!