Family photos.

Merry Christmas from us to you!

Christmas time is here!

I LOVE IT! Christmas is everywhere! I no longer feel like I have to keep it "semi" bottled up! Yes, I have been listening to Christmas music since July and drinking egg nog (AE egg nog is by far the best-We've sampled many!) since October-but I love every bit of the wonderful season. This year is a bit different. No decorations of my own (except our stockings, I had to hang those). No lights on our cozy house. No hosting our annual Christmas party. No work Christmas Party. It's a different "season" for the Ekarts. When I think of all that isn't happening I tend to get really sad and lonely. So, none of that! All I have to do is look at my boy, Hadley. Nothing else in this whole world matters! He has been my companion and constant (in addition to my hubs) in this journey since we left everything that was comfortable. We took Christmas photos last week. I will post them soon, I promise. Until then, here is what brightens my day.

Girls weekend

My dearest husband suggested that I go on a trip with some girlfriends. I instantly jumped on the opportunity! My friend Diane from Denver, my friend Jessica from high school and one of Jessica's friends joined me. We had so much fun eating and shopping and walking and eating and shopping and walking!!

Some of the highlights included-

Eating at Frontera Grill. He is a world renown Mexican chef and the food was absolutely wonderful! We had to wait in line before they were even open. This place is extremely hard to get in to. It is well worth it though!

We also went to the Signature Lounge at the top of the John Hancock Building. I had a delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Martini rimmed with graham cracker crumbs-yum!!! It is a beautiful view of the city, especially at night!

Garrett's Popcorn! It is simply the delectable. The Chicago mix is the best-cheese and caramel popcorn mixed!

Farewell to my good friend, Regis!

Ha...so I feel a little pathetic. I LOVE Regis! I am so sad that he will no longer be on in the morning while Hadley and I are starting our day. I suppose when you are 80 years old, you should retire. I do love Kelly too, I think she will do great without him. They were just such a wonderful team. His last episode was such a wonderful tribute to him. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, please do! I may have cried a few times;) I now am adding Regis's book to my Christmas list. He is an entertainment icon that has ran with the "big dogs" as far as entertainment goes. In my book he is a fabulous legend! Farewell, my morning coffee friend!

halloween.

We had a fun Halloween weekend. We usually go to our friends' Halloween party in Denver, sad to say that we missed it this year! Boo... We did have fun though. We decided to go out downtown. I was amazed by all the people dressed up. If you weren't, I would think you would feel a bit out of place. I also realized I am getting old?! It was a bit crazy for me. We are far passed the "going out" days. We are more the type to go to a low key place and have a drink with friends. But, nonetheless it was a particularly interesting people watching night. Here are some photos. Lor and Greg(friend from Denver who came to visit) were tribal people. Don't worry, it only took them six hours to paint their bodies. Ridiculous. Loren always has to out do himself. I chose something a little more classy, Audrey Hepburn. We had a fun night with some fun people.

The next morning we went to Waveland Cafe for breakfast. Not bad. We have decided that Des Moines is in desperate need of a really good breakfast place! Maybe we should open one?!
And yes, my lovely husband has a mustache again. "Movember". Not really sure why he had to start growing it in October???

On Trick-or-Treat night we were at my mom and dad's house. All the cousins were together. My parents had a few friends over for dinner and pumpkin bars...yum! Hadley loved being a little monkey! We did a little photo shoot with him.

And every little man has to have a pair of gold supras!

pumpkins!

I had fun painting pumpkins this weekend! Chilly day today...Brrr! It's definitely fall!
Happy Monday!

Cooking and baking

I guess I am going to start blogging about food. After all, it is something Loren and I thoroughly enjoy. I love to cook/bake it, I love to smell it and I love to consume it. This last weekend we attended the International Food Festival in the East Village. There were tons of vendors with a wide variety of food. We ended up with Mesopotamian and Ecuadorian. They were delicious! My recipes will not be quite as ethnic.

It has been oddly warm here lately. I bought ingredients to make soup last week, but I could not bring myself to make it last week when it was near 90 degrees! Today it was a bit cooler and it seemed perfect. My sister and I also had a 'baking cookies day'. Perhaps it will become a ritual as long as we live close. We made delightful pumpkin cookies. I hope you enjoy both recipes as much as we did!


Turkey and White Bean Chili
3 TBS vegetable oil
1 large white onion, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced or crushed
2 serrano chilies, seeded and minced
4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp chili powder
course salt
1 1/2 pound ground turkey
6 cups chicken stock
1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) great northern beans
3 TBS cornmeal
sour cream
shredded colby jack cheese
chopped green onion

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion; cook until tender, 8 minutes. Add garlic, chilies, rosemary, and chili powder and cook for 2 minutes; season with salt. Add turkey and cook until cooked through, 5 minutes. Add broth and beans; bring to a boil over high. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in cornmeal and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve with sour cream, cheese and green onion.

Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine(with adjustments)


Pumpkin Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture by hand until just combined. Drop on prepared baking sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls; Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in a bowl of sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking.

Bake in preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on wire rack. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost or drizzle with cream cheese frosting.

While the cookies are cooling make frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth and creamy.

Source: Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Hadley

This is what Loren does when I am gone for the day...

Pumpkin Roll

I made 3 of these for my sister's wedding. They are the perfect autumn treat! They are too good not to share the recipe! Have a good weekend! Hadley and I are off to the apple orchard this afternoon. I'm thinking we'll make apple crisp tonight. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE fall?!

Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.

Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.

Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture – a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.

Smile!

Here is Hadley at my sister's wedding. He looked quite charming if I do say so myself!
I made the 3 amigos these adorable onsies. It was really hard to get a good picture of them. Hadley only wants to attack poor Trenton's face!


Here is my beautiful sis and new bro-in-law. Congratulations! May you have a lifetime of bliss! We love you so much!

Busy Bees

Why hello blogging world. It's been a quite a whirl wind for the Ekart's lately, so this might turn into a long post. Where to begin... I still have photos from Hadley's Birthday party to post. I've been having issues with photos on here. Loren needs to convert photos before I can post them apparently. I will try to stay interesting without photos.

We went to St. Louis
Loren got a call from Red Bull asking him to wake board through the jumping carpe in the Mississippi River. I know what you are thinking, "What in the world are jumping carpe?!" I had the same question until we watched a video on YouTube about it. Check it out. It is crazy. We get to St. Louis and get to the river. The guide told us it was too dangerous. Some of the fish get up to 100 pounds! No wake boarding happened, but we did go on an interesting boat ride with the jumping carpe. Now, I hate fish. I get freaked out at the lake about them. I don't want to see them, I don't want to smell them and I certainly don't want to touch them. I have never seen such a sight. Hundreds of fish flipping into the air, some which landed in our boat. I am glad I was not smacked in the face by one! It was unreal. Like I said, check out the videos, it is nuts! The whole "carpe" episode was a side shoot for the main Red Bull Event. The main event was The Mississippi Grind. 5 guys from Minnesota came up with an idea to build a skate park on a river barge and float down the Mississippi River. They Started in Minneapolis and end in New Orleans, with a few stops along the way to host local skateboard competitions. It was pretty sweet. Check out www.redbullusa.com. Even though the wake boarding didn't happen, it was a great getaway. Can't beat a free trip and 20 free cases of Red Bull!

We are in Des Moines
We are currently in Des Moines. Lake life is officially done for the year. Loren is working on a project in Colorado but we will not know anything until January. We will be in Des Moines at least until then. Now is the waiting game. It's a hard place to be but we know that God will direct our path. We have been enjoying lots of family time and nights out with free babysitters! Ah the luxury of living close to family...something we have not had our whole married life. It is not one bit overrated. We have also had fun rediscovering Des Moines. It seems like it has been so long since we have lived here and truthfully it has changed a lot in the past 5 years. I am actually going to work a little bit too. I am going to work at a stationery shop I worked at through high school and college, Letter Perfect. I will work just a few hours a week. It will be fun to have a little something else to do!

Hadley
I seriously need to get the photo issue figured out because Hadley is as cute as ever! He's walking!! He still likes to crawl but he can totally walk all over the place. He is busy, busy, busy and I'm sure he won't slow down. He is like his daddy I believe. He has that little promiscuous personality. Which brings me to a story. I put Hadley down for a nap like usual. He starts crying 1/2 hour into it. I leave him down there for another 1/2 hour. All of the sudden he is screaming. I go down stairs and first I notice it smells like he had a dirty diaper. I walk up to his bed and notice his diaper is off. The little stinker ripped his diaper off, played with his poo and threw it all over the place. Oh and there was a big pile of pee in his crib. I picked him up and brought him upstairs where the lighting was better and I realized he is covered in poo. I didn't know what to do, so I put him in the sink and washed him with dish soap. Yuck!I have learned a very valuable lesson-NEVER put him down for a nap without pants on! Good thing he is so cute! He also has learned how to say ball. It sounds more like ba, but I know that's what he is saying. He is obsessed with the stairs- up and down, up and down we go 100 times a day. He also loves fly swatters and the dogs water dish. Or slapping the swatter in the dog dish. He is 100% boy...messy, loud, busy!

That is all. Sorry, lots to catch up on. Enjoy the fall weather. I love this time of year so very much!

oh me, oh my

It's has been yet another month in between postings. My apologies. I must do better. I should be getting in a new routine here now that it is fall. We went to Vail for my dear friend Shadi's wedding. How can a wedding on the base of a mountain not be perfect? She was a beautiful bride! We are so happy for them as they start their new life together. It was a wonderful getaway for Lor and I. We left Master Hadley with Grandmas and Grandpas for 5 days! I was really dreading saying goodbye and as I walked away my heart was sad. But, it was the best thing for me. It was so fun to just "be free". Anyone who has kids totally knows how every once in awhile you need that time to re-energize. We had a wonderful time in Denver and Vail seeing friends and eating good food.
While in Denver, Loren ran into an opportunity. Boulder Parks and Rec want to hear the idea of a cable park. So, here we are in the first stages of him pitching the idea to Boulder. Hmmm... who knows?! It would be crazy if we moved back. We would love it for the fact of all our friends are there but, being closer to family has been so nice. God has a plan and we are seeking that daily. He will make it happen wherever it shall be.
For now, we are packing our bags and saying goodbye to the lake for now. We will be in Des Moines through the end of the year with our families. And we will wait to see where to go from there. We love not knowing the future...;) We are thankful for supportive friends and family!

Studio Birthday Photos

Oh my sweet, serious faced little man! I love you to pieces! Here is a sampling of photos, including the newest addition to our family Trenton! My sister had him July 31st!

Hadley's Birthday Cupcake from BNC on Vimeo.

Happy 1st Birthday Hadley!

Hadley, you are the joy of our lives. One year ago today I met you for the first time, and I fell in love with your sweet round face. There was such a sense of reality. You were real and you were ours to keep. You are such a wonderful blessing to our lives. Life has felt more complete since you made your entrance. I love that my job is to be with you. I wouldn't want it any other way. I love hearing your sweet voice babbling. I love your sober face 95% of the time. It makes it that much better when you smile. I love all your funny facial expressions. I love how you brush your hair with anything. I love how you pant like the dogs when we ask,"What do the puppies say?". I love your chubby legs that are still apprehensive to walk. I love your puffy feet and sausage toes. I love how excited you get when daddy comes home. I love, love , love that giggle of yours and the glimpses I get of your 4 teeth. The list could go on forever. I love you to the moon and back...it's that simple:)
Happy First Birthday Sweet Hadley!

a little "ha-ha"

Hadley has been sleeping in our closet the past few days because we have had house guests(my family. I just like using "house guests":)) Don't worry our closet is plenty big for Hads and his pack and play. Love that my child sleeps anywhere! Anywho, yesterday I went in to check on him and he was sleeping with a pair of my underwear! And today he was sleeping with a sports bra and tank! The little stinker- he opens my drawers and pulls items out and then falls asleep with them. Thought it was pretty funny. I wonder what he will have in the morning?! I love that silly boy!

eeekkk!

I haven't posted for a month. We have been busy! Which has been great. We went to Denver, then to Iowa, then to Chicago, and we have had SO many visitors down here. So here are some updates to catch up:

* Kirby's School of Wake is doing well. Loren has been very busy with that. Might be some new things in store...The Ekarts might head to St. Louis?! Who knows...we are praying!

*Hadley and I have enjoyed a few pool days. There is a pool right up the street from us and he loves it!



*Loren and I went on a date Saturday-a beer paring dinner. For me not really liking beer, it was really fun! It was something different to do. The food was fabulous. There were 6 courses and with each course they give you a beer that goes well with the food. Don't worry...the glasses were mini:) The only down part- we sat next to this sweet old man who talked the whole time about us joining the Elks Lodge!

*Lexi(Lor's sister) had a baby GIRL!!! We are SO excited to meet Miss Mya! We are going to Minnesota the last week of July.

I also need to acknowledge my sweet husband. Happy First Father's Day!!! You are truly the best man I could have to be the father of my children. You are so wonderful and I love watching you with Hadley. Thank you for being the best!

Hmmm...that's all I can think of. It's been a whirl wind. Hadley is so off nap schedule, it's not even funny. Oh well, I guess I don't really care. He sleeps through the night and that is the most important. I have more pictures to post but the are on Lor's computer, so I will try to get them on her soon.

Happy summer to all!

11 months

Oh my, we are almost there! You will be 1 year old so soon!! Everyday you present us with something new. It's been so fun to watch you learn more each day. You are really into brushing your hair. It all started with daddy doing it to you when he would change your diaper. Now we say brush your hair and you rub your head. Its darling! You have 4 teeth! So, now we brush your teeth. When I saw ", Let's brush your teeth" you take the finger brush and brush your hair:) So cute! You are really into saying, "Da-da". You call everything da-da and probably say it at least 100 times a day. I love hearing your little sweet voice. You like singing . You laugh and smile SO big when I sing to you. Sorry, I'm most definitely off key:) You LOVE the stairs. It's the first place you head to when you have the chance. You are also very confident you can go down them, but you don't have a clue. Going up is a piece of cake for you. We have been so blessed the past 11 months by your sweet self.
We love you to the moon and back!
Mama and as you say constantly "Da-da"

10 months

Happy 10 month's sweet baby! I can't even believe it. TO think last year at this time I was getting HUGE and VERY HOT:) I was so ready to meet my little man. You are getting more and more curious. Into anything and everything. You have 2 teeth!! Yay! We had a couple restless nights and some crabby days but they finally made their appearance. The word of choice is "da-da". You do say mama but prefer da-da. Your hair is starting to grow and you don't look so bald anymore:) We took you to the pool and you loved it! The lake was also a pretty good hit. When we take you out, you cry. I guess this means you will be a pro wakeboarder someday...your dad only hopes! Over the past few days you have gotten brave. You are scooting right along the couch, sometime with one hand. I am hoping the walking doesn't happen for a few months-we shall see.
We are still absolutely obsessed with you. I cannot imagine our lives without you. We love you to the moon and back!
(Sorry I need to post a picture. I will do that soon)

These days

Well first of all, weather has been CRAZY down here! The devastation in Joplin which is only a few hours from us is heartbreaking. I cannot imagine. We have had some big time thunderstorms and a few tornado watches and warnings. Last night a bad system went through and I was not able to fall asleep until 3am. The lightening was crazy! And then again today, another yucky storm rolled through. I'm ready for sunny days!

Hadley is quite the handful these days. He has discovered the stairs and is not at all apprehensive to climb all the way up. Watch out!! I feel a little tooth just breaking the surface. He was really crabby a few weeks ago and had a low fever, so we thought maybe he was getting a tooth. I guess we were right. He has been happy this week, hopefully it stays that way.


Loren's family was here last week. It was rainy but we still had fun. It is always fun to get everyone together. Next time we see Lexi and Corey they will be a family of 5! Can't wait to meet baby girl and find out her name!!! My fam comes this weekend. It will be fun to have them as well. We are so blessed by 2 wonderful families!


Other than that, life is picking up a bit. We are starting to get to know people and enjoying time with just our wonderful family of 3. I have done a few sewing projects during nap times and have enjoyed doing some of the things that were too hard to fit in when I was working. Loren has been very busy with media stuff and marketing for Kirby's School of Wake.
Summer down here officially begins this weekend. The town will soon be flooded with people. I must say, I'm ready for it. I'm trying to work on my tan but, I do not want to be old and leathery therefore sunscreen is a MUST!
We have enjoyed boat rides and watching Loren and friends wakeboard. Hadley does pretty well on the boat. Which I'm glad, because that is a repetitive activity down here. I think that is all I have. Please pray for those in Joplin who were affected by the tornado. I truly cannot imagine the devastation they are experiencing. And pray for the rain to stop! :)