I'm so far behind on my blogging it's very overwhelming. So before all my thoughts and feelings of this past Christmas get lost into the abyss that is my memory, I figured I'd better get started!
We left for Kansas City the Tuesday before Christmas. Since my dad had been here working on our bathroom, he drove in tandem with us. Tristan rode with him, so then I could ride in the back of our car with the girls to help with Avery, handing out snacks, and manning the dvd player (all of which are normally Tristan's responsibilities when I'm driving and we're traveling without Daniel). I didn't have to drive AT ALL this trip...it was a little slice of heaven for me (thank you Daniel!). We got to my parent's house at about 8:30 or 9, unpacked, and put the kiddos to bed.
The thing I look forward to the most when I go to Kansas City (besides seeing my family, of course), is going to get Goodcents subs...everyday...literally. They are delicious. I can't really describe WHAT it is that makes them so good...so just trust me. Cari and I even went on Christmas Eve to get one last sub before the end of my trip.
On Wednesday the boys decided to go ahead and have their annual football game. It is always quite the event and the weather was actually really nice. We even managed to recruit the Botteron (Christen's family) men to join in. So Dad, Daniel, Wes, and Brian were on one team. And Tristan, Martin, Seth, Brad, and Jared were on the other. If my memory serves (and we all know it is an abyss, so take it for what you may), Daniel's little team of 4 won the game. I took the little kids with me to take some photos of the game while they played on the nearby playground. I got some great shots of the game, but the kids decided to play a game of running away from the camera, so I only got pictures of Avery and Luke. Wednesday night, Cari, Seth, Wes, Christen, Daniel and I went to Martin and Mari's to play a few games.
I think Martin is doing his impression of a bull. He kept kicking his leg back...I found it amusing, so I snapped a few photos.
Go Daniel!
Wes and Martin always seem to create fun photos...
Every year there are injuries. This year, Brad ended up with 2 pulled hamstrings. It's really no wonder...look at the extension on that kick! The rest of them just hobbled around for the next few days complaining of overall soreness.
Look at Seth...he's all Mr. Muscles. I guess that's what happens when you can run a marathon so fast you qualify to run in the Boston.
I'm pretty sure Tristan caught that pass for a touchdown.
Avery going down the slide at the park.
And a cute picture of Luke.
Thursday, Daniel took Tristan, Alicia, Adelaide, and Lily down to the farm to visit with his grandparents. The kids always really enjoy making the short little trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and then to see Aunt Patsy. Aunt Patsy makes homemade soaps and has a little soap shop on her property. Daniel bought quite a bit of soap to put in stockings, and then Patsy let each of the kids pick out a soap to take home. When I asked Lily to see the soap that she picked out, she said, "I asked her (Aunt Patsy) which soap would be best for my skin, and this is the one she picked for me." Crack me up...Lily is 7...and an extremely bright little girl...clearly. While they were at the farm, Cari, Wes, and I went to Goodcents for lunch (of course), and then to Crate and Barrel to take a look around. "Taking a look around" turned into me buying 5 sets of their colorful serving bowls to give as gifts. We don't have a Crate and Barrel in Nashville, so I figured they would be great gifts (and they were...my friends are in LOVE with their bowls).
Grandma Mary, Adelaide, Tristan, Lily, and Alicia
Adelaide, Grandpa Wendell, Tristan, and Alicia
Friday, the kids decorated foam ornaments with my mom. There was also the great blind Root Beer tasting. We had quite the system down this year. We had 3 trays of cups going so that one set could be getting rinsed and dried (don't want extra water to water down the RB and mess with the results), the other set was being poured into, and the last set on the table being drunk by our testers. Alicia, my mom, and I were the ones working in the kitchen this year...our system for working together was quite efficient. Alicia rinsed, my mom dried, and I poured. Whomever wasn't currently busy would take in the tray with fresh root beer and pick up the tray with the empty cups. The tasters never had to wait long for the next round. Seth made sure to have plenty of oyster crackers out so that the tasters could cleanse their pallets between each tasting. We had 25 kinds of root beer to taste. Later we found that one had been left in the fridge, so we should have had 26. There was even a clear kind...Zevia...it was horrible. Martin seemed to be the harshest critic. I don't think he ranked anything higher than an 8.... It was quite fun for us working in the kitchen to hear the comments from the tasters since we knew which kind they were commenting on. The winner this year was "Howies" which is brewed in Utah. Cari and Seth had brought it out. Friday night, Martin, Cari, Seth, me, and Wes and Christen went over to the Botteron's for some games. Daniel and my dad went to see Daniel's cousin, Sky, and his band play at a local pub. It was quite a fun night for everyone....and we were really grateful to my mom for staying home with the kiddos...again. I think we really need to rework that system...she got left at home too much this trip.
Decorating foam ornaments.
So pretty.
The Root Beer.
The kitchen crew.
The tasters.
THE RESULTS
Top Five
After they tasted all 25, I added up the scores to determine the top 5, then they taste those five again to give another score. After all 5 were re-tasted, I added up the scores to get the final judgement. The first number is the score from the original tasting and the score in parenthesis is how they scored in the final round.
1. Howies. 91. (84)
2. Best Choice 88.5 (78.5)
3. Lost trail 91 (74.5)
4. Walmart 77 (68)
5. Jones 77 (59)
THE OTHER 20
6. IBC 74
7. Always Save 73 (2009 winner)
8. Fitzs 72.5
9. Abita 70.5
10. Natural Brew 70.5
11. Stewart's 65
12. Western Family 61
13. A&W 60
14. Boylan 57.5
15. Blue sky 53
16. Barqs 53
17. Sprechers 50.5
18. Virgil's 46
19. Dads 45
20. Maine root 44
21. Stars n stripes 38.5
22. 365 38
23. B & S 37
24. Santa Cruz (clear) 13.5
25. Zevia 10
1 comments:
Root beer!!!!! I am so surprised jones made top five at your house. We all hated jones!!!! Did y'all do a blind taste test??? We did that and it was pretty crazy when we found out what the different types were at the end.
I spy braces on Alicia! She is growing up so fast.
Christmas looked like such a fun time!! Love your family.
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