Christmas '08!

We were able to spend some time with both family over the holidays and had a great time. Carson's parents spent Christmas in Sweden this year to pick up his sister who had just completed her mission, so we decided to spend Christmas Eve/Day with my family, and then enjoyed a few days with his family after his parents/sister had come home. Carson had to work the day after Christmas, which made things a little tricky with the bad snow storms. Cheers to him for being willing to drive back and forth to maximize the amount of time spent with family... I am seriously so lucky. He left Christmas afternoon and it took him more than 7 hours to drive home (when it normally only takes 4 hours) because the weather was so bad. He then went to work the next morning and drove another 5 hours that afternoon to come back and be with family. (Atleast it was only an hour more the second day!)

CLOWARD CHRISTMAS '08:Stockings 08: Instead of drawing names for sibling gifts, we decided to do stocking gifts! There was one stocking per sibling/couple/family and a $10 limit for each. You would not believe the creativity and imagination put into all the gifts! It was so much fun!

A few of the many favorite stocking gifts I got on camera. Here they are:

1- The "Lime-Stuffed Green Olives" from my Dad's stocking. Of course it made the rounds and everybody who was brave enough tried one... Since I'm pregnant, I opted out, but Carson went for it!

2- The most favorite toy at the cabin! I don't even know what you call this thing, but it's a hit with all the kids and even the adults! You can make an imprint of anything and it will stay! Here's the funny face Carson pulled for display.
3- BOOGER CANDY! Yep you heard me right! My sister always finds the most outrageously cool and creative trinkets/toys/candies/food to put in everybody's stockings. (She's the one that gave my dad the green olives.) In our stocking, there was a box of "Booger Candy" for Carson! On the box it says in big print that it FEELS and TASTES like boogers...yuck! Carson actually said that it didn't taste that bad... kind of like a sour patch. Don't worry, that's only a candy in his nose, not a real one...
My dad always makes Christmas morning a fun adventure for the grandkids. They went on a "Santa Hunt" to see where he had left the presents. All the kids followed Grandpa and tippie-toed throughout the whole cabin until they came to the last room......The Dance Room! On the count of 3 they opened the door and found the Santa stash lying in the middle of the floor!Merry Christmas!
I sneaked up on my parents and caught my mom kissing Santa Claus! Uno dos tres... the three Cloward sisters! Oh how I love them too! It's rare for all three of us to be together since Krysti (middle one) lives in Kentucky. However, she was able to fly out for Christmas which is always a bonus the whole family loves! We just wish we could see more of her!
And it wouldn't be a true "Krysti" visit without her incredible cooking! She spoiled us rotten and made us her famous authentic chicken enchiladas with a specialty green tomatillo sauce... it's the real deal! Everything from scratch.
Here's the kids eating it up and loving it!
My brother Marsh, his wife Jen, and their newest addition to their family... baby Garrett!

My hubby and I loving his time off and being together.
Family work project--little ones included! Moving wood/coal is a tradition for us! Everytime we get together, we spend a few hours replenishing the fuel piles so the cabin can stay cozy and warm. We make a human train and it gets done in no time! Much faster than my parents trying to do it alone! It's also a fun way to teach the kids the power of working together.
My Great Uncle passed away a few days before Christmas, so in the hustle and bustle of the day before Christmas Eve, we rode up to Ogden and provided the musical numbers for the funeral. After that, we scurried around to do last minute Christmas shopping/errands before we headed to the cabin!

POLLASTRO CHRISTMAS '08:

Carson's family has one of the coolest Christmas traditions I have ever seen. Every year on Christmas eve, they take turns hitting a pinata starting from youngest to oldest. It is always a blast! When the pinata breaks open, you don't find your typical taffy and bubble gum candy... instead you find a pair of new socks for everybody, chapsticks, a chocolate orange, a life-savers story box, a new card-game, and much much more! It's the best part of Christmas at the Pollastro house.Here's Brittany sporting her rudolph nose with little Cali.We gave to Melissa and Devin this year, and I decided to make them a book of all the posts from their blog this past year. It was a lot of fun to put together and quite easy to do. I am hopefully going to start on my own "blog to book" process from last year soon. You can go to www.heritagemakers.com to make your own book.Cali was so excited to have Aunt Brittany home from her mission!So I guess this is what brothers do for fun.... the older one that weighs twice as much and is twice as tall jumps on the younger one's back and tries to brake it! Luckily neither of them were hurt, but the rest of us had sore sides from laughing so hard.Playing with new baby Parker was also a Pollastro Christmas highlight this year.

Brownie Fudge Sunday Fun

Carson's brother Christian moved his family to Wyoming after accepting a job offer by the same company Carson works for. It's been fun having some family close and spending time with them. We had them over for Brownie Fudge Sundaes and really enjoyed playing with the kidlets.
Cali and Carter discovered our "Bop It Extreme" game and were entertained for several minutes by this electronic device. Carter especially found this exciting and could even do a few of the moves on his own without help! Cammie if you ever need a breather, just give them the Bop It and they'll be happy for a long time. (You can borrow it anytime you need to)
Carter also enjoyed building towers with Carson.
Cali drew me several "Christmas" pictures for me to enjoy over the holidays. My favorite was Santa's sleigh, where she drew one page of reindeer, one page of the sleigh, and one page of presents and taped them all together. She even drew little ropes connecting them all... cute.

The best part of the night was definitely the elevated football game. As you can see, Christian would toss the football up the foyer vault to whichever kid was on Carson's shoulders, and then they would throw it back down. Don't worry nothing got broken. (KIDS: don't try this at home.)

December Temple Day

One of Carson's good buddies that he played basketball with down in Australia got hitched this past December. He invited us to the sealing at the Salt Lake temple, and it was truly beautiful.
We enjoyed touring the Joseph Smith Visitors Center and walking the grounds together before the luncheon. I am always impressed by the heighth and beauty of the tree in the middle of the JS building. If I'm not in the Christmas mood yet, temple square is definitely the place to put me in the mood!

I must admit that it got me giddy all over again since we also got married in December at the Salt Lake temple. It was a good reminder of what I promised to be and to become three years ago.
Lance, the groom, is in the middle. Carson to the upper right, and mystery man in the left corner. Lance was beaming that day. We can't wait to hang out with him and his new wife. Thank you Lance for inviting us! Everything turned out perfect!

Cream Potica & Apple Strudel

So what is Cream Potica and Apple Strudel? Two of the most amazing Yugoslavian desserts you have ever tried. My mother-in-law is Yugoslavian and has some incredible heirloom recipes up her sleeve that have been passed down for generations. Carson informed me that when we went home for the holidays, he was going to ask his mom to teach me how to make both of these desserts so I can start practicing on mastering this pastry art... and boy is it an art!


HOW TO MAKE CREAM POTICA

1- Combine the ingredients ever so carefully mixing by hand. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Throw away dough and start over if consistency isn't right. (We were lucky and used the first two doughs)
2-Stretch the dough until it is paper thin and see-through on a piece of canvas material. Spread whipping cream mixture evenly over dough.
3- Add sugar and melted butter on top. 4- Fold edges in and lift up one side of the canvas and let the dough ROLL!

APPLE STRUDEL VARIATION:
1- Dough is the same, but sprinkle Granny smith apple slices over the top of egg mixture.
2- Sprinkle sugar.3- Add cinnamon.4- Lift up and let it roll!5- Place in pan in a U-shape pattern and bake in the oven.

6- Try not to eat it all in one sitting.

Thanksgiving '08

Who doesn't love the holidays? Especially Thanksgiving when you're required to bring a huge appetite for several days and enjoy stuffing yourself with all varieties of foods. Even when you think you are done, that's right at the time you are heading home and your mom fills you up with more leftovers to take with you. As long as you bust your buns with some good DVD workouts or long runs, there's no worry for weight gain either! Plus the bonus of spending time with family makes everything worth it!

POLLASTRO THANKSGIVING 'O8

Cali was a big help in setting the table. She even folded the napkins nicely for each plate.
Ohhhhhhhh the most heavenly rolls on earth... Vicki slaved all day over making these babes from scratch! I've decided to call them, "The 5 Senses Rolls" because you use all 5 senses to enjoy them!1-You can smell them a mile away.
2-Your eyeballs about pop out of your head when you see the size of them.
3- You can actually hear yourself getting fatter as you eat one.
4-They literally melt in your mouth with each bite.
5- The touch of them is so fluffy and light that you want to eat 10 of them.
Other than the fact that my husband had just shoved three deviled eggs in his mouth right before the picture (and then decided to smile with them still in his mouth instead of swallowing), I want you to notice the heighth of the roll on the dinner plate.... Like I said... heavenly..Dinner was unforgettable. Here's some of the Pollastro Thanksgiving food traditions we enjoyed this year: Deviled eggs, fruit salad made with REAL whipping cream (no fake stuff), stuffed celery sticks, homemade rolls, turkey, gravy, and a delicious salad.Our cute neice Cali liked the dinner so much, she decided to save some on her upper lip for later.Grandpa Carl took little Cali and Carter for a 4 wheel ride after the meal. They came home with red noses and a little sniff from the cold, but thought it was well worth it.
It wouldn't be a weekend at the Pollastro's without playing with the kids! Uncle Carson is the favorite on both sides of the family. (Until Brittany came home... she might beat him out) Here he is playing with Carter. We always have such a great time with Carson's family and make new memories each time. It was a blast.

CLOWARD THANKSGIVING '08

My dad was feeling well enough to do some cooking which we were all grateful for because he is a fabulous cook! If you want to know 20 different ways to cook an egg, he's the one to teach you how.
My sister Bryndi and I celebrated over the oven-baked seasoned squash. A Cloward tradition.

Do you see my husband drying that appliance? Yes he even does dishes... be very jealous friends... be very jealous... :)

Should you laugh or cry when you see this picture? Maybe a little of both... My brother Marshyl had gotten his two front teeth knocked out in church basketball a few days previous to our Thanksgiving celebration.... the picture explains the rest.
And yet here Marshyl is playing basketball that night with missing teeth and all... now that's dedication! Those who weren't too full from dinner decided to burn off some calories in the freezing mountains by playing ball on the cabin driveway. Oooh it was cold, but well worth it! Although we had to keep moving positions for "horse" because someone really had problems digesting their dinner... it wasn't me.
I SPY PIE! I count 10 pies, let me know if I missed one. We did have a pretty big crowd, so a lot of pie was necessary. We enjoyed apple, cherry, pumpkin, banana, and even squash pie!
Grandpa Cloward enjoying his newest grandson that shares the same first name.
Uncle Carson must have a big sign on his forehead that says, "Climb Me." The nephews and nieces love to play with him because he actually plays back and will be a kid with them. They are always bummed if I go to a family event without him... they always ask, "Where's Uncle Carson?" He is going to be such a good dad.. I'm truly lucky.My brother Thayne is also a favorite "kid hit" when the family gets together. They love to spend hours reading or talking with him, and I know the moms appreciate the 5 minute breather alone.
"The Dream Machine" and "The Forkum Story" are two traditions my dad started with my family when we were little kids. He is now passing it on to the next generation. We would all lay on the bed next to each other and hold hands as my dad would pretend to "start up" the creaky old dream machine. He would make funny noises and shake the bed like the machine was starting up and then tell us it was time to start dreaming. Each of us would take a turn talking about our dreams for the future and what we wanted to see happen. "The Forkum Story" is about small creatures that live in a beautiful valley between the mountains. He would always slip in important value lessons and other ways for us to learn through this story. I always thought it was an actual story he had memorized or heard somewhere, but I found out later my dad would make it up as he went. I didn't believe it at first because the story was so good, I couldn't wait until the next night to hear more! The grandkids always have fun with these traditions.

In fact, the traditions of both sides is what made this Thanksgiving so much fun. Cheers to having two families, two meals, and twice as many people to celebrate with!