Thanksgiving tradition- Lefse

My grandmother's family is from Norway and one of the traditions that they have brought to the numerous families that have branched out from theirs is a treat called Norwegian Lefse.  I grew up eating it every time we spent a Thanksgiving or Christmas with my Grandma. When I was a teenager, my mom taught me how to make it and every couple of years we get together to keep that tradition alive.  This was one of those years :).  I suppose I feel particularly motivated to keep the tradition alive for the boys too.  Come roll up your sleeves and watch as we peel the potatoes, turn the griddle on and let the flour fly. 

Ummm, there is nothing quite like Lefse!

 Ingredient list:

5lbs peeled potatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup butter

1/2 T salt

1/2 T sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

 cook the potatoes, rice them if you have a ricer (we took the easy way out this year and just mashed them) and mash together with the butter, cream, salt and sugar.  Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

 After the potato mixture is cold, stir and knead the flour into until it isn't sticky.

 Make sure you have your apron on, things get a bit messy!  Did you notice that we have special Lefse aprons? These were bought by dad many years ago :).

 Pull off golf ball size potions, put them in a bowl, cover and put into the refrigerator. 

 Take one ball out at a time and roll it out as thin as possible... Do I look Norwegian yet?

 Use a stick to transfer the rolled out dough to the griddle (yes, they make specially designed tools just for Lefse!). 

 The flipper in action! By the way the griddle should be heated to 400 degrees.

 Pretty lacey ripples and pale spots... Just the way it is supposed to be!

 Can't have homemade Lefse without the mess...

 We made a huge mound, enough for Christmas dinner too!  It freezes nicely.

 Yummy, chewy, stretchy, creamy, buttery potato goodness!

 Spread on some more butter, sprinkle some sugar & enjoy!

 Happy Thanksgiving! 

9 months

Carter, Carter, Carter- you are growing way too fast! Your little smirk and bright eyes just melt me away.  You are a live wire day and night, moving and exploring.  There isn't a cabinet at your level that you have not explored... and the potty is a favorite destination right now!  I love how you greet me with a wave and a 'hiiiiiiiii' sound and smile.  I am your 'mammmmammmmaaaaa' cry and daddy is a 'da'... 'Uh Oh' is said when something is dropped and peek a boo is played and understood.  Standing is mastered and you are getting brave on where you want to go (I think you would fly right off the couch if I didn't have a grip on your ankle).  The interaction between you and your brothers is priceless!  Your glee when you see one of them and they each take you under their wing and clobber you with affection.  We love you so much, you bring so much joy to this family!

 Look mom, only one hand!

 Leaf in his mouth!

 tooth shot!

 Hum, I wonder if I can climb that tree yet?!

 Can't forget the yogurt mustache! 

Fall

What better to do with a backyard of leaves?!

THE LEAVES ARE FALLING!

You know there is trouble coming when his tongue starts sticking out!

I think I will just take my nap out here...

Spinning!

Potty Laughs

K can spot a noise or a smell faster than anyone else in the family.  He frequently will walk into a room and notice the hum of a fan or vent and ask what it is right away.  The same is true for smells as he can smell a discretely eaten treat from our breath from the other room and ask us what we are eating. He also WILL NOT go near the indoor rain forest exhibit at the zoo because of the harsh stench that reeks within.  In fact he has named it the 'Stinky Forest'...  The other day I caught a glimpse of him and could not resist capturing it. 

A walk to the river

We have made it a bit of a tradition to visit the bosque a few times each fall (here, here and here) because of the beautiful colors and the fun natural playground, but the funny thing is that we have never seen the river during our visits.  This year we made a point to hike until we found it, come see!

The woods always look so inviting!

 A little further down the new trail- a cloudy day with just enough sun shining in through the perfectly fall seasoned canopy of trees. 

 Little J is definitely a 2 year old with his own ideas... His idea of fun was to stop and roll around in the sand, not keeping up with the pack!

 Yay, we found the good old Rio Grande!  Now, first thing first, the boys got a lesson on throwing rocks into the water...

 They watched intently...

 ...And then tried it for themselves!

 A quick seemingly unsucessful photo shoot.

 And then they were off to explore on their own.

 Little Cart-man got lots of love and attention because he was attached to me :).

 'Wait for MMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!'

Trick or Treat!

We are not even close to being a super family, but it is fun to pretend!   Mike and I joined the kid's fun and put together make shift costumes from stuff we had around the house and ta da, we were a super hero family... I love felt and old t-shirts!

 Mike was Flash & I was Batgirl!  Mike's mask was an old stained up shirt from Jacob, I just cut it across, sewed up the top and cut the eyes out.

 Grandpa B joined us in the trick or treating fun... The boys were soooo excited!  I think little J snuck and piece of candy by the looks of his face!

 "Trick or Treat!", "Thank You"... I think they finally caught on after about the 20th house!

While we were out we ran into some friends, Manual and Gabriella- oh, I mean Mario & Luigi. 

 I think it was time to go home, Robin was dragging his bag because it was so heavy & Batman was so focused on candy that he peed his pants.

 We got LOTS of candy this year!

 After the sugar rush, it was time for bed, they were outfitted in Jack O lantern style thanks to Grandma B.

 Our little super baby!

 His costume was home made too!  A red cut up t-shirt for the cape, felt for the emblem, red under ware from a pair of girl's tights that I found at a garage sale, belt from the boy's dress up box, blue onesie, blue pjs underneath and red socks of course!

 Superheros don't eat leaves!

 Dun-Dun-Dun, SUPERMAN!

 Happy Halloween!