Flashback Friday - Memorial Days

(Memorial Day 1995 - from right: Hannah, Courtney, Shelby, Emma, Quinton [in the back]...)

I have always loved Memorial Day, and I especially loved it growing up because there were always fun activities planned.

In the morning, our ward always hosted an annual "5k Run/Walk", which was pretty fun. Sometimes kids would bring their bikes or roller blades and everyone seemed to have a good time. There would always be bagels or doughnuts for people to snack on afterwards.

Then, in the afternoon, Somersworth always had a Memorial Day parade. It was pretty small, but really fun. The high school marching band would march, as well as all the scouts in the area. There were also veterans and nurses from WWII riding in old cars. Twice, everyone would stop and there would be a small ceremony - once about halfway though, and then again at the end, which was always at the little bridge leading into Maine. After the parade, we'd have friends over for a BBQ and games outside.

I'm thankful that my parents taught us to have an appreciation for our country and for the freedoms we have. I'm sure there were probably years that we didn't want to participate in all these activities on our day off from school, but they taught us the importance of showing gratitude to our veterans, as well as supporting the community. I look forward to teaching my kids these same lessons.

I hope this story has a happy ending

It has been a very long week, and for us, it's not over yet.

Last Sunday night/Monday morning, I awoke to the sound of "plink... plink... plink... plink" across the air vent in our ceiling. Something was up in there! I turned over to Garrett and tried to wake him up by whispering his name loudly several times, but he didn't even move! Finally I shook him awake, and he sat up quickly and seemed really scared.

"What's wrong?!?"

"Something just walked across the air vent in the ceiling!"

"Ohh... yeah. I heard something moving around up there an hour or so ago, and I couldn't sleep so I put ear plugs in... It must be some mice or a rat or something." (It turns out that when I shook him awake so violently a few minutes before, he had happened to be dreaming about shooting the mice/rats with his bb gun, which is why he had been so startled)

"But it's in the vent! Those vents are only wedged in - the mice or rats could fall into our bedroom!!"

This was around 3:45, and neither of us slept the rest of the night. The mice/rats were running around right above our heads, making lots of noise, and I was scared to death.

Monday, 11 a.m.: Terminix finished spraying the house inside and out, and after taking a look in our attic, determined that nothing was living up there (whew!), but we did have a small hole outside where the roof meets the siding, and most likely a squirrel came in and was running around. A squirrel?? Now I was really scared. A squirrel could attack us! A squirrel could get into the main part of the house and chew up all our clothes and furniture! Yes, now was the time to panic. (I never realized until now what a scaredy-cat I am!)

Of course, Terminix doesn't treat for squirrels, but they said that they would have someone call us.

No one called. Meanwhile, I refused to sleep in our bedroom because I was afraid that the squirrel would chew through the ceiling and land on top of me in the middle of the night, and chew on my face. Garrett and I slept in the living room (the squirrel was pretty much just staying above our bedroom). It also turned out that it hadn't run right across the air vent in our bedroom; but it had run across the vent in the eaves of the house, which are right outside our open window. That was a bit better.

Tuesday night, 11:30pm: More noises, and Garrett decided he'd had enough. He got his bb gun and stood outside our house, underneath the hole, waiting for the squirrel show its face. He was there for a good 30 minutes, but never saw anything. He was upset but I was glad he never got to shoot - he was right outside our bedroom! What if the bb went through the brick and hit me? (more irrational fear, I know).

Wednesday evening: We don't hear anything up in the attic, so Garrett climbs up onto the roof and seals the hole off. No, we don't have a ladder. Yes, we could have borrowed one from someone, but then we wouldn't have this picture. This is what I like to call a "po' man's ladder."

I would have taken a picture while he was climbing up it, but he needed me to keep it steady for him.

Thursday night, 9:30pm: We hear more noises! Now I'm terrified because I'm afraid we have trapped a squirrel up there, so Garrett decides to go up in the attic himself and check it out. 5 minutes later I hear Garrett running down the ladder (which is above the carport), then I hear the slam of the attic door. Garrett comes inside. "It's a RACCOON!"
"What???" Ok, if I wasn't scared before, I REALLY am now! A raccoon?!?!?! That's what, 3x bigger than a squirrel?!?

Friday morning, 10:30 am: Animal control has come, and the traps are out. There's one in the attic, and one at the base of a tree in the front yard. Apparently, the raccoon is coming in and out through the mushroom vent on the roof. The traps aren't actually set yet, because if there is more than one raccoon, and only one gets locked in a trap, the other one will never enter a trap and we'll never catch it.

::Sigh::

They are coming back on Tuesday to actually set the traps. So, as of now, they are still roaming around, scaring me to death. Every time I leave the house, I get nervous because I'm afraid it will jump off the roof and land on my head, and bite me (when I told Garrett this, he laughed, "It's not a puma!!" I'm still scared). We are still sleeping in the living room because the raccoon still hangs out above our bedroom at night.

Hopefully this little nightmare will be over soon and we'll go back to our everyday, mundane lives.

Flashback Friday - Syttende Mai 2003

Every third weekend in May, Norwegians around the world celebrate Syttende Mai, which is the day Norway declared independence and signed the Norwegian Constitution ("Syttende Mai" translates to "Seventeenth of May").

Westby, WI, where my mom is from, has a huge celebration every year, and in 2003 my sisters and Mom and I took a trip up to celebrate with the extended family, who go every year. It was so much fun! We got reacquainted, went walking around the small town, ate Hub's Fries and lefse, visited the creamery, went to the parade, and just had FUN!

We also searched for the troll. It's a tradition in Westby that at the start of the weekend, a small troll is hidden somewhere within the city limits and on each of the three days, a clue is posted downtown. Whoever finds the troll wins $50! In the past I think my mom's family has found it a couple of times, but we didn't find it that year, even though we looked everywhere! The clues really didn't seem to help much.

Another thing that really stands out in my mind from that weekend is playing Catch-Phrase. Catch-Phrase is probably one of my favorite games, and the time we played it with the Oftedahl clan is probably my most memorable. We played for hours, and that evening is definitely on my "Top 5" list of "Times I Have Laughed So Hard It Hurt". I love my mom's side of the family! They are a lot of fun.

Waiting for the parade to start

Mom and her siblings

The cheese stands alone

The Match-up

Well, we've waited 4 long months and it's finally here: the season finale of American Idol! I must say, I've been very impressed with both Davids from the beginning, and I'm happy that one of them will be crowned as 2008's "American Idol". Even if you haven't been watching much this year, or if you haven't seen anything this whole season, tonight's show will probably still be worth watching.

Every week (well, almost), my sister-in-law Shauna gives her critique of the week's show (read this week's here. Shauna is hilarious and manages to put into words everything I'm thinking about the show, and she's very funny). She also says who she thinks will go home (she is usually right), and today I just want to take a minute and share my thoughts on last night's show.

Usually I am at mutual up at the Church on Tuesday nights, but last night I got to babysit my friend's kids for the night because she and her husband went out of town. All the kids were in bed by 7:45 (Abby included!), and I fell onto the couch in exhaustion and anticipation for the show.

I missed every. single. song. I think the kids had a radar or something that let them know every time someone was about to sing, because that would be the moment when they took turns crying or needing something (drink, bathroom, etc). Also, Abby took forever falling asleep because there was loud thunder. A couple of times I managed to be in the living room during a song, but those two moments were the times that the weather service decided to cut out the sound and play their staticky message ("This is the national weather service.... Severe Thunderstorm warnings in blahblah counties.... Tornado Warnings in blahblah counties"). And of course, this warning is always about 10x louder than the tv volume, so it would wake at least one kid up each time. And I couldn't just let them cry, because then the other two would have woken up! How do parents of multiples do it??? (And don't worry Abbie, I forgive you... I know you'll be returning the favor soon!) I did, however, manage to see every commercial. Yay.

But all is not lost. Since I usually miss Tuesday's AI, I know that I can just look up each performance on YouTube and get all caught up. And I'm still very excited for tonight's show! Goooo David!

Goal for the Week

My goal for this week is to assess my food storage. I'm pretty sure I have a lot more food than I think I have, but it's so hard to take inventory because it's stored in many different places (in the cupboards, under the guest bed, in the office closet, etc.). That's the problem with a small house! Someday, I will have a big pantry, or at least a basement with shelves where I can keep it all in one place, organized nicely.

Are you good at food storage? I have a greater motivation for it now that we only need to have 3 months worth - it just seems so much more doable! I still do need to work on my 1 year supply of grains and rice and things, and that's another goal for this summer.

I made a fun little poll on the right column of this blog - please participate! I'm curious to see how people are doing with their food storage. I apoligize for the choices - Emma complained to me that there isn't an option for having 3 months of food, which she has. So, if you have a few months of food, just choose the second one down - that you could feed your family for 1 month. I'll assume that if people choose that one, it means they have 1-6 months of food available. And it's anonymous, so I'm not going to know if it's YOU who doesn't have any food storage! :)

Also, where do you keep your food storage? Do you have a big, wonderful pantry? Is it in the basement? Under beds, and in closets like I have it? Let me know!

Flashback Friday - Girls' Camps!

I had, in my opinion, the best girls' camp experiences ever. I loved girls' camp so much, and every year was more fun than the last. I was so blessed to have wonderful YW leaders who worked hard to make camp enjoyable for all the girls.

Camp Quinny was about 3-4 hours away, up in northern NH. It's a beautiful part of the state, and the camp was set on a huge lake. The lake was so much fun - we had canoeing, kayaking, sailing, rowboating, fishing, and swimming. I remember my first year, when I was 12, my friend Courtney and I never showered that whole week and man, we stunk. All the years after that, there was a rule that you had to shower after swimming in the lake because it was really unclean water. Gross!

The food at camp was another reason I loved it so much. We had the BEST food! We had pizza bread, pancakes, eggs & bacon, baked potato bar, etc. We were well fed. We only had to make our own meals for one night - and it was foil dinners, my favorite!

We camped together by year, which was a lot of fun because it allowed me to get to know all the girls in my Stake who were my age. The first four years we camped in canvas tents on platforms, with cots inside them, and then for 5-6 year we all shared one big cabin with bunk beds.

Besides water activities, there were MANY more things to keep us busy. We had hiking, archery, and marksmanship (Mom got the Annie Oakley award every year! She got nothing but bulls-eyes!). There was a craft tent, which was actually a big pavillion with drop-in projects you could do, or bigger projects you could sign up for. And one year we even had horseback riding! We also had D.E.A.R. time every day, where everyone in the entire camp would Drop Everything And Read. It was a nice quiet time to relax from the hustle and bustle of constant activities and fun.

I also strengthened my testimony a lot during camp. We had wonderful firesides every night at the big amphitheater on the hillside. We sang songs, had testimony meetings, and played big group games, like Gospel Jeopardy.

I am forever indebted to all the people who made camp such a great experience for me year after year.

Gotta have smooth legs if we're going to be living in our bathing suits!

Three bulls-eyes! Not bad!

Fourth year we did an overnight hike. The hike was fun, but then it rained at our campsite and everything got soaked! I remember holding up sleeping bags around the fires to dry them off. Also, it rained through the night and Courtney and I had pitched our tent in a little dip in the ground. Thankfully, we were using her Dad's really nice tent and no water got in, and it felt like we were sleeping on a water bed!

Sailing! After this picture was taken the wind died down and Courtney had to tie her kayak to me and pull me in to shore.

Marie and I were taking a lifeguard class in the early mornings. Brr, the water was cold!

Every Thursday night, there was a treasure hunt. The waterfront leaders would hide 4 "treasure chests" somewhere in the lake (they floated) and we got into canoes in teams of three and we'd try to find them (two people to paddle, one person to hold the flashlight). I won every year. I kind of felt bad, and my last year there I wasn't really trying to find it, but I did! I swear, I never cheated. I just always got lucky, I guess.

Happy Mother's Day! (2 Days Late)

I had this post ready to go on Sunday, and I was planning to post it Sunday evening (and it would have been on time for Mother's Day!). But, plans changed. Emma called me while we were eating dinner and said, "Nice blog! I cried both times I read it!"

"What blog? What are you talking about? I haven't posted it yet."

"Oh, wait. You haven't seen it? Oh. Uhhh... Garrett wrote you a blog. He posted it today. Sorry, it must have been a surprise."

I then proceeded to run to the computer to read the beautiful letter that Garrett had written for me. It was a complete surprise! I know at the bottom of the post it says "Posted by Hannah", but that's because Garrett had signed into my account to write it. Isn't he the sweetest? What a great Mother's Day surprise! He really has a way with words.

And on that note, a quick word about my own mothers!

I have the best mom, grandma and mother-in-law a girl could ask for! I'm so lucky. Emma wrote a great post about Mom, so I won't repeat it all here. Plus I have to save up some good stuff to write for her birthday.

Mom, thanks for all that you do for our family. You have been a wonderful example to me and I hope that I can be as great a mom to my kids as you are to me. Thanks for always being there for me. I love you!

My mom and me

Mom and 3/5 of us kids

Another great and inspiring Mom - my Grandma Siebach! Thanks, Grandma, for being such a great example to our big family. I think about you a lot and am so grateful and inspired by the sacrifices that you have made for the Church and for our family. I love you!

And finally, the mom who raised my wonderful husband. Mom W, I love Garrett so much, and I know I owe you a lot for the way he has turned out. You are such a blessing in my life and you have taught me so much. Thank you for welcoming me into your family and treating me like one of your own. I love you!

Aren't Moms great? I am so blessed.

If the little one could talk....

Dear Hannah,

If the little one could talk, I am sure she would tell you what a wonderful mom you are. I am sure she would tell you how much she appreciates all the long hours you put into feeding, dressing, playing, bathing, and caring for her. She would probably tell you that you're the best mom she could possibly have and she wouldn't trade you for anyone. I know she loves playing and spending time with you and looks up to you already. In no time at all she will begin to do the things you do and say the things you say and that.

If the little one could talk, she would also commend you for the effort you put into being a beautiful wife and applaud you for your patience with a very stressed out, over-achieving husband. I bet she would tell you that daddy means well when he is away from home and that deep down he would always rather be home with the two of you.

If the little one could talk, she would tell you that you are such a good mom because you spent a whole two years babying your husband before she ever came along. She would argue that those times you cared for him when he was sick, those times he needed encouragement, those times he needed affection were all "mom moments" in disguise.

If the little one could talk, chances are she would do a much better job at communicating all her thanks and appreciation than her dad.

We love you so much and thank you for all that you do. Happy Mother's Day!

G and A

Flashback Friday - The Striped Bathing Suit

When I was little and we were living in NH (the first time), Emma and I had semi-matching bathing suits. They were very cute - mine was red and white striped, and hers was blue and white. And in those days, we were outside all the time, playing in the little kiddie pool or running through sprinklers.

Since we were outside so much, we got very tan and very blond. And it so happened that the sun would shine right through the white stripe of our suits, so we'd tan in a stripe underneath our suits! I remember that Mom thought it was the cutest thing, and I recall a few times having to shed my shirt to show her friends when they came over to the house. Thanks, Mom!

Playing in the sprinklers

The above and below pictures look like they're from a Primary activity back in the day (Somersworth Ward)

My stripes.... I figured I'd edit the picture a little bit for you all.

Meet Virginia

Last weekend we met up with Garrett's parents and drove to Virginia to spend a few days. Garrett's best friend Adam graduated from Southern Virginia University on Saturday, so it was the perfect excuse to get away for the weekend and spend some time with family and friends.

We had a WONDERFUL time!! I just loved it. The drive was beautiful, which just reinforced my determination to live in Virginia someday (or North Carolina, or Maryland, or Pennsylvania... those states are so beautiful!). Garrett loved our weekend away too, and it was so nice for him because he is pretty much officially DONE with his second year of medical school! His last test was last Friday, so it was the perfect weekend to get away and have some fun and relax.

A shot of the graduates.

Adam was surprised to see us! He didn't know we had even come until just then.
Congratulations, Adam!
Playing soccer in the motel's yard.
We played baseball too. And Bocce ball, but I didn't get pictures of that.
Walking along the river.
Taking some downtime at the motel.
Lunch at Salerno in Lexington... SO good!
Weee!
Group shot.
The kids.
I love the old buildings on campus.
Swinging
Garrett and Jared (Jared just got into medical school in AZ! Congrats, Jared!)
This one's for you, Lauren! I'm actually surprised this picture turned out so well at 65 mph.
Look at that view!

Congrats again to Adam for graduating. It sounds like he has a great job lined up, so we are very excited for him. Now, we are crossing our fingers for Jackie and Jared to get into school in VA (which is their #1 choice), so we can have more excuses to visit again in the future!

How To Make Sushi

I love sushi.

I love all kinds of sushi - cooked or raw, store-bought or restaurant-made, or even homemade. I love it all. I could probably eat sushi once a week for the rest of my life, if that was possible.

The most popular kind of sushi is probably the California Roll. It's very basic, and not scary at all (there is no raw fish)! When Garrett and I were dating we used to make California Rolls for dinner sometimes. It's a great activity for couples or families who want to be more involved together in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
Nori sheets (seaweed - this can be found at WalMart)
1.5 cups sticky rice (you don't have to buy the expensive sushi rice - short or medium grain rice is fine)
1/6 c Rice vinegar
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
Imitation crab
1 cucumber
1 avacado

Cook the rice according to package directions.

While the rice is cooking, peel and cut the cucumber into thin strips, cutting out the seeds. Slice the avacado as well. If you have the thick legs of imitation crab, cut these lengthwise as well so they aren't too thick. Here, I have also cut up some asparagus that I needed to use up. California rolls don't have asparagus, but I thought I might try some in some of the pieces. That's part of the beauty of sushi - just throw in whatever sounds good to you.

When the rice is done cooking, transfer the it onto a plate to let it cool. While it's cooling, combine (in a small bowl) the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt, and heat through until the sugar and salt dissolve (just stick it in the microwave for a minute or so, or heat it on the stove). When the sugar and salt dissolve, sprinkle the vinegar mixture into the rice, stirring until it's all incorporated together. This gives the rice a little kick so it's not too plain-tasting.

Now, I usually like to buy the large square sheets of nori, but for some reason I've been having a hard time finding them in the store lately! WalMart still sells the half sheets, so that's fine too. However, with the half sheets, it's hard to roll the sushi up all the way after you've added the the rice, crab, cuke, and avacado. So, we're going to make the sushi rice-side-out. This is how the restaurants do it, and it makes for a better presentation. It is easier to roll it with the rice inside, but since we have the small sheets that won't really be possible.

Ok, we're ready to roll (haha).

Lay a sheet of nori on a plate and, with a spoon, spread the rice over it, smoothing it flat to cover the entire sheet.


Now is the time to sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, if you desire. I didn't this time, but you can do whatever you want.

Now, carefully pick up the sheet and flip it over onto a piece of seran wrap (so the sticky rice is laying on the plastic).
Next, lay your crab, cuke, and avacado across the front of the nori, near the edge closest to you.

Ok, now this is the hardest part. It is MUCH easier if you have bamboo rollers, but mine are lost. But it's possible to do it without them, and I'll show you how! Carefully pick up the front of the nori, with the seran wrap under it, and roll forward as if you are folding the nori over the insides.

Continue rolling the nori, carefully pulling off the seran wrap as you go so that it doesn't get rolled into your sushi! When you've rolled it all up, pick it all up and squeeze it tightly so that the roll is tight.

Then, completely remove the seran wrap and slice into pieces! If you look at the picture below, you can see that there is still nori sticking out on the edge, because when I was spreading the rice I didn't spread it all the way to the edges. That's fine. Sometimes you may even have pieces of crab, cuke, or avacado sticking out the sides. I actually love when this happens - I just trim off the edges and eat them! Then, just proceed to cut the sushi into pieces.

Serve with soy sauce for dipping (I recommend Kikkoman brand) and, if you are really brave, some wasabi paste (but don't add too much.. it's very potent).