Christmas/New Years Blog #2

So the first week of our "Christmas Vacation" was in OKC with my crew...the second week we spent in Palm Springs with Ted's crew. How lovely and WARM it was :) We had a great time golfing ( I rode in the cart/pulled the flag/helped look for golf balls that weren't in the fairway). The combo of mountains and desert is breathtaking! Everything is just beautiful there. We ate many delicious meals, watched some great college football Bowl Games, and perhaps our favorite part was learning a new game called BANANAGRAMS! (Thanks Grant and Lindee for introducing us to this!) Here are a few pics from the trip, ENJOY! Thanks Al and Dixie for such a wonderful trip, love you all.

Christmas/New Year Blog #1

Well, we hope this finds all of our readers well and settling into the New Year- 2010 (I've only written 2009 a few times, ha!) We've been a little out of pocket since our last blog, but hopefully these next few posts will get us back on track! Well, those of you who don't live in Oklahoma, we have to tell you we had the snow storm of the century! Christmas Eve was an absolute white out...here are some pictures to prove it! We sure had fun with the Family...we did everything from eating, playing Rock Band, eating, watching sports, oh, and did we mention we were well fed? :)(There was even a Girlfriend's Night at Ted's-yum!) Thanks everyone for a GREAT week...we love you!

Fine Dining!

Sunday night, Dec 13th we attended the First Annual Fancy Christmas Dinner Party, hosted by our dear friends, Bryan & Emily Jobe. Robert and Bria Parker also joined us and the 6 of us ate and laughed all evening long. We had appetizers, drinks, steak and a variety of delicious sides including Emily's homemade bread. For dessert, Bria created the most amazing calorie filled dessert you have ever laid your eyes on...Sticky Toffee Pudding I believe it was called-oh my word, it was drizzed with caramel like goodness and topped off with ice cream. None of us could move nor ate anything the next day :)

Here are pictures from our evening. Thanks again dear friends, we can't for the next one!

Skating in the Big "D"!

Sorry Blog Readers...I've been slacking a bit! I can hardly believe we're half way through December. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and has now switched into "Christmas Mode" :) Last weekend, Ted and I went ice skating with the Youth Group in downtown Detroit-it was a BLAST!!! There was live music, a huge Christmas tree and the weather conditions were just right(it was cold but not much wind-which we amateurs skaters gratefully appreciated, ha!) We then went across the street to eat at Hard Rock Cafe-yum! Here are some pictures from our evening. (Ted thinks we should train for 2016 Winter Olympics as pair figure skaters...yeah right!!) :)

The Grand Finale!

Last weekend was our last Michigan Football game and our last group of visitors for 2009...Ted's parents, brother Grant and our Sister-in-law Lindee came up for a few days. What a GREAT time we had with them...as you can see, I start every visit off by taking our guests to the Cider Mill for apple cider and doughnuts :) Friday we spent the day walking around campus and touring AA. Saturday was Game Day and we tailgated hard, cheered hard, and slept hard that evening, ha! (You'll notice the picture I took of Al, Ted and Grant in the big chair-clearly exhausted from football Saturday) :) Thanks Ledbetters for coming to see us and for spoiling us while you were here...we love you guys!

Ted's Trip to Wisconsin

Early Saturday morning, Ted flew to Wisconsin along with 20 other Michigan donors to cheer on the Wolverines. Well...Michigan didn't get the win, but Ted still had a great time and really enjoyed his day in Madison. Here are some pictures from the game.

Applesauce Pie

Courtesy of our friend Paula Dalrymple...enjoy, this recipe is delicious!!!

APPLESAUCE PIE

Pie crust 9" pan (fresh or frozen)
2 eggs
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup smooth applesauce (jar)
1 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk all ingredients in the order listed. Pour into the (thawed) pie crust and bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is a bit puffy (it will deflate upon cooling). Served with whipped cream if desired...ENJOY!!!

More Visitors!

Yes, just call us the Holiday Inn, ha! :) Our next guests to come visit & stay with us in Ann Arbor were our dear friends Brennon and Tam Barnes from Oklahoma City...we had the most wonderful time with them and were SO thankful to have them here(and thrilled that the weather was on good behavior, ha!)We crammed in quite a bit of fun...Cider Mill for donuts and hot cider, a Basketball game,a Football game(don't they look good in their maize and blue??!!), some shopping, and of course, food! Here are some pictures from the weekend. Love you B & T, you guys are awesome!!!

Halloween Fun

Saturday night, we went to a Halloween Party... I was Little Red Riding Hood and Ted was a blind referee. (I was hoping I could get him to be the wolf, but didn't have much luck). Maybe next year??? :) I guess since I was taking him away from the television where the OSU vs. Texas game was...it's only fair that he got to choose his costume, ha!

Pistons vs Thunder Game!

Last Friday night, Ted and I went to the Detroit Pistons game...to cheer on the Oklahoma City Thunder! (We seriously were the only 2 Thunder fans there, ha!) A UM donor that Ted has gotten to know graciously gave us his tickets. We had such a great time...and we were SUPER excited that the Thunder won the game! Here are some pictures.

My Baby Brother is 20!!!

Kevin is no longer a teenager...that's right, Kev is 20 as of Monday, October 26th. Happy Happy Belated Birthday Kevin. Thanks for being such a great brother/brother-in-law and for always making us laugh-we love ya!!!!

Ted and Anne :)

Big Weekend!

Hey Everyone! It's been a little busy since Jon and Deb's visit...but packed with much fun that I'm finally sitting down to blog about! Last weekend, UM played Penn State (we won't talk about the score so much!) HOWEVER-Mimi, Uncle John, and his buddy Tommy(a life long Wolverine Fan) came up for the game. We had a blast! Friday evening we went to The Prickly Pear. Saturday, we arrived at The Big House in full UM gear, tailgated and cheered hard for Michigan (in the wind and rain might I add). Sunday, Uncle John and Tommy headed back to OKC...but Mimi got to stay with us for a few extra days, HOORAY! She totally and completely spoiled us. Period. Sunday after church she treated us to a delicious lunch (The 3 of us plus a group of dear friends from church). I even got a birthday dessert :) Then Sunday night was Trunk or Treat at church...Ted went as a blind Ref and Mimi and I went in $5 JC Penny halloween t-shirts, ha! It was so much fun, and I think the kids all had a great time. I've posted a picture of our two favorites, Amelia and Andrew :) We love them!! Monday and Tuesday we played and shopped, and today I had to take Mimi back to the airport. Thank you for coming up to visit us...we love you SO much and we can't wait for you to come again!

Jon & Deb's Visit to Ann Arbor

Wednesday night, my parents came up for a visit (YAY!) We started the trip off with dinner downtown at The Blue Tractor for some good old bbq. We went shopping at the mall as well as downtown AA for some Michigan gear, stopped by the Cider Mill for some cider and donuts, checked out Michigan Madness (Basketball Kickoff) on Friday night, went to the Football game on Saturday (we absolutely destroyed Delaware State) came home and ate chili while trying to stay awake to watch the Yankees and the OSU Cowboys...needless to say we all fell asleep! Got up this morning, went to breakfast at The Broken Egg, and took mom and dad back to the airport. It was a perfect weekend and we couldn't love our company more...thanks again for everything!!!

Big House Big Heart...My first 5K

This morning I ran my first 5K (my first race of any kind for that matter!) with my dear friend Rachel. The event was called Big House Big Heart and it is a great fundraiser which helps the UM program for Neurology, Mott Children's Hospital and the UM Cardiovascular Center. It's estimated that there were 10,000 participants! There was a 10K, 5K, and 1 mile Fun Run/Walk. We started on the north end of the stadium, ran through campus, and the coolest part was running down the tunnel and finishing on the 50 yard line of the Big House (I now know what a running back feels like...sort of!) Here is a picture of Rachel and me before our run (yes, we're freezing!) :)

A Fall Treat

I saw this recipe in a magazine and after drooling over the picture of the finished product, decided this needed to be shared with others :) I haven't made it yet, but have full confidence that it will be delicious!

TURTLE PUMPKIN PIE

1/4 cup plus 2tbsp caramel sauce
1 (6oz) pie crust (honey maid)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp chopped pecans
2 pkg(3.4 oz each)Jell-O Vanilla flavored instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip, thawed

POUR 1/4 cup caramel into crust, sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts. BEAT pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spoon into Crust. REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Top with remaining cool whip, caramel topping and nuts just before serving...enjoy!