Best photos of 2008

To continue a tradition I started last year, I have selected my 12 favorite photos of the year:

Sedgwick County Park in Wichita, January

New Mexico highway, February

At home in Wichita, March

At home in Wichita, April

Backyard in Wichita, May

Wichita's Wesley Hospital, June

Padre, July

Wichita sky, September

Downtown Wichita community garden, September

Wichita's Wesley Hospital, October

Rocky Mountain National Park, October

University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, November

Bowling for chili

Brian & I hosted his parents, brother and Grandma for dinner tonight. Brian made one of our favorite slow cooker recipes: chicken enchilada chili. (Find the recipe at the bottom of this post.)


We had lots of goodies.


My father-in-law watched WSU play ... and lose, unfortunately.


While we were waiting for dinner to finish cooking, we introduced Grandma to Wii bowling. I'd say she knocked 'em dead, especially considering that she's 91 years young:

Then it was time for the meal.


Men in the kitchen. Nice.

Chicken Enchilada Chile

1.25 pounds skinless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) stewed tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
2 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) chili beans in sauce, undrained
1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce
Sour cream
Chopped fresh cilantro
Mexican shredded cheese
Tortilla chips
**
Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients except sour cream, cilantro, cheese and chips in cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker. Remove bones and chop chicken. Return chicken to chili mixture in cooker. Stir. Serve and top with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips and cilantro. Serve with corn bread.
Source: Slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Walkin' in a winter wonderland

When beautiful fluffy snowflakes started to fall early Saturday afternoon, Brian suggested that we round up the pups and take them on a walk. We headed to Swanson Park, where the pups investigated lots of interesting smells and had a chance to run around and explore:



The outing was a little messy but totally worth it.

A Wichita Christmas, take three

Christmas evening found Brian & me at my parents' house to celebrate with them and Jen, Ryan & Kaden and Amanda & Kurtis. It was Kaden's first Christmas and the newlywed's first Christmas as a married couple. It was also the first time I'd seen Amanda in months, so there was much to be happy about.






You may already have seen a photo like this one on Jen's blog. (That's Amanda's dog Toby in an elf costume.)


I think Mom enjoyed spending time with the two little ones.










Here's a funny video I took when Brian opened a gift from Mom: a giant Pez dispenser for pets. It actually dispenses pet treats. Toby was so mad when we wouldn't give him any. (The treats were too big for him!)

A Wichita Christmas, take two

Our second party on Christmas Day was at Brian's parents' house, where Eric and Grandma were helping to celebrate.


Brian's dad gave his two sons the book "Bill Self: At Home in the Phog" by Bill Self with John Rohde. Ironically, we got his dad the same thing:


Brian's Aunt Lynn, Uncle Larry and cousin Matthew joined the party, too, making it a fun and happy house.


Up next: scenes from the third party of the day at my parents' house.

A Wichita Christmas, take one

When Brian & I got married, we started a tradition of spending Christmas morning together alone at home. We brew coffee and make French toast with cinnamon bread (this year we used a delicious loaf from Great Harvest Bread Co.) and enjoy the quiet morning before the wonderful whirlwind of family gatherings begins.

Santa brings the pets fun presents, and we enjoy watching them play. This year, Dakota & Lilly each got a Kong Snugga Wubba:

Meow Meow got a strange little fish toy that she loves:

A KC Christmas

After seeing the Appalachian Christmas Quartet at Aldersgate, Brian & I headed north to spend the weekend in the Kansas City area. I saw The Rockettes at the Sprint Center with my mother-in-law and Brian's grandma, aunt and cousin from the KC area. The show was impressive.

Then we met up with about 20 other relatives from across Kansas, as well as others from Iowa, Colorado and Wisconsin for dinner, a gift exchange and a fun evening.



















I love his Aunt Nancy's mantel, which has a eclectic collection of fun stockings that represent her children and grandchildren:


Later that night, Eric, Brian & I went to see the festive lights at the Kansas City Country Club Plaza. On Sunday, the three of us went to church at The Resurrection and had lunch at The Legends before Brian & I headed back to Wichita.

Dreaming of a white Christmastime

We didn't have a white Christmas Day this year, but we have had a white Christmas season ... for the most part. The day after Christmas set a record high in Wichita at 69 degrees. The day after that, it snowed. Go figure.

There also was a gorgeous snowfall in mid-December. I was fortunate to have some time off that week, so I was able to enjoy it with Brian & the pups.











Lilly's getting better at fetching the paper, although she can't do it consistently on her own yet. I had hoped she would have this trick down in time for the first cold snap. Oh well. It is fun to coach her on this one, even if it means bundling up beforehand.

Merry Christmas, part duex

Other wonderful December happenings include that Brian & I kept our annual tradition of visiting Botanica's Illuminations:


I sang in The Eagle's choir at the holiday open house with, from left, Annie, Suzanne, Rod and Molly. (Photo courtesy of Travis.)

And I took a vacation day to hang out with Mom. We each picked out new glasses at our optometrist's office (she chose adorable new frames and I purchased my first pair of prescription sunglasses). We checked out some local boutiques we've never been to, Christmas shopped for our hubbies, made a visit to our favorite fabric store, chatted over lunch and topped it all off with a peppermint mocha and gingerbread latte from Starbucks.


Having Mom well and happy this Christmas has no doubt been one of the greatest gifts of the season. She and Dad attended a Christmas Eve service at Aldersgate with Brian and me. Afterwards, one of the pastors who had visited Mom in the hospital several times this summer told Mom that she got a little choked up seeing her sitting among the congregation. "It's so wonderful to have you with us this Christmas," she said. Mom and I both cried. God bless us everyone.

Merry Christmas, part one

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted an update! But as Bob Cratchit says to Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," "I've been making rather merry." So just what exactly have I been up to? I've been playing Santa by baking (or at least helping Brian bake), working on a few homemade gifts (one of the favorite things I've done this month) and shopping. (In some cases, several times. Like when Amanda told me the day after I bought her a red cashmere sweater that she loves her new red cashmere sweater she bought herself! ACK! Hope she loves the gray one I exchanged it for just as much.)

Here are a couple of additional highlights:

Book club: We gathered at Bonnie's lovely abode for our annual Christmas book exchange. I hadn't even cracked our December read, "Anna Karenina," but I was excited for one of my gal pals to read "Love, Greg and Lauren," which I brought for the dirty Santa book exchange. Carrie wound up with it and read it quickly, so she and I already have had our mini book discussion about the tear-jerker.






In the meantime, I've also read two Christmas books on my own: "The Paper Bag Christmas" by Kevin Alan Milne, a touching new novel I would highly recommend. (I've already loaned it out, if fact, in hopes that it would add to a friend's holiday.) I also read the oddly similarly titled "The Christmas Box" by Richard Paul Evans, a cloyingly sappy novel I would not recommend to
anyone. I have not loaned it out. And won't. (You're welcome.)
















Brian (with Dakota's help) has gotten some reading in, too.


I've also busied myself with babysitting my adorable nephew. And having shameless little photo shoots with him. (Brian had this giant stocking when he was a kid, and we hang it up in our basement every year for nostalgia's sake.)






More updates to come soon!