1st Annual Bagna Dinner

Nate and the Garlic

We have been talking about making Bagna Calda, Bagna for short (pronounced Bon-ya) for years. It means "Hot Bath" in Italian and it is a garlic, butter, tomato and anchovie fondue that my family has every Christmas Eve. Since my mom was coming into town, we thought it would be the perfect time to try making it ourselves since she would be here to help ensure that it was done right. We decided to start small with our more "food adventurous" friends and to minimize that amount of shucking of garlic and chopping of veggies for the first attempt. It was a big hit and a lot of fun. We plan on making it an annual thing and inviting more people.

Farwell to Friends

We had to say goodbye to a couple good friends this weekend. Simone and Troy are moving to Brussels for Troy's work and Betsy and Jason are moving to San Antonio, TX for Jason's work. Our going away get together was at Betsy and Lee's house and it was a great time. Thanks to Betsy, Ari and Sarah for all their coordination. In a few months we'll have to say good-bye to Sarah and Matt too...

Bath Time

Riley hasn't been a big bath fan, so we tried a new approach last weekend. In stead of just filling up his little baby bathtub, Nate filled our large bathtub with water and Nate got in the water too. At first Riley was still a little unsure but having Dad there holding him helped and pretty soon he was smiling and enjoying the water.

5 months old

I can't believe that Riley is already 5 months old. His second bottom front tooth has come in and he is squirming all over the place. I'm sure he'll be rolling over and sitting up on his own before we know it.

Land Cruiser Surgery

A couple weeks ago I bought the lovely red Land Cruiser that you see above from a guy in Laramie, WY. It had been rolled so the guy cut the top off with the intention of putting a roll cage on it, but he ran out of time and money. It had the suspension kit (shocks and leaf springs) that I wanted for my Land Cruiser to give it about a 3" lift, as well as several other parts that I wanted/needed. I got a really good deal for all the parts I was getting. Anyway Kirk and Lee came over last Saturday and Sunday to help me take them apart and swap out the suspension.

It took us about 15 hours total to completely take the suspension of both trucks swap them and put it back together, it was a lot of work, but worth it in the end. My springs were so flat that I probably got a 4-5" lift in the rear and about a 3" lift in the front. Now I just need to get 33" tires (which will raise the truck another 2") and I will be all set for camping, hunting, fishing and off-roading. Of course there is a long list of other things I want to do to my truck, but after the tires the major functional things will be done.


Thanks Kirk and Lee for your help.

Spitting

Riley is always learning something new and this time he has discovered his tongue and how to make spitting noises. Check out the video.

First Saturday Brunch Bunch (FSBB)

This past Saturday was the first get together of our newly formed First Saturday Brunch Bunch or FSBB. It is an excuse for us to get together and have a "play date". This was also the first opportunity most of us had to meet Rachel, one of the newest additions to the Sigma Pi family. It seems that we always get a photo of the moms and the babies so this time it was the dad's turn.