My Nephew

By far, the cutest nephew I have in St. Louis!!

Cole Turns 9!

Monday was Cole's birthday, January 26th. What a fun day it was! He woke up to his parents singing "Happy Birthday" then headed off for a fun day at school.

Actually, his fun started a couple days before. Several of our friends came to Cole's basketball game on Saturday and then out to lunch afterward. Our friend, Michael, who loves to dance with Cole to Irish music, made a CD of Irish songs for Cole. He was so excited! Cole felt so special being celebrated by his honorary uncles and aunts!

Sunday afternoon we had a few of his buddies over to play games and eat cake. This wasn't a big party year so we kept it low key.

Monday he took cupcakes to school to share with his class at snack time and I surprised him mid-day to eat lunch with him. After school we met the grandparents for dinner at Applebee's (one of Cole's favs). He didn't want dessert there, but he did want the wait staff to sing to him. Aren't we adults the exact opposite! So after the special song, we headed back to our house for presents!

His primary gift was waiting for him as he walked in the door -

Yes, it was time for a new piano so with the help of the grandparents, we got him a (slightly used) new piano. Was he excited?

There were a few other things to open. He was most excited about his metronome!!

Here he is opening a DVD hidden in a Capri Sun box.

Then it was time for sweets #3. He had already had a cake and cupcakes, so for this celebration we got a cookie cake!

Here is a little video montage of various parts of the evening:

Pesto Chicken

As requested, here is the recipe for the Pesto Chicken pictured in the post below. This is from the Easy Recipes application on the iPhone. I'm typing exactly how the recipe reads, but I took several liberties with "sprinkling" and "spreading" based on the size of my chicken breasts.

Pesto Chicken
Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded ¼ inch thick
4 tbsp basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto sauce
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese blend or mozzarella
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp dry bread crumbs

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl, combine the salt and pepper. Sprinkle and pat this mixture onto both sides of the chicken.
4. On a large plate, place one chicken breast smooth side down, with the narrowest end closest to you.
5. Place 1 tbsp of pesto onto the center of the breast. Spread the pesto evenly over the breast using a pastry brush.
6. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of shredded cheese over the pesto, keeping a ½ inch cheese-free border around the breast.
7. Starting at the end closest to you, carefully roll up the chicken breast.
8. Using 4 toothpicks, secure the end of the breast. Place the breast, toothpick side down, on the prepared baking sheet.
9. Repeat steps 4 to 8 with the remaining chicken breasts.
10. Slowly pour 1 tsp of oil over each breast. Use a pastry brush to coat the top and the sides of each breast.
11. Place 1½ tsp of Dijon mustard on top of each breast. Use a pastry brush to coat the top and sides of each breast.
12. Carefully sprinkle 1 tbsp of bread crumbs over the top and along the sides of each breast, using your fingers to pat the crumbs onto the sides.
13. Bake until the chicken is firm and no longer pink inside, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
14. Remove the chicken from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before removing the toothpicks.
15. Using a chef’s knife, slice each breast ½-inch to 1-inch thick on the diagonal before serving.

Lately?

What have the Jacksons been up to??

Out cat was de-clawed this week and must wear a collar for several days to prevent her from chewing her paws. Pitiful and cute!

Brice turned 29 this month. One gift was a deluxe Scrabble game and we've been playing constantly!

We had some friends over for dinner and I used our beautiful china. I love the chance to set a pretty table!

Watching some NBA . . .

Trying new recipes. This Chicken Pesto is from one of Brice's iPhone apps "Easy Recipes" and is SO good!!

So that's our life lately. A little of this and that. Good stuff.

Basketball Has Begun

This is Cole's third basketball season and he still loves it! A friend and former teammate is on his team again this year which makes it more fun. Most of them are finally learning how to play as a team! Here are some photos of my big boy:

"I got it!"

"You're not getting by me!"

"Mine!"


"I see it, I want it!"

"I may fall, but save the ball!"

Croquet in the Cold

One of Brice's good friends is in town with his wife. We all went to a nearby field today to play some croquet.

The boys played pretty consistently.

It was Becca's first time to play.

Cole had a lot of fun and played pretty well too!

However, I made my dad proud and dominated the course.

At least the first 3/4s of the course! Then I started slipping, to my husband's delight!

And did I mention it was freezing?? I think that made it more fun though. You know that brisk energy you get when the weather is chilly? We were all feeling it!


Brice ended up winning - I came in 3rd. I gave him props though - no bitterness. We do have a rematch scheduled for Friday though!

Preview

I will have many pictures to show of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but thought I'd go ahead and give you a preview. Here are the Jacksons Christmas morning:

Christmas #1.5

You'll recall from below that we celebrated Christmas with my parents on the 17th, before they left town on vacation. A week later I received a call from my mother as I'm packing to leave for my Christmas trip to St. Louis. She had awakened remembering that she bought a gift for us but forgot to give it to us - and had no idea where it was! Now, I will not mock her for this, for I have been there before and know I will be there again! We crossed our fingers hoping she had delivered it to St. Louis over Thanksgiving and forgotten.

Christmas day came and many presents were opened, however, none of mine were from mom and dad. I gave her the news over the phone. Though disappointed, we both knew it would turn up eventually.

It didn't take long! She called me the next day to say that she had found it in a random drawer! A while back, I was coming over to visit one day and she needed to stash it so I didn't see it. Well, she stashed it well!

So what is this marvelous delayed gift? Ta da!!

Isn't it all cute and red! Totally worth the wait! Thanks, Mom and Dad!!

Christmas #2 - Brice's Parents

Our second Christmas was on the 20th with Brice's parents. We enjoyed another Mexican meal at Pablo's before heading back to our house for gifting.

Brice got another nifty t-shirt - how many of you know this great reference?

Gratefully, I got soft and beautiful scarves and gloves, just in time for my trip up north!!

Cole was ecstatic with a new Wii game and a couple new movies. He also got a cute little device that makes various gaseous noises with a touch of a button. Definitely a top gift of the day for him!

Sweet Paige didn't forget Macie either. She loves her ball with feathers!

About as much as she loved the wrapping paper and ribbons!

A big thanks to the Jacksons for their amazing generosity! Another fun Christmas evening!

Christmas #1 - Anna's Parents

Last night we celebrated our first Christmas of the season. This was the Cheely family Christmas. We (the Jacksons) dressed in our Christmas PJs as though it was really Christmas morning. After a dinner of taco soup and banana pudding, we got to opening presents!

Mom is great about getting Brice some clever t-shirt every year. This year's says:

BRICE

The Man

The Myth

The Legend

She also helped Cole pick out his presents for us this year. He LOVED her suggestion and put his own money into it. He was very proud! We both got t-shirts that read:

Cole wasn't consumed with opening his own gifts which was so nice to see! He was very interested in what everybody else got and made sure we went all the way around the circle before he opened another present. Selflessness or OCD?

Memom and Pop's hit gift:

Brice likes to wear scrubs when he massages. Mom made a note of that and gave him a pair in black - his favorite color. Good job, Mom!

Memom and Pop's other great gift was a set of air guns that shoot out little plastic balls. The boys had quite a battle. Not really sure who had more fun!

Yes, the parents got gifts too! Besides Mom's yearly puzzle, she also got a new game: Bananagrams. Lots of fun. Comes in a little banana-shaped zipper pouch.

Dad is always hard to shop for. Last year we took to the idea of getting him something practical that we know he'll use. So we got him a package of toilet paper. He loved it! So this year: light bulbs!

Then I decided to get him something a little bit sentimental. I made a collage poster through Snapfish and used only pictures of him and the grandkids. Mom went bananas over it!

I think he liked it too.

Not to be left out, even Macie got in on the action. She, of course, loved the wrapping paper and the boxes!
It was such a fun evening. My friend, Stephanie, is staying with us a few days so she joined in the fun as well. She was also the designated photographer - thanks, Steph! And thanks, Mom and Dad - it was a great Christmas!