Steven's MS 150 Bike Ride

Steven rode for his 7th year in the MS Bike Ride. The route is 100 miles long and took him just under 7.5 hours, including breaks and lunch. Not too bad considering he didn't get in a lot of practice rides with the new baby. He raised over $600 for multiple sclerosis and earned a silver jersey. Way to go Steven!

soccer camp

Some teenage girls in my neighborhood ran a soccer camp last week so I signed Andrea and Steen up. It was an hour a day each morning and the kids had a blast. Towards the end of the week...Steen didn't last the whole hour...but he's now officially been introduced to soccer and they both plan to play in the fall!

Elisa's Baby Blessing

Elisa's blessing day was very special. We had a lot of family there to support us which was WONDERFUL! Thank you to all who came! The blessing Steven gave was beautiful. In the blessing, it talked about her ancestors that she was named after and the trials they went through and faith they had. We hope that all our children exercise faith in Jesus Christ and follow the examples of those who have gone before them and sacrificed much so they could learn of his gospel!

Elisa's blessing dress was worn by both of her older sisters and made by my mom.

We took pictures almost as soon as we got home from church...but not before Steen could change out of his church clothes.

We felt very lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa (Steven's parents), Grandma (my mom) & Pops and Grandma Marcina (our close family friends) with us for the occassion as well as my brother's family and many of Steven's aunts, uncles and cousins. Most of them came over for lunch afterwards and brought salads and desserts to share so that all we had to do was the main dish! Thanks everyone. We served french dip sandwiches...here is the recipe. They are yummy to dip in the au jus sauce. We had homemade sourdough rolls ( by Steven ) as well as costco rolls to serve them with. If you make the recipe...they were also good as leftovers made on regular bread like a grilled cheese sandwich and then dipped. Here is the recipe for the yummy french dip sandwiches:

FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES (from my college roommate Erin)

4-5 lb beef roast

1Tbsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp rosemarry (optional)

1 1/2 tsp accent

1 1/8 tsp paprika

Put all ingredients into 6-7 cups water in crock pot. Pour mixture over roast. Cook for 8 or more hours. (You can also cook covered in the oven at 300 degrees for 4 or more hours)

Shread meat and let soak up in own juice. Serve meat on rolls and dip in sauce.

Here are some random pics of all our family! Thanks everyone for your support!

Grandma and Grandpa come for a Visit!

Grandma holds Elisa for the first time! Is that not the cutest?!? Grandpa also takes a turn!

Everyone was excited to be with Grandma and Grandpa...we wish they could come out to visit more often. However, since this is the 4th time they've come to visit in the last year...we can't complain!

They got to watch Steen have his swim lesson! (By the way, Steen LOVED his first week of swim lessons and had fun jumping off the diving board and going down the slide. He had absolutely no fear!)

We went on a picnic with Grandma and Grandpa one day.

It pays to have California connections. We got a whole box of peaches, box of apricots and box of fresh plumbs from California!!!! YUM!!! I've been eating about 2-3 peaches a day for the last week and I am in heaven. Today we made apricot muffins. Delicious!

The most special part of their visit was the baby blessing for Elisa...see the next post!