chocolate eclair cake

Nothing gourmet here~ but so easy to make and so good.

2 boxes instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup powdered sugar
12 ounce container Cool Whip
1/2 box graham crackers
1 can of chocolate frosting

Mix pudding, milk and powdered sugar. Fold in Cool Whip.
Completely line 9x13 pan with graham crackers.

Spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers, and then the rest of the pudding mixture.

Top with a layer of graham crackers and spread the top with the chocolate frosting. (The frosting spreads easier if you pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds.)

Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before cutting and serving.

pond hockey

It stands to reason that since Minnesota is the

that we would have a whole day dedicated to the sport. Saturday was "Hockey Day in Minnesota". There were all kinds of events held all over the state, including youth, high school, and NHL. And there was even some "Pond Hockey."

The 5th annual US Pond Hockey Championships were held this past weekend at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. There were over 1500 players, with teams from all over the country, Canada and England. Every year it seems to be getting bigger and better.

Unfortunately, the weather was not the best this weekend with temps in the high 30's and rain! (Yes, rain in January!!) But that did not stop Pete from taking Drew and a friend down to see a little bit of this fun event.

gold medal

A couple of days ago, Drew's hockey team had a special guest come and talk to them before their practice.

'Coach Pete' had arranged for Eric Strobel, from the gold medal winning 1980 Olympic Hockey team, to come and meet with the team. This was a special treat, especially with the Olympics starting in a couple of weeks.

Eric did a wonderful job talking to the boys about his experiences playing for the Olympic team and for Herb Brooks. He also motivated the boys to work hard, skate whenever they can (especially at outdoor rinks) and to do a lot of stick handling.

The boys have all seen the movie "Miracle" many, many times; so meeting Eric in person made a great impression on them.

They asked a lot of great questions, and were thrilled when Eric passed his gold medal and ring around for the boys to look at!

Eric was gracious enough to take a picture with each of the boys and let them each try on the gold medal. Very cool!

A few of the boys also brought some USA jersies and sticks that Eric also so kindly signed.

It was a special night for Drew's hockey team and I think one that they will remember for years to come.

hockey tourrnament- Roseau

This past weekend we had our last out of town hockey tournament for this season. Friday morning, Jake and I loaded a coach bus with his team and parents and headed to Roseau, MN; which is only about 10 minutes from the Canadian border. I am so glad that we took a bus and that I didn't have to drive!!!

The boys did great this weekend- winning 3 of 4 of their games and ended up taking 2nd place.

They had fun running around the hotel, running around town looking for good deals on hockey sticks, playing poker...

And some of the boys chose to do some extra 'just for fun' skating. The rinks in Roseau are open 24 hours a day and the kids can just go and skate whenever there is open ice- for free!

Over the years, I have been to a lot of hockey tournaments but I have to say that this one was probably one of my favorite. It was just a lot of fun all around; from riding the bus, to the welcoming town, and having the boys come in 2nd place.

One of the highlights for me this weekend was when a group of us went to the Legion ~

and played pull-tabs... and won $500!!

Fun weekend!

citrus parade

Tyler's band marched in the Citrus Parade in Orlando and the Jr. Orange Bowl Parade in Miami, over winter break. He is in this picture... somewhere right in the middle. :)

Here is a video that I found on Youtube of their performance at the Citrus Parade.

hockey tournament- Breezy Point

This past weekend Drew's hockey team had an out of town tournament at Breezy Point. Pete, Drew and Tyler  left Friday right after school for a fun weekend of hockey. Here are a few pictures from their weekend.

Tyler coaching his team.

They stayed at a great hotel called the Whitefish Lodge. (I was super jealous because most 'hockey tournament hotels' that we stay at tend to not be very nice!)  :)

Drew and a friend checking out some 'shinny sticks'.

A big shinny game.

Tyler with one of the players.

Looks like it was a fun weekend!

coaster craft

I love receiving gifts made from someone's hands and heart; and each Christmas I like to try to make some gifts to give. This year I decided to make some coasters which make for a nice little hostess gift or to add on with another gift.

First, I cut various scrapbook paper into 4x4 squares. I used my paper cutter to make sure that all the cuts were nice and straight.

Then I set out the 4 inch square white tiles onto newspaper. I purchsed the white tiles at Home Depot and they were really pretty inexpensive.

Next, I covered each tile with Mod Podge using a sponge brush.

Then I put the cut scrapbook paper on top and smoothed this out to get rid of any air bubbles. I let this dry for about 10 minutes or so, and then applied another coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper. I let this dry completely.

After they were completely dry, I then sprayed them with an acrylic sealer (I did this step in the garage) to seal them and ensure they were waterproof.  I let them dry overnight.

The final step was to glue a piece of thin cork onto the back of each tile. I cut these 4x4 and used plain school glue to attach.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product.

These were so simple to make and I think they turned out really cute!

hockey tournament- St. Cloud

Last weekend Jake had an out of town hockey tournament in St. Cloud, MN. The out of town tournaments are always a highlight of the season and really help bring the team together. These tournaments are something that the kids and the parents really look forward to and are a lot of fun!

So last Friday, Jake and I headed up for a weekend of hockey games, a stay in a hotel, fun with the team and parents, and very cold weather!









This is a picture that I took when it said -14 degrees but I did actually see it register at -22 at one point in the weekend! Brrrr!!

blog to book

What I have been busy working on~



Along with putting all my Christmas decorations away and getting my house back in order from all the Christams festivities, I have been busy working on printing out my blog to a book form.

I am using a website called Blurb to download and print all of my 2009 posts. It has been a little bit of work to get everything just the way I want it, but I think it will all be worth it and I am really excited to have my blog printed out for my family as a permanent memory of our year.

Florida band trip

Tyler left December 27th for a 10 day trip to Florida with the school marching band.



Eight buses of students and chaperones, and a semi truck full of uniforms and instuments left cold and snowy Minnesota.







They first headed to Orlando and marched in the Citrus Parade. While in Orlando, they also went to Sea World and Univeral Studios and spent New Years Eve at Disney World.

We didn't hear much from Tyler while he was gone- but we did get a few texts and he emailed us the 2 pictures that he took!! :)





Then they headed down to the Miami area for the Orange Bowl parade. They also had some beach time and a boat cruise.

Tyler arrived back at the high school tonight about 5pm, a little weary but with a lot of good memories and some very cold weather to greet him.