Alex's 6th Birthday

We spent Alex's 6th birthday in Oklahoma at Nana and Papa's house. It was also Thanksgiving. He got to have the party with his cousins Marli and Marcus. We had pizza and had a moon rock scavenger hunt to go with his Buzz Lightyear party. Then he opened some presents and had cake and ice cream. Later that evening we had Thanksgiving dinner.

Becky's Jewelry

Becky was introduced to making jewelry several months ago by her mom. She loves putting together earrings, bracelets, and necklaces and her pieces are looking great. She's even been taking some classes at a local college. Here's a few of her recent ones.

Paella

I tried a new recipe for paella last night that was very tasty. I modified it slightly from a recipe in Parade magazine by Paul Angelucci. It is a modification of a traditional Spanish dish. It even came out a little sweet. This recipe serves 8 - the next time I'm going to cut it in half. Prepare as much ahead of time as you can.

For the rice:
2 Tbs olive oil, 2 cups converted rice, 1 large onion - chopped, 2 Tbs chopped garlic, 1 c. salsa, 4 c. hot chicken broth

For the rest:
2 Tbs olive oil, 1 large onion - chopped, 1 lb. smoked sausage - sliced 1/2 in. thick, 2 tsp paprika, 1 lb. chicken breast cut into 1 1/2 in. pieces, 2 carrots - cut into 1/2 inch dice, 1 red bell pepper - seeded and cut into 1/2 in. dice, 2 Tbs. chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste, 1 lb large peeled shrimp, 2 c. frozen peas - thawed

For the Rice: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the rice and onion: cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice begins to brown lightly - about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the salsa and stir until liquid is absorbed. Stir in the hot chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it rest, covered, for 20 minutes.

For the rest: Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and smoked sausage and cook, stirring, until the onion softens. Sprinkle in the paprika and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken, carrots, bell pepper, garlic and salt/pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is cooked through. Add the shrimp and peas and cook until the shrimp turns pink. Mix it with the rice and serve.

Hairspray the Musical

On Sunday we saw the matinee showing of Hairspray the Musical. Neither of us had seen it before, nor the John Waters movie on which it was based. This was a great show - one of the best we have ever seen. The music was very catchy and varied. We really loved the message in the show - you can't always judge a book by its cover. Please try to see this whenever you can. You'll love it.

Alex's Kid Party

Alex's birthday is in less than 2 weeks, but since it is so close to Thanksgiving every year (actually on it this year), it is hard to have a "kid" party without everyone being out of town. So, we had it today at Chuck E. Cheese's. Alex had about 17 of his friends there. They played games, rode rides, ate pizza, danced with Chucky and ate a little cake. Alex had a blast and it seemed like everyone else did too.

Sesame Street Live 2005

Last night we went to the 2005 production of Sesame Street Live when it came to the Seagate Convention Center. The theme was "Super Grover: Ready For Action!" and it was great. The kids got to see their favorite Sesame Street characters dance and sing about getting your superness by getting plenty of sleep, eating good food, keeping clean with good hygiene, and exercising your muscles. Both of them loved it.

Our Sweet Boys

Becky wanted a picture of the boys together for a special project she has planned. We couldn't have asked for sweeter smiles, and a nice hand hold from Aaron.

Alex's Kindergarten Picture

This is Alex's 2005-06 Kindergarten picture. What a great smile!

Surgery in the mobile clinic

On our first day in New Orleans, we set up a clinic from 9 to 5 in an empty hospital parking lot in a part of town that had been flooded. The first day started a little slow, but we got busier as word of our presence spread. Some New Orleans police officers came by and got immunizations that they hadn't had a chance to get yet. A few hours later one of the cops we helped brought in a fellow officer who had been injured in his own home. He had been using a carpet knife to cut out rotted carpet from his own home and had sliced right across his index finger. It missed major vessels and tendons, but needed to be sewn up. The nurses on our team cleaned it out and we quickly assembled a suture kit, sterile gloves, and suture. I was able to close the wound right there in the mobile VA truck that had come down from NY for us to use. He would have to follow up at an area hospital that had re-opened - the closest was 30-45 minutes away - to get the stitches out in a few days. I did 2 other laceration repairs in that location.

Katrina mission pictures are online

I've put pictures from my trip to Louisiana online at http://jevansfp.photosite.com/Katrina/. If you click on a picture on the bottom of the filmstrip, it will pop up to the center picture spot. If you click on the center picture, it will blow up to a larger one with captions and you can then use the arrow keys to move through one at a time. There is also a slideshow button which takes them fullscreen. On each of the single photo pages there is a "Save to my computer" link. If you need a higher quality copy to print, let me know and I'll email it to you. There were several pictures that didn't come out well on the disposable cameras I had - either too dark or out focus. You can use or share these however you wish. Also, please email me with any questions about any of the pictures. I am getting pictures from other people I was there with and will put some of the more interesting ones up on this blog with some more details.

Jason