Movies, Softball and Napa Valley

Another crazy week!!! Let’s see what happened. A week ago we took Morhéa to her first movie. It was outdoors in this new fancy mall we have by our house. Morhé and her friend Ella went. We had Mexican food for dinner and then went to the movie post-thunderstorms. I have a new found appreciation for movies like Shrek and Cars. They are the perfect combination movies. Kids love them and parents also get a kick out of them because of the adult humor thrown into the movie. Unfortunately for us we were seeing High School Reunion 2. WOW! It was so bad I almost lost it. It was over the top gay (gay as in festive, jolly, jovial, lively, mirthful, rollicking, spirited, vivacious and zippy). It was great to see our good friends the Howell’s again because summer is busy for both Brian (U.S. Forest Survey) and me (USGS) with our field seasons. Brian is pretty much in the field every Monday through Thursday for the entire summer and he usually isn’t in Denver. Ella is one of Morhéa’s good girlfriends and they love to PLAY! That Friday we were also sent home from daycare with Morhéa’s diapers!!!!! YES!!!!! What that means is that she is like 98% potty trained. Of coarse as I am about to just start screaming because I can’t take the gayness of the movie I start to feel this warm wet feeling as Morhéa is sitting on my lap. Just as it couldn’t get more miserable I get peed on! That also most sent me into the stratosphere. I sat there for another 10 minutes trying not to show my anger (after all it was for my daughter). Then it got late and we decided to go. I had a great time with friends but I can only hope they show Shrek, Cars, The Godfather, This is Spinal Tap or 300 the next time I go to the kids movies. They did play Spinal Tap in Cherry Creek last week in the park.

In true form we had our last Saturday tournament for our beer league softball. Our backup catcher didn’t show until after 3 games. Our Starting Left Fielder didn’t show period and our 3B/1B we still have no idea where he is. Dano was injured yet we managed to stay tough. We won our first 3 and then lost somewhere near the semi-finals. It was a fun year though. Lots of good laughs with washers and softball. Summer is flying by.

Sunday Morhéa and the girlfriends went to a park while I recovered and packed for my trip. I was headed to California for a week to do field work.

I know everyone thinks it is a joke and all but I really did do work in the Sacramento/Napa Valleys. We started at UCDavis working with core samples for the first 2 days. Some kind of Superfund site with radioactive Beagles or something. Then I got to tour the hills for a full two days. This included the Sacramento Valley, then to Lake Berryessa, North to an old mine and then back down the hill to Napa. I got a lot of good stuff but there is very limited access to the areas so we did a lot of roadside geology. I learned a ton though. The valley is filled with some pretty impressive and diverse crops I have ever heard of. They had lettuce, tomatoes, peaches, cherries, rice, kiwi’s, corn, oats, barley, grapes, zucchini, cucumbers, walnuts, almonds, and just about anything you can thing of. One of the more interesting things is that if they want to grow a new fruit tree they actually graft it onto a more resistant naturally occurring tree. It almost looked like they stuck peach trees onto oak trees. We found several outcrops of serpentines and sample them all for 2 days.

We rolled into Napa around 5:30 and decided to go wine tasting. The hills around Napa are volcanic basalts. There are many minerals in basalt that weather easily (like olivine) and when they do they supply nutrients to Napa Valley. That is why the grapes grow so well there. Of coarse everywhere is closed at 5PM so we end up at Beringer Estate. Not the best wine but fun none the less. We learn there that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are grown at the southern end of the valley because they like cooler temperature supplied from air from San Francisco Bay. Just up the valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s grapes are grown because they are more heat tolerant. We drive around the valley in search of a wine boutique that might sell a few good wines that my coworkers have heard of. We end up getting a few bottles from a winery that was kind enough to let Chris and Jean to sample some soil from their vineyard a few years ago. Napa was very nice but a weekend would do me fine. Bring out the beer! Actually, Chris and I had a great idea. All of the wineries close at 4-5. We would open one that starts serving at 4PM and goes to 1AM. We would offer a u-pick system where you pick us 4 bushels of grapes and we give you 1 no-name bottle of wine in return! We wouldn’t have labels other then some white-out names written on the bottle. We would also figure out how to have an April mashing and then we would be the ultimate anti-winery! I like it! It was great though. I am glad I got to experience some wine tasting in Napa. Overall the trip was a success. I still have one area I would like to go back to and get some permission to walk around some land. Next time and maybe I can stay in Napa then! WHile I was gone Morhéa also had her first tumbling class. Very Cool! Her first class by herself. No adults are allowed for the most part!!

Got back tonight and was very excited to see Morhéa. We played for 2 hours straight until she had to go to bed. We danced to the new Bruce Springsteen album (Live in Dublin) which is awesome. I am not the biggest Bruce fan but this show rocks!! Pete Seeger is the man and Bruce covers him for many tunes in this show. I recommend that you check it out!

We have a busy few weeks now. Fantasy Football starts this week and my draft is next weekend. Jeff and Heather are coming out for a visit and football. We have a good group of guys this year and it should be fun. There should be some washers, fantasy football and poker along with beer. What else could we ask for?

Jim, Janya and the kids are coming over tomorrow for some fun. The Cousins have been gone most of the summer so we haven’t seen them in a while and Morhéa is excited to have everyone over!

Super Mom and SUper Daughter

So Supermom finished her first Half Iron Man this past weekend. It starts with a 1.2 mile swim, followed buy a 56 mile bike ride followed by a half marathon. All of this in Colorado 90 degree heat! Her official time was 6:08:40! Think about that in the heat. We are all very proud of her. Morhéa and I sat on the sidelines for an hour or two and just about melted. GREAT JOB MOM!!!





Also, Morhéa has moved up to the next room at daycare and is mostly potty trained. The sad news is that she just got back together with her friends who are older and now they are moving up already because there are a lot of vacancies above our class. It is kinda sad that she doesn't get to go with them because she will be the oldest in the class again and it hasn't even been a month!! All of her little friends from before will be moving up.

NY trip!

I am already several weeks behind on the blog so I will have to give some summaries. After our crazy travel day I ended up in Rochester and Kim and Morhéa were in Syracuse. I got late enough that I decided to stay in Rochester for the night and drove to Syracuse the next day. While I was away the Buytaert’s and the girls went to the Syracuse zoo. The next day André got the great idea to go fly a kite. Morhéa had never done this and he had a pretty high tech kite. It had 2 strings attached handles that you held which allowed you to steer the kite in different directions. It was a lot of fun. Morhéa enjoyed playing in the fields and watching us fly the kite.

The next day we goofed around and then went to Cazenovia Lake for some splash time. Aunt Steph and Morhéa had a blast in the water while the rest of us read books and lounged around.

The next day we took Morhéa to story time at the local Library which she loved. We weren’t sure if the weather was going to hold up but we got lucky and André and I got our annual round of golf in. New York does do a great job with its state courses. Much better than Colorado does. We played the Green Lakes State Park Golf Course. They have some of the cheapest green fees and best courses. In Colorado the golf courses are beautiful but most are privately owned and they charge a premium for their beauty. There are some great county courses around but in NY they seem to be better. The girls went to a duck pond and fed the ducks.

We finished the visit off with a visit to another local park where Morhéa got to play on the swings and hang out with the family. The night ended with a good home cooked meal.

The next day we headed out to Rochester. Grandpa and Grandma were eagerly waiting for us along with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Heather. Grandpa’s house was an instant hit with a combination of the unlimited supply of raspberries for eating in Dad’s garden and the tractor rides. Every morning Grandpa and Morhéa would wakeup and take a tractor ride to the woods and back. Morhéa even got to make the front end loader go up and down.

It was at this point in our trip that Morhéa decided to revolt on taking naps and going to bed. Carolyn scored us a Pack N’ Play for Morhéa to sleep in. Morhéa is in the transition to a big girl bed and in Syracuse she slept on a mattress in Aunt Steph’s room. We decided to try the Pack N’ Play because it was a little more secure. The first day we were there we put her down for a nap and usually she will cry a little but will be out within 10 minutes. Not this time! We tried the nice way for a little while but eventually closed the door and decided she would fall asleep on her own. Much to our surprise a minute later she was standing at the top of the stairs crying for us. We put her back in and she just crawled right back out. The next day I went and got one of the childproof doorknob things. We put it on and put her down for a nap and within a minute of closing the door we could hear her climb out of the crib and then proceed to open the door within 20 seconds! The rest of the week we struggles with naps and bedtime but eventual got her to sleep every day.

Since we missed our annual pilgrimage back to Rochester for the 4^th of July we decided to go to Paul’s house and have our own beach day. For those that don’t know we have a Hoefen family gathering at a beach house on Lake Ontario every year. We have been doing this as long as I can remember and as long as I can remember everything has remained the same. It is the ultimate tradition. Kitt owned the house for a long time and now her son Paul owns it. Before that I can’t remember. What I do remember is that there is always Dan’s wilted cabbage salad (which he won’t give up the recipe), Dad’s German potato salad, Kitt’s meat hot sauce (which I finally got the recipe out of her a year or two ago), white and red hots (white hot dogs are big in Rochester), macaroni salad, potato salad, jello salad, iced tea in one of those large Coleman containers with the spout at the bottom, desserts, washers and much more. Fireworks are illegal in NY but the lake always has the best fireworks display. It rivals that of large cities but from the locals. As far as the eye can see there are fireworks. I always thought that as you got older and taller things seem to get smaller but not the bonfires. Every year they get bigger and bigger. I heard this years was so big it moved the crowd back a good 50 feet. Anyway, Paul and Robin let us play at their house for the afternoon. Dad, Jeff, Heather and I took the Dad’s boat out and met them there. Morhéa got her 1^st boat ride! She put on her lifejacket and we took a good 20 minute spin in the boat. She loved it! A bonus is that one of the local eateries that Jeff and I enjoy immensely is around the corner. The problem is that Kim and Heather don’t really like it. The best hamburgers and dogs you have ever had. All coated with a wonderful meat sauce that is unlike anything you have ever had unless you have lived in upstate NY. Many of my friends know the garbage plate and this rivals the glorious garbage plate! I think Jeff ordered 1 hamburger, 1 white hot and 1 italian sausage all with everything. I wasn’t that far behind. Soooooo goooooood!

We also were pleasantly surprised to find out that our visit was also during the Hilton Carnival!! Again, something that you just have to experience. Someone once told me it was one of the larger carnivals in NY? It really is big. We held off a little and decided to take Morhéa to the parade. They have two parades. One is the kiddie parade and the normal parade. We took her to the normal parade which was fun but not like I remembered. They had tons of fire trucks which Morhéa loved but they also had a lot of political stuff going on which was annoying. Morhéa had fun and that was all that really counts.

The next morning we went to Brown’s Berry Patch. This is another local place that has been around for ever. A mom and pop farm that has had u-pick everything. They also have a little petting zoo and a kid’s playground that we had a blast on. We picked tons of blueberries and headed home. I think that night was our anniversary. We celebrated by going to The Zoo a.k.a the beer garden at the Hilton Carnival. I had flashbacks to the 80’s and early 90’s. They had a band playing that kicked it all off with Kiss’s Detroit Rock City. That was followed by a lot of 80’s hair band rock. It was great. Everyone there was loving it. In true Rochester fashion they pretty much only served Genesee Beer (the Coor’s of upstate). They had Genny light and old school Genny regular in the white cans. Jeff and I got a Genny and headed straight for the steamed clams. One dozen clams and side of clam broth for a few bucks. You can’t beat that! Instead of garbage cans they had apple crates which were piled 5 feet high with Genny cans. Hilton is apple country. By the time we got out the carnival was over and Jeff never got his funnel cake but overall we got what we all wanted (at least Jeff and I did).

Our last day Dad and Carolyn threw a big family gathering. We had all sides of the family there. The Hagenbach’s, the Hoefen’s and even the Parker side (my Mothers side of the family). It was great to see everyone. Morhéa had a blast with her cousin-in-laws. Dad was once again a hit with the wagon rides. I think the kids loved it so much he had to make two runs. We cooked barbeque and played bocce and washers. We had a blast! Morhéa even tried to leave with her cousins she loved it so much

Our trip home went much smoother. No delays and Morhéa did pretty good. Since then I went back to NY pretty much as soon as I got home. This time to go visit my buddy Scott for his birthday. It was good to see him, wife and son as well as my good friend Mike and his wife, Vanessa. For those movie fans out there Mike is currently showing his new film “Jeffrey” which he produces as stars in. He just got accepted to the LA film festival and hopefully we be coming to a theatre near you!! If you get the chance you should check it out.

We have a busy few months here. I head out to the Sacramento ValleyNapa Valley) for some field work and then next month go to Libby for some seriously nasty field work. (just north of Kim heads to Edinburgh, Scotland and Atlanta and Anaheim.

Italian - American Meatballs

Another great recipe I found on the food network. I could put these meatball in Ragu and be happy as pie! I have heard rumors that people have tried this without much success but usully they added ground turkey to the mix. This is the perfect mix so try and keep it as it.


2 slices of white sandwich bread, stale (or broiled in the over for a few)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
1/2 lb ground beef chuck
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbls grated Parmesan cheese ( not the one in the big green can for your local supermarket.) It makes a difference!
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 medium onion, grated ( about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large egg, beaten
Fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
Quick Marinara recipe (that you get for yourself because this is about the balls)

Cook 1 lb spaghetti

Grate the bread or pulse into crumbs in a food processor. Toss crumbs with 1/3 cup water to rehydrate.

In a large bowl combine, bread crumbs, pork, veal, beef, Parmesan, parsley, salt, onion, garlic and egg and mix until combined. Season with pepper. Form the meatballs into golf ball size balls and then refrigerate for 1 - 24 hours.

At this point Chef Todd broils them for a little while until they start to brown. Flip them and do again. Once they looked fairly cooked but them in the marinara for 10 minutes to finish.

"They" say to cook them in a skillet over med-high heat. Browning them on all sides, 6 minutes. Drain fat and add marinara back to the bowl. The cheese in the meatballs will start to melt when the meatballs are ready. Serve over rice immediately.