Lefse 2012

The week before Christmas we loaded up the car & drove to Vancouver, WA to attend the annual Ellertson Lefse Feed. Jared's family (& mine) are Norwegian so they have hosted for many years a potluck style meal that revolves around the traditional way of making lefse. For those of you who may be unfamiliar it's basically a potato crepe or tortilla, it's warm and soft & you slather it in melted butter & a topping of your choice. Usually this entails brown sugar, cinnamon, peanut butter, jam or whatever else your heart desires.

Last year we stayed with Jared's cousin's Brad & Tina (and had so much fun letting the cousins play!) But, this year we opted for a hotel room with our growing brood.  On the way there we stopped in Portland to visit Jared's best friend Eric & his wife Graznya who recently added a new member to their family! Maya was born on my birthday August 6, 2011. We had yet to meet her, not even a photo!

I'm pleased to introduce to you, Maya! She's adorable and looks an awful lot like her Daddy!

She was the happiest, quietest baby ever! It figures, both her parents are pretty laid back.

She was a sharp contrast to our boisterous boys who managed to find everything breakable or off limits within minutes of our arrival. In fact, as we were attempting this group shot you can see Grady has just discovered a hidden bag in the window sill that has a pair of sharp, tiny sewing scissors and is about to make some adjustments on their curtains if it hadn't been for Jared's eagle eye spotting his impish desires.

The happy family!

Maya

After our visit with our friends we met up with family the next morning.

Here's John & Kim's newest member of their family! Another baby we had yet to have the pleasure of meeting, Ryder!

He's so cute, just like his big brother, Chace. I fell in love at first glance.

I think he looks a lot like his Daddy, though most people think he looks more like his Mama.

Big brother, Chace is growing up so fast!

Cousin Caden

Remember this little doll? Another adorable Mya!

Mya & her Mama Tina

Logan gearing up for the lefsa feed!

Jonette brought her famous cupcakes

Uncle Lawrence flipping some lefse

Oh my, this sweet little thing is Audrey. Our family has had a lot of babies this year! I love her name, it's what we would have named our daughter, had we had one! Well, Hunter & Logan would have been Madison Lynn, but Grady was going to be Audrey Monroe.

 ♥ One of my most favorite people in this world & her babe Ryder. ♥

Grammy & Grady

Ron & Brad

The happy hosts Grandpa Ken (right) & his brother Rod.

Grady getting some lefse... I realized as we drove home that we drove 4 hours for this event & I forgot to eat any myself! :(

Most of the cousins together!

Chace, Ryder, MacKenzie, Kendra, Mya, Caden, Logan, Hunter, Grady, Ava & Jacob

Mya checking out how much Jared looks like her Daddy.

The famous Frimpong-Ellertson's :)

Another cute little cousin- Marley

Her sister- Cedelia

The boys watching Hunter play his DS in our hotel room... we left town for 3 days and forgot to bring ANY TOYS!! Not even a book! :( Luckily Hunter brought his DS and we had our cell phones, so the kids could pass the time with some Angry Birds. I couldn't believe we had no activities for the kids all weekend... rookie mistake!

Uncle Mark & Aunt Barb bought a new house and was the place to be all weekend. Here are the kids playing with their planes, trains & automobiles.

Andrea set up shop in the back room for the diva's to get their nails done. :)

This weekend was so much fun, I'm glad we've been able to go 2 years in a row now. I really hope we keep this family tradition going because we feel like we don't get to see our family in Portland & Vancouver nearly enough! It's nice to know at least one weekend a year we will see them. But, our goal is to make this trip more often, regardless of lefse being at the table or not.

It was great spending time with you & seeing our children creating bonds & making memories.

Love you all!