New Year's Eve ala The Kastelers

The invitation is out for one and all...

The first ever Married Couples Game Night is finally here! After all the talk of game nights, we invite everyone to come and join us for an awesome night of games, food, and fun! Have plans with other friends? No problem, bring them along! Come help us celebrate 2007 and ring in 2008 with board games galore, rootbeer floats, and memories you won't soon forget.

The Details:
What: The Best Game Night Ever!
When: New Year's Eve @ 7:00 PM
Where: 4763 S. Meadowview Rd. (300 East)
Who: Any friends and married couples that want to have fun!
Food: Please bring some root beer, vanilla ice cream, or snacks to share

We hope to see you all there!

Stephen and Victoria Kasteler

Ugly Sweaters

Hey everyone! We're sorry December was kind of a crazy month for everyone. But we promise to do something else with an ugly theme sometime soon - because man, Noah and I can sure pull off ugly.

We had a great display of sweaters at this year's event... but it was the Mickey duds that walked away with the oh-so-coveted first place tennis trophy.



Just when you thought only the FRONT of this sweatshirt totally rocked...



But the VERY best part. It was reversible.

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The other sweaters that evening weren't trailing far behind...







Happy Holidays everyone! We can't wait to see you next month.

That's Not the Idea

Noah’s family has this really amazing collection of home videos. One absolute CLASSIC that is still quoted often at the Riley household is from Christmas morning when Noah was about 10. Apparently he asked for a super-cool track jacket and pants. As he tore into the gift, his face got progressively more disappointed (and for those of you who know how easy going this guy is, if Noah is disappointed, you’ve crossed the line). From behind the camera, his dad asks, “what’d ya get, Noah?” Noah held up the perpetrator – a sweater – and said, “that’s not the idea.”

In a household about 60 miles north, an awkward pre-teen Allison was dropping ALL kinds of hints about this “totally awesome” sweater in ZCMI’s ads. I seriously campaigned hard for this retina-burning kaleidoscope of yarn. And Christmas morning, my heart pounding in anticipation, my parents TOTALLY delivered.

Whether your sweater was “not the idea…” or you just had that poor of taste in all things cardigan, pullover and turtleneck… now is the time to display them proudly at the first annual Ugly Sweater Soiree.

Stuff You Should Know:
Monday, December 17
7:00 p.m.
Riley Residence – Marmalade Square #216 (650 N. 300 W.)

Come show off your sweetest sweater (none of this – it’s actually very cute on you business, ladies...), enjoy some holiday tunes, mingle with friends and decorate sugar cookies – some for you to take and eat, some for you to deliver to the widows/older couples in the ward.

We’ll supply the cookies and frosting. Please plan to bring some manner of cookie decorating items – sprinkles, little candies, you know the drill.

I will do what I can to get THIS guy there...

Slacker

Hey all - sorry for the SERIOUS lack in posts. You would think we'd had a holiday, or been sick or something :). Hopefully you caught the announcement in church on Sunday, but for temple night this month, please support the stake temple night TOMORROW, Wednesday the 28th. There is a meeting in the chapel (upstairs) at 7:00 p.m. at the session is at 8:00 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

Progressive Dinner

November is here. And if you're like me, you equate November with family and food. (And if your family was like mine, usually you'd be seated across one of those horribly balanced little kid picnic tables from a cousin of comparable weight, and that all worked out fine until someone actually STOOD UP. Dinner usually ended with tears, a few bumps and scrapes from having a table land on some kid, and the inevitable gravy soiled shirt.)

This month's activity will be a fun way to get to know more of our ward family, share a tasty meal and spend some time in each other's homes... hopefully without any table incidents :).

Our evening begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Anderson's home for salad, then to the Nuttall's place for soup and bread bowls, and finally to the Wasson's digs for dessert. Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered their home and their cooking talents to make the evening possible, we're really looking forward to it!

The Details -

DATE/TIME: Monday, November 12th @ 6:00
PLACE: Anderson's, Nuttall's and Wasson's
(I'll send an email with addresses so this infor isn't just available for all the weirdos out there...)

Also, just so we can have a rough estimate of how many to plan for, will you please reply to this post or to the email to RSVP? Thanks!

Let Me See That Pumpkin Roll

Sorry for the totally lame 90s hip-hop reference. It's just one of those mornings.

THANK you - Cyndi - for reminding me to post this recipe! I'm glad you liked it! The recipe for the pumpkin roll (in the pictures from the post below) is RIGHT here for your baking pleasure. Enjoy!

PUMPKIN ROLL
3 eggs
1 c sugar
2/3 c pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
1 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
dash of cloves

CREAM CHEESE FILLING
1 c powdered sugar
1 stp vanilla
1 package 8 oz cream cheese
4 Tbsp butter
*All ingredients must be at room temperature. Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.


Beat eggs together in large bowl. Slowly add sugar, pumpkin, and lemon juice. Sift flour and baking powder together and add while mixing. Add the salt and spices. Grease large cookie sheet with shortening. Spread mixture evenly in the sheet. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Run knife around edges and immediately turn onto kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar. (Try to run a spatula under the whole thing--sometimes when you flip it over, the middle will stick to the pan and break) Roll the cake in the towel and let it cool. I roll it so it is skinnier and longer rather than thicker and shorter - that way, you can eat like EIGHT pieces and it's not a big deal because they're small. :)

Unroll and spread with filling. Roll again tightly; wrap the pumpkin roll in wax paper and then tin foil. Store in the freezer until ready to serve.

October Temple Night

This month's temple night will hopefully work for a few more couples - we hope to see you there!

Time: 6:00 session - please meet at the temple, in the session
Date: Thursday, October 25th

Mystery of Edwin Drood

Join the Marmalade pairs for a fun night of mystery and intrigue at the Empress Theatre’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” Charles Dickens died before he could finish his book, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” and so the mystery remains unsolved... Until now! The audience gets to vote on who the villain is in this wonderful Victorian romp. There are hundreds of possible endings, so each performance is unique and different! This musical comedy/mystery is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit!

We would like to get a group from the ward together to see the show:

When: Monday October 29, 2007

Time: 7:00pm (doors open @ 6:30) Please meet at the church before 6:15 if you are interested in carpooling out to Magna together.

Place: Empress Theatre in Magna (9104 West 2700 South)

Cost: $6.00 per ticket

If you are interested in attending please let Anna Heywood know by emailing her at anna@nwlarchitects.com or calling 755-3549. She will make all the arrangements for tickets. Thanks, and we hope you can join us!

Not Your Kindergarten Teacher's Caramel Apples

Thanks to some serious evaporated milk rescue efforts on the Kasteler's part, Monday evening's activity was a success. I was so impressed by the ability of some present (who shall remain nameless, but I just happen to live with one) who managed to fit all the topping options onto one little apple. These fall treats were not for the faint of heart. Thank you so much to everyone who came!

Apples to Apples

For this month's activity, we're celebrating all that IS fall. That's right - we're talkin' caramel apples, spiced cider, pumpkin rolls ... and Noah will knit each of you a sweater.

Please join us at the church on Monday, October 8th at 7:00 p.m. to make caramel apples - (yeah, those intense you-could-eat-one-for-three-meals kinds) eat some Fall goodies and play games.

So, to get your caramel apple on and to claim your Noah Riley knit goods, meet us at the church Monday @ 7:00.

TEMPLE NIGHT - TOMORROW

Hey everyone! We'll probably bombard you by email, blog and phone about Wednesday night to make sure everyone has the same info. I think there was a misunderstanding on Sunday to meet at 6:00 and go to the 6:30 session. Unfortunately, I don't think that exists. So, please still plan on attending the 6:00 session - which would mean meeting at 5:30. Let's please plan to meet in the chapel at the temple rather than at our ward building, that way if there are any snags, at least we're in the temple rather than trying to rush over. And if anyone's game, we could grab ice cream or something after the session. (But not Maverick frozen yogurt. Our last experience still haunts me. Should have known better than to buy dairy from the sketchy location on North Temple.)

So, recap:
WEDNESDAY, September 26 - meet at the temple @ 5:30 for 6:00 session. Optional frozen goodness after the session.

When It Rains, It Pours

After a literal blogging drought, I've decided to drown you all with posts. :)

Actually, we just wanted to give everyone a heads-up about September's temple night. For September, we'll cater to you Wednesday folks... I think we'll try to alternate between Weds/Thurs each month, there was a pretty even split in availability.

For those who are available, please plan on the 6:00 session on Wednesday, September 26th - we'll plan to meet in the chapel.

Finally, Some Visual Representation

Kudos to everyone in this shot who managed to hold a great smile in spite of the confusing 7-second delay.


The group after Jake Otteson made his triumphant ascent - I swear he must have RUN up the mountain. Impressive.

Hey! I Can See My House From Here...

Well, our first activity has come and gone. Thank you to all of you who were able to make it – thanks for braving the peak, the wind and my attempt to sing the alto line of the hymn. We appreciated Victoria supplying the delicious peanut butter kiss cookies, and the sweet Korean lady at the EZ Mart for stocking Chewy Chips Ahoy. We had a great time, and we hope it gave you a chance to get to know some of the amazing couples in our ward a little better.

I wanted to post some pictures from the hike, but it seems the fates have aligned to prevent me from doing so. I took my camera to work because I knew uploading pictures at home would be a nightmare thanks to our no bueno internet connection (my apologies to the management for marring their reputation on this blog with its readership in the high teens … but seriously). And my computer at work is apparently unable – or unwilling – to recognize my camera. So – maybe don’t hold your breath, but I promise some pictures will be posted shortly.

In other news: We’ve been enjoying the cookies we didn’t dare expose you to – I threw them all in a Tupperware when we got home Monday night, and they seem to have melded into one large chocolate chip mess. However, I’ve found eating a chunk of cookie with a fork really hits the spot after a hard day’s work.

Also...

I changed the settings so anybody can post comments (I believe...). Just select "other" and cough up the info they're after.

Ensign Peak

As the inaugural activity of the oh-so-hip young marrieds club, how 'bout we conquer a mountain? Or at least walk up a leisurely path the top of Ensign Peak…?

Normally, let’s plan to have our monthly activity on the first Monday of each month. The day o’ labor throws September off, however, so please plan on Monday the 10th.

DETAILS:
When: Monday, September 10 @ 7:00 p.m.
Where: Parking Lot of LDS Church below Ensign Peak
Who: You… and a good pair of shoes. Or a pair of flip flops (my footwear of choice for my first Ensign Peak experience. They fared pretty well … but a hike a few weeks later totally knocked them out for the count. That is $11.96 I will never see again.)
What: We’ll have a lesson at the top and finish up with treats (certainly, a church activity staple) in the park below the peak.

If two or three people would volunteer to bring a treat for the after-party, that would be great. Just leave a comment and let us know!

Extreme Blog Makeover

For those of you who visited the site in its former template life, I hope you like the new look. I can't take one bit of credit for this ... I'm just glad I have a scrapbooky sister (a literal sister, not in the ward sense), she makes me look good.

You Might Also Enjoy...

You may notice the links to the right labeled "PAIRS" - these are to link to each couple's individual site. Thanks, Anna & Mason and Teresa & Kyle for the info! If anyone else has a site they'd like us to link to, let me know.

Marmalade Pairs

I didn't realize naming a blog could be so difficult. I hope it's at least 1/3 that easy to name a child, or Noah and I may resort to some sort of numbers system.

We are so excited to get to know the couples in this ward! I'm starting to wonder if playing host and hostess really counts as a legit calling - or if the bishopric is going to catch on and reassign us as nursery leaders :) Until then ... we're going to relish this opportunity to get to know each of you.

If you're like us, so much of our day happens in front of a computer, it's almost sad. And my daily regiment of "must-visits" is somewhat akin to a crack addiction, I'm sure. But add this url to your favorites (addictions, whatever...) and check it often for updates, upcoming activities, pictures, the whole shebang. Also, take FULL advantage of the comments option - we're banking on feedback to make this successful, because let's face it - Noah and I are not nearly as fun or creative as the whole lot of you combined.