Celebrating Five Years

The 28th marked our 5th year anniversary.  In that time we experienced many great adventures.  We made four major moves: from Utah to Texas to Iceland to Germany and back to Texas.  We went from a twin-sized bed to a king (Landon had a twin bed before we married and we slept on that until our furniture arrived).  We visited over 20 countries together and lived in three.  Landon made a major career change from an Air Force officer to working in the insurance industry as an actuary.  And last, but not least, we added two wonderful boys to our family.

I am looking forward to the next five years and the experiences we'll have together!  I love you Landon!

Christmas 2009

Doesn't it look magical?

The first words that came out of Erik's mouth when he went downstairs were,  "Bike!  Dog!"  Two things that he just loves!  He was so excited enter the big boy realm and finally get his own bike.  As for the dog?  Sometimes I could swear he thinks it's real!

It took Jonathan a while to wake up enough to say anything, but when he did he was really cute.  He "played Santa" and had to go find the names on the presents and take them to the right person.  He did a good job and even waited patiently when it was someone else's turn to open a present.

The "big" present this year was a mountain that Landon stayed up late Christmas Eve to put together in the cold and dark.  He's the best!  The kids absolutely love it.

The boys love to build things so this tool/project center is great for them.

I didn't take a lot of pictures because we were having too much fun putting things together and just enjoying Christmas.  This year we decided to limit the gifts to three per person, but between stocking stuffers, grandparents, aunts, and neighbors, the boys made out like bandits!

Here I am making the Low and Lush Chocolate Cheese Cake in one of my Christmas gifts: an apron.  I love it!  Thanks Landon!

Tamales

My neighbor, Jeanelle, invited me over to make tamales with her and her friend, Kristen.  It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work!  First you have to cook the pork, then shred it and mix it with a special sauce.  Meanwhile, the masa has to be made and the cornhusks have to be softened in water.  When all that is ready, the masa has to be spread on the cornhusks,  and the pork doled out on top of that.  Then the cornhusk is rolled up and put into a pot to cook for two hours!

The kids even got in on the action!

The result?  About 11 dozen tasty tamales.  Everyone loved them including Jonathan and Erik.

Thanks, Jeanelle, for inviting me to have this experince!

USAA Christmas Party

A couple of weeks before Christmas, we attended the USAA Christmas party.  Where do you host a party for a company that employs 14,000 people?  At the Alamodome, of course!  I don't know exactly how many people showed up, but I heard someone throw out the figure of 6,000.  There were a lot of people, that's for sure.

I was really impressed with the organization of such a large event.  They had shuttles running from USAA to the Alamodome, they also had 2,000 free parking spaces reserved downtown.  There was all kinds of entertainment from ballroom dancers, a mentalist, and bands to The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory samples and gambling.  The food was great and there weren't any long lines since there were so many food tables set up. They even had a snow maker, can you see the "snow" in the picture below?

       

The main event was a concert.  This year's band was REO Speedwagon.  I didn't know that they were still playing gigs!  After all, they would have to be in their late 50s or early 60s by now.  Before this party, I was only familiar with their slow love songs like, I Want to Keep On Lovin' You, and Heard It From A Friend Who Heard It From A Friend Who Heard It From A Friend...you know which one I'm talking about, you're probably singing it right now.  Anyway, they had a lot of other rock songs, and I thought they still sounded pretty good.

I tried to get some pictures and videos, but none of them turned out really great.  I did get a picture of all their guitars.  I didn't know they changed guitars so often.  It makes sense though--that way they don't have to stop and tune them in the middle of a performance.

I think the lead singer was surprised by the size of the whole event.   He told about getting the call to perform for "a private company Christmas party."  I think they thought the gathering would be small.  He was also told that he had his work cut out for him because there was a large space between the stage and the tables.  Well, people started to fill up that space as soon as it was apparent that they were going to play.  Needless to say, they liked that.

We had a lot of fun and can't wait to see what USAA comes up with next year!

Tuesday's with Dorie: Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake

This cheesecake deserves an A+, but only after it has been in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.  Dorie suggests leaving the cheesecake in the fridge for at least eight hours and up to three days.  I think it tastes better the longer it has to chill.

My first impression (after patiently waiting eight hours) was that it was way too rich, and that I would have to give it away.  After giving it a second chance, I changed my mind and it was gone before you know it.

The kiddos and hubby loved it too!  Thank you, Tea Lady, of Tea and Scones for choosing this recipe!  Be sure to stop by her blog for the recipe, and to read her take on the cheesecake.

Christmas Lights Contest

For the past 50 years, the city of Windcrest has had a Christmas lights contest.  Since we live so close we decided to check it out.  It was amazing.  Some of the houses even had the lights coordinated to Christmas music.  I can't imagine living in that city and not putting up lights.  You'd probably be feel likes a real humbug!

There were several categories: most religious, most joyful, and best handmade to name a few.  We didn't see every winner, but we saw a good number of them.  In one cul-de-sac, every house was coordinated with the same theme.  Can you imagine being that close knit with your neighbors?

All of the pictures below is a winner or an honorable mention.

Tuesday's with Dorie: My Favorite Pecan Pie

I was worried about this week's recipe.  I love pecan pie, and I didn't want to ruin it by adding too many other things to it.  Well it turns out that this recipe is absolutely delicious (espresso powder omitted)!  I cannot wait until my husband comes home to try it.  I had to convince him to try regular pecan pie.  He thought it didn't sound good.  After I got him to taste it, he loved it!  I think he'll love this one too.

Thanks to Beth of Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina for choosing this recipe!

As short as this post is, I have to go.  Someone keeps calling, "Mommy, I want some more!"  And I don't want him to wake up the little one.

Side note:  After the little one woke up, I let him have some pie.  After what I thought was a reasonable amount (it was almost dinnertime after all), I told him he couldn't have anymore.  I think he threw a tantrum for at least a half an hour.  I guess that mean it's good!

No TWD This Week

I'm skipping this week's TWD recipe due to the main ingredient: espresso power. I don't consume espresso or coffee, and since it's the main ingredient, I didn't think I could find a fitting substitute. See you next week!

Dec'ing the Tree

After we put up our tree, I heard two little elves fiddling around the Christmas tree. Suspicious of the unusually quiet behavior combined with the rustling of Christmas tree branches, I called out, "Boys, what are you doing?" To which Jonathan replied, "We're dec'ing the tree."

The result? A white strand of Christmas tree lights strung on the bottom of the tree. I don't know why, but I just loved it--so the lights stayed.

It Was Devine

This year I decided it would be fun to have a real Christmas tree. I remember going with my childhood friend and her family up to Cedar Mountain to chop one down one year. Ever since then, I wanted to have that same experience with my family.

Well, Devine is not exactly Cedar Mountain, and we didn't exactly chop down the tree since the kind we wanted doesn't grow here, but it was great fun nonetheless!

Here is a selection of trees you could chop down.

There were all sorts of kid-friendly activities from duck racing to sluicing, hayrides and more!

I think we'll make this one a family tradition!

Christmas Picture Fiasco

There is something I want to know: how do people with small children take nice family photos with smiling, manikin-like children? There was no such luck at our house this Christmas season.

Hold still guys!

No, look at the camera!

Oh, you want to do a special pose for the camera?

O-kay. Enough special poses!

This one's ok, I guess.

Of course there were times when they were cute individually or just the two of them together.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Park

While my parents were visiting, we took a trip to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Park.

The kids were wild with excitement as we slowly drove through the park.

There were many kinds of animals from all over the world. Some were rare with less than a thousand in the wild, and some were very common.












And some were the biggest beggars you've ever met! Take this guy for instance:

Who could say no to a face like that? Then there was this guy:

"You know you want to feed me."

"How about if I get a little closer?"

"How 'bout if I give you a good profile shot?"

Of course we fed him too. By the time we got to this guy, we were out of food:

He was pretty insistent that we give him something. He kept pecking the window demanding some lunch.

"FINE THEN, I'M LEAVING!"

"Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner!"