6th Anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated six years of marriage.  At first we were worried that we wouldn't be able to get a babysitter since so many people were out of town, but finally someone called us back the day of our anniversary!

To celebrate, we thought we'd either go to My Big Fat Greek Restaurant or a Thai restaurant.  The Greek restaurant is really fun complete with dancing waiters, flaming dishes, and people shouting, "OPA!"  We went there not too long ago to celebrate an early promotion that Landon got (which was a really nice surprise).  We had never gone to the Thai restaurant here, but we always reminisce about the Thai restaurant we went to when we were dating and this one fabulous soup that we just love.  (I can never remember the name of it though.)  We decided on the Thai restaurant and the soup was as delicious as we remembered it!

So here's to another year together!  Happy anniversary Babe!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lebkuchen

I love these little German cookies and have been looking forward to making them for a while.  I was glad to be given the option of doing a rewind this week so that I could FINALLY make them.  They did not disappoint!

Boys and Tanks

I don't know what it is about tanks, but my boys love them--including Landon!  After Christmas, Landon had some time off, so he decided to make a tank for the boys.  They all went to The Home Depot and picked out the color and Jonathan helped him spray paint it.

Here's the finished project:

One, Two, Three, Go!

For the longest time Jonathan would ask me to find violins on the radio or if he heard violins playing, he would let me know.  He then started to ask me multiple times a day if he could play my violin.  I liked that he had the interest, but since it's such a delicate and expensive instrument, I really didn't want him to play it.

Finally we broke down and bought him a quarter-sized violin.  I wanted to take advantage of his interest even though he is so young.  We won't be starting any lessons until after the baby is born.  I hope he doesn't loose his interest before then!

When Erik saw that Jonathan got a violin he promptly told us, "Not one violin, TWO violins!"  He was very upset and was letting us know that we had make a mistake in only buying one violin instead of two!  That is why he got a one-sixteenth-sized box violin in his stocking for Christmas.  He seemed so pleased.  You may have seen the video already, but I thought it was funny that Jonathan was quick to point out that it was "wood" (he meant cardboard).  It was as if he was telling Erik that it wasn't real.  We had to step in quickly and explain that it was Erik's "practice violin" so that Erik wouldn't be disappointed!

Going back to when Jonathan first got his violin, I was upstairs on the computer one day when I heard, "One, two, three, GO!"  The next thing I knew, Jonathan was playing his violin and Erik accompanying him on the piano.  It was very cute!  They were so proud of themselves.  Later they wanted me to join in and insisted that I play the guitar.  So we jammed out together!

I really have no idea how this is going to play out, but hopefully they will keep their love of music and develop their abilities.

Christmas 2010

I can't believe I only took one picture this year.  ONE!  I did take some video though.

The main gift the boys got from us this year was a trampoline.  They got some great gifts from both sets of grandparents too, a car track with cars, army outfits and figurines, books, doggie banks, pajamas etc.  They also got Iron Man robots from us, and a couple of Wii  games.  It's sooo hard not to spoil kids at Christmas.  It's just a lot of fun seeing them open gifts.

One thing we did for Christmas this year was make some gifts for family members.  Since we usually take the boys to the Home Depot workshop on Saturdays, we thought we'd give some of those creations away.

For the grandparents, we gave them a picture frame with a picture of the boys in it.  We had fun staining the frames together durning FHE.

I really need to learn how to take better pictures.  Those white spots were not on the picture frame!

We also made spice racks, and added some fun and useful spices to them.  We decided to give these to Auntie Kristen and Auntie Nina.  Landon and I stained these ourselves because it needed to get done and shipped off before Christmas.  The staining job didn't turn out as well as the picture frame because of the wood glue.  We won't be using the glue in the future!  I even sanded it down a lot, but it just didn't look like I had imagined it would in the end.  It was still a lot of fun and we'll definitely make gifts for family members again next year.  

For Landon's gift this year, I had his windshield replaced an a radio/CD player installed in his car.  That should make the drives home from work a little more interesting!

I got some pregnancy workout videos (it's just too hard to do anything at the gym these days), a skirt, and a book about magnesium and some supplements.  I know, I know, I'm such a nerd, but truth be told, I was having a VERY hard time thinking of anything I wanted ANYTHING I wanted for Christmas this year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

A Holiday in Hollywood

For the USAA Christmas party this year, the theme was, "A Holiday in Hollywood."

They even rolled out the red carpet for us--paparazzi and all.

We even met some famous people:

Mr. and Mrs. Claus, a couple of Star Wars characters, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rod Stewart.  The Whoopi Goldberg impersonator looked SO much like the real Whoopi that I almost thought it was her at first glance.

Of course the food was awesome and the bands were pretty good too.  They had the "Band from TV" and Darius "Hootie" Rucker.   We met up with some friends that Landon works with and had a great time.  We didn't see many of the other events going on since we stayed to listen to the bands.  If you've never heard of the "Band from TV" they are a group of actors (from Heros, House, Desperate Housewives etc.) who get together and play songs from other bands.  They do if for fun and all the funds they raise go to charity.  The music ranged from rock to country.

USAA always does a fabulous job with the Christmas party!

Little Gentleman

Jonathan came into the kitchen the other day fully dressed in his church clothes--shoes included.  All but the top button of his shirt were buttoned.  (That one was too hard for him to do by himself.)  He told me we were going to a party and that we were going to dance.  The radio was playing Christmas music, so I accepted his invitation.  He had it in his mind that he was supposed to twirl me under his arm.  It was really hard for me to fit under there, but I did it because I thought it was so cute.  Then at the end he wanted to dip me, so I let him...as much as he could anyway!

Turns out he got the idea from a Batman cartoon that he watched.  Surprised?

He does do other gentleman-like things for me unprompted though.  He loves to hold open the door when we go somewhere, and he sometimes opens my car door for me.  Sometimes he strokes my arms or back softly like he is trying to give me a back rub and asks, "You love this Mommy?"  It makes up for all the curve balls he throws me!

This little gentleman, amid all his toughness, love of weapons, and two-year-old fits, is always asking me, "You okay Mommy?" every time I utter even the smallest, "Ouch!"  

I love my little men!

USAA Children's Christmas Party

On Saturday, we went to the USAA Children's Christmas Party.   As we were arriving, Erik said, "This is were Daddy lives!"  Landon clarified things for him.  :)

One of the first  things we did was go to a play put on my the Magik Theater here in town.  They performed, "If You Give A Moose A Muffin."  If was really well done.  They had us and the kids in stitches.  It was much better than the Junie B. Jones play we went to (also by the Magik Theater) on Wednesday.  I was bored out of my mind and the kids got restless and didn't laugh much.  I never did care too much for the Junie B. series.

The kids played games, ate cotton candy, and had their pictures taken with Santa Clause.

They got a ton of loot to put into the backpacks that the kids got upon arriving.  

When we tried to convince the boys that they should have their pictures taken with the soldiers on stilts, they about had a fit.  Erik buried his face into the back of my legs and Jonathan tried running away from Landon.  I guess it was too scary to stand next to such tall people.

They were a little better with Santa, although Erik still needed Landon to go stand by him.  (I cut him out of the picture.)

Finally, Santa convinced Erik to sit on his lap.

After all that and lunch, we went to show the boys Daddy's work place.  None of us had actually  been there before.

On the way there, Erik was fascinated by these structures:

After asking who built them, he answered his own question by saying, "Bob the Builder built it."

We missed the Stone Oak party with Santa arriving on a helicopter and the man-made snow, but really enjoyed this one.  Maybe next year!

The Jerry-Rigged Star!

During our scripture "reading" at night, we have the boys repeat the words from the scriptures.  For some reason, Jonathan tends to repeat only the last word or two of a three to four word phrase.  He does this even more so than Erik.  So, as we were decorating our tree this year, we got a surprising answer out of them. 

 Landon, with a smile on his face, asked the boys, "Do you want the angel on top or (with a less-happy looking face) the jerry-rigged star?"  (The star doesn't have any way of attaching to the tree.  String has to be used to get it to stay.)  Not only did they pick the jerry-rigged star (despite Landon's attempt to imfluence them), they both clearly said in full, "THE JERRY-RIGGED STAR!"  We found it amusing.

IT'S A GIRL!

I know that many of you already heard the news on Facebook, but I wanted to post the news on our blog too.  It only took 26+ weeks to find out, but we are having a girl!  When I asked the boys several months ago if they wanted a baby sister or a baby brother, I was surprised that they both quickly agreed that they wanted a sister (or in Erik's words baby sista).  Erik was the first to voice his opinion on the matter which also surprised me since he is only two.   I wasn't even sure if he understood the concept of having a sister.  Who knows maybe they had some insider information.  :)

Now on to choosing a name.  That's always the hardest part for us (birth aside, that is).

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year, it was just our little family here in San Antonio.  I would have invited someone over if I wasn't so nervous about being in charge of the dinner.  I've always been with my family, traveling, or at a friend's house before.  

To my surprise, I wasn't stressed-out at all.  The most difficult part was grocery shopping.  I put Landon in charge of certain dishes and he was a huge help!

I also used my mini salt and pepper shakers and name tags that I got at our wedding along with our flatware.  I've been wanting to use those for a long time now.

Landon and I had heard that if you bake a turkey upside-down, it's much more moist, so I decided to try it.  I basted the turkey in olive oil, sprinkled some rosemary and thyme on it, and put it in the oven breast-side down.  I have to say that it does make the turkey moist and delicious, although not as beautiful.  The underside was a beautiful golden-brown, but since we prefer the white meat we flipped it back over after it was finished baking.

These were the items on the menu this year:

• turkey & gravy (of course!)
• Stove Top stuffing
• sour cream and chive mashed potatoes
• cranberry sauce (a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that we LOVED!)
• sweet potato casserole a recipe that I got from Sarah's blog (LOVED IT!  Only change was I added pecans.)
• a raspberry spinach salad
• Dorie's blueberry pie (YUM)
• Dorie's sour cream pumpkin pie (also good, but I prefer the traditional pumpkin pie--the flavor was too mellow for me)
• a cranberry cheesecake with an Oreo crust--also from Sarah's blog (SOOO GOOOD!  It was my first time making a cheesecake, and it turned out well.  I was so excited.  The only changes I made was I used half sour cream and heavy cream instead of all sour cream and I baked it in a "bath.")
• Dorie's buttermilk biscuits
• Italian soda an idea I got from Anna--loved it!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so I'm glad it turned out well.  We tried to watch "Desperate Crossing" which is something that we have done for the past couple of years, but we were so tired that we slept through most of it.  However, I will be ever thankful for those pilgrims who made such a sacrifice to come to this country for religious freedom.  Their story is amazing.

What a wonderful year it's been.  There is so much to be thankful for!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Blueberry Pie

I don't know that I had ever even had blueberry pie before I made this one, but it sounded so good I just had to make it.  I figured Thanksgiving week was the perfect time to try it since we were allowed to do a "rewind."

My family really enjoyed this pie in all its blueberry goodness with its flaky, buttery crust.  It's definitely a keeper.

I mentioned to my OB that I had made a blueberry pie for Thanksgiving.  She told me about her famous "Mile High, Blueberry Pie" and I thought some of the components sounded like something I'd love to try.  One things she adds to her pie is a layer of cream cheese on the bottom.  YUM!  She also makes a sauce with smashed blueberries, water and cornstarch and cooks it on the stove.  I really love it when pies have a sauce made from the berries of the pie.

This pie doesn't need any playing around to taste good, but these changes sound too good not to try!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Peanuttiest Blondies

The Peanuttiest Blondies were actually the recipe of the week two weeks ago, but I found myself needing to make treats for a Priesthood Preview.  I thought this recipe would be perfect for the occasion.  I also made Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars and Allspice Molasses Cookies.

Full of spices and peanuts, these Peanuttiest Blondies chock-full of tasty goodness.  If you would like the recipe, check out Bakeology by Nicole.  Not only can you find the recipe under the November 2nd entry, but she has a great blog too.

Egypt: How Could I Have Forgotten?

I just now remembered something that happened to us in Egypt that I want the boys to read and laugh about when they are older.

First of all, let me preface this story by telling you that when we were in Giza, many males were very persistent in trying to get us to buy some over-priced head pieces to shelter us from the sand.  They were successful too, not only because we wanted some relief from the sand, but because they were tireless and "in-your-face" like a mosquitos that just wouldn't go away.  These people were more aggressive in their selling tactics than anyone else we had any encountered, and we have come across our fair share of unrelenting street vendors.

So when a complete stranger (male) offered me 200 camels for my boys,  I was completely taken off guard.  I managed to reply that they weren't for sale in my complete and utter amazement that someone had just offered to BUY my boys.  Ha ha ha, funny, right?  Well, a little later on another complete stranger (again, male) said, "A boy?  Oh, TWO boys?  How many camels?"  Seriously?!?  I started to wonder if they were sincere in their offers.

Later someone told me that it's a common joke and they heard that in England too.  Umm really?  'Cause nobody offerer me any camels (or anything else for that matter) for my boys both times I went there.  I really can't imagine that happening anywhere in Europe.  If it did, I'd probably find it pretty funny and start bargaining, but I didn't find it funny in Egypt.  It just wasn't too far out of the scope of my imagination for that to really happen there--boys being sold (or kidnapped) for camels!

Marmaris, Turkey

We made one stop in Turkey and it was in the resort town of Marmaris.  

The main attraction there was the shopping.  There were a ton of imitation brands there and things were inexpensive.  For example, I bought a pair of black "Jimmy Choo" high heels for 10 Euro.  You can't beat that!

We did take a look around the town, and walked to the fort that was there.

I would love to see this town during the summer.  I'm sure it's fabulous.  

Imagination At Work

Yesterday, we went to Guadalupe State Park with some other moms and preschool-age kids from the ward. The boys had the time of their lives playing in the river, on the playground and with the other children.  When we cam home, Jonathan repeatedly asked if we could go "camp" again.  He busily set up a small table with an umbrella and kid-sized chairs in the kitchen, but still wasn't satisfied.

Today, he and Erik built a "house."  I was actually pretty impressed with their creativity.

You can't tell from the picture, but it was fairly roomy inside and was stocked with food and drink (water, bread and a box of Cheerios).  I can only surmise that this was an extension of Jonathan's desire to go camping.

Egypt

Who doesn't remember studying Egypt in their world history class in the 6th grade?  For a long time, I have found Egypt's history to be fascinating and mysterious.  So naturally, I wanted to visit there while we lived in Germany.  Our cruise ship docked in the Port of Alexandria, but we didn't spend much time there.  We met our guide and were soon speeding down the highway to visit Cairo and Giza.  I'd have to say that one day in Egypt is not long enough! 

The feeling there was  different from any other country I have ever been to.  There were a number of military men guarding the city against potential terrorist threats with their M16-looking rifles.  It was a little unnerving to be honest.

 I have no idea what this building is.  I just liked the architecture.

When we arrived in Cairo, we went to the Egyptian Museum.  There we saw many interesting artifacts (which we were not allowed to photograph) and learned many things...well, sort of.  With two little boys, it was difficult to hear everything the guide was saying.  In retrospect, I wish we would have spent more time at the pyramids and at the market than at the museum.

On our way to Giza, we ate Kushari: a dish made of rice, lentils, chickpeas, macaroni, garlic, spicy tomato sauce and topped with fried onions.  We all really liked it.  Kushari is on of the most popular and common dishes in Egypt.

In Giza, it was very windy and wind=dust!  The Egyptians kept telling us that the weather was usually better, but it sure gave us an appreciation for pavement!  The pyramids were interesting, but for some reason they looked different than I had imagined.  I wish we had been able to go inside, but we didn't have time.

The Great Pyramid of Giza a.k.a. Pyramid of Khufu or Pyramid of Cheops is the oldest and largest of the 
three pyramids in Giza.

As the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (and only one that is still largely in tact) it was believed to be built as a tomb for the Pharo Khufu.  It took 14 to 20 years to construct and has been standing since approximately 2560 B.C.

This Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest man-made structure of more than 3,800 years, which--not surprisingly--is a record for that designation.

The three "Queens Pyramids."  Possibly for Khufu's two wives and mother or perhaps for three wives.

After seeing the pyramids, we went for a camel ride.  My guide was a young Egyptian man who was very enthusiastic about the election of Obama.  Our conversation went something like this:

Egyptian Man:  Obama!
Me: (not wanting to die on my camel ride) Yep, he's our President!
Egyptian Man: (Holding two thumbs up) Obama!
Me: (wishing he would drop the subject I forced a smile) Yeah, Obama!

Getting the camel up off the ground into a standing position was something I was not prepared for.  The camel lifted his hind legs putting us at a seriously sharp angle before getting his front legs into a standing postition.  I thought we were going to fall off!  I held onto Jonathan as tight as I could.

To this day, the boys go on "camel rides" instead of "horsey rides" with Daddy. 

Originally Erik was going to go with Landon, but we decided it was too windy and dusty.  Someone in our party took him back to the van to wait for us.

Doesn't the camel look smug and untrustworthy?

Coming back from our camel ride.
This picture, taken by Megan Shafer, won second place in a photo contest on our cruise.

We also saw "The Great Sphinx of Giza."

What ever happened to that nose?

Our last stop was the market in Cairo.  It's quite a famous market and there are a lot of neat things to look at and buy for next to nothing.  I really wish we had had more time to spend there.  We did buy some glass balls that looked like Christmas ornaments (we try to collect them everywhere we go), a cool chess set, a headdress and Dominoes for the boys.