Thomas Jefferson

For Valentine's Day we took a trip to Charlottesville to see the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson designed the whole thing so it was fun to get a little history lesson. The idea of the students and faculty living on campus to create a better learning environment is cool. It's still like that today. We enjoyed our tour. (p.s. Mom, notice she is wearing the white coat you made her. She refuses to wear any other coat, next time, please don't make it white! And thanks again, she loves it and so does EVERYONE who sees her in it. I seriously get a zillion compliments on it every single day!)

We also went out to eat (WHOA, I know, we NEVER go out to eat, too expensive). We got a slice of pizza at Christian's pizza at the down town mall. They had the coolest toppings. I got an avocado, tomato, and feta slice and Brad got green pepper and pepperoni. I wanted to try the spicy thai too, but the avocado always wins me over. They had like 10 different types of pizza and none of them are standard, one pizza had artichoke. It was affordable too. A huge slice with tons of toppings (they weren't skimpy) for $3.

Kaci Size Please

Kaci has the squatiest legs ever! I've been wanting a table and chair for her play at since she loves to draw now, but all the tables and chairs I've looked at are too big for her little legs. So, we tore apart a cabinet thing and made our own. Thanks to the Stratford's (a super fun family in our ward). They let us use all their power tools to make it. She loves to sit at it and play with her play dough and draw. Brad tied a pen to the table and we always have paper on it so she can draw anytime her little heart desires. Isn't it cute. We made a bench and actually two little bottoms fit on it which is grand when she has a friend over! :)

My Piano

I mentioned in a previous post that I'm teaching myself piano. How, well with all the new space we had room for one and someone just happened to be giving one away (well, I've been attracting one for the past lil while). It'll play loud and soft (thankfully) and it's mostly in tune. It's a little dinged, but Brad is going to patch it up and paint it shiny black this summer while I'm in AZ. If we decided to take it with us after this little VA adventure, maybe we'll get it tuned.

So, some friends gave me their old piano books and I spend a half hour or more a day learning chords and stuff. I'm already much better than I used to be, I can now play just as well with my left hand as my right (which neither is awesome, but at least better than a complete beginner). Kaci likes to play it too, so we let her, she likes to play notes in different octaves, it's fun to watch her (I have a video of it, stay tuned for that). Brad knows a bit too. He can play an array of hymns which is fun. I love when he sits down to play one, he also taught himself and has a number system which completely baffles me, but he can play and that's all that matters. What a cool freebie!

Ode to the Dinner Table

Kaci likes to help me do everything. I was cooking and she wanted to help, but there wasn't anything she could really do. So I handed her a plate and told her to set the table. She kept coming back so I kept giving her stuff to set the table. When I came out to see what she had done with everything I had given her, I expected it to be in random places around the house, I was shocked to see that she had actually set the table. (our kitchen and dining area are separated by a wall now) So, setting the table is her official first chore and she does it nightly now.

I watch this cute little boy on occasion and Kaci adores him. They get along really well. Here they are eating dinner together. I love watching her make friends, so funny to think that socializing starts at such an early age.


At dinner, I dish Kaci up a plate and then she always asks for a cup of water (baby signs). She'll take a sip and then spoon her dinner into the cup. I think she just prefers flavored water, because she'll then drink the rest of the water and ask for more. Pretty gross!

Ya can't tell in the picture, but Kaci is dipping a pear into ketchup. She really likes dipping stuff now, as gross as that is I just let her do whatever she wants, as long as she eats I'm happy. I figure she got both a fruit and a veggie in one bite!

We Moved

Our last apartment was very charming in a small, dark cave-like way. We really did love our four walls, but we happened to be in a building with a ton of smokers. We also lived by the playground also known as the place to smoke. So, our amazingly wonderful landlord let us move to a different building where nobody smokes. Our new apartment is 300 sq feet bigger, it actually has windows, and we have a closet to store my jogging stroller and brad's bike in. Wahoo. We love it. Kaci loves running around in it as there is actually room for her to run around in now. A huge upgrade for the same rent (yeah, I told ya our landlord is AMAZING, he said we were worth keeping, he really likes us, maybe because I used to spend an hour or two every week picking up litter or maybe because we aren't trouble makers, I dunno). Anyhow, we really like our new place.

Kaci took this picture, very artistic!


Oh, and we have central heating now, which is grand because now our whole apartment gets warm instead of just the front room.

I've been busy... creating!

We have had a ruff go of it lately. This is week 5 that Brad has been out of work. We moved. Church became less fun when Kaci started going to nursery only to cry the entire time which is really hard on me as a first time Mom. The closest friend I've made here is impossible to be around right now as our two little ones fight which always leads to more crying... So, I took old Dieter's advice and started creating. Brad posted my mural. I've also started learning to play the piano, made canvas boxes for my dresser, and reading some good books. I'll soon post pictures of our new apartment, Kaci, and life in general! Here's his advice below:
Dieter says...
"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty....
You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”
If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.
But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy.4 Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.
If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.
You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.
What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.
If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Kerri's Mural

TADAAAAA!

This 4' by 2&1/2' masterpiece is what we've been working on for the past week! Well, mostly Kerri was working on it and I'd just watch and say "That looks so good!" It's a painting looking toward Kaena Point from Hale'iwa, and I love it. Kerri has accused me of being obsessed since I just sit and look at it, and I've told her a million times how awesome I think it is, and now I'm blogging for the first time ever to share it's greatness with the world. But isn't it awesome! She made it cartooney on purpose, copying Heather Brown's style- below is a picture she took that gave her the idea of what she wanted to do. Hurrah Kerri! I never even knew I was marrying an artist (and she's a great cook, personal trainer, kisser, mom, piano player, seamstress, surfer, etc..) basically she's a perfect wife! Hurrah for me for marrying someone so cool!

Chili Cookoff and Pinewood Derby

Our church held a Chili Cook off/Pinewood Derby on Friday. The scouts invited everyone to make a car to race after their competition. We made a car for it. A surfboard to be exact with Nephi as the surfer. We had a lot of fun whittling a chunk of wood all week. It takes a super long time to do something like that. We laughed about the scene in Surf's Up when Z teaches Kody how to make a surf board out of a piece of Koa wood. If you have the movie you should cue it up, so funny.
"You find the board in the wood" -Big Z
"Long easy strokes with finesse, with the grain, with the grain" -Big Z
"I have no finesse when you're in my face man!" -Kody

We laughed and laughed. Good times. We spent like 5 hours making our car. It was totally worth it, we won "Most Original" at the Derby, but our car was super slow because it weighed practically nothing.


It was our first EVER chili cook off and it was everything we had imagined. A like twenty different chili's to try. Spicey, sweet, tons of meat, little meat, pork, hamburger, chuck roast, veggies. It was wonderful. We loved it!

Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie

I mentioned we've been missing Hawaii. Of course that means we've been craving Ted's Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie. I've been making them from scratch since we left, but I hadn't made one that was comparable til this weekend. It was so similar that Brad wanted to tell ol' Ted (from Ted's Bakery) to "shove it". As we ate it out of the tin (like we always used to do on the beach with those plastic forks) we considered sprinking some of my jarred Sunset beach sand on it to get the truly authentic taste, but we didn't because we remembered that we actually didn't like that gritty sensation amongst the creamy deliciousness of the pie, go figure.

Here's the recipe if you want to make one, which you should because it is amazing. **Caution: this pie packs a ton of calories, please exercise accordingly, we used to surf**

I bought a pie crust and baked it (we were moving) and it was fine, but it wasn't flakey enough. (I've tried graham in the past and it was too sweet, I have a pie crust recipe I want to try and in my new apartment I'll actually have the counter space to roll one out!) Once it was cooled, I made the fillings:

Chocolate Filling:
I just used a box of chocolate pudding and used a smitch less milk (I used whole, it makes the pudding thicker). Pour into pie and refrigerate while ya make the haupia to go on top. (I used only 3/4 of the pudding so my pie wouldn't over flow, you want equal amounts of haupia and chocolate plus ya need space for a whipped topping, so don't put in too much)

Haupia Filling:
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 cup milk (I used whole for the rich flavor)
1/2 cup sugar
combine in sauce pan, whisk and heat to a boil
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Dissolve cornstarch into the water. If it sits for too long, it'll harden and you'll have to stir forever again, so keep it moving and whisk it into the boiling mixture, stir and simmer til thick. Let cool a little bit, maybe 5 minutes, then pour it on top of the chocolate layer. Place pie in fridge and let cool for a few hours. Then top it with some whipped cream, a good solid layer, don't skimp!

Obviously it would be easy to double the recipe and make two pies, I highly recommend this because one is never enough and you won't want to share! But again, I must caution you to exercise vigorously if you are going to make this pie. VIGOROUSLY!

If you have an amazingly delicious homemade chocolate pudding that firms up well in a pie, please share. I have yet to make one that works in this pie.

We also cranked out another double batch of the Call Family's chocolate chip cookies for all the people who were coming to help us move. 90 cookies and they were a crowd pleaser as always!
I have to say that this picture turned out great! I was shocked that I took a decent picture!

Snow and Ice

Kaci learned to say snow and ice this week. We woke up on Tuesday to a fresh layer of snow! Not a ton, but plently to go sledding on Kaci's hill just outside our front door. We didn't have a sled so we used Kaci's spinning bowl. It worked great. We also got out our cookie sheets to sled on. The neighbor kids loved sledding with Brad all morning. Kaci froze over after about 30 minutes, so we just watched Brad sled from the window, which was fun too.

Everything shuts down here when snow comes. You can see that it wasn't a lot of snow, you can still see the grass out there. We learned why they shut everything down on Wednesday when that little bit of snow got covered in 2 inches of ice. Our car was completely covered in a firm layer of ice, about an inch thick. It was fun to de-ice it. It took all day Wednesday for the ice to melt. Kaci loved all the ice. When we went outside she'd say "ice" and go get a chunk to suck on. She'd suck on it til her hand turned numb and red, then she'd give it to me and go get another piece. She loved eating it!