Happy Easter

 

Christ is Resurrected! For he truly is Resurrected!

This is the greeting spoken in Ukraine all during Easter weekend. Ukrainians greet each other and instead of saying hello, they say, "Christ is resurrected" and the other person answers, "For he truly is resurrected." As a missionary, I loved being in Lviv, Ukraine for Easter where people greet each other and walk around with baskets of bread, fruit, jams, eggs and other goodies to give out to family, friends, and even sometimes strangers on the street. The entire weekend is a holiday. People dress in traditional clothing, there are festivals and concerts, families walk the streets together, and churches are full! Easter was lively and much more celebrated than even Christmas for this former atheistic country. Ukrainians love their country, culture, and their freedom.

Spending Easter in a Catholic dominated city helped me to realize how much I love Easter. It's been a favorite holiday of mine for quite awhile and living in Ukraine confirmed that for me. I love everything that Easter represents. I also love the advent of spring and warm weather, robin's eggs, and pastel m&m's, but really I love Easter because of its message. Even more than Christmas, I think Easter provides a time of reflection for what the Savior did for us. Christmas gets busy with traditions and commercialization, but I feel that Easter has escaped some of that. I love Easter as it focuses my thoughts on the Savior and His perfect life. All events led to the time in Gethsemane, on the cross, and eventually out of the garden tomb where He was raised from the dead. The message of the Atonement and Resurrection provides hope and peace. Even in a chaotic world with sorrow, grief, and pain, we can find solace in the Gospel message that Christ lives and has overcome all so that we may too. I know the Savior lives. I know that he lived a perfect life so that He could rise again.

 

 Happy Easter from Washington D.C.!

St Paddy's Day

The luck of the Irish was upon us on St. Paddy's Day as we played a few rounds of mini golf (putt putt for those of you east of the Rockies). We played a very close game and thanks to Mike's mad skills and a little help from me, we were able to pull out and win! (prize = Cafe Rio salad).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy Birthday Michael B!

On February 9, Mike celebrated his birthday! To kick off the birthday celebrations we had dinner at Matchbox with some friends and then went back to a "surprise party." Okay, so really there was no surprise, but I did arrange for friends to decorate Mike's house and set up the dessert and candles before we arrived. He was a good sport and acted surprised.

The next surprise was the present I got for him--two tickets to see STOMP in New York. We were already planning on being in NY for the weekend because Mike attends the annual Toy Fair every year in Manhattan. We carved out some time for dinner and STOMP. The show was high energy, creative, and really fun. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a dance/show.

Mike stayed the whole week (including Valentine's Day) in NY, but unfortunately, Toy Fair is not part of my job so I couldn't stay. However, Mike came through and sent me these.

We just celebrated my half-birthday (yes, we do those things), so now it's awhile before another birthday comes up.

Puerto Rico

Welcome to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico! What better way to escape the only snowstorm in DC this winter than a weekend get away to the Caribbean. No passport or exchange of money needed, just a plane ticket and a Spanish speaker (of which I have both). Mike and I went down to Puerto Rico in January to catch yet another ping pong tournament. While Mike spent his mornings working, I took advantage of the beautiful infinity pool overlooking the cruise ships and the state of the art hotel gym. Not a bad way to spend your Friday and Saturday mornings. As this was some work and mostly play, we stayed in San Juan and rented a car to take us to some of the sights on the island. 

We took an afternoon exploring El Yunque, the tropical rain forest on the island. We drove through windy roads, hiked up to waterfalls, and even took a splash (small) in the waterfall. On a warmer day, I may have ventured to stand right under. The views from the top of the rain forest were spectacular!

Puerto Rico is also known for its bioluminescent bays. There are only a few in the world (Caribbean mostly) and Puerto Rico boasts three! As Mike and I are not the best detail planners, we didn't make arrangements ahead of time, but Saturday night we took our chance and went to the bay hoping to find an available tour. With a wink and a smile, we were able to join a group. Nightly kayak tours are available in the bay. You join a group, get in a kayak, and kayak your way through a pitch black mangrove forest to come out into an open bay, all along watching the water glow electric blue. Microorganisms in the water glow when touched as a defense mechanism, meaning as you paddle or put your hand in the water, your paddle or hands glows blue. Pretty cool!

Other adventures including finding authentic restaurants to eat at, playing on the beach, hanging out at the pool, watching ping pong, attending church, and exploring a 16th century fortress (grounds only, we were there at night), and just enjoying 82 degree weather in January! If you are looking for a tropical adventurous get away that's not too far away (from the east coast), come to Puerto Rico!!!

We didn't take a ton of pictures (kinda shocking, I know), but here are a few.

Welcome 2012

New Year's in New York City

Ringing in 2011 in Central Park was so much fun, I had to do it again for 2012. 5 of us drove up to New York on NYE to meet my dear friend Traci for a rockin' New Year's in the city. There was some eating, strolling through Central Park and down 5th Avenue, sights at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, and then Martinelli's, fireworks, and a four mile run through the park at midnight. Traci and I ran while others enjoyed the firework show and cheering the thousands of runners. I can't think of a better way to ring in the New Year. 

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas celebrations started in DC with friends, then continued on in Portland with the fam. The whole month was wonderful! 

(and yes, the roommates all got matching pj's...we might have even gotten the boys matching ones as well, which they liked even if they don't admit it!)

Christmas this year meant lots of treats, good food, energetic kids, and lots of sister time! (as evidenced by the pictures). We had everyone together, except for Kurt and Co (the Utah Didenhovers). With our families ever expanding, it's doubtful that we'll ever be in the same house for Christmas, but I'll take what I can get. I loved the family time!

p.s. I'm trying a new picture tool, so let me know what you think.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2011--magical and momentous

I don't have the reputation for being a great cook, or a cook at all actually. My best dishes consist of: scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, waffles, and chips and salsa. This Thanksgiving I found myself far from family, but with two of my best friends. Since all our families were far away we decided to make our very own Thanksgiving feast by preparing our "best" family favorite dishes. I rave about my Dad's turkey and stuffing, so it was time to step up and prove to everyone that I CAN COOK!

The three of us went to town and prepared a marvelous feast! We each chose our favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed the day preparing, eating, lounging, and eating some more.

The menu:
Turkey (Brea)
Stuffing (cooked inside the turkey)-Brea
Mashed potatoes (Whitney)
Rolls (Steffany)
Green beans (Steffany)
Craisin Salad (Brea)
Yams (Whitney)
Veggie Tray (Brea)
Drink (7 up and cranberry juice)- Brea

Washing the raw turkey 

 13.1 lbs!!!

 Flavoring the turkey

 So delicious!

 The FEAST

For not being home for Thanksgiving, this was the next best thing. The dinner was DELICIOUS! I'll admit, I was quite (and still am) proud of myself and the girls.