We braved the cobblestone streets of Old Town...

(can you imagine a horse and wagon over this stuff! It was bumpy enough in the tahoe!)

And searched and searched until we came across a park with a playground (let me tell ya- there were SEVERAL without!) It was a blissful afternoon... 50 degree weather, a fence, a fenced in dog run only 25 feet away with countless dogs, and only 2 other kids there! We all had a great time. (see east coast comments below!)

I know I go on and on about how different this place is, but here I go again...

1. COUNTLESS dogs, coming and going the entire 45 minutes we were there. 3 other children, if you include the 7 week infant that accompanied her mom and brother. COUNTLESS dogs.

2. I am used to strange and personal questions while in public, people are drawn to babies and children, and when there are 2 it's almost like the mystery man in the circus tent... everyone wants to see it. But one question I'm pretty sure I was never asked while in public on the west coast was... "Are they yours?" YES they are mine! It took me a few times to figure out why people were asking if they were mine, but I finally realized, many of the kids we meet out in public were with their nannies.

I'll say it again... this place is different! (not in a bad way, just different) People live a completely different lifestyle here then what we are used to. I'm sure this won't be the last East Coast/West Coast observations and I'd love to hear what anyone else knows/thinks about it!

And they call it a comeback...

I was thinking about sending Shelly and Madison our Baby Einstein videos because the kiddos hadn't been showing much interest in them, but I decided to wait until we were done with the move and flight. In desperation to finish dinner one night, I threw one of the movies in to occupy the kiddos who were either desperately fighting for my attention or fighting with each other... really it's all a blur, but I can almost guaruntee it was one of the above! The end result was great! Giggling (real or fake? we'll never know!) and pure excitement. So sorry auntie Shelly and Madison the Baby Einstein videos made a comeback in our house. You'll have to wait just a little longer!

She's not so little anymore :(

Here is our first attempt at pigtails, they actually lasted until naptime which with Hallie is a pretty big accomplishment! She suddenly looks like a big girl and no longer looks like a baby, which brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. But then I look at how cute she is with the little pigtails and it makes it ok!

And if those weren't enough... look at this cute little face! So precious!

Whole Wheat Goodness

I mentioned in a previous post that we had started making our own bread, well my good friend Meagan spent the afternoon with us and asked for the recipe so I'll share it with all!

This is my MIL's recipe, so I don't claim to be an expert by any means- I've made the bread a total of 3 times now and miraculously it has turned out each time! She makes rolls using this recipe for all of the major holiday's and on that lucky occasion (for us!) when she gets ambitious!

Here are the exact directions she sent me...

You can adjust the size down. This recipe makes 5-6 loaves of bread OR 2 large cookie sheets of rolls.

7 cups warm water

2/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup honey or sugar

add:

2 T dough enhancer (if you have some, you can make them without, its about $10 for a can at health food store)

1/2 cup gluten flour (also at the health food store. I don't use it when I use the dough enhancer)

1 1/2 T salt

3 T yeast

• Add flour (up to about 12 cups) I use 8 cups of whole wheat flour and the rest white (2/3 wheat 1/3 white)
• Add - and as it starts to get pretty thick - add it more slowly
• When the dough starts leaving the sides of the mixing bowl and stops sticking to the bowl - that is enough!! (the dough will still be sticky to touch at this point - but as the gluten develops, it will not stick so much)

Knead. (my mixer has an auto knead and stops when it is the right consistency) If you don't have that- to test and see if the dough is ready - pull a small piece and see if it s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s a ways before breaking. The more it stretches, the better texture the bread will have.

Let it rise at least 15 minutes (up to 30) punching it down as it rises

Put the dough into GREASED bread pans, if you are making rolls - pull off a chunk about the size of a tangerine. Roll it in your hand, flatten it out- Dip one side in melted butter, fold in half, and place on cookie sheet. (they should be touching the other rolls)

Let them rise again till almost double in size

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes???

TO CHECK for doneness: Choose a roll near the center of the pan - pry it open and see if it looks done (not doughy) Also, the tops should be browning by now.

Baking bread is tricky - but I have included the little tricks in this recipe- Don't be discouraged if it doesn't turn out perfect the first time. I've been making them for years and finally learned some of the tricks for success. Even with those tricks - sometimes they turn out better than others.

And here are my notes on the recipe :)

• I half it cause my good 'ol kitchenaid can't handle 12 cups of flour!
• We get 2 large loafs of bread
• I use all whole wheat flour and usually end up needing around 7 cups of flour before it stops sticking, sometimes a little more.
• I don't have auto knead, so I do the pull and test for the right consistency. So far they've all turned out ok :)
• I usually bake it for 30 minutes or longer, but like I said those are large loafs (we only have 2 loaf pans, you could probably get 3 smaller loafs out of the half recipe) and we use ceramic pans which increases cooking time. (normally I would have 2nd handed it or bargained shopped for bread pans, but I was in a crunch and ceramic were the cheapest type at $6.50, followed by glass at $7.50, and metal at $10.50!!! wowzers!)
• I make 2 batches at a time and freeze all but 1 loaf. This bread goes bad faster then store bought bread, so it needs to be frozen if you are not going to use it within a couple days. (fridge might work too for storing the open loaf, but we eat ours fast enough that the counter is fine) Freezing it also helps with slicing, makes for thinner slices and it doesn't fall apart when slicing!

Enjoy- it really is great bread- we are lovin' it!

(and on a side note, it can take your body a couple days to get adjusted to whole wheat bread... i.e. it may clean you out!)

Naptime sequel

The naptime woes continue, so I thought I'd share them with you! Click on the following link to hear the drama surrounding naptime. (make sure your volume is on high to hear it all!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gryAFcjBgrA

And here are some more recent random photos for your viewing while you are listening to the naptime excitement, unless you feel like watching a door knob for 2 minutes! :)

Hallie and her bubble mustache

Micah's new favorite relaxation pose... hands behind head sometimes 1, sometimes 2,

Sometimes with belly showing, sometimes holding the remote, all the time cute!

Mommy playing...Daddy playing...Our little bunny...Our little ducky...Our little doggies... (water is a wonderful thing when your trying to get something done!)

Micah going for a ride...Hallie loves shoes...

FREEDOM!!!!

Random

I found some random leftover pictures from our exciting month of December

$Playing with new toys on Christmas

Micah and Hallie LOVED having daddy home for almost 2 weeks around Christmas! (And so did I!) We explored, relaxed, and mainly just had a good time!

Here's the kiddos are their first metro trip- which they love!

Micah and Hallie spent a lot of time in the stroller while we traveled to and from our destinations and while exploring DC. They Love walking around downtown as there is so much action... just as long as its not too cold they couldn't be happier! (thankfully we had some great weather!)

While they love strolling around outside, they are undecided on the Museums.

They do silly things like putting fingers in mouths, wacking heads, and stealing food.

Here they are (and daddy) on a heat camera at the Air and Space Museum

And here WE are (Tyson and I) on the Mars Scale... can you guess how much we weigh on Mars!?

Strolling through DC past the set up for the Inaugural Parade with the Old Post Office building in the background

One of my favorite sights... the Korean War Memorial

On the Mall

At the Vietnam Memorial

Tyson standing on the North Pole

And last but DEFINITELY not least a priceless moment when Hallie pointed at the beautiful picture of Mt. Rainier at the Natural History Museum.
HOME SWEET HOME!

A Magical Evening

Our magical evening began with a less-than-crowded ride on the metro. We passed through streets filled with Police, National Guardsmen, FBI, Secret Service, and who knows what else past at least 6 check points, and barricaded streets... We arrived at the Chief-in-Commander Inaugural Ball a little later then what we had hoped, due to unforeseen circumstances. The couple we attended with, forgot the Husband's pants at the hotel room 50 minutes away! But thanks to the WONDERFUL couple who offered to watch Micah and Hallie, whom we just met, and have talked to for maybe a total of 1o minutes (maybe there are nice people on the East Coast afterall!) we took care of the pants situation- Derek (part of the WONDERFUL couple) drove back home and brought some pants for our guest! Above and beyond I'm telling you- we owe them BIG time!But back to our Magical Evening... we arrived at the ball...

My Fairy Godmother came in the form of Ty's cousin Lis, she endured 7 hours of shopping with me on what was supposed to be her last day in DC to help my find my ensemble (Thank you Lis!)- it stayed within the budget and will be fun to wear again!

It was so great to spend the evening together with no children...Here we are with Jen (who works in Ty's office) and her husbandand our wonderful new friends, they were the two couples who Tyson was able to get tickets to for the ball. They were great company and brought great conversation and perspective for Tyson in helping our wounded soldiers. We hope to keep in touch with them!The event began with our hilarious host George Lopez

Who was followed by a musical group ??? They sang some classics which were enjoyable...But then the Vice President came in! He gave a short speech, spent some time talking to some of the troops in Iraq

Then 'attempted' to dance with his wife, honestly didn't look like a horrible dancer! And her dress was gorgeous!

Here they are on the projector

and more dancing...

They left and were replaced by Jordan Sparks, American Idol season 6! Very cool, but there were bigger and better things in store!

Jon Bon Jovi!!

We rocked out :) for 1 song before...

President Obama made his appearance! Due to our urgency to listen to Bon Jovi, we were a little farther away when President Obama came in then we were when Vice President Biden was there.

BUT... we were still in the same room AND saw him in person!

It was all very exciting and humorous... if you watched on Fox News you probably saw this same thing-

President Obama talking with the troops...

The short conversation with the troops was followed by the traditional dance...

I apologize for the poor picture quality, Ty was operating the zoom and went all the way to get the close ups- thus the poor quality.

Here they are after each of their dances with a wounded soldier

And one last comment on the First Lady- the dress was gorgeous! It looked much better in person then what I have seen on TV. It had so much intricate detail and was a fun choice!

We had originally planned on leaving as soon as the President had made his appearance, but to our surprise Bon Jovi was back! And so were we, only WAY closer this time! We jammed out to several of his hits all while standing withing 10 feet of him! Only word to describe it- AMAZING!

He left and we thought the evening was over, it had already been a magical evening. So we headed to the line to get our jackets, but while standing in line there was an announcement that for me could have only been better if it had been Garth Brooks. (But alas, the evening was not to be a total dream come true!)

I settled for a close second and enjoyed the melodies of Josh Groban while standing again within several feet!

I also came within a couple feet of an autograph and a chance to talk to him, but unfortunately I could not get around a group surrounding a table after his performance despite my attempts to plow through a couple of them! AND to top it all off I forgot my spare battery for the camera and in the only shot I could get off while it was in the process of dying a man walked right in front of my shot! Ugh!

Despite this little hiccup at the end, the night was wonderful and I am so glad we were able to go. It was definitely an evening we will never forget!