Beach Baby!

Some of my best childhood memories are my family's summer trip to the beach. This year, Branna was able to start making hers! With my mom, stepdad, and brother, we headed to Rockport on the Gulf of Mexico.

On our first day, we took a morning dolphin boat ride. Branna really enjoyed it, I think mainly because she got to stand on the deck of a fast boat and have her hair blowing in the wind.

After traveling a good ways out into the Gulf, our captain spotted what he was looking for: shrimp boats. Apparently dolphins have realized this is a great place to find all-you-can-eat shrimp. We trolled around and finally spotted our first dolphins! (Note the small arrow to the left of the shrimp boat.)

Branna was impressed by the dolphins, but not nearly as intrigued by the 3-year old boy she met. I think what sealed the deal was him letting her borrow his binoculars. As you can see, in true Branna fashion, she's talking rather than paying attention to the exciting events.

The following day, we made our way across the bay to Port Aransas. Before getting to the beach, we made a stop for my brother to get a boogie board at a local store. Rightly so, Branna was a little shocked at the store front, but after a bit, she was quite impressed that she could walk into a shark's mouth.

We all had a blast at the beach, despite the larger-than-usual waves and strong undertow. We didn't know it at the time, but this was the day that Hurricane Bonnie was making landfall.

After swimming for a while, Branna decided to make a sand castle. It only lasted a brief while, as the waves came and knocked it over.

After Port Aransas and some lunch, we headed to the new Bay Education Center in Rockport. The Center is designed to bring awareness to the public of the local marine habitats. They also are 1 of only 51 centers in the US to have a Science on a Sphere. With the help of 4 projectors, this sphere that is suspended in air, can project moving images of the Earth, Moon, Sun, planets and any other spherical body.

We enjoyed a 45 minutes presentation of various objects (the moon, sun, and Mars) and images of Earth. Unfortunately, it was right in the middle of Branna's nap time. With the very active morning, she fell asleep not too long into the presentation.

We spent our final morning playing one last time at the beach in Rockport. As many of you know, one of Branna's favorite things to do is roar at something she thinks she can scare. Her (un)-lucky target this time was a seagull. Of course, it flew away as soon as it saw Branna running towards it, but I think she felt accomplished.

As we were heading back up to the beach, my stepdad spotted a fish and attempted to catch it... with his bare hands. Would you believe it worked? You probably wouldn't unless I had the pictures to prove it:

Branna was quite impressed to hold the fish, but complained that it was too slimy!

We had a wonderful trip and I am so glad that Branna will be able to look back at this fun time. I hope this is the start of many more exciting trips to the beach!

Red River, NM

We had a great time at our Red River camping adventure, especially Branna who got to experience and see so many new things!

After driving for 2 days, we were all very excited to be out of the car! After getting a goodnight's rest, Branna, Branyon, and Granddaddy headed to a guided nature walk the next morning.

Flower from the Nature Walk

Later that day, we all ventured down to the river next to our campsite. Branna was very excited to be around water and wanted to swim, but after realizing how cold it was, she was content just to throw sticks and rocks.


While dinner was cooking, Branna entertained us with her stick guitar, much like Prince Naveen's from Princess and the Frog. Although she didn't have the strings to make music, she was very entertaining.
After dinner, came s'mores! Branna enjoyed roasting the marshmallows, but when it came time to eat them, she decided she would rather just have the chocolate.

Day 2

The following day, we headed to Taos Pueblo. What a neat experience! I thought the most fascinating part was being in a true Native American village that had been in existence for over 1000 years and was still functioning!

Branna posing in front of a Pueblo oven

There were tons of shops to visit. Branna enjoyed looking at all the various jewelry and other items, but her favorite thing to see were all the drums. I think she asked to have her picture taken at just about all of them. Here's a couple of shots:

As we were leaving, Branyon and I were able to get one last picture of us in front of some of the village structures and the mountains. This picture was also taken right before an elderly Pueblo woman gave my belly and huge hug. As she walked away, she bet me $5 I was having a boy!
Day 3

Our third day at Red River was on a Sunday and we spent most of it at the Red River Family Encampment. I think it was estimated that around 2,000 people were in attendance. We enjoyed several good, informative lessons. It was a neat experience to be apart of, especially to hear that many Christians singing their praises to God.

Day 4

This was our last day of camping, so we tried to make the most of it. Branna got to go fishing for the first time with her new fishing pole.

About a half mile from our campsite was a little lake. Daddy and Granddaddy got Branna's pole baited and ready for her to fish. She did good, and although she didn't catch any fish, she got to see them nibble her bait.

While we waited for the fish to bite, a chipmunk decided to check us out... probably because we had snacks! At first, it would come to within a foot of where we were throwing the food, but then Branyon decided to see if it would eat off of my shoe:

Then Branyon, convinced Branna to try to hand feed it...

And THEN he convinced her to try to have it eat off of her belly. I'm glad that she chickened out before it could!

On the way back to the campsite, Branyon and Branna waded in the river. Because of the cold, I thought she wouldn't want stay in for very long, but she did and loved it. When she got out, her feet were like popsicles!

We had a great time at Red River and made lots of memories that we'll look back on in the years to come!

What did the carrot say to the wheat?

Lettuce rest, I'm feeling beet.

- Shel Silverstein

Corny, I know... but I needed some way to liven up a blog about beets. At the risk of sounding Schrute-ish (aka Dwight from The Office), I really like fresh beets. I had never tried a beet until just a few years ago when Branna and myself were force fed one by my grandmother. I'm glad she did because it turns out, fresh beets are not so bad. And Branna LOVES them.... She'll eat them like there's no tomorrow.

After trying fresh beets, I have had an opportunity to eat canned and will not be doing that again. There's a huge difference. Fortunately, fresh beets are very easy to fix. I've made them two ways: roasted and boiled. I prefer boiled, but it's all a matter of taste.

What I do is simply boil the beets in water in a large pot with a tablespoon or so of white vinegar and some pickling spice. After the water has started to boil, turn it down to a simmer. The beets will be ready (fork-tender) in about 1-1.5 hours.

Ok... so to the main reason I'm writing this blog: a recipe. Branyon and I went to Eastside Cafe (my favorite restaurant) for our anniversary at the beginning of May. One of there side specials was a beet salad. It was delicious... Even Branyon, who does not like beets, thought it was good. Since then, I have been really wanting to find the recipe to make it and finally found a similar sounding one:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/11576/beet-salad.html

Two main differences: I boiled the beets and served it chilled. If you're up for something new, try the recipe!

The Fruits of Our Labor

Since Branyon and I have been married, we've always made an attempt to have a small garden. This will be our 3rd summer living at our current residence and each summer (and even one winter), we have carried on our garden tradition. However, since we've lived here, mother nature has not look favorably on us. We discovered after our first attempt that the ground here has to be worked and cultivated to the max. About six inches below the surface is solid clay, allowing the plants to only grow so big and never produce fruit.

Last year, we made sure to remedy this problem by bringing in dirt and using compost. I think we would have been successful if it would have rained and it wasn't the scorching heat we had. Even with the constant watering, our plants died pretty quickly.

With our past failures, I really considered not having a garden this year, but decided to give it one more shot. This year, we moved the garden's location, made sure the soil was completely worked, and limited the amount of plants. (We have been known to go overboard and try to cram in as many plants as possible.) We also planted all of our tomatoes in planters, allowing for more room in the garden. So far, it seems that these changes (along with the decent rainfall) have made this year's garden grow!

Jalapenos

Hot Banana Peppers

Eggplant Bloom

Cherry Tomatoes

Last night, we picked the first produce from the garden: banana peppers. Since Branna has helped out with the planting and watering, we let her do the honors.

Today was our "big" sonogram to see our new baby! Just since having Saige, the birthing center that we are going to has added a nice sonogram machine giving the ability to have the sonogram performed at the center. (With Saige, we went to a perinatologist that took patients from the birthing center.) The baby is measuring just right making the due date mid-to-late October.

Here are a few pictures:

This is a 3-D image. It's somewhat hard to tell, but the image is of the face with a hand (on the left of image) in front of it.

Also a 3-D image, but with both hands and arms in front of the face.

A couple of profile 2-D images

And, you may have noticed from the last 2 pictures that we're having another girl! After the sonographer told us the news, Branna asked, "Can we say 'Yippe!'?"

Menu: May 17-21

Maybe blogging about my menu is going to turn out to be a really good thing for me staying on top of my families menu and staying better organized. I feel like I've also had more inspiration. So, even if it doesn't turn into the recipe exchange I was hoping for, at least I've made some headway! :)

As I go along, I might be making changes to how I present the menu each week. I don't know what the best format will be, so I'll just find out by trial and error. Starting out, I'm going to post on my blog what I'm going to be making (hyperlinking it to the recipe's website), give the store that I'll be buying from, and any other pertinant information. I'll still post the recipe on the calendar and remember to post yours, too.

Menu for May 17-21:

May 17

• Rosemary chicken (I have a ton of dried rosemary that I need to use, so what better way to use it than with chicken? NF [Newflower] has chicken on sale)
• Mashed potatoes
• Fresh steam green beans (Sprouts)

May 18

• Black bean zucchini quesadillas (Sprouts has zucchini)
• Raw Veggies (Both Sprouts and NF have good prices on produce like cucumbers, bell peppers, and celery)

May 19

• Egg "McMuffin" (NF has large brown cage-free eggs on sale. I also have a coupon for free turkey bacon through Kraft's First Taste. I get coupons for free items about once a month.)
• Raw Veggies and fresh fruit

May 20

• Lemon Garlic Salmon (Both NF and Sprouts have salmon on sale. NF's Coho salmon is a couple dollars cheaper.)-- For this recipe, I get HEB's scampi sauce (or your choice) and simply pour it over the salmon with some lemon juice. Bake at 350 degrees about 10-15 minutes.
• Spinach parmesan millet (I buy millet in the bulk section at Sprouts. It supposedly has a higher protein value than couscous or quinoa.)-- Cook millet according to package directions. Add fresh, chopped spinach. Just before serving stir in desired amount of parmesan.
• Fresh salad or steamed green beans (NF has bunched leafy greens, Sprouts has the green beans)

May 21

I won't be cooking since we're going out of town for the night

I know that some of you reading don't have Newflower or Sprouts and these specific weekly menus aren't as helpful as far as sales go. But, keep in mind that really the main reason I'm wanting to have this calendar is to help me (and possibly others reading this, too) always have good recipes on hand. So, feel free to share! :)

What's on the Menu?

As I was thinking about what to make for next week's dinners and realizing that I had nothing so far, I wondered what my friends and family were cooking. And then I had the thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a recipe bank to so that I can continually have recipes on hand?" This is where you, my friends and readers come in. If you're up to it, I'd like to know what you're eating for dinner.

I enjoy cooking healthy meals for my family, but seem struggle each week to come up with new recipes. Each week, I shop for a week's worth of groceries, meaning I need 4-5 recipes at a time. (Friday is our pizza night, so that's always an easy one.) While we are not terribly picky eaters, I do have a some criteria for our meals:

Budget Friendly

With Branyon still in school and me staying at home, we have a very limited grocery budget. To stay within our budget, I take advantage of weekly ads and coupons. I don't think that this means we can't eat wholesome and nutritious food. (More about this later.)

Kid Friendly

As those of you with children know, finding nutritious meals that your child will eat can be somewhat of a challenge. I do my best to make every bite count by packing in nutritious veggies and whole grains.

Body Friendly

I'm by no means the epitome health, but being in good health is very important to me, so this is probably my top criteria. By body friendly I mean, I rarely use boxed or packaged items and try to use the freshest, most wholesome ingredients I can. I steer clear of hydrogenated fats, don't use anything with artificial colors, and rarely use food items with artificial flavoring.

We also don't eat alot of meat, which can present a small challenge to get the needed protein and unwanted fat and calories. We've had this life-style for nearly 2 years and so far, I have been successful with us only eating meat 1-2 times per week and still meeting our nutritional needs. (I think not eating as much meat also helps to cut down on groceries and gives us an opportunity to try new things) As you'll see from my recipes, our primary source of protein comes from legumes and vegetables, with dairy to give it a boost.

What I have planned for this is to post my recipes (well, they are not actually mine, but the recipes I'm using) and try to note the local Austin-area store that gives best price for the ingredients. If you choose to add you're recipes, you don't have to go into great depth, and even if you don't have a weekly meal plan or only have what you had for dinner last week, I'd love see the recipes!

So, let's get started! I have created a calendar (http://www.my.calendars.net/weeklymeals) that should allow us all to make posts for a given day. To make a post first click on the day you want. Next, click "Create" on the upper left-hand side of the page. Then, simply enter your text (the actual recipe or just the title) in the box titled "Calendar Text". (There's no need to enter a start and end time.) Finally, click the submit button. Now you can view the calendar and all the recipes!

So far, I've only posted what we've had for dinner this week. As I come up with next week's meals and grocery list in the next few days, I'll post it, too.

It's That Time of Year

It's that time year where our lives become incredibly busy, which is a big part of why I've been delinquent in blogging. As of right now, we have something going on almost every weekend from now until the first of August. It's a busy, but fun time of year! My plan for this post is to catch you up on what we've been doing for the last few weeks.

Birthday

We celebrated Branna's 3rd birthday at the end of April at Kiddie Acres. Our original date was just after her real birthday, but it got rained out. The weekend of the actual party was perfect weather!

SeaWorld

We also took our 'annual' trip to SeaWorld San Antonio with my mom and her 8th graders for their end of year celebratory field trip. Even though it was very hot (I'd say unusually for this time of year, but it seems to be that way everytime we go to SeaWorld), we still had a great time. I think Branna's favorite part was ShamuExpress, her first rollercoaster!

Branna and a student (first time)

Branna and my mom in the last car (second time)

We also went to several of the shows, including Shamu. Little did we know that we were in for a special treat: one of the whales had a baby in January and the baby was performing, too! It was so sweet to see it mimicking the mother's tricks.

Volunteering

We also had our first Little Helping Hands volunteering opportunity at the Town Lake Animal Shelter. There, we made cat beds and dog chew toys. After we were finished, Branna really enjoyed getting to see some of the animals in the shelter. (Notice I said "see"... we didn't come home with any. :) )

Taking a rest on the cat bed we were making

Baby

Lastly, we had our third midwife appointment recently. So, far the pregnancy is progressing like it should. Our midwife graciously allowed us a peek at the baby and gave us a picture to take home. We still don't know the gender, but have the sonogram scheduled for May 25th.

Baby at 16 weeks (head at top left, body at bottom right)