Saturday Snapshots

Saturday is here! So you know (or maybe not?) that Saturdays bring Saturday Snapshots!

Today's topic: The Outdoors. Silly me put off taking the pictures until today -- and it's been snowing/raining cold rain alllll day. So I only got four pictures. Because I was freezing.

Sometimes I wonder if we actually PCS'd to Minot AFB...

Next week, we will be photographing in the warm indoors..
Next week's topic is:

Photograph: A Room
[photograph any room in your home - I'm choosing my kitchen!]


Now skidaddle to Brittney's blog and check out her outdoor photos!
(and leave some comment love if you do!)

itinerary!

Remember how my parents are bringing Clayton to visit me in early April? Well, my sister has asked me to blog our tentative itinerary! I've spent a lot of time researching my area and finding fun things for all of us!

Without further ado:


Wednesday: Fly in at 1pm -- pick them up and head to the Virginia Aquarium


This is a HUGE aquarium -- including exhibits such as: Malaysian Peat Swamp, Red Sea, Indonesian Volcanic Island, Light Tower Aquarium, Blue Crab & Aviary, Norfolk Canyon Aquarium, and the Chesapeake Bay Touch Pond.

The aquarium also has an IMAX theater with a screen six stories tall and eight stories wide! We'll likely see a little movie (about 40 minutes long) about whales or dolphins or sea creatures!

With huge turtles, seals, komodo dragons, and tons of sharks and amazing fish, Clayton is sure to love it!


Come home? Go out to eat?

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Thursday: Fun In Richmond

We'll start out at the Children's Museum of Richmond. It looks SO fun! (and makes me feel a little bit MckMama-ish)

There are so many fun exhibits here: Blocks, Cave, Dairy Barn, Dino Zone, Little Farm, Play House, Sun Tubes, Town Square, Treeclimber, and Water Play. Oh, if only Hudson could come too!






Sadly, the Little Farm is only for 3 & under (Hudson would LOVE IT!) - but I have a sneaky suspicion that Clayton will love the Town Square, Dairy Barn, Dino Zone, Play House, Treeclimber & Water Play! I can't wait to see him in action! ($8)

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Afterward, we'll head to the Short Pump Town Center, Richmond's huge huge mall! We might dine at the Cheesecake Factory (mother's request!) and look around.

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Next, we'll mosey on over to the Science Museum of Virginia!

There's so much to learn here - from gravity to electricity to DNA and light, and tons about outer space. This one's still iffy, as someone (who shall not be named, but whose name rhymes with Layton..) might need a nap around this time. ($10 for adults, $8 for kids)



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Friday:

Maybe a lunch cruise on the Spirit of Norfolk. It's about a 2 1/2 hour day cruise where you enjoy the scenery and eat a big lunch. ($36.90 for adults, $18.45 for kids). Seems kinda steep, but it would be a fun experience. It's supposedly one of the "top things to do" in the area.

Later, hang out at the house? Visit the base? I don't know!


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Saturday: Day at the beach? Should be good weather (hopefully) so we may be able to go to the beach and have fun building sand castles and playing in the ocean!

Ideas??


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Sunday:

Church, hang out around town, drive them to the airport later that night.

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I still need lots of suggestions and ideas! We could take a trip on Saturday to the Williamsburg outlet mall or to Virginia Beach -- I don't know! Anyone have any ideas??


I can't wait! April can't get here soon enough!

We got new...

couches!

Our butts and backs are thrilled to pieces -- we got new couches! We picked them out on Monday and they arrived today!

That's the blanket I made Mark 2 Christmases ago.
Piper lays on it.

ignore our old couches in the corner of the dining room

My most favorite thing is that they recline. I've always dreamed of owning a reclining couch. Mark sat down and fell asleep in about 25 seconds, so they've officially passed the "comfort test."

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue reclining while I "surf the web" (is that phrase still in??) and watch the news. Buh bye now!


Tune in tonight or tomorrow for a run-down of the tentative itinerary put in place for when my family comes to visit in April!

random shots of Hudson eating a cookie

I'm running...





...out of things...





...to blog about

I play in the snow too!

It snowed a lost this past weekend-- a rare occurrence. So what else would I do but run out with Mark and Piper and play in the snow?

And when I say play, I mean: run around, twirl around, and jump around like a goon! I swear there's a kid deep inside me.

I only have 1 arm in this picture
I was twirling, you see..

Snow, I only like to see you once a year.
But when I do see you, I really think you're a ton of fun.

13 days & counting.

Valentines Day is, like, less than two weeks away, folks!

Our very first Valentines Day as a married couple. Sigh.

Errrrrrp. Wait. Haven't we been married for over a year!? Oh yeah. That's right. But last year at this this time, Mark was at basic military training. So he wrote me a lover letter. I wrote him one (daily). But this year, we'll be together! So we're excited. Well, I know I'm excited. You'll have to ask Mark about his feelings himself!

So I'm pondering what I should get/make for Mark for this momentous occasion. Then I went to Bakerella's website, and I saw these:

red velvet balls, folks

Aren't they just divine?! I mean, really now -- they almost scream "Will you be my Valentine?!" And don't worry -- Mark usually only reads my blog if I ask him to. So my idea/secret is safe between you and me. I think.

He We already have my Valentines Day present picked out! I'm pretty excited to get it. Once it arrives, I might give you all a peek. If you're lucky! Hint: It's orange! (but of course...)


In case I've failed to mention, Mark goes on his very first TDY (temp duty) to Pennsylvania this coming week! He leaves on Sunday, we think. So whatever shall I do? Oh. I know! Turn on the Super Bowl, eat chips and dip with Piper, and lounge around on our new couch (more on that later!) He'll be gone for a week, so it'll just be me and my dog.

I'm unsure whether or not I told you -- but I found seasons 1 &2 of I Love Lucy on sale at Target last week. So I got it. And now I've been laughing my little head off at Lucy and Ricky each night. It's so splendid. It's my absolute favorite show.. so wholesome and down-right funny.

I'm pretty sure that covers almost all the thoughts running through my head. I think I'll pop in the 4th disc of ILL now and watch a few episodes. Nighty night.

Ps. Here's a random new shot of Hudsie. I'm showing it just cause I can.

what do you like to eat!?

Food. One of God's most gracious gifts to mankind. One of my favorite aspects of being a human is that I can combine ingredients together to make a delectable meal. Let's take a moment and grieve other animals, such as my dog Piper, who is forced to eat what I give her. The same food and treats. Day. After. Day.

Poor her.

Ok. Done grieving. Now, I like all kinds of foods. So does my nephew, Hudsie:

Here, he is shoving a roll in his mouth in December. Boy takes after his mama. Yes siree. Bwhahaha. Anyway, I thought I would share with you my top 5 (current) favorite foods:


1. Guacamole:


For Pete's Pablo's sake, this is the best creation in the world. Avocadoey-tomatoey-oniony-cilantroy-salty goodness that makes my mouth water. I used to detest guacamole. In fact, I prepared it in my gourmet food's class and threw it all away. But then I traveled to Texas in July to visit Mark, and something came over me. I had never had guacamole in my life, but suddenly I was craving it big time (how is that possible?) Ever since, I've been in love with this green, gushy goodness. Now pass me a chip, and I'll continue with the list.


2. Pizza: I used to also hate pizza. Just ask my parents. When they announced that they were ordering pizza, I would pitch a fit. Kind of wacko, right!? Yeah, I think so too. On a given day, our freezer is stock piled full of Digiorno pizzas, pizza rolls, Totinos $1 pizzas, and 200 calorie Digiorno pizzas. It's kind of bizarre. I'm fairly certain that I could eat pizza every day for the rest of my life, and I'd never get tired of it.

3. Hot chicken wings: Special thanks goes out to my husband, the Buffalo Wild Wings/Zaxby's-fiend that I fell in love with. I'd never eaten these too much until I met him. Now? I eat them all the time. One of our favorite home-cooked meals is hot wings and fries. We're on a healthy kick, you see... ahem.

4. The Thanksgiving Extravaganza: Please, if only Thanksgiving could occur each week of the year. Turkey, ham, dressing, hashbrown casserole, deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes... the list could go on for years. I just can't get enough of that food. You already (maybe) know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's because the food totally rocks. Hashbrown casserole makes my world go round. Also, I may or may not have told certain people that, upon my death, hashbrown casserole must be served at my funeral.

5. Anything Mexican-ish. Just give me a burrito. A chimichanga. A taco. An enchilada. A quesadilla. Chips and salsa. Anything remotely spicy with a flare. It's all so good. Chipotle and Plaza Azteca are now at the top of my list, as far as food goes. In high school, I ate at my (old) favorite Mexican restaurant multiple times a week. Chips and salsa never gets old, does it?!

I guess now the secret is out: I'm not a health nut. I hope you keep reading my blog and I hope you still love me.



Now, pass the chips!