Earthquake!

Just over 24 hours into our trip, while eating lunch with people from Brian's grad program, the LA area experienced an earthquake. Since Magnolia was born I have had several dreams where we are in the middle of a disaster (explosions, tsunamis, you know the usual ones) and I have to figure out how to keep her safe. Today, in real life, as the ground began to shift, Brian and I looked across the table at one another and then down at Magnolia with a unified look of "What do we do?" Maggie, still in her car seat, was quickly swept under the table. We joined her as the ground finished shaking. The news reported the epicenter was about 15 miles East of the restaurant and measured 5.4. We are all safe and the adrenaline helped us devour a little more of the 15 varieties of meat that were offered at the Brazilian BBQ buffet. 

Welcome Caleb!

Today, I got to visit my good friends Jacqueline and Josh Hawkins' in the hospital! I was so excited to meet their new little boy and was selfishly glad that he arrived before I head down to California to meet Brian.

Caleb Joshua Hawkins was born Friday, July 25th just before 5 pm. He weighed 8 lbs, 15 oz and was 19 3/4 inches. He was just a bit smaller than Magnolia at birth, but he too made his mom go through a long labor only to get stuck and need to come out via c-section. But if Caleb's hands and feet are any indicator he will outgrow Maggie before too long! Mom and Dad are happy, but very tired!

For more pictures, check out the hospital's web nursery.

Gruss Gott

That's hello in Bavaria. We went to the Bavarian tourist town of Leavenworth yesterday. My dad's "morale event" for work, river rafting, ended in there, so my mom and I decided to drive with him and take in the outdoors and the shops.

After going for a drive around Lake Wenatchee and letting the dogs play just long enough for us to be eaten alive by mosquitos, we hit the shoppes. The most fun was in the hat shop. I included a few of my favorites here, but there are more on flickr.

Magnolia, having only seen her Canada hat, was amazed by the variety of hats in the shop.

Viking Queen or Opera Star of the future?

Half Princess Half Jester

We ended the day by joining my dad's team for a wonderful dinner at Pavz. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Leavenworth. They have amazing crepes!

Tired Jumper

I finally caught one of my favorite moments on camera. One minute Magnolia will be jumping like crazy and the next her head will be down, eyes closed, and then up and jumping again. So precious to me!

Jumping Bean

Jumping is now a favorite daily activity. Sometime she tries to jump while you are holding her in your arms. This clip was taken after she had been jumping for over 30 minutes! I wonder if she knows she can just stand there and play with the toys, that she doesn't have to jump. "Must keep jumping, must keep jumping..."

S'mores

During weekly camp outs at Camp Firwood I perfected my favorite standard S'more recipe:

• Spread peanut butter on half a graham cracker


• Put chocolate on top of peanut butter


• Place cracker combo on foil on a rock at the edge of the coals so the chocolate softens


• Roast marshmallow until golden brown


• Squeeze marshmallow off roasting stick between prepared cracker and a second cracker

In the years following my summers at Firwood, my sister and I have experimented with various candy bars to replace the traditional Hershey's chocolate -- Our favorites are Milky Way and Peppermint Patties -- so we were excited to see coconut marshmellows at the store yesterday. We had yet to experiment with the marshmallow in s'mores and we both love chocolate dipped macaroons so we had to try them.

Our verdict: They tasted very similar to a macaroon, were best with dark chocolate, rich enough that you didn't want to eat many.

Warning: If you try the coconut marshmallows, they are very HOT after they are roasted. I recieved a huge blister on my finger when trying to position mine on my cracker.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy this campfire treat? Leave a recipe in the comments and participate in the poll!

Front Two Teeth

They are little, but through the surface. Hopefully, that means our days (and nights) will be happier.

Just Keep Swimming

After trying to keep the inflatable pool inflated, Otis from drinking all of the water, and Trudy from jumping in and then streaking tuck-butt around the house, my mom and I got creative.

Alvin, Simon, Magnolia?

One of Magnolia's bottom teeth broke through her gums yesterday. The tooth next to it is nearly there. The chipmunk look is just around the corner. She has done pretty well so far; a bit more fussy and having a hard time sleeping. Maggie doesn't like the cold teething toys, but she does like to chew on your finger (which is starting to hurt). She wants to be held a lot and often lays her head on your shoulder -- super sweet, but tiring. I am hoping to post a picture soon so her Papa can see, but she does't really like me messing with her mouth.

Happy 4th of July!

"Happy 4th of July!"

The Debeardification Process

When I met Brian, in May of 1999, he looked like this except with longer hair:

(This was taken in April of 2000 at an SPU event before we were dating)

The first year or so that I knew Brian the goatee came and went. Here are some examples of what I fell in love with. :) 

When we started dating, the goatee became permanent but varied in length as did his hair. Until the winter of 2007 when he decided to grow a beard.  That beard was pretty normal and didn't last too long. This winter the beard reappeared and he decided to grow it out. This is what it ended up looking like:

Reluctantly, he decided to shave it, planning for weeks how to make the most of the debeardification process. Thanks to our friend Josh we have awesome documentation. Enjoy!

Friendly Mutton Chops with Chin Puff and a little extra Flare

The Winnfield with Petit Goatee

Fu Manchu

Fu Manchu with girl's face??!

Wanda

Ol' Lopsided Pouty

Short Fu Manchu

Copstache Standard

Anyone seen my donkey?

Charlie Chaplin

Fourteen Again

For those of you that were excited to see Brian clean shaven after almost 8 years, don't be surprised if the beard reappears. The stubble is already back. This process was way too fun for him not to do it again. 

Happy Canada Day!

"Happy Canada Day"