The Elephant in the Background

Ok, I'm just going to go ahead and nip something in the bud right now concerning our family Christmas card:

No, we didn't have those pictures taken in Kabul, Afghanistan. Yes, I agree the telephone lines and concrete utility shed make for a depressing backdrop. Yes, Albuquerque has much, much prettier places than that. Yes, we were told we were being taken to a pretty location for our picture and were pretty surprised when we got there. Yes, I'm taking all of you off our card list for next year, because even if you didn't say anything I know you judged us in your heart.

The truth is, we are doing a different political theme every year, and last years theme was "Stills from a war-torn Iraq." Stay tuned for next year's "North Korean Yuletide."


Christian

Some roll with that butter?

The other night, I made these rolls for dinner and Christian was slathering the butter on (much like the above picture). He looks up after about 3 rolls and said to me, "I don't care if die five years sooner, I just want to eat as much butter as I want." Somewhat amused at this, I said, "It's not about dying from clogged arteries, it's about getting fat." (Meaning that I didn't really care about clogged arteries either, I just didn't want to be a blubber bum and he took this to mean that it actually doesn't affect your arteries, it just makes you gain weight.) Well, the next day, every roll he ate had about 3 times as much butter as the night before. With a very satisfied grin on his face he said, "Now that you told me butter just makes you fat, I feel much better about eating a TON of butter with everything because I don't care about that." Ummmmm....okay. Eat away, Honey! (I don't want to break his heart by informing him that butter does in fact clog your arteries AS WELL as make you fat.)

Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I posted the yummiest soup recipe over at my sisters' and my blog today, Peachtree Cooking. If you're looking for a delicious soup to warm your insides in this frosty weather, check it out!

Cabin Fever

I've got cabin fever. My two little babies are sick. Oliver started getting sick about a week ago and Amelia followed suit a few days later. Oliver just had a cough and slight cold, but Amelia had a fever, cough, and cold. So, I finally took her to the doctor yesterday and she has a double ear infection, a sore throat, eye infection, and croup. So, so sad. The girl won't eat, sleeps all day, and when she is awake, she just flops around like this:

So, in case you're wondering where we've been, we're just holing up til we get better!

Southern Living

So, like I mentioned in my last post, we went to Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA while we were visiting my parents over Christmas. My Mom was nice enough to watch Oliver and Christian and I took Amelia (she won't take a bottle and I'm still nursing, otherwise we would have left her too) for our overnighter. It was about a 4-hour drive there and we stayed at this French-ish country inn right off of Main Street in Hilton Head. Hilton Head was so clean and pretty, with bike paths everywhere and tons of people were out and about riding. It's known for it's golfing, so there were green golf courses everywhere. There's really only one main road that goes around the relatively small island. So, we drove down this road, by all of these big, beautiful neighborhoods with lakes and ocean views. We stopped by the ocean and got out, but it was pretty cold, so we didn't stick around. It was a really nice, white sand beach, though. We also sneaked past a security guard to go see a neighborhood of big, fancy homes by the ocean. It was kind of crazy, though, because in this neighborhood and all over the island there were pine trees mixed with palm trees by the ocean. After dinner, Christian went back to the inn with Amelia and I hit up the outlet malls. The next morning, I got up and went on one of the best jogs ever on the bike paths through all these old neighborhoods. Someone should start a marathon there. It's a runner's paradise.

This picture doesn't do this place justice. It was so old and antique-y and beautiful.

These were the gardens around the inn. Soooo beautiful.

Too bad it was so cold outside, because that pool looked pretty inviting!

This is by the beach. We had this elderly couple take a picture of all 3 of us, but somehow, it got lost??? I think they just managed to focus the picture, not actually snap it... Oh well.




After a yummy breakfast at the inn, we drove about 45 minutes south to Savannah. I was a little surprised at first to see how big the city is. It's right on the water as well, but unfortunately, we didn't make it down there. Nor did we see Paula Dean or any of her family members.:) We mostly stuck around the historical district. If we ever go back (which we will) we'll be sure to see the river sights as well. I could literally have spent a week touring through the historical district. We only had a few hours, though, so we decided to go to the Mercer House, where the bulk of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil took place. Christian had recently read it and was excited to tour the house of the famous designer Jim Williams, whom the book is about. The house was filled with REALLY old antiques and art and great stories.

The Mercer House

While we waited to go on our tour of the Mercer House, we stopped for lunch at this tea room, Gryphon Cafe. It was an old pharmacy made in to a restaurant and we were both in awe of the decor and atmosphere. It was incredible, not to mention it served one of the best salads I've ever tasted.

The ceiling was made out of tapestry and this stained-glass window/chandelier was right in the middle of the restaurant.

I know it's not totally apparent in this picture, but the attention to detail in this place from the tile flours to the wood paneling and stained-glass accents was remarkable.

This was the square/park right by the Mercer House. There are 13 squares just like this organized all over the historic district, surrounded by big, old, beautiful houses and churches. It was so green there and Spanish moss hung from all the trees. Amazing.

This was a monument to the Polish soldier, Kazimierz Polaski, who helped defeat the British in Savannah.



The rest of the pictures are purely for your enjoyment. They are just a few of the old, beautiful houses that we saw that day in Savannah. It was incredible to see how well-preserved and maintained all these historic buildings are. As you can see, someone (whose names rhymes with Shristian) went a little camera-crazy.

Georgia on My Mind

We went to Georgia to visit my family the day after Christmas. After being stuck in the Denver airport for the better part of a day no thanks to a certain Nigerian terrorist, we finally made it to my parents house on Hickory Hill Farm:). We kept so busy the whole time we were there which is saying a lot since my parents live 20 minutes away from civilization. We saw Sherlock Holmes (loved, loved, loved it), played tons of fun games, took a short trip to Hilton Head Island and Savannah (post to follow), celebrated 4 birthdays (in 2 days), celebrated the New Year, ate at my fave BBQ place, Cafe Pig (named so appropriately for the portions I ate), went bowling, and played more fun games. It was really such a nice, relaxing, fun trip.

Just a taste of our trip to Hilton Head. This girl just screams, "Come and snuggle!"

One night we went to my Aunt Jana's house to celebrate my cousin, Parker's and Christian's b-day. This is Parker's dog, Poppy. Amelia loved that little thing.

We celebrated Christian's birthday at home the next night. The Big 3-0. Wow. Can't believe it. Which means we're only a couple years from a mid-life crisis, right?:)

We brought in the New Year with the kids a little early that night. My ultra-crafty sister, Emily, made these cute little glasses out of pipe cleaner.

Our "countdown" (to 8 o'clock) was rung in with some pots and pans by the little guys.

We went to the local Griffin bowling alley the next day. I'd like to say that Oliver tore it up and by his expression in this picture, you might even believe it. But, the truth is that his bowling skills, like his mom's, leaves much to be improved upon.

We take this stuff VERY seriously.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post on our trip to Savannah and Hilton Head- it was amazing!!!