Celebrating 16

We had a pretty low-key, but still very fun, celebration for Ruth's birthday today. She had requested pancakes for breakfast, which was a little easier said than done, since that doesn't really seem to be a thing here in Mendoza. We also don't have any measuring cups in our house, so Ruth just threw ingredients into a bowl and hoped for the best. I then cooked the pancakes one at a time in a frying pan, which took quite a long time but was worth it. The pancakes came out super thick but quite tasty, and even though we couldn't find syrup, we found a number of other acceptable toppings. 

Birthday breakfast

Pancakes upon pancakes upon pancakes!

Later, Ruth made herself a chocolate pie, which also proved to be something of an adventure. We only had an oval pan, and the pie crust we found was more like phyllo dough. Also the handle on the saucepan was just about to fall off and would twist around in her hand every time she tried to grab it, so hot chocolate kept spilling all over everything. And a certain little brother released all the aerosol from the whipped cream canister, so that it came out creamy rather than foamy. But it tasted good and makes for a good story. 

Birthday pie

When we were giving Ruth our gift of many gift cards to some of her favorite places, Clay was sad because he didn't have a store-bought gift for her, even though he had drawn a lovely picture to give her. So, he begged me to take him to the store to pick something out. He is such a giver and a lover, and I couldn't resist his request. He found the perfect thing: a pack of four different writing instruments Ruth could use for school and a package of Ferro Rocher bonbons. He's such a sweet boy, and he does love his sister so!

When you get exactly what you
wanted for your birthday.

There will be some shopping in this girl's future

These two have the sweetest relationship!

For dinner, we went out to a cool place that Ruth picked out called Fuente y Fonda. The restaurant didn't even open until 8, and we were some of the first patrons to arrive. The concept of the place is shareable dishes served family-style. We ordered three different things: Chicken Milanesa, Shepard's Pie, and Steak, which came with sides and bread and desserts. Everything was delicious, and we had such a great time!

Fuente y Fonda

Birthday dinner

So much yumminess!

Winter Breakfast 2017

Winter Breakfast has become one of the most talked about and anticipated events in our household. We haven't yet gotten it to work out on the morning of the Winter Solstice, but we get as close as we can. Only the snowman pancakes and the white hot chocolate have been present at all our Winter Breakfast celebrations. The rest of the items change, depending on my creativity, motivation, and available time. This year the menu included snowman pancakes, white hot chocolate in snowman mugs, snowman bagels, hard boiled egg snowmen, grape penguins, and polar bear yogurt. As always, we had a blast!

Plate of Peguins

Egg Snowmen

Snowman pancakes

Snowman bagels

Polar bear yogurt

White hot chocolate

Winter Breakfast is our favorite!

We gave the kids some little surprises, and when Ruth saw these two items,
she declared it to be, "The best day of her life!"

Super Saturday

This is the first Saturday since late August that we haven't had a kid's sporting event to attend. We enjoyed sleeping in, and since we aren't all going to be together on Weston's birthday in a couple of weeks (or on his birthday party day a couple of weeks after that), we decided to go ahead and celebrate his birthday today. His main request was Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which we don't have in Flower Mound. So, the men headed over to Roanoke to pick up the doughnuts, while Ruth and I went to workout. (For me, this is working out in the very loosest sense of the word, but I'm thrilled to be cleared to do anything that even resembles exercising!)

All the doughnuts!

Later, we gave Weston his birthday gifts, which included tickets to the OU/TCU football game in Norman, OK this evening. He did not see this coming and was thrilled about every part of it: football, TCU, two top-ten teams, going to another state for the game, and the fact that it was happening this very day. It was awesome to watch his face light up! I just love to give gifts that truly make the recipient happy! And, experience gifts are the best!

A new "Saturday shirt"

I can't tell you how happy this face makes me!

After that excitement, we headed over to Denton for the Pistons and Paint Car Show. It was so fun to see so many cool cars! But our favorite part was seeing Junior Brown, who is one of our all-time favorite musicians, perform live. Jeff and I have been trying to catch him live for more than a decade, but it just never worked out until today.

Max's favorite!

Clay asked several times how someone could get up in this

Weston's dream vehicle

I loved the pink Cadillac!

Junior Brown doing his thing

When we left the car show, Jeff and Weston took off for Oklahoma, and the rest of us came home for Clay's first Star Wars movie viewing. For all the other kids, we had decided they could see the movies when they turned seven, but since the new movie is coming out in December, the older kids voted unanimously to let Clay into the Star Wars Club at 6 1/2. And, they want him to get all caught up with the previous movies before the new one hits theaters next month. Clay was ecstatic!

The last thing on our Super Saturday agenda is tacos from Taco Ocho, and you can't ever go wrong with that! I'm so thankful for this happy day and the time spent with my people doing things that make us smile. 

6 1/2

Yesterday we celebrated Clay's half-birthday with lots of things that he loves. He requested all the chocolate for breakfast, so we indulged in chocolate donuts, chocolate muffins, and chocolate cupcakes. We gave him some art supplies and a gift card to an art store, which he had subtly suggested by bringing me the ad for the store, pointing out exactly what he wanted (and making sure I realized it was "only $5"), telling me he wished he could sometime get a gift card like the big kids often get, and then strategically and overtly leaving the ad on my dresser where I would be sure to see it every day. 😊  Then, he spent some time doing chalk drawings with Max and his cousin, Victoria. Another request for the day was to watch a movie and order pizza, so we did that at lunch time. And later in the day, Clay and Max competed in Ninja Warrior contests at the gym where Max takes gymnastics. It was such a fun half-birthday day. I can't believe this kid is getting so big! I'm so proud of him and just love him so much!

Chocolate Overload

Proud of his gift card

Chalk Drawings

Movie Time

Ninja Clay

Celebrating 40

I turned 40 on Friday, and I did it right! My sweet hubby surprised me with a trip to the new Palafitos (overwater bungalows) in the Mexican Riviera. (He also surprised himself by accidentally revealing the gift to me months before he intended to!) We arrived at the resort on Wednesday around noon and instantly began to be treated like royalty. We had some lunch in the overwater restaurant and then took a walk around the resort, before settling into our amazing palafito. We spent the next few days lounging on our patio, alternating between the large lounge chair and the private pool, and eating large quantities of delicious food. On my birthday, the staff went all out to make sure my day was special. They put a sign on the door, decorated the bed when they did the turn-down service, delivered a beautiful dessert to the room, and even filled up our jacuzzi. It was such a special trip and a wonderful way to enter a new decade!

El Dorado Maroma Resort

Our beautiful palafito

Everything we ate was beautiful as well as delicious!

I certainly did feel special on my birthday!

*I am celebrating turning 40 all year long with a Year of Firsts. I am keeping a separate blog for documenting that journey, if you want to check it out.*

Mexico

Jeff has always been a wonderful gift giver. And, the most recent gift he gave me only proves how well he knows and loves me. He presented me with the gift of travel--a couple's trip, anywhere I wanted to go, though he and I both knew it would be somewhere beachy. We settled on Mexico and found a house with a 180-degree view of the Gulf of Mexico, right on the beach. It is perfection! My eyes never tire of the view, and I absolutely love being lulled to sleep by the sound of the surf. We arrived late on Thursday night and have been having a blast ever since! We spent Friday exploring nearby Progresso, walking on the beach, and getting caught up in a Harley convention when we went out for dinner. Yesterday, we drove out to Chitzen Itza to explore some Mayan culture. We detoured through Merida for lunch and then headed back to our wonderful house to rest and read, before tracking down some more Mexican food for dinner. I am so thankful for this special gift and for the man who understands what makes me tick!

Our beautiful home on the beach and a view that never gets old

Breakfast in Progresso on Friday

Exploring Progresso

Harley Convention

Chitzen Itza

Lunch at Casa de Frida in Merida

Comida Autentico

Max's Birthday

We arrived home on the 10th, after stopping for lunch at Taco Bell, because our poor, deprived children complained that we had never taken them there. We squeezed in a few loads of laundry and a date night before giving Max his birthday surprise the next day: a visit to Great Wolf Lodge. He (and everyone else) was beyond excited! We got to the lodge around 1:00 that afternoon and stayed until the water park closed on the 12th. It was a great way to spend a January birthday!

The end of date night at Winewood in Grapevine

Birthday Party

Great Wolf Lodge

Water park fun

The younger guys thought the ropes course was almost as much fun as the water park

Gift Giving Guide

Q. What do you get the minimalistic nomadic family in your life that just wants to get away from it all?

A. 96 square feet of road-ready freedom, with a bathroom, a kitchen, and beds for everyone.

Zealong Tea Estate

Yesterday, we got to spend several lovely hours at the beautiful Zealong tea plantation, celebrating Ruth's birthday a little early. We had a private tour of the grounds, participated in a super-cool tea ceremony, and had lunch at the onsite cafe, which utilizes tea in a variety of ways in its dishes. It was a unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience! We all have a new appreciation of tea and hope to experiment more with it in the future.

Zealong Tea Estate

The story of tea in sculptures

This series of sculptures, made of teapots and tea cups,
with a dragon head on the first pot and a dragon tail on the last one,
represents the spirit of the plantation, since "oolong" means "black dragon."

So happy to share this experience with my people!

The trimming machine is the only machine
that touches the plants while they are in the field.
All tea leaves are picked by hand.

The oversized chairs at the function center were a big hit with the boys.
(And, even with plenty of room to spread out, they are still touching each other!)

Trying on the tea picker hats

Everything about the tea ceremony was awesome--
from the table and chairs, to the process, to the five varieties of tea we got to try.
We tried a green tea, a pure oolong, an aromatic oolong, a dark oolong, and a black tea.
There are very specific ways in which the varieties of teas are prepared
and specific rules of etiquette to follow when participating in the ceremony.
The little picture in the middle on the right shows the two cups used in the ceremony.
The tall one is the scent cup, used only for smelling, and the short one is the drinking cup.
When it's time to drink, you are supposed to drink in exactly three sips:
the first for taste, the second for warmth, and the third for thirst.

A special treat:
passion fruit macaroons infused and sprinkled with aromatic oolong tea

This is not the variety of camila used for making tea,
but they are scattered throughout the plantation to give a pop of color,
as the plants from which the tea leaves come are never allowed to bloom.