Preliminary New Guinea pictures--Port Moresby

James is spending a few weeks in New Guinea doing collecting and research with a group of professors, mostly from BYU and BYU-Hawaii. He's been gone about 10 days and we haven't heard from him much, but we did receive these pictures in an email shortly after they arrived in Port Moresby.

It took them so long to get there. They were delayed eight hours in Fiji, making them miss all of their later flights. Later, they were delayed three hours in the Solomon Islands, which made them have to stay the night there not according to plan. Finally, they spent an extra day just killing time in Port Moresby because the usual flight to New Ireland (I believe) was cancelled.

Once they FINALLY got to their destination, the fun could really begin. He told me last week that their research station, which is housed in an old resort, is about thirty minutes from a rumbling, ash-spewing volcano. Wow. I hope they are able to do some excellent insect and marine life research to make all this traveling and effort worth it. Regardless of the bumps, New Guinea looks like an amazing place and James is fortunate beyond all get out that he gets to go on a trip like this. I'm sure he's loving every minute!

Life in Utah, Part I

Well, as many of you know, we have recently begun our 7-week visit to Utah for the summer. We've had an awesome time visiting family. I think our boys think they've died and gone to the Celestial Kingdom--here there are lots of grandparents, aunts, and uncles, plenty of cousins to play with, big amazing backyards, swimming pools and irrigated lawns, pets, hikes and waterfalls, birthday parties, airplane museums, plenty of good food including treats and soda and people who rarely tell you no. Yes, it's a kids paradise.

James leaves on Thursday for Papua New Guinea. He's pretty excited. Now if we could just track down a place here in Utah to get his Japanese Encephalitis booster shot before he goes.... I've been running all over the creation here with various relatives, trying to get ready for the Provo River Half Marathon on Aug. 9th. Last Friday, two of my sisters-in-law, Emily and Becca, and I ran 9 miles up and down the canyon and had an amazing time. It was one of the best runs I've ever been on. I've never run that far before and it was so beautiful (and actually so cold when we started out at 6am, so different from Georgia--are you surviving the heat, Charis?) My muscles were crampy and tired when I was done but I still felt so good. I wanted to keep running. And actually, I'm getting a little obsessed. Whenever I see people out running, I'm always like, "When do I get to go again? How far do I need to go next time?" Not that I'm very great or fast at it. But I love getting better and better at it. It makes me feel so strong in all aspects of my life.

So, the last thing is, a few of you know that James and I are going with my parents to the American Idol concert in SLC tomorrow night. I am SO excited! I know I am a complete nerd, but I absolutely love David Archuleta. I love his voice and his style of music and the songs he sings, as well as who he is. But we also love David Cook too so we're really excited to see him perform. And we liked Brooke and Jason and several others, so I think it will be a fun, kid-free date for us before James is gone for 2 1/2 weeks. And believe or not, it will actually be the first real concert I've ever gone to. Ha ha! I'll let you know how it is--Chad and Andy, try not to feel too badly that you don't get to be there with the rest of the Archies. :)

Motherhood

***Warning to the reader: This is a mushy, gushy post, especially the poem at the end. What can I say?***

My Wesley has the most stunning blue eyes. He's the entertainer in our family. He is mischievous and opinionated but also all love and affection and sweetness. He's a little mama's boy. He doesn't love anyone more than he loves me--if only that could last! He loves and insists on falling asleep on my shoulder, with his fingers twisted up in my hair. It's hard to feel too badly about anything in life when such a sweet little person loves you so much.

I love this picture (thanks Donna for all of these!) because to me it captures best the Henry I know. He's a beautiful, big-eyed boy with lots of great blonde hair which I hate to cut. Henry is good right down to his core. He loves his friends and adores his daddy, who is his "best buddy." He is curious about everything in life and is both funny and light-hearted as well as thoughtful and sensitive. He's a true "barefoot boy," which is another poem I should post on here sometime. He is perfectly happy exploring the outdoors and nature and the way things work, and I love to let him enjoy a happy childhood and not try to force adulthood on him too fast.

Gosh, I love this picture so much too! How can you not love that squishy little baby face right in front of the camera? To me that face just says, "Mommy, I am an important person too."

Ahh...life with a sibling. Not always what it's cracked up to be. They definitely love each other a lot though and are heart-broken when the other one is upset or not around. I'm glad they have each other, and James and I know how fortunate we are to have them. They are our greatest blessing.

The Girl I Used to Be
Author unknown

She came tonight as I sat alone,
The girl I used to be,
And she gazed at me with her earnest eyes,
And questioned reproachfully,
Have you forgotten the many plans,
And hopes I had for you?
The great career,
The splendid fame,
All the wonderful things to do?
Where is the mansion of stately height,
With all of its gardens rare?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you,
And the shining jewels in your hair?
And as she spoke,
I was very sad,
For I wanted her pleased with me,
This slender girl from the shadowy past,
The girl I used to be.

So gently rising,
I took her hand and guided her up the stairs,
Where peacefully sleeping,
My babies lay, innocent, sweet and fair.
And I told her that these are my only gems,
And precious they are to me.
That silken robe is my motherhood,
Of costly simplicity.
And my mansion of stately height is love,
And the only career I know,
Is serving each day in these sheltered walls,
For the dear ones who come and go.
And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,
She smiled through her tears at me,
And I saw the woman that I am now,
Pleased the girl that I used to be!

Pumpkin Muffins, Ratatouille, and Key Lime Pie

Well, here I am, posting again after all of you gave up on checking my blog weeks ago...

I thought I'd share a few recipe thoughts. We had a whole lot of company over lately, and it's been great fun, although a lot of work and a lot of cooking. (At least my house stays looking good though!) We've had a double baby shower and several game nights and dinners.

So, with all this going on, I've made a few interesting culinary discoveries I thought I'd share. The first is the little known fact that if you add twice as much canned pumpkin as the pumpkin muffin recipe calls for, it still turns out pretty darn good. I did this by accident when I made muffins for a pool party with other moms and kids from church, and all the while I couldn't figure out why the batter was so weird and why I had to cook them forever. And actually, not only did they have twice as much pumpkin but I had reduced the oil and sugar already, so they had less than 50% of what they should have had of those. And I'd added flax seed, so they were pretty darn healthy and actually really good still. Here's the recipe:

Jennifer Eyring's Pumpkin Bread
1 2/3 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. each of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
1 1/2 c. sugar (or 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 c. oil (or 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin (or 2 cups!)
3 T. flax seed

13+ min at 350 (with extra pumpkin, closer to 20 min)

My next discovery was with Ratatouille. We were figuring out what to make as a side dish for our friends and I realized I had all the ingredients for this one except the eggplant. So we got it and made it--very simple and nutritious, and even James liked it in spite of the squash and eggplant. However, I did finally finish it off for lunch today, which was probably my 4th time having it, and I have to say it had lost a bit of its luster after the 2nd or 3rd time.

Ratatouille
2 cloves garlic
1 med onion
1 med eggplant
2 small zucchini
1 med green pepper
2 med tomatoes
fresh basil
1/8-1/4 c. olive oil
1 1/2 t. salt
1/3 t. pepper
dash of thyme

Saute all the vegetables in the oil in a pan until tender, garlic and onions first, then everything but the tomatoes, and finally the tomatoes and fresh basil. Let it cook down to a consistency you like--about 10-15 min total.

Finally, we recently had James's lab group over for dinner. We made Thai spring rolls with peanut sauce for an appetizer, and then had (all homemade) Thai Green Curry with chicken and eggplant, Matsuman Curry, Pad Thai, Tandoori chicken, and Key Lime Pie for dessert. Whew! It was good. The spring rolls were my favorite, but I was surprised how easy the Key Lime Pie was--easy enough to memorize and so delicious (as long as it's not overcooked).

Key Lime Pie
3 eggs, beaten
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. lime juice
1 t. lime zest

1 graham cracker crust
Whipped cream

Whip up the first 4 ingredients and pour it into the crust. Bake 30-35 min at 350 until center is set. Chill before serving. Top with whipped cream. Yum!

Georgia is beautiful

The flowers in Georgia in March and April are amazing. We didn't get any pictures of the Wysteria vines that grow all over the trees and look like 40 ft. tall purple waterfalls--those are my favorite. It's a lovely time of year but also terrible for allergy sufferers. The streets and cars have a constant yellow dusting of pollen, and sometimes it actually looks foggy or misty outside just from the pollen.

Just some of the beautiful blossoms on UGA campus. James took these with his new camera.

This is in front of James's building.

Across from James's building--the old building on the right is one of the original University buildings that is still in use.

A street in Five Points--the residential area by the University where a huge proporation of the professors live. (And yes, that's James's pride and joy parked on the street.)

The perfect house and yard.

Wouldn't you hate to live next door to these people?

Josh Reeves Memorial 5K--Henry's first race!

Our family recently participated in the first ever Josh Reeves Memorial 5K. First, a little background info. The Reeves family are members of our ward. We've known the parents and their children ever since we moved here. Josh (and one other grown sibling) were the only ones we didn't know, although I knew Josh's wife, Leslie.

Anyway, Josh was serving in Iraq up until last September when a roadside bomb exploded under the Humvee he was in. His passing happened at a particularly difficult time--Josh's first child, Jackson, was born here in the states just 24 hours earlier. So we love the Reeves family very much and this has been and continues to be a tough thing for them. So when we heard about the memorial 5k the UGA ROTC was doing, we, along with a lot of other ward members, signed up.

Of course, the problem was that we hadn't run a race in forever and had not been running. Well, for James it had been the Fall Festival 5K and for me it had been the relay race marathon last April. And we were both pretty out-of-shape. But it was good because it made us get back in shape. Before the race they had a tribute to Josh and his family. A large group from each military division--the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines--were there and they ran in formation by division and did their...I can't think of what it's called..chanting, shouting things with their commander during the entire race. It was rainy during the race but that actually felt pretty good. It was fun to run a race with lots of our friends from church.

This 5k also, by accident, became Henry's first race. Our friends were going to watch the boys while we ran but at the last minute the night before we found out they couldn't come. So we decided James would run the race himself and I would push the boys in the double stroller. But it actually turned out to be a good thing because Henry was so excited about being in the race. And I have to say he did a pretty amazing job. He ran about half of the 3.1 miles, including several hills and at a pretty good pace. Everyone we passed when he was running got a pretty big kick out of his clenched fists and determined face. He was very excited. At one point we were running up a hill and it was just starting to drizzle and Henry was laughing while he was running and my heart took a picture of it. You could just tell that his little boy heart was pretty happy in that moment.

So James finished the race in probably pretty good time, although we don't really know because he didn't see the big race clock they had at the end and assumed they didn't have one. :) So then he came back and got the boys from me and I got to run the last 1/2 mile of the race without the stroller. When James came up with the boys, everyone kept trying to get Henry to get out and run across the finish line of the race, but by that point he had had it and kept yelling at everyone, "No. I'm too tired!" Of course he perked up a bit when he found out that people who run the race get to eat donuts at the end, although not enough to smile for any of our pictures.

All in all, it was a really fun race. We want to always do stuff like this as a family and raise our kids participating in things like that. And it got us really back into running mode, which we really like to do. That and Emily Morrise's blogs about all of her running accomplishments. She's amazing! Her example has really inspired us and hopefully we can do some running together when we're out there this summer!

Our living room makeover

We do exist. We have not fallen off the face of the earth, though I know it seems we have. We've just been really busy and our Internet always seems to be having one problem or another. But anyway, now that everyone has probably stopped checking our blog, I am back with just a small update on our lives.

We continue to love our house. It's so nice (and so much easier!) to have options and flexibility in terms of storage and decorating and use. So one of my fun projects in February was getting our living room set up a little more nicely. It was hard to make myself stick to predominantly one style and color palette because I love so many different looks, but I think I did and I'm pretty happy with the result.

First, I have to say that even though it's not a fancy living room that people would still be very surprised to know how little we spent on everything in there. About 80% of everything in there (as well as in the rest of our house) was either given to us or purchased at a garage sale. (We have a very generous and thoughtful family and circle of friends.) And among those things, there are a number of items we refurbished to make them look nicer and like they were supposed to go together. And then there's a small number of things we just bought (read: IKEA and Walmart--what would I do without those two stores?!).

My favorite item (and the most unique) is the humongous world map on the far wall. That was my big purchase item. I loved that map when I first saw it on the IKEA website a year ago, and for me it's a good sign when I still like something after a few months because I normally change my mind all over the place. It's a beautiful canvas maps with great colors--colored like a map but in nice shades of blue, brown and green so it didn't look straight out of a geography book. I love it because it's big enough to allow you to read everything on it, and it's interesting to look at so you actually learn something everytime you look at it. And it's a great conversation piece. Everyone who comes to our house (even the repairman) stops to look at it, and it spurs a lot of interesting conversations. And down the road (a ways down the road) it can go in our library that we hope to one day have. So I feel like it was worth the investment to get the one thing I really loved and that we would use for a long time, although again, IKEA, so it wasn't really expensive enough to call it an investment!

Finally, I made the blue pillow the day I wanted to have the room all done, when my friends came over for book club at my house (my first time being able to host the book club after being in it for four years!) Anyway, I was proud of my cool design and that I remembered enough about sewing to put a zipper in it.

So there you have it. Now you can all feel like you've visited us here and...been in the front room. :)