Life update

Erik just started his rotations this past Monday. He is doing psychiatry. He basically sits in an office all day with the psych. Doctor and listens to the many problems of random people. I can't say that sounds thrilling, but hopefully he will learn a lot from it. The nice thing about rotations is when he comes home he gets to be home and doesn't have to worry about studying. Such a relief for me; I feel like I can get so much more done because Erik is there to watch Gabe.

Gabie who is now 15 months old, is getting to be a very active child but other than that he is a perfect angel. He is learning so much everyday. He just learned where his belly button is. He likes to pull up his shirt and poke it. I am thinking about shaving his head for the summer, but Erik says no.

I am busy with Gabe, making jewelry, cleaning, working on various other projects, and decorating cakes. I am not very busy with lessons however, because half of my students are taking July off and starting again in August. I am also reading a lot of books-I'm reading the Chronicles of Narnia, which I can't believe I've never read before!

The house seems to be falling apart. The garage door opener broke about two weeks ago, shortly following that the air conditioner gave out. We ended up having to replace the ENTIRE air conditioning system because there were so many problems with it: leaks all over the place (one pipe was leaking carbon monoxide into the attic) the circuit board was broke, you name it, it needed repairs. We got a new one installed about a week ago. Yay for a new air conditioner that works wonderfully, boo for paying $5500. Yikes. Now the water heater needs to be replaced. The bottom has rusted out and it's got a small leak that is creating black bold. Oh yeah, we have no hot water. We're taking cold showers-or rather cool/luke-warmish showers-the water never gets cold here in AZ. I have to heat water on the stove for Gabie's baths. Fun stuff. NOT. The answering machine died last night as well (at least those don't cost a few grand to replace). Okay dishwasher, it's your turn!

CA Trip Part II-The Beach

The last day of our CA trip we went to Newport beach. The water was freezing (of course there were people swimming it it--crazies!) The sand was nice and warm though and the air was cool. Gabe loved the beach; he loved playing in the sand and putting his feet in the water.
We met up with one of my good friends at the beach and then we all went out to a BBQ restaurant. Then my friend took me to a nail place and treated me to my first EVER (sad I know) pedicure! Later we went to Downtown Disney and got some yummy stuffed churros. The next day we (my in-laws and Erik, me and Gabe) went to our favorite fish restaurant (the Crab cooker) and then we left for the drive home. Gabe was fabulous on the drive despite being soaking wet from pouring water all over himself. I'm glad he is such a good travel buddy.

Setting up on the beach

Gabie and his new beach toys. Grandma is always spoiling him with toys and clothes!

Gabe liked having his feet dipped in the water by daddy

Us and my friend and her boyfriend

So sweet!

Isn't he so adorable?!

The windmills on the drive to Aneheim. I think they're neat.

Gabe on the drive home. What a good boy!

CA Part I-Disneyland and California Adventures

Erik finished his board exams as of June 15th! To celebrate this, his parents took us to Disneyland and California Adventures. Gabe was a perfect angel the entire drive there and well, the entire trip! He is such a good little traveler. He loved Disneyland! His favorite rides were "It's a Small World", "Playhouse Disney" and the "Finding Nemo" submarine ride. He also thought the fireworks were funny. He mostly seeing the sights and hearing the sounds. I didn't think to pack a sweater (I am so used to the heat!) so that's why I'm wearing a blanket. It sure gets chilly in CA in the evening! We caught a glimpse of the new show "World of Color" but we couldn't see all of it because there were SO many people there. Other than that we sure had a lot of fun!

Sleeping Gabe he missed both of his naps the first day and finally feel asleep around 6:00 for a few hours

Tower of Terror! I love that ride.



Gabe at Playhouse Disney. He loved it when the bubbles came down from the ceiling.



Gabe loves his Grandpa!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to my Erik! He is a great daddy for Gabe.

Erik modeling the presents I got him.

Gabe and I had fun making this card!

Also a very happy father's day to my dad and my father-in-law!

Gabie-Suits

Here are some of Gabie's outfits I made him, both from the same (easy) pattern. I love making Gabe outfits. It's hard to find cute (and most importantly, easy) patterns for boys, and I'm milking this one for all its worth!

The most recent outfit I have made for him. It's a little big--he has all summer to grow into it though! I love the ball and bat buttons.




Gabe's "caveman" outfit. I made it awhile ago. Sorry about the cry face. I guess he didn't want his picture taken!

Fun and Free

This last weekend was really fun!
Friday night was free night at the Phoenix Children's Museum. We had taken Gabe there last month and he LOVED it. He was squealing with delight the entire time! This Friday, however, there were SO many people there that we didn't even get to go in. We stood in line for a good half hour and then finally they gave us a number. We waited and waited for an hour and a half and I decided to just leave since they were only on number 70-something and we were number 191. Sheesh. But it was not all in vain; Gabe had the time of his life during that wait.
While Gabe has a mild temperament, his personality is anything but mild! This silly boy was handing out rocks to anyone and everyone he saw. It was the funniest thing. I wish I hadn't forgot my camera! While he was giving rocks to various people, he would yell a silly yell. You had to be there. It was too funny! This boy cracks us up!

Saturday Erik wanted to go to a little town called Cottonwood so we could check it out (he may end up doing a rotation there). While we were in the area, we stopped by some Indian ruins. The first one we went to called Tuzigoot, a multi-room pueblo built on top of a hill. Lucky for us, Arizona's national monuments were free that day! We had no idea; we were expecting to pay. Here are the pics for Tuzigoot:





Then we stopped at KFC (not free!) and brought the lunch to Red Rock State Park (also not free). We saw some deer and Gabe enjoyed being drenched with water (who wouldn't when the temperature is 105?!)

Then we took a scenic drive up to beautiful Sedona (only a half hour away from Cottonwood):
Then we went over to Montezuma's Castle (also free). It was really neat! Makes me glad for modern housing though!

Gabe thought the trees were funny.

The car ride home:


Gabie's "car dance". Hilarious!




This is how Gabe entertains himself (and us!) on long drives! LOL! So funny!!

Later that night we had some friends over for games. I'm glad good fun like that is free!

My Cafe Rio Meal Recipe

As requested, here is my Café Rio meal recipe.

Rarely do I make exact measurements when I cook, so I’ll do my best to present a coherent follow-able (is that a word?) recipe for you all.

Sweet Pork Recipe

Ingredients:

Prepare the meat at least 4 hours in advance

A few pounds worth of Pork Roast

Dr. Pepper -One liter is more than enough

Brown sugar-at least a cup, maybe more like 2 cups, depending on how much meat you have or how sweet you want the recipe to be.

Enchilada sauce-whatever brand you want, no more than a cup will be sufficient

Spices-I put in minced garlic, seasoned salt, pepper, and onion powder. Really whatever you feel like (you probably don’t want Italian seasoning or the like though). Put as much spice as you feel is reasonable.

Preparation:

If you have time, put pork and some Dr. Pepper (not so much that the entire roast is covered; just enough to allow it to simmer in the soda) in a crock pot and turn it on low. Let simmer for a few hours. This allows the meat to get tender. Then throw the rest of the ingredients in a cook for 4 or more hours.

If you don’t have that much time, throw all ingredients into crock pot and cook for at least 4 hours. So hard, I know.

While the meat is on it’s last hour of cooking, prepare the rice:

Café Rio Cilantro-Lime Rice Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Cup uncooked rice

1 tsp butter

1-2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp lime juice

2 cups water

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 tsp sugar

Abt 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro—FRESH-not the dried stuff. Trust me, the dried stuff doesn’t work!

In a rice cooker (or saucepan if you don’t have a rice cooker) combine the rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp, lime juice, water, and the bouillon cube. Turn rice cooker on; make sure the bouillon cube gets mixed in well, or it gets icky. I just stir the rice around while it’s cooking. While rice is cooking, chop cilantro. My rice cooker switches to warm after about 15-20 min, but always check to make sure the rice is cooked (after abt 15-20 min). In a small bowl, mix lime juice (the Tbsp) sugar, and cilantro. Mix this in with the rice, and fluff!

If you want the salad (or just use it as a yummy sauce like I do), here’s the recipe for the Cilantro-lime dressing.

Creamy Cilantro dressing:

1 package of dry Buttermilk dressing

½ Cup Sour Cream

½ Cup Mayonaise

1/2 to 1 Cup chopped Cilantro

1 tsp minced Garlic

2 tomatillos, chopped (they look like green tomatoes)

Some Salt

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

1/4-1/2 C Sugar

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend!