Thursday, July 9, 2009

LA to WA highlights

Last week we drove from Louisiana to Washington. It was definitely a long trip and a lot of miles were covered but we had fun. Here are some pictures of the stops we made along the way.
We took a brief break in Chamberlain, SD along the way. It is an old Milwaukee Railroad town. Incase you don't already know, Leland enjoys railroads and the Milwaukee line is his favorite. It was a fun stop and a much needed stretch break.
It was pretty amazing to think about the details and care put into carving Mount Rushmore. It is definitely worth seeing.
Here is a picture of the back side of Mt. Rushmore. I found the overlook of South Dakota just as breath taking as the National Memorial.
We stopped in Deer Lodge, MT to see the newly repainted Little Joe. It was an engine named after Joseph Stalin. They were originally made for Russia and then the Cold War hit and the engine could no longer go to Russia, which is how it got its name Little Joe. The Milwaukee Railroad ran an electric line in the west and this was one of their powerful engines. It is the last one painted in Milwaukee colors.
Outside of Deer Lodge, MT we stopped at a national park which was an old ranch. Previously I had visited it and they had a wonderful chair that turned into a step ladder. We stopped so I could by the blue print of the chair. Not only did we get the blue print we got a special surprise. On the ranch property there was Milwaukee rail. The Milwaukee is an abandoned railroad and there very little track west of Terry, MT. So this was an unexpected surprise.




Sunday, June 14, 2009

Sunday morning breakfast

Breakfast every morning must begin with the morning tea. This morning I had a classic black tea purchased in Iowa City...it was a great start to the morning.

I decided it was time to make aebleskivers again. Aebleskivers are a Danish pancake ball. Last year Leland bought be the pan for my birthday, our first attempted was pretty challenging but after we learned the technique it became a staple in our house. It is a fun change to traditional pancake.
Turning the aebleskivers with a shish kabob stick.
Waiting to turn them again. It takes one quarter turn...and then later on another quarter of turn.
Waiting in the pan to be eatten. It was a great breakfast. Aebleskivers with homemade strawberry jam, yummy Sunday morning breakfast.

Monday, June 8, 2009

our first southern wedding

This past weekend we went to our first wedding in the south and we had a good time. It was more like weddings in the north than different. The mission was the same, to have Courtney and Stephen married at the end of it.

They are two students involved in Chi Alpha. This past year I have had the joy of mentoring Courtney, she has a great heart and an amazing capacity to love others. It was great to watch them go through the process and be there as they begin their life married.

Here are some pictures from the event.
the reception site.

pretty flowers
The invitation made me laugh. Neither one of us like to be called by our titles but when I see them together it makes me smile...we are not normal.

us

Thursday, May 28, 2009

life around the house

The quarter is over and the pace of life has changed dramatically.  I have slowed down because Chi Alpha wrapped everything up last week.  Unfortunately, Leland's schedule has picked up; he is in the middle proposals and paper deadlines.  We are still working hard at making sure we have time to see each other, the challenges just look different.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time around the house.  The past week I have been recovering from an outpatient surgery/scope.  I am doing pretty good and working through everything (I never knew the gas could be so bad).  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks my pain will be gone and everything will be worth it.   

Another thing the surgery has done is make me fall in love with dresses, they never rub against the surgical wounds.  I have been on a mission to find inexpensive and comfortable dresses.  I also feel like I am connecting to my childhood; I really enjoyed wearing dresses as a little girl.

Here is a couple of pictures taken around the house.

I was trying to take a picture of kitty and me; we were hanging out on the futon watching NCIS.  Unfortunately I did not have much success and only got her leg.
Kitty knows what she likes: army blanket, remote, and not being woken up.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

yeah for two years

Yesterday Leland and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary.  I know two years won't win us any awards but I am still grateful every day for our marriage.  Here are some pictures from our simple adventure yesterday.



Yes we went to Dairy Queen.  My Grandma thought it was silly but it was a wonderful place to go together.  Even though Dairy Queen is a national chain sometimes it feels like we left it in Pullman.  We attempted to go in Iowa City on Leland's birthday but it was closed.  We also attempted on a trip back from Dallas but the ice cream machine was broken.  So the last time we had DQ was in Pullman with our good friend Hamzah.

We have many happy memories of DQ in Pullman with each other and our friends.  So a road trip to a DQ is what we decided to do.  Hopefully it won't take as long for our next trip to DQ, it was about 40 miles away...just not a town we visit often. 

Random picture:
When I was downloading the pictures I accidentally found this picture.  This chain was one we made to count down to our wedding.  It is fun looking back at all the excitement.

Monday, April 6, 2009

latest addition to the house

This weekend we purchased our first piece of furniture together.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

leland's handy work

When we bought our house we were blessed to have a built in BBQ. Unfortunately it was rusted over and popular nesting place for red wasps. The first plan of attack was digging out the BBQ but the pole was deep.The next step of the plan was using the Suburban to pull out the BBQ, it had some success but it also needed to be sawed off the rod.But at the end of the day, the rusted BBQ left the yard and it is much prettier.