He Said He Wanted to be Cultured...

As many of you know ballet has been an important part of my life for many, many years! I grew up dancing hours upon hours each week, spent summers at dance camp and even sacrificed my beautiful feet for this hobby of mine! Okay...so maybe the feet were never beautiful but still, pointe only made them more ugly!

So as you can imagine one of those things I had on my list of qualities needed in a future husband included being open to appreciating an occasional ballet! Now when I say appreciating I do not mean appreciating like my father did for years! Instead of a dozing date like my dear father was all those years he endured watching my ballets, I wanted a man who could at least pretend to enjoy the dancing along with me!

Well, a few years back when Broc and I weren't even dating but just going on dates, I invited him to accompany me to a ballet performance by one of BYU's ballet company's! You can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when Broc kindly informed me that he had never been to a ballet before but that he wanted to be cultured! So he accompanied me to ballet and that one simple night made me realize just how lucky I was to have this manly-man by my side!

So now it's been three years and I am glad to announce that that man of mine is STILL being cultured! I think I've trained him well because this year for Christmas without any prompting, that cultured man of mine got me tickets to the Washington Ballet! Way to be the best cultured husband any ballet dancing gal could ever hope for Broc! We enjoyed the flirtatious and outrageous Carmen, a personal childhood favorite a few weeks ago and it made me happier than happy! Here's to many more years of ballet watching ahead! Love you Broc!

Legacy!

I've always known that I was born into a wonderful family! My grandparents, my parents, my siblings! All amazing people! Well over graduation weekend I had the opportunity to see just how amazing my grandma and grandpa Merritt truly are! We had the unique chance to go on a little tour of Springfield, Virginia where my grandparents lived for 10 years as they raised their young family!My dad lived in Springfield from 6 to 16 years old! Well over those ten years, my grandparents did some amazing things! Lucky for me, we had time to go and see just how much of an impact my grandparents had on this small Virginia town they once called home!



The tour started at a little baseball field that has a lot of history! This little field was just that, a field and nothing more before my grandpa got a grand idea! For months he worked with a few other fathers to transform this shabby field into an amazing baseball field! My grandpa built that very concession stand that is still selling candy and goodies to many families! He built the back stops and dugouts and made this field a place for children and families to gather and enjoy the excitement of little league games for generations of time! How neat is that? When we drove up to the field there were literally hundreds of kids and parents taking joy in a pleasant Saturday afternoon at the ball field! How neat!



After a stop at the baseball field we were fortunate enough to swing by both my dad's Elementary school and Junior High School! That rock has been in front of the Junior High School for 50 years! It's been around as long as my dad! He remembers the year his class got to paint that rock with pride! Every year the 8th grade class gets to paint the rock! How neat to get a glimpse into my daddy's childhood!



We then swung by house number 8143 where my grandparents spent their 10 years! The same man that my grandpa sold the house to 37 years ago was still living there! He was kind enough to let us in to see most of the basement that has gone unchanged! My grandma was thrilled to see the basement wall she so carefully painted white, orange and black so many years ago! She was delighted that this act of love done for her children was still standing! Even more shocking was the framed picture on the basement wall, the bell my grandpa installed to wake my dad up in the mornings and the flower beds built by my grandpa! Oh and not to mention the ivy they planted a lifetime ago is still growing strong in the front yard! Talk about quite the experience!



All in all, this little walk down memory lane made me so grateful for the wonderful legacy my grandparents have left! Their actions from so long ago have impacted generation after generation and for that I must say I am eternally grateful! I love you grandma and grandpa! Thank you again for a wonderful graduation weekend and for the special opportunity you gave me to appreciate the legacy you have left! I must admit I am proud to call you both mine! :)

Time for Touring!

Broc and I were so happy and lucky to have Grandma and Uncle Rob come out for a visit this past week! Since my schedule is currently wide open I got to play tour guide for the week and oh boy did we have fun! We went trotting around the city and saw so many things! I still can't believe how quickly the week flew by but here is just a short re-cap!



They arrived late Sunday night and Monday Uncle Rob had some time so we went on a tour of the Capitol, saw the Library of Congress and the National Archives plus the National Gallery of Art. It was a packed day! Then on Tuesday grandma and I had some time together so we went and took a tour of the Masonic Temple and also stopped at the Air Force Memorial! We then went grocery shopping and I showed Grandma my couponing ways! Once we were done grocery shopping we picked Rob up and made our way over to Arlington Cemetery! Again it was a packed day! We ended the day right by making a family favorite Dutch meal, green potatoes, and watching the season finale of biggest loser! Talk about a fun day!



Then on Wednesday Grandma and I hit up the city once again! We started the day off at the Holocaust Museum! It made us grateful for this country and the freedoms we so dearly love! After the Holocaust Museum we hurried over for a tour of the Washington Monument! The view from up top is so spectacular! Once that tour was over we hurried on to the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History which were both packed full of interesting things to see! By the time we were done with all of that I think I can honestly say for both of us that we were exhausted! We made our way home and enjoyed a nice little picnic out front for a while! It was so enjoyable after a long day!



On our final day together we decided to go to the temple! Broc and Rob both had work off and it was a beautiful time! We love the temple and are grateful every time we get to go there! After the temple we came home for a quick lunch and then while I went off to an interview and grandma took a nap, the boys went golfing! Hard life we live wouldn't you say? Once all the afternoon festivities were complete we went out to eat in celebration of a great week together! We tried out a new place called Ted's Montana Grill and it was mighty fine! They even specialize in Bison Burgers! Pretty intense! Once the burgers were gone we decided to end our touring week by showing grandma most of the monuments! We saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean memorial and even the Jefferson Memorial! It was the perfect end to a perfect week! Grandma and Uncle Rob, we miss you both already so hurry up and come back soon! Please!?!

I'll Be Back Part 2!

Remember this? Well my parents thought it would be super funny to RE-GIFT their new, beloved Arnold! That's right they gave Arny back over as a graduation gift! So I admit, I laughed some but seriously?! We don't want a fish! ;) Haha! Ok but in all honesty, Arnold seems to have settled in nicely and is enjoying the humid D.C. weather! Thanks mom and dad for the re-gifted gifting! Unlike you mother, we love our little fish!

Kabob or Two?

Drooling yet? Remember when I said we already had plans for our next months dinner group? Well with all this beautiful summer weather we just could not resist a chance at the grill! And let me just say, grilling we dominated! Not only did we grill up some shish-kabobs but we grilled some corn on the cob and veggies! Wow! Talk about delicious to the maximum!



Have I mentioned before how much I love the ladies I cook with? These gals are awesome! Plus we had 2 more along for the ride this time! Katie and Mandy were brave souls to join us in our escapades! I think they both were pleased with the end result though so ladies come on back whenever you want to join us! You are more than welcome! :)



And in between some games of bocce ball we treated ourselves to yummy grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream! Yes indeed it was divine and the prefect treat to wrap up the evening with! Another success for our 6th dinner group! Looking forward to many more successes to come! But in the meantime I think I'll help myself to a leftover kabob or two!

Graduation Weekend!

So you know when you have a weekend that is just so perfect and wonderful it is hard to sum it all up in one blog post? Well that pretty much captures graduation weekend perfectly but I will try my hardest to give the weekend justice!

It started on Thursday the 12th at 8 a.m. I took my licensed graduate social work exam i.e. the biggest exam of my life! Pretty much if I did not pass this exam I would not be able to work in the District of Columbia as a Social Worker! Even better I would have to wait 3 months before taking it again! So basically...in other words...this really was the biggest exam of my life! Well by 10:30 on Thursday I had passed the exam and the weekend was off to a great start! Phew!



By Friday night my whole family arrived! I got to snuggle with this little man all weekend and that was seriously the best! He was such a trooper the whole weekend and we were all impressed with his great temperament! What a blessing little Edwin is to our family! I must admit he has grown a lot since we saw him last and he has lost all his hair! Hahaha! But we still love that little face!



Friday night consisted of eating, laughing, getting caught up and watching Edwin enjoy his new toy that grandpa got for him! It's a little froggy bouncer toy and he sure loved it! It was quite the night of happiness and joy! By 10 my family was heading off to Fort Belvoir where they were staying for the weekend and it was goodnight until the morning!



Saturday was pretty much everything graduation! We all met up at Fort Belvoir for a generous gift exchange from so many loved ones and then we loaded up the cars and drove off to Catholic University of America for all of the festivities! My favorite part was the cap and gown! I felt like a super-hero or something! Those wings were the best! :)



It was a really great ceremony! Not too long but not too short! I loved that I actually got my diploma right then and there! It is an official done deal! I also loved having my whole family there to support me because certainly I would not have survived grad school without each and every one of them!



After some celebrating and cap throwing we set out on another adventure that really, truly was the best part of the whole weekend! I won't go into much detail now because this story is worth a blog post of its own but my goodness was it special! We went on a mini-tour of Springfield where my grandparents lived for ten years! We got to see my dad's elementary and junior high schools plus their old house and even a special little baseball field! It was so neat to get a glimpse of the past! More to come later on that miraculous little adventure!



After the tour we went to the Chart House for a delicious seafood meal! Oh boy was it yummy! We took our time and enjoyed the evening out! We even got front row seats to a light thunder storm that came rolling through! It was quite the way to celebrate hard work! Thanks again mom and dad for that wonderful treat!



But the fun was not over yet! Sunday morning we had a big, yummy, traditional Merritt family waffle breakfast! We invited our neighbor Emily over to enjoy the yummy meal with us and it was oh so fun! Lots of warm waffles later we were all full and satisfied and ready for church!



Unfortunately Sunday night after dinner at Mary Carol and Andrew's house (my mom's cousin) most of my family left! But fortunately for us Carissa and baby and my grandparents stayed for an extra day! On Monday we took my grandpa to the Air Force Memorial which was so neat! We also did some grocery shopping, painted grandma's nails and enjoyed a big dinner together one last time! Like I said before, it was really hard summing up this weekend in one blog post! Saying goodbye Monday night was not easy but as my grandma likes to say, "we can't stay on vacation forever"!

Thanks for a glorious weekend family! We miss you all but feel so happy we got to make some memories this past weekend! Love to you all!

Ravi-avi-oli!

Well considering the Beef Wellington came and went without much of a challenge, this month the gals and I decided to step it up a notch! Seems a little intense to some but for our little group of domestic goddesses it was really quite simple! The task at hand: homemade ravioli! And even better still homemade sauce! Hardcore? I know! Making the dough seemed easy enough but when it came to rolling the dough...well that's when things got interesting!



After watching a video of an Italian grandma demonstrate her skills, we took some of her tips and got to it! We split the dough into different sections which made the rolling process so much easier! Getting the dough thin enough was hard but a few sore thumbs later and we had it all worked out! We even made a batch of gluten free ravioli! Now that is cooking!



Once the rolling, cutting, stuffing and concealing was done the little beauties were ready to boil! I was nervous that our forked edges would not keep the cheese filling inside but to our pleasant surprise they all cooked up nicely!



Even after some last minute experimenting with the sauce we were all pleased with the end result! YUMMY! Although presentation has a ways to go I think we pulled off another masterpiece! The kitchen was a mess but it was well worth it! And no worries...plans for next months dinner are already in motion! Stayed tuned for more cooking wonders from the three of us gals because personally I think we are basically pros by now! ;)