Our Special Colby Girl

above : Colby


above : Shasta

above : Taylor with her girls this past Christmas

Last week they had to put our beloved family pet to sleep. We had picked out Colby from her litter 13 years ago, and she was a gem! Dainty and sweet spirited, she always had a smile on her face. Even up to the day she passed away, despite the pain she was probably in. We all love and miss her! We got Shasta later down the road, but they have grown to be inseparable and I know Shasta is going to miss her big sis Colby. Shasta's the protector (even though was much younger) of her brothers and sisters (the cats and Colby).

Vita-Mix : Sinful Chocolate Pudding

I blame it on the preggo-brain. It all happened in basically a split second mistake....just a blip in the day that's all. It's a good thing i doubled the recipe so i still had leftovers!

For those brave enough to try it, this recipe makes a delicious and healthy creamy pudding!

Sinful Chocolate Pudding
1 c. soft tofu (always make sure it is non-GMO or organic)
1/4 c oil (i use a little less of grapeseed oil - good for your skin)
1/2 c. sweetener (i used organic cane juice sugar...sometimes maple syrup instead)
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Blend together all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Chill well before serving. I also like to melt 1/4 - 1/2 c chocolate chips and drizzle it into the blender until mixed in. Just be conscious of the power of the Vita Mix!

Enjoy! Especially great to dip strawberries, pineapple and bananas in!

Navy Retirement

above : this is the submarine that Chris was the commander of. pretty cool eh!





above : handsome in his dress blues :)

Ben and I spent a wonderful Easter weekend up in Virginia this year. We went up Friday for a special Navy Retirement Ceremony & Party for the Haugen family. It was so good to see everyone and get to know more of their relatives who were also down for the celebration. We were thankful that we were able to join them on this special family occasion!

Horsie-Dog Pictures! Go Rare Bush!!!

Here are some photos from the horse races last weekend! Going with our friend, Karen (who is the biggest dog and "horsie-dog" lover I have ever met!), was my birthday treat from her and Buddy. Unfortunately the Army has dibbs on Buddy for a while and he wasn't able to join us that day.

For the last big race, we decided that we couldn't come and not place a bet, so Ben put in $5 on the horse of my choice - Rare Bush. And boy did he ever own that race!! It was a sweet way to end the day :) Another highlight (besides all the good food) was watching 2 horses that finished the race (including the jumps) without their jockey's...

Horse Races

Chelsa and I had a sweet-as day out in the sun. Got a little burned as we watched our first horse horse races today. Not only was it our first horse race but it was a first for either of us to bet on a horse. Way to go Rare Bush as he brought in a big $20 off of our $5 bet. We will be planning a trip to Vegas soon if anyone is up for it.

Vita-Mix Soup

Yes, i know this soup looks terrible, but before you judge me listen to my story. Pregnant and nauseous. A loaf of bread (just looking at it) can make me gag until I throw up. Smells are the worst, especially when no one else can smell them and you can't figure out where the heck they are coming from. If you come to visit, you will find little containers of baking soda strategically placed around the kitchen. You need to eat but have no clue what to make, and you need food now before you start to get nauseous and gag. I started to realize that for a few days my eating habits were going downhill...bagals, plain chips, gummy fruity snacks, (and a few more unmentionables that i wouldn't even think to eat while not gestating) they all go down pretty easy. But that is just poor nutrition, so I forced myself to try this soup.

handful of fresh spinach
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
maybe a small slice onion
maybe some red pepper
cup of hot veggie broth

and it doesn't taste bad! and it doesn't smell bad! it just looks bad. and the pH must be neutral because it is gentle on the stomach :)

I've been trying to have a mug a day :) And it is going pretty good! That is my pregnant story for you :) Next week I think we will hear the baby's heart beat at our appointment :)

Warmly,
Chelsa

More DC Photos

DC by foot

Our latest 4-day adventure included a drive to the nations capital last weekend. It was a phenomenal weekend that we mostly filled with great sights and good food. In fact if you visit go to TangySweet, a delic frozen yogurt shop.

Our first full day of fun was started off by a two hour tour led by a group called DC by Foot. As their website says, "the only free tip based tour of Washington DC." Our guide was filled with facts and snacks. Occasionally he'd quiz you for a chance to win a snack. It was good fun with loads of historic, and even some modern, facts of DC. Two stories I found interesting was the history behind the creation of George Washington's Monument and the Vietnam War Memorial. Speaking of George Washington... were we ever lucky to have him as a founding father.

So the next chance you get, take a trip to DC, where the roots of our nation run deep. Enjoy the PICS.



free place to stay in fayetteville if you know the story behind this guy

Arlington cemetery... fairly sobering. something to be proud of at the same time.

time honored ceremony. the changing of the guard.

look twice before you cross...


in case we work on "the hill" we wanted a before and after pic

DC by foot pictures

Chelsa in front of honest Abe himself
(we made the comment a lot that we thought we were in
Greece with all of the architecture)

Korean War Memorial
everything in DC was placed with a purpose
the statues you see are of 19 Soldiers
the sculptor wanted twice as many, can you guess why that would be symbolic?
well he didn't get the land for that so instead built a wall behind the statues that reflects all 19
thus doubling the number of Soldiers

the latest war memorial to be completed was in honor of WWII
again everything is placed with a purpose.
the wall you see is filled with thousands of gold stars each signifying 100 Soldiers killed in WWII
the memorial was placed low enough so that you could see the GW monument from the Abe memorial and vice versa
but once inside the memorial for WWII your only focus is on the wall/reflecting pool because you can't see anything else. also, there are mini waterfalls on either side of the wall drowning out any sounds from the street.

the planners of DC did a wonderfully strategic placement of this gorgeous woman
attracting many men to our tour
luckily her man is lean and mean to fight them all off

our tour guide
a retired history teacher

these are all my amateur shots... i'm sure chels will bless us with her pics in the future

Blast from the Past...okay, not that long ago!

Ben and I went up to Raleigh with our friends - Buddy & Karen - to see the Carolina Hurricanes vs Colorado Avalanche game! Those NC fans impressed me :) (the " 'Canes" won).


On Valentines Day, we drove down to the Charleston, SC coast (Folly Beach - So pretty!!!) and helped out a coworker of Ben's propose to his future wife!!


The groom-to-be had bought 1000 chem-lights (aka. glow sticks), & gave us directions to spell out nice and HUGE, "MARRY ME JESS?" on the beach...how fun is that!! We enjoyed the rest of the weekend in Charleston with our friends, Buddy & Karen :)





Way back in January we went on a Marriage Retreat put on by Ben's unit...we went Skiing in North Carolina! Who knew?? It was FREEZING. But we had a good time just getting out of the lovely Fayetteville :) For the Red Deerians out there, this hill was the size of Canyon...except that only one run was open due to the lack of snow...but hey, they try!! And man, there were some full on hard-core skiiers out taking advantange!!


Well, these photos seem like old news now...but I finally got our little point-and-shoot to import, so I thought a few oldies are better than none!