The Food We Love

Inspired by my friend's food blog http://love2cooksweets.blogspot.com/, I thought I would include some of our traditional Mattson foods and the events they celebrate in this post.Pretzel Jell-O. We love pretzels, especially when they are coupled with something sweet like yogurt, frosting, peanut butter, or Jell-O. This Jell-O casserole has a crust of crushed pretzels and butter, topped with a layer of cream cheese and cool whip, followed by the jiggly stuff with berries in it. We like Pretzel Jell-O any time of the year, but always have it with our Christmas dinner. The layers of red and white just seem so festive. I got the recipe from my friend Kerrie in Illinois.

Cinnamon Rolls. Who doesn't love cinnamon rolls? Well, we are no different. Although we would love to eat them every day, we keep it to only two times a year. Our tradition is that every six months when we watch General Conference for church, we have this sticky treat for breakfast on Saturday. This way, we hold off the calories and keep the kids excited about watching conference.

Cheesecake. Chris loves cheescake. So on his birthday I will usually make a cheesecake from scratch. When we were first married I made my very first cheesecake and it came out just perfect. We joke that I have been trying ever since then to repeat that culinary feat and have never achieved it since. But, in reality, cheesecake it just really yummy no matter what.

Mexican fiesta food. I make Mexican food every year on Cinco de Mayo. I also make it every Monday...and any other day I feel like it so that we usually end up eating Mexican at least twice a week. Still, it is a tradition. I do change it up each time though. Sometimes it's more authentic than others, but seeming as how Cinco de Mayo is not a Mexican holiday anyway, but a Mexican/American holiday, I don't feel too bad throwing in some black olives every now and then (which are not authentic Mexican). This year's big bang was the fresh pineapple, Yum!

Pizza. Years ago Chris gave me a pizza stone for Christmas (the one on top) and I have made homemade pizza every Friday since. The first pizza fell onto the oven door before I could cook it. Many others stuck to the stone or dripped toppings onto the oven floor, but I never gave up. Now, I can make a pizza quicker than what it takes to order one and have it delivered, I have the crust recipe memorized, and I know the perfect brands to use for all the ingredients. Our tradition is pizza and a movie as a family every Friday night. One of the things I love best about pizza is the ability to make each pizza a new and different creation, like the taco pizza on top (see, I sneak Mexican in everywhere). Another thing I love is that I usually have at least one child helping to put on toppings.

There are many other foods that we love and are a part of our traditions that are not included in this post, like coconut shrimp for Chris's birthday, my favorite coleslaw for potlucks and picnics, my Dad's green Jell-O for Thanksgiving, and my friend Kammie's brownies for any pick me up occassion, but I sadly do not have pictures of them because we eat them too fast.

The 10 things I love the most about Spring in Virginia

1. Yellow forsythia and daffodils. These two yellow plants are always the first sign of Spring. I wait all winter long through the grays and whites for that first spot of yellow. I've always wanted a forsythia bush ever since we lived in Wisconsin and my neighbor had one. If you haven't lived in a cold climate you just can't imagine how much of a relief it is to see those yellow flowers start to bud. This year, I finally got my forsythia, it's a little thin, but it will grow!

2. Eastern Redbud trees. Chris says they must have been named by a color-blind botonist because as you can see they are purple, not red. The first spring after we moved to our house I had the most wonderful surprise as I was driving down our road that follows the river. It was full of these Redbuds. At the time I didn't know what they were, but quickly found out and was especially pleased to find that we have one on our property. An added bonus is that when the purple buds are gone, heart-shaped leaves form and stay all summer. These trees are especially beautiful in the light of the setting sun. I just can't drive around enough when they are in bloom.

3. Pink Dogwoods. The Dogwood is the Virginia state tree. They bloom shortly after the redbuds and come in both pink and white. I am particularly partial to the pink. I just love the shape of the flower. Unfortunately, although we have several white dogwoods on our property, we do not have any pink ones, so I have to take lots of pictures.

4. Yardwork. Some people don't like work. I am not one of those people. One of my favorite passtimes is pulling weeds. And there is nothing I find more relaxing than a 2-hour spin of uninterupted time on the riding lawnmower. However, Chris feels the same way and usually gets to mow the lawn while I weedeat, garden, turn compost, pull out dead vines, etc. But, as long as I'm in the sun with the fresh spring breeze, I'm happy.

5. Planting annuals. This tradition started when we lived in Wisconsin on a block full of retired couples. All the women spent hours every day tending to their annuals, I remember my neighbors window boxes were always full of red geraniums. That was where I learned the difference between an annual (die off each fall) and a perennial (last from year to year) and most of their names. Each Mother's Day Chris would buy me a bunch of annuals to plant in my hanging planters on the porch and around my hosta beds. Now days, I don't wait around for Mother's Day, I usually buy whatever comes out first. Incidently, those orange pansies are actually from last Fall. They survived a very cold winter.

6. Finding Black Rat Snakes. Most people who know me know that I love snakes. Ever since I was a little girl and my Dad would take us into the hills around Bakersfield to find snakes, (usually gopher snakes, but sometimes we were lucky and found California Kings) I have loved to catch them. I was so excited when we moved to this house and our neighbor told us that the Black snakes usually come out in the spring. I have never been disappointed. Every time I find one, I pick it up, let the kids touch it and then let it go again. There is one snake in particular that I believe I have found several times. He is very calm and the last time I found him he actually came into my hands without me having to pick him up first.

7. Planting Spring Veggies. In this bed I have planted a mix of lettuces, some swiss chard, several rows of spinach, some nasturtium and radishes. The bed with the lattice has sugar snap peas. But, the best surprise of this spring is that my cilantro came back in droves after sitting under the snow for months. Tacos anyone?

8. The smell of honeysuckle vines. There might be no better smell than the sweet aroma of honeysuckle growing in the wild. I will never forget the vacation when we went to The Poconos Mountians in Pennsylvania. The Poconos are supposed to be one of the best honeymoon spots in the East. It was a great vacation, the mountains were pretty and we had a lot of fun together...but when we got home and got out of the car...the honeysuckle was overwhelmingly wonderful and I said outloud, "I love the smell of Virginia!"

9. Rec League Soccer. I know, I can't believe I'm saying this. As I set my camping chair down on the grass at the first practice I said very loudly, "I hate soccer!" And here I am now saying that it's one of my favorite things. The truth is...I changed my mind. I'm still not sure that I love soccer practices, but the games are actually fun. Jared is playing soccer for the first time. Not that he didn't want to earlier, but somehow I never got him signed up in time. I still haven't decided if it's something we will continue to do, but for now...we're having fun. I think it helps that Chris' schedule at work isn't so bad right now so he's made it to every game and we just make a family night out of it.

10. Campfires at our firepit. All winter long we collect our mixed paper that can't be recycled for the purpose of burning it. After the paper has been burned we put the ashes into the compost to be used later on the garden. We think it's an ingenious idea of recycling. But more than that, we just enjoy campfires. I have often said that I think they should bottle the smell of campfires to be used as perfume. Maybe it just brings back memories of camping at Lake Isabella every summer as a child or maybe it's the new memories that we're creating in our family of having smores, telling stories, singing songs and most of all...inviting friends over. Mattson family campfires are not indigenous to the spring alone, but that is when they can start up again after a long winter.

The blooms are falling off the trees, it's almost warm enough to turn on the air conditioning, it's almost time to plant summer vegetables, spring is nearing the end, but it's been great. I won't mourn it's passing, but will hold on to these fleeting moments and look forward to the many springs to come and the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes they bring.

Something is fishy!

In conjunction with our trip to the Washington D.C. temple, we took a day to go into Baltimore to visit the aquarium. One of their displays was the Jellyfish Invasion. It was really cool!

Amber, "Taking on the jellies, you've got serious thrill issues, Dude." - Finding Nemo

We also enjoyed the dolphin show.

Clarissa, Amber and Jared looking at what we dubbed - the Nemo tank (yeah, we're a little obsessed).

Funny looking little guy.

Clarissa, look out!

Man vs. Ray

Pig-nosed turtle

"An annnneneme, an annnemmmen, an anemooone, an anemone!" "Okay, don't hurt yourself."

Finding Nemo

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Chris took a couple days off of work and we headed up to Washington D.C. On Thursday we drove up and went to the Udvar-Hazy Center to see hundreds of actual aircraft housed in a Boeing Aviation Hangar. The first thing we saw as we walked in was this huge jet. This is the Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird was used for 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 2,124 miles per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian. Yeah, it's that cool.

This World War II aircraft was pretty mean looking. It was neat to see some of the WWII bombers that we had just studied about for history, including some German and Japanese.

The girls liked this airliner because it was so shiny. This museum housed artifacts and aircraft beginning with Pre-1920 Aviation, to Korean and Vietnam, to Aerobic Aviation, to Human Spaceflight.

This place is so huge that it actually has a full size space shuttle, the Enterprise. The Enterprise is a full scale test vehicle. It was never actually equipped for space, but was used in 1976 and 1977 for testing within the earth's atmosphere. Some other items on display in the space area were Apollo 11 flotation devices, John Glenn's training couch, missiles, satellites, Gemini heat shields, a space lab...what a way to introduce our next history theme: The Space Race.

We finished up the evening with a visit to our dear friends, the Coiners. Here are all the kids winding down with a movie.

Clarissa just loving on Baby M, who's not quite a baby anymore, although still teeny tiny and cute as can be.

Baptism Day

Children who attend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints learn from a very early age that the age of accountability as set by the Lord is 8 years old. Meaning that any time after a child turns 8 they may choose to be baptized into the church, but not before as we believe they are innocent and not accountable for their choices until after that time. Obviously each person is at a different stage of life and understanding when they are 8 years old, but most children who are raised in the church look forward to their 8th birthday so that they may be baptized like their parents, teachers, and siblings before them. Clarissa was no different, she has been looking forward to this special birthday all year and the day finally came. Preceding this day, we have spent many an evening talking about what baptism means and what kind of a commitment it is. I am happy that Clarissa has made this choice to further explore what religion means to her. This is only the first step in many choices that she will have the opportunity to make throughout her life. Clarissa in her baptism dress. We took this picture for her invitations and she wore it after she was baptized.

Clarissa and Chris ready to go into the waters of baptism.

Clarissa and Krystal and their friends sang a song about when Jesus Christ was baptized.

Grandma and Poppa Mattson flew to Virginia to be here for Clarissa's birthday and baptism. Poppa gave a talk about baptism and the Holy Ghost. Grandma wrote this poem for Clarissa to keep in her journal:

On this your baptismal day

You have chosen your way

Of truth and right

To lead your life

With the Spirit to guide yoiu

How to walk in the light.

Valor, Fidelity, and Sacrifice

Our next period of study in our history group is that of World War I and II. To kick off our studies, our group took a field trip to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. We have often passed the signs for this memorial and wondered why it was so far inland of Virginia and not closer to Washington D.C. The first part of our tour was to gather in a WWII tent to see some military items and talk about D-Day. Some things we learned in this tent were: The "D" in D-Day stands for...drum roll please...day. That's right, in World War I, the military started referring to the day a battle was to take place as D-day and the hour...any guesses? H-hour. Obviously this was to keep all plans as a secret from the enemy. Another question that was answered was why the memorial was in Bedford, but I'll get to that later. To help the kids remember who was involved on D-day, the tour guide had the kids act it out. Clarissa and her two friends are the Allied forces. Thus, they are looking strong. Jared and a friend got to be the English Channel which was wild and crazy as a result of bad weather. Two other boys were Germany, weak and sick.

Then one of the boys got to be a model as we discussed the soldiers equipment and supplies.

Everything about the memorial is symbolic. This view shows a garden. The cement structure is in the shape of a sword. Behind that is a display of flowers representing the different nations of the Allied forces. Next comes the water that is the English channel, then the beaches of Normandy (shown later). In the background the tall structure represents the operation and is surrounded by flags from each of the twelve Allied nations.

This statue of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied Commander-in-Chief, is covered with a veranda that has a map of the D-day operation overhead. The frightening part was that each of the Germans underwater mines are marked with a white tile, and there were a lot of them.

At this wall, we learned a little about each of the American companies who went into action on June 6, 1944. We also listened to a voice recording of the speech that Eisenhower gave to the troops before they left England to cross the English Channel into France.

This large cement area represents the English Channel. This is our group listening to the tour guide as he explained how many men were lost that day. On either side are the names of those soldiers who lost their lives from all of the Allied troops. One side had the names of those from all the other countries other than American, the other side was full of American soldiers names. More than half of the lives lost that day were American.

This part of the Memorial represents the valor of these men as they were brought in on boats and set of the sandy beaches. The cross thing in the back were put into the water to tear up any boats that tried to cross the channel. The sand on the ground is actually sand brought in from the beaches of Normandy.

This is an actual airplane from D-Day. There were 1100 airplanes in the air that day. They say the sky was totally black for the planes were wing to wing as they flew in parachuters and dropped bombs. The day before D-day each of the 1100 airplanes were painted with the three white stripes so that they could be identified at Allied airplanes.

This part of the memorial represents the fallen and their sacrifice. There wasn't time to give proper burial to the dead. Each fallen soldier's gun was put into the ground with his helmet on top and identification tag hung around the gun. This is where I talk about why the monument is in Bedford. The company that was made up of boys from Bedford Virginia sent in 177 soldiers on D-day. Only 15 of those boys survived that day. The company of Bedford boys sustained more loss than any other company on D-day.

This statue represents fidelity. The artist made sure to include wedding rings on both soldiers. The bravery of these men must have been driven by the love they had for their families and their country.

The monument behind our family represents Operation Overlord. Overlord was the code name given to the whole operation. The white stripes represent the stripes on the airplanes and the shape of the top represents the shape of the roof lines of the homes in Normandy. Finally, the monument itself is 44 feet 6 inches high to commemorate the date of June 1944. And, as if that isn't symbolism enough there is another statue further down that has a plaque made of special marble that actually turns red when it rains.

We enjoyed that Grandma and Poppa Mattson were able to join us on this educational field trip. It was a beautiful spring day, we all felt the reverence as we pondered on those who have sacrificed for us so that we may live in this free country.

Statue of Liberty

An adorable and spontaneous 3-year old moment. What else do you do with a big rock in the yard, but pretend to be the statue of liberty? And yes, she actually stayed that way while I ran inside to get the camera. In true statuesque form, she hadn't moved a muscle.