Tomahawk Park Clean Up

You know you live in Leawood when you go with your elementary school to clean up a park and you only find seven pieces of trash.

A Whirlwind Week

This post is going to be a few posts in one because the Hutson family has had some big events in the last few days. The first of these being Johnny's 25th birthday!

We celebrated a few days early with Johnny's requested turtle cheesecake which was amazing and the recipe can be found here.  He also had a cheese platter to start and bleu cheese burgers.  See a theme?

The next morning, Johnny had the cheesecake for his birthday breakfast while reading his favorite present, a new bible that my parents' got him.  Apparently he didn't want to read the box of the new leaf blower I got him, but I'm over it.

Later that day, we were preparing to leave for Johnny's grandfather's funeral in Arlington.  Johnny wanted to  wear his dress uniform to the service, but we then realized that his hat and shoes were packed in a box in our storage unit because of the move.  I thought we could just go over and try to find it, but we surprisingly didn't have much luck.

We made it to DC that night, and the next day there was a wonderful service honoring his grandfather, a Navy Captain.  It was really nice to get to spend time with Johnny's extended family and have a crab boil and more birthday cake for Johnny's real birthday that night.

Friday, the day after the funeral, some of the family went in to Washington D.C. to see a few museums.  One museum that we saw was the National Archives.  They had an exhibit on food propaganda from different wars.  Did you know that during WWII, butter was considered to be a food group?  Oh if only that were still true.

Saturday, the whole fam, including Baby Hutson (age 16 weeks), went into Annapolis to tour the Naval Academy.  The campus is definitely the nicest college campus I have ever seen; however, they seem to be a lot more concerned with beating the Army than they are with beating Al Qaeda. (I jest.  Johnny's sister is Navy ROTC and his cousin is a Seal.  We love the Navy almost as much as the Army.)

We ended the trip with a moonlight tour of all the monuments in Washington D.C.  Along with the Korean War Memorial, Iwo Jima was a favorite of everyone's.  On the trolley, Johnny's Aunt Gigi decided to tell the tour guide that the pregnant lady with her really needed to go to the bathroom, which surprisingly I didn't.  The tour guide made a huge fuss for the last hour of the trip, pointing out on the intercom every stop where I could use the restroom, calling me independent and strong for continually telling her that I didn't have to go.

Coming up at the end of the week is the beginning of our big and final (at least for now) move.  Before and after shots are sure to follow.

Global Orphan Project's BIG Event

Johnny and I had the pleasure of attending The Global Orphan Project's BIG Event last night, a benefit dinner to raise money for the amazing work that this organization does to help forgotten children around the world.  It was so neat to hear stories and see pictures of the relationships they have been able to build with children who have otherwise been abandoned.  To see more about this organization, click here.

My old friends Rachel Beil and Erin Royston bought a table and invited us to come along.  I got to reconnect with some old friends and eat a lot of cheese cubes and baked potato skins.

And look who else we found!  Tate and Abby, the other crew marriage!  Johnny and I have been meaning to meet up with them since we moved here, but we totally forgot that Tate works for Global Orphan Project.  We only need one more person and our boat will be complete.  Perhaps Baby Hutson will row?

The Global Orphan Project was able to raise money to support over 400 kids last night, and Johnny and I are eager to learn more about not only what the organization is doing overseas but also what they're looking to do  at home as well.  I highly recommend looking them up.

Homecoming

It's that time of year again, Homecoming.  When I was in high school, I loved dances and everything about them.  The anticipation, the dresses, the dinner (until your date orders milk).  Now that my brother and Austin are in high school I get to relive the drama all over again; this time from the boys' perspective.

Mitchell already asked his date, without letting me be involved, the jerk.  Austin, however, needed a driver, so I got to help with his plan.  Here's how it went down:



We quickly drove home after school where I made a sign that said, "It only makes 'cents' to go to Homecoming with me!"  (Stay with me on this one).  I made sure Austin signed it so that it didn't look like a girl was asking his date out.  We then went back to the high school to pick up the mastermind behind this whole thing, Mitchell's date, Judy.  She bounded into the car, and we drove to Cheyenne's house, the girl Austin was planning to ask.

Austin and Judy got out of the car with four hand fulls of pennies in tow. Austin went around back to Cheyenne's tree house while Judy went up to Cheyenne's room, placed the sign on her bed and covered it in pennies (Get it now?).  Meanwhile, I, the getaway driver, sat down the street in my car, trying to look inconspicuous.

Twenty minutes later, Cheyenne came home, her mom sent her to her room where she saw the sign, and Judy told her to go to the tree house.  Somehow they all fit up in the tree house; Austin asked; Cheyenne said yes; facebooks were updated, and we went on our merry way.

A very successful Homecoming ask...now we just need to work on how to wear a suit and chew with our mouths closed. 

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Rachel: Do you want to play Rock, Paper, Scissors?

Sydney: Sigh...I love to use knife.

Rachel: What does knife do?

Sydney: Knife can cut scis...no knife can't cut scissors.  Knife can cut ro...no knife can't cut rock.  Knife cuts paper!

Rachel: How is knife any different than scissors?

Sydney: Pause...I like to use orange too.

Rachel: What does orange do?

Sydney: Well, the scissors cut out the pulp of the orange.  The rock smashes the orange, and the paper covers up the orange.

Rachel: So why would I ever want to use the orange?

Sydney: Let's just play.

14 Weeks and Counting

First baby bump picture to honor Baby Hutson's 14th week of life.  According to thebump.com, Baby Hutson is the size of a lemon.  He/she is able to wiggle his/her toes and suck his/her thumb.  Momma Hutson on the other hand made it through the entire night last night without having to go to the bathroom!  A first in about seven weeks.  I also have a lot more energy now that I'm in the second trimester.  Sometimes I stay up past 9:00!

Crepe Cake

Ever since our wedding, Johnny has been intrigued by crepe cakes, cakes made of multiple layers of crepes with a filling between each layer. He really wanted one for his groom's cake, but since they only feed ten people, I vetoed that one.  When he was in Georgia, I promised I would make him one upon his return...then I realized it takes two days of work, so that didn't happen.

But on Friday night, Johnny flew to Philadelphia, packed up our entire house, and drove a 20 hour drive with our friend Eric to bring all of our things to Kansas, arriving at 7am on Sunday.  I decided he deserved a really complicated cake.

I used this smittenkitchen recipe, prepped everything the day before, and it actually turned out ok.

So here's a big thank you to my wonderful husband and our friend Eric for getting all of our worldly possessions half-way across the United States.

smittenkitchen.com

I don't know if any of you ever check out the blogs that I follow (located on the lower left), but Melissa Clemens got me started reading smittenkitchen.  This is an AMAZING website run by a mom who lives in a tiny apartment in New York.  Her photos are exquisite, and I've never tried a recipe that I didn't like.  I just put a whole bunch of my favorites up on pinterest, so check out my link to the left.

PS. Like the new look? I do.

The Night of the Walking Pregnant Woman

I have never had any problems with sleeping.  Aside from the mouth breathing of those plagued with allergies, I have never sleep walked or talked in my sleep.  At least not more than maybe twice in my life.

But lately, I believe that my pregnancy is messing with my subconscious.  A few weeks ago, Johnny said that I turned to him in my sleep, mumbled something, laughed, patted him on the head, mumbled the same thing again and then went back to sleep.

A few nights ago, I woke up at four in the morning, covered in a blanket, on a chair in my parents' basement.  A fairly complicated place to get to in the dark and while asleep.

Last night, I woke up to go to the bathroom and realized that the sweatshirt I had been wearing when I went to bed was no longer on my body and was instead on the floor of the bathroom.  I have no recollection of taking it off or of even being warm enough to want to take it off.

I suppose I would rather have this happen than morning sickness...but I'm a little worried I'm going to turn into one of those people who jumps out of a window or something.  At least we live in the basement.

The Great Grocery Experiment

Something that I have been wondering about for a long time is where to get the cheapest, best groceries.  When we were living in Philadelphia, grocery stores were small and expensive, so I primarily stuck with Trader Joe's.  But now that we're living in an area where we have access to multiple grocery stores, I decided to conduct an experiment.  

Johnny helped me create a spreadsheet of all the grocery items that I would normally have in my kitchen, and I went to Trader Joe's, Wal-Mart, and Target and wrote down the prices of all the items.  I did my best to keep the quality of the items the same across the board and documented not just the cheapest item but the items I would actually purchase.

The short story of what I found was that surprisingly, there wasn't much difference between Trader Joe's, Target, and Wal-Mart, but there were certain things that stood out.  Here are a few of those major things that I found interesting, and if you are interested in getting more information, the spreadsheet is available here: Groceries

1. The best place to get cooking supplies is Wal-Mart.  Things like bulk flour and bulk sugar should definitely be purchased there; though, Trader Joe's has the cheapest chocolate chips (Who knew?).
2. Super Wal-Mart also has a large, high quality meat selection with prices that beat out Trader Joe's and Target.
3. Produce should NOT be purchased at Wal-Mart.  I have a tie between Trader Joe's and Target, but I like to think that Trader Joe's has better produce than a huge box store like Target.
4. Ginger and most other spices were the best variety, quality, and price at Target.
5. Nuts are the cheapest at Trader Joe's, which is really good to know for the holidays.
6. Everything else generally tied.  Prepared foods, frozen foods, dairy, and others are either evenly divided across the board or have very little difference in price between the three stores.

I really thought that Wal-Mart would win out, but I am personally thankful that it didn't.  I find that Target and Trader Joe's tend to be happier, cleaner shopping experiences.  So except for a few things, don't let Wal-Mart fool you that their prices are the best, and don't feel guilty for shopping elsewhere because you're probably not spending much more.

Oh The Memories

While I was walking this morning, I started having crew flashbacks, and I thought it would be nice to honor some of the past seasons, in no particular order, as a new one is getting ready to start up.

Head of the Charles 2007.  Johnny, Andrew, Greg, Lars, and me somewhere in the front.  I believe this is right before the finish line when we walked Duke.

My very first regatta Freshmen year, the John Hunter Regatta in Tennessee.  Scared out of my mind.

Family photo.

Kristi, Stephanie, and me washing dishes for campers at HoneyRock.  Also the same trip that I fell in love with Johnny Hutson.

Calvin, Luther, Billy Graham...

I really like him a lot.

Head of the Charles 2006 with Mike, Johnny, Rosa, and Lars.  Best racing experience of all regattas.

We even liked each other outside of practice and regattas! Do notice that Andrew and Lars are dressed up as Johnny and me.

Nothing better than the Mindrebo's house.  My goal in life is to have their hospitality. 

"Let Us Adore" at the Milwaukee River Challenge/Coxswain's Worst Nightmare

Strongest around.

Another domination in Moline in the mixed eights category with a non working cox box.  Apparently Johnny feels he doesn't need his left leg to get back into the dock.

Absolutely loved every minute that I spent with Wheaton Crew.  And on that note, does anyone know their schedule for this year, and would anyone be interested in meeting up at a regatta?

New Favorite

My new favorite way to spend my spare moments (ok hours) is using pinterest to organize all the photos I find online.  I used to copy and paste photos to different word documents and then forget to email them to myself, thus most likely never finding them again.  Now all my pictures are nicely organized on this website.  I can also see everyone else's pictures and borrow them for my own "boards."

The only annoying thing is you have to ask them for an invitation, but they send it to you a few hours later, and then you can go for it!

Here's a few fun ideas that I found and one that I posted:

Originally pinned by http://pinterest.com/frecklesqueak/

Originally pinned by http://pinterest.com/katdcliff/

Originally pinned by Rachel Hutson from http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/farmchicks/decorating/

This came at the perfect time because (drum roll please) we bought a house!  We close at the end of the month, so Johnny and I are figuring out all the projects that we want to do, and pinterest is doing a good job of keeping my internet ideas organized.  I definitely recommend it.