DDKJT Laws

King Cakes

2012-01-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago. we started noticing a bunch of King Cakes in the store bakery. We didn't know much about King Cakes (other than they looked really yummy). At church, the ladies group got together one afternoon where we learned about King Cakes. The history was interesting (I'll just let you goggle it) and a lady showed us how to make them. Of course, we also sampled the finished project. I was feeling so inspired that I came home and made the recipe. It made 2 "small" King Cakes. Of course, the store by my house only had gold and green for the colored sugar on top (you are supposed to have purple, gold and green). Oh well, we made it work. I made one with cinnamon and one with cardamom. (I had never heard of cardamom before but the teacher recommended it and we liked. As a side note, keep it in the freezer as it is SUPER strong!!)

Kara thought I needed to be in with the cakes.

This shot is to prove I can be a nice photographer/mother--Josh is giving the King Cakes bunny ears....something normally not allowed for pictures!

Road Trip

2012-01-16T16:44:00.001-08:00

We took a quick road trip this weekend. Guess the destination

As we drove over the bridge to get to the beach, Trent called out, "I see a skyscraper!"

The hotels along the beach are the "skyscrapers."

White Sand Beach

2012-01-16T15:44:00.001-08:00

We did a quick trip to Florida...drove over Friday and back on Saturday. Since it is only a 4 hour drive, it was really easy....especially without any car problems (see our Thanksgiving trip).

Saturday morning, we headed out to the beach. In case you are wondering, the white sand beach in Florida is VERY different from the rocky beaches in Alaska.

Yes, we did start out wearing jackets. We're from Alaska...you always wear a jacket at the beach!

Yes, Josh found things to throw in the ocean.

Lots of fun playing in the sand!
Kara and Doug did some relaxing as well.
It was a great trip!

The Reason

2012-01-16T15:36:00.003-08:00

Here is the reason for our quick trip to Florida....FAMILY!

Doug's brother (and his family) live in the area. They totally spoiled us. On Friday night, Doug's brother made a big crawfish boil. (I have never eaten crawfish before.) It was AWESOME! The only problem...I forgot to take a picture. The good news: he gave Doug the recipe. On Saturday, he fried up some Snapper...so good. As we were eating, we sat around talking about menu choices for the next time we get together. (Doug finally has someone to eat Kimchi with!!)

The kids had a great time. They really made themselves at home.

Football

2012-01-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Doug is not a big sports fan. I (Diane) am a sports fan. I espicially love football and my favorite team....Denver Broncos (I grew up in Denver). When we were first married, we would come home from church and Doug would take a nap while I watched football. He would get quite annoyed with me when my enthusiastic cheers would wake him up. Once we had kids, we made a deal. Doug would take a nap with the baby while I watched football. If my cheering woke up the baby, I got the baby to watch while Doug continued his nap.
As we have moved around the country, I haven't had the opportunity to watch the Broncos on a regular basis (we are too cheap to buy the premium cable package). I was really excited to watch the Bronco playoff game today. With an 8-8 record, I didn't have much hope for the game. It was really exciting....maybe a little too exciting. It went into overtime. The Broncos won on the first play in overtime. My overly enthusiastic cheers brought Doug up from downstairs. The funny part, the kids didn't bat an eye at my screams. Guess they are all used to my screams of joy!

Boy in Black

2012-01-04T15:27:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, Trent was ready for church early. He borrowed Josh's suit jacket. He looked so cute!

After a second look, we said he looked he belonged in the Mafia. Here he is with a prop.

Is it Home Yet?

2011-12-31T13:10:00.001-08:00

We have been in our new house for almost 2 months. We still have a few more boxes to unpack. Plus, we are still trying to figure out where everything goes. Slowly but surely, our house has been turning into our home. Nothing makes it feel more like home than pictures on the wall. Here is one wall we have done

I LOVE this wall! I am trying to figure out what to put above the fireplace. For now, we have Grandma's handiwork....

I love it but I have another place in mind for it. I am trying to talk Doug into putting up one of my photographs. Any favorites? Since it gets so hot here, I am thinking a nice picture from Alaska. Since we are both engineers, we need some help with this!! How big should I have it? The fireplace is 6' across and the wall is like18' tall.

That's the wall I have an idea for. Doug has an idea for this wall....

He thinks a giant periodic chart would be perfect. (See why we need your help!)

Louisiana Snowmen

2011-12-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

We have been hearing reports of snow in the strangest places this year. As I mentioned in the previous posts, there is no natural snow in Louisiana right now. This does NOT mean that we don't have snowmen.....they are just melting, as you can see.

My mom sent me this website. We mostly followed the instructions. We used our favorite sugar cookie recipe and our regular frosting recipe. We varied the amount of time for the marshmallows in the microwave...as you can see. We used the mini- chocolate chips for decorations. The big secret....the nose! Luckily, I bought plenty of Candy Corns after Halloween. I just chopped off the top and bottom of the candy. Kara was in charge of "molding" the orange part to look just right.

The best part about these cookies....it doesn't have to be perfect. It isn't supposed to look perfect. The snowmen are MELTING! Your mistakes aren't mistakes....they are creative genius.

Kara's Pillow

2011-12-23T12:35:00.001-08:00

One of Kara's friends made her this awesome pillow.

Clearly, she loves it!

Santa Trent

2011-12-23T12:31:00.001-08:00

Trent played Santa at home.

Checking out the gifts....

The reindeer is whispering in my ear.

Santa

2011-12-22T12:13:00.001-08:00

There were some "inside" activities at the Christmas Light Display. Trent talked with Santa. (When we suggested earlier in the month that Trent write Santa a letter, he asked if we could just send Santa a text!)

Dog sleds are popular everywhere!

Snow!

2011-12-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, I mentioned the snow they brought in for a Christmas Celebration. Here is the area. On the left of the picture is Trent...wondering why people are paying money to be in the little bit of snow for a few minutes.

At the school Christmas Party, Josh's class had different stations where you played "Minute to Win It." One station was called "Dress Up." You had to put on a winter coat, winter hat, jingle bell necklace and winter gloves. Needless to say, Josh did VERY well at that station!

My 2 Front Teeth

2011-12-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

Trent lost his first tooth a few weeks ago. During breakfast about a week later, Trent lost his second tooth. He carefully put the tooth on a napkin and finished breakfast. After cleaning up the table, we realized Trent's tooth was no longer on the table. Trent suggested we text the tooth fairy to explain the situation. Luckily, the tooth fairy got the text and left Trent his money!

Guess what Trent wants for Christmas?!?

Happy Solstice

2011-12-21T05:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Solstice!!

Louisiana: sunrise 6:56 am and sunset 5:07 pm for 10 hours 11 minutes of daylight

Alaska (Southern): sunrise 10:11 am and sunset 3:53 pm for 5 hours 42 minutes of daylight

Alaskan Millionaires

2011-12-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went to a Christmas Light display. As part of the festivities, you could take a wagon ride or play in the snow. That's right....they brought in snow!! They had a small area fenced off covered with about 3" of snow. (At least it started out as about 3".) Of course, there was a fee and a really long line.
We hope all of our Alaskan friends see the piles of snow and think the millions of dollars it would be in Louisiana!
By the way, we did take pictures but our computer is not cooperating right now. Hopefully, it will be nice at some point and we'll post the pictures.

Winter Nights

2011-12-16T04:26:00.000-08:00

These are a few shots of Alaska before we left. We were blessed with a few really clear days which were great for taking pictures. As I look at these pictures, I remember those LONG winter nights.

Don't worry, the solstice is almost here and we will celebrate just like we did in Alaska!

70th Anniversary

2011-12-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I was able to visit Pearl Harbor this fall.
Today was the 70th Anniversary of the attack.

A major renovation has been completed. Now, there are quotes around the area. These were some of my favorites:

"Why them and not me?" Ensign Paul H Backus

"We are now in this war. We are all in--all the way. Every single man, woman and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history." President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thank you to all those who answered the call as a result of this tragedy. Thank you to all those who continue to serve to protect freedom.

Early Christmas Present

2011-12-03T20:09:00.001-08:00

Grandpa sent the kids early Christmas presents with a note to open them right away. The kids eagerly complied. Grandpa sent them each an LSU shirt--right before the big SEC Championship game.

LSU

Here's the most exciting part, the kids watched the game with me. Doug even watched for awhile. (Maybe it was because I had plenty of snacks) The best new: LSU won!

You Look Like...

2011-12-02T08:39:00.001-08:00

When we arrived in Dallas, we were warmly greated by Doug's nieces. They looked at Doug and said, "You look like my Dad." We had a great time the entire weekend. Unfortunaley, I don't think Doug's brother (or his family) would agree. But, it isn't our fault. No really...it itsn't. Half of their family was sick while we were there. The good news...we didn't get sick!

It was a fun trip and Doug REALLY enjoyed seeing his brother. As you can tell...

His brother was a bit overwhelmed!

Thanksgiving Travel Adventure

2011-11-30T04:47:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we headed over to Dallas to visit Doug's brother. According to the computer, it would take about 7 hours. We left about 6:30 in the morning and made it through Baton Rouge without incident. We started getting hungry and stopped in Alexandria about 8:30 for breakfast. As we pulled into the parking lot, the oil light came on. We went in to eat breakfast. Just as we got inside, it started pouring rain. The restaurant was very SLOW (it took about an hour)! As we were waiting for our food, Doug went out to check the van. He came in (wet) and said he thought we had blown the head gasket.
We decided it would be best not to drive it any further. Thankfully, we have roadside assistance with our car insurance. They recommended a shop and sent out a tow. The downside....it would be about an hour before the tow truck would arrive. Since we had the time, we made arrangements for a rental car. Enterprise came and picked me up. Of course, they were out of mini-vans so I rented a full size car and headed back over to pick up the family.
I arrived just as the tow truck was leaving. Doug had called the auto shop and found out the guy takes lunch from noon to 1. Of course, we arrived about noon....just as the rain was ending. We quickly transferred all of our stuff into the car. Everything fit but there wasn't much room to spare. (I was bummed that I couldn't go Black Friday shopping since we didn't have any room for stuff. Doug's outlook improved as I shared this with him!) Since we had an hour, we headed to WalMart to walk around.
We headed back over to the auto shop. We talked to to the mechanic for a little bit and then he looked at the van. He checked the oil and said we were out....like TOTALLY out. He said to run over to WalMart and get some oil. Off we went. We returned and put in a BUNCH of oil. It seemed to do the trick. He didn't charge us a dime. If you ever have car trouble in Alexandria, LA, we highly recommend Mike's Auto Shop!
We moved all of our stuff back into the van and returned the rental car. Since it was now 2:00, we stopped for lunch. When you are on a road trip, it is not good to eat 2 meals in the same location! After 6 hours in Alexandria, we left feeling VERY grateful it was only a problem with the oil.
We got to the outskirts of Dallas without any problems. That's when it happened....traffic! We had left early in the morning to avoid traffic but here we were in the midst of it. We were near the end of rush hour but it still wasn't much fun. We FINALLY made it about 8 in evening....only 13+ hours later!
More adventures to come....this story was just us getting to Dallas!

Leaving New Orleans

2011-11-20T14:23:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful dinner in the French Quarter (see previous post). However, the evening did not end there! We left the restaurant and walked a few blocks to the lot where we parked the car. We drove over to the exit. It was a pay lot where you paid depending on how long you were in the lot. We got to the exit as some one was at the booth. Instead of pulling forward and leaving the lot, they started backing up. Doug started backing up as did everyone else in line. The car turned and went back into the lot. We got up to the booth and chatted with the lady as we paid. She explained the car in front of us had been there 1 hour and 1 minute. They would have to pay the same amount as if they stayed for 2 hours. They didn't want to "waste" that 59 minutes so they were going to park the car and spend another 59 minutes.
We paid and she raised the gate. Doug started pulling out and we felt this bump. Then another bump. Then, someone started yelling for us to stop. It was the lady from the booth. She was screaming at the guys behind us. They were trying to follow us out so they didn't have to pay. Unfortunately, they were a little too eager and rear ended us. She had her cell phone out and was calling 911 as she directed us not to go anywhere. Doug got out and looked at the car. There was no damage to the bumper. One of the guys in the car came over and talked to Doug. He said that he had told his friend not to do it. He was intoxicated.....surprise. After awhile, the driver came over and gave some story that they were lost and were just trying to turn around. He was also intoxicated...surprise. After a few minutes, the boss of the parking lot arrived (as the police had not arrived yet). Doug said there was no damage and we were told we could go. Who knows what ended up happening at the parking lot. I was glad we were in front of those guys instead of in line waiting to get out of the lot.
We started finding our way back to the interstate. We were stopped at a red light when we hear sirens. I looked around and can't see anything. Doug informed me it was a police care behind us. The people in the next lane ended up running the red light and then pulling over. The cop followed them thru the intersection and then took off. I told Doug it would make a great story for those guys....yea, I ran a red light right in front of a cop and he didn't even stop me!
We had a great view of the Superdome (as well as the French Quarter RV Park) as we pulled onto the interstate. After that, it was a pretty boring as we drove home.

Dinner in New Orleans

2011-11-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Doug's 21st birthday, I took him to dinner in New Orleans. We knew a family in KC and met their nephew (a nice 17 year old kid). Fast forward a dozen years, this nephew is all grown up and working at a restaurant in the French Quarter. I called him earlier in the week and explained the situation. He made the reservations and ensured a great evening.
We were seated as soon as we arrived. Our friend is now the event manager and was in charge a wedding (of 200) upstairs. He ran down to see us a few times. At the beginning of the evening, he asked if we had any food allergies and how adventurous we were feeling. We told him no food allergies and that we were willing to try anything. He rapidly began giving orders to our waiter. Doug and I just sat back and waited for some great food.
We ended up with 3 different appitizers! Four different oyster dishes (I've never had oysters before--they were great.) plus shrimp and crab. We had alligator soup and the BEST lemonade ever! We had beef tenderloin that they cut for us at the table. The waiter left without giving us steak knives. There was no need--you could cut it with your butter knife or even your fork! Our friend came down to bring out dessert. It was Baked Alaska (never had it before either) with "Happy Birthday Doug" written on it. Three waiters sang "Happy Birthday" and Doug even blew out the candle.
It was a wonderful evening. The only downside....I didn't take my purse so Doug had to pay for his own birthday dinner. Oh well, you only turn 21 once (you can just celebrate it many times over!).

Kitchen

2011-11-14T13:04:00.001-08:00

Here is the kitchen. This is standing in the dining room. On the left is the kitchen and on the right is the "keeping room." We had never heard of a keeping room before. We were told it is a small room off the kitchen where your guests "keep" while you finish dinner. The previous owners used it as a TV area. So it is totally wired. The kids are sure we need to buy a big screen TV to put in there! Not sure what we are really going to do with it.

Does this look familiar?
Tile countertops.....that Doug didn't have to install!

Standing in the keeping room looking back at the kitchen. The kids love the bar and insist we need bar stools to fully enjoy it!

Appliances

2011-11-13T15:41:00.000-08:00

When we sold our house in Alaska, we ended up including the fridge, washer and dryer. The house we just bought included the fridge, washer and dryer. Plus, a totally awesome stove.

Hawaiian Sunset

2011-11-12T13:34:00.001-08:00

Several evenings, my sister and I would walk down to the beach to watch the sunset. I would take another picture every minute or two. My theory was if you take enough pictures, one or two will turn out.