Oregon, Here We Come!!

Just 17 days and the boys and I will be on our way to Oregon!! In fact, Renn will play his ball game and we will leave right from the park to the airport. Nothing like fitting it all in!! It's been almost two years (November) since we left OR and moved back here to IA. We've had aunt's and uncles and grandparents come visit us but the boys have missed their cousins. I have missed my sister and dad. Kevin and I are combining this trip with a trip to Puerta Vallarta with his mom, stepdad, brother and sister in law. Neither one of us have been to Mexico so we are very excited about it. The boys are excited because they get to spend time with their cousins while we are in Mexico. We will spend a week in Mexico then fly back to OR. While in OR we will attend the wedding of Kevin's nephew David. Zayvn is in the wedding and he's looking forward to that. We will also spend some time with some good friends of ours. Kevin will fly back to IA and the boys and I will spend a couple more weeks in OR. We'll do some camping and I'll be able to see my grandma as well. I have missed her greatly. Phone calls are nice but it's just not the same as seeing them in person. After a very crazy and hectic year I am looking forward to just getting away. As the days get closer to us leaving I get more and more excited. However, there's much to be done here before we go. I've got my job covered while I'm gone. We have promotion for our Wednesday night classes so I'm pulling everything together for that. Plus, a new class for Wednesday nights begins while so I have to have materials ready for that. Renn has several more ball games but will end up missing two of his last ball games. He does not know this yet but I think going back to OR will override his disapoint for missing the games. I have to put a little plug in here about his ball games. He pitched last night and did an amazing job!! When he focuses and slows down he strikes them out 1-2-3. Graduation for Kindergarten will be here next week for Zayvn. Our normal house sitter while we go on trips is getting married so I had to find someone else. Oscar is another situation. We don't feel comfortable leaving him at the house so we are checking into boarding. Not something I want to do but he's become a bit tempermental and to be safe we need to do this. Did I mention packing? Yes, not just for me but for the boys as well. Kevin's on his own!! Like I said, lots to do but I'll get it all done!! Family, friends & Oregon, we'll see you soon!!

Kevin Made It Home

Children from El Salvador with pictures that Kev drew for them.

McDonald's has delivery service. This is their delivery bike.

They have 2 1/2 liters of soda

This is what Kev ate Monday night.

Finally resting on Monday before coming home.

He found this iquana in the bathroom fan

Drawing a story during services

An El Salvador woman cooking a chicken in the middle of the road

These guards are at Kings Castle.

The boys and I survived the entire week without Kevin. He had a wonderful time. He was quite busy but blessed beyond measure. Kings Castle is the place he stayed in El Salvador. A ministry led by Don and Terri Tripplet. Kevin found out in talking with Don that Don and Kev's sister in law Julie (married to Shawn) are cousins. Small world!! El Slavador has one of the highest murder rates. (I didn't know this until Kev came home on Tuesday). Monday was a rest day for them. Kev said he rested on the beach, in the hammock and in his room. I'm glad he had the opportunity to go but also glad to have him home!!

Another Nagging Question from Chow.com

What’s the Difference Between Catsup and Ketchup?
By Roxanne Webber

Just put it on your fries and don’t worry about it
There is no difference between catsup, ketchup, and catchup; those words are all commonly used to describe the tomato-based condiment. Technically, the words can apply to any sauce made from “the juice of mushrooms, walnuts, tomatoes, etc., and used as a condiment,” and they are usually qualified with the main ingredient (e.g., Heinz Tomato Ketchup), says the Oxford English Dictionary.

The New Food Lover’s Companion notes that the origin of the words (and the sauce) is ke-tsiap, a fish-based condiment that was popular in 17th-century China. According to Tracey Parsons, a spokesperson for Heinz, British sailors discovered ke-tsiap in the 18th century and brought it back to England, where people began tinkering with it. The early recipes published in 18th-century Great Britain called for “kidney beans, mushrooms, anchovies, and walnuts,” writes Andrew F. Smith in Pure Ketchup. Then the condiment spread to the American Colonies, where, Food Lover’s notes, tomatoes were added in the late 1700s.

The OED cites catchup as the oldest of the three variations, with the first citation appearing in 1690. Ketchup comes next, in 1711, and finally catsup appears in 1730. Parsons says that Heinz originally went with catsup, but the spelling was changed to ketchup in the late 1880s as a way to stand out from the competition, which was using the catsup variation. Now ketchup is the most commonly accepted spelling in the industry.

Chow

I found this interesting website called Chow http://www.chow.com/. It has all kinds of interesting articles, receipes, stories, etc but the one thing I liked was the nagging question section. Questions you think of and want to know about. Like "Can Microwave Water Explode?" Here's the answer to that question:
It sounds like a classic urban myth: A guy puts a cup of water in the microwave to make coffee, takes the heated liquid out, drops in some Folgers crystals, and boiling water explodes out of the cup, burning his hands and arms. It’s no myth, says Anuradha Prakash, spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists and professor and program director of food science at Chapman University in Orange, California.
When clean water is microwaved in a very smooth container (like a really clean mug), it can superheat—meaning that it reaches a temperature above boiling without bubbling. Bubbles release heat from the water, but for bubbles to form, there need to be “nucleation sites.” These are either impurities in the liquid or imperfections on the surface of the container.
If you’ve superheated the water, then whatever you add to it, like instant coffee or sugar, creates nucleation sites for bubbles to form and expand. “The high temperature causes the bubbles to expand quickly, in some cases causing mild explosions,” says Prakash. Microwaving distilled water is riskier since it contains no impurities, although Prakash says explosions can occur in tap water too if the dissolved minerals are not large enough to act as nucleation sites for the bubbles.
Generally, microwaves will heat a cup of water to temperatures that are close to boiling within a minute or two, says Prakash. The FDA advises adding sugar or coffee before heating to “greatly reduce” the risk of burns from superheated water. Prakash says putting a wooden stirrer in your cup is also a good way to mitigate the risk.

Check it out!! There's some other really interesting ones as well.

4 Down, 5 to Go

Well, it's Thursday and so far so good. Kev's been gone since early Monday morning. The boys have been so great. A answered prayer for sure!! Renn has stepped up and did dishes, gotten things ready in the morning and just has been quite a big help. We've kept ourselves busy with ball games, church and a trip to the ice cream store. This weekend we'll be busy with ball practice, graduation parties, visiting friends and church. Communication with Kev is at a nil. I've talked to him maybe 10 minutes the four days he's been gone. Internet there is slow and Skype sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It's a hit and miss really on getting Kev on Skype. I check facebook several times a day to see if maybe I can catch him on then go over and Skype him to get him on. We all miss him. Both boys tell me nightly they miss daddy. I am glad he got the opportunity to go over there. However, we sure do miss him. He is giving me updates for the Filling Station Blog so be sure to check that.

Kevin to El Salvador

Kevin will catch a 5:30am flight tomorrow morning to El Salvador where he will be 1 of 12 children's pastors teaching about 400 young leaders various children's ministries activities. Please keep him in your prayers for safe travel and safety over there. He will fly back home on the 18th of May. Please pray also for the boys and I here at home while he is gone. I'm glad he has the opportunity to go but never like to have him gone for so long. He will be sending posts for me to update The Filling Station Blog so you can follow along there at theefillingstation.blogspot.com. Thanks to Bernie for picking him so early to get him to the airport!! I certainly appreciate it!! As Kev always says to me "You don't know that 5 comes twice a day." Thanks for the prayers!!

Games 4 & 5

Tuesday night's game ended in Four Mile's Gold first loss. They played Bondurant Blue, which happened to be the same team that Renn's best buddy Andrew is on. It was interesting to see the interaction between the two on the field. One thing remained though: no matter the win or loss those two still congratulated each other on a job well done. I'm so proud of them!

Tonight's game against Colfax Cubs ended in a win. Again, they played a great game even with the little drizzle of rain we got. The boys are showing great sportsmanship and I can even see a difference in them hitting the balls. Way to go Four Mile Gold!!

Kids Musical

Sunday Night was the Kid's Musical at church "Under the Sea". The kids did great. Shelly, the kid's choir director, always does an awesome job and puts so much work into it. We appreciate all her help.

JBQ to Regionals

Zay tossing dough

Kev tossing a pizza dough

JBQ Team with Kev



Boys listening to Renn's Ipod

Our JBQ (Junior Bible Quiz) team went to regionals this weekend. We decided to go as a family for some much needed together time and rest. We left Thursday night after school and got to MN about 9:30 that night. We took our own car and followed up the JBQ team. Friday the team was at the church all day so I let the boys swim and just hang out at the house. We had little Samantha (her folks are the coaches for JbQ) with us so it brought a different dynamic to just having the two boys. I found a mall and we went and hung out and had ice cream. Back to the motel we went and waited for the team to come back. Once there we had dinner and then the kids went swimming again. Saturday we met up with the JBQ team for lunch at a pizza place. Then over to the church for the awards. Our team came in 10th place. They did a great job! We headed home about 2pm and got home much earlier than expected, which was great. We all had a great time.