When Oma Came to Visit

So, a few weeks ago Provo was graced with the presence of my lovely Oma (Dutch for grandmother). On our trip to Europe last spring Jami and I affectionately coined the nickname "Omi"

Omi's main purpose for coming was to meet this little one:

I would drop Omi off at Jami's on the way to work in the morning and then go pick her up on my way home. One night we went to see this:

Omi thought it was hilarious

I LOVE Dutch-Indonesian food, thus Oma spent many nights teaching me how to cook... which meant several trips to the grocery store :). Buy Low became her favorite store in Provo. I also became acquainted with the Asian Market in Provo-- fabulous!

One of my favorite parts was when she needed to crush candle nuts. Apparently I didn't have anything worthy of that job in my kitchen... so Oma went out and found the perfect rock :) She cleaned it thoroughly and told me to save it for her next visit.

Crushing the candle nuts

Spinach soup... or as Omi calls it "Popeye Soup"-- Delicious!

Making Bami and Semoor:

While it doesn't look that great, the Semoor was SUPER flavorful and one of my favorite dishes:

 

Bami Goreng is an Indonesian dish traditional to Holland

White rice w/semoor on the left and bami on the right

Accidentally spilt half my box of Kosher salt... oops!

And last but definitely not least... COCONUT CAKE!

Take the above nutritious ingredients...

Mix in a bowl...

Keep mixing...

Bake for 40 minutes and voila! Delicious, moist, coconut cake :)

Oh, and as you can see in the picture below, you must cut the cake in an alternating diagonal pattern.

Thanks for coming to visit, Omi! We had a great time with you :)

We love you!

Sunshine & Summertime

Summer is EASILY my favorite season. I love it for so many reasons. I feel like summertime brings so many of those simple joys that make life enjoyable.

being outdoors

picnic up Provo Canyon

picnics

road trips/vacations

Philipp family vacation to New Port

family reunions

family reunion in Tahoe many moons ago...

drive-in movies

shaved ice

outdoor concerts

Kenny Chesney in NYC

swimming

going on walks at night

baseball games

weddings

Loving the warm weather lately... now only if I didn't have a job that keeps me indoors... :) 

Random

Three simply random things that made me chuckle today:

"Children are unpredictable and 

could run into the road at any time." 

- Utah Driver's Handbook

Not children can be, but children are... I guess there's no arguing with the handbook; it's law. Might as well say, "... will run into the road at any time."

 I'm in the midst of studying up for a Utah license... wahoo!

stinkin' unpredictable culprits

From that same lovely handbook: "Children... do not understand the dangers of moving vehicles." Sheesh, lay off the kids. Sometimes they're smarter than they look ;)

"Meetings in echo chambers are always so much fun!" - one of my favorite co-workers after sitting through an 1 1/2 hour meeting of people who like to hear themselves talk and then repeatedly remind themselves of what they just said... (excuse the cynicism)

Don't worry. 

There were MUCH more enjoyable moments of my day, 

but for some reason these stick out :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Probably should have done this post last night as opposed to two hours before Mother's Day ends.

Curtis and I are both grateful for the wonderful mothers we have as well as the women we know who are amazing mothers (read sisters, sister-in-laws, cousins, friends, grandmothers, aunts... etc). In the past couple months we have been able to spend time with my mom twice and, because Curt's parents live in Alpine, we get to see his mom quite often.

We appreciate our moms for so many reasons and I think that appreciation becomes even greater as we get older (I know there will be a dramatic increase in gratitude when we start having our own kids!)  Both our mothers are very selfless, hardworking, intelligent, funny, generous, and spiritual women.

A little about the two beautiful women above:

Colleen Philipp -

• After a lot of hard work, recently received a principalship at Northridge Elementary
• Wonderful mother of six
• Loving wife, mother, and "Nana"
• Hardworking and always willing to help

Joan Lambert - 

• Former chemist and current registered nurse at Sutter Memorial
• Night owl and early bird :)
• Willing to do what it takes to succeed
• Proud mother of 5 and grandmother of 1 (little Taylor Tots)

Curtis and I are lucky to have these women in our life. They have taught us a lot and continue to give great advice. Thanks Colleen and Joan (as well as all other selfless mothers out there!) We love you!

Never Say Never

We made it to the dollar theater tonight to see Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never". I now understand what all the hype is about. Curt liked it... and I'll admit I really liked it. It's inspiring to see a young kid who has the confidence to succeed. The movie was much more humorous than expected.... A LOT of crazy girls.

Curt's favorite quote from the movie?
"I think about him (Justin Bieber) about 99% of my life!"

The famous 3 year old who's crazy for Justin.

Excited to see this next:

Love that Movies 8 is less than 3 minutes from our condo :)

Baby Hungry?

Heidi,

   I'm fine,thank you .Are you OK?

  I am very happy ,you can reply my letter.I think you can't replyme.But I am wrong.We can keep touch each other , I am very happy.

  Are you love baby? Are you have baby? I hope you have , hahaha. Don't shy.

   I love children ,I went to a place ,which have mang children .But they haven't  mother and father.I look after them all day .I love them.

   Good luck with you !!! ha ha ha........I want I can see your and your child 's  picture.

   I love you my friend.

   OH !!Heidi ,I must go my class ,now.Bay-bay.Happy everyday.

    best  wishes!!!!!!!!

                                                                         Yours,

                                                                             Fir.

Yes, this is today's e-mail from one of my Chinese students (formatting and all). Yes, I allowed her to name herself "Fir" (pretty comparable to some of my other students' names: Cherry, Forget, Beer, Kobe, Rondo, Shock, Arenas, Tree, Spring, Orange, Banana, Gentle, Candy, Bluscy, Wande) and yes... it is HER (along with several of my other students) who are baby hungry for me and Curtis (I mean... come on... even her "bye-bye" looks like "bay-bay", coincidence? I think not.)

Me with Fir in her dorm room:

Us with Fir and her lovely roommates:

Front Row: Fir, Ema, Back Row: Anne (pronounced Annie), Lilly, Curt, Me, May May

Towards the end of our Chinese journey I heard many times "you will have beautiful baby," "many, many children," and  "when you have baby?" Well, my dear students, I'm sorry to tell you it's not in the plans for the immediate future, but soon enough. Soon enough. For now I have this little one to satiate my baby appetite :)

I know I'm biased; I find her incredibly beautiful.

The Mighty Quinn

My favorite, youngest brother, Spencer Quinn.

He's been through a lot. Last week he had his second surgery to remove the remainder of his colon and he left the hospital today. He is such a strong kid and in the past 7-8 years that he's been battling his ulcerative colitis I have rarely if ever heard him complain about his pain. 

Nine years my junior, he is someone I have great admiration and extreme respect for. I am proud of him for being brave, courageous, and persevering through it all. His outstanding character helps me put things into perspective and reminds me that complaining is a road to nowhere.

"Never, never, never give up."

~Winston Churchill

Thanks for being a wonderful example to me. I sure love you!

The Mighty Quinn