Family Outing -- Letterboxing

After a morning of deep cleaning, we decided to get out of the house Saturday afternoon and do a little Letterboxing.

Happy girls in the car ready to go.

The hard thing about Letterboxing this time of year is the snow and wind.  There were a few cold moments, but overall very pleasant.

Ed and Olivia off looking for a Letterbox hidden between the trees.

Opening the box.

See the contents and getting ready to place a stamp in our books.

One stamp location was near a wetland preserve so Lucy got to see some pretty cold looking ducks.

Putting the stamp in our book at the wetland.

While we were out and about we decided it would be a fun treat to stop at the Oquirrh Temple.  Olivia loves to see the temple and talks about how she's going to get married in a tall one.

Off to take the test

Ed left 15 minutes ago to take the test.  Man, my stomach is in knots.....

Preparing- Cleaning, Inventory, Legal

I am a planner.  I like to think that I make my life a little easier by planning and trying to prepare for things even if those things are uncertain at this point.  While we wait to see if Ed passes the FSOT or if he gets invited for an Oral this fall, I feel that I must do something to prepare.  Naturally I don't want to do anything that is only FS related so I'm working on things that need to be done no matter what.

There are three major things that I am doing right now.

1.  I am deep cleaning my house.  Going through every box, sorting, purging, organizing and getting rid of anything we don't need or use.  My thoughts are:  If we do the FS I'll be one step a head of pack-out.  I'll still have a lot more to trim down, but this will be a huge start.  If the FS doesn't work out, I get to have a clean and organized home.  I'm a clean person and love order!

2. I'm making a home inventory.  Thoughts:  Again will be needed for pack out and if our things get lost or damaged.  And if we don't move out of our house for the next 10 years, I'm prepared in case there is a fire or water loss.  

3. Legal Documents.  Tomorrow we have an appointment with our attorney to draw up our wills, power of attorney, trusts, etc.  Something else that is needed if we live overseas but also much needed if we stay here.  

Who knows where life will take us, but either way I'm preparing!

Pancake Day

Yet another holiday at the Montero house.  Pancake Day to us is just that, a night where we get to eat yummy pancakes.  Tonight we made Cinnamon and Pecan Pancakes, complete with maple syrup and whipped cream.  

Lucy still likes to wear her food.  

Hurray for Pancake Day!

I have been asked many times over the years if we celebrate Carnival or Mardi Gras.  We don't and the best of my knowledge the only place that really celebrates these in the United States is New Orleans, Louisiana.  (A state in the Southeastern part of the country).  In my religion we don't celebrate Shrove Tuesday which is also today.  So to make the day fun we're doing the pancake portion.  


This is what wikipedia (love wikipedia!) says about Pancake day.

 In Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, pancakes are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday, which is also known as "Pancake Day" and, particularly in Ireland, as "Pancake Tuesday". (Shrove Tuesday is better known in the United States, France and other countries as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.) Historically, pancakes were made on Shrove Tuesday so that the last of the fatty and rich foods could be used up before Lent.

Charity and school events are organized on Pancake Day: in a "pancake race" each participant carries a pancake in a frying pan. All runners must toss their pancakes as they run and catch them in the frying pan. This event is said to have originated in Olney, England in 1444 when a housewife was still busy frying pancakes to eat before the Lenten fast when she heard the bells of St Peter and St Paul's Church calling her to the Shriving Service. Eager to get to church, she ran out of her house still holding the frying pan complete with pancake, and still wearing her apron and headscarf. Pancake Day is widely celebrated in Australia.

Every Shrove Tuesday since 1950 the towns of Olney and Liberal, Kansas have competed in the International Pancake Race. Only local women may compete; they race, and their times are compared to determine the international winner. In Olney the main women's race is augmented by races for local schoolchildren and for men.

For my international friends, our pancakes here are a little different then what would be found in England.  This is what wikipedia says about our pancakes.  

American or Canadian pancakes (sometimes called hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks) are pancakes which contain a raising agent such as baking powder; proportions of eggs, flour, and milk or buttermilk create a thick batter. Many recipes remind the reader that the ingredients should be mixed until they are just combined, even if lumps remain, as the lumps will smoothen out during the cooking process. Sugar and spices such as cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg are sometimes added. The pancakes can be made sweet or savory by adding ingredients such as blueberries, strawberries, cheese, bacon, bananas, apples or chocolate chips to the batter. This batter is ladled or poured onto a hot surface, and spreads to form a circle about ¼ or ⅓ inch (1 cm) thick. The raising agent causes bubbles to rise to the uncooked side, before the pancake is flipped. These pancakes, very light in texture, are usually served at breakfast topped with maple syrup, butter, peanut butter, jelly, jam,chocolate, nuts, ketchup, fruit and/or honey. Some places also serve pancakes with whipped cream. In the Southern United States, cane syrup and molasses have also been common toppings. Some pancake recipes call for yogurt to give the pancakes a semi-thick, relatively moist consistency.  

Pile of Nerves

Ed takes the FSOT in 5 days!  I seems like just a few weeks have pasted since we made the decision to pursue the Foreign Service.  My stomach has been in knots thinking about what Friday may bring my family.  I keep thinking to myself,  Did he study enough?  Will he pass?  How soon after will we have the results?  The last question I have a vague answer to.  If he doesn't pass the first part of the test he'll know that day.  That's how we found out when he took the test nearly three years ago.  If he passes and has his essays read then we'll know in roughly a month.

A month.  A month of thinking and wondering if he did everything he needed to.  No matter what I must continue to have faith that if it is meant to be then it will be.  We're certainly not jumping into this decision.  This has been a LONG thought out process.  But naturally I have days where I think I'd rather stay here, especially after all the evacs going on in Egypt and Tunisia.  I think about all the wonderful benefits and opportunities that my children will have and it keeps me going.