I know everyone is waiting for more Mau pictures and happenings and they will come but for  now I just needed somewhere I could post and share this with a few people that were asking.

Acai Recipe:

Start with some acai with guarana (frozen). 

We got this from a Walmart near us but it isn't always easy to find. We've also gotten some Acai from Amazon as well.

I put two frozen sticks of acai along with probably about half a frozen banana

We add just a little apple juice mainly because we always have apple juice but other juices could be just as good or better. Not very much though just enough so your blender can handle it.

 

Then we blend.

I had to get the spatula out at this point to push everything back to the bottom of the blender.

You want it nice and smooth.

That looks good.

We like banana with ours but it is hard to go wrong with which type of fruits to add with it.

Then we add granola. Gives it a satisfying crunch

The honey on top really makes it. 

In Brazil we would usually add sweetened condensed milk instead of honey.

That right there is a delicious bowl of acai. I would know because Lori and I ate it. 

Carter got a hold of some sweet shades and wanted to show off how good he looks.

 Stone cold baby kisser, he really digs the low angle shot.

 Really Dad? when I was a baby I didn't get away with any of this stuff Oliver does.

 All Done.

We aren't all dead...just busy.

So, it's only been like 7 months since our last post and I can't even recap it all, so here is a few pics of that time. A picture of us at my brother's wedding in Sacramento.

He doesn't have much hair, but we let it go crazy a lot!!! This is back when he used to eat more than yogurt, cheese, apples, and peanut butter bread.

Carter has learned to throw away his diapers....

unfortunately many other items have also found their way into the trash. The joys of parenthood!!

Rocked DC!!!

I was accepted to present at the American Evaluation Association conference in DC, so we decided to make a vacation out of it. I flew out with Carter and Casey met us there about an hour later. We got to stay in the very cushy Washington Hilton, which was near Dupont Circle. 

The first day the government was still shut down, which was a big time bummer. But we made the best of it by going to Lincoln's Waffle Shop for a delicious breakfast.

And visiting Ford's Theater. We also went through the Lincoln museum across the street. We learned a lot of cool stuff there.

Carter and I outside the white house. He has some amazing looks in most of these pictures. It's a mix of confusion and disinterest, but he really had a lot of fun.

On most days, I was in the conference and Casey n Carter hit up the sites. At the Capital, Carter was told that the government was shutdown and is giving his, "are you kidding me, you ridiculous politicians look. "

The next day the government was back up and running, thank goodness, and so the boys went to the Smithsonian. 

Casey really enjoyed the air and space museum and Carter was undecided. 

Carter got to cruise around in his lush stroller, while Casey and I pushed him all over DC. We ate tons of food, so it's probably a good thing that we walked so much.

Carter was too young to enjoy the zoo, but we liked it! Especially the sea lions and penguins. Carter enjoyed all the kids around him and was constantly trying to talk to them.

After the zoo we made a stop to eat our first ever falafels. They were delicious and the shop was cute too. That night we had some amazing wood oven pizza and got Carter and Casey ready for their trip home. They left at 5:15 am and got to Utah at 1:00 pm. It was a long trip for both of them

The sad part was that Casey's job wasn't over. He had Carter until Sunday morning when I got home. Casey did a great job and reaffirmed the truth that he's a great dad!!!

Sorry for the Long Lapse in Posts

I've been super busy for the last few weeks with Carter waking up at night, teaching a night class for University of Phoenix and then just my regular stuff (work, cooking, laundry, etc.) So this will just be a quickie of cute photos of Carter.

 Bathtub fun!

 Still loves the computer. He's doing what we call a modified butt pop. The full butt pop is more of a V shape.

 New uses for the play station. LOL.

Hungry for something to eat and trying to see if anyone will catch him in the act.

End of Summer Fun!

It's amazing how fast 3 weeks fly by when you're working, watching a kid, doing the home chores, and trying to have a few minutes of fun. Casey had a fun Saturday with Carter and left me so I could watch Michigan play. There were fake glasses involved in this fun, hopefully he will never really need them!

 Next, I'm pretty sure that we crashed a stake activity, which I thought was a yard sale. They had 4 huge tables full of clothes, which were actually a clothing swap. They also had hotdogs, cotton candy, and snow cones. We had to partake. They also had various animals. As you can see, Carter loved riding the tortoise. And I was horrified to hear about the SNAKE that Carter was holding/wearing. Can't take my eyes off Casey for even a second.

 Oh, and that's not snow cone remnants on Casey's teeth; it's just a weird shadow. We had fun last weekend at the Brazilian festival. Carter's favorite part was trying to put the cap back on my water bottle. He was sooo focused. And he inherited the tongue out focus from his father. We witnessed this "tongue out focus" while Casey was water skiing while on vacation in Texas. Like father, like son.

Carter is crawling now and it's only a matter of time until he finds the toilet. He loves the water and I'm just praying that he never manages to find it.

Best Summer Vacation....Ever!!!

Ok, it was the best summer vacation this year and our only vacation. We did a 6 hr drive to Mesa Verde and camped for one night because Carter is not a good sleeping camper. We ate some amazing foiled dinners and goulash and did a bit of hiking.

 This is a common face for Carter during the hiking portion. Not sure if he really loved it.

 Carter did look around a lot and often when we were trying to take a family picture. We enjoyed touring 3 houses, going down in the kiva, and learning about the culture.

 One thing that he did love was drinking water out of mommies water bottle. Though most of it ended up on his shirt, he was a much happier hiker.

 

 We climbed through small tunnels and up some really tall ladders. By the end of the ladder, I was methodically going one rung at a time so as not to kill Carter and me.

Casey wasn't nearly as scared and hauled up the ladder with Carter!

All in all, we had a great time (even Carter) and really enjoyed learning about the Pueblo people. After Mesa Verde, we drove through the night for 14 hours to get to Tyler, Tx. We were going to stop and rest a bit, but every time we stopped the car, Carter woke up. That monkey!

Once in Texas, Carter adapted well and is saying "howdy" in this picture or maybe he's just yelling, which he does a lot now. We continued the good food theme with some delicious Texas BBQ, amazing Japanese food feast, and lots of Blue Bell ice cream. Carter loved being around so much family and especially that silly Grampy!

But Carter, by far, LOVED playing with his cousin, Ruby. He would light up even when she took his toys or gave him whiplash in his jumper. Now that's family love. I enjoyed holding and snuggling with little baby Gary. He was just as cute as can be and so light compared to Carter!

Carter spent most of the 21 hour drive home either single or double-fisting his car seat while sleeping. He's a fun kid!