Easter Sunday

Easter at the Slevens! The day started out dark, cloudy, and pouring rain but by noon, everything had passed, the sky cleared up, the sun came out, and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Easter baskets for our hosts

Deviled eggs from our dyed masterpieces

Sam and her friend joined us for a bit

Enjoying the day, taking a walk around the neighborhood

On our walk, we spotted a turtle trying to find food

in this mucky water, and decided to move him

somewhere he might like a little better.

Poor little guy may have been a bit upset with us

for moving him, but we're pretty sure he liked

his new home much more.

There he goes!

Colored Eggs!

The day before Easter we decided to do something we hadn't done in years - dye some eggs! It was so much fun and made us feel like kids again. We even had an "artistic egg" contest, which we each thought we deserved to win, but all in all, every egg was a winner. :-)

The experts preparing the dye

Home Made Sushi

For fun this weekend we decided to try making some home made sushi. We had some fresh vegetables, some of the stickiest rice we've ever come in contact with, some seaweed paper, and best of all, fish that wasn't raw but cooked. For first-timers, we did pretty well and our rolls were delicious! The boys had fun adding some serious spice to their rolls, and the experience brought tears to their eyes. :-)

"Riceman"

A Good Wife

For as long as I can remember, I have always ordered my eggs the same way - scrambled.  It wasn't until I met Neal that I "saw the light" on how delicious other forms of eggs can be.  He is very particular about his eggs, and most of the time orders them poached hard (which I have also come to enjoy as well, especially with Eggs Benedict).  Ordering poached hard eggs at a restaurant can be somewhat of a challenge, as it's a 50/50 shot that they'll actually come out hard.  This has become somewhat of a running joke with our friends, Mike and Lisa, who say they've never seen anyone have so much trouble ordering eggs.

This morning as Neal and I were making breakfast after church, he asked me how I wanted my eggs.  My standard lately has been either poached or hard boiled and today I opted for hard boiled.  For fun, we got out Neal's trusty Betty Crocker cookbook (which was published in 1973) and read about the different ways to cook an egg.  The introduction to the section entitled, "Basic Eggs"  has given me new insight on what it means to be a good wife.  Here is what it says:

"The man you marry will know the way he likes his eggs.  And chances are he'll be fussy about them.  So it behooves a good wife to know how to make an egg behave in six basic ways.  And here they are, with helpful hints." 

Did you ever imagine that the secret to being the perfect wife was to learn all the ways to make an egg?!!

Family Visit!

My parents hadn't been out to Texas in a while, so they decided to come for a spring visit.  It was so nice to have them "home" with us!

Their first night in town, we had Mike and Lisa over for dinner.

It was a fun evening of story telling and laughs.

Our table all decorated with food and ready to share a meal

For the weekend we took my parents to what we consider

the most beautiful part of Texas - the "hill country" of Austin.

On the way we stopped off along highway 290 to see the

spectacular show of natural beauty that occurs in Texas for

just a few short weeks each year - the blooming of the state

flower, the Bluebonnet.

Also on the way, we surprised my parents by stopping

in Brenham, the "ice cream capital of Texas" and the home

of our very own Blue Bell ice cream factory.  Dad was

especially thrilled with this detour, as ice cream IS

a Stallcop family tradition.

Due to the crowds of spring break, we didn't get to tour the

factory like we had planned but we did get to walk the campus,

watch a video on the ice cream making process, and best

of all, sample some of their delicious product.

After arriving in Austin we headed straight to The Oasis,

a restaurant overlooking Lake Travis that is known as the

best sunset viewing spot in the area.  We got there just in time

to enjoy the view in the daylight and then watch the sun

set over the water.

About two minutes after we finally got our table, they

rang the bell for the official sunset.  We made it!

The next day we explored the area, driving through 

Lakeway and touring some of the local neighborhoods for fun.  

Here we are at the Iguana Grill, another tasty restaurant

overlooking Lake Travis.

Back in town, a view of the Colorado River running through

the heart of the city

Going right along with their slogan "Keep Austin Weird,"

Austin boasts some unique sight seeing opportunities.

One of the most popular is the exodus of bats at dusk from

underneath Congress Bridge that can be seen during the

spring, summer, and fall, where literally thousands of bats

make their way up to the sky every night for their daily

feeding.  It is truly a one-of-a-kind experience to watch.

If you click on these photos to enlarge them, you can read

all about the bat population in Austin.  They're actually

quite a misunderstood animal that benefits us more than

we might even realize.

Right on time, the bat show begins

Downtown Austin at night

On our last day we started off by visiting another popular

Austin tourist site - the Whole Foods national headquarters.

To the average person, a Whole Foods market that is double

the size of any other which includes an escalator for you and

your shopping cart to the garage below would not be a big

deal.  But to natural food enthusiasts like my parents, this

place is like Disneyland!

To finish off our Austin experience, we found some gorgeous

multi-million dollar homes along Lake Austin and toured

them for fun.  People who live in these homes have the choice

of commuting 45 minutes to work in the car, or 20 minutes

by boat just down the water from their house.  It would

be nice to say that the best part of your day is your commute

to work!  

It was such a fun weekend with my folks and definitely a struggle to return to Houston after being in hill country for a few days.  Until the next time....we'll be dreaming of lakes, hills, and lush green landscape.

Top Gun....

No, not the movie but the place we went for our first group "shooting." We figured that while we're in Texas, we may as well learn how to point and pull a trigger since carrying a handgun here is like carrying a wallet (for most people, that is). As it turned out, I was the only one of the group who had never so much as held a gun. Now, after my first experience, I can say that I gave it a fair try but don't think I'll be holding a gun again any time soon.  Admittedly, they scare the bejesus out of me, between the deafening noise, the bullet shells snapping back and popping you in the head, and  and the fact that it could potentially and literally kill the person next to you if you're not carful. Yikes!  Another reason I don't belong in Texas.  However, I'm grateful to my friends for introducing me to a new experience.   At least I can say that while I lived in Texas, I shot a gun like a true westerner.  :-)

Good shot Lis!

Me holding Lisa's little pink gun

Mike and Neal were actually very good shooters.

It's a good thing too because if it came down to me

using a gun in a real situation, I'd probably shoot

my foot off.  I'd rather play the damsel in distress

in this particular instance, and let the guys

protect me.  :-)

Valentine's Weekend

Being the jet setters that we are, we decided to get out of town for the holiday weekend since I had Monday off.  We spent a few days in Arizona, Scottsdale being our home base, and drove through much of the northern part of the state.   For Valentine's Day Neal reserved us a table at what has been named "the most romantic restaurant in Phoenix," a Tuscan villa called Sassi.  But before dinner, we decided to embark on an adventure, and an adventure it was!

Neal had never been to the Grand Canyon, so we decided to

try and make the 7 hour round trip drive there before our

8:30 dinner reservation.  Here we are on our way, snow-

capped mountains in the background, driving behind a fire

red Porsche.  It just doesn't get any better than this!

After stopping in Flagstaff for a leisure lunch, we made it

to our destination.  How beautiful it was!   I had only seen

the Canyon in the summertime, never with snow.  The day

was so crisp and clear - the view was amazing. 

All in all we got to spend about 10 minutes enjoying the view

before we had to head back for dinner (which was fabulous!).

Sadly, we had a little accident while we were rushing around

the look out point.  The ground was slippery with ice and I fell.

Luckily I escaped with minor injuries but I can't say the same

for my old camera.  It hit the ground with me and has now been

officially laid to rest.  All this before I had a chance to take

a picture of Neal for his first time at the Grand Canyon.  We're

just grateful that old faithful gave us a few good shots before

the accident (one of many!) that finally did him in.

On Sunday we were able to spend some time with friends

Adam and Cindy and their four beautiful children.  We had

a really fun time and as always, can't say enough about the

delicious, home-cooked Italian meals that Adam prepares!

(Photos compliments of Adam & Cindy)

Neal and his godson, Amadeo - sooo cute!!

Adam and Cindy are great about encouraging their

kids to learn new things, especially when it comes

to music.  Between the three older kids, there are

piano, guitar, violin, and cello lessons going on at

all times.  It's wonderful!  Since Neal has been known

to play a little violin, he joined in the recital the

kids put on for us.  Thanks to these guys, we realized 

how much we miss playing an instrument, and are thinking 

more seriously about getting a piano of our own

(since we both grew up playing)!