Mr. Chef

JP's parents were in town one night this past weekend.  They offered to take us to eat, but since JP has been eating out daily due to his work schedule he decided he would rather cook instead.  I did the shopping but he did all the cooking so I'm not sure of the details plus - in true JP fashion- there is no recipe since he just made it up as he went.  So here we have crusted baked fish with an avocado cream sauce served on a bed of rice with asparagus.

It is Grande....

Tuesday
Our journey out West began early the morning of Tuesday May 24.  Our flight from Birmingham to Phoenix left at 7:15ish so we arrived at the Birmingham airport around 6:30. (Only having to get there 45 minutes before the flight is definitely a benefit of a smaller airport!). Sarah had stayed the night with us Monday night so she would not have to leave Decatur super early.

Our flight went well but the 3 hour time difference through our stomachs off.  When we were getting off the plane one of our fellow passengers stated, "I'm hungry for lunch but I think it is only breakfast time here."  Sarah and I couldn't agree more!  My brother-in-law Michael picked us up from the airport and then headed to work.  We spent the day with my mother-in-law Julie getting things ready for our trip and doing important things like eating at In N Out.  Our most interesting event of the day was renting a mini-van for the trip.  It was much more complicated than we imagined and became quite humorous.

Wednesday
We packed the mini-van which we affectionately came to call The Silver Bullet. 




It is important to note that Michael was the only one both physically able and allowed by Enterprise to drive The Silver Bullet.


We started our 7 hour journey with Flagstaff as our lunch break.  Notice the mountain that you can see as you approach Flagstaff.  This is Mount Humphrey's, the tallest point in Arizona.  Yes that is snow.  Yes there is snow in Arizona.  In fact, Michael had been to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon the week before he went with us.  His first trip was full of snow!  Thankfully that was not the case for our trip!


 Once we ate our Wendy's lunch we knew the Grand Canyon was our next stop.  90% of people choose to go to the South Rim.  We chose to take the road less traveled and go to the North Rim.

 
 The views on the way to the North Rim are beautiful!  You don't see anything like this in Alabama!




 

We even got to see a motorcycle group when we stopped for Michael to buy his girlfriend a birthday gift from the Indian ladies.



Once we finally reached the North Rim it was time for my first in person view of the Grand Canyon.  It truly is beautiful and almost doesn't seem real.  It really shows how great and mighty our God is!


 








After taking in our first views of the Grand Canyon, it was time to get settled in our cabin.  The North Rim only has one non-camping place to stay... The Grand Canyon Lodge.  These cabins you are advised to book 6 months- 1 year in advance.  2-3 weeks before our trip I started planning our trip.  I thought we were going to have to go to the South Rim (much to JP's disappointment, and he wasn't even going!) because there were still campsites available.  But then, I discovered that there was one night at the Lodge on the North Rim.  Not only that, but the cabin was the exact size that we needed.  You better believe I booked that cabin fast!  However, there was no where to stay the second night.  But, the next day I looked and a campsite had become available for the second night.


 Now it is important to note that Michael is a photographer.  Not just a casual I like to take pictures photographer, but a hard core, this is my job photographer.  He works for one of the top wedding photographer in Phoenix, but his passion is landscapes/nature.  So being at the Grand Canyon there are tons of beautiful places to take pictures... especially at sunset.  Michael had one specific point he wanted to go to for sunset.  Only problem, sunset was 15 minutes away and we were 20 miles away on a curvy, 35mph road.  The silver bullet delivered and we arrived just in time.  Michael sprinted to the spot and said he arrived with only 1 minute to spare.


FYI his shot is way better than mine. 100 times better for sure.




Overall it was a great first day at the Grand Canyon.  That night we made sure to get plenty of rest to prepare us for the next day... the day of our Grand Canyon hike.

Peanut Butter Pie Extreme

JP's brother Matt, who lives in NYC, had a piece of pie that he loved in NYC and wanted to see if it could be homemade.  It can... and it was so good!

I don't have the exact recipe but basically it is...

Graham cracker crust (we used the store bought to save time) with melted chocolate spread in the bottom.  Then a layer of sliced bananas followed by the peanut butter pie filling (8oz cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter, 1.5 cups powder sugar, 8oz. tub cool whip).  Top it with whipped cream (homemade is best) and a banana slice to give it the gourmet look.

I love peanut butter pie, and this just takes it to the next level. Now, I think I need to make a trip to NYC to compare the two pies.

Thanksgiving 2010

JP and I traveled to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

We enjoyed eating here...

and here...




and climbing this mountain...

photo from here

but most of all, we enjoyed hanging out with these people...







ps. Michael took our Christmas card pictures...
This is the most normal picture we got of the two of us at any point in time during our trip. Our Christmas card will not be serious...

JP's Family + Wedding =

After JP and I got engaged, a few of the girls I was interning with would not stop talking about their terrible in-law experiences.  As they warned me of what they guaranteed was to come, I really didn't think I would have a problem.  I should have bet them a good amount of cash that their warnings were unnecessary.  If I had, I would have a little more money now than I do.

JP comes from a wonderful family who has welcomed me into their family.  During the wedding, I felt very loved by them.

JP's Mom worked really hard planning the rehearsal dinner, and it was perfect... exactly what I would have done if I had planned it myself.

JP's parents have been very supportive of us both and have really taken the effort to get to know me despite the fact that I'm pretty sure our wedding was probably the 4th or 5th time we had ever been together.  I feel completely comfortable calling either one of them which I think is important.

JP's brother's are awesome as well.  They treat me just as I would imagine they would treat a sister if they had one.*

Since our wedding, on two family trips with them and have so much fun.  One of them JP didn't even go on, so I guess that means they like me... :)

JP's Grandparents have been great too.  They have played a significant role in JP's life, and I'm glad that I get to see them as frequently as I do since they live in Atlanta.  I like JP's grandfather so much that I even through him the bouquet at our reception.

One of the most exciting things when discussing the topic of JP's family and our wedding is the fact that his Aunt from South Africa came! We very honored and loved that she came such a distance to celebrate our wedding day with us.  We were also excited that she stayed in the US long enough for us to see her when we visited Phoenix after Christmas.

JP's extended family has also been so supportive of us.  JP's Aunt and Uncle live here, and they invite us for dinner every week.  They, too, have added me right into their family.

I'm am very blessed that JP came from such a wonderful family that has been so good to me.

And, this picture really doesn't have a lot to do with JP's family but he Grandfather and Mom are in the picture and it was taken by his Grandmother.  This is the wedding coordinator fixing JP's tie.  It makes me laugh a lot.

*Note: When I was looking through wedding pictures, I discovered that I didn't take hardly any pictures with JP's family except for the ones that were the standard boring group shots.  I wish I had taken some but I suppose what I have will have to do.

Hilton Head

A few weeks ago JP and I went with his family to Hilton Head.  I had never been, and I loved it.  I definitely want to go back!  Actually, JP and I have decided that one day we will live there.  Hey, you never know!

We took two cars.  JP chauffeured Matt, Michael, and me.  With eight people there was tons of stuff so Michael and I rode in the back with his huge camera bag in between.  The ride actually went by pretty quickly... 

... because we saw some interesting things.  We saw...

 ...a barbeque grill on the road, and yes, it was actually smoking as it traveled down the road.

Michael got quite excited about this fake NASCAR car, which we saw right after we saw a random man run across the off ramp with a watermelon.

We also stopped at the funniest gas station ever...

Once we got there we enjoyed a relaxing week on the beach.  I didn't take any pictures, sadly.  Michael and I enjoyed riding all over the island on bikes that we rented.  We saw alligators, tricked security guards, and had the funniest experience ever with a water fountain.  I had never ridden my bike on the beach before so that was fun.

We enjoyed going out to dinner.  Our favorite was the Sea Shack.  JP really liked Harold's Diner.  Harold's is a very unique restaurant.  If you ask the man taking your order that you don't think you can eat the whole platter because he will respond "It's America puddin', you don't have to."  Also don't enter if you are a Yankees fan!  Finally, don't ask the guy who seems to be in charge if he is Harold, because he is not.  I was informed that Harold, in fact, died 16 years ago.

We had a lot of fun playing games both on the beach and around the kitchen table.

So, overall it was such a fun trip.  When I go back (because I will), I will definitely eat at the Sea Shack again, rent bikes, and I will try and take at least one picture!

Meet My 225 Pound Friend...

 Meet Max.  I stand corrected from my previous post... he is 225 pounds not 210 pounds.  Max is a three year old Great Dane who just happens to be much bigger than most Great Danes.  Max's mother was about 120lbs and his father was about 160lbs.  In fact Max was recently saw his mother for the first time since he was a puppy, and his mother was terrified of him.

 Although Max is the biggest dog I've ever seen, unfortunately he is not the biggest dog.

 

 Max was pretty overwhelming to me at first.  As he ran around joyfully, his tail felt like a whip if it accidentally grazed your leg.  However, Max may be huge but he is the sweetest dog, and I don't believe he realizes how big he is.  He hides when the garbage truck comes, and he was once scared of a pile of sticks.

 

Max's paws are much bigger than my hands and when standing on four legs he comes to my waist.  When standing on two legs... he dominates me in height.

 

So Max, my 225 lb friend (don't worry, I'm not going to make a habit of introducing my friends by their weight).

Mugs by Mooks

This weekend JP and I drove to Milligan College near Johnson City, Tennessee for JP's brother Michael's senior photography show.  If you remember, Michael is an awesome photographer.

Unfortunately, I had class on Saturday so JP and I had to leave around 1:30 Saturday afternoon to make the 6 hour drive in the very rainy and windy weather.  We stretched the drive out with our stop in Knoxville at "Ye Olde Steak House."  JP and I my Dad had seen this on tv once while watching a Tennessee game and have both really wanted to eat there ever since.  We were already planning on stopping in Knoxville for dinner, and my Dad reminded us of this place.  So we drove through Knoxville until we found this pretty cool restaurant.  We shared a 20oz Porterhouse and JP got mushrooms and I got potatoes.

While we were traveling and eating steak, everyone else was at Milligan preparing for the Sunday show by hanging 21 photos.

The show on Sunday was great! Not only did we get to enjoy Michael's awesome work but so did about 200 other people.

Michael was excited to share his work with other people.  We got to meet a lot of his friends and teachers as well.

I obviously married in to this family.  JP says I need a stool.

 

We were all hungry after cleaning up the show, we were all super hungry so we went to this place Fatz for dinner.  The food was good, and the waiter liked us so much he gave us two free desserts which, as JP said, "left us all feeling Fatz."

 

 Some other notable things we experienced while in the Johnson City area included:

This restaurant called Pal's.  It probably was the most humorous looking place I have ever purchased food, and I'm pretty sure it came right out of this old school Nickelodeon cartoon.

Max the 210lb dog.  He deserves a blogpost devoted completely to himself, and he will get such a post sometime soon.