Myrtle Beach - Spring Break Part 1

Months ago, we were invited to join other families we are friendly with and go camping in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for part of Spring Break. We looked at all of our options considering Trent was traveling to London the week prior and wouldn't get home until the day the others were traveling down to the Travel Park. Trent is particularly amazing for making it all work. He returned from London at about 4:30 Saturday afternoon to a cab driver who was at departures rather than arrivals. He finally got home shortly after 6:00 and was greeted by a happy family who also informed him we still needed to go out and get a few camping supplies. Throw into that mix the fact that I had the Young Women's General Broadcast that night, and that was a lot to deal with on top of jet lag and everything else. Trent was awesome. He dropped me off for the broadcast and got the rest of the supplies together. We packed up and drove down the next morning. I realized that with the exception of visiting my Dad and Stepmom in Texas and a short layover once in the Atlanta airport, I had never been as far south as we drove on this trip.

When we crossed into South Carolina, we called our friends who told us the night before had been exceptionally windy and who had made plans for us if we didn't beat the storm into camp. We knew from the weather forecast and from our own driving that we were racing a storm into camp. We did beat the storm, and Steve, Jerry, and Jason all helped Trent and I get the tent up right away before the rain started. Afterward, we had some awesome chili (it was the Krajewski's turn for dinner that night). The rain started up in earnest as we put the kids to bed, so we joined them. It rained for awhile, but it wasn't too bad. Jon woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and by that point it was just very very windy. The tent was shaking a bit, but it was obviously secure, so we weren't worried. Around 3:00-3:30 the rains joined with the crazy wind, and the thunderstorms came in. The lightening was close, and the thunder shook the ground. We figured we were fine as we were not on any tree roots and were quite low. Being one of only two tents we saw in the entire travel park also meant that all of the RVs and pop up campers were higher up than we were as well. The rain, however, was now coming down in torrents and was joined by very strong winds. Around 4:00 I told Trent I was getting wet. He told me it was just condensation and not to worry. A few minutes later, I felt a drop on my face and told him again I was getting wet. He reached over and felt my sleeping bag and told me the outside was all wet. The inside was still dry and warm, so I had no idea. We figured out later that what happened was that the wind blew the rain up under the fly of the tent and it would then drip down through the mesh. Our tent was pitched on the flattest part of our campsite which also happened to be the lowest. Water was pooling around the base of the tent in places. Trent and I talked through several options and at around 4:30 or so decided on the option that would get our kids out of the still pouring rain the fastest which meant getting our bags of clothes, pillows, sleeping bags and children and get them quickly into the car. We drove into town and parked in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel where we tried to rest until 6:00 when they opened and we went in for breakfast.

The inside of the Warner tent the following morning. Can you see the puddles?

As we were leaving the restaurant, a gentleman having breakfast gave each of our children a dollar bill and told Trent we had a cute family. Later that morning I wondered if he thought we could use it seeing as how we were sitting in the restaurant in pjs and sweatpants. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. We returned to camp with donuts for the others and got Trent's jet boil out to make hot chocolate. We were surprised we hadn't been missed yet until we got back and saw others in the process of trying to jury rig the Shamblen's shade tent which had partially come down in the wind. The awning on their camper was also victim to the storm.


We took the sleeping bags and the few clothes that got wet up to the laundromat and dried them in the dryers. One lady there asked me, "are you the people in the TENT?!" I thought it was kind of funny. The rain didn't stop until lunch time and then it was cloudy. We hung up the air mattresses and dried out the puddles in the tent, but we were nervous about things getting dry for the next night. We went out and ran a couple of errands. By the time we got back to camp, it wasn't only sunny, it was warm. The kids went down and played at the beach, and Trent and I verified that everything was drying beautifully. We got everything set up again and then noticed rolling dark clouds headed right our way. We moved our tent to a higher grassy area in our camp site and threw a large tarp over all of it and staked it down. The worst of the storm went around us, but we had some strong rain in the middle of the night. The great news is that with no wind, the Warners stayed nice and dry. The Shamblen's shade tent did not fare so well. The weight of the water did it in, and the guys took it down and then bunched it up for trash pick up.

The rain is gone. The sun is out. The tide is out. Let's play on the beach! The tide at Myrtle Beach was fascinating. When the tide was high, there was about 5 to 6 feet of beach. When the tide was out, there were about 30 feet or so of beach.

Tuesday morning dismantling of the Shamblen's destroyed shade tent.

How the frame ended up

Tuesday was gorgeous. The morning was full of beach play and in the afternoon at low tide, Ashley and I joined others for a 3 mile walk down the beach and did some shelling. Ashley collected A LOT of shells but also found 2 fully intact sand dollars. That was impressive. One broke, but one made it home. Now we just have to figure out what to do with all of her shells. Trent took Sam and Jon miniature golfing. We all met up as Tuesday night was the Warners turn to fix dinner. We did BBQ ribs in the dutch oven and a raspberry cobbler. We messed up the cobbler and made a chocolate raspberry cake instead. It still tasted good but wasn't cobbler. The ribs were great. It was funny to see our friends react to dutch oven cooking as they hadn't really seen it done before. We were told we could come camping with all of them again if we brought ribs again.

Sammy's unsuccessful but fun attempt at body boarding

Every sand castle needs a moat

Ashley collecting shells Tuesday afternoon

About half the shells she ended up bringing home

We left the next day for part two of our adventure, but all in all we had a great time. There was lots of fun around the camp fire of course, but most of that doesn't translate if you weren't there. I am sure if you've sat around a fire laughing with friends, you know what I am talking about. I am not sure what all of this does for our "the Warners are hard core campers" reputation, but we had a great time.

A Lamb, A Lion, or a Flash

We returned from our Spring Break traveling this past Thursday night. As I was unpacking, I was thinking about when to fit in coloring eggs with the kids and it occurred to me; I had not only not made martenitsas with them, I hadn't even THOUGHT about martenitsas until that moment. This really gave me pause to realize how quickly March came and went. Never mind whether it came in like a lamb or a lion. I am not sure I could remember to be honest. It came and went like a flash of lightening. Now that I am thinking back on it, I realize we were busy because we had so much going on, but it all just jumbled together into one busy after another. As a result, before I really realized we had started, it was gone.

Skipping martenitsas is really no big deal. It is something from Bulgaria. Baba Mart and the martenitsas that everyone bought and sold and made and wore were one of my favorite things when Trent and I were living in Bulgaria, and it is something I like to remember still (not this year apparently). What really made me pause wasn't that I didn't make martenitsas this year. It was that I hadn't even thought about it until the 1st of April. We had 4-H twice. Ashley had the MSA exams at school and plenty of girl drama as well (yuck to the latter). I was the guest reader in Ashley's class once this month. I had my first New Beginnings Program as the Young Women's President. Trent went to London for a week for work, so we celebrated my birthday early. I actually ended up celebrating my birthday for nearly a week. (I admit that I love birthdays though.) We had the youth temple trip, the fundraiser for summer camp and all of our regular meetings, and we had Spring Break. In all of that, I somehow kind of forgot that the month of March was happening. I am so good about birthday cards. I like to send them, and I really like remembering family and friends and all of our nieces and nephews particularly because we don't see them that often. I bought cards this month but never mailed one. I guess that means I am not sending cards for this year now. That is sad. O.k., I didn't really forget, but it made it feel like it came and went in a flash before I really realized it.

I hope everyone had a great month. I hope everyone is enjoying Spring. Chestita Baba Mart to you all.

So Let it Be Written...... And Other Rantings

I had a super cute picture of Jon with his face painted like the Cat in the Hat for a belated Dr. Seuss' birthday celebration. However, I have not yet downloaded the picture from my camera, and as my camera is currently on a layover in Frankfurt on its way to London and I am in the mood to rant a bit anyhow, you get this instead.

I am on my political soap box. If you continue reading, don't say I didn't warn you.


It is Sunday morning, and later today is the big House vote on the Senate Health Care Bill. Yesterday, the House announced that they would not use the controversial deem and pass method to get this bill passed through the House. While I want to believe they chose not to do this, because it is an appallingly bad thing to do, I suspect it is more likely that they made this decision because they have the votes to pass the bill otherwise.

Deem and pass would allow them to deem the bill as passed without actually voting on the bill itself. They would deem it passed pending a vote on the reconciliation bill (those things the House is changing in the Senate Bill). This is a procedure that is used traditionally for more procedural and uncontroversial things. The very idea of using a deem and pass method to pass a bill that is very controversial, that has questionable support among the American people as a whole, that very few members of Congress have actually read in its entirety, and that will have a huge effect on the American populace and the American economy is abhorrent. In my opinion, it shows a blatant disregard for the concept of government by of and for The People and borders on the tyranny of the majority discussed often in The Federalist Papers.

In the late 18th century, while debating the Constitution prior to ratification, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison published several articles under pseudonyms now compiled and known as The Federalist Papers. England was a situation where there was a tyranny of the minority. A minority were in charge and were able to decree anything and everything. Of equal concern was the tyranny of the majority. Majority rules is a sensible concept, however, anyone who has ever given a good look at most mobs probably understands the concern of mob rule or tyranny of the majority. That is why there are rules in place in Congress to allow the minority attempts to debate, to dissuade and to possibly block the passage of legislation. The idea is for legislation passed to have bipartisan support or to at least have passed after whatever dissension was presented. To deem a bill of this importance and magnitude passed without an actual vote on it is appallingly irresponsible to the purposes of our government. We have checks and balances instituted for a reason. Let's operate within those boundaries and NOT try and wiggle around them please.

The biggest reported hurdle for the House Democrats at this moment are the pro-life Democrats who won't vote for this bill because of abortion provisions within it. There is dissent within the majority. When isn't there on something this big and important? The latest proposed answer to placate said pro life democrats is an Executive Order to counteract the abortion legislation in the Senate Bill. So let it be written, so let it be done says President Obama. This President has amazed me with what he thinks can be decreed with an executive order, but this takes the cake. Either he really is ignorant and thinks he has far more power than the Constitution gives him, or he thinks House Democrats (and more likely the American People who would hold said Democrats responsible for their vote) are stupid. An executive order affects the Executive Branch of Government. That is it. It can be revoked at any time by this President or any President that comes into office after him. As it only affects the Executive Branch, it can have little if any effect at all on the legislation passed through the House and Senate. President Obama has shown himself arrogant before, but this is something else. Does he fancy himself Pharaoh able to make anything happen with the quick issuance of an executive order? This is not the kind of accountability this American wants from her elected officials. I wanted better communication than we received during the previous administration. Instead, there have been even more closed doors and less explanation. Furthermore, there has been at times, in my opinion, actual disdain for the checks and balances within our governmental system. They can surely be frustrating, but do we really want to be without them? Do we really want that much power in anyone's hands? This American still believes in a Lockean/Jeffersonian contractual view of sovereignty and government, and I don't want my government to have that much unchecked power. That is my power, and I care how you use it.

It's All Greek To Me

Back when the trailer for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief came out, I bought the first book for Ashley. I thought for some time that they looked like a series she might like.

It took awhile, but she picked up the Lightening Thief a few weeks ago. She started reading the names of the chapters and thought they were so amusing, that she read the first two chapters to me while I was making dinner. After that, she got tired of waiting for me to have time, and she took to reading her book at bed time. Once again we found ourselves in that place where we had to remind her that it is 9:00 and then 9:30 and to turn out her light and go to sleep. She took her book to school to read during free time and so forth. When she got near the end of the book, she read it while walking home from school and then plopped down on the couch and finished it up. She absolutely raved about it and is now reading the second book in the series.

In typical Ashley fashion, she is so into this series that her books she brings home from the school library on her library day are often about Greek mythology.

I have talked with several people recently whose children loved the series and who have read it and loved it themselves. All decry the movie as awful, which is a shame, because Ashley is looking forward to seeing it with her Dad. That being said, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series gets a major 2 thumbs up from our little reader. I will have to check them out myself when I finish the rest of my reading.

Chicken Lo Mein

This past Sunday was not only Valentine's Day, it was Chinese New Year. Happy year of the tiger everyone. We had some families over for a celebratory pot luck. In addition to pot stickers and rice, and some plain lo mein (long noodles for a long life), I planned to serve this chicken lo mein. I found the recipe at allrecipes.com. I realized after cutting the chicken and getting it in the marinade, I just hadn't left enough time, so I saved it for dinner the following night. We had plenty of food at the party, so it wasn't missed, but it turned out really good. My kids even all ate it in varying degrees. Ashley picked the red peppers out but ate the rest, Sammy ate the chicken and the noodles, and Jon ate mostly just chicken but said it tasted good. Here is the recipe. It is easy, and is really yummy.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves- cut into think strips (I just used a close to 2 lb. package I had. It was 3 breast halves, but they were large. I didn't want for more chicken in the dish)
5 teaspoons white sugar, divided (I only used 4, and I didn't miss the extra one bit. In fact, you could probably scale it down more if you wanted to)
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce, divided
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2.5 Tbsp cornstarch
1 (12 oz) package uncooked linguine (I used thin spaghetti and only put in about 7-8 oz. Soba noodles would work as well. I thought linguine would be a heavy choice here.)
2 Tbsp. veg oil, divided
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger root (I grated it, because I am lazy)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 lb. fresh shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
6 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

I also added one chopped red bell pepper for color and texture etc. Others who commented added broccoli or snow peas. There is a lot of room to play with this if you want to.

1. in a medium, non-reactive bowl, combine the chicken with 2.5 teaspoons of sugar (I used only 2), 1.5 Tbsp. vinegar and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Mix this together and coat the chicken well. cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (because of my timing issue, mine was in there nearly 24 hours. It didn't hurt it)

2. In another medium bowl, combine the chicken broth, water, sesame oil and ground black pepper with the remaining sugar, vinegar and soy sauce. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch with some of this mixture and slowly add to the bulk of the mixture, stirring well. Set aside.

3. cook the linguine according to package directions, drain and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp. veg oil in a wok or large saucepan over high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer this and all juices to a warm plate.

4. Heat the remaining veg oil. Add ginger, garlic, mushrooms, green onions and stir fry 30 seconds. Add the reserved sauce mixture and then the chicken. Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, about 2 to 5 minutes. Add the reserved noodles and toss gently, coating everything well with the sauce.

It was very flavorful but not really spicy. If you want to add a kick to it, I would suggest Tabasco sauce, stir frying dried red chili peppers with the chicken, or using a bit of cayenne in the sauce.

Look What I Made....

I originally saw these apothecary jars on Summer's blog. She is amazingly crafty. (She got the idea and instructions here) I haven't been crafty in a long time, but I loved these and wanted to make them badly. The biggest problem was that the nearest Hobby Lobby is west of Gettysburg, and neither Michaels nor A.C. Moore had the glass canisters. I did a google search of Shanty 2 Chic apothecary jars and found someone who had acquired their glass canisters at Home Goods. Hey, I have one of those close by! My first trip was not as successful as I would like, and after some help and guidance from Summer, I returned the Friday the monster storm came with measuring tape in hand to the pleasant surprise of a new shipment with just the right product. Hooray!!

The search for a snow shovel deterred the procurement of the remainder of my supplies, but I did eventually get there after digging out after the storm and made my jars. One jar is leaning (as you can see). I am not sure if it is the candlestick or the canister, but I still need to figure it out and see about fixing/replacing it, but I couldn't wait to put the pictures up, so here they are flawed and all.

I am still considering putting the jute around the lids, but we are trying them out solid black first.

Snowpocalypse

Some of you may be waiting to see of these pictures. I appreciate all who have called and e-mailed to check on us. It really has been quite an experience, but we are doing just fine and choosing to enjoy it as much as we can.

We knew last Saturday we were receiving another storm this weekend. While shoveling the 10 inches we received that morning, I was talking with one of our neighbors and noted that I would see him same day, same time for the same purpose next Saturday. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, we received 4 inches of heavy wet snow. The kids were out of school as a result and enjoyed a neighborhood snowball fight. I was grateful they ran all through our yard, because it packed down and melted a lot of that wet snow before Friday and Saturday. By Thursday, people were hearing the weekend storm would rival the storm we received before Christmas, so grocery stores were hectic. Personally, I wanted a second snow shovel so that Trent and I could shovel at the same time and so that when he left to help dig out some of the families in our ward, I could shovel at home. Thursday, I went to 4 different stores with no luck. I tried two more smaller hardware stores the next morning, and I am glad I did. The 6th and final place I checked had some. Sammy and I stood in line for 30 minutes, but we were fully prepared. Thursday afternoon, the kids brought home notice that due to the early afternoon arrival of said storm, they would come home 2 hours early on Friday. Trent, who is so smart, asked his supervisor at the State Department if he could telecommute on Friday because of the storm coming in. An hour later, this man sent out an e-mail suggesting anyone with the ability to telecommute consider doing so. Even though government offices shut down at 1:00 Friday, getting out of D.C. was going to be difficult. The snow started as flurries around 10:30 but didn't start in earnest until noon. By mid to late afternoon, it was sticking.

When we woke up Saturday morning, it looked like this:

grill and trash cans

front walk

One thing I don't particularly love about my house is that the garage is not attached, and I don't have a pantry in my kitchen. As a result, a lot of our pantry items are in cabinets in the garage. Trent and I have been looking at options to remedy this but haven't found the solution we want yet. Anyhow, I needed to go out to the garage to get syrup for breakfast. I couldn't get the screen door open. We had one of the snow shovels inside, so I used it through the 3 inch crack formed from my attempt to open the door and eventually opened the door enough to squeeze through. I promptly shoveled the path between the garage and the house. At 8:30, that looked like this:

Around 10:00 or so, we decided to get out and start shoveling the walk. It was still snowing. The snow was pretty heavy at this point. The stuff that came later through the day wasn't as heavy, but this stuff was wet heavy snow brick, igloo making snow.

Saturday afternoon, while working on the driveway, we decided to clean off the car and dig out to the street. That was a crazy amount of work, but if we had an emergency and absolutely had to go out we could. Trent took the car around the parkway to check on the situation, and I dug out what drifted under the car during all the wind the night before. Some of our neighbors looked at us like we were crazy at this point, and several remarked that we must be used to this being from Utah. We let them know that 30+ inches of snow in less than 30 hours was a lot anywhere. The snow stopped shortly after 5:00.

Remember those garbage cans and that grill from 8:30? This is what they looked like about half an hour before the snow stopped.


The kids, with help from Trent, built a snow cave. They call it the hobbit hole. How fun.
For the second Sunday in a row we had no church. Next week is Stake Conference for us, so the bishop authorized home sacrament meetings. It was nice to have the sacrament with our little family. We then finished up what was left of the driveway. Isn't this fully dug out driveway beautiful? It feels beautiful having worked so hard to achieve it.
Through all of the predictions and even through part of Saturday morning, I was the crazy optimist. I thought since they would be more ready for the storm and since it was coming a little earlier than the last one etc. etc. that we might be going to school Monday with just a 2 hour delay. Um, yeah, when I finish laughing at myself, I will let you know. The National Weather Service reports the grand total for Crofton was 34 inches. D.C. got less, but the above ground metro service is still down, so there is no school today and no federal government either. We are expecting another storm Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. I should snow another 4 to 6 inches. That really isn't a lot I know, but on top of the rest it is and coming over night, that much snow would equal a snow day anyhow, so I am fairly certain Wednesday will mean no school. As of yesterday, the school was not at all dug out. No one had even started plowing the parking lots and bus lanes, so I am not confident there will be school tomorrow. We will assume there is until we hear otherwise though. Right now, most predict Thursday will be our first day of school this week. We are already one day over our banked amount of snow days. The Principal petitioned the School Board for a 2 day waiver. Even if they grant it, we are likely to nearly certain to go over it. That would mean school gets out later for the kids. There is an ongoing debate about what happens if those days are taken during a state of emergency. It will be an interesting debate to follow. For now, it is sunny and beautiful, and when Trent gets back from shoveling for one of the families in our ward, I am off to run a few errands. Sometimes it is fun to be a part of these kind of things. It is a big mess, and we will be cleaning up after it for a while. I already broke the screen door on our kitchen. Sigh. However, this is something none of us will ever forget.