Good Times

On Friday, I spent all day cleaning the house and packing to go visit my parents in Heber. When Preston got off work, he changed his clothes there and we got on the Beeline Highway. This was my first time driving on this specific highway and of course there were some really pretty but angry looking clouds way of in the distance. I told Preston we would switch in Payson because I didn’t want to drive in the rain on the rim. Neither of us thought it would rain before we got to Payson though and didn’t really think it would hit us on the way to Heber.

So of course when we were almost to Payson (like 5 miles to go) I start getting these large rain drops hitting the windshield. At first it was cool, they were like tiny bombs exploding and the thunder made for fun sound effects for them (yes we could hear it in the car!). Then they sped up. Then it started hailing… So with like 2 or 3 miles to go I can barely see 15 feet in front of me because of the sheets and buckets pouring down on us. There was lighting hitting right next to the road and the thunder got louder and louder.

Finally we made it into Payson and parked at the Sonic right there. We sat there for half an hour and ordered snacks while we waited for the rain to calm down. Charlie kept looking out the window and shaking off like he was wet from watching the rain hit the car. Of course the way the rain was falling on the car made it look like we were sitting in a car wash.

Please don't put me back in the car!

Once we made it up to Heber, needless to say, we were happy to be out of the car. The girls were happy to see us and Charlie was happy to be on his feet again.

Was that a squirrel? Can I have it?

Anya

At 5 am the next morning I woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing… And this wasn’t your typical sounds like we’re in a movie crowing. This one sounds like it’s crower has been run over by a car. I couldn’t go back to sleep. It was somewhat irritating and I hadn’t gotten the best sleep in the first place because our mattress decided it doesn’t want to keep the air inside of it anymore. So here we have a stiff, sleepy irritated pregnant woman… I told dad I wouldn’t wake up to that the next morning, so either he needed to kill the rooster or I would.

Guess what we had for dinner?!? The freshest chicken I’ve ever eaten!

Before... noisy...

After... quiet, mmmm...

Watching dad kill this thing was interesting. He didn’t want it to watch him kill it so he strung it up by its feet in an effort to render it unconscious. That didn’t work the way he thought it would, so 20 minutes later... I’ll spare anyone reading this the gory details but in the end it was a bit disturbing to watch or even hear. I didn’t watch in an effort to keep my latest snack in my stomach. But poor Kayla poked her head out the back door at the wrong moment. She went into tears when we offered her the tail feathers but cheered up about the whole thing when she smelled it cooking later. Oh it was good!

The long final walk... Muah ha ha!

Hanging out...

The next morning Dad and I started putting our chilies together for the 21st Annual Pitterle Family Chili Cook-off. Last year I entered with my very tasty chocolate chili and placed third (don’t say yuck until you’ve tried it!). It’s a favorite in the Foster home. I also made the mistake of telling Uncle Brian, who liked it the most, what was in it. This year he sent an e-mail to the family that said he was bringing his chocolate chili. I hadn’t been planning on bringing one at all because I was so satisfied with placing third with mine, but when I saw that e-mail I had to do something and I couldn’t bring the same thing again. So I adapted my favorite Jambalaya recipe into a chili and won FIRST PLACE!!!!

The prize for winning first place is always an apron. My dad won the one for the 11th annual chili cook-off so now we both have one! It was really exciting for me! Coming from a family of cooks (good cooks) I knew I had talent but I never thought I could win. The apron now has a place of honor in my home and Preston is so proud of me!

Crockpots of chili...

Tasting the Chili

Still tasting...

Narrowing down the favorites...

And the winner is.... me!

Dad's cheesecake flan, mmmmmmm!

Recovering from all that chili, ha ha!

To finish things off, when we got home that night Preston and I sat down to watch some Star Trek DS9 (I know, I know) and the baby started kicking really hard. Harder then ever! I grabbed Preston’s hand and put it on my belly... nothing. It was kicking but Preston couldn't feel it. He gave up. After a few more minutes it started kicking harder! I told him not to touch this time but to watch. He paused our show and we stared at my belly. Like an alien inside of me my tummy started wobbling around and bouncing. Finally, Preston got to experience the baby! He said it was cool but creepy. After seeing it he was able to put his hand on me and feel it as well. We figured out that he had been pushing too hard to feel the small little bumps, but it was so cool!