This is the first official Easter that Logan and me have had on our own! Before, we were with family at home or celebrated with Relatives in Utah (Last year I was in Kansas City and Logan was at IFS). So this year was the first time I got to make all the food by myself.
We were invited to an Easter potluck with Logan's class on Sunday afternoon so I made rolls to take to that. I made two pans of them and I think they turned out really well! People were really impressed that they were homemade.
One of the two sheets of rolls, ready to go in the oven!
For our Easter dinner, Logan helped me make the twice baked potatoes while I put together the other things. I saved out some of the homemade rolls to go with everything else and it turned out to be a great dinner!
All of Easter dinner!
I was going to make a Japanese Cheesecake with a mango mirior glaze for dessert but we ended up being at the class potluck longer then expected (they are a fun group of kids). That's okay, it will be a great dessert to make next week during General Conference (Note to self: read your recipes before hand so you give yourself long enough for them to cook and cool off - Japanese Cheesecake takes nearly two hours to cook alone and then has to cool down and be chilled all the way. Good to remember). We ate the little bit of Easter candy that I bought instead and it all turned out just fine!
For Logan's birthday this year, I decided to take him to see the Sonora Caverns. They are about an hour and a half hour drive from here and were so worth it! It is said to be one of the most decorated caves and there really were just the most amazing sights everywhere you looked. I wish I had a better camera because everything turned out looking the same color. It was so much more impressive in person.
PS. March is also known as Mustache March in the Air Force and that is why Logan has one in all these pictures. He has promised that as soon as April comes it is gone! The amazing thing is that this is only 9 days of growing one and he by far has the best one of all the other boys in his class. So, even though we are both not a fan, it is a good bonding experience with the other guys in his class and that's a good thing. Go Logan!
Waiting to go on the tour!
The pic on the Left is what geodes look like when they form and the left pic is an example of what they call cave popcorn.
The ones on the left are called clubs.
This was called the Christmas Room. It was beautiful! I think that this was both Logan and my favorite.
On the right the thing hanging from the ceiling are called straws because they are long a hallow. The longest one is 8 feet!
There was not a lot of water in the cave but I thought that this was just beautiful!
Examples of what they call fish tales.
Some really big formations and some people in our tour.
More cool formations.
I was pretty impressed with how beautiful the world is that Heavenly Father made for us. And just like us, it is beautiful inside and out :)
For Logan's birthday I made him ribs and mashed potatoes for dinner. I also made him a special cake this year. Usually, we do a strawberry ice cream cake for him but I decided to surprise him with something a little different this year.
I made him a Snickers Ice cream cake with a peanut butter brownie crust! Let me just assure you, it was really, really yummy! Logan liked it a lot too!
For his presents Logan got some new running shoes (that he loves), some camping stuff, a book and a big bag of peanut M&Ms but I think my favorite thing that I got him was his belt buckle! Now that we are Texans I thought it was appropriate. And doesn't he look good in it! I love that whenever he is not in his uniform, he wears it now.
I've posted several new posts and am so happy to be getting caught up! If you want to read them from oldest to new, the links are below or you can just start reading from here.
For Valentines day and to take a little Vacation before training started, Logan and me headed to San Antonio for a weekend trip! We left after work on Wednesday and got there that evening picked up dinner at Panda Express and watched a movie before heading back to Lackland AFB where we stayed at one of the hotels.
Thursday 14
On our first morning there, I was getting ready and so Logan said he was going to go fill up the car on base while I finished up. When he got back, he had gassed up the car but also gotten me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and chocolates! He is so good to me!
Valentines day was spent in downtown San Antonio. We went on a boat tour, toured the Alamo, walked around the mall and walked the river walk. It is a beautiful location. It is green and has some really interesting history. I was impressed at how well they have up-kept all the old buildings - some were even several hundred years old!
I have to admit that before going, I really didn't know much about what happened at the Alamo. It was interesting learning about it and the people who died there. For instance, did you know that Davy Crockett was killed there - I didn't!
Walking around the grounds it was so beautiful and I really loved all the old trees.
Some more pictures taken at the Alamo.
For dinner that nigh,t Logan surprised meagain by taking me out to dinner at one of the restaurants on the river walk. When we walked in for our reservation, I was sure they would put us inside in a little corner but then they walked us to a table right on the water side!! I was so impressed with Logan, yet again! He is so romantic!
I love this man so much!
Friday 15
The next day we went to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. It is one of the unique places I have even been! You drive your car (slowly) though the reserve and get to feed the animals out of your car window!
We found out that the animals were really used to people and some would walk in front of your car so you had to stop and then come to your window to get fed. The one below, next to Logan, would have had its whole head in the car were it not for it's horns! I thought the Zebras were cool because they would come up and open their moths really wide so you could trow food in.
After seeing all the animals we got Chipotle and went up north a little bit to a place that had TWO outlet malls! I couldn't believe that they were right next to each other and they both had a Banana Republic Outlet. It was my lucky day! Logan got some shoes but I don't think he was as excited about it.
Saturday 16
By now I couldn't imagine that our trip could get any more fun but then we went to SeaWorld!! Once every year they let military members and their families in for free. We met up with another couple from San Angelo at the park and got to see all the amazing animals!
One of the first things we did was go to the dolphin exhibit. It is open so you can reach in a pet them! We were there for a while and all the sudden one swam right up to me and I got to be the first of our group to touch one. By the time we left, we all had had a chance.
After that, we walked over to the aquarium because it was feeding time for them. Inside, they had several tanks and then two large ones with stingrays and sharks. We watched a scuba diver feeding the stingrays and then walked over to the Shark tank.
One of the workers asked if I had any questions and I didn't, so I asked him what is favorite shark was. He took me over and showed me one called a zebra shark - it was one he was personally in charge of feeding and taking care of.
I don't know why but after we were talking he asked if the four of us would like to go up to the top of the tanks. Uh, YES!! So he took us through a door that lead to the back and gave us a private tour! He showed us the huge water filters and then took us to the "kitchen" were they prepare all the animal's food everyday.
Then he led us up a staircase that went to the top of the stingray and shark tanks. They must do this every once in a while because he had a tub that had examples of sting ray teeth, the fake coral and a empty shark egg. About that time the scuba diver girl was getting out of the water and we got to chat with her a little too.
Then we went over to the shark tanks. It was so cool when the sharks would come to the top and you could see their fin above the water. Our tour guide gave us food to fed the fish that live in the shark tank. Another one of the workers came over and said if you threw it in front of the shark, sometimes the fish would swim in front and the sharks would eat them! I asked how often the sharks actually ate the fish and the guy was like "it happened just yesterday". So of course we all tried but didn't get to see that.
Another super cool thing about or private tour was seeing some animals that were not displayed to the public like this guy called a Wobbegong or a carpet shark. I guess she is super old for her species. I love the stars pattern in her skin!
After our tour, we road two of the roller coasters and saw some shows. We ended our day with the killer whale show. We sat two rows into the splash zone thinking that we wouldn't get wet because we were really close to the top. WE WERE SO WRONG! haha. With the first well placed splash, Logan and me were drenched. Oh, well. That's just part of the SeaWorld experience!
When we got back to the car, we were lucky we had extra clothes. So we changed, got dinner on our way out of town and headed back home that night. I have to say it was the most amazing trip! Just what we needed. We were so lucky that the weather was perfect everyday we were there and we had some amazing experiences. We decided that we really like San Antonio and Lackland, AFB and we would be happy to live there someday.
Logan and me were pretty sad that Pilot Training didn't work out but we were happy to be moving on and perusing a career in Intelligence. It was a logical transition considering his degree in Geo Spacial Intelligence. So San Angelo, TX will be our next home for about the next 6 months.
Right after Christmas we started packing. I was glad that I could spread it out over a week and a half so it didn't seem so hectic - it also made moving day easier. We got our truck the day before and with the help of our neighbors got it all loaded up.
After that, we cleaned and cleaned! I had heard that some people got charged up to $700 for cleaning and repairs. I really didn't want that, so I made it my goal to get charged as little as possible. For example, they said that cleaning the carpets were optional, but if you didn't, we could get charged $350 just to get them done! I decided to risk it and did everything myself.
On our check out inspection the lady doing it said the house looked great! She even asked "did you clean the carpets?" and I told her yes. Then she asked what company I used because they looked so good. I smiled and said that I had done it all. I think they were really impressed. The best part was no charges at all!
Loading up the Truck - almost done with plenty of room to spare.
Our almost empty house a few hours before checking out.
This time Logan decided to haul the car and we both road in the truck. It was nice being able to be together. It made me so nervous having the car in the back though. It is hard enough driving the truck - I wan't sure how adding a trailer would affect that too. Logan, of course being the awesome person he is, figured it out quite fast and we had no problems. His driving skills always impress me, considering, I would have had a heart attack if someone had even just asked me to drive it a few feet. Logan is so good to take care of me that way. After making sure we had put the car on right we were on our way.
All loaded up and ready to get on the road.
We left Enid, America exactly a year from when we moved there. It was extremely hard to leave all the friends I had made there. It was about a 7 hour trip to San Angelo. We got there in the evening and a friend was nice enough to let us sleep at his house that night.
The next day we went to check out the apartment we had applied for. I have to tell you, it is pretty hard trying to find a place to live, when you have never seen it before! The apartment complex is actually the same one that Lani and Scott (Logan's sis and BIL) lived when they were here too about 10 years ago! I'm glad they suggested it because it is working out well for us, especially considering we will only be here for a short period of time. It is also great that we will save a good amount on BAH each month (meaning our housing allowance is higher than the cost of rent so we get to pocket the difference).
Logan standing in our new apartment.
So far, it has been nice here. The ward is much smaller and there are not as many young couples as there were in our last ward. Logan has an easy commute to work each day. We are still learning San Angelo and what it has to offer. It is much bigger than Enid, so that is nice.
Moving in and putting together furniture.
Another nice thing that we have learned about our apartment complex is that it is a really safe place! Almost all the apartments are occupied by people in the military or police force.
On the 8th, Logan and me and two of his friends, got to go to Oklahoma City to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra! And boy was it wild!
Before the concert, we all got dinner at Texas Road House and then because we had some extra time, we walked around down town Oklahoma City and looked at all the amazing decorations.
I have always liked Trans Siberian Orchestra but I guess I never realized just how rock and roll they can get. Electric guitars, fire, head banging and light shows. I was so not prepared! It was still a great concert and we left satisfied and a little deaf.
For Christmas Vacation we got to go back to Katie and Jeff's house again. This time the whole crew was there! It was great having everyone together, It has been a while since all the Cluff girls were under one roof!
Of course, it was also a ton of fun having a toddler to keep us all entertained. Kara Anne sure loves her Pa pop! Above, was when he decided to show her how to build snow men and they both went out with only SOCKS on their feet! Silly grandpa.
Katie found these singing and dancing stuffed animals this year. Kara had a ton of fun watching them play over and over again. Then when they turned off she would bring it to you until you pushed the button and made them dance again. Kara loved to watch them and give them kisses with her teddy.
Lots of Kara!
This year because of schedules, we had Christmas eve as our fancy dinner and then opened up presents that night. Before, we all went out to see The Hobbit and Katie, being the amazing person she is, babysat Kara, cleaned the house and made all of us dinner! She is so good at spoiling us!
All of us eating dinner (dad was playing with Kara of course).
After dinner we had our own Christmas program and Logan and me played two songs on our guitars. We had been practicing for a few weeks before and I think we did pretty well. We read the Christmas story and had a spiritual thought by my dad.
Then we opened presents. I loved that everything I got was for the kitchen. I loved all of it! Logan got some camping gear and so he was a happy boy too! After opening our gifts we all enjoyed watching Kara unwrap hers and play with the new toys we got her.
Here is the Cluff Family Photo that we took on Christmas eve. I think this is the first picture of all of us and Kara. To get this great pic, I set up mom's camera on a chair and set the timer and ran back and forth to the couch each time between shots. I think it turned out pretty good. My favorite part is that all of us on the couches have our arms around one another and dad is holding Kara's hand. We love each other so much!
A few days after Christmas, we celebrated Jeff's birthday! The activity was ice skating! He had never been before and it had been a while for the rest of us, so we all had a lot of fun remembering and falling a few times. The best one of us all was Cynthia by far, but she taught me some cool tricks and I found out that I'm not too bad either!
Afterwards, we went home for cake and presents! Hostess had gone out of business a few weeks before this, but Katie saved one of the cupcakes so Jeff could have a Hostess Cupcake with his chocolate cake too!
Happy Birthday Jeff!
Watching Jeff blow out his candles.
Grandma of course loves her little grandbaby too! Here she is teaching Kara the moves to patty cake. I love the end when they both go "yay!".
YAY!
By New Years, Logan and me were the only ones still at Katie and Jeff's. We sure know how to have fun! We played Risk 2210 and after not being able to get into a movie, we went to HyVee and got all our favorite snacks! I ate so much!
That night it started snowing. It was already slick when we were coming back from the store so Logan and me stayed one more day. After that, it was back to real life and the start of packing up the house for our move.
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