Tis the Christmas season. That means I can get away with saying "Tis" and it also means Rodney and I get to participate in making gingerbread houses with the family. This was my first time making Gingerbread houses and Gingerbread people. I'll be honest I mostly just ate candy. But this is super fun! I don't know why I don't do this every year. Turns out this is one of Rodney's family traditions. Is this a tradition for most families? 

One of the joys we find in traveling is finding delicious places to have a meal. On one of our last days before leaving Arizona we found our way to Thuan Kieu Restaurant , which is connected directly to Lee Lee International Supermarket, and you should take a gander at if you have spare time. It's huge! We picked up some coconut water, seaweed chips, and Shiracha peas for our road trip to Texas. This Vietnamese Resturant is causal, nothing you have to get dressed up for; good thing too because we were on our way out of town when we stopped in to get a bite. The tables are capable of fitting large families, The service was pretty good, and the food came out fast. Not to mention what we ordered was pretty good.  Someone suggested getting the Pho with tripe; I'm going to have to keep this in mind for next time. And yes, we both think this place is worthy of a "next time."

Here is what we ordered.

Drink: Water - can't go wrong with a nice cold glass of water.

Appetizer: #2 Phan Goi Cuon (freshly sliced shrimp and pork spring rolls) Comes with 2 spring rolls and served with a peanut sauce.

Main Dish: #A8 Pho Ga (Noodle soup with Chicken) We ordered the small and Regular size of this meal to see how big a difference it was. It happened to be perfect for both of us. Rodney took the Regular and I took the small.

Main Dish Part 2: #74 and #77 (vermicelli noodles) Although we did not order these meals we did taste them.  We thought they would be worth mentioning because they tasted great. I personally enjoyed #77 it was ordered with grilled sliced beef.  If you like vermicelli noodles I'd say this place has a good variety to pick from.

What do people do the day after Thanksgiving? Shop Back Friday, eat tons of leftovers, or maybe put up a Christmas tree. Yea, that sounds right. Except for this year, we mixed it up.  We made leftover turkey sandwiches, skipped the shopping and went right to the top of Picacho Peak.  Rodney and I have been wanting to do this hike for a while now.  The first time we started this hike we got a bit distracted (as in there was a proposal and we got engaged...but that's another story for another day).  Finally, we are back in Arizona with some time to go on a hike. We took the drive to the trailhead and we were on our way.  The park is nicely maintained.  You can camp here, walk a few trails, have a picnic. Its just perfect (but I might be a little bias, After all, I did get engaged here).

This last weekend we accompanied some friends of ours to a local tea house in SLC. We all went on a whim, deciding we were hungry and rather than leave Salt Lake City with an empty stomach we went to Hong Kong Tea House.  It was wonderful. If you enjoy a more traditional Chinese cuisine, this could be the place for you. Hong Kong Tea House is known for their Dim Sum; available for lunch or dinner. Here is what we ordered:

Drink: House Special - I was told the tea they had brought was called the Dragon Well. I can only say I was thoroughly satisfied. I think I drank 3 pots all by myself. This tea was $3.00 a person.

Chef's Specials: All of these specials were brought out to us as they were made.  Give or take your appetite, what we ordered was enough to feed the four of us at the table. I think we struggled to finish off the last few items. I personally enjoyed the Pan Fried Stuffed Mushrooms and the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf.  Rodney enjoyed the Steamed Beef Balls the most.  Neither of us had any complaints. Each plate was between $2.50-$4.50 - Pretty good price!

Qty 1 - Fried Shrimp Balls (4 per order)

Qty 2 - Crab Claws (2 per order)

Qty 1 - Salt & Pepper Wings (plate)

Qty 1 - Salt & Pepper Calamari (plate)

Qty 1 - Beef Wienoki Mushroom Roll (4 per order)

Qty 2 - Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf (3 per order)

Qty 2 - Pan Fried Stuffed Mushroom (4 per order)

Qty 1 - Crab Meat Dumpling (4 per order)

Qty 1 - Pork Dumpling (4 per order)

Qty 1 - Steamed Beef Balls (3 per order)

Qty 1 - Steamed Chicken Bun (3 per order)

Rodney and I always have the most fun just going out for walks and enjoying the scenery.  Shadow was in heaven wandering outside. We partially let him lead the way. I think the cows were curious of him the whole time. This post is us just hanging out with our dog going for a long walk having fun in the sun. It's always so peaceful out away from the city.

Rodney and I recently spent a good portion of our time in Texas helping out with Hurricane Harvey and relaxing on the beach. Between all of that, we visited with family and made some good memories along the way.  We had fun taking out Lit Can Cooler Coozies everywhere. They come in all sorts of sizes. We decided to try out their new Bottle Coozies. They are great for most glass bottled beverages.  We can enjoy a cold sparkling water or bottled cream soda. Of course a cold beer if perfect for these coolers. We took the coozies fishing, to the beach house, and out to family barbecues. They are pretty great for gatherings.  I personally like them because I never get my drink mixed up with anyone else's drink.  You can't go wrong with that, right??

Rodney and I both enjoy going out on the town and finding good places to eat. On Account of being in Texas for a while, we decided to go out over the weekend when we came into Salt Lake City. We Particularly enjoy Thai food and thought of going to get some spicy deliciousness. Here is what we ended up getting at Sawadee's.

Drink: Thai Iced tea - I always seem to get one of these when we head to a Thai restaurant.

Appetizer: Crab Sawadee (Cream Cheese Wontons) This plate comes with 8 pieces. Served with sweet and sour sauce

Main Dish: Thai Basil Stir Fried (Pad Gra Prow) This dish Rodney loves with Chicken. It's it such a large meal that it could be shared between 2-3 people. We definitely had leftovers.  This item isn't extremely spicy but it does have a kick to it

*Note: Rodney mentioned to me that it might be a 4 on a scale of 1-5... so maybe I'm off a little. If you're not a spice lover, maybe, ask your server to clarify.

There isn't always a lot to do in a small town but we happened to be around when Buna was celebrating its HOMECOMING PARADE! woot!  haha.  Everyone in town was out to watch the floats and catch the candy.  Rodney might be used to Buna's small-town feel but I have never seen this place so lively. Here's to all the future generations. Live it up, everyone!

Crystal Beach is one of those places Rodney and I enjoy going to for a relaxing weekend.  We decided to do a road trip (We're probably crazy for driving all the way from Utah) there is something quite fun about driving and it adds something extra to the experience viewing the sites on the way.  Rodney tends to work as I listen to podcasts on the way. It was a long drive, something like 23hrs. But it was worth it to come down (The main reason to drive to Texas was to help others in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey - we took some time to ourselves to rest and relax) We stayed at 1 Amazing View, which is a beautiful place by the water. The view is remarkable and the house is decorated meticulously to give you the relaxing feeling you want to have at the beach.

Here we are in the middle of the week, who even knows what day it is? Between work and everything else in our busy lives, we need to eat. This post is to us wishing we had a night out but instead we took a break, made pizza and had an evening to ourselves. This is our rendition of California Pizza Kitchens bbq chicken pizza (If you haven't tried it you should).  We made some additions to this fancy pizza and I'm thinking so much more could have been done. Like adding mushrooms or ground beef with the chicken, I guess we will save that for another day. Here's to pizza night. Enjoy!