Good Nutcracker vs. Bad Nutcracker

I know this is in the middle of the Washington D.C. posts
 but I thought I would mix things up a bit. 

Remember the GIGANTIC nutcracker that Boyd detests so very,very much? 

We took pictures of course. 

when I finally took our Christmas decorations down . . . the other day . . .
Is it really almost February? 

See? It's not THAT big?

 haha!

 Boyd's true feelings? 

I think he secretly likes the big one.

 Even though, out loud, he said the little one should get a special gold medal for being the "correct size"

Washington D.C. Day: 2, the reason why we went to D.C in the first place

Day 2 started with a trip to Arlington cemetery

 This is the changing of the guard. It was really neat to watch.

 PANDAS

The reason why we even went to Washington D.C. - To see Panda Bears! 

Boyd and I are zoo junkies. We love the zoo. I don't know why, but we do. 

We both love pandas. D.C. has pandas. So we went. 

We were lucky enough to catch them during feeding time. 

I love the way they chomp their bamboo. 

They look so fuzzy and plush.

Everything about them screams "I'm cute!"

 (until the zoo keeper tells you that they really aren't soft and fluffy and that they will attack you and bite your head off if you get near them.) What ever lady, I still think they are adorable.

  

I have never seen such active animals in a zoo before. They were a lot of fun to watch. 

In fact, we probably spent an hour and a half (literally) just staring at them. 

 

I asked Boyd to turn around so I could take a picture of him 

and that is when he saw the sign about the baby panda that just died recently. Sad.

I have a new found respect for pandas. 

I have always liked them in the past but this trip made me like them even more. 

We found out that panda bears can only get pregnant one time a year. Most of the time they are unsuccessful in even getting pregnant. I think my bond with pandas became even stronger because I can relate to them. Especially the part when I learned about their breeding program and how the pandas have to get an IUI to try to have babies, just like me. Maybe I was just being hormonal that day, but I think the panda bear might be my new favorite animal. 

Air and Space Museum

So much fun! If you ever get the chance to go to D.C., definitely go here. 

 The actual Wright Brothers flying contraption. 

I think that is what I enjoyed most about Washington D.C., that the articles in the museum were the original objects, not replicas, not molds, not "this is what it would have been like." It made what ever you were looking at that much cooler.  

 Cute story: 

Charles Lindbergh, who flew the Spirit of St. Louis on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris, had a wife named Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She decided that she wanted to spend more time with her husband, so she taught herself how to navigate, became the first American woman to earn a first class glider pilot's license, and learned morse code. How neat is that. She traveled with him on many of his trips and I thought it was a good example of going the extra mile just to spend time with your spouse.

Apparently all the museums close early in the winter so we ended up getting kicked out at 5:30, two hours earlier than expected. So we went outside to take a few pictures.

 

 Note to self: NEVER, EVER, EVER put your camera on AUTO. Never again!

I thought it would be easier to take a quick shot in the dark. BLAH!

As I'm going through these pictures from this trip I can totally tell which ones were taken with the AUTO feature. (can you tell the difference in the pictures of the Washington monument from above?) Auto pictures, are blurry, the lighting is terrible, and they just look bad. 

I'm not sure what Boyd is doing. . .

A dance perhaps? 

Probably. It was freezing cold.

Washington D.C. Day: 1

 Our first day in D.C. involved going to: 

The American Art Museum

And the Washington D.C. LDS Temple. 

 Unfortunately the temple was closed for cleaning/re-carpeting

But we were still able to take fun pictures! 

 We're such nerds with our cameras.

Seaweed Pringles

 Bet you have never tried Seaweed Pringles from Indonesia before! 

Boyd and I have!

Thanks for sharing Tom.

Want to know what it tastes like? 

Honestly? 

Truthfully?

It tastes exactly like a Pringle!

Initially you can taste a hint of fishy something

but then your mouth recognizes that familiar taste of Pringle. 

Try it sometime.

You'll love eating this green chippy.

Christmas in a nutshell

Christmas involves: 

Doing puzzles

Eating yummy tea rings 

 WHAT THE?

 We spent some time going through old cameras at Boyd's house and found this funky little camera. It still had film in it so we went around the house taking pictures. Can't wait to develop it. (what does that even mean?) 

 Pictures on the stairs. . .

 Funny pictures I guess.

Boyd and I have been giving papa Bills train parts since we have been married. 

This year we got him a banana cart! 

I ended up spending hours photoshopping. Good thing our computer is "portable"

Christmas Catch Up

I figured since I put in the effort to decorate for Christmas 

I might as well take pictures to remember the good job I did. 

(thanks for the help Nicolette!) 

And if I'm going to take pictures, I might as well save those pictures on my computer.

If I'm going to put the effort into saving them I might as well blog about it.

So. . . . 

This nutcracker has been the center of many a conversations in our home lately. 

It is called "THE MAMMOTH THING", "the GIGANTIC cracker", or anything having to do with the fact that this thing is HUGE, and I love that it is ginormous.

It's only about 20" but when placed next to a normal nutcracker it becomes a beast. 

Boyd thinks it's too big.

I caught him talking to this (below) much smaller/normal sized nutcracker. He told the little nutcracker that it was a good nutcracker and it should get a gold medal for being the right size. haha. 

 I love these silver nutcrackers. I got my inspiration from one of my favorite blogs 4men1lady . Michelle used to be one of my Young Women leaders when I was a wee biddy girl. Now she is some awesome kick butt blogger and I love everything she does. Although, my DIY projects don't turn out as cool as hers. For example the UGLY Santa below. I was going to turn him into something cool but got lazy half way through and he ended up in the garbage. So I ended up purchasing my awesome nutcrackers. Yup, that's the way I do things. I was really excited because I had been nutcracker hunting all winter long. I only found a handful. I got my silver nutcrackers from Target after Christmas for a mere $15!  I was giddy considering I saw one two days before that for $80.

 This tiny nutcracker survived and didn't get painted/thrown away. Lucky little guy.

Our tree is a whole different story. 

Boyd and I were planning on going shopping the day after but we got too excited about having a tree and ended up purchasing this one from Target the second week in December. We ended up going to about 4 different Targets but we found the perfect tree for us.

 

 Each year my mom gets us ornaments for Christmas. Here are a few from the past.

 

I've been a weasel lately. I found these awesome moose at tjmax and got them at a nice discounted price because the base was chipping. Awesome. 

The same thing happen with this tree. It is missing the top leaf in the back. I asked about it and they gave it to me for 75% off.  I hate being bold but it has been totally worth it.

 

 

I think I might keep the owls out year round. They're really fun.

Last but not least, the BEST invention ever. 

A remote control for the power outlets. AMAZING.
After crawling under the tree once and behind the computer desk (to plug the remote boxes in) that was enough for me. I loved having twinkle lights at the click of a button. Worth every penny.