Bistro

Last night Phil and I went to an adorable little French restuarant with some friends to celebrate her birthday. It was called Bistro Des Amis. The owner was this sweet French woman from the Basque region of France. It was fun to talk to her about that because I knew a man from the Spanish Basque region on my mission. Basque people have their own language that is so fascinating, I'm not sure where it originated, but it sounds nothing like Spanish or French or anything I've ever heard. During Franco's reign he didn't allow the Basque people to speak Basque, so needless to say, few people in the older generation speak it, this woman didn't. But she said that her grandchildren speak Basque and French. It's pretty much it's own little country. Fascinating!

Anyways...I had a delicious crepe with chicken and brie, and Phil had a pastry puff stuffed with scallops. Delicious! For dessert we had a fruit tart and that was also awesome. After dinner our waitress brought out four glasses of French champagne and said, "compliments of the owner." We told the waitress that we didn't drink and so she took them back. I felt bad turning down their hospitality, but what can you do? I guess we could have just drunk it:) We had so much fun hanging out with Olya and Forrest and their son Max. The restaurant was in a really fun part of town that has a very quaint feeling with little shops everywhere and people walking around. On the way home we passed a car that was the epitome of pimped out. I don't know what kind of car it was, but it was lifted, had rims, and had two, got that TWO, 22" tvs in the back seat playing rap videos. We tried to take a picture but it was so dark outside they didn't come out. Dinner at a French restaurant: $35, gas driving downtown:$10, seeing that car: priceless.

Also, just a little side note, we ate dinner outside in short sleeve shirts, five days before Christmas. I love Houston.

Blogging World

Phil and I used to have a website. But the domain was about to expire and we figured, "why pay for a site we never use when we can use this one for free?" I have been wanting to document our life (our website wasn't very user friendly) and I've never been good at keeping a journal, so this is the perfect option. There are so many little things that happen during the day that I would like to write down because I know I will forget them if I don't. Every day Olivia does something that kills me it's so cute, so this will be a good way for me to remember. Like today she had pureed chicken for the first time and she actually liked it! It shocked me because she doesn't even like fruit. So far, the only things she will eat (besides boobie juice) are sweet potatoes (sparingly), biter biscuits, chicken, and those Gerber cereals that melt in her mouth. Not a very balanced diet. Luckily she is still getting nutrients from me.

These are old entries from our website that I have copied over to here.

Written May 17, 2008
Tessa started having contractions around 12:30PM on Saturday. She was talking to her mom and timing them and during their conversation the contractions went from 12 minutes apart to 6 minutes apart. We had a feeling that she was going into labor so we grabbed the bags and headed downtown. The hospital was 45 minutes away so we wanted to leave early so we wouldn’t have to rush. Once we were inside the loop we went to IKEA because her contractions were still only 5 minutes apart and we didn’t want to get to the hospital too early. After walking around IKEA for an hour looking for a crib the contractions were close enough together to call the doctor. Tessa described her contractions to Doctor Burkehead and he told us it was time to come in. We arrived at the hospital and walked in between contractions to the third floor where nurse Angela met us to take us to our room. Tessa changed and the doctor said she was at 5 centimeters. The contractions were painful enough now that she had to stop and lean on me for support. We walked around the hospital from 4PM to 5:30PM. We looked at the nursery and stopped every 4 minutes to have a contraction. Once we were back in the room we used the stability ball, chair, and the eighth grade shuffle dance to help her deal with the contractions. She did a great job meditating through the pain. The doctor came in around 6pm and said Tessa was dilated to a 7 and he broke her water to move the labor along. By about 7PM the contractions were two minutes apart. Another nurse, Alison, came on duty and she was super nice. The doctors and nurses were really impressed that her contractions were so steady especially since she did not have any pitocin. By about 7:30 PM she started questioning, “Why am I doing this naturally?” The pain was really bad and I had to put a lot of pressure on her lower back to counteract the contractions. By 8pm she had dialated to 9 cm and was almost there. She spent the last thirty minutes in a chair with her head against a pillow. At about 8:40 she started to push. It looked painful. The doctor said she was a very controlled pusher. Tessa said, “It felt better to push. Letting the contractions happen without pushing was 10 times worse.” At 8:50 Oliva popped out at 8 lbs 21 inches. Tessa did it all without drugs although she had plenty after to help with the recovery pain.

04.02.08
March Madness
Posted at 9:14 am by Phil
March has been a great month! Phil was transferred to a new office about 35 minutes north of downtown, so we can’t drive to work together anymore:( However, he really likes the people he works with and he is learning a lot. My job is going really well, I meet lots of interesting people that’s for sure. The other day I was talking to an attorney who was wanting to set up a mediation for his client, and he was saying how he keeps telling these men who come to him for a divorce, “not to marry strippers!” but they just won’t listen. So a word for the wise, don’t marry a stripper.
Some friends of ours got us some sweet tickets to the Rockets/Celtics game. We were 5 rows up from the floor! It was a great game and amazing to see all of the Celtics players up close and personal. It was kind of sad to see the Rockets winning streak end, but we’re not complaining. Phil was surprisingly mellow during the game, he didn’t want to make all the crazy Rockets fans around us mad. There was an old man sitting next to us that would look at Phil and clap really obnoxiously whenever the Rockets scored.
The pregnancy is going just swimmingly. I’m getting to the point where I’m tired of being fat though. I have loved every minute of being pregnant, but 9 months is definitely long enough ( and I still have almost 2 to go!). Olivia, that’s the decided name for our unborn child, has been moving around SO much. Last night she had the hiccups and it actually woke me up! We cannot wait to see what she looks like and to be able to put a face to the gremlin inside.
Well March was great and I’m sure April will be even better! We hope all of you are doing well!

01.04.08
Utah!
Posted at 1:03 pm by tessa
Phil usually writes these but I’m going to give it a try since I have nothing to do at work!We spent an amazing 11 days in Utah for Christmas and have now returned to the much warmer Houston. Utah is SO dry! I have always heard people say that and couldn’t understand what they were talking about. However, within a few minutes of arriving in Utah both Phil and I had stuffy noses, dry eyes, trouble breathing, yada yada yada. I now understand what everyone was talking about.We arrived in Salt Lake on December 19th. Unfortunately, our flight out of Houston had mechanical troubles which caused us to miss our connection in Denver. We didn’t end up getting into Salt Lake until the late afternoon and Phil and my dad were unable to use our boarding passes as lift tickets and ski for free :(. Don’t feel bad for Phil though, he got to ski his heart out. I unfortunately/fortunately couldn’t go skiing with him due to the bun in the oven. I love skiing, but it was so cold I was glad I had an excuse to stay inside. Phil skied by himself on Friday. On Saturday he went with my step dad, step brother and two of my brothers. He was pretty worn out after those two days so he took a break and we drove down to Loa to spend Christmas with my mom. We had a great time relaxing, eating and being with family. I worked on Phil’s Christmas present for most of the time we were there (a quilt made out of his most memorable T-shirts with a fleece Celtics backing). While I wasn’t working on his present I was spending time with my beautiful nieces. I miss them so much! Phil kept busy reading, watching sports, playing on his computer and shooting guns. One night we were all in tears from laughing so hard after watching clips of some of President Bushes speeches. I’m laughing right now just thinking about it! Christmas Eve we had our traditional feast of ham, little smokies, funeral potatoes and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Christmas was a blast as well with Isabella (my niece), opening three or four presents to everyone else’s one. Phil gave me the BEST present I have ever recieved! He made me a photo album of all of our adventures up to this point. It was very nice and very well put together. I don’t know if it’s because of the pregnancy or maybe I’m just a baby, but I definately cried when I opened it. Phil got to talk on the phone to his brother Jason who is serving in the Utah Provo mission, and I got to talk to my brother and sister who are serving in Tampa Florida and Toronto Canada. It was so good to hear their voices, they all sound like they couldn’t be happier.After Christmas we headed back up north to Lindon to stay with my Dad. We had a blast staying with them and playing games. Phil and my Dad were able to go skiing together on Thursday and after that Phil was all skied out. Almost all of my siblings got together Friday night and we had a karaoke fiesta in my Dad’s basement. I think the highlight for me was singing “Alone” by Heart with my sister. Phil was in his element! I think it’s safe to say he likes karaoke.We flew out of Salt Lake on Sunday the 30th. We were wondering if our flight would be canceled due to some heavy snow storms, but we ended up getting out pretty much on schedule. We arrived back in Houston at about 1:30am, drove home and crashed because we both had to work the next day.It was an amazing trip and I already miss everybody. We’re excited for next year when we will take the party to Boston to be with Phil’s family!

11.25.07
VT and NH (cider and Shakers)
Posted at 8:25 pm by Phil
On Friday Tessa, my parents and I made the trip up to VT and NH. It was freezing! First we went to the Joseph Smith birthplace. It was very moving and I enjoyed learning about the early years of the Prophet. Then we went to Ben and Jerry’s and the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. I remembered going to these places in my childhood but had not been for some time. The smells were the same and the tastes even better. The cider mill had some of the best mustards that I have ever tasted in my life. I also downed an entire dozen of cider donuts. After the cider mill we swung by the Cabot cheese store. We sampled different cheeses until we didn’t feel well. Tessa’s favorite was the garlic herb cheese spread. That night we watched the Celtics cream the Lakers. We stayed at a sweet condo near Loon Mountain and had a wonderful marinated turkey dinner. In the morning it took us a while to figure out how to get the shower working. Finally Tessa figured out that we had to pull this weird knob down to get the shower working. We traveled south in NH and went to a Shaker village. The furniture was really beautiful although simple. There was also a sweet ginger bread house competition. The coolest was a house with a bunch of pigs in a mud hot tub outside. Watching the Ray Allen shoot the game winner on Saturday night was the perfect finale to an unforgettable week.

Boston
Posted at 8:22 pm by Phil
After our adventure in NY we took two long days off in Boston. We chilled at my parent’s place and I fixed their computers. While it was nice to help my parents I also wish I had thought of meeting up with some of my friends. We watched the Celtics and had some awesome pizza for my birthday. My parents gave me some sweet presents including a Red Sox jacket. My mom got me my favorite coconut cake. Tessa gave me two sweet lights for my bike so I can ride at night during the winter. Thanksgiving went by quickly. All of my relatives were there and I learned a lot about my family. It was great to catch up with my cousins. I wish I lived closer so I could spend more time with them and go to Carolyn’s basketball games. I scored some of my grandfather’s business books. It will be nice knowing that I am reading something that he read.

NYC! Friends and the Big City
Posted at 7:57 pm by Phil
We flew into NY on Saturday night and Andrew had us picked up by a nice driver named Chuck. Chuck had a wicked thick NY accent and I could hardly understand him. Matthew Broderick (Ferris Beuler) was on our flight along with Tim Gun the famous fashion designer. Mom couldn’t believe that Tim was on our flight. At Andrew’s apartment Pat, Paul, Andrew, Katy, and Rachel gave us our first baby clothes. It hit really hard and I still can’t believe I am going to be a dad. The fellas went out on the town. I couldn’t believe how many people were out at 1:30 in the morning. Times Square was packed and the clubs and bars were hoppin’. After a late breakfast on Sunday Tessa and I toured the city. We walked through Central Park and then up to the Met. We loved the armor and ancient warrior gear. Tessa even spotted a fireman’s hat from 1600’s. We took the subway down to the Statue of Liberty and then walked up to Wall Street. Ground Zero was a huge hole and very moving. We met up with Andrew and he took us to the top of a building next to the Empire State where we could see the entire city. Monday we saw the Rockefeller Center where iVillage interviewed Tessa. She said she loved me because I massage her feet. J We grabbed some Papaya Dogs and amazing mango juice. After an expensive taxi ride to Chinatown we hopped the Lucky Star to Boston. Andrew was a fantastic host along with my other buddies. The bustling city attracts some people. While its beauty and scale are one of a kind, the hustle and bustle is too much for me.

11.05.07
The Newspaper
Posted at 5:06 pm by Phil
So Tessa and I decided to sign-up for the newspaper to see if it had nice coupons. The coupons sucked but reading the paper on the way to work has been nice. It is a great way to quickly learn about what is going on in the world. Tessa is not such a big fan mostly because they accumulate quickly. All of the papers end up all over the house and car and before we know it we are surrounded by papers. Only 20 more weeks left until the subscription runs out. Then we’ll go back to Readers Digest.

11.03.07
Wii
Posted at 2:06 pm by Phil
Hastefully I bought a Wii last week. My mom never let me have a system growing up and it has always been something that I’ve dreamed of having. I never understood how people could become addicted to video games but after a week of having the Wii I understand completely. I played Blazing Angels: Legends of WWII for five hours last night and then played tennis, golf and baseball for two hours after my wife went to bed. It consumed my thoughts. Sitting in bed last night I realized that I could not say no to the Wii. The sleek white box was controlling my life. This morning I woke up and returned it. I have so many things I need to do in this life to waste time on video games, but they are wicked fun.

09.29.07
San Antonio
Posted at 11:05 am by Phil
We had a great trip to San Antonio. We went to Sea World and had fun on the Riverwalk.

05.27.07
Rain
Posted at 12:13 pm by Phil
When it rains it pours in Houston. The tropical rain comes down with furry for 10 minutes and then the sky clears up and it is all gone. In UT when it says there is a 30% chance of rain it means that it probably won’t rain. But in Houston a 30% chance of rain means that it is going to rain for 30% of the day and you have a 50% chance of getting rained on. The thunder storms are amazing to watch but the flash floods are scary to be in. The streets flood within minutes and commuters are often stuck in the mist of a rising puddle that threatens to stall and ruin their car. After being out in a rain storm our first week in Houston Tessa and I decided that it is best to stay in when it is raining instead of risking getting stuck somewhere.

05.27.07
First real week
Posted at 12:07 pm by Phil
I love my new job. I read a lot and work with really knowledgeable people. The thing I like most about Houston and EM is that everyone is so nice. Someone at work described it as “Christian” and that is really what it is. Everyone helps each other and works as a team. There is no vulgarity and immorality. I am probably missing a lot because I live in my little bubble, but southern hospitality is real and I love it. At work I am currently reading a lot on Service Oriented Architecture, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control. It is a huge blessing to be in a first assignment that I can learn so much from. It is fun to learn from other people and see the process of how new technology is implemented in a humongous organization.

05.20.07
Houston Rocks
Posted at 5:29 pm by Phil
We have really loved our first few weeks in Houston. It has been perfect outside. The temperature has been in the low 80’s with very little humidity. We are looking forward to the hot summers. We went down to Galveston our first weekend. The seafood was really nice and we had a chance to see some cool homes. We love our now congregation. They are really friendly and helpful. Exxon has been great. I am working in an Enterprise Application Architecture group that is really fun. On Friday Tessa and I were able to volunteer for the day. ExxonMobil paid for us to garden for an elderly lady that grows vegetables for poor people. It was a great chance for Tessa to meet the people that I work with and for the both of us to spend an extra day together. :-) This week we played tennis almost every day. I go into work early so I am home every day around 4 which means that we get to play tennis every afternoon. Hopefully the nice weather keeps up.

04.29.07
My First Post
Posted at 10:24 pm by tessa
I am really excited to have a blog so that my family can keep in touch! I’ll write more later when I’m not so tired.

Graduation - A New Beginning
Posted at 8:59 pm by Phil
We just graduated and we are enjoying our first weekend off. We have been reading and watching lots of movies! We leave for Houston on Tuesday morning. What an adventure.