Our Pi Anniversary on Cinco de Mayo

Sometime yesterday, Nate and I had been married for exactly Pi years (~3.14 yrs). Since we were married on Pi Day, i.e. March 14th, this day had significance for us, and we had cause to celebrate. The day happened to coincide with Cinco de Mayo. To celebrate the day, we headed down to DC for the annual Passport DC where numerous embassies open their doors to the general public and provide free entertainment, food, and fun pertaining to their country. We had planned on going to several embassies, but only made it to Saudi Arabia. We had heard that they had one of the most extravagant set of festivities, probably because they are a very rich country and can afford the PR.

We arrived at the Saudi Embassy and watched a slide show/movie where they managed to make themselves sound amazing, and then Nate participated in a fashion show. If I remember correctly, this is a winter outfit he is wearing. Karina got several 'oooh, she's so cute' from the audience as she tried to participate in the fashion show too:


The guy next to Nate was the Saudi guy explaining all the outfits.

After looking at some large models of mosques in Mecca, Medina, and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (holy Muslim sites), we got our names drawn in Arabic calligraphy. I didn't photograph the results, but Karina's name was the prettiest in Arabic, probably because it has 3 syllables. We also got lots of loot: a t-shirt, frisbee, baseball cap, and we skipped the posters they were handing out.

Next, I was excited to get a henna tattoo on my hand. This picture is probably about 30 minutes after it was applied. The paste dries and comes off (you can see it starting to flake off). Then the ink remaining on the hand darkens over the next several hours. Supposedly it will last for about 4 days:-)


Finally we got to the costume section where we were able to try on clothing and get our pictures taken by a photographer they had there. This is my pink Jasmine dress. They didn't have veils on hand for the women though for whatever reason, which was interesting.


Karina's outfit did have a veil though, and she naturally didn't like it. We got a couple pictures where it wasn't completely covering her face or off entirely, since she kept tugging on it. Cute family photo:


We missed out on the free lunch they were giving out because we timed things poorly. Maybe next time.

When we got home I had prepared some yummy Mexican food. I was extremely proud of myself for making authentic enchiladas verdes. I made the salsa verde from scratch with tomatillos and serrano peppers boiled and then put in the blender with onion, garlic, and broth that I had boiled chicken breast in earlier. Then I fried tortillas in oil before dipping them in the salsa verde, and adding shredded chicken, sour cream, cilantro, queso fresco, and more salsa verde. It was incredibly delicious and I'll definitely make it again sometime. I also made a chicken tortilla soup that I had in the slow cooker all day while at the Saudi Embassy, but the enchiladas were so good that I never got to try the soup yesterday.


Karina is walking at least 95% of the time now and prefers it to crawling. She has also finally made a 'ma' sound while babbling, which got me excited. She is a cutie.