Ben SURFING!

Let me just paint the picture for you......It was like -20 degrees outside, snowing like crazy, and one starts to get a little, shall we say, creative when that happens! So...we went surfing!!! It's really a sled, but hey, who's looking, right? We had so much fun and it all ended with the giggles! Ben loved it and even had all the sound effects down (just like his daddy does). Ben pretending that he's surfing.

Painting & Basket Fun

We watched Avery for a few mornings and her and Ben had so much fun together. They really get along so well. Here are a few captured moments of them playing and doing crafts together. They both climbed into this basket at almost the same time - it was funny. Ave and Ben having fun in a simple laundry basket - go figure!!

This is SO cool!!

Hey, pull us around AGAIN!!!

Avery and Ben, painting together

Tractors!

We went to the tractor show the other day and Ben just LOVED all the different tractors!! He wanted to get inside every one of them!! Wow, this is SO cool!!

Ave and Ben

We had some friends over the other night for dinner and to let the kids play and this is at the end of the night when Avery and Ben were saying goodbye to each other!

Eoin

This is my cousin's horse, Eoin - I just love this picture! How spirited is he??!!

Flashback Friday

In May of 2004, we took a trip all over New Mexico!! We went with our very good friends, Calneta and Jim Beeman and their kids, Trevor and Taryn. Our first stop was the VLA (very large array) where they filmed the movie "Contact" with Jodie Foster, which is south of Albuquerque. Then we hit Roswell, which was interesting! Then we headed south for the border (well, almost) and went to Carlsbad Caverns. On our way back, we decided to play at White Sands -- feels like you're at the beach when you're really not! And that's where we got this picture. The dunes there are awesome and always shifting. It's not really even sand, but gypsom salt. We were burning up, but it was fun!

Parmesan Noodle Skillet

This recipe of Parmesan Noodle Skillet is so good and so easy to make, I thought I'd share!

Ingredients:

2 cups dried rotini pasta noodles
12 oz. lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 cup Alfredo sauce (store bought is faster)
1 can whole green beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped red sweet pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or more if you like)

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions and drain.
2. Cook beef or turkey in large skillet until brown; drain. Stir in noodles, Alfredo sauce and 2 tablespoons water. Heat through.
3. Stir in beans and chopped red pepper; heat through. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Cookie Monster did WHAT?!

After dinner tonight, Ben asked for Elmo and Cookie Monster that happened to be where he couldn't reach. After we got them for him, we asked him what color Elmo was and he said, "whed" (red) and then we asked what color Cookie Monster is and he said "blue". After he thought about that for a while, he then looked at Cookie Monster and said "umm pooped" - he was saying "he pooped" and then he tried to change him!! They never cease to make you laugh, do they?!

Snow....and lots of it!!

Decided to get some pictures of us in the snow before it melts. It was so cold, but very pretty. I love how quiet it is when it's snowing and all you can hear is the snow crunching beneath your feet. Ben and Jenny - enjoying the snow? Not sure about that, but it was pretty.

Finger Painting

We thought doing some finger painting would be fun......well...Ben didn't want his fingers to get dirty! He kept saying "hands, hands" because they had paint on them!!! He's going through a "neat" phase right now and hates his hands to be dirty. Well....maybe I shouldn't complain about that! Ben with all the fingerpaint

New Years Eve

So, Mario surprised me on my birthday with a little party for New Years Eve. Everyone brought good food and wine. We played our hearts out on Rock Band and then did some karaoke. We were all goofy, which made it fun. It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday. The "girls" - Lindsay, Jenny, Kristen, Brandy, and Karen

The "boys"

Our "girl band"-we really rocked it!!

Ben, really rocking out!

Mario and the birthday girl!

Karen, Brandy, and Zach enjoying the festivities

Ben and Kristen playing around - I thought this was a fun picture