Colorado Day 5

Today's primary objective: climbing. The boys were begging for places to climb and we found some good one!

First stop, Manitou Cliff Dwellings and Museum.

Then, a delicious lunch at the Stagecoach Inn in Manitou Springs. The weather was amazing so we ate outside.

Finally, back to the Garden of the Gods--this time we stayed away from the paved paths and found some places to climb and hike. Adeline likes dirt.

Our children turned into Indians, outlaws, and . . . a mean Panda bear.

Our beautiful girls.

Sam was getting pretty brave.

back at home, playing with my camera in the evening light: This is one of our favorite Adeline expressions: "I don't know."

This girl is growing way to fast for me.and getting prettier every day.

Colorado Day 4 Cont. - Garden of the Gods

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12

Colorado Day 4 - the Zoo

Today we headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This really is a MOUNTAIN zoo-the paths were a workout and the view was spectacular. Sam, Ella and I visited the zoo in 2005 and we were excited to come back and see the giraffes!

We had a gorgeous sunny day!

right beside the sign explaining that the Grizzlies sleep a lot in the winter, these two bears were wrestling in the water! It was so entertaining--they reminded me of my boys.

here, one bear gets out and contemplates a body slam move, then chickens out and climbs back into the water the easy way. In the bottom corner, his opponant is taunting him.

It was fun for the kids to get up close and personal with the Grizzlies.

A Colorado Vacation . . . with a new camera!

Ah, spring break! For the first time since college, we get spring break (well, actually, just Jess gets the official spring break-the kids and I are making it ours too). We decided to head west to Colorado and are so happy to have Jess's sister Alyse along! We started at 4am on Saturday and had a fairly easy trip. Explored the rental house in the middle of nowhere (14 miles from Woodland Park, CO) and bought our groceries. On a cold Sunday morning we had a family worship service and headed to the Dinosaur museum in Woodland Park, but rushed back to the cabin early because of a winter storm warning! Snuggled in and waited. . . We woke this morning to this:

Now that my kids aren't Georgians anymore, they are used to snow,but the sunny 35 degree morning made exploring the mountain in the snow a unique and amazing adventure!

Swing!

the sun was too bright for these kids.

This photo makes me anxious, it was right before Amos almost fell off the cliff.

sweet Si has kept us laughing this week.

"Thank you for taking me thank you thank you for taking me!" Amos LOVES the snow.

A man and his dog.

After a morning in the snow we headed to Colorado Springs and the Focus on the Family Welcome Center. They have a great play area for kids. And ice cream.

a puppet theater.

a stage and costumes.

It was about this time that we realized that somehow, when he went to the potty, Si had not put his underwear on right, and it had shimmied down his leg. I told you he keeps us laughing.
Next stop: The Olympic Training Center. A nice, free diversion.

Team USA!

I think the rest of the week is supposed to be dry and sunny so we'll be hitting the mountains! Stay tuned!

it's still February for a few more hours. . .

. . . so I will go ahead and post a Happy Valentine's Day!

Lots of love from Sam, Si, Ella Rose and Adeline!

And now I will tell you about our Valentines Day celebration, which came a day late. We usually have a breakfast meal on Sunday nights. To make Valentines's Day special, I planned to make Cinnamon Rolls from scratch for the very first time. Of course I went here for the recipe and everyone was excited. I started the dough after church and let it rise. Then, about five o'clock, at the very moment Jess was on the phone with his mom praising my cinnamon roll ambition, I looked at the recipe again and realized I had left out half the ingredients. Just completely spaced out and forgot them. Ugh. Eggs and bacon wouldn't cut it for Valentine's Day. So, before Jess was off the phone our Papa John's pizza was on its way.

I actually added the missing ingredients to the dough that night and stuck it in the fridge, determined to make it work the next day. And guess what? It did! And they were delicious. Here are some pictures of our special post-holiday meal:

He looks like he's mad at that cinnamon roll, but I can assure you he loves it very very much.

I didn't get the camera out fast enough to get a picture of our meal of cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon, blueberries and peaches, sparkling cider, and cinnamon rolls. It says a lot about the yumminess of the other food when BACON is the only thing left.

Addie won't sit in her highchair anymore.

They were sad a minute ago, but I just told them I have another pan of cinnamon rolls in the kitchen.

Got a picture of these before they disappeared too!

cheers!

Nashville Christmas

Just a little more catching up to do. A few pictures from Nashville.

Si and his best bud, Liam

The Grandkids

Sisters


We love Mimi and Papa!

Menu Planning Monday

Back by popular - ok almost no - demand, Menu Planning Monday!
First, I'll tell you that three of my New Years goals were
1) Continue to cook more from scratch so I will feed my family less processed foods
2) Make a batch of yogurt and a loaf of bread AT LEAST once a week, and
3) Plan a yummy dessert and serve it ONLY on Thursdays.

So, this week we're eating:

MONDAY chicken crescent rollups, apples and kiwi (NOT a healthy meal. We have a very busy day so I broke down and bought a roll of pillsbury crescent rolls, which completely goes against goal #1, I know)
TUESDAY 15 bean and Italian Sausage soup, salad, cornbread
WEDNESDAY Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Beets, Brocoli, Bread
THURSDAY Fajitas and for dessert--Cake balls from Bakerella
FRIDAY Homemade Pizza
SATURDAY Taco Soup
SUNDAY Quiche, Fruit

I have been happily baking bread more than buying it now and the family loves it. I even made hamburger buns last week which were delicious! I like knowing exactly what goes in our food.
Here are a few other meals we've enjoyed lately:
Kung Pau Chicken with Brocoli and Rice, (totally made this up with some soy sauce and oj--I thought it was a good start, but needed a sauce. If anyone has a good recipe, send it.)
Brisket, Grits and Green Beans (DID NOT turn out well, I need a lesson in Brisket)
Hamburgers with the above mentioned buns, coleslaw and roasted sweet potatoes
Beef Stew and homemade honey wheat bread (this was WONDERFUL, but I don't really know if you'd call it a stew or a veg. beef soup. Neither is usually my favorite meal, but I LOVED this, and so did the kids. I used Paula Deen's Old Time Beef Stew recipe, and added a quart of whole tomatoes, cut up, a couple of potatos, and a lot more liquid--beef stock and water.

Hope you have a yummy week!