Ah....Oregon!

So I woke up this morning in anticipation of the beautiful weather that they have been talking about all week. I should have known better after last weekend, when they ("they" refers to the weather forecaster extraordinares of the world) kept showing images of sunshine and promises of 70 degree weather.
Well it's been the same all week again.
So...back to when I woke up...
I got up before "the boys" and looked out the window...it was 7am. It looked a little overcast but still ok, not out of the ordinary for 7am anyway.
I had been planning on having a planting day today, I'd been preparing for it and looking forward to it.
So I went outside and begun the work of planting my tomatoes and jalapenos. Before the first tomato was planted, I was pelted with rain. I managed to get everything planted except for my summer bulbs, but I was looking like a drowned rat from the process.
As I was cleaning off all my tools, Ryan came out with my camera and snapped some pictures of me. What he didn't realize is that I had moved the focal point from the middle to the side, and all of the pictures turned out blurry. Oops...oh well.

Happy Mail

In the land of the bloggers, I have often heard of something called "happy mail". I think "happy mail" is any kind of mail that doesn't fall into the "bill" or "junk mail" categories.
I was the recipient of some happy mail this afternoon.
It's actually not for me.
It's for Jackie!!!
Well, not for Jackie...but the sweet baby girl in her belly.
Sorry...you gotta wait till...um...August to see what it is!
I know...I'm a tease!

New Layouts!

I got busy yesterday and started working on my scrap booking again. This is the end of January, so I have a bunch to catch up on again.
Yikes!
I'll put these in a slideshow on the side too just in case anyone wants to actually read what they say! :)

Omsi, Yardwork, Birthday Festivities and a Kitchen Remodel

On Friday, my friend Savannah treated Wyatt and I to a day at Omsi. Her hubby, Marcus, won tickets by predicting the first snow of the season. We had a fun time, they have a great indoor playground with a huge "sandbox", a water activity table, an area where you can pretend to be squirrels and eagles....the list goes on. Aside from the indoor playground, they also have much more. Omsi is actually very amazing. If you've never been, it's highly recommended. It is quite an investment if you have a family, but it doesn't dissapoint.
When we left, I felt as if I could sleep for weeks though. Chasing Wyatt around a place like that is quite the job. Savannah said the last time she was there she had 4 kids under the age of 5. (then I died of exhaustion just thinking about that).
Well, we got home, I caught my breath, we had dinner and then took Wyatt to the gym for family swim time. We realized that Wyatt needs to develop some respect for the water. It was actually a little scary seeing him just jump in with no reservations or fear. Ryan's family used to have a gym membership and they would go swimming when he was a kid. So, in following his families tradition, he had to have Dairy Queen afterwards.
Saturday morning started bright and early. Wyatt woke up early and came to bed with us. Of course, I couldn't get back to sleep. So, I got up at about 7am and tackled the huge job of getting the yard ready to plant new flowers, summer bulbs, and a veggie garden.
So, from 7am to about 12:30 I was doing yardwork. I had no intentions on working out there that long, but wow, I got alot accomplished! I still need a "planting" day, but everything is prepped. This made me thankful for our postage stamp lot. Its enough work in and of itself.
So, then we took the trailer back to my mom and dad's house, went back home and decided that we didn't want spaghetti for the millionth time in a row. So, we took off again, dropped Wyatt off at Babu and Papa's house and had burgers at the old Mickey Finn's (not as good as Mickey Finn's).
Sunday, we had church and then went over to Grammy's for lunch to celebrate Babu's birthday.
(are you sleeping yet? I'm getting bored just listing this all out, but I'm going to press on)
And after evening church services we went out to dinner at The RAM with everyone.
So....
Monday, we got up and enjoyed our morning. Ryan made breakfast and we relaxed.
After Wyatt's nap, we went over to Babu and Papa's house, they were knee deep already in unpacking their entire kitchen. This kitchen has never been unpacked in it's entirety. I mean never...They moved in the year I was born (1979). It was quite a job.
I'm so excited for them though. They are getting their cabinets re-faced this week, new countertops, new paint, new appliances, a totally new kitchen. I wish I would have taken a before picture, because the transformation is going to be incredible.
Well...that about does it for our weekend...
Hey!!
Wake up!!!
Stop sleeping in the middle of my speech!!! (Foster Farms Commercial)

Yesterday was my dad's birthday, and a party at our house. That is a post for another day though!

Hope you are all having a great week.
Please comment...it's my dessert for writing these little entries.
Ya, I'm not above begging.

Also, check out Pioneer Woman's blog...she's giving away 2 Zune's. (entries must be received by 7pm PST 5.28.08)

What I've Been Thinking About Today!

Caleb.
Caleb is a very close family friend.
He was my brother, Nate's, best friend when we were all growing up.
But today being Memorial Day, I've been thinking about Caleb.
Because Caleb is supposed to be coming home from Iraq (or Afganistan, one of them).
He might even already be safely home now.
This has been the prayers of many people.
So, thank you Lord for bringing him home safely.

Everyone has had this war touch them somehow, so think of your loved ones or friends that are involved. Say a prayer for them.

They are doing something that I don't think I could do.
They are all very special people.

We love you.



Sidenote: I dug this picture out of my old albums, its from 2000, at Nate's high school graduation.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

This is what we had for dinner tonight.
I love this soup.
Ryan loves this soup.
I make this soup all the time.
So, I'm sharing it with all of you.
I have tweaked the recipe quite a little bit for my taste.
So if you want the real recipe click here.


So here we go....

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds all-white meat ground chicken breast
• 6 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 10 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 5 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I use Frank's Hot Sauce)
  
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
  
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• Yellow corn chips
• Blue Cheese, Crumbled

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Yields: 4 servings

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Preparation

Place a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, and the butter. Once the butter has melted and the pot is hot, add the ground chicken. Brown it, using the back of a wooden spoon to break it up in to small pieces, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together.

While the chili is simmering, spread the yellow corn chips out on a cookie sheet. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese 2-3 minutes should do the trick.

Top each serving of buffalo chicken chili with a few blue cheese-topped corn chips.

Enjoy!!!

Blowing Dandelions

When I saw this picture...I knew I loved it.
Such sweet innocence.
I don't have much today.
But this picture speaks for itself.