tennisball

Benson loves his tennisball.

Not pictured but equally loved: His new legos.

Thanks Nana and Grandpa. He is entertained for hours by the legos, so we are all very happy.

Nie followers will have already heard about this one, but for anyone else, I just wanted to let you know that if I lived in Utah, this is where I would be Monday, February 2nd. So you should go in my stead. And then take pictures. And then blog about it.

If you can't read the poster you can go here to find out more.

post bathtime sweetness/grey day

Sometimes these rowdy boys of mine are really really sweet. Like yesterday, when a receptionist at the doctors office made me cry, Benson sat on my lap and wiped my tears and told me I was a good mommy. Banks... well he's entered the "i'm going to do whatever I want" stage and although it is very tiring in public places, he is snuggly and sweet and hilarious at home.

I have to remind myself of all of this today, as the lady in the doctor's office somehow got into my soul and stole my sunshine. As doctor seuss says, grey day, everything is grey. I watch, but nothing moves today. So, we are working on finding my sparkle and I think we might be close to putting back where it belongs, and soon my day will be happy pink.

Now if only I was close to figuring out what we are going to eat for dinner....

pesto pasta

Pesto Pasta

3/4 lb pasta (I use gemelli or spirals), cooked to al dente
1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced or cubed
1/2 c. pesto (I use spinach pesto, recipe follows, but you can certainly use store-bought)
1/2 c. pine nuts
1 c. milk
1 c. half n' half
1/2 c. parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, grated
1 c. mozzarella, shredded
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

Combine all ingredients and put in a 9x13 or similar size baking dish. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, or until hot.

Spinach or Basil Pesto (makes 3/4 cup)

2 cups spinach or basil leaves, packed (or combine the two however you wish)
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds toasted
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. parsley or 1 T. lemon juice (to retain color)
salt and pepper to taste

Toast garlic in a dry skillet over medium heat until spotty brown. (this mellows the flavor) Peel garlic and put in a food processor or blender with all other ingredients and blend until smooth.

I put the whole batch of pesto into the pasta dish, since there is hardly enough worth saving and I'm saucy like that.

Perfect when served with Star's bread twists. mmmmmmm

explora!

This was benson's favorite part: Building a house on the roof of the museum. Ahhh the weather in New Mexico is something quite wonderful.

We are rediscovering this place we call home. I've been known to complain a little about living here in 'burque, and so on the drive home at Christmas I made a promise to myself that I would try harder to find things I love about living here and make the best of it for whatever time we have remaining. What a difference an attitude makes! My goodness, it's such a simple thing, but my overall happiness has increased dramatically. I can honestly say there are things that are really neat about living here. And the recent discovery of the children's science museum is one of them. It really really made me love science for the day, and Benson was completely enamored by the whole thing. And while Banks loved it too, his parents didn't enjoy him in it quite so much, as it's set up as sort of a maze, and well you can probably fill in the blanks from there. Too many frantic moments for my taste.

Oh, and so sorry about the terrible quality of the photos. Darling Ben had the iso cranked waaaaay up (from the time before) and I think it made the photos noisy. Too bad we didn't notice until we uploaded the photos. Not that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to photography.

we've been doing stuff

a new fun place to visit (and watch ducks)

wii-ing!

I've been swashbuckling ben like it's nobody's business

Trying on Netflix, and finding some surprising new favorites

Vacation is almost over for Ben (and therefore all of us). It's been fun and we are sad to see the lazy together family days go, but we are excited for Ben to be in his last semester that counts! (as in, the last one to go on med school applications)

introducing

New Mexico's Airman of the Year:

My extremely handsome husband.

Next he's off to win the national title. Vote for Ben!

Good job, honey. You work hard and it's nice to be recognized for it.
We are all proud of you, and apparently so is New Mexico.