The Burrows Underground

Pumpkin Love

2011-10-01T04:40:00.000-07:00

Like every other blogger out there, I love pumpkin. Here are a few of my favorite pumpkin treats.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie:

1 cup vanilla soy milk (this definitely tastes better with soy milk vs. cow's milk)
1/4 cup canned pumpkin (you know me, I don't measure)
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt
Tiny splash of real maple syrup
Ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste (I even used some fresh ginger this week as I was fighting off a cold)

Pumpkin Pie Latte:

I love the idea of Starbuck's pumpkin pie latte, but it's way too sweet for my tastes. Plus, the calories--for 400 calories, I'd rather eat a pumpkin bar and drink black coffee, thank you very much. I'd seen copycat recipes that called for real pumpkin, but I always kind of thought they sounded gross. But after I read that pumpkin would help me fight off my cold, I decided to give it a try. So here's what I did.

Warm up about 1/4 of coffee cup full of vanilla soy milk. (Again, soy tastes better here.) Add a spoonful of canned pumpkin, and cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to taste. Stir it up. Add whatever coffee you're drinking. I've been using Starbucks vanilla, and it's yummy.

Baked Spice Pumpkin Donut Holes:

Go try them. Not a health food, but worth it.

On smoothies and other goodness

2011-09-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

I love smoothies. I often fantasize all day about smoothies (and oatmeal). I love smoothies like a fat boy loves cake (that was my 7th graders' favorite analogy last year).

Most of the summer I made my smoothies with plain Greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite brand), whatever fruit (fresh or frozen) I was in the mood for, a splash of lemon juice, and a little sweetener. Simple, protein-packed, and delicious.

But as we've moved into fall, I've been experimenting a little. (If you haven't tried the gingerbread smoothie yet, step away from the computer and go make it now.) The last couple of days I've been making what Kath calls a dough-boy smoothie and what Angela calls a cake batter smoothie. They are decadently thick and filling; I can have one for breakfast and not need a mid-morning snack. (By the way, you should also check out Kath's post on snack smoothies vs. entree smoothies. I typically make entree smoothies.)

Here's what you do:

Soak some oats in milk overnight. (Kath calls for more than I use. I don't measure, but I probably use 1/3 cup oats to 2/3 cup milk. Kath also does this in her blender, but if you've ever been attacked by items in my fridge, you know that won't work for me.)
In the morning, add a frozen banana, a spoonful of natural peanut butter, and whatever else you want.
Blend and enjoy with a spoon.

Here's a few combos I've tried:

Oats, milk, PB, banana, cocoa powder, and agave nectar--chocolatey and delicious. Almost dessert-like, even.

Oats, milk, PB, banana, vanilla, blueberries, and agave nectar--that was breakfast this morning. I still wasn't hungry at 12:30!

And one more thing: if you love pumpkin like I love pumpkin, try these Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats. It's like fall in a bowl.

In my kitchen

2011-09-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some recipes I've been groovin' on lately.

On the healthy end of the spectrum, Overnight Oats have been saving my rear in the mornings now that school has started. I put them together the night before mornings that I plan to run, and they're ready and waiting for me in the a.m. I don't think it takes me too long to make regular oatmeal in the morning, but when you're in a hurry (as we always are), every minute helps. At first I didn't think I liked overnight oats, but it just took me a while to figure out how I like them. I combine about 1/3 cup oatmeal and about 3/4 cup milk (I don't measure anything) in a bowl with a lid. I add a sprinkle of chia seeds, a generous dollop of Greek yogurt, a spoonful of natural peanut butter or walnuts, a dash of cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, and some fruit (blueberries usually). Delicious! I can't to start including some pumpkin this fall!

It's no secret I love smoothies. Here's a recipe for an amazing gingerbread smoothie (which I found via Lil Runner) that makes a nutritious treat. It's also something totally different from my usual berry-based smoothie.

On the less nutritious end of the spectrum, I have discovered baked donuts. I got a donut pan when Ryan and I got married, but I'm a little embarrassed to admit, it took me 12 years to figure out what it was. While baked donuts are certainly healthier than their fried counterpart, they're not exactly a health food. One thing I like about them is that the pan only makes 6, which is just about the right number for us. So far we've enjoyed Baked Spiced Donuts and Baked Vanilla Donuts.

And on the completely decadent end of the spectrum, I discovered a recipe for Douglas County Pie, which is like a cross between pecan pie and a chocolate chip cookie. This pie was served at the Paradise Cafe in Lawrence (before it closed). I fell in love with it in high school (before the days of online recipes), and my mom and I experimented heartily trying to replicate it. We came up with some yummy recipes, but none of them were similar to the real thing. The key, I think, is the flour and lack of corn syrup, which contribute to the cookie aspect of the pie. It's super rich and best enjoyed rarely and with whipped cream.

And one more super decadent treat--Peanut Butter Cup Blondies. The recipe calls for 9 peanut butter cups in an 8 x 8 pan; I went ahead and bumped it up to 10 just for the heck of it. Then Ryan and I proceeded to eat the whole pan in one day. Oops!

Autumn Golden Vegetable Lasagna

2011-08-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

It may still be August and 105 degrees outside, but I'm dreaming of scarves, sweaters, cider, and pumpkins. Although it's clearly still summer outside, it's fall inside my kitchen, where I've been whipping up goodies like apple cider cupcakes, ginger snaps, and Rachael Ray's Autumn Golden Vegetable Lasagna. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

This lasagna is genius for several reasons. First, egg rolls wrappers instead of lasagna noodles? Easy and amazing. Pumpkin + lasagna? Doesn't get any better. The plethora of cheese doesn't exactly make this a health food, but it's still lighter than traditional lasagna, and you definitely get your veggies in. It reminds me of my favorite fall tradition, Baked Stuff Pumpkin, but it's not quite as rich, and it's definitely easier.

So here's how you make it.

Ingredients:

2 T. unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash (it says 10 oz, I used a 12 oz bag of precut squash from Walmart)
2 C creamy white sauce (recipe follows)
1 can pumpkin puree
1 egg
10 egg roll wrappers
1 3/4 C shredded gouda
8 large basil leaves

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter. Add the squash and 1 C water and simmer over medium heat; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the water is evaporated and the squash is golden and tender, about 13 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8-inch baking dish (I think 9 inch might be better...). Place 1/2 C white sauce in the bottom. Whisk pumpkin and egg together in a bowl.

Cut half the egg roll wrappers into 3 strips each. Fill a bowl with hot tap water. As you work with each wrapper, dip it in the water to rinse the starch off. Use 1 whole wrapper and 3 strips to cover the bottom of the dish (they'll overlap). Spread a generous 1/2 C of pumpkin mixture on top and sprinkle with 1/3 C of cheese. Repeat the layering.

Add another layer of egg roll wrappers. Spread with 1 cup white sauce, then top with squash, basil, and 1/2 C cheese. Add another layer of egg roll wrappers, the remaining pumpkin mixture, and 1/3 cup cheese. Top with the remaining egg roll wrappers, then spread with the remaining white sauce.

Cover the dish snugly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. (It says you should put the dish on a baking sheet. I didn't notice this instruction, and my oven is suffering for it.) Uncover the dish, sprinkle the remaining 3/4 C cheese on top, and bake until golden and bubbly, about 10 min. Cool for 15 min before serving.

White Sauce

2 T butter
1/2 C chopped shallots (I used scallions....is there a difference?)
1/4 C flour
2 C milk, warmed (I didn't warm mine, and it was fine)
1/4 C grated parmesan

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until tender, about 5 min. Stir in flour for 2 min. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

2011-06-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, a blog post. No more cat pee on the home page. Last week was our first full week of summer break, but since we had VBS, it didn't really feel like a break. This week really feels like summer. Here are some things I love about summer:

Being home to listen to High Plains Morning on High Plains Public Radio. Yeah, I'm a public radio dork.

Having time to cook healthy, nutritious meals...as well as lots of cake and brownies.

Not having to rush around to get anywhere in the morning.

Not having to get up before 5 to run (unless I want to). Sleeping in until 6 feels downright luxurious.

Other things I'm loving right now (that don't necessarily pertain to summer):

My new Ninja blender. It rocks. Got it for Mother's Day--best present ever! Ryan knows how much I love making smoothies. It's the poor man's VitaMix, and so far it's been up for everything I've thrown at it.

Ellie Krieger's cookbook The Food You Crave. Lots of awesome, healthy recipes. Love this soup recipe!

Kodiak Cakes. Whole grains. Easy to make. 140 calories per serving, and lots of protein. Does it get any better?

Chobani Raspberry yogurt thrown in the fridge for a couple of hours, then thawed just a few minutes in the fridge. Creamy deliciousness.

Fage 2% with strawberry. Like ice cream, only good for you.

Cottage cheese whirled up in the blender or food processor with almond extract and Splenda until it's smooth. Top with strawberries (or get wild and throw them in the blender with the cottage cheese). I know it sounds gross, but trust me, it's yummolicious.

Better Than Crack Brownies. Not at all healthy for you. But delicious. I took them to a church potluck dinner, and Don Foster (who loves chocolate almost as much as I do) asked me what they were called. I told him, and he replied, "Better Than Crap Brownies?" Moral of the story: come up with a new name when serving them to the hearing aid crowd.

Schwan's Bomb Pop Juniors. Great for rehydration after a long run!

Hope you're enjoying your summer, too!

yeah, it's monday

2011-01-31T04:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our bathroom smelled suspiciously like cat pee, even though the litter box had been freshly cleaned. This morning I discovered the source when I reached out of the shower for my towel. Yeah, the cat had peed on the only towel in the bathroom, leaving me to wrap up in my robe and run dripping wet to the other bathroom for a fresh towel.

Remind me again why we have pets...

Three Things Thursday

2011-01-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

1. Emilia keeps dragging out shorts and tank tops from her dresser. (I know, I should put them where she can't reach them, but I'm hoping they'll still fit her this spring, and if I put them where she can't find them, I won't be able to find them either.) Today, I told her she couldn't wear shorts because they are for summer. "I want summer," she cried. Me too, honey, me too.

2. Emilia has discovered a love of raisins. We are very pleased to have her ask for something other than cookies and candy, but it is a little disturbing to find one or two that she's spilled in the corner and not immediately recognize them as raisins.

3. This afternoon Emilia went into the bathroom, closed the door, pooped in her diaper, smeared chocolate pudding in her potty chair, and wiped it out with toilet paper. She's kind of got the concept.

The World According to Me

2011-01-11T03:33:00.000-08:00

My Theories

1. Everything is better with a little red wine.

Obviously spaghetti sauce. And the cook. But I learned this week that black bean chili and veggie sloppy joes also benefit from a slosh of vino.

2. The right jeans are more professional than khakis.

I have a drawer full of khakis. I am a teacher, after all, and I think you have to prove that you have a drawer full of khakis to keep your license. But I don't really like to wear them. I don't think they are any dressier or more professional than nice jeans. I don't understand why I can wear khakis any day of the week but jeans only on Friday.

Yesterday, we were supposed to get a snowpocalypse (which never materialized--Dave Freeman is an idiot), and it was flipping cold! So I wore khakis, a sweater, and boots. And I felt like a schlump all day. I would have looked far more professional in dark denim.

3. Three points seem more complete than two.

This post seemed incomplete until I added this third point. Even though it is essentially meaningless, it adds a sense of completeness to an otherwise incomplete post.

Q.E.D.

My New Favorite Brownie Recipe

2011-01-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

If you know me, you know that I have an almost pathological obsession with brownies. I'm always on the look-out for a new recipe. (Yesterday, Ryan accused me of loving brownies more than I love him. I denied it, but I did eat about an eighth of the pan of these brownies last night before bed. So much for healthy eating.)

These brownies are dark and fudgy with a yummy crackly top. The recipe is from Good Housekeeping, February 2011.

Valentine Brownies

3/4 C. butter, cup up
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I didn't chop mine because I'm lazy)
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13 x 9 pan with foil; grease.

2. In a 3-qt. sauce-pan (I think mine was smaller than that), melt butter and chocolate on low heat, stirring. Remove from heat.

3. In bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and salt.

4. With a mixer, beat eggs on high until blended. Gradually add sugars. Beat on high 10 minutes or until tripled in volume.

5. Fold in chocolate and vanilla, then flour mixture. Pour into pan. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out almost clean. Cool. (Or do what I did and dig in while they're still hot.)

Enjoy

2010 Rewind

2011-01-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

Highlights of the year:

We met Brandi, Josh, Ally, and Anya at the Great Wolf Lodge over Spring Break (and took Kenzie along for the ride).

Ryan taught a tie dye class for Kids' College and covered our backyard with tie dye. He also had an awesome scholars' bowl season and took his team to state.

We enjoyed a fabulous vacation in Albuquerque with Grandma Agnes and Grandpa Bob.

Ella traded dance and Girl Scouts for piano and 4-H. She also read up a storm, wrote in her diary like a mad woman, got a long board and pogo stick, put together a number of fabulous outfits, and took Ava to Hays to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa.

Emilia discovered that grandparents aren't so bad, after all. Her communication skills also blossomed, allowing her to express her desires to eat candy and watch Dora much more clearly. She continued to enjoy junk food in all forms.

Karen did the Couch to 5K program in the spring and went on to run 2 2-miles races, 6 5-Ks, 2 10Ks, and two half-marathons. She also coerced Brent into running a 10K and took her first motorcycle ride as her end of the deal.

And in December, we welcomed a new niece and nephew, Macy and Max! We can't wait to meet them.

Here's to 2011!

Hot Chocolate Love

2010-12-24T18:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas Mischief

2010-12-23T07:10:00.001-08:00

Emilia discovered the box of ribbon.

Christmas Caroling

2010-12-23T06:49:00.001-08:00

Sunday was our church caroling party. I had volunteered to bring cookies, so I baked some sugar cookies and Ella, Ava, and Addison decorated them (with some help from Alex).

The cookies were loaded with frosting!

Dena always dresses up in a festive outfit for caroling.
The weather was perfect--chilly enough to feel seasonal, but not too cold.

Emilia got passed around quite a bit.
The girls ran up to the front at each house we went to. They didn't want to miss any of the action.

More Christmas Program Pics

2010-12-23T06:46:00.001-08:00

Church Christmas Program

2010-12-13T14:31:00.001-08:00

(Pictures: Kelvin Heitmann)

Sunday night was our church Christmas program. I will post more pictures later (at least that's the plan). These are a couple of pictures Pastor Kelvin took of Ella. She made her piano debut at the program, playing "Good King Wenceslas" from the book of Christmas songs I played out of when I was her age (complete with my name in block letters on the front and stickers on the pages I had mastered). Ella practiced very hard and played her song very smoothly.

Meanwhile Emilia climbed all over Nicole and me and yelled things like "the baby is crying" (about a baby who was clearly NOT crying). I managed to keep her quiet part of the time with Smarties and suckers, but eventually I had to take her out. The joy of two year olds.

Pictures of the season

2010-12-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Negotiations

2010-12-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

Dear, tooth fairy

If it would be posible...I would like to keep my tooth. But leave the money, because I diserve it. I got it poled and so I think you should eather leave the money and leave the tooth or don't do anything. But if you would like you can take the tooth and next time I loose a tooth take it and give me back my other tooth.

Ella

Little Baby Pack Rat

2010-12-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

Whenever Emilia leaves the house, she carries a backpack...and a purse...sometimes two. She stuffs her bags and pockets and diapers full of loose change, dollar bills, and keys, whatever she can get her hands on. She carries an old cell phone everywhere. She wears one coat and carries another. She goes to bed with two blankets, a book, a doll, and a toy every night.

Like mother, like daughter, I suppose.

Family pics

2010-11-28T05:17:00.000-08:00

Nicole's mom Julie took family pictures last week. Go check them out!

Poor neglected blog

2010-11-21T05:43:00.001-08:00

Dearest blog, I would promise I would update you more faithfully, but it would be a lie. And i don't want to lie to you. Maybe someday I will catch up. Until then, here are a few random pictures to tide you over. I'm sorry. You deserve better.

K

Capulin Volcano Run

2010-10-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

I ran the Capulin Volcano Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in September. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. The route went up this volcano.

It started on an incline on the highway beside the volcano, then went up the road on the volcano, and then on a trail around the rim of the volcano. Basically, the first four miles were uphill. The altitude is also pretty high, starting at 7100, going up to 8200, and then ending at 6400. After we went around the rim, we went down the volcano and then ran on the highway for about eight miles to Folsom (population 77). Once I got on the downhill, I felt pretty good, but going up the volcano was absolutely killer. I could taste blood in my mouth as I was running uphill.

I finished in 2 1/2 hours, which I think is about as well as I could have done on this course. I had to walk quite a bit of the uphill. My friend Kim finished in 2 hours, 20 minutes, which was 15 minutes faster than she did last year. Brent ran the 10K (which was essentially the same route but without going up the volcano). He took 5th place!

The race itself is super challenging, but also fun and quirky, and the goodie bags were fabulous--they even had homemade granola. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll do this again next year, but I have decided to run another half marathon. I'm running one in Hays in a couple of weeks to see how I can do on a flat surface at the elevation I'm used to.

Future Tigers

2010-10-07T10:32:00.001-07:00

Here are the girls in their FHSU hoodies from Grandpa Bob. Since they were both wearing them at the same time, I thought I'd better snap a picture. First, Emilia was smiling, but Ella's eyes were closed. (Ella is definitely her mother's daughter.)

I told Ella to open her eyes. She did, and Emilia decided to show us where her eyes are.

Now Ella is smiling and looking at the camera, but Emilia is looking at Ella. The joys of photographing children.

Notice the baby shoes on the ottoman. Emilia discovered the drawer where I had stored all of the baby shoes, and she is now obsessed with them. She keeps trying to cram her feet into teeny tiny shoes. We can't seem to convince her that it's not going to work. That' s my baby!

Happy Birthday, Emilia!

2010-10-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Emilia is two today! Here's an update on Little Baby Naughty Pants:

Favorites: chocolate milk, candy, junk food of any kind, balls, babies, having her hair brushed, getting her nails painted, climbing, being outside, anything dangerous

Hobbies: hiding things in the refrigerator, trying to get the Reddi-Whip out of the refrigerator to spray in her mouth, trying to find candy, following the big kids around, generally creating havoc

Nicknames: Little Baby Naughty Pants, Meals, Happy Meal, Poopsie Rotten Bottom, Stinky Pants, Grouchy Pants, Monkey, Sleepikins, Mia

Special skills: finding candy

An abridged Emilia lexicon:

Peas (Please) = give me the candy
Thank you = hey, you gave me candy!

S'more Love

2010-10-03T06:35:00.001-07:00

My Little Readers

2010-10-03T06:30:00.001-07:00

First Day of School

2010-08-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here is Ella on the first day of second grade. She's grown so much since kindergarten and first grade. She was so excited for school to start, she even took an apple for her teacher. The poor apple was pretty bruised by the time it got to school I'm afraid. First I put it on the table for Ella, but Emilia climbed up on the table, stole the apple, and hid it in the bathroom. She thought it was a ball. (That doesn't explain why she hid it in the bathroom, but this is Emilia we're talking about, after all.) Then I rescued the apple and handed it to Ella, who promptly dropped it. Who knows how many times she dropped it on the way down the hall once she got to school. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Water Park New Mexico vs. Great Wolf Lodge

2010-08-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

As you may recall, we spent at night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City over Spring Break. For our ABQ vacation, we stayed at a Radisson hotel with an attached water park. When we were contemplating the Spring Break getaway, we debated whether to stay at the GWL or stay at a Kansas City hotel/water park combo similar to the one in New Mexico. If you have ever faced a similar dilemma (or if you're a reading teacher searching for text structure examples), here's my comparison-contrast of the two experiences.

The GWL is slightly more expensive. Their pricing also fluctuates more with the seasons and school schedules. The hotel in ABQ was priced about the same as any decent hotel would be, plus another $30 or so each day for the water park. We only got water park passes for two days, and that was plenty. (This also meant that our reservation was kind of complicated. It was a good thing we called instead of trying to place the reservation on-line.)

The GWL is bigger, Ryan thinks about twice as big. It needed to be because there were more people there than in ABQ. We didn't really think there was anything missing from the water park in ABQ. It did have one nifty feature GWL didn't have: a surf-simulator called the Flow Rider. It was a padded ramp with water shooting up it that you rode on a boogie board. Ella did it several times and thought it was fun. But there was almost always a long line, which meant there was also a big audience to watch you, so I never tried it. I thought the water park in ABQ was warmer (a good thing), but who knows if that's psychological. It was snowing over Spring Break, and we could see the snow out the windows, so that might have made me cold. I also might be more used to standing around in a wet swimming suit right now as opposed to March.

The GWL is more of an overall experience...talking animals, theme restaurants, theme decorations, all that jazz. The Radisson was just a hotel with a water park. This led to some weirdnesses. For example, there was a Hebraic Roots convention at the hotel, so there we were in our swimming suits surrounded by people blowing these bizarre ram horn instrument thingies. You don't get that at the GWL.

But all the whole experience thing at the GWL tempts you to spend more money, too. If our weekend hadn't been so rushed, we would have wound up spending more money at the arcade, spa, craft center, gift shop and so on.

Overall, I am a big fan of the hotel/water park combo, and either way you go, I think it's cheaper than staying at a hotel and going to a separate water park. And it's easier to go a water park right there without having to mess with lugging your stuff all over the place and dealing with 100 degree temperatures. You can go for just an hour or so without feeling like you have to stay all day to get your money's worth.

If you're looking for a whole experience, go to the GWL. If you don't care about that, just stay at a hotel with a water park.

Sandia Peak Tram

2010-08-14T06:01:00.001-07:00

Riding the tram to the top of Sandia Peak was my favorite part of our ABQ vacation. The tram was super fun, and the views were absolutely beautiful. It was cool and drizzly the day we went, and while that might have been a negative for lots of people, these Kansas kids loved it. Ella especially liked being up in a cloud. We hiked around a little bit...as much as we could in the drizzle carrying Emilia, whom we bribed with a giant lollipop. She was actually good most of the time. We had hot chocolate at the restaurant at the top and then headed back down. Ella loved it. She can't wait to go hiking again.

Albuquerque Recap

2010-08-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

We spent five days vacationing in Albuquerque with my parents and Aunt Faye and Uncle Pete from California. The weather was beautiful...overcast and in the 80s most of the time. Our hotel was connected to a water park, which was perfect for us. We played in the water park when it was rainy, and I love being able to swim without worrying about sunscreen.

I'll post more details and pictures later, but here are some of the highlights of our trip:

Taking the tram up Sandia Peak and hiking in the clouds;
Eat at the Church Street Cafe in Old Town (outdoor dining, margaritas, vegetarian tamales...what more could you want);
Drinking coffee and eating sugar cookies at the Flying Star (I've never been a fan of royal icing, but their sugar cookies made a convert out of me);
Ella riding the train with Grandma to Santa Fe;
Visiting the ABQ Zoo, Aquarium, and Botanical Gardens.

More to come later...

Emilia on her horsie swing

2010-07-19T08:46:00.001-07:00

Multitasking

2010-07-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

Emilia...picking out Vera Bradley bags online, talking on Daddy's phone, and trying to plug the Kindle cord into the computer.

The girl loves shoes

2010-07-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she can walk in these, but she can. In fact, she can run!

Emilia's First Haircut

2010-07-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Grandma Apple gave Emilia her first haircut in our kitchen this evening. Emilia combed her baby's hair while Grandma cut her hair. We couldn't believe how well Emilia sat still...she's kind of been a wild monkey lately.

Fudgesicle Love

2010-07-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

Digital Native

2010-07-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

The talking heads in education often use the term "digital native" to describe kids who have grown up surrounded by technology, and while I generally find the term (or maybe it's just the people who use it) annoying, I have to admit it describes Emilia. She is obsessed with anything technological--cell phones, video games, ipods, digital cameras--and she seems to know how to use them. She's entered calendar events and contact info on my cell phone. She knows how to use the stylus on Ella's DS. This morning, she found an old pair of ear buds in the junk drawer, stuck them in her ears, and then went to find Ella's ipod. Once she found Ella's ipod, she properly inserted the earbuds into the ipod and began to sing. At least she hasn't figured out how download music yet. It's probably just a matter of time.

Birthday Wishes

2010-07-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

Always one to plan ahead, Ella is already thinking about her birthday in October. She has eight birthday wishes. So far she's shared two with us. The first one (a basketball goal) is probably manageable. The second one (getting to meet Justin Bieber) may prove to be more difficult.

Speaking of birthdays, happy birthday, Aunt Brandi!

If you give a toddler car keys....

2010-07-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

she'll set off three different car alarms.

I ♥ My Sister

2010-07-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Ella couldn't wait to get away from Emilia. After all, Emilia follows her everywhere, gets into her stuff, trashes her room...all the things little sisters are supposed to do. But while Ella was in Hays, every time she called, she wanted to talk to Emilia (who held the phone and said "Eh-wa" over and over). And when we got to Hays, Ella and Ava were completely uninterested in us. Instead, they ran to Emilia and about tackled her trying to give her hugs.

Girly Girls

2010-07-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

At Pottery Works

2010-07-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Painting Grandma's Table

2010-07-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

You can't go to Hays

2010-07-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

without eating at Taco Shop.

Wild Girls at the Carnival

2010-07-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ella and Ava rode the Super Shot at the Wild West Fest carnival. It's one of those rides that takes you up super super slow (I think two minutes up) and then drops you down super fast (like one second). They look a little nauseous in the after pictures, huh?

Ella and Ava at Sternberg Museum

2010-07-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ella and Ava in Hays

2010-07-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

My parents were brave enough to invite Ella and her friend Ava to stay with them in Hays for a few days. (They said it was easier to keep Ella entertained with a friend around to play...and fight..with.)

They stayed busy...playing with dogs...

going to the landfill....

catching f ireflies...and more!

Only Ella

2010-07-01T20:35:00.001-07:00

Only Ella plays basketball in a dress and her daddy's flip flops.

Quick Grilled Pizza

2010-06-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

We ♥ grilled pizza. In the past, we've either used my usual pizza dough recip e, a premade crust, or the canned stuff you get in the refrigerator section. All of these work just fine, but when I saw a recipe in Cook's Country for a speedy grilled pizza, I knew I had to try it. Cook's Country recipes are always good. Sometimes I decide they're a little too much work, but they're always good. This recipe proved to be both simple and yummy. And it really is quick. Oh, and the sauce is super good. So fire up your grill and make some pizza.

Sauce:

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained well (I used Kroger, which was okay but I think name-brand would have been better)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used more, partially because of the Kroger tomatoes, I think, and partially because I put extra salt on everything)

Pizza:

1 cup warm water (it says 110 degrees, I didn't check the temp of the water I used)
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 tablespoon sugar
1 envelope yeast
2 3/4 flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (I used shredded)
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

1. Make sauce. Combine all the ingredients. Set aside. (How easy it that? No cooking. I think it would even be good on pasta.)

2. Prepare dough. Whisk water, EVOO, sugar and yeast measuring cup. Let sit 5 minutes. Pulse flour, Parmesan, and salt in food processor. With the machine running, add the wet stuff until it pulls away from the sides and forms a shaggy dough. Turn onto floured work surface and knead 3 or 4 times until cohesive.

3. Shape pizza. Divide dough into four pieces. Roll out into 9-inch circles. Use floured parchment paper to stack and separate the crusts.

4. Heat grill. I used my electric grill on high. (The magazine has additional instructions that apply to fancier grills with multiple settings. I don't have a fancy grill, so I'm not typing those instructions.)

5. Grill pizza. Brush one side with EVOO. Put this side down on the grill. Grill a few minutes until browned and bubbly. Brush the side that's up with EVOO. Flip the pizza over. Top with sauce and cheese. Grill until it looks done.

Serve with beer. (The recipe doesn't say that, but that's what we did.)

Bathing Beauties

2010-06-26T10:21:00.002-07:00

Temper, temper

2010-06-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's a potty chair she's crying into. (And yes, it was clean.)

Teachers' Kid

2010-06-24T13:19:00.001-07:00

Ella was playing school with Alex and Ava. Alex asked, "Shouldn't you be teaching your class instead of playing your DS?" Ella replied, "It's my planning period."

An Argument for Unstructured Play Time

2010-06-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

We spent the day at home today...too hot to play outside, already tired of the swimming pool. I thought the girls might get bored, but they never did. (Knock on wood.) Ella asked for cardboard boxes so she could put on a puppet show for Emilia. Her show seemed to be a mash-up of The Gingerbread Man and the Olivia books. Emilia was supposed to be the audience, but she didn't sit still too well and then she had to get in on the action.

Beauty Shop

2010-06-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Alex, Ava, and Brent went with us to Rolla on Father's Day because Leanne was on her way to a conference in Salina. We ate lunch at Grandma Apple's and then swam at the Rolla pool (which is bigger, warmer, and calmer than the Satanta pool). After we finished swimming, Alex fixed hair in Grandma's beauty shop. We ate Chinese food in Hugoton and headed home.

Little Baby Naughty Pants Returns

2010-06-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Emilia is naughty. As you can tell from her expressions in the pictures above, she's apologetically naughty. She is into everything. She spills entire bags of cheese on the floor; she empties my basket of hair brushes every single day (and yes, I know I should move the basket somewhere she can't reach, but hair brushes are relatively harmless and I'd rather have her emptying a basket of brushes than something else); she can find a marker or pen no matter how hard we try to hide them and then write all over anything she can find--her legs, mail, magazines, the computer monitor. She loves to get the chocolate syrup out of the refrigerator (that's straight chocolate syrup in the cup she's drinking from above). We finally got a lock for the fridge (thanks, Nicole), but the lock works a lot better when you remember to fasten it.

Sissy's got my back...and my blankie

2010-06-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

To prevent Ella from spending the summer with her thumb in her mouth (like in this picture from last December), we've instituted a new blankie rule: blankie is allowed only when Ella is sleeping. We didn't have to have a rule during the school year because she doesn't take her blankie to school and doesn't seem to pay much attention to it after school. But this summer, she showed signs of serious blankie and thumb addiction, so we began enforcing the new policy.

This morning Ella came upstairs with her blankie, so Ryan took it from her. I was holding Emilia. Emilia reached over, grabbed the blankie from Ryan, and returned it to Ella. She knows who the blankie belongs to.

Gimme some lovin'

2010-06-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Look, Mom, I Did My Own Hair

2010-06-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

Baby Chef

2010-06-16T11:57:00.001-07:00

Smoky Hill River Festival

2010-06-14T13:05:00.001-07:00

Every year we go to the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina, and every year, I forget to take many pictures. The picture above shows the girls in my mom's nifty new fold-up wagon. We had a great time eating yummy food, making crafts (well, Ella made crafts and we watched), browsing the arts and crafts vendors (including one of my favorites, Ozark Herbals), and listening to music. It was awfully hot, though, and with kids (and all their stuff), the heat seems even more difficult to handle.

Emilia was a very good little traveler. She did very well in the van (except when she spilled chocolate milk all over her car seat on the way home). The only problem is that when she misses a nap, gets off schedule, and gets overly tired, she gets naughty. Very, very, very naughty.

This year I ran in the Festival Fitness Five Saturday morning. I only ran the two mile race instead of the five mile. I had contemplated the five mile but decide to go with the shorter distance, and I am sooooo glad I did. As I got to the festival grounds for the run, it started to sprinkle. By the time I had picked up by bib and T-shirt, it was flat-out pouring. I was soaking wet before the run even started. Luckily, our hotel room had been cold enough that I had put on a jacket while I was getting ready; otherwise, I wouldn't have had a jacket. (It was 77 when I left the hotel, but had dropped to the upper 60s by the time I made it to the festival grounds). I was glad I only had two miles to run in the rain. (I overheard lots of people running the five mile wishing they could switch to the shorter run.) After the race, as I was headed back to the hotel, it started to thunder and I saw some big bolts of lightning. I looked at the clock and realized if I had been running the five mile, I definitely would have still been running, so I was super glad I was done and warm and drinking a latte instead of slogging through five miles.

My clock time for the race was 17:33; my watch said 17:16. (I was pretty far back, so it took me a while to get to the starting line. In retrospect, I should have started more to the front. I passed a lot of people at the beginning.) I think I could have run a little faster, but my socks and shoes were soaking wet, and I also knew I had no chance of placing because there were some pretty serious runners there. I wound up placing sixth in my age group, though, and in the top half of all the finishers, so I think if I had had more confidence, I could have done better. Oh, well. Lesson learned. It was still a fun race!

Sassy Girl

2010-06-14T09:56:00.001-07:00

Big sister's shoes and a bag of stale Cheez-its. What else does a girl need?

My Babies

2010-06-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Notice the magic marker all over Emilia's legs. At least it was washable. And for the record, a magic eraser will remove black permanent marker from laminate flooring.

At Grandma's

2010-06-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

Baby in a Box

2010-06-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

VBS

2010-06-05T13:12:00.001-07:00

This week was Vacation Bible School week. Here are the girls in their VBS shirts.

Since our church building is under construction, we had VBS at the Baptist church. It was nice to have three churches (Methodist, Baptist, and Church of God) working together. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that their air conditioning doesn't really work. My rotation (the Bible story) was in an upstairs classroom with teeny tiny windows and no AC at all. It was soooooo hot. I felt really sorry for the other two teachers upstairs with me--they're both pregnant!

The poor kids had the story and video in the hot upstairs classrooms, crafts in a separate un-air conditioned building, and games outside. They only had AC for the opening and closing in the sanctuary. They were really dragging. In fact, when we got home today, Ella's temperature was 103.3. I had to take her to the emergency room. The PA thinks she has a virus and then got overheated on top of it. But with lots of Gatorade and Disney Channel, she seems to be making a nice recovery.

Outdoor Fun

2010-05-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

Ella has been bugging Ryan about sleeping outside, so yesterday he got the backyard mowed, removed the decomposing frog from the tent, and got it all set up so Ella and Ava could sleep outside. They lasted until about 10 and then moved inside. It must have tired them out because for once they didn't get up at 6 to jump on the trampoline. Ella and Emilia had fun in the tent before Ava came over.

Emilia's Dream Come True

2010-05-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

Unattended ice cream.

Last Day of School

2010-05-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's finally the last day of school...it's hard to believe Ella will be in 2nd grade next year. She's been so blessed with fabulous teachers! She's grown up so much since the first day of first grade and even more since kindergarten.

Rock Your Socks Virtual 10K

2010-05-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

I participated in Racing With Babes's Rock Your Socks Virtual 10K this morning. And while my 10K was not the speediest, I think I did rock my socks. Here's the deets:

I intended to run my 10K Saturday morning, but Little Baby Naughty Pants was not too keen on me getting up early, and by the time I finally got out the door, it was 9:30, hot, and windy. And my legs were still killing me from an ill-advised interval work-out on Thursday. So I stopped after 3 miles on Saturday and decided to try again this morning. (The race was supposed to be completed by Sunday, but I'm a rule-breaker like that. Actually, I'm not. I feel totally like a slacker for not being able to do a totally flexible race in a three-day time period, but at least I got it done.)

I got up at 5 this morning, slipped into my rockin' socks, and headed out the door. This is the first time I've ever run further than 5 miles, so I treated this like a long, slow run and didn't try to be speedy at all. Except for once over by the grade school, I thought I saw a loose dog and picked up the pace to avoid it. I then missed a curb and totally wiped out on the concrete. Total pratfall. Picture me, face down on the sidewalk, right outside my daughter's classroom window. Luckily no one was around to see it. And it turned out to be a tricycle and a Wal-Mart bag, not a dog at all. Hey, it was dark and hard to see. And if you'd been bitten by a white trash dog and had to get stitches in Chris Gardner's dining room (luv ya, Chris and Cathy), you'd be paranoid about loose dogs, too.

As I was finishing up, it started to drizzle and then rain, which felt wonderful! Final time: 1 hour, 9 minutes, 23 seconds.

Gimme some sugar

2010-05-23T12:32:00.001-07:00

Dorky love

2010-05-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Ella really is a nerd, just like her mama. Want proof? Just watch her…

· Flap her arms when she gets really excited (although that is clearly a Burrows trait, not one from my gene pool),

· Fall down 47 times in 10 minutes,

· Wear goggles and nose-plugs to run through the sprinkler,

· Worry that someone is faster than her at addition,

· Or become super competitive about AR points.

Yet sometimes, I look at my nerdy girl and think, “Wait a second, she’s not acting like a nerd. At all.” Case in point: she has plastered her walls with pictures of Justin Bieber. Now, I’ll admit, I plastered my walls with pictures of Kirk Cameron, but that wasn’t until 4^th or 5^th grade. Isn’t 1^st grade a little early for celebrity crushes? Ella knows all the popular songs and wants them downloaded to her iPod. She’s conscious of fashion (and name-brands) in a way that I wasn’t until late grade school (if ever). She knows to pair her skinny jeans with ballet flats without anyone telling her to. She gets excited about the release of stores’ “spring lines” (her terminology). She obsesses about wearing the right shoes (and hates PE due to the restrictions it places on her shoe choices). She does her own hair, wears lip gloss, and often applies way too much perfume.

Where is this coming from? Is my little girl not as dorky as I thought? Is this a different form of geekiness? Is there such a thing as a fashion geek? Is she growing up too fast? Is it the influence of an increasingly global society and the over-sexualization of children and too much Disney Channel? These thoughts race through my mind as she pores over the Justice catalog. But then she falls down going up the stairs, pretends to be homeless, and takes her embroidery kit to school for Show and Share. Her glasses slip down on her nose, her hair falls in her eyes, and I know that no matter how hip or stylish she may become, she’ll always be my little dork.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink 5K

2010-05-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

I ran this morning in the Relay for Life Tough Enough to Wear Pink 5K in Ulysses. Participants were encouraged to wear pink, so I wore a pink hat and shirt, black polka dot running skirt, and pink and white striped knee high socks. (Sorry, I didn't get a picture. You'll just have to trust me when I assure you that I looked hot!) There was a (ginormous) man wearing a pink kilt and a girl who had painted her body pink, so in comparison, I wasn't really that pink. I finished in 26:40 and was third in my age group! I even won a medal (but their medal order got messed up, so they'll have to mail it to me.) Yay me!

Smoothie Love

2010-05-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

I am obsessed with smoothies. Obsessed. Generally I blend plain or Greek yogurt with frozen fruit, honey or agave nectar, and ice. Sometimes, though, I want something a little less fruity but still cool and refreshing. Here are three of my newest favorites:

Chocolate Milkshake Smoothie (I've also added peanut butter to this one)
Vanilla Lime Smoothie (the recipe doesn't call for any sweetener, but I added some agave nectar)
Lemon Zest Drink

Enjoy!

Ella's Spring Concert

2010-05-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ella did a great job at her concert tonight. She had a speaking part, and she spoke very clearly and confidently. The audience behavior was terrible...lots of loud talkers and screaming babies. At least it made my wild baby look like an angel in comparison! Emilia did try to charge the stage after Ella's speaking part, but luckily I caught her in time.

Dancing with the Stars

2010-05-13T19:36:00.001-07:00

Fun in Rolla

2010-05-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

More Satanta Day

2010-05-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Ella and I got up on Satanta Day for the Fun Run, which was indeed fun. It was a little cool for standing around but perfect for running. Then we got pancakes to go from the Satanta Day breakfast and got ready for the parade. Ella rode her bike in the parade (see pictures from previous post) and then walked with the Girl Scouts. (The Girl Scouts weren't too impressive; hence no pictures. In fact, I was the only one who even saw Ella walk through with the Girl Scouts; everyone else missed it.) The parade was a little chilly, but there was little wind, so it wasn't too bad at all.

After the parade, we headed to the park for the barbecue. There was a trampoline bungee jump set up. Ella couldn't wait to try it out; she really wanted to do this when we were in the Topeka mall over Spring Break, but the line was too long and slow moving. As we were waiting in line for Ella and Jaxon to jump, Nicole and I were discussing whether or not we would try it out. The guy running it overheard us and offered to let me go for free as the first adult. So Ella and I jumped at the same time. Ella went crazy, doing eight back flips. I was a little more conservative. I finally did one back flip to appease the crowd, but that was done reluctantly. I liked jumping, but I'm not so big on being upside down. It was fun, and I'd do it again, even though my arms are still sore.

Satanta Day Parade

2010-05-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

3 High Fives Virtual 5K

2010-05-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tall Mom on the Run is hosting a virtual 5K today to raise money Marathon for the Cure, so I got my hiney out of bed at 5 this morning to run. Now, if you've ever set foot in Satanta (or even looked at a map), you know how crazy our streets are. So mapping out a course was a bit of a challenge.

The perimeter of town actually is 5 kilometers (weird, huh?), but no way was I running on the highway in the dark, and I've had a few nasty run-ins with aggressive dogs over by the high school, which makes me want to avoid that stretch of road. (What is it about Satanta and mean dogs?) So I ran the loop around the grade school. (This is where I usually run anyway, especially in the morning. It's close to home and well lit, and I don't have to worry about angry dogs, just Jewell Swift wanting to talk.) I used MapMyRun to verify that the loop actually is half a mile like everyone says it is. This was more difficult than I anticipated because Google Maps doesn't recognize the sidewalk that goes by the softball field and thinks that the blocked-off alley that runs between Edna's and Papa's houses is a street. Anyway, I eventually figured it out, and it really is half a mile around the school. So I ran the loop 6 times, running the length of the front of the school at the end for the extra .1 to make it 5K. My time was 25:46, which isn't great by most standards (especially compared to some of the serious runners doing the virtual race), but for a beginning runner like me, I think it's pretty decent.

Next up...Satanta Day Fun Run.

Fashion statement

2010-05-02T19:50:00.001-07:00

Knee socks pulled over pants+flip flops+oversized coat+Sublette Coop ball cap+dirty shirt+dirty face+a little bit of attitude=one stylish baby!

Walk Away 5K Report

2010-05-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

I ran my first 5K this Saturday, the Walk Away 5K in Hays benefiting the Northwest Kansas Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. Technically, it wasn't a full 5K (the guys wearing Garmins reported it was about 2.75 miles), but close enough. I finished in 23 minutes, 48 seconds. Had it been a full 5K, I probably would have finished in about 27 minutes, which is about what my goal was. Originally, my goal had been anything under 30 minutes; then I lowered it to 27 1/2 minutes based on my training runs. So I guess I came in about 30 seconds under my goal. I think I could have run a little bit faster. I held back a little because I was afraid of running out of energy and then getting passed by all the people I had passed earlier, which would have been totally humiliating. When I finished, I felt like I could have kept on going for a while, which I think means I was holding back. I was in the top 20 out of 70, which I consider a success, even if I did get totally smoked by a guy in his 50s or 60s. And several women in their 60s. Oh well, not bad for my first race.

It's all about the accessories

2010-04-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Emilia loved these clip-on earrings.

Funny Baby

2010-04-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Bouncy Baby

2010-04-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

Emilia loves to jump on the trampoline. Whenever she gets in the backyard, she makes a beeline for either the trampoline or the eagle's nest (which she can climb up...pretty scary). She also knows how to open the backdoor, so we have to keep it locked or she'll sneak out and scare the pants off of us.

Tractor Girl

2010-04-24T07:10:00.001-07:00

Yo Yo Girl

2010-04-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

Danger Baby

2010-04-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Lil Baby Peek-a-Boo

2010-04-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

Lil Baby Peek-a-Poo isn't so little. Emilia went in for a check-up this week. She's 33 inches tall and almost 30 pounds. That puts her at the 75th percentile for height and above the 97th percentile for weight. She's a big girl!

Family Picture

2010-04-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

New Bike Seat

2010-04-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Brent, for installing Emilia's new seat. She loves it!

Cheesecake Love

2010-04-09T18:31:00.001-07:00

Go Climb a Tree

2010-04-06T04:36:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Emilia

2010-04-05T20:24:00.001-07:00

I have lots of Easter pictures to post (I know I've been terrible about not updating the blog...sorry, Leanne...I promise to be better), but I had to share this one first. Isn't it sweet?

Toothless Wonder

2010-03-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ella finally lost her second front tooth!

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-03-27T10:17:00.001-07:00

We stayed one night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. (Brandi has more pictures posted over at her blog.) The Great Wolf Lodge is a theme hotel with a water park inside. Our room was perfect; we had a Kids Cabin, so the kids had their own little area with bunk beds and TV.

The water park was ideal for Ella and Emilia; Ella could ride water slides while Emilia played in the zero entry baby pool. The kids had a blast. Kenzie drove over in the snow to play at the water park, which was great, because it gave us one more person to chase the kids around. I thought the water park was fun, but I thought the air temperature could have been a little warmer. They say it's in the 80s, but I got a little chilly sometimes. The fitness room, on the other hand, was far too warm. I wound up taking off my shirt and jogging on the treadmill in my sports bra...in front of a wall of mirrors...not a pretty sight.

Staying at the GWL is more expensive than a regular hotel (we shared a room, and our total was about $500, or $250 per family, for one night.) I still think this is cheaper than a comparable hotel room plus water park tickets though. In other words, I think it's cheaper to stay at the GWL than to stay at a hotel and go to a separate water park. And at the GWL, you get a lot more time to play than you would at a water park. Our rooms would have been cheaper had it not been Spring Break (in fact, we'd originally scheduled two nights back in February but got snowed out), but Spring Break certainly is convenient. (For everyone...we heard there were 1200 guests in the hotel that weekend. Even though there were a lot of people, we didn't really have to wait in long lines for anything.)

I don't think I'd want to stay longer than one night because it would be easy to spend a lot of money. In addition to the water park, the GWL has two spas (kid and adult), two gift shops (including one with Vera Bradley), a coffee shop, a restaurant, an arcade, fake tattoos, and MagiQuest, an interactive game that sends you on various challenges. We managed to resist most of this, but if we'd been there longer, it would have been harder to say no.

I do have to say that the food prices were reasonable. The restaurant prices were good (although the service wasn't great), and the coffee shop prices were actually pretty cheap ($1.75 for a tall Starbucks latte).

It was fun, and I would go there again. We're planning to stay at the Radisson in Albuquerque this summer, which just added a water park. The hotel doesn't appear to have all the singing animals found at the GWL, but the prices are much, much cheaper, so I'll be interested to see how it compares.

Spring Break

2010-03-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

We had a busy, busy Spring Break. We stayed home the first few days, cleaning house and hanging out with friends. On Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment in Dodge City, and we headed to Hays from there. Our friends the Howies and the Plogers met up with us on Thursday. The kids went to Pottery Works while we browsed downtown Hays and drank green beer at Gella's/Liquid Bread.

On Thursday, we drove to Topeka, where we met up with my friend Kenzie and visited the state capitol, where her boyfriend Dustin works. The building is undergoing renovation, so we didn't to see a lot, but Ella was still thoroughly impressed. The guy working the souvenir kiosk "hooked her up" with lots of postcards, Kansas trivia cards, and presidential info. Here are pictures of the girls sitting at the governor's ceremonial desk (taken on Kenzie's phone as I had left mine in the car).

After visiting the capitol, we drove to Lawrence, where we explored Mass Street and ate Indian food for supper. (I thought it was delicious, Ryan and Ella tolerated it, and Emilia eats anything.) The next morning we visited the KU campus (even though Ella says she plans to attend FHSU or KSU) and drove to KC. We shopped at the Legends shopping center and met up with Brandi, Josh, Anya and Ally to eat supper at the T-Rex Cafe. I once again forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures of the restaurant. It's fun, but the food was mediocre and the service was terrible. (Dessert at Cold Stone Creamery made up for it, though.) If we go there again, I might just take the girls in to look around at the T-Rex Cafe and then eat elsewhere.

It was beautiful when we got to KC, but the weather changed early afternoon. That evening it started raining, and then it started snowing! I hadn't really paid too much attention to the weather forecasts predicting snow because it seems like they've predicted snow every weekend this winter, and it's rarely materialized. I figured if it did snow, it would just be flurries--no big deal. But there was a lot of snow--like six inches. Luckily, we spent the rest of our weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge. It was kind of strange to be swimming and look out the window at falling snow.

I actually did take pictures at the Great Wolf Lodge, so I'll put them up in a separate post. On Sunday, we loaded up to head home. We made a number of stops, so it took us a while to get home, but Emilia was thankfully a very good traveler.

Pictures

2010-03-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

I promise I will update the blog this weekend...I'm still recovering from Spring Break. I do have pictures of our trip to post, but until then, mosey on over to Brandi's blog for pictures of the Great Wolf Lodge.

Seriously?

2010-03-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

To motivate myself to finally get in shape and lose the last few pounds of baby weight, I've been training for a 5K using the Couch to 5K training program. (I'll finish up Week 7 tomorrow, and I'm totally proud of myself for being able to run 2.5 miles without stopping, albeit very slowly.)

I became a fan of Couch to 5K on Facebook, so I get daily links to various fitness articles. The link today was 10 Ways to Lose Those Last Few Pounds, which seemed totally up my alley. Some of the advice seems pretty reasonable, like avoiding unnecessary calories at breakfast and avoiding fried foods. But the second tip totally baffled me:

2. 20 Minutes a Day
Regardless of your current workout routine, try finding an additional 20 minutes a day. It might mean waking up earlier or staying at the gym an extra half-hour. Assuming you arent a regular runner, take this time to jog two miles. It should only take between 15 and 20 minutes. This is a short-enough distance to minimize the likelihood of shin splints or other running-related injuries for the uninitiated (though always exercise with caution--and a good pair of shoes).

Jogging this short distance six days a week, you will log nearly two marathons a month. Try telling anyone you wont lose a few pounds running a marathon every two weeks!

Okay, so running two miles a day is a work-out for me. I'm sure I would lose weight if I added another two miles to my work-out, but if I were in good enough shape that I could add 20 minutes of running to my exercise routine without risking injury, I wouldn't need to lose any more weight. And who can jog 2 miles in 15 to 20 minutes? I'd call that pace running.

So clearly I am not the intended audience for this article, but seriously, who is? And to the author of this piece--have you ever heard of an apostrophe?

Why I Love My Big Sister

2010-03-13T13:10:00.001-08:00

By Emilia Burrows

She lets me play with her electronics.

and read her books.

She lets me wear her pajamas

(even when I look like a rapper).

She lets me wear her boots

and hat and vest.

And she gives me donuts when Mommy won't.

I love my big sister Ella. And she tolerates me.

All About Emilia

2010-03-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

Full name: Emilia Genevieve Burrows

Age: 17 months

Also known as Emilia Bedelia, Babykins, Little Baby Naughty Pants, Stinky Britches, Sugar Booger, Booger Boo

Likes:
Hats, shoes, and coats
Yogurt, shredded cheese, and chocolate
Cell phones
Electronics
Sitting in chairs
Writing (preferably with permanent marker)

Loathes:
Strangers
When her pants ride up so that skin is exposed between her shoes and the bottom of her pants

Hobbies:
Playing outside
Wearing other people’s shoes
Keeping up with the big kids
Climbing
Getting into trouble

Special skills:
Knowing when anyone in a tri-county area has candy

All About Ella

2010-03-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

Full name: Ella Katherine Burrows

Age 7

Also known as Ella Bella, Ellaboo, Monkey Mo, Whiney Hiney, Poopsie Rotten Bottom, Babykins

Likes:

Reading

Rules, policies, and procedures

Projects

Justice for Girls

Nintendo DS

Hannah Montana

Loathes:

Fruits and vegetables

Hobbies:

Jumping on the trampoline

Riding bikes

Dreaming of cell phones

Trying on 72 outfits and leaving them in a pile on her closet floor

Special talents:

Creating drama

Pictures of our week

2010-02-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

We've all been a little under the weather, so please excuse the snotty noses and bleary eyes. Also excuse Emilia's outfit...she picked it out herself.